Covert =  A covert application refers to a situation where you don’t want the person to know that they are being watched or recorded.  Also known as ‘hidden’ cameras or “nanny cams.” Covert cameras are typically legal in a residential setting.  Individual states have various laws concerning the videotaping of employees or business patrons.  In many states, it is necessary to post signage notifying employees and/or business patrons that they are under video surveillance.…

Compression = Compacting signal or data to lower bandwidth utilization.  Video JPEG frames can take up a ton of bandwidth on a network, so typically a compression mechanism is used to “shrink” the frames down to an acceptable file size which is more easily transported without hogging bandwidth.…

CMOS= The usage of Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductors in imagers to sense images improves over CCD technology in resolution, dynamic range, and noise sensitivity.…

CIF = Common Intermediate Format.  The default frame resolution of 352×288 for DVR systems is known as the CIF.…

CCTV = Closed Circuit Television. The use of video cameras to transmit signals to a specific, limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point-to-point wireless links. CCTV is often used for surveillance in areas that need monitoring such as banks, casinos, airports, military installations and convenience stores. In industrial plants, CCTV equipment may be used to observe parts of a process that are remote from a control room, or where the environment is not comfortable for humans. CCTV systems may operate continuously or only as required to monitor a particular event.

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