NVRs with Automatic License Plate Recognition Software
All of our
Viewtron IP camera NVRs have built-in ALPR (automatic license plate recognition software). Although these recorders are made for IP cameras, some people still refer to them as DVRs (digital video recorders) instead of NVRs (network video recorders). They are available in 8 channel, 16 channel, and 32 channel models. CCTV Camera Pros can provide a custom license plate recognition system quote for you based on any of these recorders and any number / combination of Viewtron IP cameras. We provide free email and phone consultations to make sure that our system meets your requirements. You can also email us here if you have any questions.
Security Camera Mobile App
Here is a video demo video using the
Viewtron security camera app for iPhone. The mobile app for Android is identical. In this video, the mobile app connects to the Viewtron IP camera NVR at CCTV Camera Pros office. The CCTV Camera Pros' NVR is connected to 6
Viewtron IP cameras, including 4K AI security cameras and an LPR / ANPR camera (license plate recognition / automatic number plate recognition). You can watch additional video demos of the Viewtron security camera app here.
There is a lot of overlapping terminology and synonyms when it comes to ALPR technology. Here are some useful definitions for your reference.
LPR Camera - license plate reader cameras, or license plate recognition cameras, are specialized high shutter speed, high contrast, black & white cameras designed ONLY to capture text characters of license plates on stationary or high speed moving vehicles. LPR cameras enable clear video recording of numbers and letters on plates, but DO NOT on their own provide character recognition. They can be used in conjunction with DVRs and NVRs with ALPR / ANPR software to automatically identify the text on plates. The use of a recorder with ALPR capability is optional. These are also sometimes referred to as license plate capture (LPC) cameras.
LPC Camera - license plate capture camera is another term used to describe specialty security cameras designed to record vehicle license plates.
ALPR Software - automatic license plate recognition software uses optical character recognition to convert license plate images to text for video overlay and logging plate numbers to a database. ALPR software is embedded into our Viewtron LPR camera and fully integrated with all Viewtron IP camera NVRs. ANPR software can also be used in access control applications such as gated entry systems.
ANPR Software - automatic number plate recognition software is another term for ALPR. ALPR and ANPR are the same thing.
DVR - digital video recorder. A recorder is used in conjunction with an LPR camera in license plate capture systems. ALPR software is optional to use. If you only need to record video of plates clearly without character recognition logging to a database, you DO NOT need ALPR software running on your DVR. Here is an example of a license plate capture system without ALPR software. DVRs typically use coax cable and BNC connectors to receive video from security cameras.
NVR - network video recorder. An NVR is basically the same thing as a DVR except that network IP cameras are used and video is transmitted over an IP network to the NVR using CAT5 cable. CCTV Camera Pros highly recommends this NVR with ALPR software. 8 channel, 16 channel, 32 channel, and 64 channel NVRs available.
Overview Camera - LPR cameras are typically paired with one or more overview cameras in ALPR systems. Being that LPR cameras are normally always black and white, and they are narrowly focused on the license plate area of recording, overview cameras help identify vehicle color, make, and model. CCTV Camera Pros highly recommends our Viewtron AI security cameras to be used as LPR overview cameras.
Why do I need to use additional cameras for overview?
Overview cameras are optional but highly recommended to use with LPR cameras. LPR cameras are typically mounted low to the ground and must be narrowly focused on a single lane of traffic. Most customers want to capture an overview of vehicles in addition to license plates.
What is the difference between LPR vs LPC?
LPR stands for license plate recognition. LPC stands for license plate capture. These terms are used interchangeably by many people in the industry. However, some use the term LPC when referring to a security camera and DVR system that is capable of recording license plates clear enough for a human to read when reviewing recorded video. Some use the term LPR when referring to security cameras and software that automatically can recognize the letters and numbers on plates and map them to text characters.
Why are LPR cameras typically installed so low?
In order to have the best chance of recording clear video of a plate, the downward angle of view should not be greater than 30 degrees. The more level that the angle can be to the plate, the better.
Does CCTV Camera Pros sell wireless LPR cameras?
Yes. We have add-on wireless security camera systems that can be used with our license plate capture systems. Transmitting video over WIFI is actually pretty common on LPR systems because many installations are done at gates and guardhouses that do not have IP connectivity back to a main building. CCTV Camera Pros can design a wireless LPR camera solution using these
wireless camera systems. You can learn in detail about a wireless surveillance system that CCTV Camera Pros designed for our warehouse here.
Free Design Consultation
Do you have additional questions? Want to speak with a system designer?
CCTV Camera Pros provides expert security camera system design and consulting services for residential, commercial, and government installation. Our knowledge and willingness to share sets us apart from our competition. We are not the typical online video surveillance supplier that merely sells equipment on a website using as much automation as possible. We are a hands on company run by hard working Americans.
We have a dedicated team of system engineers that help our customers and installation partners properly plan and design reliable security camera systems based on customer requirements. We help customers with small, medium and very large system. You may
contact us here to schedule a free consultation.
Watch this video to see the Viewtron IP-LPR7 LPR camera used with (2)
Viewtron AI security cameras to provide a complete LPR / ANPR camera system. Check out this video to see the different ways to search & playback recorded LPR video footage.
License Plate Reader Camera + AI Vehicle Detection
Watch this video to see how CCTV Camera Pros used our the license plate reader camera in conjunction with one of our Viewtron AI cameras to detect when people are illegally dumping in our garbage dumpster. The AI camera is setup to detect people and vehicles around the dumper after hours and trigger a bookmarked event on the NVR. The LPR-IP7 license plate reader captures tags.
Here is a picture of our ALPR camera system setup on the pole behind our warehouse. The camera mounted down low on the pole is the LPR / APLR camera. And, the two cameras installed up high on the pole both this model
IP-A4BZ bullet AI camera. We use both of those cameras as overview cameras to cover both directions of traffic around the bend. All of the cameras that you see mounted to the pole are using our universal security camera mount box. You can click on the image for a large view.
LPR System Demo
Viewtron license plate recognition cameras (LPR) are designed to detect when vehicle license plates enter a defined area. The LPR system tested in the above video used a Viewtron
LPR-IP7 license plate AI camera connected to a
Viewtron IP camera NVR. When a plate is detected, the event is bookmarked, a snapshot is taken, and video is recorded on the NVR's hard drive. Thumbnail images can be displayed on the live video view (like you see above) for easy access to playback the recorded video of the license plate capture.
Watch the Viewtron license plate recognition system capture plates at night time in a very dark environment. After watching the above video, you will better understand why it is important to install an LPR camera with at least one overview camera.
In addition to detecting license plates, the LPR-IP7 is also an ANPR camera (automatic number plate recognition). Number plate recognition and license plate database applications are possible when you connect a LPR-IP7 to a Viewtron NVR. The above ANPR database screenshot was captured from a Viewtron NVR. Please note that Viewtron BNC hybrid DVRs do not support LPR and other AI functions.You must use a
Viewtron IP camera NVR for all AI functions.
Front License Plate Capture
Here is another night license plate capture recording. Except this one demonstrates capturing the license plate mounted in the front of the car. This video shows how well the LPR-IP7 compensates for headlight glare. In this video, the LPR-IP7 camera is connected to a
Viewtron hybrid security camera DVR that also supports IP cameras. This is also known as a hybrid BNC DVR. Hybrid DVRs allow customers to use BNC security cameras and network IP cameras on the same recorder.
The one downside to using a Viewtron DVR vs NVR is that the DVRs do not have the ANPR software built-in. What does this mean? Basically, the camera and DVR will be able to record license plates clear enough for a human to read, but the DVR will not automatically identify the license plate and specific numbers automatically. Only Viewtron NVRs have the automatic number plate software built-in.
Watch this video to learn how-to create an authorized vehicle database using our Viewtron license plate reader camera and NVR. License plates can be added to the database via the following methods.
- Manual data entry on the NVR.
- CSV file import on NVR (comma separated value). You can download my CSV import file template here.
- Using existing license plate capture records on the NVR.
Watch this video to see the Viewtron automatic license plate reader camera working in the rain.
Please use these recommended best practices in order to plan a successful
license plate capture camera installation. It is important to mount the camera so that the camera view width is 16 feet or less at the point where plates will be captured. License plate cameras can not monitor wide areas also capture small details like the numbers on a license plate. These are extremely important concepts to understand when planning a successful license plate capture system.
Watch this video to see Mike discuss all the the best practices that he recommends when it comes to installing a
Viewtron LPR camera system.
Watch this video to see Mike review the various ways that recorded LPR video surveillance footage can be searched for and played back on Viewtron NVRs.
Although CCTV Camera Pros highly recommends using our LPR camera with a Viewtron NVR and at least one overview camera, the LPR-IP7 camera can be used as a stand alone recording device because it has a micro SD card slot and the ANPR / LPR software is embedded in the camera.
LPC vs LPR vs ANPR Explained
Watch this video to hear Mike explain the differences between LPC (license plate capture) vs LPR (license plate recognition) cameras. Mike also discusses ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) software.
CCTV Camera Pros supplies this
wireless camera system as an add-on for IP cameras. Watch the above video to see the LPR system installed at CCTV Camera Pros warehouse in West Palm Beach, Florida. We are using the WIFI system to transmit HD video from 3 security cameras mounted on a pole behind our building. This system is working great. This was an important demonstration because license plate recognition requires high quality video and frame rate. The fact that we are able to do this over WIFI is important to document for our customers. Please note, we ALWAYS recommend hard wiring camera systems. Wireless is ONLY recommended as a last resort if hard wiring is not possible. Wireless is NOT as reliable as a hard wired surveillance system. You can learn more about this outdoor wireless security camera system here.
BBB Rating & Reviews
CCTV Camera Pros is proud to have an
A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau. We also maintain a 5 star online review rating with ResellerRatings.com.
CCTV Camera Pros is proud to be a US Veteran Owned small business. Our co-founder, Mike Haldas, served in the United States Marine Corps 1993-1997.
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