Technology & Trends - CCTV software

IT access control offers significant cost savings per unit or door as less hardware is required to cover a large area Over the last several years, there has been a revolution in access control methodologies including increased integration with video management software and video surveillance capabilities that better protect businesses and enterprise applications. But nowhere is the integration space more progressive in scope than the collaboration between the IT department and...

Dennis Sage Home Entertainment, Phoenix, is a best-in-breed audiovisual contracting services firm that gradually began expanding its offerings to security several years ago. After testing the waters, hiring experienced technicians and learning about the parallels with its current business, the company made a successful transition. Now, Dennis Sage, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is also counting on heightened customer engagement and stickier clients as he moves into the role of t...

A force of 85,000 police and military will patrol the Olympic grounds and environs to provide security A week before the Rio Olympics were slated to begin, Brazil fired the private security firm assigned to hire personnel to screen people entering the various Olympic venues located around Rio De Janeiro. The security plan called for 3,400 screeners. The security firm had only found 500. What happened? Today, prospective security officers must undergo background checks that do...

Video surveillance plays a significant role in any comprehensive security plan, and the value derived from surveillance continues to expand Across the globe, organisations are challenged by a diverse risk landscape and a dynamic operational environment. The safety and security of people, assets and intellectual property are a No. 1 priority, and stakeholders look to gain continuous insight into what is happening at any given time. The ability to identify threats early and effi...

 Part 2 of our Security in Healthcare series The future is digital, and analogue systems are a thing of the past – or are they? The fact is, in the healthcare vertical at least, we may still have a way to go before the full potential of IP-based systems is realised. Obstacles include a lack of funding and the challenge of sharing IP bandwidth with other healthcare technologies. Bandwidth competition While many hospitals have invested significantly in IP syst...

Budget cuts are causing councils to scale down their systems, or decommission them altogether Budget cuts in England and Wales are leading to cameras being switched off to save money. But why is this happening and what could be done to minimise the impact on public space CCTV systems? The UK could be described as the CCTV “capital” of the world, with between 4 million and 6 million cameras deployed, according to a British Security Industry Association study in 201...

H.265 compression continued to be a popular topic from exhibitors on the second day of IFSEC Video beyond security, compression, HD over analogue and integration were on the lips of several exhibitors at IFSEC International 2016. Strangely for a security exhibition, there were plenty of exhibitors talking about non-security applications on the second day of IFSEC International in London. For Axis Communications, Atul Rajput, Regional Director for Northern Europe, said th...

H.265 compression, apps and the inherent security of security systems were some of the themes to be gleaned on the first day of IFSEC International. Almost every video exhibitor I saw on day one of the show mentioned that many of their products use H.265 compression in these days of high definition, bandwidth-hungry cameras. Over at Vivotek’s stand, for example, Emilio Sanchez, project consultant, spoke of the company’s H.265 Smart Stream compression algorithm. He said this saves an...

IPVideo Corporation, Bay Shore, New York, recently announced a new OEM agreement with Milestone Systems Inc., Beaverton, Oregon, in an effort to provide deeper and wider options in its portfolio of video management solutions. According to Steve Rice, Director of Business Development, the partnership will allow the company to reach a broader number of enterprise customers and provide them with distinct choices – and two completely different video management system (VMS) offerings. On the t...

Hikvision website’s “Security Center” provides cybersecurity informationand tools for integrators and end users The time is now to address the impact of cybersecurity threats on the IP video market. In the case of video surveillance systems, the main motives of cyber-attackers are usually to either cover up video evidence of crimes or to gain access to video that should be private. “The use of video surveillance is growing across North America, not j...

ONVIF's 1.0 Core Specification debuted in 2008 at Security Essen The adoption of the ONVIF protocol by manufacturers continues to grow. Last year, the number of member companies in the ONVIF forum exceeded 500 and more than 5,000 products are currently certified on the ONVIF website. How did ONVIF achieve this amazing result and experience this wild adoption? More than a decade ago, every manufacturer was defining their own protocols and pushing for Video Management Software...

The landscape for end-to-end solutions is not designed to address thelong-term evolving needs of customers The video surveillance industry has reached an important crossroads where manufacturers can choose to continue in one direction that solely focuses on their own products and profits, or to move forward in another direction that emphasises building partnerships for the greater good of the community. On one side lies the short road of end-to-end, proprietary solutions fro...

There are resources to help guide an organisation’s management of cybersecurity risks, most prominently from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. NIST defines cybersecurity as "the activity or process, ability or capability, or state whereby information and communications systems and the information contained therein are protected from and/or defended against damage, unauthorised use or modification, or exploitation.&rdquo...

Research at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, is developing a technology that can provide clearer, more defined camera images by fusing RGB (red-green-blue) images with thermal imaging. Phusion is being developed by Spectral Edge, an IP licensing company spun out of the university’s Colour Lab and based in Cambridge. Phusion for security cameras The technology has the potential to deliver more detailed images than are usually available from conventional sec...

Though primarily developed for consumer electronic devices, the advantages ofH.265 compression technology make it ideal for the world of physical security Ever since digital video systems were introduced the race was on to develop compression technologies to reduce runaway bandwidth and storage consumption. We’ve watched the industry roll out MJPEG, MPEG and H.264 advanced compression standards in direct response to each innovation. With adoption of HDTV and 4K solutions...

Automated CCTV lip reading is challenging due to low frame rates and smallimages, but the University of East Anglia is pushing the next stage of this technology Scientists at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, are working on the next stage of automated lip reading technology that could be used for deciphering speech from video surveillance footage. The visual speech recognition technology, created by Dr. Helen Bear and Professor Richard Harvey of UEA’s S...

 PSIM systems extend their value beyond emergencies by including routinemanagement tools, that provide value during daily operations, such as automatingmaintenance activities Physical Security Information Management (PSIM), an acronym termed to describe a family of software platforms that claim to replace traditional command and control (C&C) systems, primarily used to provide situation awareness in control and monitoring centres of Critical Facilities. Traditional C...

Joining Pelco in late 2015, Sharad Shekhar is responsible for the entire global video business and is leading the charge to reinvigorate the Pelco brand with system integrators Back in the day, you literally couldn’t speak with a security company about a video surveillance project without the Pelco name coming up. It had a loyal following and an extremely large installation base. Over the years, that changed and the fervour with which integrators referred to the brand se...

From a network performance perspective, adding higher megapixel camerasaffects bandwidth utilisation The quest for higher megapixel, high-definition and high-resolution video imaging continues, only now, it has become a marathon of sorts. That’s because the migration will progress decidedly – extending into the foreseeable future and beyond – as technology advances and becomes increasingly affordable. Ultra-high-resolution video is finding its niche, even am...

By adding remote monitoring to service contracts, dealers and end users bothbenefit from substantial cost savings while reducing potential downtime Whether upgrading an existing surveillance and/or access system from analogue to IP, or installing a completely new system using structured cable, the ability to communicate, monitor and control IP devices delivers significant operational and economic benefits. The vast amounts of data these systems generate are useful in many ways...

As the technology in omnidirectional cameras continues to improve, they are becoming increasingly more affordable to a wider segment of the video surveillance market Just a few years ago, omnidirectional cameras were a novelty. Today, however, this technology has taken the leap to the mainstream. Think about how ubiquitous Google’s Street View is, and you can gain a better idea of the power of omnidirectional cameras. Even consumers are starting to see many forms of omn...

ISC West has seen manufacturers' efforts to simplify the installation, serviceand deployment of security solutions for systems integrators Efficiencies come in all shapes and forms for systems integrators in the security industry, and ISC West 2016 was a testament to manufacturers' efforts to simplify installation, service, maintenance and deployment of IP video specifications for installers. GURU smartphone app with audit reporting capabilities March Networks, Ottawa, Canad...

IP hardware is enabling customers to break free from proprietary security systems,to embrace the system integration available on open platforms Proprietary, closed systems are the bane of security. Yet they still exist. Robert (Rob) G. Lydic, Global Vice President of Sales for ISONAS, Boulder, Colorado, addresses the importance of open platforms in access control and what it means to systems integration in this exclusive Q&A. Trends in access control technology SourceSec...

Access control now includes a strong focus on the data integration side ofthe business, as showcased at this year’s ISC West When the category of physical security emerged many decades ago, it was literally all about locks, hardware and creating barriers such as fences to keep people out. Fast forward to ISC West 2016 in Las Vegas this week, where the focus is on intelligent solutions, smart data, cloud-based access control and incorporating audio, video and a wide r...

Many transformations have occurred that have caused PSIM’s true definition to be misunderstood and miscategorised The evolution of Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) over the past ten years has been rapid and transformative. In fact, according to a recent report from marketsandmarkets.com, the global physical security market, estimated to be $65.41 billion in 2015, is expected to reach $105.26 billion by the year 2020. At the forefront of this movement...

The disaster training exercise took place at four sites, with the primary locationbeing a disused power station in Kent (Image credit: London Fire Brigade) Europe's biggest-ever disaster simulation provided a test to evaluate London’s ability to "detect, prevent and if necessary to withstand, handle and recover from disruptive challenges." Exercise Unified Response replicated the aftermath of a tower block falling into Waterloo Station, a transport hub on the south bank...

Working with accurate and detailed product specifications saves time andreduces the possibility of errors throughout a project They’re coming from every angle. Things that zap your company’s profitability: lower hardware margins, escalating labour costs, simply the cost of doing business. So systems integrators have been looking — and finding — new ways to increase revenues. New sources of revenue are emerging from services and even the administration...

Organisations need to protect their properties and people by securing entranceswith security systems and policies Most criminals gain access to a business or organisation the same way honest people do – they walk through a door. That door may be left unlocked. It may be propped open. Poor locks may be easily defeated or the door may be inadequately constructed and offer little resistance when attacked. Focus on multiple-layered security It seems obvious the path to...

Sports security combines manned guarding with access control devices, HD surveillance cameras & analytics in a command centre for a comprehensive security presence Providing security for sporting events and venues has long focused on personnel. Protection came in the form of guards and other personnel who controlled access to the venue and to restricted areas. With an increasing need to provide higher levels of protection in an age of terrorism, venues have turned to tradi...

As the security industry continues to grow, recruiting must have more sophisticatedscreening and hiring processes, and a commitment to hiring quality personnel The physical security industry today is driving focus on finding the right talent. Deborah O’Mara, SourceSecurity.com's dealer/integrator correspondent, in an exclusive Q&A with Brent O’Bryan, Vice President of Training and Development for AlliedBarton Security Services, discuss the challenges that secur...