In the past, installation of CCTV cameras systems are often viewed with suspicion from hired help in households and employees in the commercial and industrial facilities. They are viewed as devices used by emplyers to 'spy' on them and thus felt that these systems invade on individual's privacy. However such misconceptions can be eliminated with proper communications between the users and their employees to assure that these systems are used to mantain security in their work places and homes.

With current developments in the global front, security at home (bombing at a condominium complex in Saudi Arabia), workplace (bombing at FBI centre in US, job recruitment centres in IRAQ) and industrial installations (petrochemical, shipyard accidents worldwide), security monitoring using CCTV systems is part of security system procedures which has to be implemented to save lives, prevent industrial accidents and a more efficient way of monitoring the activities of a remote location where it may not be feasible to sent personnel there on a regular basis.

Components of a basic CCTV system:

• Camera system
• Power supply system
• Monitor system
• Recording and archiving system
• Optional networking and remote viewing

Camera system
There are many types of camera system currently avialable in the market. The type of camera to be installed dependent on the applications which it is intended to monitor. The quality of the cameras varies widely and there is more than just looking at the external casing design and size. Cameras used for outdoor applications needs to be installed in an outdoor weatherproof housing to protect it from the elements of nature. The difference in cost between colour and BW is not material nowadays. Common types of camera installed and their uses are:
Dome cameras - indoor applications and it comes complete with the body and lens encapsuled into a housing with a base.
CCD cameras - both indoor and outdoor applications and an outdoor housing is needed if it is meant to be used outdoor. It does not come with a lens and it has to be purchased separately to suit the end-users requirements. This cameras can cater to an extremely wide range of applications and are most commonly used for specialized outdoor surveillance in industrial and military installations as they are often installed with pan-tilt systems and linked to 'enterprise' class transmission/receiving systems using fibre-optics or twisted pair systems.
PIR cameras - cameras triggered by motion detection.
IR cameras - cameras installed in very low lighting conditions. When the infra-red system is activated, it can only capture images in black and white.
Tube cameras - fixed lens cameras in a tube housing for outdoor use.
Others - cameras used for specialized purposes which is peculiar to certain industry eg. board cameras, mini-cameras and PTZ cameras.

Optional networking and remote viewing
Depending on the specification of the Digital Video Recorder installed, there is an option for the DVR to be networked into the LAN of the end-user system. Images captured can be viewed by various departments involved subject to the control by the network administrator for control and privacy purposes. A 'network enabled' DVR has a digital video server built in and this allows the end-user to view these images via the internet via broadband. Remote viewing over the internet is made possible using the TC/IP system and currently the 2 systems used are:
Remote viewing via fixed IP system - This is the most secured system as the images captured are relayed through the Company's internal IT system via a dedicated IP address rented by the Company from the ISP. No one except the authorised employees can access into the Company's network without authorization from the IT administrator.
Remote viewing via dynamic IP system - This is an alternative system offered by many DVR manufacturers and 3rd party vendors where all the images captured by the end-users' system are routed to their servers.The subscribers can access these servers to view the images captured. There is a software to track the changes in the dynamic IP address allocated by the ISP to the end users and update the changes periodically. It is not as secured as the fixed IP system as the privacy of the images captured is a secured as the manufacturers' system administrator allows them to be. At the end of the day, it is basically a balance between cost and benefit as the dynamic IP system is offered free of charge by the manufacturers.