Megapixel on Display
Megapixel images are not always in the right aspect ratios, making them tricky to display. “We've come across applications with people deploying 10-megapixel cameras but don't have the monitor or workstation with the capability to display 10-megapixel images, which defeats the purpose,” Moody said. “If you don't have the right monitor or right workstation for a 10-megapixel camera, you get motion ghosting.”
Correctly displaying megapixel video depends on the software used. Some VMS allows users to set the aspect ratio by camera type. “The display connects directly to the PC running the VMS and is therefore media-independent,” said Karen McCarrison, PM at IndigoVision. “Cabling is determined by the PC graphics card and monitor interfaces. When viewing HD video (16:9) on a 4:3 format display, the aspect ratio of the video is maintained via the software. The same is true when viewing standard definition (SD, 4:3) on a wide aspect ratio monitor.”
Video walls are more challenging for large projects, due to the greater number of camera inputs. “Sometimes, megapixel cameras don't show up in the settings or show up in a weird aspect ratio,” Lim said. “Because different video walls have different sizes, video wall makers do not usually work extensively with security systems.”
While analog cameras just needed to be plugged in to display, pushing network megapixel video to the screen is more complex. “A project we worked on before had the video wall trying to pull megapixel video, but it came out distorted and did not display,” Lim said “IP streams are easier to pull in, but configuring software is not so easy. The video wall may not have the decoder for that stream.”
Security VMS packages will need to support the various resolutions available for megapixel cameras and display appropriately. It may maintain the aspect ratio based on the camera signal or display black bars where necessary, McCarrison said. Another option is to stretch or squeeze the image in the VMS, which loses the image's aspect ratio.
Integration There are many features on megapixel cameras, but few actually work with security management systems on converged platforms. “It's quite misleading with alarm I/Os or audio; you think you can connect to speakers or integrate perimeter intrusion detection systems with the camera I/O, but integrating with the VMS is a challenge,” Moody said. Not all features of the camera are supported, particularly in third-party camera applications.