Danish bank enhances overall security with March Networks solution

Editor / Provider: March Networks | Updated: 9/21/2012 | Article type: Security 50

March Networks announced that Danske Bank Group, Denmark's largest financial institution and a top-100 world bank, has selected the company's video management software and hybrid recorders for advanced security at its corporate facilities in Copenhagen. The upgrade expands the March Networks solution the bank is currently using in more than 150 retail banking branches across Norway and Sweden, and continues to deploy working with certified solution provider Stanley Security Solutions.

“We are extremely pleased with the performance of our March Networks video surveillance solution,” said Tonny Henriksen, Project Manager, Danske Bank Group. “During the five years that we've been using the systems, they have performed immaculately. The software is also very easy to use, which means that authorized staff right down to the branch level need very little training to quickly access the video they need.”

Following Stanley Security Solution's recommendation of March Networks, Danske Bank deployed the surveillance systems to reap the operational benefits associated with the enterprise-class software. March Networks Visual Intelligence software delivers centralized video management and investigation capabilities across any number of networked locations.

“The requirement for a networked solution came from our staff in Norway, who had to travel long distances to retail branches every time there was an incident requiring video evidence,” said Tom Soederholm, Danske Bank Group's Vice-President of End-User Technology. “With the March Networks solution, they now retrieve video from the most isolated branches without ever leaving the comfort of their office. It saves time and money and is a major improvement over what we had before.”

The solution also met another of the bank's key criteria – the ability to support both analog and IP cameras with hybrid recording platforms that scale easily to match future growth. The 4000 C Series hybrid Network Video Recorders (NVRs) protect Danske's existing analog camera investments, while enabling the strategic deployment of high-definition IP cameras. The NVRs run on an embedded Linux operating system, which the bank's IT group requested to reduce security and performance issues, and incorporate an innovative docking station for faster installation and maintenance.

The bank is so pleased with the solution, it also plans to introduce March Networks Command video management system (VMS) software in its security operations centers to gain further efficiencies. Command's intuitive, web-based user interface provides full configuration and management capabilities in addition to live video viewing and playback.

More than 450 banks and credit unions worldwide currently use March Networks systems for security and fraud detection. In addition to powerful video management and recording, the solution includes Searchlight software applications that significantly reduce losses from ATM skimming, cash harvesting and other theft. The March Networks Searchlight portfolio includes Financial Transaction Investigation, which synchronizes ATM and teller transaction records with high-quality video to streamline case management and investigator performance. It also includes powerful Skimming Detection, Image Tracker and License Plate Tracker applications that enable banks to proactively detect fraudulent activity at ATMs and strengthen case evidence quickly by correlating facial images, transaction information, colors and license plate data.

Making HD less of a gamble for casinos

Editor / Provider: Tevin Wang | Updated: 9/21/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

Under current economic conditions, figuring out a cost-effective and future-proof technology migration path is not easy for any industry. “Because so many operators are still using analog, it is very difficult to integrate HD into the current infrastructure,” said Scott Paul, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Pelco by Schneider Electric. “A cost-effective means of transporting the existing analog cameras into the digital system and maintaining the existing analog system is essential. Educating and training operators to go digital and understanding the new operation is also essential.”

Integration
When converting to a digital system, whether it is HD or not, the first challenge is the infrastructure. “Typically, most analog systems run via coaxial cables, which are incompatible for running technology that is Ethernet based,” said Scott Bartlett, CEO of Southwest Surveillance Systems. “Instead of changing all the wiring, we use baluns that give us the ability to convert the Ethernet signals over the coaxial cable braids. This keeps us from having to replace all the wiring and in addition, enhance our distance limitations.”

Another challenge lies in the monitor room as running both an analog system as well as a digital system can be very problematic. “Some casinos are trying to use their existing monitors or workstations to convert digital to analog (which creates terrible video signals) and then pump the digital signals back through their analog video matrix. Others are running two separate systems and keyboards. Neither situation is a good one,” Bartlett said. “We have used video scalers such as Barco and RGB to perform all the converting and scaling for the video. The video scalers take multiple inputs and convert the signal, whether it is analog or digital to a DVI output thus providing the maximum resolution available without the up or down converting.”

Transmission/Networking
It can be expensive to convert existing analog infrastructure with and/or to establish robust and reliable IP infrastructure. “Even adding a few IP cameras requires a thoughtful, forwarding thinking network design and plan,” said John Katnic, VP of Global Gaming at Synectics. “Even if it costs a bit more upfront, engineer a robust network solution that can scale to the projected system size and will provide the resiliency required by regulators.”

In addition, network based video management requires higher caliber IT-trained technicians to design, configure and maintain. “And because gaming regulators often prohibit IT departments from touching the gaming network, surveillance departments are often underequipped to manage these IP-based solutions and have to play catch up on the fly,” Katnic cautioned.

The use of multicast routing on the network side in casinos is another thorny issue. “Depending on the manufacturer, there is a lot of multicast traffic on the networks. This can create huge bottlenecks and communication errors if the network is not designed properly. The byproduct of this is tearing or choppy videos. Even though most like to blame the networks when things do not work properly, we find that the network is seldom the actual issue,” Bartlett said. “It is also critical to ensure that, in the casino HD video space, that single mode fiber be installed from the intermediate distribution feed (IDF) rooms to the main distribution feed (MDF) room. This will ensure that 10-, 40- and even 100-Gbps backbones will not be an issue. If multi-mode fiber is installed from the IDF to the MDF and you want to install a 10-Gbps backbone, the distance will be limited to 100 meters.”

Latency
Network latency can be caused by a multitude of factors from routing to camera settings. “At the end of the day, casinos that are still using an analog system are typically experiencing about a 60 millisecond delay so no matter what, they will experience a greater delay when they go digital,” Bartlett said. “This latency will be exacerbated by poor network design or improper camera settings or even poor quality cameras with inadequateWDR capabilities. “

Cameras that lack adequate WDR capability will inevitably cause a lot of noise on the video signal. The noise equates to motion/high bandwidth and thus creating high network traffic and storage requirements. “High-quality HD cameras are a must in my opinion. I know there are literally thousands of IP cameras on the market but there are not that many that can truly meet stringent gaming requirements,” Bartlett said. “It is the responsibility of system integrators to thoroughly test the cameras and network equipment they want to use in order to ensure that regardless of what the spec sheet says, they can meet the requirements in real life.”

“Latency induced via the encoding and decoding process remains a key issue — not present in analog technologies — and is a reason why some casinos still maintain an analog matrix “front-end” and utilise their SD digital recording systems solely for playback/review,” Paul said. “This is still a major issue for the adoption of HD in gaming areas for PTZ. For this reason, many casinos are beginning the transition by starting to implement HD in areas such as entry and exit locations and static camera locations [more than gambling tables].”

Bandwidth
HD cameras recording at 30 fps in HD resolution put huge weights on bandwidth and storage. Different camera manufacturers deal with this issue differently. “Leading IP device manufacturers and their VMS partners offer a variety of ways to efficiently and automatically manage storage, bandwidth and latency by changing camera recording settings (data rate, resolution, frame rate) on the fly based on motion, defined third party alarms or manually initiated VMS macros. However, this is typically up to the selected VMS application to manage. Taking advantage of these types of IP camera functions requires ‘deep' integration between cameras and VMS and should not be considered a given. Some cameras offer dual streaming and when fully integrated with VMS, the camera can send a full HD stream to the recorders for optimum playback quality, and simultaneously multicast a second, less bandwidth intensive SD or CIF stream to the monitor wall or a mobile device to avoid latency or overtaxing available bandwidth,” Katnic said. “In coming years, more IP encoding devices and VMS will support scalable video codec (SVC) which, rather than producing dual or triple streams for varied usage, produces one full-featured, multilayered stream that enables clients to subscribe to the stream quality level appropriate for their bandwidth or application.”

Camera features such as region of interest generally can be of help in terms of bandwidth reduction while event triggering applications save storage space. However, these features are not legally allowed in certain gaming areas. “Most gaming standards require 100 percent motion of video recording in gaming areas so this is typically not an area where value-based configuration or programming is employed,” said Douglas Florence, Business Development Director for Global Gaming, Avigilon.“Depending on the location of the casino in the world, the percentage of gaming versus security/public areas will vary. In a mega resort, 60 percent of the cameras could be managed in this manner, where parameters of pixels per square inch or square foot are set to create an event-based recording mode.”

“We are typically “handcuffed” by gaming regulations and seldom, if ever, can use triggering events, loiter modes, or lower the resolution for gaming specific cameras,” Bartlett added. “These may be acceptable for “back of house” areas but never in money or gaming areas. As drives are getting larger and storage in general is getting cheaper, it does not seem to be an issue as of lately.”

Storage and Redundancy
With technology changing and desire to go from two megapixels to 5, 10 or 20 Megapixel HD, the amount of storage remains to be a challenge. “Storage is expensive (30 to 40 percent of the total surveillance system price), and is directly related to picture quality, which is related to the data rate and retention period for each camera,” Katnic cautioned. “IP HD cameras average 5 to 6 Mbps, which is three to four times more data/storage compared to H.264-encoded analog cameras. HD video requires more servers, software, rack space, electricity, cooling and maintenance. Also, storage servers with high density 2- or 3-TB drives configured in RAID 5 or 6 take much longer to rebuild following a drive failure, which adds vulnerability to retained data and recordings. Just because you can record in HD doesn't necessarily mean you should, especially when you have to justify cost/reliability strategy for the HD cameras.”

The different risks associated with IP systems require careful analysis and resiliency planning. “For instance, traditional analog matrix systems will display live video on the analog wall even if the network and/or DVRs go down. Some analog to digital encoder-based systems will even keep recording when the network fails,” Katnic added. “However, that is not the case with an IP camera-based system. When the network goes down, both recorded and live video will be lost if the cameras do not support edge based storage. All that video will be lost cannot be recovered.”

“Hybrid systems, which involve greater complexity and reliance on network technology, have potential risks too and casinos have expressed concern about being able to meet the mandated regulatory requirements for continuous recording with no gaps in recording. With hybrid solutions, network failures could potentially prevent the operators from accessing playback/reviews, but the analog recording should likely remain unaffected,” Paul said. “Failed DVRs could be easily addressed via a matrix macro to switch the analog inputs to a standby DVR unit if necessary. Solutions such as matrix switching DVR inputs for “fail-over” have now been replicated in digital technology; stand-by technologies, clustering technology and cloud-based storage all pool together to allow for redundancy in recording as well as multicast recording to provide true redundancy. This solution should adequately address these concerns.“

Equip casinos with better eyes on the floor

Editor / Provider: Tevin Wang | Updated: 9/21/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

Casino operators will not change their entire systems simply to implement HD capability. Hybrid video solutions are the logical path to provide a phased migration from SD to HD systems. The key to any upgrade/migration starts with careful planning for the design. “If not done properly with a plan in place, you can run into quite a few problems,” said Douglas Florence, Business Development Director for Global Gaming, Avigilon.

One of the main challenges in casino gaming environments remains to be the HD PTZ control latency issue. “The expectation continues to be that digital should be superior to analog and therefore, increasing latency for HD PTZ seems to be a backward step,” said Scott Paul, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Pelco by Schneider Electric. “The number one request is ‘analog-like' latency for PTZ control with HD PTZ control. I would not actually call this an ‘outrageous' request as it is quite expected to want fine responsive control for PTZ activity in a busy gaming environment, but understanding the technology behind HD video and how it is delivered to the user, it is easy to appreciate how this is not a simple hurdle that can be overcome overnight. Through operator training, adjusting the HD PTZ cameras to use the lowest latency codecs and correct network design, we have been able to get customer acceptance on this issue.”

Bit rate and recordings are challenges as well. “In most cases, if an HD camera is streaming at 20 to 50 Mbps, very few would have pockets deep enough to buy the storage required for these types of cameras,” added Scott Bartlett, CEO of Southwest Surveillance Systems.

Having an IP-based system that can integrate with an existing network goes a long way. Still, IP camera integration/compatibility with VMSs remains a key issue and challenge for the industry. “Most major camera and encoder manufacturers are now adopting ONVIF-compliant standards for IP device detection, transmission, telemetry and recording, which is making it much easier for integrators and end users to confidently deploy new IP cameras,” said John Katnic, VP of Global Gaming at Synectics. “Unfortunately, standards like ONVIF and PSIA are evolving and changing constantly and VMS and IP device manufacturers are often developing to different versions or only partially comply with the standards' specs. Moreover, the standards leave out some very important criteria that can cause a big disconnect with expectations. For example, how IP cameras and VMS are supposed to manage audio, alarms, a second or third recorded stream and onboard SD memory, are not clearly defined by ONVIF.”

Integration-Friendly
Fewer but better tested and documented changes/upgrades of the cameras would be helpful for system integrators as there are often new compatibility issues popping up in casinos. Also, it is rather imperative that the user and supplier agree on what exactly ‘integrated' means and precisely define what functions are expected before choosing a camera and VMS combination, according to Katnic. “And once settled on a particular camera and firmware version, avoid the temptation to roll out the newest bleeding edge software update without thoroughly testing the new firmware revisions with your existing VMS. Small firmware changes can cause big compatibility problems.”

Having a proprietary solution is not the best thing for casino owners. Hybrid solutions will be an unavoidable path to HD, and systems integrators will have to learn to be something more than just a re-seller of a manufacturer's equipment to be considered a true systems integrator. “The days of having proprietary casino solutions are soon to be gone and those left standing in the casino space will have the ability to integrate with each other.” Bartlett said.

Proceed with Eyes Wide Open
There is no doubt that the superiority of HD IP picture quality will charm and convince users to spend what it takes to achieve it. “It is important to remember that just because it's new IP technology, it doesn't mean it's better for every application or that it will do everything that your analog system did,” Katnic said. “At best, they're different technologies and users are likely to encounter both pros and cons. IP system will not necessarily be as resilient, fast or functional as the old matrix.”

Hybrid infrastructure, cameras and command and control interfaces should all be carefully planned and must be carried out with caution.

Watching over gaming tables with HD

Editor / Provider: Tevin Wang | Updated: 9/20/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

Faced with challenges such as false claims, theft, game scams, money laundering and drugs, casinos are upgrading their surveillance and security systems to ensure safety for all. Many casinos, to date, are still tied to analog solutions. “Of the hundreds of thousands of cameras monitoring and recording the 700-plus gaming properties in North America, we estimate less than 10 percent are currently IP and, even fewer are full HD (1080p) IP,” said John Katnic, VP of Global Gaming at Synectics. Pace of migration varies. “In North America, most new builds are opening with IP infrastructure, or at least a hybrid combination.”

According to Scott Paul, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Pelco by Schneider Electric, Neveda is changing. “Roughly 25 percent of the operators are fully digital. The remaining have yet to make the transition to digital or HD.”

“The casino and gaming market is expected to experience a gradual increase between 5 to 10 percent in network video surveillance product sales through 2014 in North America,” said Steve Surfaro, Security Industry Liaison, Axis Communications. “The gaming industry is one sector where the adoption of IP-based technology has been slower. As this market continues to accept and adopt network cameras, the market share for analog cameras will shrink approximately 2 to 5 percent. The Gulf Coast in the U.S. will be a prime target for system upgrades in a few years, especially in Mississippi and Louisiana. Native American gaming in Mississippi and Alabama is also expected to drive considerable growth. The Oklahoma gaming market continues to upgrade from analog to IP with virtually all new installations on the gaming floor using IP video. You even have certain local gaming commissions, like the South Dakota Gaming Commission, who are mandating that any table with US$100 or more limits must be covered by HD cameras.”

Avigilon is optimistic about the HD drive. “If we take into account that more than 500,000 analog cameras are operating in North American casinos and the total number of units worldwide likely exceeds 1 million, that translates to huge growth potential for HD,” said Douglas Florence, Business Development Director for Global Gaming, Avigilon. “HD adoption has picked up greatly since 2007 when we first saw a few Native American casinos install their first megapixel or HD cameras.”

Other conditions for business development have improved as well. “Lower TCO for complete HD systems, cheaper storage technology, and vendor policies that avoid charging recurring software licenses all help with the growth,” Florence added.

Follow the Money
Cash cages, registers and table games are where most HD deployments are found. “Game tables, slot machines, cashiers, PoS terminals and the vault are usually monitored by HD systems while standard definition (SD) IP cameras focus on remaining areas,” said Scott Bartlett, CEO of Southwest Surveillance Systems.

Being able to visually confirm currency denominations or hands is a bare minimum, Katnic said. “Table games benefit by being able to distinguish a queen of spades from a king of clubs from a ceiling-mounted camera 20 feet away. This is particularly true of fixed cameras because operators can digitally zoom in to an HD shot with less pixilation compared to a fixed analog unit.”

HD resolution is best suited for when money is being handed out. “It provides much better visual information for card handling, money exchanges, card identification and chip values,” Surfaro said. “HD is very well-suited for dispute resolution when discrepancy between the cashier and the patron arises. The use of HD cameras and redundant coverage on ‘high stakes' slots and tables is also becoming a ‘standard' as recognition of negative behavior like card counting is much easier.”

According to Paul, entry and exit points are other “hot spots” for HD solutions as most casinos have excellent relationships with local authorities and are frequently requested to provide quality footage for identifying people of interest.

HD solutions might be more widely used if the cost is justified by the content being monitored. “Most demonstrations start out at table games, and once security directors experience the clarity HD cameras provide, the desire to add more HD products grows. HD cameras have been added to areas such as restaurants, count rooms, casino entrances and parking areas,” Florence said. The investment pays for itself when operation executives learn that they can make a more informed decision on a dispute or reduce false liability claims.

Legal Issues
In the U.S., continuous real-time recording is mandated for all gaming activities, and the minimum duration is seven days. However, many casinos opt for longer retention times for various operational and security reasons. “Retention requirements vary by country, state and what's being recorded or viewed,” Katnic said. “A few states, like Wisconsin, require 30 days of recording for all cameras. Most others, including Nevada and other major gaming jurisdictions, require a minimum of 7 to 14 days. Some regulators require 14 days for gaming, cages and count rooms and just a week for slots, parking lots and so on. Singapore and Macau casinos typically require 30 days of retained video for gaming areas.”

Most regulations were drafted around analog technologies, and there are few specific requirements in relation to a particular HD resolution such as 720p or 1080p. “The standard across most international, regional and local regulations is that the video produces 30 fps to provide real-time monitoring,” Florence said.

Most operators, thus, choose said frame rate for almost everything, according to Paul. “Nevada requires 30 fps for a minimum of seven days for gaming operations and 2 to 7 fps for nongaming. Live viewing is always 30 fps. Everything digital is required to be redundant and as failsafe as technically possible.”

Redundancy and resiliency are crucial, as lost video can result in fines from $100,000 to millions. “We see requirements like RAID configuration on storage, but not specific to RAID 5, 6 or otherwise,” Bartlett said. “But there are more stringent requirements in Nevada that require no more than eight gaming cameras to a piece of hardware such as a network switch. This is in order to avoid catastrophic failure. We have gotten around this requirement with redundant power supplies, fans and the like. Again, the more resiliency, the better for casino applications.”

Winning Big Ain't Easy
Budget remains one of the biggest hurdles when considering upgrades. In this economy, the best option may be to phase slowly from an analog system to a hybrid system. Solution providers need to provide a simple, scalable migration path. “Most casinos currently implement hybrid/IP infrastructure using SD which allows them to leverage existing analog matrix technology,” Paul said. New system architecture needs to align itself with existing system design.

Another challenge with HD is the processing power of each camera, as not all HD cameras are as powerful as manufacturers claim. “We are seeing HD deployed in the gaming and money areas only. The drivers are the technology itself. We need to maintain a high frame rate with HD streaming on multiple channels,” Bartlett said. “A typical casino would like to have 10- or 20-megapixel cameras that can send multiple streams at 30 fps, but that isn't going to be feasible in a while. We are starting to see more 3- and 5-megapixel cameras and higher frame rates, but are still away from mass adoption. Once the technology ‘catches up' and can meet those needs, you will see a lot more HD deployments.”

SLOC bloc expands

Editor / Provider: Submitted by Intersil | Updated: 9/17/2012 | Article type: Tech Corner

Intersil Corporation announced the expansion of the Intersil Techwell SLOC (Security Link Over Coax) ecosystem. Intersil has worked closely with global technology leaders to address the need for increased security worldwide and reasserted its commitment to the next-generation video surveillance system solution.

The SLOC Ecosystem
Expanding the SLOC ecosystem brings the technology's various benefits to a wide range of systems and applications. Intersil has joined forces with nearly 100 global companies, including Sony, Altronix, and Hikvision, to create a SLOC ecosystem for standardization and solution awareness, designed to accelerate the global adoption and implementation of hybrid IP-based security systems for the video surveillance market. Simply Smarter Security

System integrators and manufacturers can now architect an efficient hybrid surveillance system that addresses all of the technical barriers, while enabling all of the benefits of IP networked cameras and network analytics. Intersil's SLOC is an innovative modem physical layer technology that enables high resolution mega-pixel and HD IP-based cameras to operate within the existing analog CCTV coaxial cable infrastructure without the need for new cabling. SLOC consists of a camera transmitter and a DVR/NVR receiver, a combination that enables high-performance and robust bidirectional communication between the camera and the video recorder over long cable runs.

Benefits and Features
- Supports distances up to 500m of coaxial cabling, eliminating the need for repeaters - Provides an instant upgrade path from SD quality to HD and Mega-pixel resolutions
- Enables digital IP camera functionality on existing coaxial wiring infrastructure with no disruption of existing CCTV services
- Embedded analog CVBS (color, video, blanking, sync) video enables latency-free live viewing and controlling of digital IP cameras
- No need for new wiring or cable modifications provides significant cost and resource savings

Quotes
"Altronix continues to engineer and manufacture innovative solutions that support the latest industry trends in IP surveillance deployment," said Alan Forman, President, Altronix Corp. "Intersil SLOC technology, in conjunction with our eBridge series Ethernet over Coax Adapters, provides extremely cost-efficient migration path from analog to IP functionality by repurposing legacy coax infrastructure."

"The video surveillance market is entering a critical transition to higher resolution video," said Xuefeng Qian, Research and Development Director of Hikvision. "To meet these market demands, Hikvision collaborates with technology leaders to provide solutions for industry challenges. By integrating Intersil's SLOC solution inside our adaptors, we enable an additional feature set for Hikvision's cameras and hybrid DVRs, thus solving frustrating issues inherent within digital and analog video."

"Enterprises are looking for the opportunity to upgrade to higher resolution solutions in a way that is economical and that can be implemented using a phased approach rather than a single large capital outlay," said Susan Hardman, Senior Vice President of the Analog & Mixed Signal Products Group at Intersil. "Developed by Techwell, SLOC technology utilizes the coaxial cable in the existing infrastructure, transmits the new IP-based digital data and still provides the analog signal - all out of the same camera - thus tremendously speeding adoption."

Axis cofounder celebrates his 50th birthday

Editor / Provider: Axis Communications | Updated: 9/17/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Martin Gren, co-founder of Axis Communications and IP camera inventor and pioneer celebrates his 50th birthday on Saturday. A company visionary, Martin Gren has had 19 years of engineering and entrepreneurial experience and is currently a member of the board of Axis AB, the Swedish parent company.

Over the years, Mr. Gren has been the driving force behind several of Axis' new business and flagship products in Europe, Asia and the United States. These have included network print servers, IBM connectivity products, ASIC's and scan servers as well as playing an instrumental part in Axis' state-of-the-art business today in particular its network video camera technology.

Phil Doyle, managing director, Axis Communications, said: “Martin has been a fundamental part of Axis' success over the last decade and continues to drive the company forward through research, development and technological innovation. We wish Martin many happy returns on this milestone birthday.”

Georgian metro ensures travelers peace of mind with Qnap solution

Editor / Provider: QNAP Security | Updated: 9/14/2012 | Article type: Infrastructure

Background
Tbilisi Metro, operated since December 1966, is a rapid transit metro system in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. At present, the system consists of 2 lines with 22 stations. Constructed at the depth of 100 meters underground, Tbilisi Metro is one of the deepest subways in the world. Many people in the city depend heavily on Tbilisi Metro for daily traveling because of its convenience.

Challenges
From the perspective of surveillance system deployment, the environment of Tbilisi Metro is quite complicated. As the metro is built underground 100 meters deep, it requires advanced deployment that could support strong network connection. Hence, optical fiber is used for any network appliance in the metro system to fulfill the demands of high-speed intranet connection. On the other hand, being one of the busiest public transportations, Tbilisi Metro is always crowded with people, and the need for an intensive surveillance system deployment is necessary to provide people a safer environment.

The original surveillance system that Tbilisi Metro used was gradually outdated and failed to satisfy the need of monitoring a greater number of IP cameras. As a result, Tbilisi Metro started to look for new surveillance solution that could carry out superior performance of smooth video streaming from a large number of IP cameras.

Solution
Taking system performance and reliability of video/audio streaming as the first priority, Tbilisi Metro chose QNAP Security surveillance solution to upgrade its security system infrastructure, with totally 27 units of QNAP VioStor NVR VS-8040 deployed. The 8-bay NVR VS-8040, powered by Intel? Core? 2 Duo 2.8 GHz CPU and installed with eight 3TB hard drives, offers up to 24TB large storage capacity for long-term recording and presents remarkable performance with maximum 360 Mbps throughput to support simultaneous monitoring and recording from 40 IP cameras. The demand of Tbilisi Metro for an intensive surveillance deployment was well satisfied.

The security administrators were always busy and under pressure. A device with easy-to-manage and simple-to-use interface was the key concern for Tbilisi Metro. Even without much IT expertise, the security administrators could easily learn how to manage the VS-8040 and the installed IP cameras through the handy user interface. The work efficiency was therefore greatly improved.

"This is the second big project we adopt QNAP Security products, and the experience and result are still satisfying and impressive," said the managing engineer of GESCO Group. "The VS-8040 has delivered quality performance of video streaming and stability, which right fulfills our demands for the sophisticated surveillance environment."

Result
QNAP VioStor NVR VS-8040 effectively supports Tbilisi Metro's demand for monitoring a large number of IP cameras at each critical corner around the metro stations. Tbilisi Metro now provides people with enhanced protection with the assistance of QNAP Security surveillance solution. While additional line of Tbilisi Metro is under construction, the newer VioStor NVR models VS-8100 Pro+ series and VS-8100U-RP Pro series are considered in future deployment. Both models, available in 48, 40, 32, or 24-channel, are equipped with more powerful Intel Core i3-2120 processor and deliver better performance on video and audio streaming from multiple channels. While supporting up to 48 channels monitoring, the VS-8100 Pro+ series and VS-8100U-RP Pro series provide an ideal surveillance solution for Tbilisi Metro's need for wider scope of IP camera deployment, fulfilling closer look at Tbilisi Metro's security.

SoCal movie theater chain simplifies security management with Next Level

Editor / Provider: Next Level Security Systems | Updated: 9/13/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

Next Level Security Systems, a developer of a new breed of unified, networked security solutions, announced that Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas, the fourth largest movie theater in the world, has deployed the NLSS Gateway at two of its theaters in Southern California. Cinepolis deployed the NLSS Gateway at its sites in La Costa and Ocean Ranch, Calif., to integrate multisite video surveillance and access control into one easy-to-use solution.

Cinepolis is leveraging the NLSS Gateway to control three levels of employee access permissions and manage video streams from Sony IP cameras. Cinepolis is also using people counting — available through the NLSS Gateway's built-in analytics — for additional ROI. The theater chain analyzes the data from the analytics to determine high- and low-traffic periods to develop targeted marketing campaigns to boost attendance.

“After I saw the first demonstration of the NLSS Gateway, I was confident this platform was the ideal solution for our new locations,'” said Marc Russo, IT Manager, Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas. “The legacy systems we used in other locations cannot even come close to what is delivered with the unified security management platform from Next Level. With the NLSS Gateway, everything feels modern; it feels the way a security solution should.”

The NLSS Gateway is a unified security management platform The latest version, Gateway 3.0, features a built-in facial recognition and detection analytic that allows users to create or upload an image database to be searched against across multiple cameras for potential matches. When a match is detected, an email or mobile alert can be sent to the user-defined contact.

“The NLSS Gateway enables Cinepolis to unify security management across multiple locations while leveraging the built-in analytics to do more with the video they are already capturing,” said Pete Jankowski, Chairman and CEO, Next Level Security Systems. “The NLSS Gateway allows the company to reduce theft, control liability and increase safety while helping their marketing department flex its muscles.”

US storage container retailer enhances security and business operations using Verint solution

Editor / Provider: Verint Systems | Updated: 9/13/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Verint Systems announced that The Container Store – the nation's originator and leading retailer of storage and organization products – is deploying its Nextiva IP Video suite, including such solutions as video management and video business intelligence software, IP cameras and encoders. With these integrated capabilities, the organization will have the tools it needs to further its focus on customer experiences and workforce optimization, along with the ability to support other key retail operations requirements, such as loss prevention and security.

The Container Store operates 57 retail locations across the country, offering its customers more than 10,000 time- and space-saving solutions to organize every area of their home or office. The Container Store's commitment to its values-based business philosophies that it calls its Foundation Principles and its employee-first culture has landed the retailer on FORTUNE magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" for 13 consecutive years.

As the retailer has transitioned to an IP infrastructure and expanded into new and existing markets, it has continued to invest in supporting solutions focused on the customer experience, its employee-first culture, business performance and loss prevention. As a result, the Verint Nextiva suite has become a key foundation to furthering its customer and employee engagement and security strategies.

The Container Store's investment in the Verint Nextiva solutions began in January 2012 and has continued to include new store installations, existing store upgrades and an implementation at the company's headquarters in Coppell, Texas. In all, Nextiva has been selected as the standard platform to manage video operations for its retail chains across the U.S.

“At The Container Store, we pride ourselves on offering customers innovative and functional storage and organization solutions to help them simplify their lives, save space and save time. As we build upon our success, world-class customer service, exceptionally trained employees and open communication will remain critical,” says Joan Manson, VP, loss prevention, payroll, benefits and legal, The Container Store.

Adds Manson, “Being able to keep our stores secure, empower our employees and provide high-caliber customer experiences remain core to our philosophy. We believe that Verint Nextiva is an investment in our retail stores, our employees and our customers. Information is power, and the intelligence derived through Nextiva will enable us to make faster, better decisions about our customers' wants and our business needs, all in a safe and secure environment.”

The Nextiva IP Video portfolio goes beyond loss prevention to provide retailers with the security and business intelligence solutions they need to help increase sales and secure assets, improve workforce productivity and heighten customer satisfaction. With Nextiva, retailers can capture and analyze shopper movement patterns to enhance customers' in-store experiences, gain operational efficiencies and increase conversion rates. Such capabilities as People Counting, Queue Management and Retail Traffic Analytics provide intelligence into customer traffic, shopping patterns and behavior patterns, along with high-traffic areas, dwell periods and line queue wait times. Such insight also can be used to drive marketing and merchandising, as well as staffing and scheduling decisions.

American Dynamics HD IP series adopts Theia 5-MP telephoto lens

Editor / Provider: American Dynamics | Updated: 9/13/2012 | Article type: Security 50

American Dynamics, part of Tyco Security Products, has added Theia's SL940 megapixel telephoto lens to their lens offerings for their new Illustra 600 Series HD IP dome cameras.

American Dynamics selected Theia's SL940A 9 to 40mm, 5 megapixel, IR corrected lens as their telephoto offering with their Illustra 600/610 indoor/outdoor mini-dome cameras. The lens provides a unique combination of features in an unusually small package. With a 9 – 40mm focal range the lens offers a powerful optical zoom for high detail images far away and full 5 megapixel resolution for crisp detail in a compact 50mm length which fits perfectly in the Illustra's sleek mini-dome envelope.

According to Steve Carney, Director of Product Management-Video of Tyco Security Products for American Dynamics, "The addition of Theia's SL940 extends the reach of our HD cameras and expands the versatility of the Illustra IP camera line. With the 9-40mm lens, and a super high quality poly carbonate bubble on the mini-dome, this new camera can greatly reduce the need for costly trenching. Customers often pay significant costs to dig for cabling when typical cameras can't reach where they are needed. With 40mm of IR corrected lens, and a bubble that matches the lens in clarity, our cameras can now reach hundreds of feet from a mounted position on a building.”

The SL940A joins its sister SL183A lens, already offered with the Illustra series cameras. The SL183 lens employs Theia's award winning Linear Optical Technology to provide up to 117 degrees of undistorted horizontal field of view (HFOV) on the camera's sensor, enabling coverage of more area with a single camera, potentially reducing the overall cost of HD and IP system ownership. The SL183A is also only 50mm long.

According to Carney,” Theia's family of ultra wide non distortion lenses offer advantages in that they deliver the best wide angle image quality without barrel distortion or vignetting. They provide greater image resolution at the edges supporting improved motion search and other analytics functions. Just as with the integration of the SL183 with our Illustra mini-domes, American Dynamics is excited to extend its partnership with Theia Technologies with the integration of the SL940. From the widest of angles to the longest of shots, we are proud of the quality and versatility we offer our customers with the blend of Illustra megapixel expertise and Theia lens technology.”