Closed Circuit Television

Closed circuit television is a system of cameras located throughout a building or lot of land that are connected to a monitoring system similar to a television. Closed circuit television, or CCTV, is used for a wide variety of activities and the increasing evolution of computer and digital technology has also meant a sophisticated use of closed circuit television. People have become accustomed to seeing cameras looking back at them at automated teller machines, banks, and increasingly at traffic lights. However, there are myriad uses of closed circuit television that few people realize exist until now.

Closed circuit television has become a prevalent means of entertaining the public. One entertaining use of closed circuit television is at sporting events like soccer, football, and baseball, showing replays of plays, people in the stands, and other computer generated programming. As well, closed circuit television is used in amusement parks and zoos to observe walking traffic and, in the case of zoos, allows zookeepers to observe animal behaviors while the animals are in their "natural" environment. In addition, those who choose to do animation and model making as a form of artistic expression sometimes used closed circuit television in order to look at several different lighting angles at once and to do time lapse recording in order to animate figures.

As well, governmental agencies use closed circuit television for any number of tasks. One way in which CCTV is used by the government is to survey traffic levels in different areas of a city at one time. Another use of closed circuit television is to observe traffic in highways and on bridges in order to keep track of how often certain roadways are used. A third use is in factories and testing facilities to make sure production is going smoothly and to ensure employee safety, particularly in nuclear plants and in hazardous materials processing. However, there are many more aspects of closed circuit television that need to be addressed to have a full understanding of its impact on modern society.

Closed circuit television involves a combination of multiple cameras, either stationary or rotating, connected to a corresponding set of closed circuit monitors: these monitors look similar to a common television set but lack the tuning controls that allow television viewers to change channels. However, closed circuit televisions come with contrast and color options in order to make an image lighter or darker.

Essentially, the cameras used in a closed circuit television system are connected via wiring (or, in recent years, wireless connection) to a router, which manages the flow of information to the corresponding monitor. No matter the type of connection, closed circuit television images remain within the network of monitors and cameras. This is the reason for the term "closed circuit," as the CCTV monitors cannot receive television programs nor can any radios or televisions pick up closed circuit signals.

Recent technological advances have brought closed circuit television closer to computers and television in terms of complexity. Digital photography and imaging have allowed purveyors of CCTV to put out premium systems which allow for more camera options and greater image resolution on monitors. As well, the ability to make cameras smaller allows for less conspicuous monitoring systems and the capability to place cameras in smaller places.

The usage of closed circuit television began as an element of military security and preparedness. The first documented use of closed circuit television was in 1942 by the German military. The installation of remote cameras and crude black-white monitors was important to the observation of V2 missile tests in preparation of long-distance military strikes. The Germans were not the only ones to use closed circuit television in the 1940s, as the United States utilized the technology during the Manhattan Project. This project involved the development of an atomic weapon in the deserts of the American Southwest and closed circuit television allowed scientists and military leaders to observe the success of tests from afar.

Closed circuit television was popularized as a local governmental tool in Great Britain in the 1980s and 1990s; with the British Home Office installing tens of thousands to monitor traffic and help combat growing crime rates. It became an important tool for British and American transit authorities in places like London and New York, with cameras placed in taxis, buses, and train stations to prevent vandalism and ensure timely transportation of customers. In Californian cities in the late 1990s, speeding cameras were installed at traffic lights in order to track traffic violators and send tickets out to car owners.

Convenience stores and other retail outlets began to use closed circuit television in the 1970s and 1980s in order to prevent theft and as a method of crowd control. As automated teller machines became more popular in the 1990s, closed circuit television cameras became commonplace at the thousands upon thousands of ATMs in every Western city. Indeed, walking down any American or British street since the 1990s means that a closed circuit television system has probably captured the image of everyone who has walked past.

The advantages of CCTV and its corollary equipment include the ability to observe dangerous situations from a distance, the ability to provide a constant eye over routine activities, and a great tool for home and business security in an effort to fight crime. As mentioned earlier, the history of closed circuit television began with its use as a military tool to observe missile tests and make sure that all of the launch processes were effective. It is still used by military forces around the world for testing and drills, but CCTV has expanded to other government agencies and the private sector. City governments use CCTV to observe traffic congestion and deter speeding violations, while manufacturers used closed circuit television to observe production processes.

Closed circuit television can be used by parents and teachers to observe children and students while in different rooms, both to take a look at group behavior and to make sure that children are behaving appropriately. Such routine activities require observation in order to determine the common behavior of children when adults are not in the room. As well, governments use closed circuit television to determine the amount of usage of certain roadways as well as ensuring that street lights and drainage systems are working at peak efficiency.

Finally, there seems to be few security tools that provide a sense of security like the combination of cameras and closed circuit television. Businesses like convenience stores, banks, and gas stations have used closed circuit television for years to prevent shoplifting and keep an eye out for suspicious behavior. While there are no solid numbers to prove that shop lifting is deterred more effectively by CCTV than other security tools, proponents of CCTV feel that the fact that cameras are present and noticeable to potential criminals act as a deterrent. This belief has triggered a niche industry for closed circuit television companies to branch out into the home security market. Families that are concerned about keeping intruders at bay include cameras and closed circuit television in building their new homes, to go along with security gates and fences. Many times, feeling a sense of security is just as important as tangible evidence of increased security.

While closed circuit television has many advantages in terms of security and entertainment, it has also brought up civil liberties and community issues among those concerned about privacy rights. Particularly in Western nations, concerns over the protection of privacy rights have run up against the need by companies and governments to observe public behavior to prevent crime. Certainly, literature has exposed this concern with the still-popular 1940s novel Animal Farm by George Orwell and the recent hit V for Vendetta. Both of these artistic endeavors expose the concern by many in the public of governments overstepping their bounds in the name of justice.

One example of a potential civil liberties concern is in the use of closed circuit television in loss prevention by big retail stores. Loss prevention experts feel that if they can monitor consumers in dressing rooms and waiting areas, they can adequately confront and punish those who want to shoplift clothes and other items. However, the use of closed circuit television to observe men and women undressing and dressing is seen as unseemly and an unnecessary security step when electronic security tags are effective tools for capturing shoplifters. Nonetheless, this usage of closed circuit television has become more common while people remain uncomfortable with the idea of being watched.

In addition to the civil liberties issues surrounding closed circuit television, it is also seen by many as either inefficient or too expensive for widespread use. While old-style closed circuit televisions, using traditional wiring and black-white screens, are affordable security options for businesses and governments, the new generation of CCTV equipment is far too expensive. As well, there have been few studies that definitively show that closed circuit equipment and cameras are effective deterrents of criminal activity. The privacy and cost-efficiency issues combine to make closed circuit television a questionable security method at best and a gross misuse of technology at the worst.

Closed circuit television is still used predominantly in the public sphere, employed by public and private organizations as a surveying tool, a crime deterrent, and a troubleshooting mechanism. There is any number of ways in which closed circuit television is part of our everyday lives without us knowing about it. This last statement shows both how quickly technology and society are fusing and how the worldwide public is getting more comfortable with technological attempts to ensure their safety.

Private organizations like restaurants and grocery stores now commonly have closed circuit televisions with cameras within and outside of their buildings to observe any suspicious behavior. It allows store managers and owners to observe, in real time, the effectiveness of their merchandise displays and sales on particular items. The cameras and other devices have become smaller and more effective, with greater clarity allowing closed circuit television users to more efficiently process visual information into useful data.

Public uses of closed circuit television are widespread throughout the Western world and include cameras at traffic lights, parking lots, and military bases. At traffic lights, closed circuit television can be used to observe traffic backups, the progress of construction projects, and allow police to enforce speeding and other traffic violations. Many American and British police departments have a system that has officers observing closed circuit televisions to take down license plate numbers and use motor vehicle records to send out violation notices. Military bases also use closed circuit television in order to observe drills, missile tests, and problems on the firing range.

Closed circuit television is rapidly becoming part and parcel of home security systems in America and England. The proliferation of gated communities and suburbs is based not only on people's interest in leaving the city behind for more spacious surroundings but also because urban areas have seen increasing crime levels. Indeed, home security companies have come out with a wide array of closed circuit televisions for the home, which include high resolution cameras and multiple television screens around the house to observe anyone that is at the front door.

In gated communities and apartment buildings throughout the United States, there is always an eye out for criminal activity and mechanical problems with lighting and drainage. Cameras are often strewn about on lamp posts and street signs, with the size of the camera becoming smaller and less conspicuous. While some feel that the mere awareness of closed circuit television systems that potential criminals have act as a deterrent, others feel that well-hidden cameras serve the public better by observing criminal behavior and allowing a safer apprehension by policemen. Nonetheless, the presence of a closed circuit television security system is reassuring to families and individuals concerned about the increasing presence of crime in the suburbs.

Closed circuit television is used by middle and upper class families who want an added sense of security within their own homes. The development of security systems has allowed such consumers to buy wireless closed circuit systems that have a camera at the front door or gate and allow a significant distance between homeowner and visitor. Closed circuit television has also been used by new parents who can monitor their child visually and with audio to ensure quick reaction times for any emergencies that may come up. All in all, closed circuit television is still largely used in public but with the increase in affluence and the increased worry about crime in the city and the suburbs there has been an increased innovation in security systems.

There are several ways in which individuals or businesses can purchase a closed circuit television equipment system. The best way to start out the buying process for CCTV equipment is to do online research, typically by doing an search engine query for such equipment. After reading reviews and knowing which CCTV system is the best for a particular purpose, a consumer can then determine whether they want to buy their system online or in person.

Both online and offline stores offer pros and cons for consumers. While online hardware and technology stores offer lower prices and a better product review process, there may be less accountability in case of product failure or, at the very least, a slow response time to problems. In a similar vein, physically going into a store can provide a sense of purchase security and accountability but may not offer the same variety of products as an online store. Anyone interested in purchasing a CCTV system needs to consider these factors to make their long-term investment worthwhile.

Many homeowners and business owners consider installing security systems during the building process, not only to provide immediate protection to their investment but to make installation easier than with an already existing building. However, when this is not possible, installing a CCTV system is not too difficult. Essentially, it requires an individual or a contractor to connect the wiring between camera, router, and monitor.

Another consideration in installing CCTV in a household or business is where to place the monitors and the cameras: the use of rotating cameras means that a special housing for the device cannot be used, which leaves the camera more open to inclement weather or vandalism. Monitors can be mounted on walls or placed in a special monitor display desk, but are commonly placed atop a desk or table in an office or spare room.

A final consideration for people interested in purchasing closed circuit television is how they want their system configured. There is a way in which several cameras can be affixed to one monitor and the images from these cameras are either put on a split screen or rotating in intervals of several seconds. Another way, however, is to have separate monitors for each camera in order to keep a constant eye on everything going on within the camera's point of view.