Guide to Defining Video Quality Requirements
Display
Public safety analysts are dependent on the good-quality display of video display that presents realistic imagery to aid accurate target identification and informed tactical decisions.
Increasingly, public safety responders are using high-quality video displays for:
Medical diagnosis
Firefighting research, training, and tactical command
Law enforcement forensic evidence and tactical command
Equipment: Video Decoder (player)
If a video has been compressed (or encoded), a decoder must be used to view (play) the video. There are many open-source video encoders/decoders, but there are also many proprietary systems. If a proprietary system is used, and a decoder (player) is not provided, the video cannot be viewed. An NVR (network video recorder), a DVR (digital video recorder), or a VCR (video cassette recorder) can perform both display and storage functions. Features:
Type of decoding (playback) supported — as in, H.264 (also known as MPEG-4 (Motion Picture Expert Group) AVC (Advanced Video Coding), MPEG-2 (Motion Picture Expert Group video and audio compression specification part 2), M-JPEG (Motion-JPEG — Joint Photographic Experts Group).
Delay — if video is being used for real-time decisions, the decoding processing can delay the delivery of the video to the decision maker.
Equipment: Monitor
Selecting the proper display equipment is as important to the achievement of specific video application goals as selecting the appropriate camera equipment. Video display monitor might be either CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display). Features:
“Trueness” of the colors displayed
Aspect ratio used
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