H.264 Compression Versus MPEG4 Compression For CCTV Video Storage and Transmission

October 18th, 2009

By Emily Robinson

Today many security managers and business professionals are switching to digital options for their CCTV. While this represents a slightly larger investment, it also largely increases flexibility, quality and efficiency through a variety of different options and functions. One of these options is the ability to select which format to compress videos in.

On your computer you may have downloaded a variety of videos; if you look at each of these by right clicking on them and selecting ‘properties’, you will notice that some of them are different file types. These will vary from .WMV to .MPEG to .AVI and each has different properties. What this refers to is the videos’ ‘compression type’. If you consider the size (in terms of kilobites or megabites) that an image size takes up, you can imagine why it’s important that these images are somehow ‘cut down’ in order to save space when potentially millions of them are strung together to create a video. This happens at the level of the code (the language that the computer or video device reads), but can be visible in the videos’ appearances as washed out colours, lower resolutions, blurry edges or fuzzy motion. The aim here is to find a satisfactory balance between viewing quality and file size – so that you can store as much information onto a hard drive or disk as possible without sacrificing too much detail.

When recording with a DVR (digital video recorder), this works in much the same way and the videos must be compressed when they’re saved. Only in cases of CCTV, compression type is far more crucial as you’re not only dealing with larger quantities of footage (sometimes hours’ and hours’ worth) but also with delicate situations that require the highest possible frame-rates and resolutions if you are to correctly identify problems. For these reasons, when purchasing a DVR it’s highly important that you find out what compression types it supports (sometimes referred to simply as ‘video formats’) and what the different titles represent.

The two main types of compression format for digital CCTV are ‘H.264 format’ and ‘MPEG’ (AKA Motion JPEG, and by which is usually meant MPEG2). The key thing to note here however, is that H.264 format is also known as MPEG4, meaning that it is in fact an updated version of the alternate format. H.264 video compression format therefore drastically reduces both the bandwidth and storage requirements of the files by keeping them small while keeping the image quality high. Usually however this results in a lower ‘bit rate’ for the video which means that fewer ‘bits’ of information are available per second, but the method of encoding ensures that these lost ‘bits’ are unnecessary (high frequencies for example). With an average set up with four cameras at thirty frames per second and a resolution of 320 x 240 (with motion sensors), you can expect MPEG4 compression to provide 80 hours worth of footage at 20-25 gigabites.

However unlike MP2, MP4 has no government enforced standard and as such does not have universal interchange across codecs of various designs. This means that MP2 is more flexible and adaptable as well as having a higher bit rate giving it its own unique advantages. Fortunately however, today most cameras support both formats and even where they do not file conversion is often available.

Learn more about H.264 vs. MPEG4 compression for CCTV camera equipments. You can look at some CCTV options by visiting his site.


How to Transfer Songs From iPod to iTunes

October 18th, 2009

If you own an iPod then I’m sure you have would’ve tried to get songs off it and put them back on your hard drive at some point. And like most people I’m pretty sure your journey would’ve ended after realizing you cannot simply drag and drop songs back into iTunes or the hard drive. Getting songs or videos off the iPod is not as easy as it seems and you do need to have the proper tools to do so. To learn how to transfer songs from iPod to iTunes and get them on your hard drive continue reading below…

You see In order to protect the copyright laws of songs, music and videos and to reduce piracy, Apple has made it extremely difficult to copy or transfer music and videos between different iPod devices and transfer files from iPod to computer. I think they do it to increase their iTunes store revenue, but no matter what the reason is, the fact remains you cannot transfer songs from iPod to iTunes without some help.

The iTunes software isn’t going to do the job for you in this case. So what you will need is specific iPod to computer transfer software. These programs are specially designed to help you get your songs and videos off your iPod and transfer them to computer, iPhone or another iPod.

One particular program I would recommend, and the one I use on a regular basis to transfer songs off my iPod and off my friend’s iPod’s onto my computer is Cucusoft iPod/iPhone/iTouch to Computer Transfer. The software is very easy to use and best of all its free to download so you can start to transfer songs from iPod to iTunes right now.

So for anyone out there who needed to know How to transfer songs from iPod to iTunes then all you need is a good iPod to computer transfer program and you should be good to go. Just transfer the songs back onto your computer using Cucusoft ipod to computer transfer and then simply play them through iTunes and the songs will be in your playlist. That’s it; it’s that simple, check the links below to download free transferring software…

Looking to transfer your Music from your iPod onto Your Computer’s Hard Drive? One Particular program that I have used with great success is the Cucusoft iPod to Computer.

Not only can you transfer files from iPod to Computer but also transfer files between two different iPod devices, best of all they offer a Free Download. Download IT Now to start transferring songs from iPod to computer right now…


How to Repair iPods

October 18th, 2009

By Jenny Jenkins

Sometimes it may be necessary for you to either repair iPod or seek the help of someone else that can repair iPods. These devices are considered to be expensive by many consumers, so if you can actually repair the iPod then you will be able to save some money, not to mention everything that you have stored on your device.

There is not one set of rules that will help you with the problem. You have to first diagnose the problem with your iPod before you can figure out how to repair it. There are troubleshooting manuals located on the Internet that can help you with this first necessary step to repair your iPod.

Once you have diagnosed the problem, you then need to identify which device it is that you have and locate the repair manual for that device on the Internet. Just search the keywords “repair iPod” to help you locate the information you need.

Once you find the manual, you can then try to repair your iPod yourself. Sometimes the problem is very easy to fix, and doing the work yourself can save you a lot of money. You must follow the instructions carefully to ensure that you do not further damage your device. If you are unsure of what you are doing, you should seek the help of someone who does.

There are many people who specialize in repairing iPods. They will be able to fix your electronic device; however, you will have to pay them. The type of damage that is done to your device will determine how much that you will have to pay the repair shop to fix it. In some cases, it may be better for you to just purchase a new iPod. In other cases, it can be repaired for a reasonable price.

A lot of people may want to try to repair their iPod instead of purchasing a new one for many different reasons. Having to upload or download all of your songs again can be a pain. Plus, you have already paid for them. People use their iPods for different things, and they do not want to lose the information that is contained on them. If they knew that there was going to be a problem with their device, they could have hooked it to the computer and saved what they wanted to; however, sometimes you can’t always do this.

How to repair iPods can be learned by doing research on the Internet. There is a wide variety of information available on the Internet that can help. If you can’t find any information pertaining to your specific problem, then finding a professional who specializes in repairing iPods will be in your best interest. Just make sure that if you do try to do the job yourself, that you have the right tools and sufficient understanding of what you are doing. You would hate to do further damage to the device.

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