Tag Archives: March Networks

CCTV software

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CCTV software.

Over the next few years we will begin to see hardware recording solutions in the CCTV security industry slowly disappear and be replaced almost exclusively by CCTV software.

Cost of CCTV hardware.

The high production costs of hardware have in the past always been able to be offset because most end users networks struggled to cope with the high amount of bandwidth taken by HD and Megapixel IP cameras. Recently however, there is a marked change. Recording solutions are beginning to be biased towards CCTV software platforms recording onto dedicated servers. The servers are getting cheaper and developers have taken all the best features from their hardware recorders and integrated this into CCTV software solutions.

CCTV software.

The software of course can vary enormously. Some manufacturers such as Sanyo are happy to give away software in order to sell their IP cameras in volume. Other big players such as March networks have spent lots of time money and effort on developing their Videosphere VMS software into a fantastic package that includes analytics and extremely advanced search facilities not seen in cheap or free CCTV software packages.

Who decides.

Of course the decision will always come down to end user and their requirements. Anyone trying to integrate CCTV systems that already exist on site will not be able to use off the shelf packages. They will have to choose a CCTV software solution that can integrate a multitude of cameras and codec’s especially when using a combination of analogue and IP cameras of different makes and model. The older analogue cameras will need some kind of multiple recording platform and then conversion to IP video streams.

The future.

CCTV software can and will get better and better. Software gives flexibility that older hardware DVRs lack. It will eventually get less expensive and remote support for the product is easier than returning a DVR back to its country of origin just simply to be repaired. The benefits and advantages of using CCTV are slowly but surely meaning that DVRs are soon to go the same way as the VCR.. Ie it become a very breed indeed.

CCTV Solutions

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Here at Integrated CCTV we are striving to bring you the latest CCTV news from the industry . New products can be found on this site including the latest offerings from:

Avigilon

Arecont

Alhua Technology

360 vision technology

Basler

Axis IP camera

Bosch,

Brickcom

Cisco,

Custodian monitoring

Dual com,

VCL Dome camera,

Dallmeier

FLIR

HD CCTV

Milestone,

Maxxess

March networks,

motobotix,

Mayflex

Panasonic

Paxton

Redcare,

Risco

Siemans

Samsung

Sony

Vicon,

Videx,

Videcon,

veracity UK ltd

Xtralis

Plenty to look at search the site to find blogs and updates on all the CCTV products in the news.

International Security Exhibitions

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We may be based in the UK, but we always like to follow some of the up and coming International Exhibitions!

Volcano ash permitting, we are looking to bring good information on emerging technologies from the following exhibitions in 2010

ESSEN – Essen, Germany 5th to 8th October

ASIS – Texas, USA 12th to 15th October

ISC EAST – New York, USA 3rd and 4th November

more to follow!

Emerging Video Technologies – Pt5 Storage on-board IP Cameras

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Today, we take a look at On Board storage for IP cameras

Potential Benefits:-

Some camera locations have limited or unreliable bandwidth. In those lcoations, ensuring that video can be streamed and recorded remotely can be expensive (or simply not possible). Putting storage inside of an IP camera can eliminate this problem. Of course, some network connections will be needed to remotely view/download record video. However, this will only need to be done periodically.

Cost: While storgae costs drop continuously, today the cost of on-board storage is far higher than centrally storing video in hard drives. Moreover, for most video surveillance applications, it is simply not possible to solely store video on-board IP cameras as it is not technically possible (with the exception of  suppliers supporting hard drives inside or attached to their cameras)

  • End User Risks
    Using on board storage may force compromises in the length of storage or the quality of storage (because of limitations on how much video can be stored inside the camera). Additionally, most VMS systems do not support remote playback of video recorded on an IP camera. This could make it difficult to access and use this video.
  • Installer Risks
    If the on-board storage cannot be remotely accessed using the existing VMS playback, the installer may be called for additional service calls. Some systems will require a technician physically remove the on-board storage while others will require downloading raw video files.

Taken from the ‘Emerging Video Surveillance Guide 2010’ from http://ipvideomarket.info/

we at IntegratedCCTV agree in part with the report – however, we still think that a camera recording in a continuous loop, just enough to cover a 3 9’s network (99.9% allowable down time, 43 minutes per month) and then using technology such as March Networks’ Shadow Archive feature, means that the system can synchronise video lost during the network downtime, with little effect on the overall system…………this is new and probably not known at the time of the report, but it is worth noting when discussing the above!!!

Have you any opinions on this? leave a comment for us!

CCTV analytics perimeter security solution. It WORKS!

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CCTV video analytics.

Video analytics has been a technology that has been talked about for a long time but at last it has  now finally arrived in a format that works reliably and achieves the results that will make customers keen to upgrade their legacy CCTV systems.

CCTV Alarms.

Used to alert the end user of an unusual event or an intrusion into a protected area it helps to give security managers a better insight to events and alarms occurring on their site. There are many types of events that can be raised to his attention and these include.

People counting

Speed monitoring

Facial detection

Loitering

Perimeter protection

Fall detection

Queue length monitoring

Panic alarm

Object abandonment.

And more to boot.

Advanced CCTV software.

Video analytics works by using advanced software to detect in real time changes within the view of the camera, far more advanced than motion detection, all analogue cameras currently in use in the UK can be converted to use this technology. It’s a simple process just install a unit called a codec. The codec is attached to the camera and behind the scenes converts all the video into a format that analyses events and through a set of clean contacts an alarm can be raised in a variety of different ways.

IP CCTV codec.

The codec is an IP device and is programmed through a laptop or if connected to a network it can be remotely administered. Xtralis, Bosch and March Networks all produce units that excel in video analytics.

CCTV Airport!

Examples of where analytics can be used to great effect include ports and airports combating threats of terrorism especially identifying abandoned objects, Protecting classic art using analytics means museums can also benefit from this feature.

CCTV perimeter protection.

Perimeter protection is another area that has seen far better security thanks to trip wire features and the ability to detect movement in a certain direction. Integrating analytics with FLIR thermal imaging cameras is an excellent example of how a sensitive area during hours of total darkness can suddenly be secured where before this would have been impossible.

Codecs.

Setting up the codec’s is a relatively simple task. Perspective is important to ensure only the objects or human movements are detected and things such as wildlife are totally ignored. A great advance for the industry analytics are now being incorporated directly into the heads of cameras and the Predator camera from 360 vision is the first 360 dome camera that can deal with analytics while on a tour something of a dream for security guards who are tasked with monitoring large establishments or estates.

CCTV investment.

As the investment goes heavily into this technology from the big manufactures we see the number of applications increasing and soon analytics will be commonplace in many businesses across the UK