Mobotix Camera Celebrate Tenth Year at German Antarctic Research Station

Editor / Provider: Mobotix | Updated: 4/5/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Winter temperatures of down to -65 degrees, raging storms with wind speeds of more than 250 km/h and millions of penguins – this is Antarctica. This is where O'Higgins, the German Antarctic Receiving Station, is located. It was founded in 1991 by the German Aerospace Center and the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy to collect data from geographical satellites and stars. Mobotix cameras monitor the radio telescope to make sure that it continues to function properly – and these cameras are now in their tenth year. It all started with model, and now four day/night cameras and a camera are in use. No problems have been recorded so far – even under the world's most extreme weather conditions. The Mobotix solution: The cameras work without heating or ventilation and consume only three to four watts of electricity. They can also be installed in areas where power is rare. A traditional camera with heating would consume around 40 watts, making it unsuitable for use under these conditions. The decentralized processing and storage in the Mobotix camera also reduce the required bandwidth to a minimum and significantly cut system costs. The PC or the video control center is required only to view and control the cameras (PTZ), but not to evaluate and record.

For the German Antarctic Receiving Station, it is extremely important to ensure that the radio telescope is working properly. For this reason, the telescope was initially monitored with an analog camera, but the camera was only able to deliver good results when there was sufficient light and visibility. The switch to the camera from Mobotix in 2003 meant an investment in a digital outdoor system. The camera was installed at a sheltered spot of the station's outside wall where it has to resist temperatures ranging from 10 degrees down to -30 degrees – and sometimes lower – as well as storms with wind speeds of up to 250 km/h. The camera is integrated into the station's LAN and provides real-time images on this subnet. In order to save transfer capacity, current images are sent about every ten minutes via satellite to the Internet. Over the course of the years, the system was expanded to include additional Mobotix cameras: two cameras monitor the area around the station and two additional cameras film the penguins.

Dahua Demonstrates a Foresight in Sailing Forward

Editor / Provider: Evangeline Xie | Updated: 3/28/2012 | Article type: China Corner

In the face of the demand of high definition, intelligence and networking, Dahua insists taking customer's need for the priority, working on upgrading the product structure by strong R&D ability and market accumulation.

Standing Out in 2011 Security 50
Despite the worldwide economic recession in the past year, it is no denying that Dahua has received wide recognition from customers of different vertical markets. Though the regional market niches vary from one to another, Dahua's turnover growth reached more than 45% throughout the last year, ranking 10th in 2011 Security 50, which contributes to its effort to enhance the production capability and marketing strategy.

The year of 2011 is the 10 th anniversary of Dahua, due to the integration of core competence and the deep extension of business, and through the integration of sales channels and the optimization of supply chain as well as the stretch of foreign business, and the total revenue is about US$ 350 million that is growing by 45% compared to the previous year, of which the overseas revenue takes up US$ 85 million, accounting for 58%. The company has made the profit of about US$ 65 million, rising 43% from a year before.

Perfecting Product Line
For the part of the back-end products, Dahua plans to develop new cost-effective DVR of entry level that features TI solution, providing another affordable solution that is differentiating from the homogeneous products. The integration of network camera with NVR will be a challenge. “We hope to refine our market via integration and optimization of the back-end software,” said James Wang, Product Manager for International Department. “Looking forward to accomplishing both routing and network capability.”

In addition, the exploitation of NVR will be fortified for catering to different market demand. The latest NVR will simplify the project planning for hoping that the problem of IT and router can be solved. The production of NVR will be oriented to the require-ments of marketing channels.

In the face of the demand of high definition, intelligence and networking, Dahua insists taking customer's need for the priority, working on upgrading the product structure by strong R&D ability and market accumulation. Throughout the year of 2011, Dahua has launched the storage products based on N6 platform, DVR has escalated to a system from a single product by the innovative promotion of 3.0.

The product plan in 2012 will refine the full series of video surveillance product. After launching the 700 TVL series analog camera, Dahua realized the serialization of the analog cameras together with 1.3-, 2.0-, 3.0- and 5.0-megapixel HD camera as well as the infrared products.

The company will continue to maintain its core advantage to seize market share. Full-line network camera with HD chip which features 1.3-megapixel CCD and CMOS is a distinctive product line, and 2.0-megapixel 1080P CMOS has been under developing for three years. The speed dome with in-house design zoom module and the analog camera with 700 TVL has been applied into many domestic projects, which were launched last year and received much recognition. Together with megapixel speed dome, the intelligent auto-tracking dome will be the new front-end product.

“Since the back-end device has already been saturated,” said Wang. “The revenue growth of this year will largely depend on the sales volume of front-end device. The overseas sales volume of network camera increased six times and remains to be the key segment of the production line.” Furthermore, the company has offered one-stop shopping solution to better serve customers' demands, ranging from the display, video door phone to intelligent lock (fingerprint, biometrics). According to Wang, the optimization of software will become one of Dahua's endeavor directions in the new year to come, some intelligent mobiles devices such as iPhone, iPad are quite popular as the application software should be more scalable to the mobile users.

Besides, Dahua has introduced the comprehensive high-end solution and “Safe City” solution of the third generation - Video platform M60, which is a breakthrough in terms of its compatibility, reliability, scalability and intelligent application. The release of 8.0-megapixel intelligent traffic HD camera, 8.0-megapixel radar speed camera and traffic management platform indicates that the company has accomplished the development from storage products to front-end products and even for the specific vertical market.

Exclusive Tailors
As an excellent player in security industry, by aiming to be a total solution provider to partners, Dahua has achieved many successful solutions in different walks including intelligent transportation, energy resources such as oil, natural gas, hydroelectricity and etc.

The Safe City project deployed in Mauritius is a typical example. The company's video surveillance systems have been installed in Mauritius' capital and a local famous resort which has been transferred to local police authorities and is ready to deter gangsters and criminals.

Moreover, Dahua tailored ATM DVRs for one commercial bank in Indonesia. This commercial bank, located in Jakarta, is one of the largest banks in Indonesia. It sourced thousands of units of DVRs from Dahua for their newly introduced ATMs with the specializations in financial services offerings, such as insurance, credit card and checking/saving account. The bank currently owns more than 875 domestic branch offices and more than 6,300 ATM locations.

Its special application environment such as the confined installing space and long time non-stop working nature requests that the ATM-utilized DVRs shall be more compact in design and bettered in ventilation performance at a controllable cost.

The big bank introduced a great amount of ATMs out of business expansion and planed to purchase necessary security devices to build a surveillance system. They also added that those newly introduced ATMs will be placed in a centralized mode instead of scattered mode; besides; the solution shall be of high cost-performance ratio.

Therefore, Dahua proposed a solution from a totally novel perspective: 4 ATM kiosks pair with four cameras and one DVR, which can, at least, spare 2/3 devices compared with the conventional solution, which is adopted in some regions and countries.

“As a challenger, Dahua should not only build its branding but also do better to meet customer 's needs. We should keep supporting our partners that will continue to be our focus for the years to come,” emphasized Chen . “ Our ultimate goal is to become a total solution provider by all means.”

The Quality of Storage Effects Image Enhancement

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 3/30/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

Crunch Time: Compression
Storage is one of the biggest costs of a surveillance project, making it a precious commodity. Network bandwidth is also scarce, making compression essential to surveillance monitoring. Unfortunately, compression can also undo clear images. “You could have a great camera capture images at high resolution, but the images are encoded, compressed and the final product is less than what was originally captured,” said Benjamin Solhjem, PM of Motion DSP. “The goal of our software is to reconstruct. That's not always possible because the image is so degraded, but it can reveal details that were not evident at the beginning.”

Compression renders megapixel's added resolution moot. “For enhancement, we've got cameras deployed that are 1.3-megapixel for 1080P or 720P, but you can't easily transmit that resolution ‘native' over a cellular network, which many cameras are on for backhaul,” said Dave Gorshkov, CEO of Digital Grape and Chair of the CCTV and VCA Technical Standards Working Group for the American Public Transportation Association. “You can use H.264 to squeeze the video signal hard, then interrogate the signal, but it throws away the resolution of images necessary for high-speed VCA capabilities.”

Banks and stores that are robbed may already have video systems installed, but find that poor resolution defeats forensic purposes. While it's possible to cram a month's worth of video on a single hard disk drive, the resulting images are not usable. “At that point, it's almost too late,” Solhjem said. “When it's crunch time and you actually need the video, it's not good.”

H.264 is one of the most common compression formats, which was designed primarily for entertainment— set-top boxes and mobile phones — rather than surveillance. This means users should pay attention to how many I-frames are used and latency in I-frame timings, which affects bandwidth and storage. “A 1-megapixel image has at least twice the resolution of analog,” Gorshkov said. “However, once you send that over the network, it's going to be squashed a lot and have latency introduced into it due to the compression and decompression functions.”

Storing images at the best possible quality will yield better data for image enhancement algorithms. “When we were developing the video surveillance and VCA standard in the U.S., local storage of high-resolution images was required,” Gorshkov said. “It's not the compressed image operators observe, but the stored high-resolution image that is used for legal proceedings. Most network cameras now have dual or even triple streaming, which is wonderful way of doing that. Local hard drives are also not expensive.”

As storing full-size images is out of the question for most applications, selecting a lossless compression and storage at the highest resolution yields the best evidence. “The effort to save space on a hard disk drive uses a compression scheme that's great for space, but it's not great if you need to pull out key information from the video,” Solhjem said.

Legal Implications
Image sharpening tools can certainly deliver evidence-grade images, albeit with limitations from resolution and compression. However, not all legal systems accept digitally processed images, so the enhanced images are used as tools during investigations.

Several legal trials in the U.S. and U.K allowed for enhanced images. “One time, the Metropolitan Police in London used our software to submit evidence for trials,” Solhjem said. “To my knowledge, it's never been thrown out.”

Some government bodies verify whether technology is suitable for police and government use. The UK Home Office uses the Image Library for Intelligent Detection Systems (i-LIDS) test to determine whether VCA is effective in various environmental and operational conditions, Gorshkov said. These tests help reveal possible shortcomings with the algorithms.

In the U.S. and Canada, Frye and Daubert hearings assess whether a new technology passes muster within the scientific and forensic community. “As long as they're not putting things there that do not exist, it's admissible in court,” Solhjem said.

Best Practices
Image sharpening software is great, but its performance is aided by good system design. This considers compression, storage and user demands.

Raw uncompressed video or a lossless compression gives image enhancement software more data to analyze. “Do a test, record some footage and see what it looks like,” Solhjem said. “You definitely don't want to plug-and-play and forget about your video system.”

Customers should also think critically about what they want their video system to do. Checking if someone came into a reception area is much easier than identifying individuals at border control. “Depending on what you do with the system, it comes back to Design 101,” Gorshkov said. “It's understanding what it is you want from your video surveillance and VCA system, as the systems' reliability and performance requirements are very different.”

Camera placement should be optimized for the monitoring purpose — that means keeping the camera away from direct lighting that washes out image detail. Image quality also needs to be a priority, which should be as good as the customer can afford. “If you really need video surveillance, is it worth the money you're investing?” Solhjem said. “If you're willing to invest this much, are you willing to invest more, in case something happens?”

At the end of the day, image sharpening tools can help restore pictures to their original glory. However, much image degradation can be prevented by better compression techniques. It is not cheap to store raw video, but lossless compression with multiple streams is a step in the right direction. While Hollywood presents pure fiction, an ounce of planning plus image sharpening keeps surveillance footage from going to waste.

2012 Anticipated Network Camera Updates from Chinese Suppliers Part I

Editor / Provider: Donna Chan | Updated: 3/22/2012 | Article type: China Corner

In 2012, the video surveillance equipment sector is expected to increase by an estimated 25%, according to IMS research. With such a sales forecast, what can be anticipated for network cameras in 2012 and what new features and technology can be expected. a&s International China Best Buys talks to several Chinese manufacturers who are well known for their technology and innovative products.

Currently, the most well known are Hikivision and Dahua who have established themselves in the international market. Other notable manufacturers of network cameras are Launch, Sunell, TVT, Wision and several others. This issue a&s talks to China's well-known network camera manufacturers to gain an insight into what can be expected for 2012.

CCD or CMOS?
Often when speaking of the network camera the image sensor is a vital part and the most often talked about is the use of a CCD (Coupled Charged Device) and CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semi Conductor). It is widely known that of the two CCD provides a much better image quality but has greater costs. However, CMOS does still maintain its advantages, for 2012 what can we expect CCD or CMOS?

"2012 will continue to be dominated by CMOS network cameras due to lower costs" according to Hikvision's Network Camera Director Ying Xiangqun. Ying believes that cost is still a major consideration for customers and the market at this very moment in time.

The technology gap between CCD and CMOS is becoming less obvious, according to Demi Piao, Sales Manager of Wision Technology. CMOS is doing even better due to its lower power consumption and better heat dissipation," said Piao. However, CCD still retains its advantage on the global shutter technology. CCD despite being more expensive also has its disadvantage of being dominated by Sony.

CMOS technology has already reached the same level as CCD in 90% and above of the environments in which it operates it has reached the same results as CCD," said Joe Qiu, Overseas Business Director at TVT Technology. However, Xiang Wenxin, Chief Technical Officer at ZNV, clearly points out that regardless whether the use of CCD or CMOS is not the main concern as different markets have different requirements, but more importantly is the integration of design with technology.

It is worth noting that CCD and CMOS appeal to their respective markets, but for many manufacturers CMOS still seems to be the main image sensor used for network cameras due to costs and new innovative technology which has brought it to a new level.

Issues with High Resolution
High resolution is the new generation for network cameras in 2012, this trend will continue due to the markets demands for fine detail images. In the future, we can expect new technology for network cameras in the following areas: light inhibition, low bit rate control, plug and play and solutions for low light environments," said Yip Hao, Network Camera R&D Product Manager of Dahua Technology.

Even though, technology for megapixels has just begun but later this year the possibility of cameras with 10 megapixels could be possible,"said Luo Jiachen, Technician at WAPA. With compression being an issue with high resolution, Xiang believes that the market awaits for a low bandwidth compression solution which can preserve the high definition details.

However, there are still problems to overcome with HD such as compression, storage and other technology issues.The new trend seems to be heading towards cameras with even higher pixels with a resolution of 3-megapixels to 5-megapixels," "but the major consideration here again is image transmitting and storage costs "said Piao.

High definition has lots of potential areas for expansion such as face recognition and intelligent detection,"said David Ding, Overseas Manager at Launch Digital Technology. Currently, the majority of manufacturers have not yet put a lot of emphasis in the added value of HD or in other words there is not enough research and development in this area."

Piao points out that "emphasis should not be put on the resolution but the video analysis technology."With higher image quality being the new revolution, there are still problems to conquer with the technology, due to image encoding, transmission and decoding which can cause the image to be delayed.

Other companies such as TVT believe that high resolution satisfies the majority of customers but problems remain whether service related or product related. It seems that although high resolution is the continued trend for 2012, there are still many problems that remain to be solved.

With the increasing growth of the network camera market, there is the view that it will become a main solution. Ying believes this is not the case as this depends on market and customer preference and purpose of usage. Ding also points out that using one product to solve all problems is not realistic.

There are certain areas where HD does not have its advantages and, therefore, it cannot be seen as a solution for all situations. For example such as "low lux IP CMOS and CCD do not perform as well as analogue CCTV," said Michael Archer, Product Manager from Sunell Technology. "more pixels does not always mean greater quality and low light with higher pixels does not always bring a favorable picture image."

Benefits of Embedded Network Video Recorders over PC-based NVRs

Editor / Provider: Hikvision | Updated: 3/20/2012 | Article type: China Corner

Today's video surveillance industry is in the middle of a paradigm shift. With the increasing popularity of Internet Protocol (IP) cameras, it is believed that the market is shifting rapidly from analog to IP video surveillance technology. This transition is spawning rapid innovations to increase the capabilities of video surveillance systems. One such example is the advent of NVRs offering a choice between standalone units or recorders as part of a PC assembly .This development in the NVR poses the question: should clients opt for an NVR that is PC-based or a self-contained, embedded unit which only requires attachment to an Ethernet-ready interface?

This white paper will maintain that video surveillance users who opt for an NVR using an embedded, dedicated Linux operating system within a self-contained unit will benefit from performance which is superior to that offered by a PC-based NVR in terms of ease of use, system stability and decoding capability.

Functions common to the two approaches
Before distinguishing between the two video recording solutions in the surveillance market, it will be useful to list the core functions that are common to both approaches. These include: recording; archiving; display; playback; search on parameters such as date, timeline and event; camera management; triggered recording on prescribed events and export to removable media. NVRs are also usually expected to be able to handle VoIP packets. Once digitalized video has been streamed, end-users expect to be able to treat it like any other network data, viewing it locally, on LANs and remotely from web browsers. They also expect to be able to exercise PTZ control over cameras remotely, configure settings and even perform upgrades remotely.

Comparison of embedded network video recorders (NVRs) with PC-based NVRs
Embedded NVRs are distinguished from PC-based NVRs primarily on how they operate and the features they provide. The stand-alone NVR comes in a single, compact enclosure. By contrast, a PC-based NVR is a peripheral addition to a system involving a CPU, keyboard and monitor. In confined locations, an embedded unit performs a similar if not wider range of functions while occupying less space. Embedded NVRs have overcome their perceived shortcomings in terms of storage capacity and types of storage medium through use of devices including IP-SAN, eSATA, NAS (network-attached storage) and Fire wire.  Furthermore, embedded NVRs can support interfaces to other surveillance devices which can be conveniently integrated with alarm systems and access control systems as well as PTZ remote control systems.

Stability
Unlike a PC-based unit which is likely to run a range of Windows applications, an embedded NVR benefits from the stability that comes with Linux code which is optimized to run only applications relevant to the surveillance tasks required. An embedded operating system contains only the software components necessary for the specific functions of the NVR, and the unit will be supplied with optimum configurations straight from the factory after rigorous testing.

Reliability
The precise architecture of the embedded NVR units makes them less prone to crash. However, the PC methodology for NVRs is certainly ‘open' in terms of the addition of external storage, installation of software etc. The controls are embedded into the NVR; they are an integral part of the panel rather than an adjunct, and the activity of operators can therefore be more easily restricted to legitimate usage.

Beware of the curious security guard - This scenario is exaggerated but only slightly. Find an integrator or end-user that is willing to be honest with you and they may well describe situations such as the following. It is all too common for a bored security guard who sees a Windows logo on a PC screen that he is monitoring to think: “I know this environment. I play games on it at home. I could play Solitaire on this and if I just uninstalled that program I would release enough room to install ‘Battlefield 2.' And I guess I could plug my USB-driven phone into that port over there.” Cases of a staff member plugging a phone into a surveillance installation and taking out a whole security system are common. No amount of foresight can anticipate unpredictable behavior by junior staff.  But the contrast with an embedded NVR is obvious. There is little scope for attaching foreign devices to the panel and any such device will not be recognized by the NVR.

Complex decoding
Embedded NVRs consistently outperform PC-based solutions in their ability not only to perform complex decoding but also to give the user reliable video playback and preview. Currently, certain NVRs are among the few units which can perform both local decoding and playback, with decoding of up to 16 channels at 1080p being achievable. The processing demands made on a PC-based solution to achieve comparable performance are far higher than those required of an embedded device, and necessitate powerful, expensive CPUs.

Ease of Use
Embedded NVRs can have operating panels based on the very best intuitive design principles. LED signals, digital inputs and outputs, push buttons and dials can all be arranged in an ergonomic way. Sensible layout in a panel approach rather than a screen-based GUI can replicate the ease of use found in a PC but without the vulnerabilities described above.

Power consumption and manufacturing carbon footprint
Embedded technologies are helping the surveillance industry to go green in marked contrast with the PC approach. The power consumption of an embedded NVR is approximately 70W which is less than an incandescent light bulb. By contrast, the likely power consumption of a PC capable of running an NVR is approximately 250 watts and together with a large enterprise-grade monitor, the total figure will be about 350 watts. For any end-user mindful of their carbon footprint, these figures alone must do much to settle the debate.

Default option rather than a decision based on comparative analysis
NVRs have been a mainstream offering for three years and it is likely that the embedded approach will soon take precedence over solutions using PCs. Nevertheless, a PC-based NVR will still have its own stage as an additional approach to the embedded method. The benefits an embedded NVR offers – reliability, stability, ease of use and more –allow enterprises to maximize the value of what they already own. Moreover, with all the components embedded into one box, it occupies small space and can be perfectly disguised in any location. This makes the embedded approach more suitable to be installed to any spot even hard-to-reach location, prohibiting the unauthorized staff or intruders to access to sensitive video footage. For end-users who have not yet implemented an NVR, the discussion in this white paper should make a convincing case that the embedded NVR approach must be the preferred option rather than a PC-based NVR. Any considered evaluation of recent product progression will lead to the conclusion that the embedded NVR has already become the default option.

Japanese Shipping Company Deploys Messoa Surveillance Solution

Editor / Provider: Messoa | Updated: 3/14/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

Established in 1919, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha LTD, also known as “K” Line, is the tenth largest shipping company in the world. Based in Japan, they typically move cargo around the world by ship. One of the places that “K” Line operates out of is the Shinagawa-ku Seaport in Tokyo, Japan. Shinagawa-ku is one of the largest and busiest ports in Japan. Thousands of tons of goods are brought in and out on a daily basis along with hundreds of workers.

“K” Line needed to know what was going on in the port at all times. They had to monitor cargo handling operations and allied activities. However, ports are typically challenging environments to monitor. Strong winds, heavy rain, windblown salt, and major fluctuations in temperature could make taking accurate images difficult. “K” Line required a surveillance camera that was tough yet precise.

The camera supports the H.264 compression standard. H.264 greatly reduces the size of video compared to MJPEG and MPEG4 without compromising image quality. Storage and bandwidth needs are reduced. Plus, H.264 is a wireless friendly format.

Only five cameras were installed on lighting towers yet they covered all 231,000M2 of the Port. A rugged outdoor wireless power box and transmitter were used to keep wires and installation costs to a minimum. With wireless networks, cameras can be deployed anywhere without the high costs of installing and maintaining wires.

Geutebruck Deploys IP Video Solution in Grand Casino Switzerland

Editor / Provider: Geutebruck | Updated: 3/9/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

When the Grand Casino in Baden in Switzerland upgraded its video security system in 2009 it installed a Geutebruck high availability IP solution with virtual platforms and incorporating thirty-five 1.3 Megapixel cameras. The 250-camera system provides a complete video history from all cameras, including the megapixel ones, at full available resolution for 28 days on a 320 Terabyte instant access database.

Two technologies were key to achieving unprecedented performance and reliability. One was Geutebruck's own CCTV-optimised video compression process MPEG4CCTV. This uses standard MPEG-4 compression tools in unusual ways to deliver professional performance and image handling specifically for security users. MPEG4CCTV systems are remarkably fast, delivering top quality video images without latency; as well as lean and efficient with low network and storage requirements.

The other notable technology is virtualization. Geutebruck uses virtualization, in the shape of Microsoft's Hyper-V tool, to generate multiple virtual servers in fail-over cluster formation on a single piece of hardware, thus providing high redundancy but without additional hardware. Consequently, the server room at the Grand Casino Baden is impressive for what is not there! — Less hardware means less power and less emergency capacity on standby; fewer devices mean less waste heat, less air conditioning and lower energy consumption. Together, space, energy and cost savings mean virtualization significantly reduces the Casino's total cost of ownership.

The system's cameras include a dozen legacy analog speed domes and a hundred analog box cameras all now linked to an existing Kat5 Ethernet with video encoders; 35 new 1.3 megapixel cameras and a hundred new high resolution day/night IP-cameras.

Two Intel servers each incorporating five high performance computers handle all data streams and run 21 virtual video system platforms operated in cluster formation. This record to RAID Level 6 databases mounted on 21 SAS storage systems with sixteen 1TB capacity server disks each. If - despite all care and cutting-edge technology – something does fail, then the full functionality of the system is immediately automatically re-established without down-time or data loss.

The new megapixel cameras provide improved picture quality along with support for close-ups. On their 30-inch monitors supervisors can view all 250cameras and can pull up live and recorded footage of identical quality in milliseconds. Despite its technical complexity, supervisors find the system simplicity itself to operate as the user-friendly display and operating software is extensively customized for each application, optimizing operator comfort and convenience.

PSIM Software Deployment Remains Critical

Editor / Provider: Tevin Wang | Updated: 3/6/2012 | Article type: Tech Corner

There is no universal definition for physical security information management (PSIM), as it is not an “out-of-the-box” product. Most PSIM platforms are customer-specific to address defined business risks. One reason limiting the uptake of PSIM is the perception that it should integrate with any product and is plug-and-play, said Debjit Das, VP of Marketing, Verint Systems. However, PSIM does not just integrate different subsystems. It also analyzes and assesses the data from disparate systems, making intuitive decisions and communicating with operators to form the proper response.

A PSIM project is a long-term process, involving consultation and customization. It is dynamic software which requires ongoing evaluation. To succeed, an interdisciplinary team must set objectives for the organization as a whole. “It's important to note that PSIM deployments need to be considered as iterative implementations that have to be adjusted over time,” said Al Liebl, VP of Professional Services, Proximex (a Tyco International company).

Obstacles to Software Integration
One way to integrate systems into PSIM is through APIs and SDKs, as they allow a developer to support more functionality for each system. However, this approach takes time and significant maintenance is often required when subsystems change. “In an access control system, there may be two-way communication, whereas in fire and intrusion, there's one-way communication,” said Debjit Das, VP of Marketing, Verint Systems. “On our side, we have developed interfaces to integrate with several types of subsystems. But integrating with specific vendor systems requires resources and effort.”

An obstacle to integration is that not all vendors provide APIs for third-party PSIM applications to access system data. “This is changing now that vendors have found that not providing APIs is greatly limiting their ability to continue to sell technology and has put them at risk for replacement,” said James Chong, CTO of VidSys. “As an integrator, you are sometimes required to become an intermediary between a PSIM vendor and subsystem manufacturer to get what your customer wants,” said Joe Duchscherer, Technical Director for AJAR-tec.

In terms of standardization, integration challenges for single facilities and multisite projects are similar, said Randy Montelius, VP of Engineering, Communications Engineering Company. “Bringing disparate systems together into a unified, integrated security management platform can be difficult if the standards aren't the same. To overcome this, we carefully select established manufacturers that offer some level of integration or that can provide SDKs that allow you to write custom integration between platforms. Often, these disparate systems offer acceptable service locally, but it can be difficult to tie them together in a single system.” Standardization remains one of the biggest challenges for PSIM integration. “We have not come across a standard protocol or API that we can plug into and say it all works, despite all the ONVIF and PSIA effort out there,” Das said.

Network Configuration
A solid network infrastructure is crucial for PSIM performance. Integrating disparate technologies to a common platform requires connectivity. “Often, that connectivity does not exist prior to a PSIM deployment. That means before we even begin an implementation, we often must build the infrastructure required to operate the PSIM system,” said Jeremy Brecher, VP of Security Technology and Integration, Diebold Security. “This can be a significant barrier for the end user.”

Video requires extensive bandwidth on a network compared to access control, intrusion and fire detection “The bandwidth requirement of video is high only for those operators who are viewing it, rather than the total numbers of cameras,” said Bob Banerjee, Senior Director of Training and Development for Security, Nice Systems. A system installed within a single facility would be unlikely to experience transmission challenges over a local network.

Bandwidth and transmission are issues when there are multiple sites or citywide PSIM deployments, encompassing subsystems with varying bandwidth speeds and reliability, said Patrick Lim, Director of Sales and Marketing, Ademco Far East (an Ademco Security Group company). “With remote sites, bandwidth may not be under the customer's control. Unstable or extremely slow transmission poses big problems for PSIM integration.”

“Sending video between sites is probably the biggest challenge in this area. Bandwidth constraints of the WAN and potential latency issues can make for a poor user experience,” said Randy Montelius, VP of Engineering, Communications Engineering Company. “Most companies have a smaller pipe between sites than within their facilities. This can make retrieving video from remote locations a slow process. To work around it, systems may be designed so that the video is stored locally on the network to where it's most likely to be viewed. This keeps it from having to cross the WAN. As video compression technologies continue to improve, this is becoming less of an issue. “

“Creating this bandwidth, as well as determining how video will be recorded, transmitted and stored requires careful planning and they present common challenges,” Brecher said. “In many urban deployments in which we have been involved, for example, the existing infrastructure simply can't support a PSIM system. In these cases, the dedicated wireless networks and backhaul infrastructure that are used to support PSIM are often built for the sole purpose of enabling the system.”

“Network time protocol (NTP) services are critical for PSIM deployments, especially when information from a variety of subsystems needs to be correlated,” Liebl said. “Many organizations have not deployed NTP services on their security networks, which leads to problems when video systems and other security systems don't maintain the same time; without the same time data, different subsystems cannot be successfully correlated.”

Access Rights
Throughout multiple sites and organizations, administration and access rights are based on an established hierarchy. To ensure the right information reaches the right person, PSIM software usually has enablers such as user groups, hierarchies and rules that users can put in to trigger emails or text messages — rules for routing information to different agencies at different levels to groups within the agencies, Das said.

Storage
PSIM software deals with vast amounts of system data. However, PSIM does not record original video. “We integrate with VMS, NVR and DVR manufacturers and they are the main recording engine,” said Adlan Hussain, Marketing Manager at CNL Software. PSIM deployments should not experience storage challenges if the underlying subsystems have been properly configured and the PSIM solution references the source data. In single facilities, video could be stored directly to the storage area network (SAN). “Video storage isn't much of a challenge today,” Montelius said. “Even in a distributed system, video can be stored locally and periodically archived to a centralized SAN some wherein the enterprise. This could be scheduled for after-hours so it wouldn't infringe upon other data traffic during the day.”

“Storage is an area that no longer presents significant challenges,” Brecher said. “With so many storage options — from storing on-site to leveraging the cloud and even partnering with a third party for remote storage — end users have access to affordable solutions that will fit their specific needs.”

Communications
A less commonly addressed issue is internal and external communications. “The traditional platform often depends on a POTS telephony system or at most analog intercom systems,” Lim said. “With IP telephony, IP intercoms and IP PA systems, together with SIP standards for digital phones, we can have unified communications into PSIM too.”

PSIM platforms are dynamic and thus require ongoing maintenance to meet changing needs in security operation. “There are software subscriptions to support and maintain. There are patches to manage,” Brecher said. “You have to maintain not only the top-tier PSIM system, but also each and every security system that's connected to the PSIM system. These elements of the PSIM operation require not only staffing, but also budget. That's why the management and ongoing maintenance of these systems are often underestimated by end users and can be a deterrent to embracing PSIM.”

Maryland Police Department Installs IQinVision Cameras to Improve Public Safety

Editor / Provider: IQinVision | Updated: 3/3/2012 | Article type: Residential & Consumer

IQinVision announced that the Forest Heights Police Department, located in Prince George's County, Maryland, is installing IQinVision HD megapixel cameras in key locations throughout the city. SeeView Security, Fairfax Virginia, is the integrator for this on-going project.

Forest Heights is a town of approximately 2,500 people and as Police Chief F. R. Webb explained, the town is home to a large proportion of potentially vulnerable residents. “We have neighborhoods with a number of older homes and a lot of elderly residents. Over the years, we've had a few homicides in these residential areas, and if we had surveillance cameras covering the entrances to these neighborhoods I'm confident we would have gained information to more effectively solve these crimes.”

Current plans call for 10 IQeye 5-megapixel cameras to be installed in key areas where police regularly observe loitering, drug sales, and other crimes. Incorporating its “best of breed” philosophy and multi-discipline knowledge base, SeeView designed a cost-effective hybrid IP video/broadband wireless solution with impressive capabilities. All video is transmitted on heavily encrypted wireless links back to police headquarters, where it is managed by Milestone software.

Milestone software has the Smart Client user interface for easy viewing of the IQeye camera footage, helping Forest Heights Police to keep a watchful eye on its residents. Milestone's uniquely flexible storage capabilities efficiently handle the archived video and make for quick searching or export of evidence during investigations.

The Forest Heights Police don't plan to do much live video monitoring of camera footage at police headquarters, focusing instead on incident investigation as each case arises. Chief Webb related that the department does plan to provide live monitoring capability in the city's police cars. “Our officers will be able to look at video on their computers before arriving on the scene,” said Webb. “This is going to give us much improved situational awareness and the cameras will act as a force multiplier.” The police department plans to store video for approximately 30 days.

Courtesy of IP Video: Tough Love for Open-Platform VMS

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 2/21/2012 | Article type: Tech Corner

Video management software (VMS) is exactly that — software that manages a video surveillance system. While this used to mean monitoring the video streams from various cameras, open-platform VMS is gaining momentum, riding on the coattails of the IP revolution and catering to the needs of increasingly complicated and interconnected security systems. Yet the complexity of IP networks mean that VMS providers need to take a more cross-industry approach to problem solving.

Video management software (VMS) allows video users to efficiently and effectively manage their video surveillance systems. VMS can be the software included with a DVR. Yet with the analog to IP revolution, softwareonly VMS is gaining ground in the security industry — especially open-platform VMS.

The reason for the rise of open-platform VMS? End users want more choice. An open platform VMS can use surveillance hardware from different third-party manufacturers. In the same surveillance system, an end user can choose their preferred HD camera from one manufacturer, their preferred PTZ camera from another manufacturer, video analytics from a third manufacturer, and control and manage all components using the same VMS platform. Debjit Das, VP of Marketing, Verint Systems, said, “We want to give customers as many alternatives as they need to be able to leverage our solutions; our open platform philosophy allows us to provide alternatives to customers when it comes to hardware selection.”

In contrast, some VMS like DVR-bound VMS are usually tied to hardware from specific manufacturers. These options are good if most of the surveillance hardware deployed is from one manufacturer, but that becomes less likely as end users scale up or want special products in their surveillance system. Open-platform VMS makes it easier to include solutions from different vendors and to make future upgrades to the surveillance system.

Our familiarity with consumer electronics makes the idea of mixing and matching seem simple. We can take ear buds from any electronics manufacturer and plug them into any desktop, laptop, tablet computer, smartphone or MP3 device. Components of consumer electronics are interoperable due to the existence of standards. However, plug-and-play is still not possible for open-platform VMS.

Standards do exist in security. ONVIF is the most widely adopted standard in network surveillance. Unfortunately, ONVIF still has a long way to go before it can compare with consumer electronics standards. Contrary to popular belief, plugging an ONVIF-compliant surveillance camera into an ONVIF-compliant VMS does not mean that there is interoperability. The problem is that ONVIF is not comprehensive enough to support every feature on compliant devices. There are variables within VMS and different cameras that fall outside the scope of ONVIF, which will affect the ability of devices to integrate in the same system.

Until there is true, complete standardization in the security industry, manufacturers need to come together and make sure that their products are compatible. This is the only way that users can see high-level integration between all video surveillance devices and the VMS. Yet standards are still relevant as they are the first step toward interoperability. VMS that is not truly open-platform will likely see issues arise during the integration process. “Some manufacturers develop an ‘add-on' to make their system look ‘open,' but when real integration is needed, additional costs are required to ‘open' their protocol,” said Patrick Lim, Director of Sales and Marketing, Ademco Far East (an Ademco Security Group company).

The good news is that many vendors make the effort to be as open as possible, partnering with many third-party companies. The bad news is that it is difficult to keep pace with the latest developments. Not only do open-platform VMS vendors need to check in with cameras, but also with an increasing number of security systems such as access control systems, intrusion alarms, analytics and more.

It is not easy, given the number of products on the market. “One of our challenges in terms of product development is to support an increasing demand of software interoperability with third-party hardware and software products,” said Francis Lachance, PM, Genetec. “The VMS is typically the core of the solution, and as an open platform, we need to interface with a wide variety of network cameras, encoders, storage technologies and third-party security software. Each technology has its own API/SDK which needs to be integrated.”

In addition to initial synchronizing, each product upgrade requires communication with partners. Though most do not find this technically challenging, it requires meticulousness and continual communication. Even when VMS vendors do keep up with hardware updates, sometimes previous compatible links are broken in the process.

There is even more complexity in software-software interactions. Whereas hardware-software compatibility is more of a time-and-effort issue, software-software integration often run into business model problems. “Sometimes there are situations that require command and control, and you need to integrate with other software vendors,” Das said. “Two VMS companies may not be that open to collaborating with each other. An example would be if we are serving one agency, and another agency, served by another VMS vendor, has command and control, and wants to have access to the video from the first agency. To make a secure environment and to leverage the infrastructure, the software solutions needs to be able to talk to each other.”

Lots of communication and negotiation are needed to make sure all these moving parts are working together. Unfortunately, this nontechnical aspect of video surveillance needs a great deal of work. Some manufacturers are good at keeping partners updated, while others are less forthcoming with their developments. By providing partners with information ahead of a product launch, interoperability is possible once products arrive on market. Otherwise, partners must react to information, which is not good for the quality of compatibility, nor for business relations. “There are 35 to 40 different camera manufacturers that our VMS integrates with,” said Marc Holtenhoff, CEO, Aimetis. “There are so many cameras, and they all have different road maps. Keeping in sync is hard — especially if the communication is not back and forth.” [NextPage]

Don't Forget the SI's
Proper integration also requires the services of capable system integrators (SIs). When surveillance systems were analog, all c omponent s we re plug- andplay; installation did not require integration. The complexity of IP video and integration, on the other hand, means that SIs are crucial to putting together a functioning video surveillance system.

The migration from analog to IP requires SIs to relearn the installation process. “From an integrator's perspective, with the convergence of IP, there's been a learning curve with VMS," said Gerry Pittman, Manager of Global Security Technology – Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls. "It is more complicated than before and there are more components to know about: network cameras, storage, networking and more. The security world is moving into the IT world. There are definitely growing pains; you cannot implement these systems without IT knowledge.”

Lack of complete standards does mean that integrators need to check that hardware is not only ONVIF-compliant , but also compatible with the VMS. According to Matt Barnette, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing, AMAG Technology (a G4S Technology company), as long as the integrator chooses wisely and checks his assumptions with all involved suppliers, it is relatively easy to build and deploy an integrated security management system without the need for custom development.

However, integrators must also deal with compatibility and interoperability issues that have not been addressed. “The common issue experienced during an installation is to find that not all of the bugs have been worked out of the latest version of firmware, or that a particular manufacturer's product utilized in the installation, was not included in the final compatibility testing of the VMS platform,” said Steve Malia, VP of Engineering Services and Marketing, North American Video. “While the majority of these issues can be solved easily, having to do so uses up valuable time.”

Systems integrator Ademco had such an experience many months ago. A customer wanted to use a recommended network camera with a preferred VMS. Ademco made sure that the camera was compatible –according to the vendor, it was certified and tested. But it found that when it came to the actual installation, when video analytics were needed, other features in the VMS became disabled. Lim said, “It was a rather embarrassing experience for the manufacturer, but we managed to sort out the situation eventually.”

Installation and integration of security systems is complicated, and things inevitably go wrong. When something goes wrong, who should be called? If a VMS feature does not work, is it not compatible with a specific camera? Or has the camera been positioned or installed incorrectly? Does the problem lie with the VMS, the camera or the integrator? In the process of finding the problem, integrators and end users often contact multiple sources to, encountering much finger pointing along the way. There is currently no good procedure for solving these problems.

To add another wrinkle to the puzzle, VMS and cameras are sometimes affected by the integration process. Integration might affect the bit rate and frame rate in a system, and this is something that VMS providers need to take into account. “How will the system perform if there is a large amount of integration with significant amount of data flowing between two or more systems?” Lim asked. “Especially for VMS, where external data might be used to trigger video response, will it result in the system overloading should there be multiple events at once? VMS developers should also take into consideration the extra load of integration.”

Instead of finger pointing, Malia suggests that industry players come up with a better way of dealing with compatibility discrepancies. “As technology partnerships are formed among the vendors, VMS providers should take the lead in ensuring a more system-wide approach to support so that integrators have only one phone call to make. As seen from the customer 's perspective, issues such as troubleshooting, diagnosing and problem resolution are accomplished much faster with a single partner than when trying to work with several different manufacturers.” [NextPage]

Full Speed Ahead
For the four phases of a product life cycle — introduction, growth, maturation and decline — most VMS providers agree that VMS is still in the growth phase. Open-platform VMS will continue to ride the IP wave as the security industry transforms itself from an analog platform to a digital one. “As the world moves from fully analog to fully digital, the market is expanding both through new deployments and retrofits,” Barnette said. “This creates opportunities at each tier and in almost every niche, as a wide range of customers have different needs, and chose to satisfy those needs in a variety of ways.”

The number and complexity of components that can be added to a video surveillance system will increase, which results in structural changes to the VMS itself. “As cameras become computers with lenses, you can have more applications, which creates more demand and functionality in the central VMS software that manages that data,” Holtenhoff said. “The point being, there's a whole video surveillance base that has tons of room to grow. As those applications change and evolve, so will be the need to better administer that.”

Eduardo Carlos Bonilha, President, Digifort agrees. “Value-added modules are still being developed, and customers are always suggesting new operational and administrative facilities. We still have much to develop in the coming years.”

As VMS develops, customers will expect more than the basics, and will look to see how sophisticated and how usable different VMS are. Christian Bohn, VP of Product Management and Marketing, Milestone Systems, said, “The market is maturing, customers are moving their focus from purely looking at new technology to see how this technology is implemented, the ‘ease of use' of the solutions and how they interconnect and drive new innovations and benefits.”

To respond to added complexity, manufacturers need strong channels of communication.“As security and surveillance systems become more advanced and complex, functional collaboration at the manufacturer's level becomes even more instrumental,” Malia said. One way may be to streamline the integration/ compatibility testing procedures, Malia suggests.

Communication will help strengthen the industry's ability to deal with further problems encountered by IP network surveillance, for example, vulnerability to cyber attacks. “The fact that IP video is not bound to a closed network nor is it self-contained brings privacy and security issues to the table,” Lachance said. “Video can easily be shared among multiple people and/or organizations and can be accessed from most parts of the world, making security and privacy a concern.”

Eventually the chaos will die down as more complete standards come to market. “As the various standardization efforts either take hold or die off — as some inevitably will — the customer will be presented with a smaller set of more rational and structured options,” Barnette said. Open-platform VMS is on the way up. To face the challenges ahead, vendors need to offer not just open software, but open lines of communication.