Gordon’s Blog

My girlfriend makes use of a CCTV video magnifier video magnifier, as well as a PC with screen zooming software in her daily life. We discovered combining the two to be quite easy and inexpensive, and I figured this might help someone else out in the same situation. Basically, most modern CCTVs are essentially an off-the-shelf LCD monitor and downward-pointing camera hooked together. In most cases you can easily hook a computer to the monitor: Just find where the cable for the camera connects and yank it out. You can unplug the cable at both ends and just use the same cable for you PC, but at least in the case of the CCTV above, the connector on the camera end is a funny shape and getting it in the right position to plug into most PC VGA ports is quite difficult. Fortunately, you can just pick up a cheap VGA cable at any electronics store if you don’t already have one sitting around.

Obviously, it isn’t very convenient to switch between the devices by swapping cables each time. The trick here is to use a KVM Switch . This way we’ll be able to switch between the computer and the camera with the touch of a button. First, you’ll need to get a KVM switch. In theory, any two-port KVM should work. We’ve had good luck with the Belkin F1DG102U. It’s small, has a movable button on a cord that you can use to switch conveniently without reaching over to the unit itself, and it can be powered by USB, so if you don’t mind losing a port on your PC, you can avoid the need for a separate power cord.

From here on, it’s pretty straightforward. The KVM will have two sets of cables. Plug one set into the port for the camera, the other into the VGA port on your PC (you can ignore any other cables, but in the example model, you’ll need to plug the included USB cable into your PC or something else with USB to power the KVM). Finally, take the cable for your CCTV and plug one end into the monitor, and the other end into the unused port on the KVM. Turn on the PC and the KVM. If everything goes well, you should simply be able to hit the button on the KVM to switch the screen from the PC to the camera and vice-versa.

This is a pretty standard use of a KVM switch, but in our case, it did not occur to us for quite a while the CCTV’s display had the same connectivity as any other monitor. Why should you pay for a second external display when the one you have already have in your magnifier works so well?

Now, some CCTVs have add-ons that will do essentially the same thing, like the TOPAZ Connectivity Pack here. The pack even has a couple cool functions like a split-screen view. Oh, and it costs $400 for functionality that is about 95% identical to that obtained using the setup I’ve described, as opposed to a measly $21 for a two-port KVM.

Hopefully, this helps at least one person. That is all.

Uncategorized