what do the parameters of video conference cameras mean?

Video conference allows people worldwide to have a meeting without long travel and high expense.

Definitely, a good video conference cameras can make you a good video conference system, bring you great meeting experience. But how to choose a good video conference camera? Here we will introduce the main parameters of the video conference cameras for you. To understand the main parameters of the video conference cameras can offer a good reference when choosing your video conference solutions.

There are image sensor, effective pixels, lens, horizontal view angle, signal system, resolution, minimum illumination, image effect, signal to noise ratio, preset position, output, and control protocol. Let check one by one.

Image sensor: the most used image sensors are CCD and CMOS, it is the most important part of video conference cameras as well as other cameras, without image sensor, the cameras will not able to capture the image. Normally, there are 1/2.8”, 1/1.8”, 1/2.5”, 1/3”, 1/4” image sensors, the bigger, the better. The brand image sensors are SONY, PANASONIC, SHARP, A1(L.G.), SONY is of the highest quality, but note: I AM NOT MEAN THAT THE CAMERAS ARE GOOD IF IT USE THE SONY IMAGE SENSOR, it actually depends on how good is the manufacturer.

Effective pixels: it is the real pixels that involved in image producing, the bigger, the better

Lens: it is a must part of cameras, the quality of lens affect the quality of the image. Here we need to consider the optical zoom of the lens based on your demands. The bigger of the optical zoom, the longer image you can capture.

Horizontal view angle: The bigger of the angle, the wider you can see, but it will be the close shot; The smaller of the angle, the more narrow you can see, but it will be the long shot.

Signal system: there are two main signal systems in the world, NTSC (National Television System Committee) and PAL (Phase Alternating Line), it is television broadcasting system, PAL is mainly used in Europe, China, Middle East, and Hong Kong, NTSC is mainly used in Japan, America, Mexico, Canada and so on, To use what kind of system depends on where you are and what your device support.

Resolution: normally we can see 1080P, 720p, 480p, these all refer to resolution, High definition means the resolution is more than 720p, or it is standard definition. The higher of the resolution, the more clear of the image.

Minimum illumination: illuminance is a way to measure the sensitivity of the cameras, it measures what the darkest condition is that the camera can capture images, use LUX as the measurement. The lower of the Lux, the darker that the cameras can work.

Image effect: it means what kind of image effect that the camera can support, normal options are color, Black and white, Electronic flip.

Signal to Noise ratio(S/N): Signal voltage and noise voltage ratio, noise includes power clutter, random clutter, single-frequency clutter and so on. The standard is 45-55 dB, for video conference cameras, if S/N is about 50db, it is good.

Preset Position: Preset position is very important in the meeting that gets the “big guy” involved or for the big conference or live show, it can allow you set up the position you want the camera to direct in advance.

Output: Normal output has HDMI, SDI, USB, VGA and VIDEO, it depends on your demand and the output interface of your current device.

Control Protocol: For video conference telecommunication, the control protocols are VISCA and PELCO P/D, they are standard protocol in this industry. And we often use RS232 control cable under VISCA, you only use series connection if want to use more than one cameras under VISCA, and the most you can connect is 7pcs cameras. But under PELCO P/D, you must use the parallel connection, there are no limits on the number of cameras you can connect, we use RS-422 OR RS485 cable, this cable can transfer information for thousand meters, but RS-232 cable only can transfer within 15 meters.

I believe you can choose the most suitable video conference cameras for your business now. If you have any further questions or find any errors, please feel free to contact, I`d always like to discuss and learn together.