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Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) is the use of video cameras to transmit signal to a specific, limited set of monitors.

It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point to point wireless links.

CCTV is often used for surveillance in areas which need monitoring, such as banks, casinos, airports, military installations and convenience stores. Increasing use of CCTV in public places has caused debate over public surveillance versus privacy.

In industrial plants, CCTV equipment may be used to observe parts of a process that are remote from a control room, or where the environment is not comfortable for humans. CCTV systems may operate continuously or only as required to monitor a particular event.

A CCTV system may be installed where an operator of a machine cannot directly observe people who may be injured by unexpected machine operation. For example, on a subway train, CCTV cameras may allow the operator to confirm that people are clear of doors before closing them and starting the train. Operators of an amusement park ride may use a CCTV system to observe that people are not endangered by starting the ride. A CCTV camera and dashboard monitor can make reversing a vehicle safer, if it allows the driver to observe objects or people not otherwise visible.

The first CCTV cameras used in public spaces were crude, conspicuous, low definition black and white systems without the ability to zoom or pan. Modern CCTV cameras use small high definition colour cameras that can not only focus to resolve minute detail, but by linking the control of the cameras to a computer, objects can be tracked semi-automatically.

For example, they can track movement across a scene where there should be no movement, or they can lock onto a single object in a busy environment and follow it. Being computerised, this tracking process can also work between cameras.

The development of CCTV in public areas, linked to computer databases of people's pictures and identity, has been argued by some to present a risk to civil liberties.