Pan refers to horizontal (side to side) dynamic motion of a camera. Any equipment capable of panning can rotate back and forth along a horizontal axis. Some equipment, indicated as "PTZ," has the ability to pan as well as tilt and zoom.
Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) indicates equipment with the ability to pan, tilt, and zoom, usually by remote user control. Much of PTZ equipment is completely integrated, meaning there is only one controller necessary to operate all three features.
PAL is the standard color video format used in most of Europe, Asia, Israel, and many other places in the world. Black and white CCIR products are also generally referred to as PAL because all PAL equipment can also handle black and white CCIR video. Some camera models are also available in PAL / CCIR video format for foreign clients and special applications.
Peak to Peak (P-P) refers to the measurement of voltage of a signal between the most negative and most positive points. The amplitude difference between the most positive and the most negative excursions of a signal.
PPP, Point-to-Point Protocol for communications between two computers using a serial interface.
PPPoE Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. Presets The pre-positioning of pan, tilt and zoom cameras by the use of potentiometers in the moving parts of the camera head. These allow the control equipment to store and move to a set reference point when the controller dictates or when an alarm exists.
PIR Motion Sensor refers to a motion detector with passive infrared technology. These alarm sensors are often used with alarm/event VCR and DVR video recorders to trigger recording upon the detection of physical movement. However, PIR motion sensors are bulky and expensive. As advanced video motion detection software continues to improve, motion detectors are quickly being replaced with the built-in features of high quality DVR recorders.
Parabolic Dish Antenna - An antenna for wireless equipment in the shape of a round concave dish or grid panel (similar to a home satellite dish). As highly directional antennas, parabolic dishes send or receive a propugated radio signal on the same axis as the corresponding antenna on the other end (with line-of-sight visibility between the two whenever possible). While omni-directional antennas are great for short range broadcasts because of their versatility, high gain directional antennas are recommended for most long range wireless video applications.
Pinhole Camera indicates a video camera with a tiny pinhole lens built-in standard with the camera.
Pinhole Lens is one type of standard lens available for many video cameras. A pinhole lens is only 1/16th of one inch in diameter, so cameras with tiny pinhole lenses can easily be hidden for covert video surveillance applications. Cameras with this type of standard lens are typically referred to as pinhole cameras. Most of the pinhole lens cameras available on Eyespyvideo.com have a 3.7mm focal length to deliver a wide field of view.
Pixel - A camera's CCD image sensor consists of thousands of tiny sensor elements known as pixels. These sensors detect information about light and colors and translate that information into a viewable video image through digital signal processing. Of the total pixels on a CCD imager, some are constantly dormant while others are effpixels and actively work to create an image.
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network. Quad Splitter Combines up to 4 video inputs into one channel and displays them on one monitor screen split into 4.
Power Consumption refers to the amount of electrical current an electrical devices requires for operation, usually measured in amps (A) per hour (often seen in mA milliamps, 1 amp = 1000 milliamps). For example, a miniature video camera which draws 100 mA per hour will consume 1 ampere hour for every ten hours of continuous operation.
Power Input Plug indicates the proper size and proper polarity configuration for a device's input voltage.
Power Output Plug indicates the proper size and proper polarity configuration for a device's output voltage.
Power Zoom indicates the ability to adjust a camera's field of view by remote control. Power zoom may also be described as remote zoom. |
