CCTV System

CCTV or Closed Circuit Television refers to a visible or covert video system intended for only a limited number of viewers. In Closed Circuit TV (CCTV), the picture is viewed or recorded, but not broadcast. It was initially developed as a means of security for banks and casinos; however, today it has been developed to the point where it is simple and inexpensive enough to be used with Home Security Systems, and for everyday surveillance.

More specifically, CCTV is a television transmission system in which live or prerecorded signals are sent over a closed loop to a finite and predetermined group of receivers, usually as scrambled radio waves that are unscrambled at the point of reception. CCTV takes numerous forms and performs a wide range of functions ranging from image enhancement for the partially sighted to the transmission of pay-per-view broadcasts. Although cable television is technically a form of Closed Circuit TV, the term is generally used to describe systems with more specialized applications than a standard broadcast or cable television. Such specialized systems are not subject to regulation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); however, Security Cameras using scrambled radio waves are in fact subject to common carrier tariffs and FCC conditions of service.