A helpful standard in project business
The IEC 62676 series of standards aims to provide the video industry with practical and helpful standards and recommendations. Part 5 of the standards series is still rather unknown, but extremely important. It creates transparency, which is very helpful in the project business.
The European standard series DIN EN 50132 "Alarm systems - CCTV surveillance systems for security applications" has been replaced step by step in recent years by the international standard series IEC 62767. With the publication of the series of standards, the security industry has agreed on a single global standard for video surveillance systems.
Increasingly important - DIN EN IEC 62676-5
So far rather unknown, but very important besides DIN EN 62676-4, is DIN EN IEC 62676-5. This standard has the full name: "DIN EN IEC 62676-5:2019-05; VDE 0830-71-5:2019-05 Video surveillance systems for security applications - Part 5: Performance description and image quality characteristics for cameras (IEC 62676-5:2018); German version EN IEC 62676-5:2018". This part of the 62676 series of standards specifies recommendations and requirements for the presentation and measurement methods of performance values for description in manuals, brochures and specifications of video surveillance cameras. For this purpose, the standard is divided into four sections:
The first section contains the general usual fields of application, normative references and definitions.
The second section contains requirements for describing the specification features of video surveillance cameras. Here, the different components and connections of each video surveillance camera are explicitly listed and described very well for the reader. The components are divided as follows:
- Camera (image sensor, dynamic range, white balance, resolution, etc.)
- Lens (focal length, field of view, image distortion)
In the age of IP connections, network connectivity and the associated network security requirements are also listed here.
After the second section, the reader already has a good overview of the structure of a camera and the different functions of the individual assemblies and connections.
In the third section, the requirements for the measurement methods of the previously described specification features of video surveillance cameras are explained. Here, we now go into detail. Specifically, the respective test setups and measurement procedures are explained in order to be able to test each of these features. To this end, the respective recording conditions, measurement environment, test images and the software required for the measurements are discussed in detail.
Once the respective test setup is in place and all conditions are set up in compliance with the standards, the execution of the individual measurements is explained. The following measurement procedures are listed:
- Resolution
- Minimum lighting
- Dynamic range
- Visible dynamic range (VDR)
- Working viewing distance with infrared illumination
- Image distortion
- Image overexposure
- Frame capture rate
The fourth part consists of numerous informative appendices. There, all measurement procedures are explained again in a very detailed technical manner. In addition, there are also many test images and the instructions required for measurements.
Not only for theorists
After the content has been roughly outlined, one could quickly be of the opinion that this standard is rather something for theorists only and represents a basis for testing laboratories. To anticipate: This is only the case at first glance.
If you look at the 62676 series of standards as a whole and question its actual meaning and purpose, it quickly becomes clear that the 62676-5 standard is very helpful in practice. It also reflects the state of the art, which is very helpful for everyday project business.
What is the purpose of the IEC 62676 series of standards? The series of standards aims to provide the industry with practical and helpful standards and recommendations that reflect the state of the art. The purpose of the series of standards is to support the reader in planning, tendering, acceptance and recurring maintenance / servicing as well as in technical questions and measurements of a video surveillance system.
Planning a video surveillance system basically means nothing more than mounting suitable cameras in the right place and having suitable images available at the right time in the right place so that the user can take the appropriate measures.
Meaningful data sheets - a pious wish
But how can you find the right camera in the project business? The selection on the market is very large. New models are added every year. If you don't just want to believe the manufacturer's claims and the video clips on the Internet, it's advisable to compare the technical details in the respective data sheets.
Unfortunately, these technical specifications are often only theoretical values that usually do not have much in common with the image qualities in practice (see article Camera test).
In addition, the respective marketing departments are always heavily involved in the data sheets. Furthermore, it quickly becomes apparent that the camera models are no longer really different on the data sheets.
Therefore, our tip is always to test the cameras under real conditions before making a selection. However, since this is always very resource-intensive and, above all, takes time, a meaningful data sheet in conjunction with DIN EN IEC 62676-5 would be very helpful.
Meaningful data sheet entries would be as follows:
- Wide dynamic range: 85 dB (measured according to IEC 62676-5)
- Light sensitivity: 1.2 lux (measured according to IEC 62676-5)
The standard shows the video industry the problems it still has to contend with today. For example, the values printed in the data sheets are not meaningful, i.e. they are of little use in selecting the right camera.
Because:
- The methods used to determine them are not listed;
- Image quality parameters are missing;
- Data sheets contain nonsensical data such as 0 lux for light sensitivity;
- Information is missing for parameters;
- Measurement methods do not exist or are not standardized.
This was checked again by Image Engineering GmbH from Kerpen in cooperation with VZM GmbH. The values on the data sheets do not match the real values of the tested cameras (cf. also "Video Security Special 2020" of the trade journal SicherheitsForum). A meaningful comparison can therefore not take place.
Conclusion
In order to simplify the selection of the many video cameras in the future, manufacturers must now react. With the new standard, the basis has been created to make quality measurable!
The values measured according to this standard would then be based on a recognized and standardized procedure. This creates transparency and ultimately helps to decide on a suitable camera model. For the project business, this would be very useful.
For the "good" camera manufacturers, this is also an opportunity to stand out from cheap camera systems. Through the implementation of the standardized measurement procedures and the resulting adapted data sheets, quality will ultimately prevail with the consumer.
The industry can be curious to see how the manufacturers react to this standard. It is to be hoped that this will be to the benefit of planners, installers and users!
About the author
Fabian Hecker, Security Engineer (B.Sc.), Security Consultant / Security Engineer, Von zur Mühlen'sche GmbH
