FAQ-What is a network camera?

["Jackcsg" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>I've started this FAQ to help others get more familiar with Network/IP
based cameras, their >associated features, recording formats, do's and
don'ts, as well as the limitations on systems >design, and distribution.
Network Cameras are vastly becoming the next generation in video
>surveillance. Feel free to ask, and tag along.

>Jack

A network camera, sometimes called an Internet, IP, LAN, or (misleadingly) a
Web camera, is best described as a camera without the need for a computer.

A network camera contains everything needed for viewing images over a
network, or more commonly known as Ethernet.
It is connected directly to the network as any other network device, and has
built-in software to host a Web server, FTP server, FTP client and E-Mail
client. It may include alarm input and relay outputs, and more advanced
models can be equipped with value-added functions such as motion detection,
an analog video output, and even two-way audio.
If a building or home is equipped with a network, the needed infrastructure
is already in place to add network cameras, and dynamically expand when and
where video can be viewed.
A network camera can be administered and its images viewed using a standard
Web browser or dedicated software on any computer, either locally or across
the Internet, or both simultaneously, and by multiple users at the same
time.
Network cameras equipped with PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) control can be
manipulated using a standard Web browser or dedicated software on any
computer, either locally or across the Internet.
If a network camera is setup to send images to an external web server,
real-time video can be seen by an unlimited number of clients.
Network cameras are recorded to a PC, or other Network storage devices,
through a network cable directly through the NIC (Network Interface Card) of
the associated device.
No video capture cards are used in capturing images, nor may a dedicated PC
be required for remote FTP (File transfer Protocol) of recorded images for
storage purposes.