Always determine the frame rate needed to satisfy your security/surveillance situation.
Then design and purchase a system that can produce the desired frame rate.
NOTE: if a still picture takes up 1 unit of storage, and we take one picture every 5 minutes, in essence the frame rate will be 12 frames per hour.
If we took motion video for 1 hour, at 30 fps, we would actually be storing 108,000 pictures for 1 hour of video.
Never base your purchase of a security camera system on an arbitrary frame rate.
A system that cannot produce a frame rate applicable to your situation would only provide you with a useless investment.
| Term | Pixels (W x H) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| QCIF | 176 x 120 | Quarter CIF (half the height and width as CIF) |
| CIF | 352 x 240 | |
| 2CIF | 704 x 240 | 2 times CIF width |
| 4CIF | 704 x 480 | 2 times CIF width and 2 times CIF height |
| D1 | 720 x 480 | aka "Full D1" |
| 720p HD | 1280 x 720 | 720p High Definition aka "HD-SDI" |
| 960p HD | 1280 x 960 | 960p High Definition a Sony specific HD standard |
| 1.3 MP | 1280 x 1024 | aka "1 Megapixel" or "1MP" |
| 2 MP | 1600 x 1200 | 2 Megapixel |
| 1080p HD | 1920 x 1080 | 1080p High Definition |
| 3 MP | 2048 x 1536 | 3 Megapixel |
| 5 MP | 2592 x 1944 | 5 Megapixel |
A DVR that records at D1 (which is 720 x 480 pixels ) is best paired with a 600
TVL camera (which captures at 768 x 494); even though it can't fully take
advantage of its resolution, it is the closest fit.
A 960H DVR, which records at 960 x 480, is best paired with a 700 TVL camera
(976 x 582 resolution).
A CIF DVR (the most common DVR sold in stores) records at 360 x 240 resolution.
Even a 480 TVL camera (510 x 492) is overkill with a CIF DVR.
TVL or television lines is usually a term
reserved for an analog camera's resolution. The problem with 1000 TVL is that
both the DVR and the cable that carries an analog camera's signal can only cary
720TVL.
In other words, Even if you have 1000 TVL image sensor in the camera, you can't cram
more than 720 TV Lines into your analog DVR.
At Regions Broadband we are striving to update the public to IP. The price of cameras and NVRs have come down in price so that they are competitive to analog systems. However, those that still wish to keep their old systems for whatever reason, (the cameras still work, or the DVR is still cranking) we have the latest technology to pair with your needs.