Emerging Trend: Large Lcd Monitors For Surveillance And Security

Increasingly video-based surveillance and security systems are being widely adopted by both corporations and consumers primarily due to increasing need for surveillance in these turbulent times but also due to affordability of security systems, ease with which surveillance systems can be installed and value-add features such remote monitoring that address special surveillance needs. As a result video-based surveillance systems are increasingly appearing in public areas such as airport lounges, shopping centres, retail stores, colleges, universities, manufacturing facilities and corporate offices. These video surveillance systems can be CCTV or IP based. Consider the benefits that a video surveillance system provides and the broad adoption by the market is quite understandable. A surveillance and security system:

• Helps deter employee theft and shoplifting theft,
• Helps monitor & document performance in manufacturing or other facilities resulting in potential reduction in maintenance cost and/or employee productivity improvement,
• May help reduce insurance cost and fraudulent liability claims, and
• Can continuously document events so your entire business has greater protection.

Reasons for Large LCD Monitor Adoption: Within these surveillance systems packages, large LCDs monitors (>42”) are becoming the industry norm. The reasons being:

• Size: Large screens allow for continuous and simultaneous monitoring of multiple camera video feeds on one screen with clarity. Smaller screens require that the images from the video feeds to rotate creating holes in the monitoring data.
• 24x7 Operations: Professional LCD monitors are meant for 24x7 “round the clock” operations with long life. CRT televisions or Plasma television each have their issues with round the clock operations such as static or flicker for CRT televisions. Also, the life of a CRT or Plasma TV is much shorter when operated in 24x7 operation mode as compared to an LCD monitor. CRT and Plasma televisions are built to be on for a few hours per day.
• Picture Quality: Most large LCDs are high definition. High definition LCDs provide better picture resolution, better contrast ratio, high brightness, high colour reproduction and fast response time resulting in better picture clarity which is especially helpful when the camera is being zoomed in or multiple images are viewed simultaneously. High Definition LCD TV allows you to view minute details like number plates of a speeding car, face of a person etc. Further, the non glare feature of LCDs allows for easy viewing in ambient light or where there is background light being reflected on the screen. It is harder to reduce glare in CRT or plasma televisions. Most new LCDs have 176° viewing angle, making it easy for viewing. Check the viewing specifications to make sure meets your quality requirements.
• Robustness: LCDs generate less heat than a CRT or Plasma television. The fan-less design for most large LCD monitors results in a closed box display with less noise. The fan-less design and the closed box display also results in less dust entering the system and provides for a more robust architecture.
• Space: LCD monitors are flat panel displays requiring less space than normal CRT TVs. They can be wall mounted. The LCD monitor can be encapsulated in a fire retardant frame to protect the display
• Better Video and Data Merger: Increasingly programs are being utilized to identify theft or issues in real time and data is being merged onto the video stream in real time. LCDs provide for better merging and viewing of data with video.
• Remote Monitoring and Operation of Large LCD Screens: Alarms can be set if an LCD screen is switched off. Power and other controls can be monitored remotely. For example, an energy saving feature can be activated so that when there is no signal, a power save mode is activated to reduce the brightness of the LCD backlight.
• Value-add Features: Value-add features such as touch screen zoom-in /zoom-out and image swap or other functions such as internet access can be easily found or added onto LCD monitors.

Purchase Consideration When Buying a Large LCD Monitor: Besides price there are a few items to consider when purchasing an LCD monitor.

• Match LCD Monitor to Camera Capabilities: If you buy a monitor with lower resolution than the cameras installed then the camera capabilities will not come through. Ideally the monitor should be equal or better resolution than the camera. Also, if the cameras are black and white, then a black and white monitor can be used.
• Input /Output Connectors on the Monitor: With the increasing use of PC and digital video devices, it is important to have both analog VGA and digital DVI input terminals to the monitor. Also, be sure that the monitor has BNC connectors for direct connection from a video feed to the display. BNC connectors support video looping, which provides output (loops back) to a centralized recording facility (DVR) or to other displays in a daisy-chain pattern. When scrolling through different images, this allows for seamless integration between pictures .
• Picture Quality Features: Consider the resolution, contrast ratio, brightness, colour reproduction and response time to meet your surveillance need.
• Value-add Features: Consider the value-adds that address your need. Such as, do you need remote monitoring, touch screen capability, or internet access?

Make the knowledgeable decision and your surveillance system can address your needs for many years.

For more information on LCD monitors, check out Sharp’s official LCD monitor site! http://lcddisplay.sbsil.com/