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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Mississippi police fight crime with mobile ALPR

Editor / Provider: Genetec | Updated: 3/14/2013 | Article type: Infrastructure

The Jackson police department in Mississippi is deploying Genetec's ALPR solution to help officers identify criminals and scofflaws. The city police have been using the Genetec solution since 2011, and equipped several vehicles with the mobile ALPR system, running on a ruggedized laptop, to ensure there is an officer in each precinct, patrolling and utilizing the technology to scan their area at all times. On the body of each car are two small IP cameras, specifically designed for mobile applications.

Even in bad weather, at poor angles and at high speeds, the solution can automatically collect vehicle license plates, run them against a computerized “hot list,” and if there is a match, alert officers in charge of issues and infractions. The in-vehicle application helps officers review all data collected throughout the day while the officers back at the central department unit can monitor and analyze reads from the vehicles. Wirelessly, or at the end of a shift, all data collected is synchronized with the police department's central system for ongoing analysis.

The ALPR-enabled cruisers were originally tasked with locating motorists with multiple unpaid violations, which have helped return investments on the system. In addition, with the National Crime Information Center and warrant hot list, the police have been able to identify, arrest and convict people wanted for other crimes, explained Eric Wall, Deputy Chief of Patrol Operations. More recently, the police were able to scan cars coming into major retail centers and apprehend wanted felons before they could get into the stores.

Because it is uniquely located at the intersection of Interstate 55 and Interstate 20, Jackson is strategically significant in anti-drug trafficking programs. A few months ago, during a routine patrol, the ALPR system flagged vehicles of wanted narcotics dealers, which led to their arrests. Based on their successes, the police department is planning to increase the number of vehicles to adopt the Genetec solution to support the narcotics and K9 divisions.

Ease of use is the name of the game

Editor / Provider: Christina Phillips, a&s International | Updated: 2/12/2013 | Article type: Tech Corner

With the advent of affordable IP cameras and storage devices, the drastically enlarged surveillance market has given birth to a mammoth amount of surveillance data that needs to be properly maintained. Ease of access and management has become the name of the game.

Affordable IP products from major manufacturers have helped accelerate the digital migration, said Tim Biddulph, IP Product Manager for Europe, Samsung Techwin. "The main driver behind the migration from DVRs to NVRs is standardization. The vast majority of current buildings utilize a structured cabling system designed to support all the systems within, from telephones to building management. It is only logical that security systems should also use the same infrastructure."

New projects, as well as upgrade projects, in EMEA are gradually moving to IP, while in the Americas, government and enterprise sectors have already adopted IP solutions, said Evelyn Kao, Product Manager at Qnap Systems. "However, some developing countries are still using analog solutions," for presumably even lower prices and technical entry barriers

While larger projects are demanding networked solutions of some sort, analog is still the dominant choice for smaller installations or home applications, Biddulph added. However, with the advent of network home cameras and cloud solutions, even these sectors are starting to go with IP.

"Worldwide NVR sales will certainly expand. Among others, Asia's migration to IP systems is remarkable, and such a trend will reinforce the growing number of NVR sales," noted Alex Iida, Senior Manager of Visual Security Solutions for APAC, Sony Electronics.

NVRs are also starting to be used in more scenarios, especially with the launch of 4- and 16-channel units that look and feel much like analog DVRs, Biddulph said. With a monitor output and DVD writer, these NVRs make IP solutions easier for smaller installers and operators.

Another factor is PoE-enabled NVRs that allow for plug-and-play. "We are the first manufacturer to develop and successfully implement PoE NVRs. The plug-and-play capability makes everything much easier, especially for the SMB and DIY markets," said Colin Wang, PM for NVRs at Dahua Technology.

These days, NVRs are rack-mountable and are even available in one-rack unit sizes. Many NVRs are open platforms to facilitate maximum flexibility and scalability, which is especially useful when deploying large or enterprise solutions. Many of the embedded NVRs' functions bear resemblance to their DVR predecessors. In addition, many NVRs' GUIs are exactly the same as DVRs, so switching from DVRs to NVRs does not put any unnecessary burden on users as they do not need to change their usual routine or undergo additional training.

For 16 channels and under, only basic IT knowledge is required. With PC-based NVRs, the number of channels is "unlimited," and even more convincing is the VMS providers who offer free software that is preinstalled in their NVRs. For an even smaller number of channels such as 4 or 8, one can opt for a PC-based NVR approach by using a desktop PC and entry-level VMS; however this set up offers limited flexibility and functionality.

[NextPage] NVR Requirements
Thanks to the advent of storage media such as IP-SAN, eSATA, NAS and FireWire, embedded NVRs have overcome the perceived notion that their storage capacity is limited. Without storage capacity concerns, embedded NVRs are quickly gaining traction; now both types of NVRs are on a level playing field. Although everything is embedded, embedded NVRs offer more than what meets the eye; they support the interfaces of other surveillance devices to enable convenient integration with alarm and access control systems, as well as PTZ remote control systems.

Functions and features that a decent NVR should encompass are flexible recording and playback capabilities, a user-friendly and remote-controllable GUI, intelligent motion detection and PTZ camera control. "Based on our experience and industry reports, the CAGR of embedded NVRs is approximately 40 percent. Therefore, we predict the global market for embedded NVRs to reach $460 million in 2013," Kao said. "Both APAC and EMEA regions, especially with the popularity of smartphones and tablets, are showing strong demand for mobile surveillance. Access control, storage expansion, I/O and VCA features and capabilities are also frequently requested. For the Americas, most requests are for vertical integration, mobile surveillance and storage expansion."

SMB applications are taking an increasing market share of NVR products, especially with the price of embedded NVRs being relatively lower compared to PC-based NVRs (with additional VMS fees). "Embedded NVRs enable users to experience superior performance in terms of ease of use, system stability and decoding capability," noted Eric Shen, Product Manager at Hikvision Digital Technology.

Stability
Linux OS optimizes stability by only running relevant surveillance applications. Embedded operating systems contain only the software components necessary for the specific functions of the NVR, and are configured with optimum configurations (backed by rigorous testing) straight from the factory.

Reliability
The precise architecture of embedded NVRs ensures that they are less prone to crash, such as fanless designs and wide temperature operations etcetera. As the controls are embedded right into the NVR, the activity of users can therefore be more easily restricted to work-related use. An industry expert warned that many security personnel who, not surprisingly, get tired/bored from staring at monitors all day think to themselves upon seeing the Windows logo, "Perhaps it's ok that I play or download games like I do with my home computer or perhaps I can download or upload stuff from my phone through the USB port." Entire security systems have regularly been interrupted by staff members "merely" plugging in their phones. With embedded NVRs, foreign devices are not recognized. In addition, most run Linux OS, which is basically free from the risks of being infected with viruses, spyware, adware and malware.

[NextPage] Decoding
Embedded NVRs consistently outperform PC-based NVRs in terms of complex decoding as well as being able to provide more reliable video playback and preview. Some of these NVRs are able to perform both local decoding and playback, and can decode up to 16 channels at 1,080p. To achieve comparable performance, PC-based solutions require more expensive CPUs to accommodate the processing demands.

Environment-Friendly
The power consumption of an average embedded NVR is 70 Watts, which is less than a regular light bulb. In comparison, the average power consumption of a PC running an NVR is about 250 Watts.

Repair Process
Sending back faulty hardware through a manufacturer's return merchandise authorization (RMA) is costly, time-consuming and oftentimes frustrating. For mission-critical applications, extra hardware expenditure must be allocated for spares in order to eliminate down time. Another option is to look for NVRs that have VMS preloaded in the disk-on-module (DOM) chip. This way, instead of shipping the whole machine back, only the small DOM needs to be replaced, suggested Sara Lin, VP of Instek Digital. "Our NVRs can be equipped with a powerful DOM, which contains Linux operating system and management software."

Other Considerations
Perhaps choosing the right systems integrator (SI) is just as important as deciding between DVRs and NVRs. Common belief is that SIs with IT background have a distinct advantage over SIs without sufficient IT or network background, for they are thought to be able to offer better service and support. “Many SIs also act as the platform developer and provider, and because they have more experience in platform development, many times they can meet customer requirements in a shorter time frame,” Wang said. Solution developers now put more investment in software and services, transforming themselves from merely product providers to total solution providers.

"When choosing an SI for surveillance projects, it is important to look for a balanced level of knowledge with regards to surveillance and IT systems," Iida said. "In addition, we believe offering better service and support is part of the value and identity of SIs."

Million-dollar protection bestowed on Honolulu city buses

Editor / Provider: Safety Vision | Updated: 10/22/2012 | Article type: Infrastructure

Safety Vision, a solutions provider of mobile video and multimedia fleet automation, was recently awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to install onboard surveillance systems on 302 buses for the City and County of Honolulu. Providing fixed-route public transportation throughout the island of Oahu, The Bus serves 73.4 million riders annually.

Utilizing Safety Vision's next-generation mobile technology, the City and County of Honolulu received the complete transit security solution with Safety Vision's patent pending SafeStor technology. The SafeStor design in the NVR combines the durability of a solid-state drive (SSD) with the extended storage capacity of a rotating drive.

Safety Vision pioneered SafeStor to record to the SSD when the vehicle is in motion, thereby eliminating a common point of failure in many mobile recording devices; writing to spinning storage media as a vehicle encounters instances where shock or vibration specs for storage media can be exceeded could lead to storage media corruption or early drive failure. With SafeStor, the spinning drive does not power up until the vehicle has the ignition turned off as well as two other measures that ensure the vehicle is not in motion. SafeStor then quickly copies the audio, video and metadata from the SSD to the spinning 2.5-inch, mobile-grade drive. Not only does this vastly increase the reliability of the system, it provides redundancy of evidence for critical situations. The RoadRecorder 7000 NVR sports a third recording option, utilizing an optional SD card; the card allows end-user configurations to record either most recent video in a loop-over format, recording until needed, or recording of all latest events.

This technology is complete with wireless video offload capabilities, automatic vehicle location, real-time remote viewing, and a client/server software solution. Outfitted in each bus will be six to eight mobile-rated cameras and Safety Vision's RoadRecorder7000 NVR. Safety Vision's SafetyView viewing software and SafetyNet digital asset management system will supplement the RoadRecorder 7000 NVR, by providing user-friendly video management tools, including wireless video look-in from a remote vehicle; high-speed AES-encrypted wireless video offload; mobile-rated, 2.5-inch hard drives supporting terabytes or 30 days of storage across all cameras; automatic wireless download of triggered events; scheduled wireless downloads of requested untagged video; automatic health status updates; and video management and archival.

The contract's term is for six years; Safety Vision is currently completing the first year's installation of 58 buses; the second, third, fourth and fifth years will equip a total of 200 additional buses; and 44 buses will be equipped the sixth year, totaling 302 buses. “We've provided TheBus with a software interface that's user-friendly, feature-rich, innovative and essential for its transit fleet,” said Account Executive Justin Lindbloom at Safety Vision. “The mobile surveillance system will provide a sense of security for both passengers and drivers; reduce criminal or other threatening behavior, vandalism and theft; reduce liability complaints and other similar risk management issues; increase technological capabilities over time to meet new needs; utilize project management that will enable TheBus to actively monitor project tasks; and deliver detailed training, including technical documentation, user guides, and technical and warranty support for the duration of the multiyear project.”

Launch’s Network Video Server Successfully Applied in Swan Lake National Urban Wetland Park of Sanmenxia City

Editor / Provider: LAUNCH | Updated: 10/16/2012 | Article type: China Corner

Launch’s Network Video Server has been successfully applied in Swan Lake National Urban Wetland Park monitoring system of Sanmenxia city, assisting the Wetland Park to enhance its security and their ability to handle emergencies.

The Wetland Park is a key project for Sanmenxia city government to create a more attractive city and also to strengthen the protection and development of the Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve. The most scenic spots consist of three parts, which include the white swan viewing area, Shan Zhou Park and Yan Huang ecological forest. The Swan Lake National Urban Wetland Park is a perennial impoundment covering approximately 16, 8031 acres including the water surface and forest land. Each year from October to the following March the park attract tens of thousands of white swans which settle there for winter, hence why Sanmenxia is hailed as “Swan City “.

Launch’s products were chosen for this project due to its excellent quality and good value. Launch’s Network Video Server includes Network Video Encode and Network Video Decode. The Network Video Encoder is D1 resolution and adopts H.264 video compression and supports mobile surveillance , WiFi/3G function, SD/TF card is also optional. The easy to operate Network Video Decode supports one channel D1/HalfD1/CIF resolution and has a keyboard control with built-in GUI.

Due to the complexity of the wetland park environment, Launch have solved their previously over complicated surveillance system. Through the use of Launch’s network video server which is compatible with the Wetland park’s surveillance devices upgrading and optimization of the system was conducted. With a decentralized surveillance data collection point, large data can also be conveniently transmitted through the network, which lowers the surveillance system costs. More importantly the system can be managed centrally

Launch’s product successfully applied in Swan Lake National Urban Wetland Park monitoring system of Sanmenxia city has been highly recognized because of the product’s function, quality and service. Launch will continue to improve product quality and with constant innovation contributing to the different fields in the security industry.

Avtech Introduces 12-Channel NVR

Editor / Provider: Avtech | Updated: 7/11/2012 | Article type: Security 50

This NVR features powerful mobile surveillance, especially the ending of active event notifications with video playback to iPhone, iPad and other Android mobile devices. When it works with AVTECH ETS cameras and our free mobile app, EagleEyes, is installed, you'll be able to receive notifications right after event occurrence within 5 seconds, and see what happened later. It keeps an eye on the thing or area important for you and never gets asleep.

You could use this device as a control center to control and monitor up to 12 network cameras (ONVIF supported) connected to this NVR locally or remotely, and also get the ability of image storage for evidentiary recording and data backup. To extend the storage, a SATA interface is built in for external disk array connection. To have the best monitoring and recording images, this NVR supports full HD image display and real-time record per channel.

Mobile DVR Breaks the Bottlenecks to Highlight the Quality

Editor / Provider: a&s China Best Buys | Updated: 7/10/2012 | Article type: China Corner

Public transportation is vulnerable to threats and attacks. Governments around the world are investing more in transportation safety, which in turn increases demand for mobile surveillance solutions. According to research, the mobile video surveillance market will be US$1.55 billion by 2015, at a CAGR of 13.7 percent over 2008 to 2015. The potential lies in not only tightened security for drivers and passengers, but also huge gains in operational efficiency for fleet managers.

Market Demand
Mobile DVR is an important device within the vehicles. According to the ranking of bus and taxi in some principal cities of 2011 in China, the total amount of the public vehicles in the front 27 cities reaches 174,559. Apparently, there is a large demand for the mobile DVR.

From the year of 2011, the Chinese government has released a series of policies which indicated great concern for the public security, which will definitely boost the mobile surveillance market.

With the increasing living standard and ever complex social environment, mobile surveillance gradually come into view and become a necessity. It will replace the manual work and enhance the surveillance efficiency and the investment will thus keep growing.

Generally, the law enforcement cars require the most rapid and effective tracking and recording while the transport vehicle concentrates on the interior room with easier application environment. Mobile DVR will meet a huge market where the applications see possibilities in logistics and financial convoy.

“Customers may have very personalized demand sometimes, manufacturers need to face the contradiction between mass production and customized service,” said Joe Qiu, Overseas Business Director of TVT. “Nearly all the relevant laws and regulations demand the mature technical solutions, which can be realized with controllable cost.”

Multiple Functions
Generally, mobile DVR is a professional product applying the embedded DVR backed by the digital video and audio coding technology. It adopts the embedded processor and operation system, combining compression and decompression IT technology with GPS and 3G wireless telecommunication as well as the mobile power administration technology.

As a niche market of traditional embedded DVR, mobile DVR is an emerging professional product for the application of audio and video coding technology in the vehicle, incorporating GPS, 3G wireless and USB telecommunication, power management system, all of which could be applied in surveillance of vehicles all day along.

Mobile DVR can be divided into three catalogues according to the functions: traditional DVR which can only realize the local storage; multimedia one that incorporate with entertainment and advertising footages ; advanced DVR refers to the product owning various function such as GPS, driving recording, wireless transmission etc.

Obstacles
Following the irreversible trend of the security industry, networking and intellectualization will be the general direction. Mobile DVR owns a bright future while some bottlenecks still need prompt solution.

Wide Voltage
It is known to all that the output voltage of the vehicle is unstable, about DC 12V or DC 24V, but the traditional DVR demand a steady and stable magnitude of voltage, otherwise, it may lead to the reset or going down of the computer. As a result, a power system that can stabilize the voltage is required between the vehicle output voltage and mobile DVR. Currently most of the manufacturers adopt the design of wide voltage ranging from 8 to 36V in order to adapt to the changeable working environment.

Wireless Transmission
Despite there being multiple technologies in terms of the wireless transmission, 3G finds hardly any room for living in the car as a result of the limited coverage of EDGE and the insufficient bandwidth of CDMA.”The limitation of 3G leads to some uncertain factors in viewing the real-time image, the effects can be probably affected,” said Song Linpeng, Mobile Product of Santachi.

Vibration
Due to the different situation of the vehicles and roads, the vibrationreduction technology becomes the basic requirement for mobile DVR such as the reduction of hard drive rack. “To tackle the vibration problem, we adopt comprehensive solutions based on mechanical, electronic and software parts,” added Song.

Therefore, reducing the vibration of hard disc is the priority among those procedures since this part is the most vulnerable to the damage and the occurrence will make it impossible to record the situation in the car. “We use G-sensor that can induct the vibration energy meanwhile automatically implement read and write administration for the hardware, the statistics can be switched between SD card and hardware, ensuring the safe storage,” said Qiu.

Future Trend
All the design of mobile DVR should coordinate software and hardware, which is the biggest difference from the traditional DVR. It can be seen from the market that mobile surveillance is moving forward into HD, Intellectualization, integration, and standardization.

High Definition
The traditional mobile surveillance industry mainly adopts the ordinary digital camera plus the analogue structure, cost-effective price is its advantage. However, with the upcoming trend of networking, the mobile surveillance industry is stretching into the high-end market?manual monitoring cannot meet the demand of the end users, instead they are looking forward to the intelligent surveillance. High definition has explicitly enhanced the image effects.

Apparently, HD mobile DVR will be definitely the mainstream of future market of intelligent surveillance, which can raise the standard the mobile surveillance industry and have a positive impact on this field. “Mobile solutions share the same basic principles with fixed security systems, but there are unique elements that must be considered for different applications. Take police vehicles. HD is the priority,” said James Wang, Overseas Product Manager at Dahua Technology.

Intelligent Functions
The advantage of intellectualization lies in the application with more added value that is catering to the particular demands of mobile surveillance, for example, when the enforcement cars is moving, the image will vibrate due to the bumping on the rough road.

However, The monitor technicians are likely to feel exhausted for vibrating?but intelligent image can solve this problem, especially in the public transportation, people counting, facial recognition, license recognition can render the better service for the background operations.

Furthermore, the intellectualization of mobile DVR plays an important role in attracting the end-users. As the traditional video surveillance system draw the valuable information on the basis of statistics storage, plus the large work load, which put the security administrators into a bit of bind.

Availability
With more and more users put much emphasis on the mobile surveillance system, it turns out to be the professional solutions from the unitary video surveillance. As one part of the entire operation in the public transportation, the mobile surveillance should coordinate with other devices such as GPS, electronic reporting, card reader, traffic radar in the unified system.

“Our products can read information that is triggered by the vehicle sensors such as the traffic direction. The driving speed can be monitored at any time through GPS and linked to Google Map as well as the video,” said Qiu.

“We have designed interface for the mobile DVR, in case that the new function can be added in such as the over-speed alarm and tire-pressure warning and etc,” said Song.

Standardization
So far, the hardware of security industry has been mature, but the construction of the software system still has long way to go. Different subsidiary system does not match very well as the standard is not unified. Promoting industry standardization demands the mutual effort of government and manufacturers.

Therefore, if mobile DVR can leverage on more intelligent functions, it can be not only bring about the ability of working automatically, but also to be incorporated simultaneously in the entire system. In this case, a huge shift will take place in mobile DVR that could usher in new mission.

Hikvision Unveils Newest Mobile DVR

Editor / Provider: Hikvision | Updated: 7/6/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Hikvision launched a new series of mobile DVR -- DS-8100HMFI-T to expand its transportation surveillance portfolio. With the capability of accommodating up to 12-channel video input as well as its advantages over constant vibration and unstable power supply etc, the DS-8100HMFI-T is suitably practical to install in trains and some other large vehicles. Additionally, it also offers users the benefit of 3G/WI-FI data transmission such as video, location, brake signals and speed etc at user's choice.

Since mobile DVR is installed in vehicle which is constantly in motion, how to maintain stable working performance is an important proposition. This product adopts patented hard-disk vibration reduction technology to effectively keep device running stably. As an advanced technology in the mobile surveillance industry, it conforms to ISO 16750 standard (Road vehicles -- Environmental conditions and testing for electrical and electronic equipment), and it can withstand acceleration shock value of 50G, which greatly demonstrates its superiority over other products in the same category. In this case, users do not need to worry about the constant vibration that causes damage to the device.

This product also embeds a built-in redundant power supply which starts whenever the external power supply stops, and allows the system to have sufficient time to shutdown normally thus to avoid data loss and damage to the disks. Moreover, dust prevention, humidity and heat dissipation are also well considered in designing since mobile DVRs are generally installed in confined spaces and compartments.

Besides, the DS-8100HMFI-T Mobile DVR supports two 2.5-inch pluggable SATA HDD/SSD disks with a capacity of 500GB each for long term recording. The H.264 video compression is available for each analog channel with 4CIF real time encoding which significantly enhances the image quality during viewing and playback. Dual stream is also supported, with the sub stream allowing remote preview and mobile phone monitoring via limited bandwidth.

Compared to the former generation mobile DVRs, the DS-8100HMFI-T Mobile DVR utilize a brand new intuitive GUI for users to operate. The DS-8100HMFI-T Mobile DVR also provides various interfaces (eSATA/USB, SIM, RS232) for connecting external devices.

Fleet Management Systems Look forward to Greater Efficiency and Productivity

Editor / Provider: Tevin Wang | Updated: 3/26/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

 “The rising price of fuel has made telematics for fleet management systems even more critical to all types of fleets,” said Craig Whitney, VP of Marketing at Networkfleet. Seeking ways to ensure fleets remain profitable is the main reason fleet managers use telematics. In the U.K., for instance, diesel prices rose 36 percent from 2010 to 2011. “Our clients use telematics to reduce operation costs, including lower fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance.”

According to a study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, ignoring fuel-saving strategies such as vehicle maintenance, driver training and route selection can reduce a vehicle's cumulative fuel efficiency by about 45 percent. Aggressive driving and vehicle idling are major sources of fuel waste, as is excessive speeding.

Features like safety belt status, idling, speed violation alerts and reports, and kilometers-per-liter/ miles-per-gallon monitoring can not only reduce fuel consumption by 8 to 10 percent, but also reduce overall operating costs by 10 to 20 percent, Whitney said.

Unauthorized vehicle use is another source of fuel waste. “GPS tracking provides vehicle movement 24/7, which allows our customers to be alerted if there is movement after hours or at any irregular time of day,” said Mark Roberts, CMO of NexTraq. Improved routing is another way to reduce fuel costs so that managers can dispatch drivers more efficiently and reduce overall driving distances.

According to a 2011 U S Environment Protection Agency study, failing to properly maintain the engine or check the tires can hurt fuel efficiency. The study indicated that “fixing a car that is out of tune or failed an emission test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4 percent, while fixing a faulty oxygen sensor can improve mileage by as much as 40 percent.”

Engine diagnostics monitoring, including fuel usage and emissions, helps with anticipating and fixing critical vehicle or equipment issues, thus avoiding costly failures or maintenance costs, while keeping engines and fuel performance in optimal conditions, Whitney said. “In the future, these systems will gather more data from engines through sensors, and then combine that data with predictive statistics to help identify and diagnose potential sources of problems.”

Reduced Labor Cost
Payroll fraud and inefficient use of labor and resources are concerns for fleet managers. “With GPS, telematics reports can be used to track authentic work hours, reducing timesheet and payroll errors,” said Jason Lai, Director of Fleet Management Service, Riti Technology. “The system can also indicate if drivers aggregate in a location other than the service yard to take an unauthorized break together. It allows company executives and fleet managers to track vehicles, employees, driving routes and actual hours spent on the job.”

When drivers know their behavior and workday profiles are monitored, they behave. “One of our clients' payroll expenses have decreased by 12 percent with more accurate labor costs,” Roberts said.

Property Loss = Productivity Loss
Landscaping, construction and mining vehicles often transport expensive assets. “When heavy machinery is lost, stolen or missing, it can lead to significant losses for your business,” said Todd Lewis, President of GPS North America. “You face not only the cost of replacing those assets, but also the lost productivity and customer satisfaction when employees can't perform as planned.” For instance, a minor scrape in a mine could cost a company millions in revenue. “One of our landscaping customers recovered more than $400,000 worth of vehicles and equipment with our solution,” Roberts said.

Efficient Dispatch
For taxi and limo fleet managers, detailed location and best time-saving route information offer the most value for dispatching vehicles, Whitney said. “Customer satisfaction is also improved due to the ability to track vehicle location and dispatch the nearest vehicle.”

For mass-transit buses, it is also important for these vehicles to arrive on time. Through the integration of mobile DVR, GPS, dispatch software, stop announcement system and other onboard electronics, estimated arrival times can be provided to maximize driver efficiency and passenger satisfaction, said Xin Zhou, Product Manager, Hikvision Digital Technology..

Fleet managers can see where their vehicles are, and they can automate processes such as routing, tracking or reporting, Roberts said. Drivers may spend too much time on the road because they do not know the quickest way to their destination. “One customer was able to increase fleet productivity by 35 percent.”
All-in-One Solutions
Rising fuel prices may be a driving force for the adoption of fleet management solutions. “It took years for one of our clients to finally deploy our solution. What made the customer hesitant was that they were not sure if the ROI was positive and how fast the ROI would be gained,” Lai said. Payback periods vary greatly with the execution skill of the fleet manager and the scale of fleets.

“In a traditional setting, the functions of DVRs and telematics devices are mutually exclusive; mobile DVRs record while telematics devices track through GPS,” Zhou said. “With increasingly available 3-G networks, telematics devices are gradually replaced by more powerful mobile DVRs since customers no longer invest in two devices with similar capabilities.” Having a visual recording/transmitting component included with a reliable telematics service provides a layered and comprehensive mobile solution.

“Many DVR providers are offering cellular-based tracking services, while numerous GPS providers are working with DVR providers that have adopted an open-system approach with published APIs,” said Chalon Dilber, Marketing Director for Safety Vision. “Due to the extremely fragmented nature of both markets, combined with a relatively closed approach taken by providers, collaboration remains an exception rather than industry norm.”

Integration takes time to schedule and develop, Zhou said, since coordination among hardware manufacturers, software developers and clients is required. “The whole process could easily take a couple of months, if not more.”

Once integrated, all user-designated events with associated video, audio and metadata are downloaded to a central management system, which allows users to view, grade and respond to events at their convenience. Dilber said. “The central management software can also archive event videos based on user-defined priorities or severity of events, thereby ensuring that visual evidence of critical events is always available.”

Amid this economic uncertainty, mobile surveillance and telematics solution providers are advised to look at new service models and solution offerings to stay in business. Safety and efficiency are the core of fleet management and operations. It is financially and operationally sound to think outside the box to better cater to the needs of different fleet types.

Fleet Management Solution Goes Smarter

Editor / Provider: Tevin Wang | Updated: 3/26/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

Faced with increasing terrorist and public-safety threats over the past two decades, mobile surveillance technologies have emerged and evolved. Forwardthinking vehicle fleet managers are always looking for comprehensive solutions that reduce liability and enhance safety and fleet performance.

While basic principles remain the same among different verticals, there are unique elements and requirements that must be considered for specific fleet types. “It really depends on the vertical the service business covers. For example, landscaping companies often have extremely expensive assets on their trucks, whether they have five or 500 vehicles in their fleet,” said Mark Roberts, CMO of Nextraq “One single in-vehicle device covering all different needs is replaced by vertical-specific solutions with smarter analysis and more value-added services. “

Concerns by vertical
Taxis and Limousines
“For taxis and limos, the No. 1 risk is reckless driving,” Roberts said. Features such as speed reports, risky driver behavior identification and alerts are used to monitor unsafe driving patterns that might result in accidents or litigation. 

Police Cruisers
In the U.S., police vehicles are equipped with cameras to record both inside and outside activity. Video quality is the ultimate consideration when choosing an in-car video system, said Adam Rushlow, Marketing Manager of WatchGuard Video. HD is a priority as video footage is required as court evidence. According to IMS Research, the HD camera market for police cars in the U.S. is set to grow more than 20 percent over the next four years. Sound-recording facilities can also be integrated and used in a court of law to prove or disprove witness statements.

Most police officers are not technologically oriented. “Make sure police officers can be trained easily and effectively while installation remains as simple as possible,” Rushlow said. “The accountability and reliability of solution providers are also vital, especially when some technical issues arise.”

Logistics and Freight
“Delivery vehicles and freight trucks could carry potentially expensive assets that could be targeted for theft or robbery,” said Liu Yang, Technical Support Engineer, Dahua Technology. While GPS provides location information, asset-tracking devices can be deployed to pinpoint the location of equipment or a specific trailer.

Some assets require real-time monitoring with location updates every two minutes. Other mobile assets like containers and rail cars require location updates less frequently and require batterypowered tracking devices. The goal is to allow fleet managers to monitor and maintain real-time control, ultimately minimizing the costs associated with lost, stolen or abandoned trailers, said Todd Lewis, President of GPS North America.

A traditional way to secure trailers and freight cargo is through door-only or door-plus seals. However, door-only and door-plus seals do not provide protection against unauthorized entry, said Laura Turner, Marketing Assistant at Global Tracking Communication. Smart containers are asset trackers with a container lock feature, reporting opening and closing events. With this additional layer of security, fleet managers may use an online application to view assets and vehicles on maps.

Reports and alerts can be triggered, for example, when cargo enters or leaves a specific geographic location. This geofencing information improves security and reduces possible theft, helping business owners better manage inventory and human/object assets.

Mass Transit
In public transportation, key security concerns for passengers and drivers include disputes from accidents, violence, vandalism, driver behavior management and liability mitigation, said Chalon Dilber, Marketing Director for Safety Vision. “To a much lesser extent, the concerns stretch to include hijacking and homeland security-related concerns.”

Simple video recording with a fixed camera might be adequate for after-the-fact processing since litigation has always been a concern for mass-transit operators. Readily available video footage provides the most legitimate evidence to support or dismiss claims from either passengers or drivers. In recent years, remotely accessible and live video has become a prerequisite in selecting mobile DVRs, which provide decision makers with a real-time view as critical events unfold. To ensure video quality, features like Wi-Fi, 3-G and bandwidth consistency should be taken into account.

Unsafe driving maneuvers should also be monitored. Identifying reckless behavior with sensors is generally included with recording hardware or GPS devices. “For example, accelerometers can measure high G-force events such as aggressive cornering, brakes and crashes,” Dilber said. “In addition, integration with external hardwired sensors as well as vehicle diagnostics allows buses to provide real-time alerts to a central station.”

According to Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators research, driver fatigue contributes to 19 percent of accidents and 4 percent of fatal collisions. Fatigue detection focuses on the status of eyes. “The latest development is to combine video analytics and passenger counting with audio and GPS data to proactively monitor driving habits and passenger loading to prevent possible accidents,” said Xin Zhou, Product Manager, Hikvision Digital Technology.

Mining and Dangerous Goods
Safety is a top priority. Many mining sites or dangerous goods transport routes are located in rural areas, which may not have cellular communications, said Cliff Henley, CEO of Fleet Management Solutions. Mining vehicles are rugged and huge, and accidents involving them are always serious. “Two-way satellite communication with GPS tracking is vital for immediate location awareness and emergency response.”

Driver blind spots include the front, sides and back of the vehicle. This fact sometimes leads to deadly accidents as drivers do not even know or sense they ran over a car or a person, Yang said. Radars, microphones and cameras are deployed and shown on a display inside the cabin to enhance situational awareness.

Road safety is critical in risk mitigation and a key concern for these fleet managers, said Jason Lai, Director of Fleet Management Service, Riti Technology. Improved safety on the road in remote areas with harsh environments can be achieved by creating geofences around no-go areas or designated routes to notify if the driver has gone off the grid. “There is no doubt that driver safety remains the most important objective with dangerous goods transport fleets, but monitoring speeding, which is a major contributor to crash incidents, is equally important,” Lai said. Features like driving-behavior monitoring enable managers to know when and where specific events such as hard braking, sharp turns and rapid acceleration occur. “In addition to management awareness, weekly or monthly summaries let drivers know how many events they trigger each day, thus promoting safe driving habits on a daily basis.”

“As tires play an important role in handling, maneuvering and braking of these heavy vehicles, tire pressure monitoring is also crucial,” Lai said. “With the aid of tire pressure monitors, tires can be properly maintained, and crashes caused by tire blowouts and other tire-related issues can be minimized.”

Higher fuel prices increase the risk of fuel theft, making tanker trucks easy targets for criminals, Yang said. The opening and closing of valves, hatches and other control points on the truck should be monitored and time-stamped. Approved routes for the tanker and valve/hatch access points should be established to ensure the safety of these assets. Any deviation from pre-established parameters will trigger an alarm in the operations center.