Closed Circuit Television: What CCTV is and What it Implies for the Future

Closed circuit television, or CCTV, was initially developed for security in banks and has quickly filtered into every corner of the security industry. CCTV uses one or multiple cameras for surveillance purposes. Everywhere you've ever seen a security camera, you can thank closed circuit television. Some examples of places that currently use closed circuit television technology are: schools, businesses, homes, corporations, offices, and organizations.

In the beginning, closed circuit television existed solely as a few rough, low-definition cameras that recorded only in white and black. Because of their effectiveness, they soon spread to become and integral part of any security system. They have metamorphosed into small, svelte, highly-advanced cameras ideal for every imaginable security use. Today they even have such capacities as infrared technology and the ability to zoom, pan, and tilt.

Producing high-quality, razor sharp images in full color and possessed of motion sensors that track movement across an area, the cameras used in CCTV technology are still going strong. They can accurately identify someone in a crowd and lock on, tracking their movements. The possibilities are endless for closed circuit television, especially as the technology continues to develop.

Closed circuit cameras also make excellent traffic monitors. Remember those annoying cameras that take close-ups of you and your license plate if you cross a red light or speed? Welcome to the world of closed circuit television and its bosom buddy, infrared technology. Numerous cities in the US have installed these closed circuit cameras, remember: if you run a red light, you may wind up with a ticket, complete with a picture of your car, its license, its clocked speed, and exact moment you ran the red light.

Closed circuit cameras are available in various sizes and shapes, they can be installed indoors or outdoors, and can fit anywhere from your handbag to your home. They record all events in real-time with accurate data, so if something did happen, you'd have a better chance of identifying the culprit.

Hospitals, banks, universities, colleges, high schools, middle schools, grade schools, laboratories-the list of useful locations for closed circuit television could go on and on. Because closed circuit cameras can be used in many other different areas of the public and private sector, emerging technologies will make speedier, smarter cameras, complete with the ability to identify an individual in a crowd, on command,based on facial recognition and body movement.