How to Make the Most of Megapixel Imaging

Learn key insights and tips about megapixel imaging and optimizing its deployment.

Megapixel (MP) technology has essentially changed the face of video surveillance by providing images that are larger, clearer, and better suited for analytic applications. Those who have experienced the difference between MP and standard definition (SD) are sure to appreciate the above statement more than those who have used SD (analog) cameras all of their professional lives. But this is a new day, a new age, and digital is at the forefront of virtually every advance made in science and technology. Why should video surveillance be any different?

For one thing, digital signaling is far more forgiving then analog where it comes to induced electromagnetic interference, which can occur where wires from a variety of services run parallel for some distance. Digital signals also can be compressed into a relatively small package and sent along a metallic or fiber cable, or a wireless connection for a virtually unlimited distance using network technology. And then there’s the issue of the solid-state imaging chips that create MP-quality versus SD images. There really is no comparison when you look at the images they produce side by side.

In order to put megapixel cameras to good use, it’s important to have a basic knowledge of analog/SD and how MP technology differs. For those who have installed only analog cameras, unless we examine these fundamental differences, making the analog-to-digital jump can be somewhat intimidating.