Beware! The ‘invisible’ eye is watching you

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: For years, enterprises have installed closed circuit TV (CCTV) almost exclusively for security monitoring despite its many shortcomings. For one, it is expensive and disruptive to install and its capabilities are limited. CCTV records images on videocassettes, so police and other emergency personnel can’t view the event live. However, in the wake of terrorist threats escalating worldwide, the need for a successor system—one that delivers secure, real-time images of an emergency as well as the flexibility to show both full-motion and still images—is increasingly being felt by enterprises and security establishment alike.

Enter internet-based video surveillance, a far superior alternative to CCTV. For, this technology offers real-time delivery of video and still images from a crime or emergency scene via a LAN or the internet. Do not be surprised but riding on this technology, countries are fast logging into the age of networked, highly computerised surveillance. Whether it is your private home, office, a retail store, or public areas and institutions, various types of surveillance technology—panning and tilting cameras, digital video recorders, hidden spy cameras, full-fledged motion-activated networked surveillance systems and IP technology-based surveillance systems—that keep an eye on all suspicious movements, are catching up globally.

Consider this. Almost two-thirds of New York residential and business premises are said to use surveillance products. In Britain, there are over four million digital video cameras scanning streets, parks, and government buildings. The older CCTV networks are fast giving way to smarter digital cameras and DVR-based surveillance gadgets, which provide clearer images and wider visual fields with automatic panning, tilting, and zooming. These smart digital cameras can be easily installed and networked with televisions, desktops and the internet. For those keeping a watchful eye, this gives greater ease and control. Typically, it is possible for a homeowner or shopkeeper to remote control the cameras and keep a check on suspicious moving objects with clear visual images, zooming and recording facilities. The trend is catching up in India as well. It is already on the radar of leading manufacturers of security and surveillance systems. Be it the Select Citywalk mall or Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi, or various corporate offices, it is IP-based CCTV doing the job of keeping a watchful eye on suspicious activities.