Axis ranked No. 1 in video encoders and network cameras

Editor / Provider: Axis Communications | Updated: 6/19/2013 | Article type: Security 50

Axis Communications retains its global market-leading position in network cameras and security cameras and has also taken first place in video encoders. This is shown in a new report from information and analytics firm IHS.

“We have further strengthened our position due to our long-term strategy of continuous releases of innovative network video products and the fact that we offer high-quality security solutions in a global market in conjunction with our loyal partners,” says Ray Mauritsson, President of Axis Communications.

“IHS estimates continued high market growth, however, slightly lower than previously, over the next five years. IHS also indicates the market today is more fragmented, with many vendors offering network video products for security solutions.”

Axis is still ranked number one and is global market leader in the network cameras and security cameras categories. The security cameras category includes both analog cameras and network cameras. Last year, Axis further strengthened its market position by taking first place in the video encoders category, a video encoder is a product that is connected to an analog camera, which makes it possible to use the advantages of a network solution.

According to IHS, network cameras will account for more than 50 percent of global surveillance camera sales by 2014. This may be compared to network cameras' share of global sales in 2012, which amounted to approximately 40 percent, according to IHS Research.

K-12 schools worldwide vamp up security

Editor / Provider: a&s International, Alyssa Fann | Updated: 6/13/2013 | Article type: Education

Schools are meant to provide a safe haven for young minds to grow and learn. Hence, they often consist of bright and open spaces with large windows so as to create an environment that encourages learning. In light of the unfortunate Sandy Hook incident in December 2012, however, the very openness meant to encourage a friendly atmosphere also poses security risks. This feature looks at the K-12 security market globally, and the risks that schools face.

At first glance, universities are what come first to mind when it comes to campus security, due to their scale. For example, they generally are open multi-site environments interwoven between public and private property, housing expensive equipment and materials. However, the recent spate of K-12 school attacks has highlighted the vulnerability of defenseless K-12 students in what was supposed to be a safe environment for learning.

fatally shot 20 children between ages six to seven, and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The unfortunate incident was the second deadliest school shooting in US history, after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. Far away in China on the same day, at least 23 elementary students were injured by a man with a knife at Chenpeng Village Primary School in Henan province. China has also seen its share of K-12 school attacks in recent years — an attacker killed eight students and injured several others in an elementary school in Fujian in 2010. Over the next three days after the attacker was executed by Chinese authorities, similar attacks were carried out by other attackers. A man attacked elementary school students in southern Guangdong, wounding 16 students and a teacher. The next day, a man in Jiangsu province stabbed 28 students, two teachers and one security guard, and the day after, a man in Shandong province carried a hammer and a can of gasoline into a village school where he committed suicide by setting himself on fire.

Attacks targeting K-12 schools are not limited to nation or locale. Countries including Germany, Norway, New Zealand, the U.K., South Africa, Brazil, Israel, and Italy have all experienced K-12 school attacks.

Global Market
According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 570 million children are enrolled in schools globally and with so many innocent lives to protect, the K-12 education security market is a substantial one. Board-certified Physical Security Professional, Paul Timm, President of RETA Security feels that the market is virtually limitless — there are risks to schools that should be addressed wherever there is crime and violence.

“The combined education market (K-12 and higher education) is the largest surveillance market. The K-12 market may eclipse higher education's past growth and will certainly out scale it as facility quantities are greater within K-12 school jurisdictions,” said Steve Surfaro, Security Industry Liaison for North America at Axis Communications. Within this market, video surveillance and mass notification are the most commonly funded and deployed systems.

At the same time, Michael Dorn, Executive Director of Safe Havens International noticed a disconnection between the people, policies, procedures, and technology solutions designed to control them. “For example, we often find significant gaps in access control in schools that have excellent technology solutions because school employees and students have not been properly taught what is required of them to make the access control approaches work properly,” said Dorn. Training and practice are, therefore, crucial factors in optimizing the benefits of the security system.

U.S.
From a global perspective, K-12 schools in the U.S. are more prone to gun violence due to easier access to guns. However, attacks are not limited to gun violence — the deadliest school attacks in the U.S. involved fire, which killed 95 in a Catholic school in Chicago, and explosives, which killed more than 40 in a school in Michigan.

In the aftermath of the tragic events at Sandy Hook elementary school, K-12 schools across the U.S. are reassessing their security plans and their need for security equipment updates. Schools in Groton, Connecticut, are considering upgrades of an estimated US$300,000 towards the installation of panic buttons, access control systems, security patrols, and cameras that can be remotely viewed by the police.

For schools in Brookfield, Connecticut, municipal leaders have fast-tracked the approval of money to implement security improvements costing $347,500. They include access control, visitor management, special glass at main entrances, fences around the playgrounds, additional security cameras, new blinds, and upgraded radios.

In Hudson Falls, the central school district installed equipment upgrades that include a camera, intercom, and buzzer system at the main entrance of each of its five school buildings, at a cost of $1,100 each.

While a major problem with K-12 schools is funding, there is over $11.5 billion available in federal, state and private foundation, and corporate grants in the U.S. alone, noted April Dalton-Noblitt, Director of Vertical Marketing at Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies. Safe Havens International, for example, assisted with school security and emergency preparedness assessments for more than 2,000 schools alone in the past four years. To facilitate the funding application for schools, Ingersoll Rand also has a 24/7 cloud-based database of federal and state grant funding information.

System integrators in Massachusetts, can apply to become a certified vendor under the state, such as MA State Contract FAC64 or the traditional bidding method, such as MGL CH. 30B or CH.149. The FAC64 is a security-specific vehicle for the design and implementation of security related systems, and procurement of equipment throughout the state. Under the state contract FAC64, public schools can procure security equipment directly from vendors at favorable prices. “Using FAC64, schools can work directly with approved vendors to design and finally have the vendor furnish and install the desired solution,” said Greg Hussey, VP of Engineering at SIGNET Electronic Systems.

Asia
Many countries in Asia have strict controls and penalties regarding firearms, yet homicides in schools remain a reality. Hence, school shootings may be less common, but aggressors usually use knives, acid, and chemical agents to attack other people, according to Dorn. “There have been at least 25 deaths and 113 other injuries from edged-weapon attacks in China since 2010,” said Gerald Summers, CEO of Integrity Security Protection.

Consequently, a total of $1.27 million is being allocated to Guangshan County in Henan province, China, to address safety in schools in the aftermath of the December 2012 knife attack. The budget will be used toward 486 safeguards and safety equipment for all schools in the county, according to a local newspaper.

In parts of Asia, Dorn also noted an emphasis on access control on school grounds. “I have visited many schools in various regions of Vietnam and all of the schools were totally fenced with a security officer at the gate, even in remote areas like the Mekong Delta.” Another difference is less reliance on security technologies, such as access control systems and security cameras in many of the developing countries. “It has often been less expensive to hire security personnel than to purchase security technology, but this will change as the economic factors change. For example, the rapid growth in the economy in Vietnam appears to increase deployment of security technologies, as rising personnel costs make it more cost-effective to implement access control systems.”

Biometrics is also being applied to education settings. In Karachi, Pakistan, the Minister of Education has announced in January 2013, that biometric systems will be introduced in government schools and colleges aimed at checking absenteeism amongst students and teachers. The system will be introduced at a boys' school, a girls' school, and a college at the tehsil (county) level.

U.K.
Roughly 30 percent of secondary schools and 5 percent of primary schools in the U.K. utilize biometric technology for library loans and school dinner purchases, according to the UK Department of Education. However, in a survey of 1,059 schools conducted by East Anglia and Plymouth universities, it is estimated that hackers may have targeted 20 schools for data theft. Moreover, the findings indicated that 45 percent of schools had poor password security and 40 percent had minimum technical security measures in place to deal with logistic security breaches. For example, the study also found the security levels in schools tend to be inconsistent and rural primary schools were found to be even more susceptible as many do not have data policies or online safety policies in place.

The security of any biometric information has always been heavily debated and the UK Department of Education has recently amended its policy to require parental permission before student biometric information is collected. In May 2012, the U.K. became the first country in the world to address issues of parental consent when their children's biometric information is taken, stored, or processed by a school or institution.

The duties on schools in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 will come into effect starting Sept. 1, 2013. The law will possibly have implications for biometrics vendors because parents, in addition to the students themselves, will now have the power to object to providing biometric information to schools. If enough people object to biometric applications, the school might find the return of investment to be unsatisfactory. Informed consent can also become questionable if the biometric vendor is the sole supplier of information via the school to the parent. Hence, vendors and schools should provide clear and neutral information to the parents, and include non-discriminatory alternatives if they choose to not participate.

Recent events have shown that K-12 security should no longer take a back seat in school budgets. Schools should tap into the available technologies to assist them in optimizing the security of their campuses and the safety of their students.

Milestone tops EMEA market share

Editor / Provider: Milestone Systems | Updated: 6/7/2013 | Article type: Security 50

Milestone Systems has been ranked as the number one vendor in the EMEA regions and shared the number one position globally for the VMS market in the latest surveillance industry report conducted by IMS Research, now part of IHS.

IHS has published the tenth edition of the IMS Research report called World Market for CCTV and Video Surveillance Equipment, with results based on financial data from 2012. It contains information on suppliers who provide analog and digital video surveillance components such as cameras, recording solutions and video encoders.

Milestone Systems is estimated to have had the highest revenues for VMS software in EMEA in 2012 and equal highest revenues in the world, according to IHS. "This is the first time that two companies have shared the leading position in the global VMS market," said Jon Cropley, Principal Analyst at IHS.

Today in its 15th year of business, Milestone Systems has continually demonstrated solid growth in many regions, evolving in the international arena. IMS Research (now owned by IHS) in earlier reports on surveillance software revenues has consistently ranked Milestone globally as either number one or number two, in a group of about half a dozen top competitors. The world market for surveillance software has been notably fragmented, especially by local presence where languages and currencies play a determining role. Some percentage changes in standings can also be attributed to variances in exchange rates.

The 2013 edition of this highly acclaimed report from IHS analyzes the current state of the video surveillance market and forecasts its future direction. It highlights the varied nature of regional markets around the world. It also discusses both political and financial influences and analyzes the impact of technology trends such as the transition from analog CCTV to network video surveillance, the transition to HD network security cameras, and open interoperability standards. According to the new report, the world market for video surveillance equipment is forecast to almost double in size between 2012 and 2017.

"Competition is healthy, spurring continued commitments to improvements that benefit the customers and the providers themselves. Look at what this means for the industry: the top players have all grown their revenue, which shows that user demand for IP solutions is very strong," says Lars Thinggaard, President and CEO at Milestone Systems. "Leadership is about being a consistently strong organization that continues to deliver top products and support relationships - how a company carries out its business is very important for long-term success. Milestone is a company built on the core concept of openness, to encourage more contributions and more choices."

Besides over 100,000 customer installations of Milestone XProtect software offerings for both complex and simple surveillance needs, Milestone Systems has achieved an impressive ecosphere of partners: 7,000 channel partners and 750 solution partners are mobilized around the open platform, which creates more value and innovation for everyone. Working with more than 100 camera manufacturers, Milestone currently supports over 2,000 models of network video hardware. The XProtect Software Development Kit (SDK) and Application Program Interfaces (APIs) have currently enabled hundreds of innovative integrations with third-party solution providers, and many more are on the way.

Lars Thinggaard states: "Milestone's vision is to drive the convergence of video surveillance and IP-based business systems. To achieve this, our open platform embraces the expertise of our many partners and empowers more innovation. This adds value for the entire industry and customers alike. That is the leadership we aim to demonstrate."

Innovations and strategic acquisitions continue to drive the industry

Editor / Provider: Memoori Business Intelligence | Updated: 6/3/2013 | Article type: Hot Topics

The first 5 months of 2013 have shown that the physical security market continues to grow despite poor economic trading conditions in the developed markets of the world.

There are 2 reasons why growth has been robust.
●The first is the perceived increase in the need to protect people and property from theft, crime and terrorism.
● The second is the development of new innovative products that have improved the capability to detect crime in all its forms and through connectivity with other services improved the business performance of end user companies.

In the video surveillance industry, in one form or another, IP Video Network cameras have been at the cutting edge of innovation and in particular have provided connectivity to other IP devices to help provide total solutions that have increased productivity and reduced the cost of ownership.

This technology is now gaining traction and is expected to open up new opportunities particularly in the small-to-medium business market where there are 16 cameras or less; because it will eliminate as much of the storage cost as possible. Another benefit of an edge-based system is less costly maintenance. With no server maintenance, no complex proprietary hardware and software, and no storage or scaling limitations, edge-based technology provides a simplified solution that requires relatively little on-going maintenance.

We regularly identify innovation designed to improve security equipment to meet the needs of particular applications which in the short term may not have such game changing implications as edge storage; but together these developments will make a significant mark on increasing the demand for physical security equipment. 2 recent examples of these include;
1. A camera created by a research team at the University of Illinois which is about the size of a penny and mimics insects' bulging eyes. It features 180 micro-lenses, giving it a panoramic field of view and the ability to focus simultaneously on objects at different depths. The bug's eye camera is likely to be developed for uses ranging from security cameras to surgical endoscopes.
2. Smart grid technology firm GridSense has introduced a wireless camera to inspect high-voltage assets rated up to 500kV. Introduced in 2013, the hotstick-mountable, high-resolution HighV Camera initially inspected a lower phase-to-phase voltage rating and the rating has now been increased to 500kV phase-to-phase. The HighV Camera, with its accompanying 7″ Android tablet, meets the utility industry's need to safely examine energized, substation-level high-voltage assets in great detail. The present design is for mobile use but there are many thousands of remote sites in the US alone which would benefit from permanent installation.

Strategic acquisitions that bring together innovation to make “2+2 = 5″ have also played a part in driving demand for physical security products.

Lorex Technology is a market leading manufacturer of home and personal video surveillance products with very strong and successful retail sales channel relationships. As Flir continues to drive the price lower for infrared thermal imaging cameras and viewers, Lorex's retail channels and advanced eCommerce capability will provide widespread access to consumer markets for Flir's new thermal camera products.

In December 2012 Flir acquired Traficon a Belgium company that is a leading provider of video-based intersection control and roadway incident detection products. Traficon's core capability is its video image processing software for ITS applications. This technology requires little modification to be applied to security and other applications, so the Traficon acquisition brings high-performance video analytics capabilities to Flir.

Thermal cameras are often paired with video analytics for perimeter intrusion detection applications. Combining Traficon's video analytics capabilities with Flir's thermal camera technology completes the task of integrating a powerful roadway monitoring solution for cities and municipalities around the world.

US university secures football field with thermal cams

Editor / Provider: Flir Systems | Updated: 5/28/2013 | Article type: Education

Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, U.S. has deployed Flir Systems thermal security cameras to look after its newly renovated football field. After determining a mix of thermal security cameras would provide 24/7 quality video and range performance, Sgt. Wayne Beck, Security Systems Coordinator of Campus Police, and the university administration team integrated the cameras' video outputs onto the existing security network, and tied everything together with video analytics.

The field of BYU's LaVell Edwards Stadium 28 year-old sod was removed, a new drainage system installed, and new grass laid down in early 2009. The renovation took about five months to complete and cost more than US$1 million. The university needed to safeguard this significant investment and had been looking for a viable detection method for several years. The threats at the university football field range from thrill-seeking trespassers jumping the fence to get on the field after hours, to low frequency, high-impact vandalism perpetrated by rival fans or other ill-intended trespassers.

The job of keeping trespassers off the field was complicated by the stadium open policy to the public during daylight hours, and the need to secure the facility's perimeter, but keeping it accessible to maintenance crews and grounds keepers. Visible light cameras were quickly ruled out due to their limited nighttime performance. These cameras cannot generate images of intruders beyond the range of their illumination source, limiting their effectiveness to a few hundred feet, unsuitable in an environment thatcovered several miles.

The task of securing the field fell to the university's campus police. They temporarily installed a Flir thermal security camera on a tripod in the stadium press box. “We resolved three trespasses in the first week,” said Beck. “It's a sure-fi re way of catching people.”

Camera analytics allows operators to set up pre-determined alarm areas that are active at different times of day. For instance, during daylight hours, the perimeter and stands are open, and maintenance crews can access the field. Later in the afternoon, the stands are open but access to the field is closed and the field itself is alarmed. When school officials close the stadium for the day, they activate the automated surveillance and alarm system, which encompasses the entire facility.

If human activity is detected in a denied zone during any of these periods, alarms are triggered that alert campus police to respond accordingly. Once command center personnel receive an alarm, police dispatchers send officers to the scene. While these officers are en route, dispatchers can bring up and direct optical PTZ cameras to the violated area in order to gather more information the responding officers will need once they arrive on-scene.

Bosch introduces complete 960H solution

Editor / Provider: Bosch Security Systems | Updated: 4/23/2013 | Article type: Security 50

Bosch Security Systems, is launching a new portfolio of 960H products that capture more pixels per target object for a maximum sensor resolution of 720 TVL—the highest available for the PAL and NTSC standard. With cameras, lenses, digital video recorders and monitors, Bosch is providing customers with a complete end-to-end 960H surveillance solution for every analog application. The portfolio includes affordable products for smaller applications as well as higher-performing systems to meet a range of budget and imaging requirements.

960H image sensors serve as the bridge between standard resolution and high definition solutions. Ideal for capturing fine scene details, they are capable of producing video images with 30 percent higher resolution than previous generation analog sensors. Customers can choose a complete 960H solution from Bosch or integrate the products into existing systems to capture greater detail.

"There is an enormous amount of analog video infrastructure throughout the world, and new systems continue to be installed every day," said Tom Verest, Product Manager, Bosch Security Systems. "With a full portfolio of 960H products, we're enabling current customers to easily enhance their systems, while giving new customers the best in analog image quality."

Cameras in the 960H portfolio include new Dinion and Flexidome models that deliver the best analog image quality and popular features, such as Bilinx technology for verifying camera status, changing settings and performing other functions over the video cable. Customers will also find the most complete 960H bullet camera range with solutions for all distances, as well as affordable and stylish cameras with discrete designs. In addition, a wide range of indoor and outdoor Autodome cameras provide the most cost-effective 960H moving camera solution on the market.

The new Bosch Divar Series of four-, eight- and 16-channel 960H digital recorders deliver the full benefits of the latest 960H high-resolution cameras. Divar can capture and display images in full 960H resolution at rates up to 30 frames per second on all channels. Divar also supports recording in CIF, 2CIF and 4CIF resolutions for backward compatibility with older cameras. The Divar family takes advantage of the latest H.264 video and G.711 audio compression technology to dramatically reduce bandwidth and storage requirements while delivering superb image and audio quality.

The recorders are reliable systems that are easy to set up with intuitive configuration wizards for true plug-and-play installation. Operation is also simple with the familiar Bosch user interface. Customers can view images from any location with the included client software, a web browser or apps compatible with a range of mobile devices.

Rounding out the portfolio, Bosch LED 960H monitors deliver the most accurate and consistent image reproduction. They are designed specifically for security cameras and provide high color saturation.

The complete range of 960H video products conform to the same high quality and reliability standards as the rest of Bosch's product portfolio. They are guaranteed with a three-year warranty and backed by the company's superior customer service and support offerings.

Asia Update: Next Chip revs up for automotive applications

Editor / Provider: Next Chip | Updated: 3/19/2013 | Article type: Hot Topics

As the DVR market diminishes over time and imaging signal processor (ISP) chips can efficiently reduce the board size and total cost in a camera, Next Chip will concentrate on developing ISPs for security cameras. Next Chip, a total turnkey solution provider, is expanding its portfolio of components which can be used for HD, HD-SDI, network, and analog cameras with improved WDR performance.

Customers, such as purchasing personnel, are also able to benefit from one - stop shopping for different cameras. It is easier and more convenient for them to make comparisons when everything is in one location. Young-Jun Yoo, Sales Department GM of Next Chip, said the company fared better in 2012 than in 2010 in terms of sales revenue. Before, ISPs were sold on their own, but they can now be sold with an additional image sensor, boosting the company's revenue.

As the first company to produce ISPs for HD-SDI cameras, the company sees good prospects for HD-SDI in the upcoming years. Network PTZ cameras will probably experience a delay in growth, as there is little new construction in the current economy. HD-SDI equipment allows the reuse of coaxial cables, making it a great alternative. However, the market appeal will be even greater if HD-SDI prices are lower.

The company will soon launch a second-generation HD-SDI ISP with better wide dynamic range, at 60 frames per second in HD quality, utilizing 3G-SDI. Generally known as the successor of HD-SDI, 3G-SDI increases bandwidth and allows higher resolution and frame rates through a single connection.

In a separate move to counter increasing competition, Next Chip is planning to target the automotive market by providing ISPs for mobile DVRs, black boxes, and onboard cameras. Preparations have already been made, as Next Chip is the first ISP maker in the Korean industry to be AECQ 100-certified, a certification for the automotive industry.

The company plans to release its third-generation ISP especially for automotive applications. The ISPs can incorporate motion detection through its intelligent sensor, so even when the car is moving, it will be able to make the correct calculations. The sensor can also be used in black boxes, which is essentially a one-channel DVR integrated with passenger safety and navigation. This has good growth potential in Europe, Russia, Turkey, Korea, and other countries in Asia. In China, the black box market is quite mature but in Europe, it is still in the early stages.

Next Chip sees great opportunities in the future, when video quality in the automotive industry upgrades from VGA to HD quality. Its target clients are Asian DVR providers and navigation software developers who produce black boxes.

As most rear-view cameras used in cars have VGA resolution, blind spots are a common problem. If the cars were to switch to fisheye cameras, image distortion would be a problem as well. Overcoming these imaging issues will provide ample opportunities for ISP providers.

7 points to heed when setting FoV

Editor / Provider: PureTech Systems | Updated: 2/5/2013 | Article type: Tech Corner

Security cameras are an important tool in the protection of facilities and critical assets. However, the phrase "what you see is what you get"…applies…literally. Proper set up of security cameras is directly related to the level of effectiveness they will provide. One aspect of setting up a security camera is its field of view (FOV). Webster's would tell you that a camera's field of view is the angle between two rays passing through the perspective center of a camera lens to the two opposite sides of the format. It can be further defined as having a vertical component (Vertical Field of View) and a horizontal component (Horizontal Field of View). In layman's terms that means it's the image you see from the camera in either the live or recorded view. That sounds easy enough, but there are several mistakes that you should take care to avoid.

1. Not doing your homework
One of the first things to realize is FOV is not an independent variable. As outlined in the white paper "8 Things to Consider when designing a camera perimeter," camera layout can be an expensive proposition, and it is even more expensive when done wrong. You need to consider that pole placement, detection scene, blind zones and FOV are dependent variables. Changing one impacts the others. The existence of the variable focus lens has often caused the attention to this dependency to be overlooked, with the idea that camera misalignments or scene issues can be accounted for by later adjustment of the variable focus feature of the lens. This is a mistake and a potentially costly gamble.

You should go into your design considering each aspect, including a fixed FOV, and its dependency on the other set up variables. Brush up on your geometry, find and use a FOV calculator and a good camera layout tool. Make sure you verify your detection scenes, overlap your camera coverage for blind zones and define your FOV settings so you have some wiggle room after the equipment is installed. There will be inaccuracies in pole placements and unforeseen scene issues, but you shouldn't count on a varifocal lens adjustment to be able to accommodate.

2. Thinking like a photographer
We all remember our high school photography class and the rule of thirds: two thirds of the scene should be ground and subject, one third should be reserved for the sky. We never seem to get it right when we're taking photos of Aunt Beatrice or our vacation photos from Hawaii, but it's amazing how many times we get it right when setting up security cameras. Although the “rule of thirds” is pleasant to the viewer's eyes, in the security world, it does not apply. There is almost no security application where viewing the sky has any value.

However, there are many reasons why you should not look at the sky. These include items such as glare and blinding the camera during sunrise and sunset. Another consideration is the idea that you are essentially wasting 33 percent of your video storage and network bandwidth on the interesting cloud formations. The only reason to have sky in your FOV is to give a point of reference and insure you have enough room for any vertical detection zones. As a general rule, 10 percent of the scene is more than enough to give a frame of reference. When considering vertical detection scenes, for example insuring you can monitor for intrusions that come over a fence, even less view of the sky is required.

3. Going to bed too early
Job site walks are an extremely valuable part of the security design process. Good consultants and educated site owners make these available to potential security bidders so all the unique aspects of the site are understood in the early planning phases of a security design. I'm sure you or your company has participated in many of these, but I'd be curious how many have been through a night time site walk? Most times these are thought as unnecessary, as a security design will typically include some type of consideration for low light viewing: infrared illuminators, thermal cameras, etc.

However, there are many sources of existing light that need to be considered when setting a field of view: existing facility lights, periodic headlights, lights from adjacent facilities, sunrise/sunset, reflective light (water / windows), etc. Light sources can play havoc on cameras in a variety of ways, so it's important to know where they are and to plan your FOV around them if possible. Unfortunately, if you don't plan on staying up for the night shift, you won't have the opportunity to explore where these lighting issues might be lurking.

4. Only thinking about the camera
By the very definition of FOV that we explored in the first paragraph, it would seem odd to think about anything other than the camera, but in fact, one major mistake in setting up the field of view of the camera is not considering the field of view of the illuminant. Whether you are using IR illumination, or even white light illumination, for night time monitoring the most important aspect is not the FOV of the camera, but rather the FOV of the IR illuminator or visible light source. If you have ever viewed a camera at night with little or no illumination then you understand why this is important, you basically get a black video feed. If you want your night time FOV to correspond with your daylight FOV, then you need to insure that you illuminator beam matches your camera FOV in both distance and width.

Some illuminators have adjustments where you can make the beam narrow and long, or wide and short. Others have a fixed light pattern. In almost all cases, the resulting FOV which matches the illuminator's capability will be a substantially shorter distance than what can be achieved with the camera alone in full daylight conditions. Not taking the FOV of your illuminant into consideration can be a costly mistake in terms of coverage. You'll need to stay up late to insure these coverages match, but make sure you also consider the FOV of your illuminant during the planning phases, or you could end up with gaps in your night time coverage.

5. Not understanding the idea of pixel-dilution
Pixel-Dilution is the idea that the more information that is attempted to be represented by an individual pixel, the more diluted that information becomes. This issue typically arises when setting up a scene and opening up the camera's field of view so it is as wide as can be accommodated by the lens. Its available information, so why shouldn't we widen the lens to capture it? The answer is…it depends.

The important concept to understand is a camera is designed to give you a certain number of pixels, which is effectively video Information. Changing the lens or the zoom level of a lens, gives you a different FOV, but it does not give you any more pixels. The pixels are constant. So widening the scene effectively dilutes the video information of any particular pixel. I once heard it explained as follows, "Consider the number of pixels you have with a given camera as a cargo net made of elastic. Each square in the net represents a pixel. If you widen the view of the camera, you effectively stretch the net. You have widened the pixels, but remember a pixel is only a single value, so now you've stretched that single value over more of your scene." In practical terms, that means you will have less information about a specific object at a given distance. As an example, a narrow FOV may give you enough pixel information to allow you to read a person's baseball cap at 100m, while a wide FOV of that same person may not contain enough information in the diluted pixels to be able to determine if the person is even wearing a hat. So it is a planning decision to determine whether it is more important to view a wider area at the expense of more detail video information, or to restrict the size of the FOV and gain that data. The mistake is not understanding the tradeoff being made.

6. Getting an interesting view
We all like to be entertained, but that isn't necessarily the best approach when setting the FOV of a security camera. A common mistake is to include “interesting areas” in the FOV, versus “areas of interest.” For example, consider a situation where a high traffic sidewalk runs next to a facility's perimeter fence. Often times the camera's FOV is set to include this high traffic region. However, if the area of interest is not the sidewalk itself, but rather the region between the sidewalk and the fence, the argument is why the sidewalk would be included in the camera's FOV. Every movement on the sidewalk now becomes the responsibility of the monitoring guard or security software to detect and assess as a possible threat. The same can be said of roads or areas of water that occur in the background. If the area is not of interest from a security standpoint, then care should be taken to consider whether the FOV should include the region.

7. Not understanding the mission on the camera
A final aspect of the FOV is understanding the intended mission of the camera. In practice this rarely goes beyond the set-up of the detection area. However, as cameras become higher in resolution, there are more missions to consider. For detection, it is typically better to have a FOV which is taken from a higher vantage point. This helps avoid occlusions, allows for better understanding of the target's current track and potentially trajectory.

However, a higher vantage FOV is not always conducive to facial or clothing identification , where the face or clothing graphics are seen as at an angle, or blocked by a hat. The opposite holds true, where a lower FOV results in better identification, but potentially poorer tracking and detection. Again, the mistake is not whether to have a high FOV or low FOV, the mistake is not understanding the benefits and drawback of each, and not using the camera's mission to drive the most appropriate height when setting the FOV.

Summary
Often times the setting of the field of view of a camera is taken for granted, with the idea that it will be adjusted during the final phases of installation. The concept of field of view is pretty straight forward, so not a lot of forethought should be required. However, as you take the time to further analyze its relationship to other aspects of the perimeter design, the security objectives and even the camera itself, it becomes evident quickly that it is a crucial aspect of the total design and something that needs to be designed early on in the process. This paper highlights some mistakes commonly experienced in the field, and hopefully can be used as a guide to avoid these types of issues in future deployments.

Vivotek IP cams integrated with Elan home automation and A/V systems

Editor / Provider: Vivotek | Updated: 1/30/2013 | Article type: Security 50

Elan Home Systems, an industry provider in home automation and A/V technology, has integrated Vivotek's 8000 series IP camera lineup into its award-winning g! Entertainment and Control System. The cameras are supported in core module version 6.1 or newer, which allow for video streaming, PTZ, motion detection, and image flip functions in the cameras. The g!Tools Network Manager can be used to discover Vivotek cameras on the network, which, once configured, can be used to view video from a residence or premises to deter intrusion or view family members.

Vivotek's IP camera line ranges in image resolution from VGA to HD to 5-Megapixel, including models that provide many advanced features such as supreme night visibility, H.264 compression, removable IR-cut filter with built in IR illuminators, P-iris, remote zoom & focus, and much more.

"We are very excited about this new partnership with Elan," said Harry Hu, President of Vivotek USA. "Everyone has seen the convergence of voice, video, and technology that new innovations are bringing to the industry. Now, Vivotek has further broadened the scope of this convergence with Elan's exciting platform."

According to Elan Home Systems Brand Manager Robert Ridenour, "Elan partners with best-in-class entertainment, climate, security, lighting, irrigation, and custom home electronics manufacturers to make sure our products and theirs work together seamlessly. Our dedication to third-party component integration makes the Elan g! system a powerful foundation for any home control or entertainment system, including the Vivotek line of IP-based security cameras."

"The ability to easily integrate high-definition video cameras and microphones that can be controlled and viewed remotely has broadened the appeal of complete home control solutions," Ridenour explained. "Elan and Vivotek are on the cutting edge of home security, and Elan will stay on the cutting edge by always integrating the industry's best third-party solutions."

Solution provider of tomorrow

Editor / Provider: By Hayden Hsu, asmag.com | Updated: 12/27/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

What do you call a business entity that is a technology and software developer, hardware manufacturer, value-added distributor but also works with other dealers, resellers and manufacturers representatives, all at the same time? Observint Technologies is probably one of few companies, if not the only, in the world that fits the bill. asmag looks into the company's history, development path and future directions, in hopes of setting an example and best practice for others to reference from, especially in times of uncertainty and austerity.

The physical, electronic security industry has grown, evolved and reshuffled over the last decade, thanks to rapid technological advances, ever-changing market dynamics and global financial troubles. Having the “right” technology and R&D team alone is no longer sufficient. A successful company in security also has to have the best possible talent and partners in sales and marketing, business and channel development, and technical support and services — not to mention a management team that has the vision and chutzpah to take calculated risks in uncertain times. Observint Technologies seems to be one that has struck the perfect balance, within the organization itself and among its subsidiaries.

In August 2006, The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager with more than US$157 billion in assets, formed an investment group, now known as Observint Technologies, to pursue the acquisition and development of security-focused entities. Observint then acquired Supercircuits (SC), a direct provider of video and audio surveillance gear. SC was — and continues to be — a dominant player in the direct marketing and sales of surveillance equipment. The company's most valuable asset was its extensive customer database, with more than 300,000 customers accumulated over the past 23 years.

SC's business model is unique and advantageous in offering a platform for collecting real-time feedback from customers, allowing the company and its technology partners to more quickly respond to customer needs and rapidly changing technology. This extensive customer base enables SC to quickly introduce new technology to a broad market, including US law enforcement, government agencies and a very large, loyal dealer network. Last but not least was the experienced management team, led by Brian Wood, who now serves as Chairman of the Board, CEO and President of Observint Technologies.

Prior to joining Observint, Wood was VP/GM of US Public Sector and Large Enterprise businesses at Dell. “Along with other members of our leadership team who share a Dell background, I saw the opportunity to approach the security market in an innovative way,” Wood said. “Leveraging our collective learnings from Dell and past experiences, we saw the opportunity to deliver a better experience for both security technology providers and customers through differentiation.”

Continued Expansion
In 2009, right after the financial crisis, Observint acquired a second direct distribution company, Security Cameras Direct (SCD), to quickly scale the business and reduce overhead costs by leveraging Observint's core functional strengths, namely marketing, operations/IT, order fulfillment and finance/accounting. SCD had also been very successful in serving a very different and distinct customer set, ranging from retail to education segments. The SCD customer base provided Observint with direct access to a much larger set of customers and dealer partners. The company left intact SCD's customer-facing resources, namely sales and support, to build on valuable customer relationships, maintain continued high levels of customer experience, and preserve the distinct SCD cultures and unique value propositions. This shift toward a “shared services” model started paving the way for future strategic acquisitions (Digiop and Infinias) and strategic partnerships (LG and 3S).

With the emergence and accelerating adoption of IP-based video technology, Observint realized the importance of investing in and partnering with like-minded companies, allowing its diverse portfolio to deliver both cutting-edge and differentiated security solutions. Observint partnered with Digiop in 2010 and started selling the Digiop-branded solution through its direct distribution companies. “Leveraging our business model, we were able to quickly deploy the Digiop solution across a broad range of applications, and received immediate feedback from our customers. This very positive feedback provided us with confidence in our ability to sell to and support entry- to enterprise-level IP installations, and led to the consideration and pursuit of Digiop as a potential acquisition opportunity,” Wood said. In March 2011, the acquisition was finalized. “We left the customer-facing sales and support functions intact, leveraging Observint's ‘shared services' to immediately accelerate Digiop's go-to-market activities, consolidate and scale supply chain management efforts, stabilize fulfillment and improve logistics.”

Given Wood's plans to continue to expand his business to support a broader range of technologies and/or technology partners, it was the right time to start to build public awareness of Observint, its unique business model and differentiated capabilities. “Similar to our direct distribution companies, other distribution partners rely on operational, marketing, sales and technical support from the technology companies they represent — a requirement for long-term success. Many technology companies do not have the resources, or the experience, to provide a high level of support, even for a single distribution partner. We continued down a path to building scalable capabilities to support the addition of future technologies to the Observint portfolio, through acquisition or partnership.”

Differentiate to Win
Regardless of the strength of the global economy, the security space will continue to be a relatively large industry, and Wood feels that the companies that are able to differentiate and add the most value for their customers (from distributors to end users) will thrive. “Our plans are to continue to deliver innovative, differentiated technology, to deliver world-class, differentiated support for our portfolio technologies, and to deliver these differentiated technologies and capabilities through a broader network of distribution channels and partners.”

Most of all, Observint's unique business approach provides multiple benefits to end users. The most significant is that it offers a single point of contact and delivery for fully integrated video surveillance and security solutions. As Observint continues to evolve, its business model, technology portfolio and value-added services will undoubtedly grow, providing security professionals with more efficient and effective turnkey solutions that meet their specific needs and help resolve challenges.

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