Covert Video Surveillance

Covert video systems are wonderful for law enforcement agencies, monitoring employees, monitoring customer service, watching over your home and much more. Covert surveillance systems are one of the best ways to catch criminals at times when they believe their actions are going unnoticed and/or when no one is around. Almost anything can be converted into a covert camera – lamps, books, clocks, framed artwork, clothing; these systems have become so advanced that looking at these covert camera containing items you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart from the same items that did not contain camera systems.



Law enforcement agencies were among the first to adopt covert systems. Covert video can provide clear evidence for use in many different kinds of trials; many times the cases will not even go to trial once the video evidence has been viewed. These kinds of systems are ideal for drug or illegal firearms sting operations, interrogations of criminals in custody, they are also becoming a staple of every patrol car on the road for a variety of uses.

Employee theft is also becoming a more serious problem. Employers can use covert surveillance systems to make sure that people aren’t leaving the premises with company property or stealing money from the registers or safes. These systems are also great for making sure employees are showing up to work on time or making sure they aren’t goofing off during times they should be working. Employers can also use covert systems to monitor how their employees treat customers. Sometimes loss of revenue isn’t just the employee stealing, but rather a loss of an actual sale from employees treating customers poorly.

Covert surveillance systems are also a great idea for homeowners worried about burglars. Systems can be set up to transmit to a monitor for simple viewing or a digital video recorder where the video can be recorded and stored. People can check in on their home surveillance systems while they are out on vacation using a computer with internet access and even on their cell phones. These kinds of systems can also be used to monitor the neighborhood directly surrounding one’s home; for example maybe you suspect the neighbors next door of illegal activity or someone in the neighborhood has been repeatedly vandalizing your home or the home of a neighbor. With a covert outdoor system, maybe hidden in a birdhouse or in a tree, these kinds of questions can be easily answered and those responsible can be brought to justice.

Another good in-home use for covert surveillance is to monitor people that may not be entirely trustworthy. By that I am referring to things like the “nanny-cams” to watch over the caretakers of your children. Maybe there are kids in the house that are old enough to be left alone after school in the home but the parents still want to keep an eye on them. There could possibly be some suspected domestic abuse with other people living in the home or a roommate that is suspected of doing something they shouldn’t be.

WTI has been creating covert systems since the company was founded… however, to get more information on these kinds of systems you will need to speak with one of our “Solutions Specialists” as all covert systems are custom made to exact specifications for each customer. There are many ways to contact WTI: http://www.gotowti.com/ContactWTI.htm or call toll free 866/gotowti (468.6984).

With so many uses, it’s no wonder that more and more covert surveillance systems are being installed everywhere.

~The WTI Team



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WTI (Wireless Technology, Inc.)

Video Surveillance Products Dedicated to the Broadcast, Global Security and Transportation Markets!

http://www.gotowti.com/ ● http://www.wirelesstech.com/

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Pierce Manufacturing + WTI’s Sidewinder camera = great partners!

Pierce Manufacturing is one of the world’s largest fire truck, mobile command vehicle and military truck manufacturer; they have been building fire and military vehicles since 1913 in Appleton, Wisconsin. They are always on the cutting edge of technology and an innovator in the industry, building each of their trucks from the ground up. They manufacture everything from the chasse to body of the vehicles and they install the pumps, sirens, lights and paint the vehicle so they are fully ready for service once they are delivered to the end user.



Pierce has installed many of WTI’s Sidewinder cameras on the fire truck and command post vehicles that they build. The Sidewinder is a color day/night, pan/tilt/zoom camera with 360° rotation on both pan and tilt axes. There are 3 different versions of the Sidewinder camera currently available: Standard Definition, High-Definition and the newest member of the Sidewinder family, Thermal Imaging.



WTI’s Sidewinder cameras have played a big part in the fire and command post vehicle industry. With the 35X optical zoom, the standard definition Sidewinder camera can zoom in on hot spots and/or monitor large events for injuries or other medical incidents. The thermal imaging Sidewinder can see through fog, dusk and smoke so they can find hot spots and injured victims in a burning building. The high-definition Sidewinder provides crisp, clear, detailed video to monitor large events.



Pierce recently installed both a Standard Definition and a Thermal Image Sidewinder on a command post vehicle for the Amir of Qatar. This command post is equipped with the very latest in high tech surveillance and communications; it will be in attendance at every major event in the area to insure high levels of security and safety for all people.

Pierce has recently installed a Sidewinder on a brand new Frisco Texas Fire Truck. The Frisco Fire Department was so impressed with the Sidewinder’s performance that they are installing a High-Definition and a Thermal Image Sidewinder on their new command post vehicle that will be featured at this year’s FRI (Fire-Rescue International) show held in Dallas Texas on August 28th and 29th.

Pierce is always thinking ahead for the improvement of the fire fighting industry. They are currently working on a solution to transmit video wirelessly from the top of an aerial truck ladder to the firemen on the ground for enhanced views of the emergency scene to allow faster maneuvering to put fires out and save lives. More to come on that!

~Lester Miyasaki, National Sales Manager



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WTI (Wireless Technology, Inc.)

Video Surveillance Products Dedicated to the Broadcast, Global Security and Transportation Markets!

www.gotowti.com ● www.wirelesstech.com

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Megapixels and CCTV

The word pixel is derived from ‘pix’ (picture) and ‘el’ (element) and is the smallest item of information within an image. Digital images are made up of thousands of these tiny, tile-like picture elements that each records a specific intensity of a single primary color of light (red, green or blue). The more pixels the image has, the higher the image resolution will be. A megapixel (one million pixels) is the term used to describe a large number of pixels in an image, or the number of image sensor elements in a digital camera or the number of display elements in a digital display.

High Definition (HD) is a type of megapixel camera; it’s just that HD is one specific type of megapixel camera in the megapixel family. For example, HD is limited to a maximum resolution of 2.1 megapixels; it has a slower frame rate and an aspect ratio of 16:9. HD is wonderful for certain applications and other types of megapixel cameras offer many more formats, aspect ratios and pixel numbers for other applications.

More and more security professionals are seeing the true value of integrating these high-resolution megapixel surveillance cameras into the existing systems monitoring their facilities. With higher resolution, the camera images are clean and clear which eliminates the need for overlapping camera coverage of areas, reducing the number of cameras needed to cover a single area and generally providing a better overall situational awareness. Combining megapixel cameras with other specialized cameras (such as thermal image, IR or P/T/Z) creates a system that is very effective, reliable, and cost-efficient.

These cameras are definitely a must in applications where details are critical for identification purposes; banks, airports, government facilities and other high-security areas, and also retail locations requiring point-of-sale monitoring are all good examples. With the high resolution and greater image detail, the security personnel can zoom in on specific portions of the recorded, or live, scene to identify objects, individuals or license plate numbers. Megapixel surveillance cameras can cover a wider area with exceptional detail; these cameras can provide detailed information that would be impossible to make out with a standard analog CCTV camera.

If you are concerned with megapixel cameras eating up your DVR/NVR hard drive space – worry not! Megapixel surveillance cameras only take up a little more hard drive space on your NVR/DVR that a standard security camera would.

Transmitting megapixel images via IP also requires a little more bandwidth than a standard analog CCTV camera; however you can minimize this increase by using the 16:9 aspect ratio (unavailable from analog cameras) which eliminates the upper and lower portion of the scene, parts that usually contain unimportant details, thus lowering the amount of bandwidth and storage space taken up by useless data.

Megapixel network cameras have a very important role to play in video surveillance applications, although they are more suited for one location over another, these cameras are easily integrated into existing installations, easily added to new proposals for installations, they are easy to use, they are cost-effective and they provide superior image quality when crystal-clear images are an absolute must.


~The WTI Team



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WTI (Wireless Technology, Inc.)

Video Surveillance Products Dedicated to the Broadcast, Global Security and Transportation Markets!

www.gotowti.com ● www.wirelesstech.com

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Thermal Imaging : Nowhere to Hide!

All over the world thermal image technology is being utilized in conjunction with traditional CCTV surveillance systems to keep watch over vulnerable areas after dark.

What makes thermal image cameras so unique?
At night there is not a lot of visible light nor enough contrast for a camera to work with so most surveillance camera images will be too dark to make anything out. However, thermal image cameras can give crystal clear video in pitch-black darkness from miles away.



A thermal image camera sees the infrared radiation emitted by an object, allowing it to detect minute changes in heat, without needing any ambient light. Everything emits thermal energy – even things that are very cold; in good or bad weather, day and night. A thermal camera can detect heat energy through smoke, dust, fog, and some sparse plants.

What is the difference between infrared and thermal?
Infrared cameras are sensitive to infrared (IR) radiation in the 250° C to 500° C range, while the range of thermal cameras is generally about -50° C to over 2,000° C. So, for an IR camera to be able to see something it must be over 250° C or it must be reflecting infrared radiation from something that is at least that hot. Night vision infrared devices image in the near-infrared, just beyond the visual spectrum, and can see emitted or reflected near-infrared in complete visual darkness.

Thermal image cameras are becoming a standard for the security industry when paired with traditional surveillance systems to give security professionals a more accurate picture of what is happening. Thermal image cameras can see things that the other cameras cannot – that the human eye cannot; things like a recently parked vehicle or an object having been moved. Their temperatures will be different or have changed which is easily detected with the TI camera.

The thermal image camera is used to detect the presence or absence of certain things – whether it is people coming into a restricted area, an object being left somewhere is shouldn’t, or something having been moved or removed from the scene that should be there. For example, in a security capacity, these type of cameras are not made to identify someone’s face and features but to notify someone that there is an intruder on the premises so they can act quickly and efficiently to apprehend the criminal.



You can’t hide your heat!

Other uses for thermal image cameras are quite varied and rather remarkable – from security, to firefighting, to medical and veterinary uses, to building maintenance, to harbor and boat safety and even as a driving aid in personal motor vehicles. With the use of a thermal camera a building inspector can actually see stress fractures that would have gone unnoticed with the human eye. Same with inspecting wiring – a wire may look like it was made correctly but under a thermal camera’s eye the wires may be rubbing together and getting ready to fail. Seeing the heat generated from the friction in both of these cases would eliminate costly and potentially hazardous problems.

Watch for the upcoming Thermal Image Sidewinder camera, the latest in the revolutionary P/T/Z Sidewinder line of cameras from WTI, which will be available soon. For more information on the Sidewinder series please visit http://www.gotowti.com/Products_Sidewinder.htm.

~The WTI Team



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WTI (Wireless Technology, Inc.)

Video Surveillance Products Dedicated to the Broadcast, Global Security and Transportation Markets!

www.gotowti.com ● www.wirelesstech.com

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