ABSTRACT
One of the main benefits of a network video system is flexibility and scalability: the freedom to mix and match the most appropriate components from different vendors and the power to optimize or expand the system to any size. As with everything else, having freedom and power also demands knowledge. To build a truly flexible and scalable system, you need to know what the different components are, how they work, and how they interact. It is essential that you can select the right camera, install and protect it properly, configure it to match the scene complexities, and get it to stream live or record video at the right time, in the right format, and with the right quality. At the same time, the appropriate network and storage solutions depend greatly on the selected cameras, the camera settings (such as resolution, compression, and frame rate), and the number of cameras. The budget might demand compromises. For example, as we already discussed, complex scenes demand more bandwidth, so you may have to choose between spending more on storage, reducing the frame rate, lowering the resolution, or increasing the compression.
