Primary Components of School Bus Video Camera Systems


The selection of School Bus Camera Systems is wide, with many variables to choose from, making it a cornucopia of technological confusion for those unfamiliar with the technology or technical jargon. Those making choices must often decide between Low-Cost School Bus Cameras for their district to provide them with the Best Value School Bus Cameras to get optional features like GPS & Wi-Fi or Stop Arm Cameras.

In light of this, the following will be simplified as most who are tasked with the selection of, or purchasing School Bus Video Student Security Camera Systems do not have the time or interest in becoming an expert on them so this will be abbreviated and touch on the highlights in order to simplify this process for those who have better things to do.



The Mobile DVR (Digital Video Recorder)
This is the heart, if you will, of the School Bus Video Surveillance Security Camera System. Within it resides the mechanism to record video signals from multiple cameras and store those files on a memory storage device.
Mobile DVRs for this market are primarily 4-channel or 8-Channel, with the capability of supporting one camera per channel.

Systems with 4 or fewer channels/cameras can make use of the much more dependable 100% Solid State memory storage devices like SDXC cards or SSD slide-in drives. Once you exceed 4 channels, most solutions require the much larger Hard Drive to support the massive memory storage demands, sacrificing the 100% Solid State memory dependability.

This is the reason so many high-risk applications, such as:
The memory storage device can be; Hard Drive, Solid State Drive, Solid State Memory Card, or a combination of them.
The memory storage device in large part, determines the durability, reliability, and ability of a DVR to function in adverse environments often found in the school bus video camera applications, such as rough roads, high heat, high humidity, dust, and high G force shocks when curbs or speed bumps are hit.
The most reliable memory is 100% Solid State, either SSD or SDXC memory cards. Low-Cost cameras for school buses often are SDXC memory card based, offering the Best Value School Bus Cameras as they do not have the fragile Hard Drives in the DVR to crash or wear out.

The power that operates the system comes from the Negative 12V Black and Positive 12V Red hard-wired connection to the bus itself. The Ignition 12V Green or Blue wire connection turns the system on and off when the bus is started.

Some School Bus Camera System DVRs have a built-in scientific instrument used in crash test vehicle testing and throughout the heavy-duty trucking industry to aid in accident investigation. This device is called a 3-Axis Accelerometer and can chart all inertia forces applied to a vehicle either from crashes or Dangerous Driving Behaviors that, if left unchecked, can cost human life as well as damage property in avoidable, preventable reckless, or dangerous driving events. Driving While Texting (DWT) can also be documented using a 3-Axis Accelerometer and by recognizing the dangerous driving behaviors, this too can be stopped and reduce the risk to drivers and the children they transport.


Camera Extension Cables
The cameras are connected to and powered by the DVR via the camera extension cables.
CCTV connectors have long been offered in an industry-standard configuration with BNC/RCA/12vDC connectors that all could make use of when designing or manufacturing cameras, cables, and DVRs.

Over the last 20 years, manufacturers and OEMs in the USA have specified propriety connectors to be added to their cameras, their DVRs, their hard drives, and their camera cables so that they can force an existing customer to only purchase replacement cameras and DVRs from them at their much higher pricing. In this way, they can sell a $20 hard drive for $450.00 or higher whenever the fragile hard drive crashes. In some cases, they are making far more profit selling the replacements for their fragile hard drives than the profits on selling the entire system.

While most of the competition has been implementing propriety connectors to force their own existing customers to buy their overpriced replacement parts, American Bus Video Inc. has been offering Analog High Definition (AHD) DVRs that can make use of previously sold and installed cameras and cables with industry-standard CCTV connectors. There is a reason American Bus Video Inc. offers School Bus Cameras w/Lifetime System Warranty.
This saves both Public School District Bus Camera System budget funds, as well as lowers the future cost for Charter Student Transportation Contract Bus Camera Systems, and stops the unnecessary pollution caused by replacing fully functional cameras each time the DVRs are upgraded.


Megapixel Cameras
The Cameras or optical “eyes” of the system come in several shapes and sizes for different applications but most share the same inner components, the most important aspect of the cameras are their lens size which can provide a wide Field of View with sufficient Depth of Field to see a reasonable distance from the cameras.
Lower quality chip/board lens configurations are offered in the 1/4” CCD lens to lower the cost.
The standard quality chip/board lens configurations are offered in 1/3” CCD lenses.
High-quality chip/board lens configurations are offered in the 1/2” CCD lens but these are rare due to the much higher cost for this higher quality. Stop Arm Violation Cameras are similar but have longer or tighter lenses to zoom in on license plates of vehicles passing buses while they unload children.

Most cameras have IR LEDs for night vision recording, and some have built-in audio recording microphones. While most are lightweight plastic, the premium versions are offered in heavy gauge metal “armored” dome cameras for vandal resistance, suitable for school bus applications where children may hit the cameras with their shoes, fists, or another object that would destroy the cheap plastic camera housings offered by some. The metal shell vandal-resistant cameras offered in our Waste Collection Recycling Video Camera Surveillance Systems and the Alternative School & Juvenile Detention Bus Security Camera applications provide long-lasting armored cameras for our other applications as well.

In the past, cameras had a power indicator LED to let all know it was on and they were being recorded.
A patent was granted for this feature and now this is rare, but there is still a reason and benefit to remind all that the camera is working as it serves to change their negative behavior when people know they are being monitored and tends to make them more accountable and responsible. For this reason, ABV cameras are spec’d with super high-intensity IR LEDs so in low light, the camera switches to Infra Red mode, and the IR LEDs are so intense that even though the light they provide is outside the range of human eyesight, the LEDs themselves glow red hot from the electricity running through them providing visual indication the system is operating without any indicator light. This provides awareness in low light and no light that children can be reminded they are being recorded in applications like:
Cameras For School Bus
Church Bus Youth Activities Bus Camera System
Alternative School  Bus Security Camera
Head Start  Pre-Kindergarten Pre-School Nursery School Child Safety Bus Camera Recorder systems 

The cameras needed for your particular application depend in part, on the application.
For example, Contract Student Transportation Charter Bus Video Camera systems typically are “compliance” oriented, so as long as they have 1-2 Bus Turret Cameras (BTC) they meet the compliance requirement of their contract.

Special Needs Wheelchair Lift Bus Camera Systems to require more video camera coverage as the risk and liability are greater due to the fact the students transported cannot do some of the things themselves and require the driver or assistant to handle things, and some of this involves close personal contact of the student by an adult.

The customer must decide if the Low-Cost School Bus Cameras their district has selected can provide them with the Best Value School Bus Cameras for their school bus fleet. The opinions of those selling them are biased, so the best way to ensure your district gets the best value for their investment is to educate yourself on the basic needs ​and keep it as simple as possible with backward compatibility and ease of use in mind.