Serious Remote Surveillance

Rainer Mauth

The NetCamPlus ISDN camera from Video Communication Systems operates like an answering machine: Once you dial it up from your PC, this small (61 by 61 by 165 mm) digital camera starts transmitting live video and audio streams from remote sites to your PC. It lets you remotely monitor all kinds of objects at videoconferencing quality (25 frames per second at a resolution of 704 by 576 pixels).

The nice thing about NetCamPlus is that it offers not only high-quality video but also intelligent scene-analysis, motion-tracking, and alarm-triggering features. With its ViewStation decoding software, you can separate an image into as many as 232 sensitive areas and precisely set as active onl y those fields that interest you. If changes in one or several fields occur, the camera triggers an alarm and automatically notifies the supervisor.

Adjusting sensitive areas is a bit tricky and involves some trial and error until you set the sensitivity of the active areas appropriately. The trick is to adjust the thresholds so that accidental events don't cause any false alarms.

At DM 5900, NetCamPlus isn't cheap. Why not just use a less expensive digital camera that transmits images over the Web and save money on long-distance phone costs? Such cameras are too slow. They transmit at only 1 to 2 fps, an unacceptable rate for serious remote surveillance.

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Where to Find

NetCamPlus....................................DM 5900

Video Communication Systems GmbH
Nuremberg, Germany
Phone:    +49 911 934560
Fax:      +49 911 9345666
Internet: 
http://www.videocom.de

Circle 987 on Inquiry Card.

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NetCamPlus ISDN Camera

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