Hello all i have question about image quality I have some cameras setup in my alley, and some bad guy parked near one of my cameras. The police noticed the camera and asked if they might be able to view the event. Of course i said yes but we could not make out the plate number of the automobile because of poor image qaulity. I even used stills and zoomed in but the resolution is just not there.
Is this a limitation of the capture card ? PV-183? from blue cherry? specs are below. I am running it at 640X480 even though the specs say 320X240 or is this a camera issue? I guess my question is if i put up a better camera will the zoneminder image get any better or still be crappy. I will get camera specs later today but i am guessing it should be preforming better than the image i am getting.
Part number PV-183
Chipset BT878 based
Video information Video input 8 x BNC
Video output None
Video Resolution 320x240 @ 120FPS (NTSC) / 352x288 (PAL) Recording and display
Compression Software compression
Audio information
Audio input
8 x BNC (Full audio support is unknown and unsupported in Linux)
Audio output
None
Audio sampling rate
8Khz
Interfaces
Sensors (Optional)
PS anyway to attach an image to these posts?
image qaulity
Unfortunately it's the limitation of the the NTSC standard at 640x480 and the field of view of the camera is to wide to be able to get the detail you need to see the plate at that distance. Even if you had a camera were the ccd could decern 600 lines would not help, the field of view is to wide to get enough detail in 640x480 interlaced or not.
I can't pull any usable plate information from these images.
You do how ever have a lot of wasted space on that cam doing you no good.
Move the cam to the left as you don't need to see the side of the building unless you worried about someone using a grappling hook and climbing it and even still you can move the cam a lot to the left.
I'd make the build wall flush to the right side of the cam, then then down some and zoom in to still cover you doors. By zooming in you make available more detail that is right now lost. Just even moving it to the left would help as well since you would have captured the vehicle while it was much closer and you might have had a chance.
Can I post an image here so others can see? I know you mentioned it above but I don't want to assume
I can't pull any usable plate information from these images.
You do how ever have a lot of wasted space on that cam doing you no good.
Move the cam to the left as you don't need to see the side of the building unless you worried about someone using a grappling hook and climbing it and even still you can move the cam a lot to the left.
I'd make the build wall flush to the right side of the cam, then then down some and zoom in to still cover you doors. By zooming in you make available more detail that is right now lost. Just even moving it to the left would help as well since you would have captured the vehicle while it was much closer and you might have had a chance.
Can I post an image here so others can see? I know you mentioned it above but I don't want to assume
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c0mputerking
- Posts: 190
- Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2008 5:22 am
Thanks Cordel
So i guess this is a limitation mostly of the capture card and the 640X480 res? Is there better capture cards out there? as camera res seem alot higher than the card. What about an IP camera with better res? however this camera is new.
I will take your recommendations about placement and zoom, and of course you can post an image. Posting an image or 2 is least i can do as this forum has been very helpfull to me. I will/would like to contribute more in the future when my skill set with zoneminder has improve enough.
So i guess this is a limitation mostly of the capture card and the 640X480 res? Is there better capture cards out there? as camera res seem alot higher than the card. What about an IP camera with better res? however this camera is new.
I will take your recommendations about placement and zoom, and of course you can post an image. Posting an image or 2 is least i can do as this forum has been very helpfull to me. I will/would like to contribute more in the future when my skill set with zoneminder has improve enough.
This is a limit of the analog standard, all of them (NTSC,PAL,SECAM,etc.) analog camera resolution does not translate the same way nor have the same meaning.
When they talk about lines on a cctv cam, they are talking in regards to how many lines on a test chart are visible within a set criteria to the camera sensor, not pixel resolution that the cam displays but what it can see.
This means that is the best resolution you can get from a capture card as it's bound by the standards for NTSC.
IP cams are not bound to the analog standards so yes they are better in that regards and the advertised resolution is usually in regards to pixel resolution.
When they talk about lines on a cctv cam, they are talking in regards to how many lines on a test chart are visible within a set criteria to the camera sensor, not pixel resolution that the cam displays but what it can see.
This means that is the best resolution you can get from a capture card as it's bound by the standards for NTSC.
IP cams are not bound to the analog standards so yes they are better in that regards and the advertised resolution is usually in regards to pixel resolution.
