IP Video Surveillance

IP Video Surveillance is comprised of a blend of networking technologies and can be a challenge for organizations to manage, understand, implement and support. NIC Partners combines solutions from the following categories to develop a customized IP Video Surveillance solution for you and your organization:

IP Cameras: Fixed, Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ), Indoor, Outdoor, Mega-Pixel, High-Definition (HD), thermal, infrared and specialty cameras for specific applications.
IP Recording/Management Solutions: This technology area includes a variety of platforms and technologies that are rapidly changing, including – Digital Video Recorders (DVR), Network Video Recorders (NVR), Open-Platform Software Applications, Storage Platforms, Command/Control Monitoring, Video Playback Solutions, and Archiving Solutions.

IP Video Surveillance Cameras

Digital video camera technology typically follows still digital camera technology. A trip to your local electronics store demonstrates the wide range of advanced imaging products that are available to consumers. It is not unusual to find megapixel cameras above 10MB with features that would have dwarfed digital cameras just a few years ago. Video Surveillance cameras have followed suit with image processing that can pinpoint the color of a person’s eyes from 300 yards away and provide stunning detail of items like facial characteristics, license plates or the slightest motion.

A common first step in evaluating which cameras are right for a video surveillance solution in your organization, is to choose a camera manufacturer that can provide the right camera for a particular video shot. NIC Partners suggest that (like many other areas of technology) a commercial-grade product be evaluated. Even though IP cameras can be obtained “off-the-shelf,” our experience has shown that these solutions rarely provide a business-grade performance level. With this in mind, we suggest the following manufacturers for most video camera applications: Cisco, Sony and Panasonic. While other commercial-grade manufacturers create excellent cameras, these three vendors provide more than just a great product, they have established a reputation for quality, support and (most importantly) continue to put research and development funds into their product-line.

Fixed Cameras versus Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ): This is a much-discussed topic that bombards the online forums and continues to be a controversial subject (be sure to explore our Forum for up-to-date discussion). PTZ cameras are more complex cameras that require moving parts. If used “on-tour” (meaning a continuous series of movements repeated over and over) a common problem for PTZ’s is that they break. This problem is usually solved by choosing a best-in-class manufacturer like Sony or Panasonic. These companies produce robust PTZ IP cameras which are designed for continuous movement. Off-the-shelf lower quality PTZ’s usually fail within 24 months. PTZ comes with a price and are usually double the price of a quality fixed camera. Besides failure rate, your organization should consider why a PTZ is necessary for a particular video shot. If you don’t plan on continuously monitoring a camera stream, PTZ’s are usually not the right solution. As a rule of thumb, fixed camera shots (given the right camera and placement) are a better solution for most applications. This is not to say, however, that certain situations require a PTZ. There are excellent studies that have been performed which support this discussion. See our video and whitepaper sections for more information.

Standard Definition (SD) versus Megapixel (MP) and High-Definition (HD): With the evolution of higher resolution cameras, organizations have more choices today in terms of camera choice. Standard Definition typically means a resolution of 740 x 480 (or D1) and can capture video at up to 30 frames per second (fps). Typically, SD cameras are setup to run at lower resolutions and frame rates to help keep bandwidth low and storage requirements at a minimum. Keep in mind that SD camera resolutions are still DVD-quality (also known as “live-TV”) and for many applications, these cameras represent an excellent choice for video surveillance. As with all of this discussion, the key to the right solution for your organization is the BLEND of these technologies to fit the needs of the video shot. SD cameras still make-up the bulk of all video surveillance cameras sold today and are an excellent value.

Megapixel cameras can capture video at much higher resolutions but are not necessarily the same as High Definition as in HDTV. HDTV has a very specific set of resolutions available. 720p HDTV is 1280 x 720 and 1080p HDTV is 1920 x 1080. HDTV also operates at 30fps. A megapixel camera that is 1.3 megapixels has a resolution of 1280 x 1024. From there the megapixels go up (2, 3, 5, and on up to 16mp). The “catch,” is that Megapixel cameras are not able to capture images at 30 fps. They typically are only capturing 3 to 7 fps. Megapixel cameras can display higher than HDTV resolutions on PC monitors that support higher resolutions.

Why choose a Megapixel or HD Surveillance Camera – quality/detail of the video! A common trouble spot for CCTV in the past has been that of image quality. As an example, you might be able to see that a suspicious person is in your facility (perhaps even catch a crime on video), but upon later inspection, you cannot adequately identify the individual due to poor video resolution. Today’s Megapixel and HD cameras allow “after-the-fact” video footage review to show full detail of faces, expressions, color and activities. Since these MP or HD cameras capture video at higher resolutions, it is important to engage a security specialist to create a cost/value proposition due to bandwidth and storage requirements.

Specialty Cameras Make All the Difference: While most video applications can be addressed with the wide variety of fixed/PTZ/HD/MP cameras on the market, there are specific times where a specialty camera is the right tool for the right job. NIC Partners can suggest specialty IP cameras that can solve even the toughest of video application needs. We work with several manufacturers that create cameras and software tools that can out-perform the work of dozens of standard cameras. Need to monitor a perimeter fence with both standard and thermal technology? We design solutions with SightLogix, which specialize in these analytics. Law enforcement? NIC Partners offers FLIR cameras with thermal technology, utilized by most police agencies for helicopter surveillance.

IP Recording/Management Solutions

NIC Partners can carefully match your IP Camera blend with an IP Recording/Management solution that considers ease-of-use, flexibility, scalability, storage, video play-back requirements, monitoring and interoperability needs. We provide solutions from Cisco, OnSSI and Panasonic.

Cisco Video Surveillance Management Suite: Quickly and effectively configure and manage video throughout your enterprise with the Cisco Video Surveillance Suite of products. Working together, the Cisco solution includes: Convergence Chassis, Integrated Service Modules, IP Gateways (for analog conversion), Stream Manager, Encoding Servers, Operations Manager, Storage Systems, Media Servers, and Virtual Matrix Software. Cisco Video Surveillance Management Suite includes features like:

Multiple Web-based consoles to configure, manage, display, and control video
Management of a large number of Cisco Video Surveillance Media Servers, Virtual Matrixes, cameras, and users
Customizable branding and appearance
Scheduled, event-based, and record on motion video archiving
User and role management
Scheduling of operator shifts, event filters, temporary views
Detailed activity reports and system audit
Customizable operator features include:
Secure login
Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera controls and presets
Digital zoom and instant replay
On-demand recording
Archive review and export clipping
Event notifications
Ability to search video based on motion

OnSSI Intelligent Video Surveillance Solutions: Looking for an open-platform solution to fully integrate with your existing data center standards? NetDVMS is OnSSI’s market-leading multi-site, multi-server enterprise-scale network video recorder and camera management platform. With the revolutionary Ocularis Client Lite, it provides automated event detection and intelligent video delivery through integration with physical security systems and advanced content analytics. NetDVMS supports over 400 IP camera and encoders, as well as all popular video formats - giving you the most flexibility in camera selection. Choose the IP cameras that are right for the job, including megapixel, 360's and specialty cameras, or retrofit your existing analog cameras using video encoders. OnSSI’s open-architecture technology allows for seamless convergence with security, retail and other organizational systems. Simple-to-use APIs enable integrating NetDVMS with Access Control, Contact Closure, Fire Alarm Panels, Emergency Phones and most other IP-based systems, to create a true alarm, alert and event management system.

Panasonic iPro DVR/NVR Architecture: Multifunction network recorders provide the capabilities to maximize both flexibility and scalability to meet user’s needs. Combining high image quality and reliability, these secure and user-friendly network recorders are specifically designed for surveillance purposes. MPEG-4 / JPEG Compression technology allows twice as much video per gigabyte of disk space than conventional methods with less noise and distortion. Input/Output emergency recording alarm functions are available. Panasonic recorders give you more options to search for stored images by allowing you to search for motion; based on the area of the screen or length and direction of the motion. A fully integrated system for registering multiple network recorders is available.

NIC Partners, Inc