Technology & Trends - CCTV cameras

Daniel Budinoff, president of Security Specialists, Stamford, Conn., is almost a fixture at trade shows, especially ISC West. He attends some six to seven trade shows per year, but finds ISC West most applicable to his company, his product research needs and his networking endeavors. In fact, he has attended ISC West for more than 25 years, only missing perhaps one or two shows during that time period. With this year’s show just around the corner, April 10-12 in Las Vegas, it’s a gre...

According to a recent MarketsandMarkets report, video surveillance storage solutions and services are experiencing a rapid adoption in the industry, estimated to grow 16.3 percent each year until 2018, eventually reaching a market size of $10.41 billion. In addition to the specific image content of surveillance cameras, there are also huge amounts of data surrounding it – everything from the location to the time of day, the duration of the video, and more. And the amount of data in the ima...

DWC added equipment warranty plans for security, surveillance, fire systems, parking control & security gates While the systems integration industry continues to chirp about moving to services and recurring monthly revenue (RMR), Sound Incorporated, Naperville, Ill., has been successfully working this angle for more than two decades. The privately held firm has been in business more than 50 years, starting in the school intercom and sound side of the business, and migr...

Access control and video surveillance technologies are expensive to buy and install. So it’s important that end users make sure they get a system that works the way it is supposed to work and the way they want it to work. To that end, the principles of project management can help end users find an integrator and to manage the work of installing or upgrading security systems. If you are experienced with security technologies, you might consider managing the project yourself. If not, consi...

Thermal cameras can often be used to cover larger areas than standard visible light cameras Smart thermal cameras use on-board video analytics and a high degree of video processing to detect people very accurately in complete darkness, bright sun, and bad weather over the typically large perimeters associated with transportation applications. Combining manpower and smart thermal technology makes security for transportation assets more effective. At the end of the day, it takes...

If your company has a facility or a current business meeting in Seoul, South Korea, you would want to know the details behind the recent knife attack on the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark W. Lippert. You would want to know that the attacker belonged to a group promoting the unification of North and South Korea and that South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the event an attack on the South Korea-U.S. alliance. You would want to know where in Seoul the attack occurred as well as many...

The FERC standard CIP-014-1 became effective, according to the Federal Register, on January 26, 2015 The electric power industry works with several federal agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Energy (DOE) to improve sector-wide resilience for cyber threats. The industry also collaborates with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the North American Electric Re...

Differences between standard data applications and the requirements of networks designed for IP video security applications are critical for your system's performance When the need to purchase a network switch arises, many IT directors immediately turn to two favourites, HP or Cisco. They have become to the networking environment what IBM was to computers: “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.” Certainly, switches play a crucial role in enhancing your network by i...

Standards for camera manufacturers presented a new challenge with the introduction of security cameras that require more than 30 Watts of power Standards for camera manufacturers presented a new challenge with the introduction of security cameras that require more than 30 Watts of power. Many of these involve pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) domes and heaters and blowers that require additional power. This development created two areas of confusion which is highlighted in this article by N...

Improvements in the technology have lowered – but not eliminated – concerns about false alarms False alarms have plagued the video analytics market since the beginning. Improvements in the technology have lowered – but not eliminated – concerns about false alarms. Companies providing video analytics systems say the question isn’t whether false alarms can be eliminated, but rather how they can be managed. “We’re still very far away fro...

It’s important for everyone in a high school to wear an ID Handwritten check in and check out books fail to alert the security risks posed by individuals on school campuses. Installing visitor management systems is imperative to screen and manage visitors and thereby enhance the level of safety in schools.  However, it takes training and practice to use school visitor management technologies effectively. Security technologies can go a long way toward making K-12 sc...

Supply chain risk management involves identifying and dealing with supply chain uncertainties that pose a threat to business continuity Today’s complex world needs risk managers, business people that think about the bad things that might happen and lay plans to eliminate or at least mitigate those risks. This article explains the need to identify and respond to risks involved in a supply chain. Manufacturers should make efforts and develop strategies to enhance supply ch...

Combining thermal imaging with analytics provides a robust system Prices are dropping for thermal cameras. Now they are much more affordable for non-military customers – and more likely to be used in combination with video analytics. Combining thermal imaging with analytics provides a robust system; the technologies work well together. Thermal cameras make it easier to detect motion because you are eliminating much of the detail and only emphasising temperature “c...

The era of IoT - the Internet of Things - is upon us. A deluge of urban sensory data is flowing into data centers every minute, putting pressure on data-centre resources and accumulating at a rate faster than anyone can process. Is the proliferation of sensory data simply evidence of an increasingly intrusive world, or can IoT be used for the improvement and development of intelligence-equipped cities? We believe that with the right steps the convergence of city operations with IoT...

Milestone Interconnect provides a cost-efficient and flexible way to have central surveillance operation across geographically dispersed sites The transportation vertical is embracing the open platform for video systems. In the past, manufacturers required transportation end users to purchase the camera, the recorders and the software all from one manufacturer. Now, with IP, organisations in the transportation vertical can use off-the-shelf cameras, servers (recorders) and sof...

Analytics at the edge provide the ability to process what is happening in a field of view and discern if a relevant alert is triggered There are multiple benefits to using video analytics at the edge (i.e., near or inside the camera). For one thing, analytics at the edge provides the ability to process what is happening in a field of view and discern if a relevant alert is triggered. This can be faster and less expensive than the original video analytics model of using a separ...

Standards are like a warm blanket on a cold winter night. They make us feel safe and warm. A standard tells us the devices we use within our systems will interact with each other regardless of manufacturer. For IP-powered PoE devices, we depend on standards such as 802.3af for devices requiring up to 15.4 watts and 802.3at for devices powered up to 30 watts. We depend on the devices generating the power to be able to be read by devices receiving the power. Our dependence is not al...

Compliance with regulatory requirements are not enough to protect the US electric grid  Many companies use compliance and best practices to assist in their fight to protect the U.S. electric grid. They rely primarily on what three groups say – FERC (Federal Energy and Regulatory Committee), CERT (U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team) and NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation). These groups issue advisories, standards and guidelines for the industr...

Video analytics isn’t just for security. In general, the ability to leverage data from video provides a new wealth of information and “intelligence” about all aspects of the business. The retail vertical is leading the way in reaping the benefits of video analytics beyond the security function.   There are two reasons retailers have taken advantage of video analytics far more than other vertical markets. First, retailers generally face more theft than a...

The ability to clearly see facial features and other identifying characteristics on each passenger greatly enhances security Some of the video technology used in the transportation vertical is purpose-built, but the wide range of applications and environments is conducive to a variety of general-purpose technology, too. Leading IP camera makers like Axis, Sony and Panasonic have introduced new products to enhance safety and security of travel in  trains, buses or oth...

Intelligent searches of video archives provide investigators faster access to any needed video clip That video analytics can be immensely useful in forensics is relatively less known. However, forensic search capabilities offered by some modern video analytics solutions can not only save investigators significant amounts of time but also help them find results more accurately. These solutions leverage facial recognition and advanced object tracking, demographic analytics, lice...

Various vertical markets such as retail, airports, and transportation have benefited from video analytics Video analytics systems have progressed far beyond the theoretical and are now being used effectively in a range of applications. Let’s look at some of the real-world scenarios that have taken advantage of the latest video analytics systems. Video analytics aren’t just for security. For a traffic application, Agent Vi provides business intelligence on the ave...

The better the sensors, the better the analytics Garbage in, garbage out. The familiar cliché is just as applicable to the area of video analytics as any other field of computing. You simply must have a high-quality image in order to achieve a high-functioning analytics system. The good news is that video cameras, which are the sensors in video analytics systems, are providing images that are better than ever, offering higher quality – and more data – for us...

Forty-one percent of cyber incidents involved the energy sector The Bipartisan Policy Center, the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, reports responding to 198 cyber incidents in fiscal year 2012 across all critical infrastructure sectors. Forty-one percent of these incidents involved the energy sector, particularly electricity, according to a February 2014 report. Considering the enormity of the...

Local surveillance companies often struggle when deciding between distributing third-party brands or selling their own branded surveillance products, especially when the company has already achieved some level of recognition among their customers and/or other key players. Distributing a famous third-party brand is a way to “play it safe” in an environment where there is little budget to spend on marketing, public relationships and other expenses related to produc...

Recent news of Canon’s $2.83 billion cash bid for network surveillance leader Axis Communications came as a surprise to some, but many could easily digest the move as more consolidation of the marketplace, especially the crowded video surveillance space. Systems integrators weighed in on what they expect and the long-term outlook for IP camera leader Axis and Canon, a Japanese firm predominate in broadcast, optics and consumer electronics. Joe Liguori, a partner at Access Co...

Many purpose-focused stand-alone systemsaddress business goals aside from security Transportation gets passengers and goods to their destination safely and in a timely manner. Making transportation possible are purpose-focused stand-alone systems – many that address business goals and others that achieve safety/security goals. Some systems can impact both business and security goals. For example, access control can eliminate the expense and maintenance of locks and keys...

Organisational resilience takes all appropriate actions to help ensure the organisation’s continued viability In this day and age, the traditional components of security officers, cameras, access control and alarm systems aren’t enough to protect a company or organisation. No matter how good your preparations, security sometimes breaks down, and bad things happen. That can take a toll on a business. Today, security’s role extends to organisational resilience...

Coming of age: storage devices have evolved to better record, manage and play back high-quality images Video surveillance and security technology continues to come of age. The sophistication of cameras that have moved to high-definition, high-resolution, megapixel imagery has transformed what users see on playback and greatly enhanced the usability of recorded video feeds. As the evolution continues, from the early days of grainy footage and barely recognisable images to HD, F...

CPTED focuses on designing crime prevention into buildings and campuses In recent years, jurisdictions across the United States have enacted ordinances or codes requiring the use of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Enforcement of these measures arises through required jurisdictional review and approval of CPTED measures in the design drawings. CPTED has emerged in recent years as an effective crime prevention and security technique that focuses on design...