DIPOL Weekly Review - TV and SAT TV, CCTV, WLAN

Will nanowhiskers replace batteries?

Not only money makes the world go round. Also the electrical cables around it and around us. They transmit electrical energy and (especially in the "last mile" areas) an immense amount of information. They are everywhere - in the ground and above, in walls, but also in a variety of devices. Why couldn't they be used for storing energy? - With this in mind, scientists from the University of Central Florida (UCF) undertook a research that proved to be a success. They have developed technology to create "supercapacitors" on the outside of copper wires, with the use of "nanowhiskers".

This technology is very promising, being one of the many forms of modern "mobile supercapacitors" - flexible containers of energy that could revolutionize the world. Let's imagine that our portable devices do not have conventional, heavy, non-organic cells and the energy can be stored directly in their circuits. Moreover, the miniaturization with the use of nanotechnology will improve the strength and provide new possibilities, such as an integration with clothes.

Video monitoring of a housing development with the use of Ultimode media converters.

In order to improve the safety of residents, a housing association commissioned the local Internet service provider to create CCTV system covering the most vulnerable locations in the residential area.

It has been decided that the system will be operated and maintained by the service provider, but the access to the live and recorded video will also be given to the association management. After analyzing the topography of the development, the provider and management chose the locations of the cameras and cable routes.

The system has been based on Sunell SN-IPR54/14AKDN K1681 cameras. They have been connected to Ultipower N29983 switches that also provide power supply. The video streams from the switches are provided to Ultimax NVRs, one with 16 channels and second with 8 channels, which allows for adding new cameras in the future. The switches have been additionally equipped with Ultimode L1415 SFP modules that transmit the video streams to server room having connections with the provider's monitoring center and the housing association office.

Will any amplifier solve problems with DVB-T reception?

Many users of DVB-T are struggling with unstable reception of some channels. Some groups of channels (located on the same multiplexes) are received correctly, while others are periodically disturbed/interrupted or even impossible to watch at all. The reasons for that can include an insufficient level of the "poor" multiplex, or, especially in the case of transient problems, local interference emitted by different types of electrical equipment, or even by the motors of vehicles passing nearby.

Many users of individual antenna systems think that the application of a high gain indoor amplifier will solve such problems. Nothing could be more wrong. Please note that although the weak signal would be amplified to an acceptable level, the stronger signals could overdrive the input stage of TV tuners and block the reception of the corresponding channels.

On the opposite side, good results are usually provided by the application of a masthead amplifier with a relatively low gain and low noise figure. The housing of such an amplifier as well as the whole cabling should also guarantee high screening efficiency.

The table below groups masthead TERRA amplifiers with exceptionally low noise figures (<1 dB). These amplifiers will be especially useful in antenna installations with the problems described above, ensuring much better results than cheaper products.

Privacy masking in CCTV cameras.

The masking of selected areas is an important function of many video surveillance systems. The function is usually embedded in modern security cameras. The privacy zones mask the views of windows of some buildings, toilets, computer screens etc. If these places/objects were not masked, the staff having access to the monitoring system could unlawfully violate the privacy of the people in the places.

Due to the possibility of irregular shapes, the privacy zones in Sunell cameras M11225 and M10780
can be set very precisely (in the form of trapezoids)

Conventional privacy zones have rectangular shapes. Cameras equipped with Effio-S or Effio-P DSPs can have 20 privacy zones in the shape of trapezoids. Additionally, the operator can select the color and transparency level. A suitable level of transparency will allow for a general observation of the masked area while maintaining the privacy of individuals observed.

Integration of analog and IP CCTV systems.

Due to falling prices of DVRs for analog security cameras, it is rather uneconomical to buy special video servers to integrate the cameras with IP CCTV network. The 4-, 8-, and 16-channel ULTIMAX DVRs can simultaneously record the video (as well as audio) channels and operate as digital video servers (DVS). They can be managed by commercial software or can cooperate with NUUO NVRs with the use of RTSP protocol. The cheapest hybrid video surveillance system can be managed by free VMS software handling a Ultimax DVR as another device in IP network.

ULTIMAX M72304 DVR providing digitized video to NUUO NVR Titan NT-8040(R) K4804

ULTIMAX DVRs can be used as standalone main units of small CCTV systems, or elements of larger systems. With great versatility and flexibility including very specific options, the DVRs are used around the world to protect banks, banking systems (ATMs), telecommunications infrastructure, transport infrastructure, factories, warehouses, public and commercial buildings, various companies.

Which HDMI cable to choose?

An HDMI cable is described by the standard version, length and cable type, including cross section of its wires (AWG). HDMI standard version specifies the parameters of data transmission and other features. HDMI 1.3 cables are now replaced by the version 1.4 enabling 3D video transmission and sharing Internet connection.

An important parameter describing wires of HDMI cables is AWG (American Wire Gauge) - a standardized American system used to provide wire diameters. Long HDMI cables should have wires with lower AWG numbers (thicker).
HDMI cables also differ in the kind of the cable used, round, reinforced with steel braid, or flat, easy to place e.g. under the carpet. DIPOL offers a wide range of HDMI cables supporting HDMI 1.4, from 0.5 to 20 meters.

Mobile video surveillance.. Increasingly, public transport and special-purpose vehicles are equipped with digital video recorders. The DVRs often record not only the route (front and rear views), but also events inside and outside the vehicles. They allow for supervision of the passengers, detection of irregularities during operation, help to determine the guilty party after collisions... more

Engagingly about Antennas - 13th DIPOL's Summer Holiday Contest 2014