Arecont Vision partners with Brazilian distributor WDC Networks

Editor / Provider: Arecont Vision | Updated: 4/19/2013 | Article type: Security 50

WDC Networks, a distributor of IP-based video surveillance, wireless and VoIP products in Brazil announced a partnership with Arecont Vision. WDC has pioneered the distribution of IP surveillance solutions in Brazil. In 2002, WDC developed the first public surveillance project using IP cameras over wireless transmission. WDC will promote Arecont in Brazil and FOB - Miami to more than 1,000 active resellers.

"This partnership comes at an interesting time, as we create a new sales division, specializing in projects that serve digital cities and public surveillance projects that require robust products. The Arecont cameras with 180-degree panoramic view and 12-megapixel with WDR meet this demand," said Vanderlei Rigatieri, President of WDC.

"Arecont is very pleased with the beginning of this partnership because we know the potential of WDC in the Brazilian market, and the quality of support offered to their customers," said Alex Mathieson, Regional Manager for LatAm, Arecont Vision.

Robust security technology will be important for projects like the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, as well as all the infrastructure development surrounding these events. WDC will feature Arecont cameras during the 120 Digital City Expedition visits throughout Brazil.

Canadian college deters crime with larger-than-life witness

Editor / Provider: Avigilon | Updated: 4/17/2013 | Article type: Education

Humber College in Toronto, Canada recently deployed Avigilon's HD surveillance system in parking lots and high-traffic areas to maintain public order and deter crime across its three primary campuses. The system composes of HD cameras ranging from 1-megapixel to 16-megapixel, VMS, NVR and analog video encoders to cover security on the campus with 27,000 full-time students. Humber leveraged its existing network infrastructure and analog cameras to save costs and improve system performance, easing the transition to IP-based surveillance.

After construction began on the new Learning Resource Commons, a 6.43-acre (280,000 square foot) building at the north campus and surrounding parking areas, the college began to look for an advanced IP-based HD surveillance system. “Quality, cost, and flexibility were key considerations,” said Ernie Colosimo, Manager of Security Systems at Humber. The Avigilon system was chosen for its image quality, ease of use, and ability to integrate with other critical security solutions for a complete campus-wide security system that increases safety for students and staff.

Cameras deployed include 180 degrees HD panoramic domes to monitor the parking lots and other high-traffic areas across the college's three main campuses. The college also installed 5-megapixel HD cameras at the campus pub and uses mobile VMS to remotely monitor the system 24/7. To ease the transition to a full IP-based surveillance system, Humber uses analog video encoders for improved functionality of its existing analog cameras and stores 14 days of continuous video footage on NVRs.

The college's public safety surveillance system is managed by VMS with HD stream management technology. Utilizing the advanced features of the VMS, the security team can identify events in minutes and improve investigation results. Users can also share footage with key stakeholders. Mobile VMS has become a valuable tool for remote monitoring, providing access to important information in lock down situations.

12th century Spanish uni gets 21st century smarts

Editor / Provider: AxxonSoft | Updated: 4/16/2013 | Article type: Education

The University of Salamanca, the oldest university in Spain, and one of the fourth oldest universities in Europe deployed a smart surveillance system composed of Axxon's VMS and Brickcom IP cameras to monitor its new four-story building at its technology park. The building covers more than 2.20 acres (8,900 square meters) of floor space.

The new building needed an effective security and surveillance system. The university wanted a flexible next-generation system with support for IP cameras and easy scalability, as well as integration with the building's access control system: this integration helps to prevent burglaries, vandalism, and unauthorized intrusions. This is why the new system was built around Axxon VMS, which can later be upgraded to the full-fledged VMS package for handling larger sites. Since lighting conditions inside and around the building constantly change, it was necessary to install ultra-sensitive cameras that can capture high-quality D/N video.

The VMS was coupled with Brickcom 1.3-megapixel HD outdoor bullet camera and vandal proof domes. The dome is an IP anti-vandal camera with a Sony back-illuminated CMOS sensor for increased image brightness in low-light scenes. The domes have an IP67 rating for weather- and vandal-proof ruggedness for surveillance that is effective both indoors and outdoors.

Atlanta police rely on wireless surveillance to play NCAA safe

Editor / Provider: Firetide | Updated: 4/12/2013 | Article type: Government & Public Services

The city of Atlanta deployed a wireless mesh video surveillance network, consisting of 140 Firetide wireless infrastructure mesh nodes and 65 Sony cameras, to help the city's police department control vehicle traffic and protect more than 500,000 fans during the 2013 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball semifinals which concluded April 8. Cameras monitor vehicle and foot traffic, multiple parking lots, city parks, and areas surrounding the four event venues. The wireless network was designed and deployed by systems integrator Avrio RMS Group.

Atlanta and the Georgia Dome hosted the NCAA division I men's final four basketball championship, held April 6-8, 2013. For the first time two semi-final games and the National Championship match for all three NCAA divisions were crowned in the same city. The events were held at the Georgia Dome, Philips Arena, the Georgia World Congress Center, and Centennial Olympic Park and both pedestrian and vehicular traffic was heavy around these venues. “The City of Atlanta Police Department planned for this five-day event for more than a year and urged visitors to expect, and prepare for, large crowds in excess of 100,000 per day,” said George Turner, Chief of Police, Atlanta Police Department.

The network includes 72 wireless mesh nodes that were initially deployed in 2012 to support Atlanta Police Department's video traffic control program, and was recently expanded to provide public safety video surveillance for the 2013 NCAA basketball tournaments. The expansion includes an additional 68 wireless mesh nodes and a combination of 65 fixed and PTZ Sony EX series IPELA video cameras. The video cameras connect directly to the mesh nodes and are placed in areas expecting large crowds, parking lots, and at multiple traffic intersections throughout the city. The live video feeds are sent to the city police department's Video Integration Center where designated watch commanders from the police department and other law enforcement agencies monitor cameras 24/7. Video feeds are stored for designated length of time and can be used as effective evidence in court.

The wireless video network provides the department with real-time video feeds around the sports venues, as well as hospitality areas in downtown Atlanta. The ability to monitor wireless video feeds 24/7 enables the city police department to make fast, well-informed decisions on how to best respond to traffic congestion, accidents, and illegal behavior such as theft, vandalism, and physical altercations. “Firetide wireless mesh allows the Atlanta Police Department to cover more areas and to quickly provide an increased level of security that would not have been possible with the limited reach of the existing wired infrastructure,” said Duane Zitzner, CEO, Firetide.

TI sheds light on IP cams

Editor / Provider: Texas Instruments | Updated: 4/11/2013 | Article type: Component

Meeting the needs of video security developers

TI's video SoC provides customers with superior low-light performance at 2X the nearest competitor. A video SoC-based IP camera has the capability to produce clear images in low-light environments such as parking garages or dark alleys, enabling the user to capture a license plate, a person's face and other features that may help authorities solve a crime. The camera can compress and transmit these noise filtered and dynamic range-enhanced videos in real time in a H.264/SVC format.

Easing development with tools and software

TI's scalable video SoC provides surveillance manufacturers with an ecosystem of tools and software, accelerating time to market. The DM369 IP camera reference design includes schematics, layout and BOM to help customers re-use their investment in TI's video processors. ONVIF-compliant, the camera reference design also makes it easy for customers to integrate their cameras with NVR and VMS systems. Customers can also choose from TI's ecosystem of sensor modules based on the market's most popular sensors when designing their solution and taking it to market. “TI's video processors continue to be the go-to solution for surveillance product manufacturers,” said Jacob Jose, IP Camera Product Marketing Manager, TI.

Pricing and availability

TI's DaVinci camera reference design is currently available for US$995. Samples of TI's DaVinci DM369 video SoC will be available at the end of April. Additionally, pricing for the video SoC can be found by contacting local TI or distributor sales representative.  

Top US bank upgrades 1,300 branches and facilities using hybrid solution

Editor / Provider: March Networks | Updated: 4/11/2013 | Article type: Commercial Markets

The Fifth Third Bancorp (FTB), one of the top 15 banks in the U.S., has launched an upgrade program to replace more than 1,600 of its existing March Networks NVRs with new hybrid models. The bank has already initiated the deployment, which reaches across its 1,300 full-service branches, data centers, corporate offices, operations and cash-handling facilities in the U.S.

Milestone entry-level VMS now in Veracity servers

Editor / Provider: Milestone Systems | Updated: 4/10/2013 | Article type: Security 50

Veracity, manufacturers of Coldstore, the surveillance industry's first sequential storage system, announces Coldstore Arcus, a video surveillance platform for security installations requiring simple live view and forensic playback capabilities with no need for intricate feature sets or complex system architecture. This solution is a pre-integrated product powered by Milestone Arcus VMS that is embedded in the Coldstore hardware - ready to plug in, power on and operate.

Veracity's Coldstore technology is a sequential storage system specifically designed for video surveillance storage. Milestone Systems' newly-announced Milestone Arcus is an embedded VMS offering for integration into technology partners' hardware platforms. Milestone Arcus and Coldstore are an ideal match, combining in a single-box solution which supports all IP camera types. Coldstore Arcus provides capacity of up to 60TB of video data storage and resource-effective power consumption of only 1 watt per terabyte.

The advanced sequential storage technology in Coldstore allows the use of any consumer hard drive to provide up to 60TB of high-reliability storage across 15 drive bays. The entire system operates on less than 66 watts, requires no external cooling and creates a significant differentiator in today's security market.

Veracity's Coldstore Arcus offers a streamlined video management tool and storage system that does not require a separate VMS server. Coldstore Arcus will be sold by Veracity's channel partners. Milestone Systems will provide future upgrades through ongoing releases of the software.

Milestone chose to partner with Veracity due to the innovative video storage approach implemented by Coldstore. Engineers from both companies have worked closely together to exploit the key product advantages so the end result will be a radical departure from today's traditional client/server/storage architecture.

Powerful and compact NVRs with intuitive design

Editor / Provider: Submitted by QNAP | Updated: 4/1/2013 | Article type: Hot Topics

Imagine having an NVR that features a dual-HDD tray, with a compact size smaller than a dictionary with A4 dimensions. This is not just a concept, but a real product already: QNAP VS-2112 Pro+ NVR. The following is a real-life test report highlighting its strengths.

Well-Designed Enclosure
The desktop VioStor VS-2112 Pro+ series from QNAP Systems, Inc. is a Linux-embedded NVR. The front panel design shows a pluggable dual-HDD tray in the middle and LED indicators of HDD operating status on the left side. The power switch, QNAP's unique one-touchauto-video-backup button and USB 3.0 interface are located at the lower side. This structure is able to handle customers' day-to-day operating and recording operations. The rear panel of this product features the main ventilation fan with audio I/ O ports and four USB 2.0 ports at the upper right side. VioStor VS-2112 Pro+ has 2 Giga LAN ports to enable the network streaming of 12-channel inputs from HD IP cameras. In addition, VioStor VS-2112 Pro+ leverages HDMI local outputs and power supplier, which make this thin NVR an ideal option without compromise.

High-Performance CPU
QNAP VS-2112 Pro+ NVR has not only the look, but also the functional feels. Its CPU printed circuit board implements the “Thermal Solution” to reduce the heat so that the fan can work very efficiently to maintain good ventilation. Its CPU uses the high-performance materials of industrial computers to significantly improve the system's stability and reliability. VS-2112 Pro+ NVR supports two HDDs and 12-channel IP camera inputs. Its CPU features dual-core Intel 2.6 GHz processor, 4GB DDRIII RAM, and 180Mbps transmission rate to ensure the stable and seamless recording and playback quality of several megapixels.

Flexible Storage Display
QNAP VS - 2 11 2 P r o + NVR supports up to 8TB storage capacity, which is able to meet the storage needs for high quality H.264, MPEG-4, M-JPEG and MxPEGrecording. Furthermore, it adopts H.264 hardware compression to deliver 1080P Full HD image outputs up to 180 fps. This NVR supports the local display via HDMI outputs as well to deliver the Full HD real-time surveillance.

Rich Simple UI
QNAP VS-2112 Pro+ NVR has a very intuitive User Client operating interface supporting multiple display modes, up to 64-channel live view. This interface also supports fish-eye image restore, multiple server monitoring and advanced event management. Users can take advantage of the fish-eye image restore feature for more crystal surveillance images to enhance the security. The on-screen display of QNAP VS-2112 Pro+ NVR groups the monitoring, playback/export and surveillance settings together in blocks to provide the ease of operation. For system setup tasks, this product features step-by-step screens to guide the operators to configure the settings and to eliminate the errors. It offers the preview of camera images and the list of compatible brands and models of IP cameras to help users setup QNAP VS-2112 Pro+ NVR quickly.

Cross-Platform Support
QNAP VS - 2 11 2 P r o + NVR also supports cross platform management. It includes QNAP Surveillance Client software for Windows and Mac OS, and VMobile mobile surveillance app for mobile devices of iOS, Android and Windows Mobile 6.1-6.5 versions. The VioStor NVR management tasks are able to be performed within the web browsing interface of PC or notebook workstations. Users can also use VMobile mobile app to perform remote surveillance via Android, iOS and Windows Mobile devices. This feature enables users to monitor the network cameras and playback the recording files on VioStor NVR anytime, anywhere, with great convenience.

Best for Business and Home Security
QNAP VS-2112 Pro+ NVR provides high performance, high reliability and excellent quality of local playback features. This product can meet the high resolution requirements in the surveillance markets and is the ideal choice for small and medium sized businesses and home offices. QNAP VS-2100 Pro+ series NVR is especially an ideal solution for small scale surveillance such as retail stores, parking lots, care centers, or at homes, coming with favorable affordability and flexibility.

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Keep an eye on Brazilian juvenile rehabilitation

Editor / Provider: Hikvision | Updated: 3/29/2013 | Article type: Government & Public Services

Beginning in early 2011, 23 juvenile detention facilities in Rio de Janerio, Brazil have deployed Hikvision Digital Technology both analog and IP video surveillance equipment to help monitor inmates. Local system integrator, Interimagem, implemented the systems consisting of Hikvision Digital Technology IP cameras, mini domes, analog cameras, to meet the different needs of the two different types of facilities, Degase and Criaad. The system integrator worked in partnership with Hikvision official distributor in Brazil, VMI Sistemas de Seguranca.

Degase, the first type of detention facilities was reserved for more serious juvenile offenders. The facility has a higher number of inmates and faces higher risks of violence and vandalism. There are a total of six such facilities located within Rio de Janerio. One of the challenges was preventing inmates from disabling, manipulating or vandalizing the cameras at the low ceiling facility, said Alvaro De Souza, CCTV Manager at VMI.

For indoor monitoring, 2-megapixel vandal-proof mini network domes were installed in corridors and rooms to prevent camera tampering. The cameras come with alarm system that notifies security control room of camera tampering. In addition, 5-megapixel network cameras were placed indoors at key access points and other areas of high importance. The cameras 5-megapixel function reduces infrastructure costs, and could be placed in higher locations to prevent tampering, said Alvaro De Souza.

At Degase, 540 TVL IR bullet cameras housed in IP66 rating enclosures that met Brazilian government's request for weather-proof cameras were deployed for outdoor surveillance. The cameras utilize 40 meter IR distance range, with D/N and automatic color or black/white capability. The final touch to the center's surveillance system was a H.264 compression card. “This card saves on video storage capacity by utilizing the card's motion detection feature with analog cameras, and using an IP camera's internal motion detection ability,” Mr. Souza noted.

The second detention facility, called Criaad, is referred to as a semi-liberty facility used by less-serious juvenile offenders. There are 17 Criaad facilities located throughout the state of Rio de Janeiro and require lower level security than Degase. As with Degase – and for the same reasons – Criaad's primary outdoor cameras were 540 TVL IR Bullet Camera. The detention facility also used a Hikvision standalone DVR. “One helpful feature of the DVR is when a system crash is imminent; an alarm automatically sounds, allowing the DVR to automatically save its video data and information is not lost,” said Souza.

Tying this solution together is Hikvision's VMS – a full platform, capable of controlling not only DVRs and compression boards in the same interface, but also IP cameras. This software can manage up to 256 pieces of equipment (cameras, DVRs, etc.). The installation of the system has curbed and eliminated vandalism, prisoner riots, and other misbehavior.

Exacq releases latest version VMS

Editor / Provider: Exacq Technologies | Updated: 3/19/2013 | Article type: Security 50

Exacq Technologies has released version 5.4 of its exacqVision VMS for use with network video surveillance systems. The latest version adds simplified archive drive search, a new direct driver for Samsung IP cameras, enhanced client control for panoramic/fisheye cameras, support for the new Axis M3007 panoramic camera, remote server software updates and ONVIF Profile S support. Nearly 200 new IP cameras from many of the industry's leading manufacturers will be supported by exacqVision through the release of version 5.4.

This release introduces the new Search Archive drive—the first phase of archiving for the exacqVision VMS. The exacqVision 5.4 client searches and retrieves video from both the local video server and the archive drive location seamlessly, with the results displayed as if all the video was from the same server.

With version 5.4, exacqVision adds support for nearly the entire line of Samsung IP cameras and encoders with the addition of a new Samsung IP camera direct driver.

Panoramic and fisheye cameras now have more enhanced control from within the exacqVision client. Users can now choose from three different views from most panoramic/fisheye cameras in live or recorded view in order to obtain better video evidence. The latest version of exacqVision also adds support for the new M3007 panoramic camera from Axis Communications. This camera features multi-streaming capabilities which are also supported by the exacqVision VMS. This allows users to create several live views of the camera in different view modes and resolutions simultaneously.

This new release also makes it easier for customers to update their software subscription. exacqVision 5.4 supports the updating of servers remotely. With Internet access enabled, exacqVision will check for available server software updates and will download the latest version based on the subscription end date.