IP Camera – Redefining Surveillance

IP camera or network IP cameras are especially designed devices that enable view of full motion video from any corner of the world. These cameras stream live video in the form of digital packets thorough the Internet protocol networks like Internet or LAN (Local Area Network). Since these cameras are connected to the IP network, they allow you to access and store the video streams from remote places. Further, you can observe and manage the IP network camera through video management software or a standard web browser from your preferred location, providing you the much-needed flexibility.

Largely the IP cameras find their use in surveillance for businesses as well as home. With the IP surveillance cameras, you can survey whatever is happening at your home or office in your absence. Using such cameras is a great way to keep your recording safe, as only you know the exact location from where the recorded video can be accessed. The recorded video can be stored on a computer or ftp server or server, according to your convenience.  

Most of the IP security cameras available today are wired. However, the recent trends suggest a rise in the wireless IP cameras. These cameras use Wi-Fi to transmit their data feed on the internet. In some cases, special web browsers need to be used to access the IP security cameras. However, most of the other cameras can be accessed through the common Web browsers such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. Wireless IP camera is widely used in home computer networks to view remote locations. Given the conveniences attached to these wireless units, they are quite expensive.    

How IP camera system works?

To understand the working of an IP network camera, you need to know a bit about networking. Just take a normal CCTV camera and connect it to a video server. You can do the same with "Network Ready" or IP network camera as well. From the Video Server or the "Network Ready" camera, you would get a unique digitized address that is called the IP address. According to your configuration or set up, the IP camera can be either near the computer, or in a remote place. This doesn’t matter at all.    

After knowing the IP Address of the camera through the video server or network ready camera, your task is to hook one or the others into your network. You can easily connect the IP camera through LAN router, both wireless and wired camera can be hooked in this way. There could be a video server with three cameras each of them having unique IP address. Not just three, several IP cameras can be connected to the network and the videos can be captured and retrieved from each of them.

Now, plug the server directly into a switch, a router or a hub. This will make the video available through the wire to your network. Using a wireless transmitter, the output from the video server can be assessed and it can be picked from standard wireless access point. Further, it can be routed through a wire to the PC.   

Once you have configured and installed the IP Surveillance camera, the camera will be easily available from a web browser, even if you do not switch on your PC. Essentially the IP network camera is an independent unit having unique IP address