By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-04-21 12:46:34 | Word Count: 664
A motion detector hidden camera can be just what the situation calls for when covert monitoring is required. These hidden cameras can be used just about anywhere and provide a remarkably good digital video image. There are a few different types of motion detector hidden cameras and in the following article will take a look at each. Before we look at individual motion detector hidden cameras, let’s quickly review how a digital video security camera system works.
Modern digital video security camera systems are component systems. That means that each major device used in the system doesn’t have to be the same brand, type, or made by the same manufacturer. This alone has great implications for a motion detector hidden camera because it means you can always add this camera to your existing system without any major difficulty.
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A typical digital video security and surveillance system consists of three major components (devices); one or more cameras, a Digital Video Recorder or DVR, and a monitor (which is needed for setup after which its use is optional). Since this article focuses on motion detector hidden cameras, we’ll take a closer look at how the digital video camera works.
The primary function of a digital video camera is to transfer an image created by reflecting light into an electronic signal that can be recreated and displayed on a monitor and/or saved as a digital video file. The same holds true for the motion detector hidden camera.
The camera accomplishes this by using lenses, sensors, and Integrated Circuit (IC) electronic chips. Each camera has a “field of vision”; this is the area that the camera can “see” through its lens. The image the camera sees through the lens is made up of reflected light. The lens gathers the light image and focuses it onto a very small sensor chip ranging from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch square.
There are two such sensor chips available for use; however both yield the same results, transferring light energy into electrical energy. The Charged Coupled Device or CCD and the Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor or CMOS. Both sensors produce a video image in the end, but in the process of getting there, their approach is different.
The CCD and CMOS are fairly comparable these days, but they both still have different slight advantages. Typically, the CCD creates a higher resolution and higher quality image, but it does so at the cost of needing electrical power. The CMOS doesn’t create as detailed an image as the CCD, but it is advantageous to use in standalone motion detector hidden cameras because it uses much less electrical power.
So, for applications that include the use of a motion detector hidden camera, the camera sensor will vary depending on whether the camera operates off of a full-time power supply or batteries. Normally, one is apt to see more CMOS sensors used in standalone battery operated cameras and the CCD used when the camera is part of a digital video security system that has a full time power feed. This is not a hard and fast rule though, because as technology continues to advance CCDs are created that use less power and CMOSs are created that deliver a higher quality digital video image.
How covert can a hidden camera be when it is hidden inside a motion detector, something that is used for an alarm system? The answer is very covert. If you have an existing alarm system chances are you have existing motion detectors mounted for that system or perhaps you have existing motion detectors to control the rooms lighting. At any rate, these devices are very common in business and home applications. No one would suspect that the motion detector would also be a digital video camera. (Incidentally, most motion detector hidden cameras DO NOT have a functioning motion detector. The available room inside the detector is usually consumed by the camera.)
Security Camera King has three different types of motion detector hidden cameras available for purchase; a wired 420 TVL motion detector hidden camera (Product# CV-LXPIR), a wireless black and white (Product# HC-MOTIOD-G) or color (HC-MOTIOD-GC), and a 380 TVL (Product# HC-MOTION-DVR) standalone camera with its own built-in DVR.
If you are considering the purchase of a motion detector hidden camera check out the products mentioned above on our on-line catalog or contact one of our security specialists today.
