What is the correct way of implementing effective CCTV live monitoring ?

A very interesting design point of a large IP CCTV system is a central command room. generally every NVR or CMS will have at least 2 display outputs:

(1) One Displaying all or a subset of NVR view channels which will respond also to mouse & keyboard events. We can call this the primary display

(2) Another optional display which can display all or a subset of NVR channels but which does not respond to keyboard events. We can call this the secondary display. 

Depending on the NVR you have 2xHDMI, 2xVGA, HDMI+VGA or 2xHDMI/VGA display port combinations. Like two simple graphic cards on a PC, each having the ability of independently displaying what we configure it to display.  Basically one is always targeted to display all or multiple channels (secondary), while the other is used for investigation of specific video channels (live or post mortem).

If you are setting up a decentralized live monitoring architecture with multiple human eyes watching, you can keep a single monitor and do both live monitoring & investigation with one monitor (and one at a time). This is not very good but still practiced for simplicity, cost and this is what most  system integrators are comfortable with. They connect one NVR to exactly one display monitor/TV and a mouse connected to NVR controls it.

The correct implementation leaves one group of monitors (depending on the number of NVRs or CMS)  to always display *all or *key video Channels and the second group of monitor setups (one per operator) for specific expensive, Obviously this is more expensive to build and will make sense only if you have large setup and trained CCTV operator manpower, not the regular security guards who double up as CCTV operator sidekicks. Such trained manpower have basic IT skills, have good physical orientation of the property, know the location of the cameras from the back of their head, and basically have a trained eye to spot anomalies quickly and keep an eye on multiple monitors more effectively than the regular security guard. 

So a computer desk and video-wall is the way to go. The each desk can handle multiple NVRs and CMS (often switching between them with a KVM switch) or powerful computers with client consoles that can watch one or more CMS/NVR feed. This is, however, going to be expensive to install as well as operate. And makes more sense for industries, malls, hotels, hospitals and other commercial organizations. For residential properties its a slight overkill, but still the right way …


- Suman Kumar Luthra @ APRC-P3 Telecom Sub-Committee