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What is CCTV?
Home » Home Security » CCTV » What is CCTV?CCTV (closed circuit television) is the original and basic form of video surveillance. CCTV employs a video camera, or a series of linked cameras, to record images. The images can be viewed via television monitors and/or recorded using a VCR or DVR. Unlike digital video that can be streamed over the Internet, CCTV footage is only viewable within the closed circuit.
If a home or business has several cameras, a monitor can be equipped with a video switcher that enables the observer to choose which camera view to monitor and to switch between camera views. While most CCTV units show the footage on a monitor placed with the camera (e.g. when you see yourself on the television at a department store) or to an offsite monitor, some CCTV units stream the recorded material to a computer or a handheld device. A basic CCTV television monitor is basically a television without the tuning cables that enable it to receive channels.
As common as video surveillance is today, it is surprising that it is such a young industry. Video surveillance did not appear until the 1960s and was not prevalent in the United States until the 1980s. Originally, CCTV was limited to banks and other commercial settings, but it is now part of many home security systems as well.
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