Remote surveillance and archive system using video cameras

摘要

A system and method for archiving signals from a plurality of video cameras (14) at different sites, includes transmitting the signals (18) to a central station (16) and storing the signals into a data bank (26) with sections allocated for each of a plurality of users or sites. The stored signals are time and date stamped and are also identified by the originating site and camera so that they can be found and retrieved easily based on the time and place of recordal. A user is provided with a unique identifier which is used to retrieve the signals securely. Provisions are made to insure that one user cannot access and retrieve the signals of another user. The video signals are selectively displayed on a screen either before they are stored or after they are retrieved. The monitors (32) for viewing the signals can be positioned either at the sites where the video cameras are located or can be located at a remote site. In addition, a separate PC at the site may be coupled to one of the video cameras and arranged to receive current images either directly or through the central station to allow a user to see current images from the monitors.