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Dear Charlie:
I have a problem. We have several Pan/Tilt cameras with zoom
lenses. Because of our location in the community, and because of our need
to be able to monitor our fence line, it is possible for the guards to get
distracted and look into windows of some of the bordering homes. This is
obviously against all of our policies and those individuals that are caught
doing such "peeping" are dismissed. However, I can't be on duty
24/7 and so have to rely good faith that no one is slipping. I know that your first response will be to lock or restrict the
Pan/tilts. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Because of
the wide angle view, we are not able to restrict enough of the images in most
cases. So, my question is this: Is there anything out there that can
help me out? Sign me Exposed and embarrassed in Toledo
Dear Exposed,
The actual name of the feature you are looking for is "Privacy Blocking" or "Privacy Zones" ... according to what school you subscribe to. Either way, the affect is the same. Through the addition of a specific control or through a built in digital effect within a camera, it comes down to the ability to mask or cover a specific area within in an image. Take a quick peek at "Privacy Blocking" tools. Plug it in ... aim the camera at the area that you wish to block or the building that has specific windows that you wish to block out of view and push the program button. Using one of a variety of tools, you can now block out specific targets within the video image (at the immediate point of viewing) or paint out specific sections of an area. The net result is that you will see a building where all the windows appear to be blacked out or blurred beyond recognition. Since you have taken away the temptation to look through the glass ... through the barrier that determines and defines the level of privacy the individual on the other side is expecting and frankly, deserving.
Cool idea, eh. Works good on the fixed cameras ... but what about the unit mounted on a pan/tilt or equipped with a full function motorized zoom lens? All you do is pan, left or right, and the black square over the window stays put while the rest of the window comes into view, eh? Nope ... thanks to digital, the mask that is overlaid onto the image is literally, mathematically attached to the pixel point of assignment. Simply put ... once marked for blocking, each pixel point within that point of the image is tagged. This allows the operator to be able to scan past or over the protected area without removing or altering the protected area in any way. This allows the operator to zoom in or out on the protected area only to see the specific mask grow or shrink according. This allows you, the professionals at the top of the food chain to sleep at night ... knowing that your potential liability has been halved several times.
At the end of the day, the bottom line is simple. Protect yourself and your industry from invasion accusations the hard way ... As you said I would say, the best solution is to relocate and/or remove CCTV cameras from various points within your system ... or ... install a masking or Privacy Protection unit and take advantage of a basic, serious tool of the digital generation of CCTV.
I hope, my exposed friend, that this helps you out a bit. I also hope that it didn't get to you too late to be of any use. If there is anything else that I or my staff can do to assist you in your CCTV needs, feel free to holler at any time. We are in your service.
Sincerely,
Charlie R. Pierce
President
LeapFrog Training & Consulting