Network video recorders are becoming more intelligent than ever, equipped with various smart and AI functions to meet the end user’s various objectives. But at the same time, these NVRs are also integrative – an important feature amid the IoT trend – as well as reliable, keeping losses to a minimum.
Network video recorders are becoming more intelligent than ever, equipped with various smart and AI functions to meet the end user’s objectives. But at the same time, these NVRs are also integrative – an important feature amid the IoT trend – as well as reliable, keeping losses to a minimum.
With intelligent features embedded, NVRs can detect abnormal objects or other irregularities in the video feed and thus alert the operator, who can then react accordingly. In addition to enabling better situational awareness, these NVRs also include advanced software that helps the operator quickly retrieve relevant video footage for post-event investigation.
One example is
A-MTK’s NVR which has a sequential search function. “For instance, there’s a bank robbery that happened between 3 and 4 p.m. The A-MTK NVR divides the 60-minute video clip into 36 timeslots, each with 1.6 minutes. Then the NVR divides each timeslot into 36 pieces, each with 2.6 seconds. With this you can clearly see the vivid image of the robber’s face. The user only clicks on the ‘sequential search’ button and it’s done. There’s no need to play back the entire one-hour video,” said Pauline Yen, Director of A-MTK.
Furthermore, these smart features can help the operator achieve non-security purposes. “Integrated AI functions can quickly get key data from the NVR to make video date become more valuable, such as face detection, people counting analysis, people flow analysis, behavior analysis, big data mining and statistic. Integrated AI functions such as human behavior analysis in the NVR can help us easily see the trend and forecast the future from big video data,” said Jacky Cheng, CEO of
DIGIEVER.
“With smart NVRs, the ability to support motion detection, tampering and other security analytics is really table stakes these days. What we are seeing now is growing demand for integrated business analytics such as people counting, queue length, dwell time, license plate recognition and others, which combine with video and other data to provide true business intelligence,” said Jeff Morton, IP Recorders Product Manager at
March Networks. “For example, a retail organization can use dwell time analytics combined with video and point-of-sale data to analyze and compare customer service performance at all of its locations, and identify areas for improvement based on that information.”
Integrative capability
Another feature of today’s NVRs is its integrative capability, able to connect with not just IP cameras but a whole variety of IoT devices to help the end user achieve more objectives. “Strong integrative capability with, for example, PoE switch, external AI/O-DI/O device, access control and IP video door intercom can make NVR become the brain/center of surveillance solution to relieve maintenance cost and effort as well as to achieve more complex applications,” said Cheng.
“The ability to support many IoT devices, such as a 3D analytics sensor, is important for any organization using a smart NVR. These integrations enable users to leverage their video for applications that can extend beyond more traditional security uses. A recorder’s ability to integrate with business data such as transaction or RFID data is also critical for business intelligence capabilities,” said Morton. “And of course access control and device integrations are also important for organizations looking for seamless security and the flexibility to choose the devices they prefer or require for specific applications.”
“By default, our NR3368S has 8 sensor inputs and 2 alarm outputs. The client can connect external RJ45 to the alarm box to extend to a maximum of 36 sensor inputs. This means each IP cam can be triggered by an independent sensor such as access control or smoke detector,” said Yen. “And upon sensor detection, the NR3368S can pop up IP camera as spot monitor, pop up user-defined text on screen, buzz sound alert, show alarm message on e-map and remotely deliver data to NAS, iSCSI, email, FTP or smart phone apps.”
Reliability
A smart NVR must also be reliable so recording can continue even in the event of a failure. “To follow the market needs, A-MTK NR3368S NVR is designed with an 8-piece hot-swappable hard-disk slot. If the HDD fails to record, the NVR will be notified. The Client can easily swap to a new hard disk without shut-down the NVR,” Yen said. “With the built-in Raid 0, 1 and 5 functions, the client can choose different hard disk management to ensure data redundancy. And with Raid 5, the internal data will be under safe protection.”