Closed circuit television, better known as CCTV, is technology designed for visual surveillance. Its purpose is to monitor activities in a number of environments. It works by way of a dedicated communication link between a monitor and cameras (also known as a fixed link.)
Up until a decade ago CCTV didn’t get much notice. Now it’s use has grown exponentially. The UK stands out as an all-time high user of CCTV, finding the monitoring systems useful for public facilities, residential subdivisions, and parking lots. The budget for its annual use runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Many thousands of CCTV cameras, commissioned by public safety organizations, and neighborhood watch or homeowners associations, help reduce safety issues in areas such as buses and terminals, taxis and stands, trains and train stations, phone booths, vending machines and ATM locations. The cities and towns themselves are protecting their major thoroughfares and business districts with CCTV equipment that includes camera capacity for zooming, full tilting, panning and even infrared for night viewing. Hospitals are starting to use closed circuit television products to...