Recently, I stumbled upon an article with the headline “Cops obtain crisp surveillance photos of three shoplifters“.
At first, I was excited. I thought the footage must be from a megapixel camera, something I rarely see showcased by police or reporters. But after clicking through to the article, I was disappointed to find the images were 635×476 pixels, or VGA resolution. I wondered why the police, and the reporter, were so impressed. Has the standard for video surveillance footage been set so low that well-focused VGA cameras are impressive?
This may come across as a bit morbid, but as I watch the news each day and hear of crimes followed by the classic line “police have released this surveillance video”, I quietly hold my breath hoping to see high-definition, megapixel footage. Alas, it’s always standard definition, grainy, blurry, and sometimes monochrome, video.
I understand it will take many years for this to change, but I try to imagine the day when images like the ones published by NYDailyNews.com are considered poor quality.
To elevate the standards and expectations of surveillance evidence, megapixel technology will need a few showcase stories. It might be sad, but these stories need to be told by law enforcement or local news broadcasters.
Though millions of dollars are spent every year marketing megapixel surveillance cameras, it seems that very little of that marketing reaches the end-user. I (like many others in this industry) find megapixel cameras tend to sell themselves. Not because the end-user is asking for them, but because they are not expecting them. These end-users watch the same news broadcast I do every night, and see the same horrible surveillance footage, leading them to believe there is nothing better on the market.
In the past, I despised television crime dramas for depicting the unrealistic use of surveillance footage, but for however bad television shows are for surveillance, news broadcasts are now at the opposite extreme. I find it painful to watch the daily news reinforce the belief that surveillance cameras are ineffective, while in reality, the opposite is true.
For now, I must accept that standard definition cameras still make up the majority of surveillance cameras currently in use. I do, however, eagerly await the day megapixel surveillance cameras start regularly featuring on news broadcasts.
Not only will the exposure help drive growth in the megapixel market, it will help enlighten end-users of what is really possible.
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