Notes from Norstrom

The challenge Verbania, the capital of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, was created when the towns of Intra and Pallanza merged.  As one of the most idyllic and famous tourist destinations on Lake Maggiore, the town relies heavily on holidaymakers to fill its streets and generate income. The regular influx of visitors means greater attention must be given to the security of people as they go about their business, whether recreational or professional.  This was the motivation beh...

Video servers from Axis Communications, the global leader in network video, have been deployed by security installer King Communications (working in partnership with security ADI-Gardiner) to help modernise The Lighthouse's CCTV system and protect some of Scotland's finest design treasures.  A total of four AXIS 241Q Video Servers have been used to convert analogue images (from the 16 existing cameras already positioned throughout the six-floor building) into digital video streams which ar...

Plymouth City Centre has upped its ‘Respect' agenda by combining the best CCTV with loudspeakers from Bosch Security Systems to quite literally speak to would-be lawbreakers and discourage anti-social behaviour, sometimes before it even happens. ‘Talking' cameras have so far been installed in four areas of the City and are having an immediate effect, according to Mike Atherton, Community Safety Manager for Plymouth City Centre Company.  The PCCC bid for Home Office funding...

From 4th to 9th March 2008 it is once again time.  CeBIT, the world's most comprehensive showcase of digital technology, will open its gates again in Hannover, Germany.  Regensburg based CCTV/IP specialist Dallmeier will also participate together with MBB Gelma GmbH in Hall 6, stand B24. Dallmeier, the leading global supplier of network-based video surveillance systems, has been dealing with the development and production of high-quality comprehensive solutions for the CCTV/IP area for...

Security analysts IMS Research have charted a 65% annual compound growth in the video analytics market since 2004 and predict that the sector will be worth £215 million in 2009.  Here, Chris Gomersall, Chief Executive Officer of London-based analytics provider Ipsotek, outlines the technology, describes on-site challenges and considers likely developments. Referred to variously as "intelligent video surveillance" or "intelligent scene analysis", video analytics employs algorithm...

OPS will be key in providing in Genetec’s IP physical security solution to the Australia/New Zealand market Genetec, a pioneer in IP security solutions and a technology leader within the physical security industry, announced recently the appointment of Open Platform Systems (OPS) Pty Ltd as its value-added distributor in Australia and New Zealand.  The Asian market is considered critical to Genetec's global presence and growth, and the appointment of OPS will be key...

The Shores Resort & Spa is a stylish and luxurious retreat in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Their approach is to offer impeccable service that will refresh and relax their guests.  Every aspect of a visit to The Shores is meant to be completely stress-free.  For this reason, when The Shores needed to install a comprehensive access control system for key management, their choice was Morse Watchmans."We have been using Morse Watchmans' KeyWatcher since early 2007," said Jam...

IQinVision, market leader in high performance megapixel network cameras, smart IP cameras, and network video recording systems, recently announced that the Warsash Maritime Academy in Southampton has deployed IQinVision IQeye 700 Series megapixel cameras to improve the effectiveness of its simulator training for students entering the shipping and oil industries.  Design and installation expertise was provided by InCam Digital Surveillance and Smart CCTV Ltd.Warsash Maritime Academy provides...

The Norbain Group recently announced the creation of an operation in the Benelux region. The trading companies, called Norbain Nederland BV and Norbain Belgium SA/NV, will provide Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg with the very best levels of service and technical support for which Norbain is renown.Headed up by General Manager Eric Vanseuningen, the operation's head office and distribution centre is based within Breda (NL).  It is anticipated that the 10 person strong team will double in size...

IKEA France has invested in IndigoVision's complete IP Video solution for CCTV surveillance in its new 20,000 m2 flagship store in Grenoble.  Swedish-based IKEA is one of the largest and best-known home furnishing retail groups in the world, with stores in 36 countries.  IKEA invests heavily in CCTV technology in their stores to ensure their customers and staff are safe and secure at all times.  The new store, which opened in October 2007, is seen as a test site for the adoption o...

Repton Preparatory School (also known as Foremarke School) has used a Paxton Access Control system, supplied by Norbain SD, to help improve secure access to classroom blocks.  The system is saving them time and money, and has also provided them with a new way to measure time and attendance.Repton is a fully co-educational school with a strong boarding ethos and is home to 600 pupils.  Established 450 years ago, it has established a strong tradition of distinguished alumni in...

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology had suffered serious material loss due to theft, burglary and vandalism, leaving personnel and students feeling unsafe as a result.  An extensive computer theft justified installing a new video surveillance solution.  However, creating such a solution was challenging, as the university area consists of nearly one hundred buildings.The open platform Mirasys V series, featuring local data acquisition, analysis and recording, combined wit...

Milestone Systems, leading developer of open platform IP video management software, recently held its bi-annual ‘MIPS' event in Puerto Rico.  Several hundred security industry professionals gathered to learn about the latest in digital surveillance solutions and future strategies.  Network camera manufacturers and integrated software solution partners were honoured with awards, and the company's 35,000th customer installation was celebrated.The Milestone Integration Platform Symp...

Panasonic System Solutions Europe has announced a distribution partnership with Scott & O'Shea, Ireland's largest independent distributor of CCTV.Based in Dublin, Scott & O' Shea has partnered with Panasonic System Solutions Europe to drive the sales of Panasonic products across the whole of Ireland, including the entire range of CCTV products; both analogue and IP, NMStage digital signage software and medical cameras.Craig Wilkinson, Technical Sales Director of Scott and O' Shea, commen...

Pyronix Ltd is pleased to announce the appointment of Maurice Taggart as Account Manager for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.Maurice brings 25 years experience in the security industry with him and has worked in all sectors, starting with installation companies, and then moving into the intruder manufacturer sector as Sales Manager in Ireland, helping to substantially grow the Irish market by introducing new products. More recently, he was an Area Manager with distributor Gardiner S...

Coinciding with the New Year festivities, IBS Security Solutions Ltd was able to celebrate the completion of its 100th CCTV system upgrade, carried out on behalf of the North Eastern region of the Co-op.Videoswitch also had reason to celebrate; as it is their DVRs which are at the heart of each of the upgraded systems.Ian Stoddart of IBS Security Solutions Ltd, whose research led him to recommend Videoswitch's Vi series DVRs, explains: "The safety of Co-op staff is our client's top priority...

Continuing a long-standing working relationship with JVC, Quadrant Security Group has installed a large number of the manufacturer's LCD monitors in a new CCTV control room for Huntingdonshire District Council.  Some 37 JVC LCD TFT screens have been used in total, in a newly built and designed facility that monitors 120 cameras across the busy Cambridgeshire town and beyond.Huntingdonshire Council wanted to move its entire CCTV monitoring operation into a new purpose built building - a proc...

Optelecom-NKF, Inc., a leading global provider of advanced IP video solutions for security, surveillance, and remote monitoring applications, recently announced it has opened a new regional sales office in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.  The opening of the Dubai office underscores the company's success in the Gulf region, establishing key vendor partnerships and participating in marquee projects such as Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Mall, Falcon Highway, Asian Games Qatar, and the Rastanura projec...

Hirsch Electronics, a leading manufacturer of access control and security management solutions for high-risk facilities and the federal government, welcomed U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez to their corporate facility in Santa Ana, CA on February 11 to meet with Hirsch Electronics executives to discuss homeland security and to tour their manufacturing facility."I am proud of the work Hirsch Electronics does to help secure our nation and its citizens," stated Congresswoman Sanchez.&nb...

The US-based Western Virginia Water Authority, which provides a water service to 155,000 customers in Roanoke and Roanoke County, has adopted a NetVu Connected CCTV solution based around Dedicated Micros surveillance technology.Since 9/11, water authorities across the US have been duty-bound to re-examine whether their critical assets, such as dams, reservoirs, and water treatment facilities, are secure against threats.The Western Virginia Water Authority - which oversees assets including f...

BS 8418 compliant TeleEye transmission equipment has enabled CCTV monitoring station, iWatch UK, to prevent the theft of temporary road panels used by heavy lorries delivering effluent sludge fertiliser on to muddy, slippery fields.  350,000 tonnes of sludge, a bi-product of sewage processing, are spread on fields across the South East of England every year.Each road panel is made from aluminium and has a scrap value of £450 or more.  With upwards of 50 panels laid at each site,...

EVT, a developer of video management software, recently announced that it has received a large license order to deliver its Vertex networked video management and recording software to L.B. DeFence, a Russian subsidiary of Israeli Group L.B., a security systems holding company.  The initial order includes 1,000 licenses for Vertex networked video management software.  The licenses will be used for large-scale surveillance deployments in Russia. EVT signed an exclusive distribution...

NVT's UTP transmission technology provides clear surveillance images for a safe SharjahThe emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of a union of seven sovereign sheikhdoms, each comprising its own unique mix of Islamic culture and Arabian lifestyle. Throughout its current period of prosperity, Sharjah has taken the protection of its affluent city centre and residents very seriously. Since 2002, it has entrusted the installation, expansion and maintenance of the city's co...

Background The Møller Centre in Cambridge is a leading residential training and conference centre, owned by Churchill College and designed by Danish architect, Henning Larsen. The AP Møller Foundation of Denmark funded the building to promote continuing education and to encourage links between the college and the industrial world. The centre has 16 training/conference rooms and 67 bedrooms and, like all residential centres, there is a requirement for effective, but discrete secur...

Europe-wide usage of varifocal lenses from SENKOADL includes a recent project at a leading university in Poland. The University of Lodz to the southwest of Warsaw has increased campus security with the installation of 50 cameras [predominantly Samsung and Bosch] fitted with 3-8.5mm lenses from SENKOADL. A major textile town dubbed the Manchester of Eastern Europe, Lodz has a student population of 42,000 whose safety on campus has been improved by local distributor and systems consultant ASD Se...

When the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department decided to obtain a new central dispatch facility, they also realised it was time to make some changes to their CCTV.  "We were fragmented," says Frederick Gardy, Assistant Police Chief for the University. "Each individual college and department was purchasing its own CCTV equipment and there was not one purchasing standard." In 2003, the university began the process of reviewing different manufacturers.  "We formed a committee...

The challenge At Warsash Maritime Academy, their ship's engine room simulator for student stress testing had an old analogue system with image quality in low light levels that was unacceptable.  Each camera had its own monitor able to switch to a VHS tape recorder, which meant that only one camera's output could be recorded at any given moment.  With the high levels of background noise in the test environment, audio capture was very challenging and recorded results far below the high s...

Leicester-based De Montfort University has adopted an advanced NetVu Connected surveillance solution from DM Fusion member Security Design Services, featuring CCTV systems from Dedicated Micros to maximise the safety and security of its 20,500 students and 3,240 staff.                        Key elements of the ambitious scheme include the linking back, over fibre, of 21 geographic...

For most schools, reports of campus shootings from across the country seem a distant nightmare.  Sadly, that nightmare became a recurring reality at Grossmont Union School District, an 11 high school system with 24,000 students in San Diego County.  In 2001, two separate shooting incidents happened back-to-back over a two-week period.  That started Grossmont's search for an economical way to protect their campuses.  The district turned to Sony, a leader in audio-visual and se...

Mission After the University of Aberdeen conducted a strategic review of security, the university decided to rationalize four stand-alone analogue CCTV systems and establish a central control room for the entire university.  The four systems varied in age and the university wanted a single system, which would feature new cameras as well as including existing analogue cameras.  The system would have to offer the flexibility to cope with future expansion, and to eliminate stand-alone pr...