It seems that every time one researches to find the origins of some wondrous new technology or product, their search takes them straight back to those damn smartypants Nazis of WW2.
Now you can add CCTV or "closed circuit television" to the extensive list of Nazi technological developments.
They developed and used it to monitor the launching of V2 rockets back in 1942.
The First Use of CCTV In fact, the first use that the Nazis had for their new invention was what many businesses use it for today.
That is the monitoring of industrial activities that are too dangerous or uncomfortable for humans.
However; since those early days of CCTV, it has undergone many technological changes that the Nazis can't take credit for.
Numerous Technological Advances in Cameras Of course, the actual cameras now come in all shapes, sizes and configurations as well as night vision and infrared, which means that they can be more easily concealed.
This in turn has allowed them to be more easily integrated into commercial environments where a larger bulky camera would be a distraction.
Digital Verses Video Tape Also, earlier video tape recording technology, though still commonly in use today, is being gradually replaced by digital recording technology.
The reasons are simple.
Digital CCTV recorders and receivers offer the capacity for far more functions.
So what kind of functions are we talking about with digital technology? Digital Technology Offers Many New Functions How about the capacity for far more recording time.
In fact, the day is foreseeable when a digital CCTV receiver will have a virtually endless time capacity.
Another function would be automatic alarm function that would be triggered by a video response.
Another feature the digital technology offers is automatic email or phone call functions.