Sen mar2014

March 2014 Issue 352

IP, 123 l Eos Australia snares Samsung l BP Slacks Creek installs Freedom VMS l Mobotix M15-D Thermal l CEM Systems emerald shines l Suretek Multicom 4 Plus l New Bosch DIVAR IP l Raytec Vario IP w8 l Internal alarm sensors l Unravelling H.264 bit rate

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editorial EDITORIAL roNnI Ci cSs && NEnetwo ks Ssec EC UuRIriTYty EeLlEeCTctRO TWO RrKS

march 2012401iss u e 3E5 23 49 NOVEMBER 3 ISSU

A seaMACHINE of opportunity SALES

W E

Making matters I took a trawl worse, in through the Australia just pages nowproduct there seems in 2003. toofbeSEN a selection It was mostly process driven by analogue project managers cameras and or electrical early DVRs. contractors who systems winAlarm tenders using were very basic. lowball quotes Access and thencontrol carve systems were margin from their networkedhip but contractor’s interfaces were pockets. thorny.

e liveif in a competitive world.

Noofsooner hasit VEN Australia has opted out the NBN, cutting edge technology been developed remains obvious where networks are going to it’s shoe-horned into a matchbox of inthan the future.

Ultra broadband. whiteThere’ plastic, its price shorn to the bone. The chipset s no doubt that more bandwidth is desirable of today’s cutting edge video surveillance camera is – the more bandwidth, the more desirable. And that’s theprecisely chipset of tomorrow’s retail or domestic cloud what the propeller-heads at Google have solution, to Broadband an end userso at beamy no visible cost, like come leased up with. it makes our some giveaway 4-zone alarm panel. defunct national broadband network look petite.

And say tomorrow, it literally. Right A when few I weeks ago atI mean the Goldman Sachs now the humblest $200 fixed mini domes and Technology and Internet conference, a Google compact cameras arethe rumbling around powered by executive spilled beans on a new broadband thetechnology most powerful HD processing engines.

Can it go on that’s 10 times faster than the 1G solution indefinitely?

I think not. And news this the company provides forinKansas City.month, What’swe’re more, seeing the advent of simple, unitised IP-based access his comments seemed to suggest the technology control, to integrate current IP video mightdesigned leverage existing fibre with infrastructure. solutions without any of the usual fussing about. this According to Google CFO Patrick Pichette, This development points to commoditisation huge 10x speed increase was likely to take place across all market segments.

Alarms, accessasked control, naturally over the next decade and when why video surveillance, software solutions, Google didn’t speed up the management process to 3 years he said: the“That’ lot. s what we are working on, there’s no need to Iswait”. the lower end the only part of the market that’s price Sometimes conscious? in Nothe fear.

It’s slash and burn atevolution the top swirl of technological end, too.lose Andcontext talking and about issue recently I got toa you in the losing context you lose wondering whether the malaise that has long afflicted sense of the power, the opportunity, the brilliance theof alarms segmentfuture. will infect majordown systems, as well. our potential Weighed by hardware What is that sickness?

It’s a systemic collapse of sales deflation, shackled by the modest reality of existing ability, with streams, all the attendant ailments. income it’s possible to lose the ability to In the domestic and accurately conceive thesmall future.commercial alarms market where techs spend per cent of their istime One of the nice things90 about technology that covered in spiderwebs and pigeon poo, you its empirical basis allows predictions based oncan past understand a reluctance prance about in are board performance and even to if those predictions not rooms up-selling fawning customers to enterprise entirely accurate, they can tell us true things. While solutions with no more than the of Dunhill Apres thinking about the history ofwhiff our technology, I took Rasage and the flash of a Rolex. a trawl through the product pages of SEN in 2003.

But when it comes to bigger systems, inability It was mostly analogue cameras andan early DVRs. to sell based on features is harder to rationalise and Alarm systems were very basic. Access control much more dangerous for the industry as a whole, systems were networked but interfaces were thorny. especially when time is addedmobile to the equation.

But more importantly, phones The were logical progression of a collapse in margin over time primitive by today’ s standards, despite IBM’s is the inabilityoftothe invest in research andindevelopment invention smart phone back 1997. Screens that’s so vital to future sales. a decade ago were tiny. The first iPhone arrived in

By

By John John Adams Adams The and technical dormancy resulting from margin 2007 the first iPad wasn’t released until the crash is most obvious when viewing ‘modern’ end of 2010. Android was born in 2008 but did alarm systems whose last was not gain real traction untilupgrade 2011 with theundertaken release of inGingerbread. the 1970s, that wild decade when Fairchild Optoelectronics’ 5-cent observations LEDs blastedis alarm panel The point of these to highlight keypads to technological heights previously only the very recent change in the way we all address seen on Star Trek. technology and the enormous speeds with which In mychange view, the sales culture that underpins margin major has propagated through society.

That seems to have given way to a different method of I am tying our electronic security solutions to social winning business that’s based on relationships that change may seem unusual but the recent history of are too often a one-way street. of theshows problem technical development in ourPart industry thisis intense competition, but an inability to win jobs based connection to be profound. on presentation of the benefits ofproducts system performance Recently, we’ve talked about like Google isNest, a keywhich factor. allow homeowners to connect with The impact of and poorthermostats sales skills, via or no salesphone skills, smoke sensors smart flows through the industry, from bottom to top. apps. While these products are not particularly Integrators and installers selling on price, exist on clever in terms of technical capability, it’s the fact virtually no hardware margin, making their profit people are buying them that’s of most interest to me. from Distributors sell people the product Youthe caninstallation ‘Apple-ise’ itself. a smoke sensor and will ranges of more manufacturers, servicing each less. love you for it.

Manufacturers component quality and That leads usscrimp back toonGoogle’s projected 10Gbps start dressing up less as more.

Firmware tweaks take broadband within 3 years. Just to put that number the place of decent with lenses.a A5Mbps mindset grows in which into perspective, link, 2 hours of quantity, not quality is the primary motivator.

To get compressed 1080p would take about 5 minutes to volumes, manufacturers direct, or start searching download.

At 1Gbps thego same video would take 7 for new verticals, cannibalising their existing sales seconds to download. At 10Gbps, it’s .07 of a second. andAlso isolating existing whodevices lose brand important is 4Gcustomers, LTE for mobile with loyalty and purchase solely on price. its current 15Mbps download and 6Mbps upload.

Making matters worse, in Australia now there Available now from Telstra andjust increasingly seems to be a selection process driven by project available from Optus, enabling comms technologies managers electrical contractors who win tenders are going or to have a huge impact. No more QCIF at 4 using lowball quotesNo and then carve margin from frames per second. more monochrome stills of their contractor’s hip pockets. alarm events that look like the creations of Year 7 art But the key element driving commoditisation students. is lack of very sales near ability.

A failure to teachare staff that In the future, our systems going particular skill of the sales animal, built on an intense start delivering more of their potential performance, and belief in the capability of solutions, not justified just to business customers with deep pockets, combined with an industry self respect that demands but to any consumer with a 4G modem. The word buyers apply true value to electronic security lateral application seems inadequate to describe the technology. ]]] opportunities of our future. The word immersion covers it very well. zzz

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18 52

But which are the most important to end users and installers today?

18: Hills are alive With some changes still going on at Australia’s largest electronic security wholesaler it might be tempting to think the company has lost its way. But the financials and the MD tell rather a different story.

20: Freedom VMS Tanksec Solutions has installed a Freedom VMS HD IP surveillance system at BP Slacks Creek Service Centre in Brisbane. This system is integrated with a remote BP service station at Jimboomba, with another site at Grafton in NSW on order and 2 more BP service centres may be integrated in the future.

32: Mobotix M15-D Thermal Mobotix M15-D Thermal camera offers thermal and optical performance in a single, rugged PoE housing that’s easy to install, simple to operate and very good at its job.

36: IP, 123 We all know networked infrastructure has changed the video surveillance market and we know IP cameras offer some excellent features.

mar 14

42: Bosch DIVAR IP A new DIVAR IP recorder family with integrated Dynamic Transcoding Technology has been released by Bosch. DIVAR IP is an all-in-one VMS and storage solution, with scalable recording and HD image quality from any location, even with limited bandwidth.

44: emerald shines CEM Systems’ Emerald IP reader controller working with CEM AC2000 software, gives a very clear idea of the power networking is going to bring to access control solutions. As well as being a handsome device, it’s as clever as a fox.

50: Building fibre connectors When assembling sub-miniature version A (SMA) fibre connectors, it’s important to take your time and make sure you get the basics right. This way you’ll ensure the integrity of the signal path for years to come.

52: Multicom 4 Plus Suretek’s Multicom 4 Plus takes alarm panel communications and feeds them onto digital networks, changing the way monitoring companies interact with their customers.

56

80

68

32

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56: Raytec Vario IP w8

8: news

Raytec’s Vario IP w8, distributed locally by Pacific Communications, is one of those products that tells us just how clever the future is going to be.

Latest business, product and technical news from Australia and around the world.

44: monitoring

68: CEM Lands in Minsk

4G LTE for our wireless monitoring devices.

What’s the big deal? In my mind it’s serious video verification. How come? Because along with its proposed future peak download of 300Gbps for applicable devices, 4G hustles a potential upload of 150 Mbps. That’s plenty.

Minsk Airport is being secured with CEM Systems AC2000 Security Management System, including CEM hardware and software modules.

72: Networking primer WITH all the talk about IP security devices going on it’s worth taking a look at just what these devices are all about, as well as considering the nature of actual transmissions sent between 2 IP addresses.

March 2014 Issue 352

IP, 123 l Eos Australia snares Samsung l BP Slacks Creek installs Freedom VMS l Mobotix M15-D Thermal l CEM Systems emerald shines l Suretek Multicom 4 Plus l New Bosch DIVAR IP l Raytec Vario IP w8 l Internal alarm sensors l Unravelling H.264 bit rate

PP 100001158

Publisher Bridge Publishing Aust. Pty Ltd ABN 11 083 704 858 PO Box 237 Darlinghurst NSW 1300 tel 61 2 9280 4425 fax 61 2 9280 4428 email info@bridge publishing.com.au

78: editor’s choice What’s new from our manufacturers.

80: helpdesk

48 Editor John Adams Advertising Manager Monique Keatinge Customer Service Annette Mathews tel 61 2 9280 4425 annette@bridge publishing.com.au Design Tania Simanowsky e: taniasdesign@ optusnet.com.au

Our team of electronic security experts answers your tough technical questions.

Subscriptions 11 issues per annum One year (11 issues)

WEBSITE www.securityelectronics andnetworks.com.au

Australia 12 months $A104.50 (incl GST) 24 months $A188.00 (incl GST)

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form in whole or part without prior written permission of Bridge Publishing.

Overseas 12 months $A155.00 (incl GST) 24 months $A270.00 (incl GST)

Eos moves Perth office, expands p.10 Mobotix Releases CEO, Magnus Ekerot p.12 Axis Continues Global Expansion p.14 HID buys multispectral biometric maker p.14

news in brief march 2 0 1 4

Raytec Open New Australian Office

compi l ed b y j oh n adam s

Amy Quinn

Gabriel Daher Steps Across To UHS

■

Gabriel Daher, former group general manager at Hills Group, has been made general manager of that company’s UHS security comms business.

UHS is a network comms supplier and manufacturer.

There are a number of ways to view Daher’s repositioning but probably the correct one is that it indicates Hills Group’s senior management realises the company needs to get squarely on the front foot when it comes to alarm

08 se&n

and video monitoring technology. The systems of the future will be all about the management and facilitation of comms networks and that demands a backend engineering solution that actually works.

UHS’ UltraSec network solution provides path-monitored, multi-path security communications for existing and new security installations, while UHS’ UltraConnect security communicators are single path (IP or GPRS) communicators, or as

high-availability dualpath communicators for high-grade security communications applications. UHS also provides a range of video capture solutions for remote video monitoring and verification.

It’s a key piece of the puzzle moving forward for every big player in the electronic security market and Daher is certainly the man for what will be a challenging job. Given the length of time it has taken some of the incumbent players in the industry to develop

their technologies, a timeline of 2 years is optimistic.

Daher’s is the latest tweak in the senior management teams of Hills Group’s security businesses.

Over the past 6 months, Robert Meachem has taken on a GM position at Simoco, Rob Rosa has taken on the COO role at Q Security Systems, while George Salman who resigned towards the end of last year, is reported to be considering a senior management role with a boutique electronic security supplier.

CCTV, security and safety lighting specialist Raytec has opened a new sales office in Melbourne, Australia, following a year of significant growth and success in the region.

The new office is dedicated to serving Raytec customers in Australia and New Zealand and is headed up

by Amy Quinn, Raytec’s business development manager ANZ. “Raytec is committed to providing its customers in Australia and New Zealand with the highest levels of support from lighting design to postsales support, and our new sales office allows us to do this at a local level,” says Quinn.

“There is a huge demand for Raytec products from this region, not only for CCTV and security but also for several vertical markets such as hazardous area lighting. My intention is to help Raytec partners fully service those opportunities.”

Previously a regional sales manager based in Raytec’s UK Headquarters, Quinn spearheaded the growth of Raytec LED lighting in the security market for the Asia/Pacific region over the last 5 years, leading a number of high security, industrial and critical infra-structure projects.

Most recently, Quinn led a lighting upgrade which significantly increased productivity for the world’s biggest bauxite mine in Western Australia. The new office allows Raytec to deliver local sales and technical support both on and off site, and educate new and existing customers on Raytec products, to help them maximise their opportunities with LED lighting.

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news march 2014

Open Platform Systems distributing Axis into New Zealand n AXIS Communications and Open Platform Systems (OPS) have announced that they are extending their distribution agreement into the New Zealand market. The announcement follows a highly successful partnership between the 2 companies in the Australian market since 2011.

OPS joins Axis Communications’ existing distributors and will be distributing the full suite of Axis products.

“As the market leader in network video and a driving force behind the shift from analogue to digital video surveillance, Axis Communications’ products are a welcome addition to our growing

10 se&n

New Zealand portfolio,” said Kobi Ben-Shabat of Open Platform Systems.

“The extension of our relationship with Axis Communications reflects

the increasing demand for IP network cameras from our partners servicing a range of industries and sectors in New Zealand.”

According to Axis Communications’ Wai King Wong, Open Platform Systems enables its partners to tailor solutions to match their customers’ exact needs – providing end-to-end solutions across multiple technologies to suit all applications.

“OPS also provides support services that are second to none.

This commitment to exceptional customer service is one of the main reasons we have handpicked OPS to distribute Axis products across the region,” he said.

Eos moves Perth office, expands

EOS Australia has re-located its Perth office and expanded its training facilities in Western Australia as part of ongoing growth in the business.

“Just recently, our Perth office moved to a bigger and better office complex,” says Eos MD, Tooma Chong.

“It now features a fully functioning training room where our customers can be trained through hands-on experience with our solutions.”

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news march 2014

Hikvision Strengthens Australian TeamVISION Michael Bates

IP Camera Surveillance System For Tonga Police n PRAESIDIA Alliance, Tonga, has received its final completion certificate for a multi-site Hikvision IP camera system installed for Tonga Police.

The project was implemented by Tonga Police following funding from the Australian and New Zealand governments, with the completion certificate issued jointly by Australian Federal Police and New Zealand Police representatives. The CCTV system features Hikvision IP cameras and NVRs with the main viewing console in Tonga Police Operations Centre and remote administration

from Police Headquarters.

Tonga Police had previously conducted a review of the Nuku’alofa Central police station’s watch house to determine if there were any areas which could be improved upon. Recommendations included the need for a surveillance system. A contract was signed with Praesidia Alliance, Tonga, to supply and install the system.

The new system came online and extensive testing was then conducted. This system includes an advanced integrated security and CCTV networked system that captures

the entire watch house.

This facility now offers a safer environment for staff and prisoners. Policy and governance has been strengthened and training of staff in the new procedures commenced shortly after.

The CCTV cameras can capture anything in the watchhouse. The purpose is to provide a safer environment for both staff and prisoners.

The initiative is being made under the Tonga Police Development Program. It is aimed at developing leadership and efficient and effective policing services for the community.

The Acting Commissioner of Tonga Police ‘Unga Fa’aoa, told the Tonga Broadcasting Commission that the surveillance system was the outcome of a review made after the death of decorated New Zealand police officer Kali Fungavaka at the Nuku’alofa watch house in August last year.

Praesidia Alliance specialises in IP-based alarm monitoring services using a cloudbased vARC network (virtual alarm receiving centre) that operates through 17 different data centres spread across 5 countries on 3 continents.

Mobotix Releases CEO, Magnus Ekerot n Dr. Magnus Ekerot was released of his position as chief executive officer of Mobotix effective immediately following a meeting of the Supervisory Board on February 18.

In addition to his duties as the chief financial Officer (CFO), Klaus Gesmann will take over the responsibilities of the CEO and sales until further notice. Dr. Oliver Gabel will remain as chief technical

12 se&n

officer (CTO).

While there’s been no further official comment from the Mobotix team in Australia or Germany, at the Mobotix Partner Conference in Sydney during the week, every Mobotix staff member SEN’s editor spoke with talked without prompting of reigniting the company’s highly distinctive identity.

Certainly the product, technology and partner

loyalty exist to achieve this.

From a local management perspective the move is unlikely to impact greatly, with the experienced Graham Wheeler at the helm of a capable and motivated team. Given Ekerot’s baby was the Mobotix partner program, which has been criticised as adding unnecessary red tape, Mobotix partners are likely to see a welcome streamlining of process.

Dr. Magnus Ekerot

HIKVISION has expanded its local team, with Michael Bates appointed by Hikvision as sales director to help develop the business in the Oceania region.

During his 13 years’ experience in the security industry, Bates has worked as general manager with boutique integrator AFN Security and as national sales manager with ADT, a role which incorporated management of over 100 staff, acquisitions, dealers and bureaus.

Meanwhile, Tony Lagan was recently appointed as Hikvision’s business development manager.

A security professional with 13 years’ experience specialising in IP CCTV, Lagan has worked for Sony as national business manager, and also had roles with Avigilon, Anixter Siemens and Assa Abloy. Lagan has been involved in numerous major projects, including Myer (7000 IP cameras) and Harvey Norman (roll out of IP cameras to 300 stores).

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news march 2014

Axis Continues Global Expansion

HID buys multispectral biometric maker n HID Global has acquired Lumidigm, a maker of fingerprint sensors that use multispectral imaging technology. According to a statement, the acquisition will bolster HID’s authentication product portfolio and also positions the company to deliver a variety of new security identity solutions.

“Lumidigm’s proven product portfolio will enhance our current strong authentication offerings, especially for healthcare, financial institutions and other high-security environments,” said HID Global President and CEO Denis Hébert. “The company has unique technology protected by a

large patent portfolio and proprietary algorithms and has achieved strong penetration in key emerging markets including South America and Africa.

Additionally, Lumidigm has a premier global customer base across multiple strategically important markets. We are extremely pleased to have Lumidigm’s talented team join the HID Global family.”

AXIS Communications’ sales increased 10 per cent during Q4 2013 to $US199.07 million, while between January– December 2013 net sales increased by 13 per cent. For the calendar year, operating profit increased to $98.08M, which corresponds to an operating margin of 13.6 per cent, with profit after tax of $73.41M. “The trend in 2013 was in line with our current view of the global market growth for network video,” said Ray Mauritsson, president of Axis Communications.

“Full-year sales increased by 17 per cent in local currency and sales in the Q4 were in line with the strong Q3. It is difficult to predict the trend for 2014.”

Lumidigm has a premier global customer base across multiple strategically important markets.

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Innovative Solutions

t h e i n t e rv i ew

J o h n A dams w i th tooma chong

Eos wins Samsung Eos has been made sole distributor for Samsung products in Australia and New Zealand. John Adams spoke with Tooma Chong to find out more.

Q: Eos is now the sole distributor of Samsung in Australia and New Zealand?

A: Yes, from 1st March 2014, Eos is the sole distributor of Samsung Techwin in Australia and New Zealand.

Q: What led up to the Eos appointment?

A: Samsung’s underlining vision is harmony. The current conflict of interest between 2 distributors has been highlighted to Samsung Techwin and as an outcome, a tough decision had to be made to appoint only 1 master distributor.

Eos has proven its capacity for the past 16 years distributing Samsung product in our region successfully.

Q: How much of the Samsung range will Eos be carrying - the same as before? More?

A: Samsung has and will be releasing many new models. Samsung is focused firmly on the future so as to remain at the forefront of this new technology.

Eos’ focus is the new models to ensure we carry a full range. This includes everything from analogue, to HD-SDI to IP, with NVRs and IP cameras and even a B2C product range.

Q: What’s the turnover of Samsung at Eos now – generally speaking. Will the new arrangement grow this turnover?

A: Our challenge now is to grow the Samsung market in a more stable environment where we can focus on delivering a clear and better message to the market. We hope to create the best experience for our Samsung customers through better managed total service, from product enquiry to after sales service. Rather than just focusing on

16 se&n

how many boxes we wish to move, we are confident that by staying focused on what’s more important to our customers, our sales will improve naturally – up to $A25m within a year or 2.

Q: What does the Samsung deal mean for Eos moving forward?

A: We are extremely humbled by this decision announced by Samsung Techwin. I believe our passion for customer service and for Samsung products has something to do with our achievement. We will do our best to improve ourselves even more. There is no room for complacency.

Q: Will being the single large distributor make it easier to grow the business in a sustainable way?

A: We believe so, as this was one of the main reasons why Samsung Techwin had to make a tough decision.

Q: In the medium term, will you support all Samsung customers when

Rather than just focusing on how many boxes we wish to move, we are confident that by staying focused on what’s more important to our customers, our sales will improve naturally.

they can no longer buy the product, get warranty support from former suppliers?

A: Our focus is to ensure no Samsung customers, past or present will be inconvenienced. So, we will be working with all sub-distributors to ensure just that, including QSS. Q: What is going on with Eos right now – new plans, products?

A: Caught in a market where technology and the landscape of our traditional competitors are rapidly changing, it is a very challenging time. But, Eos Australia is not new to these kinds of tough challenges, we have faced them many times in the past. By our sheer determination and consistency, we have always been able to swiftly adapt and achieve what we set out to accomplish, and I thank our Thunderbird team for that, as without a good working team, it is impossible.

So right now, throughout all our branches, we are improving our training facilities, so we can meet the challenges of the new technology together with our customers by sharing our knowledge and experience we have built up, and through the investment we will make in providing technical material and training venues.

In terms of new products, these will be released by default through our current partners, Allied Telesis, Golmar, IP and the new 2-wire system, Vauban IP access control system, their new web version hardware, Panasonic, their new larger, slimmer and more powerful wireless video intercom, IPVista IP spot monitoring solution and Digifort, with some new advanced features. zzz

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s p e ci al re p o rt hills industries

Hills are alive With some changes still going on at Australia’s largest electronic security wholesaler it might be tempting to think the company has lost its way. But the financials and the MD tell rather a different story.

Ted Pretty

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by john adam s

H

ILLS Industries’ security business teams spent a considerable part of last year unsure of their future, yet the underlying fundamentals of the business continue to be very strong and at a management level security is clearly seen as a key business segment it intends to grow organically and by acquisition.

In a recent interview on public radio, Hills Industries’ MD Ted Pretty said the company’s restructure, which involved the sale of noncore assets, was now over and it was time to focus on areas of growth, which include security electronics and networks. Importantly though, Pretty said it was vital the company innovated on top of these growing segments.

Certainly, the first half of the 2014 financial year was very good for Hills, with revenue from its electronics and communications businesses, which include DAS, Pacific Communications and Lan1, up $A26.3 million (17.2 per cent) from $152.8 million to $179.1 million.

EBIT for these businesses was $17.9M, up $6.1M or 51.7 per cent higher for the half year over the comparable period. According to Hills’ financial report, the E&C segment is to be the core of the Hills business going forward and it says “these positive comparable results reflect the success of Hills’ change program to date”.

And looking ahead, the company’s aspirations for 2016 are to draw 75 per cent of its revenues from technology and communications including security, and the remaining 25 per cent from services.

Meanwhile back on 2GB radio, Pretty told host Ross Greenwood that prior to the restructure: “We had lost our way – we had become too diversified – too many businesses but leading none, we had taken our eye off the ball. By doing the restructure, we have sold non-core assets and focused on the technology and communication space – that’s a future direction we can take this company.

“We had building and industrial – steel businesses, we had a lifestyle business that made things like water tanks, we had plumbing businesses and then we had the electronics and communications businesses,” Pretty said. “When we looked at where we make our money and where the growth is going to come from, it’s in the electronics and communication space.”

“So we said, let’s sell those other businesses and focus on the ones that can generate growth – healthcare, education and security. And the trick is to innovate on top of that. The numbers are good, balance sheets are up but we know we are in a global market so we have to get moving and innovate or we won’t survive.”

Pretty agreed with Greenwood there needed

to be a culture change inside the organisation.

“The reality of it is we have to partner, we can’t think we can do all this by ourselves,” he said. “We need to partner with universities, to incubate new businesses alongside our existing business.

“There is a lot of ingenuity in Australia – the issue is getting it to market – we have not been good at that compared to say, the U.S. or Israel.

This is partly the result of tax structures that don’t reward people for innovation – We have to reward success.

“Frankly, in Australia we reward mediocrity and that won’t cut it in the global economy,” said Pretty. “We need to focus on the things we have a natural advantage in and where we can develop niche markets.”

Something that is clear is while the broader restructuring of the Hills business is over, the polishing is continuing.

“We are very pleased with our first half FY14 results,” Pretty said in a press release midFebruary. “All divisions have performed solidly.

While we continue to drive efficiencies and to streamline the cost base, we are now focused on seeking growth in our core health, security, automation and networking businesses.

“The results demonstrate that Hills is now a simpler and more streamlined company than it was 12 months ago and that it is well positioned to implement our ‘One Hills’ strategy focusing on technology and innovation.

“While we continue to drive efficiencies and to streamline the cost base, we are now focused on seeking growth in our core health, security, automation and networking businesses - both organically by adding new products and services into the mix, and by acquisition.”

These last comments are telling from the point of view of Hills’ staff – there’s going to be the pain of ‘cost base streamlining’ but there are opportunities coming, too. Meanwhile, the message for integrators and end users is clear.

Hills’ future success depends on its electronics and comms business – and the company knows it. zzz

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BP SLACKS CREE K

Freedom VMS Tanksec Solutions has installed a Freedom VMS HD IP surveillance system at BP Slacks Creek Service Centre in Brisbane.

This system is integrated with a remote BP service station at Jimboomba, with another site at Grafton in NSW on order and 2 more BP service centres may be integrated in the future.

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by john adam s

S

ERVICE centres like BP Slacks Creek are demanding applications. They have a high risk of drive-off fuel theft and as 24-hour retailers with modest staff levels after hours, shrinkage and staff safety are always a concern.

Another key aspect of these sites is that there are significant internal and external surveillance requirements.

Externally, surveillance cameras need to be able to handle backlight, low light and headlights.

Cameras also need to offer court admissible images of faces, as well as license plates – front and back.

Internally, cameras will again be hit with backlight flooding through vast plate-glass windows and they’ll need to handle faces moving through these challenging areas.

Another issue for cameras is the ability to handle motion blur as customers and vehicles move at right angles to fixed cameras in variable lighting conditions. And supporting the cameras there needs to be a powerful and flexible video management solution – particularly in the case of a growing multi-site application like this one.

Michael Carr operates 5 BP service stations throughout QLD and NSW – including the big, new service centre at Slacks Creek near Loganholme that I visit with Andrew Del Biondo of Camvex and Kristian Fabris from integrator, Tanksec Solutions.

The system we are looking at integrates BP Slacks Creek and a remote BP site at Jimboomba, with another BP location at Grafton currently on order.

The other 2 sites may be integrated with the system as their existing analogue surveillance solutions require upgrades. But Slacks Creek is the mothership and the existing and future remote sites will all be accessible via Freedom VMS from here.

Having worked in service stations for many years, Michael’s take on the application of CCTV technology is informative. As he explains, the system’s purpose is divided between catching drive-offs (people who fuel up and race away) and protecting the store against, armed robbery, shop lifting and fraud. Given it’s a 24-hour operation with lease customers in the retail food court, there are also issues of staff safety to take into account.

“Originally what happened in our service station business was we’d put in a few cameras pointing at particular key areas but whenever something happened it always happened in a blind spot,” he says. “This new CCTV system covers everything on the site - and we are hoping to continue extending this level of coverage to our other sites as well.

“My long term plan with video surveillance is to facilitate a system that allows managers sitting at their desks to notice a person acting suspiciously and keep an eye on them,” Michael explains. “That’s how we catch shop lifters. Shop lifters are looking at console operators and waiting for them to look

We’d put in a few cameras pointing at particular key areas but whenever something happened it always happened in a blind spot. away. They don’t know we have someone in the back room watching.

“Having the CCTV system inside the store is a deterrent for theft and fraud. Some people can’t help themselves – that’s the other side of it. Customers and staff can see the quality of the coverage – they know there’s no way they can get up to mischief.

And the cameras in the forecourt area get driveoffs.”

System overview For a start, this solution is 100 per cent Freedom VMS-certified, guaranteeing all components (hardware and software) of the IP video system will perform as per the intended design. Freedom Client and Freedom Server are handling the video management side - with a range of Omega 1080p HD cameras handling vision. Camvex, the Australian Freedom VMS distributor, has certified the design in conjunction with Tanksec Solutions the system integrator. This included providing a data storage unit and server hardware, making for an end-to-end solution.

At the heart of this system is the Freedom Video Management Software (VMS), which handles up to 36 synchronised live HD video displays and recording of 64 cameras per Freedom Pro Server.

Freedom is unusual in a number of ways. For a start it is designed, manufactured and supported in Australia. Freedom is also designed to support any CCTV technology out of the box. IP, HD-SDI,

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analogue, 960H and hybrid across a range of manufacturer brands – there’s no mucking around with any of them. And the key functional element of Freedom is that it leverages eMaps to the full and that changes the way the system is managed, as well as lubricating operation and training.

When it comes to cameras, the Omega range is comprehensive and there are 4 separate IP66rated PoE Omega models installed at Slacks Creek, including an internal mini dome and external fixed dome, a full body camera and a PTZ with IR. The Omega range uses Sony’s venerable 1/3-inch Exmor CMOS and all these cameras offer 1080p HD. On this site, however, the cameras are running at 720p HD resolution, 6 frames per second at a bit rate of 1920Kbps per channel. Along with fixed cameras outside, there’s a big IR PTZ also running at 720p, 6 frames per second, with a bandwidth of just under 2Mbps.

Monitoring of the system is handled in layers, with live camera views integral to retail sales of fuel – staff check for number plates back and front before authorising the operation of a fuel pump.

Management and playback of the system take place at a workstation in the office.

“At this site we have a Freedom client PC at the counter and we are running 2 sessions of the client on that PC, with one session supporting the internal cameras and another session supporting the external cameras,” Andrew Del Biondo explains.

“We have 6 internal cameras on one monitor and 6 external cameras on the other. A splitter duplicates the monitors so there are 4 monitors at the counter installed in pairs at each point of sale.”

In terms of network architecture, the CCTV system is all IP and there’s a dedicated network for video surveillance with a bridge into the corporate network allowing access to the site’s ADSL connections.

The installation Parked at a table in the BP Slacks Creek Service Centre food court with our noses in our coffee cups we survey the scene. It’s a large site, everything shiny new. There are 5 food retailers working from the food court, while the BP store sits opposite, the 2 spaces separated by a wide walkway. The space is bright with good seeing conditions for cameras – 100 lux or more at the rear wall and more towards the windows. Backlight looks the key challenge in here.

Tanksec Solutions’ Kristian Fabris is second generation security industry – his father Aldo set up Tank Security QLD in 1993 as a provider of safes. Kristian spun Tanksec Solutions out of the Tank Security QLD business to focus on electronic security integration and he’s been doing good work in South East Queensland for many years. Like a lot of the best integrators, Fabris runs his business from the front, spending most his time on the tools and he has that quiet way about him you often find in craftsmen.

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BP SLACKS CREE K

Kristian Fabris, Tanksec Solutions

Michael wants to be able to view remote sites from Slacks Creek and he also wants to run the Freedom client at home and connect to sites through an iPhone app.

According to Fabris, Tanksec Solutions did the alarm system, the PA system and the video surveillance system at BP Slacks Creek. At the time the installation started, this was a Greenfield site – it was all new cable to the cameras – with all runs being Cat-5.

What was the owner trying to achieve with video surveillance camera system? I ask.

“Michael likes to have a lot of cameras covering absolutely everything at his sites,” Fabris explains.

“He wants to be able to see everything – all the fuel lanes - and across the retail area, including the integrated food court, which is leased to third party businesses. This complete coverage allows movements to be followed anywhere.

“This Slacks Creek site is the head office for Michael’s business, which is a franchise of 5 service centres. Michael wants to be able to view remote sites from Slacks Creek and he also wants to run the Freedom client at home and connect to sites through an iPhone app.”

Given it was a Greenfield site, you must have been on site during the build – were there any particular

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challenges or was it relatively simple?

“We had an electrical company put the conduits in and they also erected the light poles,” Fabris explains. “That was where they stopped. We did all the actual cabling. There were some damaged conduits – as we tried to get cables through certain very tight locations, we found certain conduits were crushed,” And there are pits along the perimeter for comms?

“There are pits in the garden and on the driveway for our cabling,” Fabris says. “The poles are fixed given their small size. You can access these cameras off a 3-metre ladder if you need to – we installed them from a scissor lift that was here at the time as part of the installation.

“While the site is relatively large, distance was not a big issue. On all these service station sites there is a restricted fuel zone – from the rack in office our cables go to the edge of that zone then around the boundaries. One of the runs is just on 90 metres as it has to go around the boundary to avoid the fuel zone but that hasn’t been an issue. Any cables that are running underground are gel-filled.”

The lighting solution looks good, I point out.

There’s plenty of perimeter lighting and additional lighting under the awning covering the pump lanes in the forecourt.

“Yes, that’s right - there’s a lot of light on this site,” Fabris agrees. “In fact, we have got IR on the big PTZ outside but there’s so much light here it doesn’t get dark enough to trigger the IR – that camera stays in colour 24 hours. But we have the ability to continue to get colour even if we do lose a floodlight on the perimeter.”

Andrew Del Biondo says a great strength of the Omega range from the point of view of installers

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BP SLACKS CREE K

A big emphasis we have with any Freedom VMS system – doesn’t matter if it’s entry level analogue DVR, HD-SDI or enterprise IP - is eMaps. is that it supports remote setup of cameras via Freedom Server or Client and the high level of integration ensures excellent outcomes.

“We do a lot of low light jobs and you can never be sure how much light there is going to be,” he explains. “Because of this uncertainty, one of the most popular models we have is an IR fixed vandal dome with a motorised lens. The beauty of this is that you can do setup via browser or management software - zooming in and focusing – that makes it a lot easier to tweak a camera after installation.

“It’s something you can only do with IP – you can tweak things – turn the IR on and off electronically. In fact, we asked the manufacturer to add this feature for us.”

Fabris says another good feature of Omega HD IP cameras is the ability for scheduling of day and night profiles. This allows completely different camera settings to be applied when lighting conditions differ.

“You can set up the programming of the camera so that at a particular time in the evening it will switch to alternative settings – a different shutter speed, etc - that offers a much better low light image. Next morning, the image settings go back to the day schedule. It means no compromises in performance.”

We take a walk around outside. It’s hot and bright in the Queensland sun - blue sky with a few clouds and no local tree-shade. Plenty of backlight challenges out here. There’s 80,000 lux in the 2pm sun and 18,000 lux under the awning. That sort of big difference in light levels on an external site posed a serious challenge for last gen HD cameras so I’m looking forward to getting in front of the Freedom VMS workstation to see the performance of the Omega cameras in the wild.

“We are covering every driveway, every fuel lane, every entry and exit,” says Fabris. “We worked hard to ensure the system gets cars pulling into the fuel lanes in either direction. Service stations find cars will pull in with a front number plate – they see it from the register and power up the pump. Then they notice a different plate, or no plate on the back.

“That’s what the IR PTZ is doing on the pole there – checking every lane for number plates on the rear of cars. The PTZ also gets a close up of the customer as they pull their car in and get out. They’ve actually got footage of drive offs by individuals and vehicles involved in armed robberies, so the system works.

Police said it was the best footage they had ever seen from a service station.”

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BP SLACKS CREE K

Control room Governing all these cameras, as well as cameras on the remote site, is the Freedom Server with integrated data storage located in a rack in the office at Slacks Creek. A dual-screen monitor setup nearby is connected directly to the Freedom Server.

“There are 32 IP camera licenses in the BP Slacks Creek Freedom Server which can be expanded to 64 if required at $100 per channel,” says Del Biondo, pointing to the rack. “There are 2 PoE switches at the top of the rack. Here are 8 3TB drives for data (a total of 24TB storage), here is the dedicated drive for doing backups, and here are the OS mirror drives that run the operating system and the Freedom software.

“There is no redundancy on the data drives.

That’s so the user can come here and pull the drives and play them off-site using our Freedom Client software. If it was Raid-5 you’d need to take all the drives at once.

“There are 2 monitors connected to the Freedom server – live and recorded video is displayed on the left and this is our eMap on the right. There are 2 eMap displays available for this system. One is the whole site with all external cameras and if we click on this hyperlink it takes us to the eMap of all the internal cameras.”

At the heart of Freedom VMS functionality is eMaps and Del Biondo says leveraging them is what makes Freedom VMS so different.

“A big emphasis we have with any Freedom VMS system – doesn’t matter if it’s entry level analogue DVR, HD-SDI or enterprise IP - is eMaps,” he explains.

“All systems should have documentation that shows where all the cameras are and we convert those documents into eMaps.

“Most integrators rarely implement eMaps - they record and if there is an incident, footage is played back. With Freedom, 90 per cent of jobs we do go with the eMaps. When customers see the eMap in operation they realise how much faster and easier it is. It’s very intuitive – there’s no need to learn the site and the cameras are right there all the time.

“What’s different with our eMap implementation is that it works on playback. When you have got camera systems that keep getting bigger and bigger on a site where there are no dedicated security operators, not all operators remember where all the cameras are. With Freedom VMS and eMaps you

They’ve actually got footage of drive offs by individuals and vehicles involved in armed robberies, so the system works. Police said it was the best footage they had ever seen from a service station.

26 se&n

just drag and drop from the eMap to the display to view playback. Users find it extremely simple to operate – that’s the key to it.”

While we are talking, Fabris is running through the system controls and I get a demo of system operation. The eMap screen is showing all the cameras on selectable maps. There’s also a camera tree on the right of the Freedom VMS and you can swoop into that and pull cameras from the tree and onto a viewing tile if that is more convenient.

Peering at the eMap on its screen I can see status (streaming) is indicated by the colour of the camera icon on eMap. “As you can see, Freedom VMS system will come up with all cameras automatically when the software is opened,” Fabris tells me. “An operator can look at all cameras, or at a choice of user defined groups. The system will show on eMap the cameras in a nominated group and different icon colours show which cameras are streaming. If an operator

Andrew Del Biondo(l), Kristian Fabris and Michael Carr

wants to disconnect a streaming camera from the workstation, they can do so with a click. If they want to bring up a camera to stream they just drag from the map and drop on the screen.”

You can get into all the settings of the cameras via the Freedom Server – tweak BLC, WDR, profiles setups, schedules of settings for day or night – all of which makes for easier installation and management. You can also save the config file for a particular camera and upload it to other cameras if there are multiple cameras in the same or a similar location. And if there’s an event that needs to be investigated, a self-executable player is added to any removable media footage is downloaded to. It allows functions like play, pause, FF, zoom, print, save a still and watermark verification.

Now we look at the camera performance. It’s bloody good. The challenge is backlight and performance is solid. Those Sony sensors have been strong in backlight for 3 generations now and

it shows here. The Sony-powered Omegas are seeing through the glass-glare to the fuel lanes outside in the forecourt. Very strong performance from a $300 1080p HD fixed lens mini dome installed internally.

As customers come in through the door Del Biondo points out there is no halo effect around their heads caused by the WDR’s necessarily cranked gain. It’s a nice, clear image.

“We’ve adjusted the cameras so there’s no motion blur – I can get what may appear to be a better picture if I don’t optimise camera settings to counter motion blur but if there’s movement, the standard of the freeze frame stills are compromised,” Del Biondo explains.

Interestingly, though these cameras are running at 6 frames per second, I’m not getting a sense of losing key information. I’d have guessed the frame rate to be closer to 10fps. Given the nature of the site, this is not entirely surprising. Fast motion – cars or foot traffic moving at right angles, needs full frame rate.

But for more static applications 15 frames a second offers a very good flow to the human eye. Now we look at an overhead POS camera. There’s certainly nothing missed at 6 fps as we watch a standard transaction over the counter.

Taking the driver’s seat, Del Biondo guides us through the other cameras in the installation, the external domes, the fixed cameras and the PTZ. Performance in each case is solid. The external scene is more challenging than the internal. The light coloured concrete, the white paint, the windscreens,

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the fierce glare of the bright day all challenge the cameras. There’s also that shaded area under the awning to take into account and the cameras do a good job of this, I think.

“If we want to go to playback we can select from the list or drag from the eMap – that’s unique to us,” Del Biondo says. “The system will look for footage from today’s date and populate the time bar here. If I want to jump to another time, I just jump there. If I bring up another camera, it will synchronise with this one – great to check adjacent views of an event.

“And here’s the electronic zoom – see how intuitive it is? You use the mouse to make a box and the digital zoom makes that box the full scene, or you can roll the mouse wheel in. And there’s a window bottom half right that shows where you are in the zoom range – both work live and playback.”

While there is only one server at Slacks Creek, another has been installed at the Jimboomba site, and that server is integrated as a device on the Slacks Creek Freedom Server. This means operators can be looking at cameras at Slacks Creek live in server mode and then at a click pull up cameras from Jimboomba.

“The remote connection is ADSL – less than 1Mbps up and 8Mbps down,” says Del Biondo. “The customer can also run a session of the client on the server and when you connect with the client you can either live view the mainstream, which is recorded and streamed at 2Mbps or sub-stream at 128Kbps. Remote playback supports mainstream or a choice of 3 transcoded profiles (low, medium and high).”

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BP SLACKS CREE K

Now we pull up the remote site at Jimboomba to get a feel for that rather narrow upload performance.

According to Del Biondo, the system has been defaulted to sub-stream for this site. Each camera has 2 live view streams, one being mainstream (same HD parameters as per recorded stream) and sub-stream (user defined lower resolution and bit rate stream).

“If I right click while viewing sub-stream, I can tell the system to go to mainstream,” he says. “Using the 750k uplink, you get good quality of an event of interest with a lower frame rate. And when not pulled up to full screen – say, viewed as a quad display - the image quality at sub stream is fine for keeping an eye on the site.”

I watch as he runs through the process and while performance would be better with the NBN, the substream is fine for general monitoring with high res stored locally at Jimboomba and available at lower frame rate from our workstation. We also have a look at some footage of a stolen vehicle that did a driveoff and was subsequently used in an armed robbery.

According to the boys and BP staff, police were very happy with the footage. The new system identified the driver, the car and showed different number plates on front and back.

“The police get very excited when they see the quality of the images,” said the group’s IT manager, Scott. “They know our images are superior to other service stations. It’s a big deal for police to get admissible evidence.”

They are great pictures, I say, looking at the screen. And that’s only 720p Del Biondo tells me – “but the bit rate is set properly so picture quality is very good. Too often integrators don’t understand the relationship between matching suitable bit rates to the resolution and frame rate to eliminate compression artefacts”.

World’s Largest Video Surveillance Equipment Provider *-IHS Report 2013 Since its’ inception in 2001 with just 28 staff, Hikvision now has over 9000 employees. Hikvision has now opened an office in Sydney to provide support and service across the Oceania region, taking the number of overseas offices to 14 with sales in over 100 countries. Hikvision achieved extraordinary year on year growth of 57% in 2013 with revenue of US$1.76billion.

How does any company achieve that sort of growth? Hikvision today has the world’s largest R&D team, with over 2900 engineers, and state-of-art manufacturing facilities; both allow Hikvision’s customers the benefit of world-class products designed with cutting-edge technology. Hikvision annually reinvests 7% of its revenue into R&D for continued product innovation and improvement. That equated to over $80million dollars spent on R&D in 2013.

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BP SLACKS CREE K

Conclusion The surveillance installation at BP Slacks Creek is not a huge system but it’s a challenging application that faces clear and present threats and has been used by police to investigate serious crimes. It’s also a multisite system and Freedom’s enterprise capability will allow management to continue integrating additional sites into the system, including existing analogue sites, in the future.

“An existing 16 channel analogue system can be integrated into this Freedom VMS from $1500. This makes it very affordable to unify different CCTV technologies and systems within a common VMS streamlining operation and management for users and integrators,” says Del Biondo.

“When I started with Camvex in 1987 we pioneered the first service station CCTV systems,” Del Biondo continues. “When servos would ask to put cameras on the pumps I always asked them ‘what are your annual losses in drive offs?’ The annual losses would usually be around $1000. But back then a quality CCD camera cost $1000 uninstalled. We simply could not do these sorts of surveillance systems cost effectively in those days.

“Today, things have changed so much. Equipment is less expensive and with networking, it’s much more flexible. And the camera views are far superior.

To get a clear number plate with SD analogue you need the camera to frame up a very limited area,” Del Biondo explains. “But with HD you are getting the entire car, the driver, the foreground and the background.”

“The quality of the footage is great for police. The officers who came to get the footage of the vehicle involved in the armed robbery recently said they would come for footage every time because the quality is so high.

Is the end user happy with their new networked surveillance solution?

“Yes – we’ve just installed the same system we have here at Slacks Creek in our Jimboomba site and we’ve ordered another system for a third of our sites – so yes, we’re definitely happy with the system,” Michael says.

“The quality of the footage is great for police. The officers who came to get the footage of the vehicle involved in the armed robbery recently said they would come for footage every time because the quality is so high. They know they will get good information – not blurry number plates. They’ll get the colours of cars.

“We won’t take out a good analogue system to put this IP system in but when the old systems on our sites need replacing we will install this new system and link it to our office here. The analogue systems are ok but this one is just very good. It’s a Rolls Royce of CCTV systems. And prices have come down – that’s a good thing about new technology.” zzz

30 se&n

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p ro d u ct rev i ew

m1 5- d thermal

Mobotix M15-D Thermal Mobotix M15-D Thermal camera offers thermal and optical performance in a single, rugged PoE housing that’s easy to install, simple to operate and very good at its job.

A

T the Mobotix Partner Conference in Sydney last month I got a walk-round of the Mobotix M15-D Thermal camera with Julien Lenser-Hobbs. The M15 platform was built with the ability to integrate new camera sensors and thermal was a key planned development.

While the M15-D was displayed at Security 2013, this is the first time I’ve seen it in operation.

Before we get started, let’s take a look at some of the specifications. The M15-D Thermal is a PoE, IP66-rated, IK10-rated poly housing with integrated sunshield. The distinguishing feature of this camera is that it’s a dual design. There’s a fixed thermographic camera as well as a removable 5MP colour sensor providing high quality optical vision.

The new thermal imaging sensor is 336 x 253 pixels and there’s a frame rate of 9Hz, which is industry standard. The thermal imager is fixed due to size and space requirements and is pre-installed on the right side of camera. According to Mobotix, it uses a very high quality thermal sensor that can see surface temperature differences from -40C to 550C between -30 and 60C ambient. Sensor temperature resolution is 50 millikelvin which is 0.05 degrees C. This means the camera can detect very small

Julien Lenser-Hobbs

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temperature differences, which is valuable in higher ambient temperatures. Other cameras have resolutions of 100mK so are less sensitive.

When ordering, you can select camera combinations like thermal and colour camera and thermal and black and white cameras for better low light performance. Field of view is also optional when you order. There’s very wide angle, standard wide angle – slightly less than a normal camera and telephoto, which is a couple of degrees either side of line of sight.

Importantly, the thermal sensor will not be damaged by exposure to sunlight and there’s a claimed MTBF of 80,000 hours. Many thermal cameras only have 12-month warranty – Mobotix is obviously expecting a lot more out of this unit.

Important to note, there’s no extra housing, no extra heating, no additional cabling – the philosophy is the same as it is for all Mobotix cameras. The M15-D is standard PoE and only draws 6 watts, which for a thermal camera is very low. The standard optical camera is also 6 watts – so the combined unit is very efficient.

What I like most about the M15-D Thermal is the fact it combines thermal and standard optical performance in a single compact PoE housing.

Because it’s a finished unit, installers simply hang it on the wall and do setup on the free software.

There’s no stuffing about with trying to find IP66rating housings with germanium windows, etc. You install the camera and it works.

Test driving the M15-D We head over to have a look at the camera in the demo hall. Temperature in here is probably about 24C. The size of the room is 20 x 10m. Looking at the display screen it’s clear that thermal is not about optical levels of resolution, it’s about verifying intrusion and the M15-D does that very well indeed.

On the display, yellow is cooler warm and red is hotter warm, with body cores and faces being red, tailing to yellow and then green across the extremities of the body. Mobotix has chosen royal blue as its background in this setup and the contrast works very well. The range of the cameras is very good in this application – unsurprising given the M15-D Thermal is externally-rated.

The chance anyone could move in this camera’s field of view and not be detected by its uncooled microbolometer is zero.

As well as looking at the folks in the hall, we

by john adam s

Thermal and optical images side by side.

check out some demo perimeter footage. It’s a good baseline to start from. It’s night and there’s heavy fog. There’s no way you could see what was going on using standard optical cameras. Even with illumination there’d be flare off water particles that would make a mess of the image.

But the M15-D cares not a wit about any of this. As we watch the screen, a family of rabbits lopes across the scene. They are clear as day – clearer even.

There’s no chance you would miss them if you were watching the screen and there’s no change the camera’s analytics software would miss them, either. Such performance would be as valuable during dust storms or bushfires as it would at night.

“In conditions like this you can forget about optical video motion and analytics solutions – but with thermal when something a small as a rabbit moves you get detection and direction of movement,” Lenser-Hobbs explains.

“This makes it very easy to see all events very quickly. Let’s face it, people don’t want to search through hours upon hours of video footage just to see a vague shape or to see nothing at all. And if you have a perimeter with optical cameras installed you still have to pay for lighting installation and operation as well as searching through all the inevitable false alarms.”

According to Lenser-Hobbs, the M15-D works like any Mobotix camera – there’s nothing difficult about installing or using it.

“There are a couple of different features relating to the display colour,” he says. “You choose display colours, there’s an auto adjustment mode that allows more advanced installers to focus on specific high temperature items.

“Perhaps the end user wants to focus on equipment or heavy vehicle movements, not on people, for instance. These lateral applications allow maintenance crews to see if equipment is

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p ro d u ct rev i ew

Scene in the demo hall

running hot. This temperature change is often the earliest sign of trouble – perhaps a fan has failed, there’s something blocking air flow to equipment or oil is running low.”

Looking at the camera bolted to the display it’s obvious that having thermal and video side by side in this compact form factor makes Mobotix a very strong solution – it’s not an enormous 2-headed behemoth in blindingly expensive stainless steel. It’s the same size as all the other Mobotix cameras that use this housing.

Next, we look at scene in which there’s no way to see a loiterer with optical but with thermal you can clearly see a person peering out from behind a concrete pillar. You can also see a vehicle out front that has been running recently. Obviously there’s no face recognition or numberplate recognition when there’s insufficient light for the optical side to see clearly but thermal is about verifying intrusion in low light at medium and longer distances.

Now we also look at an internal scene.

Because this camera has both video and thermal

When M15-D is teamed up with the MxActivitySensor software you get reliable video analysis results of person/vehicle movements.

34 se&n

m1 5- d thermal

capabilities, it’s easy to compare the performance.

At night with no lights you get great intrusion detection from thermal and you can see plenty from the point of view of number of intruders and what their actions are.

As soon as the lights come on you get thermal and Mobotix’ excellent 5MP image quality.

Managing footage in this demo is Mobotix MxControl Center or MxEasy software (a new software platform was released at this Partner Conference, incidentally).

You dip into standard camera software to activate the dual image display on one of the 2 image sensors (thermal or optical) or both simultaneously.

When it comes to programming configs – there are a handful of choices that are intuitive for anyone. The thermal image sensor is configured using camera software in a web browser. Display is simple, too. Users populate their displays with drag and drop. What’s great is that you have thermal and optical side by side with this camera so there’s extra information right there in front of you.

When M15-D is teamed up with the MxActivitySensor software you get reliable video analysis results of person/vehicle movements.

What makes this solution so dependable is that a microbolometer is blind to optical noise from an environment - bushes, grass, street furniture, glare, shadow, whatever. The thermal side of the camera simply always picks up heat and nothing more. The optical side is a huge bonus.

M15D-Thermal is available in 3 different versions that differ in lens angles. There’s the MX-M15DThermal-L43 with a horizontal image angle of 45 degrees, the MX-M15D-Thermal-L65 with a horizontal image angle of 25 degrees and the MXM15D-Thermal-L135 with a horizontal image angle of 17 degrees.

Along with its integrated PIR, the M15 housing also has space inside the for 2 radar sensors with an angle of 90 degrees. The idea here is that it empowers the camera to take on more serious perimeter and external monitoring roles. Adding radar to the M15 is an interesting move from Mobotix, given most alarm sensors equipped for video verification offer comparatively low quality images. Thermal, 5MP optical and radar in one unit? Good thinking, Mobotix. zzz

S P E CI AL RE P O RT

IP cameras

IP, 123 We all know networked infrastructure has changed the video surveillance market and we know IP cameras offer some excellent features. But which are the most important for end users and installers today?

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ATEST-gen IP cameras are loaded with features. There’s high resolution, 60ips frame rate, low light performance, IR support, wide dynamic range, resistance to motion blur, a range of lens types, onboard storage and on and on it goes on.

I asked group of manufacturers and distributors what they thought was most important based on their knowledge of CCTV technology and the needs of their end user and installer customers.

While I didn’t ask them to list the features in order of importance it stands to reason the most important feature for CCTV people would be the one that springs to multiple minds first. For the majority it was low light performance and for a significant minority it was image quality.

According to Sony’s Mark Franklin, the 3 most important features an IP camera needs include the ability to maintain low light performance, high resolution and wide dynamic range without compromising any of these features during a 24hour period.

“For example, just because it is night-time does

36 se&n

not mean that a camera’s dynamic range should be restricted,” Franklin says. “Consider a bright electronic signboard at night with a person walking in front of it. With the wide dynamic range feature turned off, the sign is over-exposed and affects the ability of the camera to see a person walking in front of the sign.

“If the camera can maintain its wide dynamic range at night without having to disable this feature, then it is able to manage the exposure and contrast throughout the day as well as night while also maintaining good low light performance.

BY JOHN ADAM S

“Equally, what good is it to have a camera that is only capable of D1 resolution in order to perform well in low light? In this day and age an IP camera should be able to perform in low light at HD resolution while maintaining a wide dynamic range.

“If I pick the 3 most important features in an IP camera, then low light handling, resolution and wide dynamic range need to be able to co-exist around the clock,” insists Franklin. “Cameras need to operate 24/7 and not compromise on these 3 features.”

Over at Bosch Security Systems, video systems product manager Steve Malesevic has low light performance on the top of his list.

“With the pressure of business today to reduce costs at every opportunity, improving a camera’s performance in low light conditions will have direct cost reduction benefits,” says Malesevic. “Alleviating the need in many cases to implement additional lighting, whether it be visible or IR light, can markedly reduce the cost of installation in a project.

“Also with cameras that have excellent low light performance, the reduction of noise in a video stream that was produced under low light conditions will have a direct positive impact on storage costs, which on larger projects can be quite a significant reduction.

In scenes where there is just enough light to allow the camera to stay in colour-mode (ie: not revert to monochrome), the capturing of colour information can significantly aid operators and investigators in the identification process.”

Next on the list for Malesevic is the ability of camera to discern a wider dynamic range.

“Having a camera that performs well in this regard allows the camera to resolve more detail with more clarity in the image it produces,” he explains. “The most basic fundamental requirement of any security camera is to capture as much detail as possible. A camera that has a wider dynamic range can provide this basic need in more diverse conditions.”

Next comes lens quality.

“Like anything, a system is only as strong as its weakest link and in many cases, that weak link is an inferior lens which may be used on a camera of higher quality,” Malesevic explains. “Mostly this is done in an effort to reduce installation costs. The quality of the lenses being used in those cases is simply not on par with the quality of the camera it’s attached to.

Consequently, the image quality is compromised.”

For QSS’ Rob Rosa, the ability to handle low light conditions with minimal noise and picture degradation is top of his list.

“Also important is keeping low bit rate while streaming in real time and consistently using a similar bit rate through different environments (i.e. busy traffic area and no traffic area using similar bit rate),” he explains.

“Then there’s the flexibility to adjust camera settings and focus from browsers (or PC software) and adjust them according to lighting conditions and

Mark Franklin

If I pick the 3 most important features in an IP camera, then low light handling, resolution and wide dynamic range need to be able to coexist around the clock.

any other variables. This makes life of the installer simpler and makes installation times quicker.”

According to Peter Pan, IPC product manager for Dahua, the most important features of an IP camera today are low light performance, IVA and ease of use.

“Most low-light featured cameras today need the assistance of lighting devices like infra red, and the flash (flare) they cause is bad for user experience,” Pan explains. “As you know, the surveillance image that conventional cameras render under low lighting environment is mainly B/W. What I expect is for manufacturers to improve low illumination technology so they can provide 24-hour colour surveillance.

“IVA is also important,” Pan says. “There is no doubt that cameras should be more intelligent. For example, they should notify users what is going on as well as providing them with analysis to further enhance overall efficiency.

“Finally, another important trend is open systems with easy usability. This development is not limited to the conventional video surveillance industry, but also an expansion to the consumer electronics trade. I believe it will be a boom in the home market in this area, which will demand similar usability and interoperability from CCTV cameras.”

Panasonic’s Marcus Vongpraseuth takes a practical approach to what’s important but ultimately he sees WDR, low light and resolution as key. Vongpraseuth says the most important aspect in any surveillance system, whether it’s analogue or IP, is identification.

“There are multiple identification elements in surveillance, including face identification, object identification, text and character identification,

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S P E CI AL RE P O RT

IP cameras

Image quality is the key and this depends on the sensor used, (how it well it manages) resolution, dynamic range, noise and speed of read-out. wide dynamic range, cost, resistance to motion blur, robust nature, lens quality are all important. Siow picks out a number of additional qualities that Axis is finding installers and end users are interested in.

They include advanced motion detection, license plate capture, long range IR and multi-imager cameras.

For Pelco’s national security manager ANZ, Mark Romer, the most important features of IP cameras include reliability.

“None of the other features really matter if a camera is not operational,” Romer says. “Pelco stands by its industry-leading reliability with a 3-year warranty covering all parts and labour.”

“Secondly, the portfolio breadth to match a camera to a customer’s lighting condition, environment, and application are critical to achieving the best results.”

According to Romer, high quality images are what IP video cameras are all about.

“Advances in megapixel technology are providing the resolution and frame rates that allows our customers to get the information they desire,” he says. “Pelco exceeds this with 3 and 5 MP cameras for those applications that require even more detail.

However, bigger is not always better. The overall image quality is critical to making sure all of those pixels are good pixels.”

Arecont’s director of global business development, Mitch Fagundes says the single most important

Rob Rosa

colour reproduction, etc,” he says. “Better identification in surveillance means stronger and more usable evidence. The areas where I believe identification is most difficult in surveillance are in strong contrasting lighting conditions and where there is rapid movement.

“To ensure identification is clear and usable as evidence, the 3 key features that are important in a surveillance system are wide dynamic range (Panasonic 6 series Enhances Super Dynamic), low light performance (Panasonic 6 series Super Sensitivity Technology) and high resolution.”

For Hikvision’s Adler Woo, at the top of the list is overall image quality.

“Lots of manufacturers release network cameras with low-light performance or WDR function and much more,” Woo says. “However, there are only a few cameras with the overall image capability to operate in various environments day and night 24/7.

“Hikvision’s newly released DS-2CD6026FHWD network camera addresses this need with low light performance, WDR, 60fps high frame rate and Smart features, this product is the perfect candidate for deployment in challenging environments both day and night.”

Smart capabilities are also important, according to Woo. “Most of the latest IP cameras are equipped with some Smart features, which accelerate the development of IP surveillance. However, Smart is not only about front-end cameras, Smart should be the solution coupling front-end info collection and backend Smart management together.

“Ease of use another important feature jumping into higher product value,” Woo says. “Besides the advantage of greater image quality that IP products bring, friendly usability is also an important factor to facilitate the IP surveillance market.”

For Philip Siow, senior consultant at Axis Communications, low light performance, resolution,

38 se&n

Steve Malesevic

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S P E CI AL RE P O RT

IP cameras

The reduction of noise in a video stream that was produced under low light conditions will have a direct positive impact on storage costs.

Vlado Damjanovsky

item to compare in surveillance cameras is total image quality. According to Fagundes it’s not the number of features or any single specification that makes one camera better than the next. It’s the total image quality produced by the right combination of imaging technologies and features for the specific application that makes the difference.

“Total image quality can mean the difference between visual recognition and useless video,” he says. “It can also be the difference between obtaining actionable information and wasted resources.

A camera delivering optimal total image quality requires more than providing a few single features or every possible feature that can economically fit into a single product. It is a combination of specific imaging technologies engineered with the right physical characteristics and installed effectively together.

“Total image quality revolves around image processing, performance, and compression,” explains Fagundes.

For example, many manufacturers use a wide dynamic range (WDR) sensor and then label the camera WDR. The same can be done with low light sensors. It is what happens after the image data is captured that counts.

“That is why 2 surveillance cameras can claim to have the same features but deliver very different pictures. Post processing can be the difference between identifying an 8 or a 0 on a license plate. It can also be the difference between having enough frames per second to capture that license plate or not.

“Finally, compression done incorrectly can deliver a camera too expensive without providing H.264 at the required frame rates. Poorly implemented offthe-shelf H.264 compression can render a 1080p camera as ineffective as a conventional analogue camera.”

Meanwhile, Vlado Damjanovski said recently that

40 se&n

important qualities of the best surveillance cameras include low light performance, automatic detection of events, or similar.

“Image quality is the key and this depends firstly and foremost on the sensor used,” Damjanovski says.

“I refer here to resolution, dynamic range, noise and speed of read-out.

“Another very important feature is how many concurrent encoders can be used (if more than one) for the purposes of dual or triple streaming, one for recording, display and another perhaps for remote streaming with lower bandwidth. Also, for larger projects, how multicasting is handled might be the next most important thing.

“Of course, the standard installer demands are still relevant,” Damjanovski says. “These include ease of installation (preview), PoE, mounting, etc.

This depends on the camera manufacturer, not the sensor manufacturer. Additional factors of course, are the lens quality. We all know that if a lens is of an inferior quality (compared to the sensor resolution), it is impossible to make the HD video any better.”

What do installers want? When I asked Zurcorp’s Duane Lankow what an IP camera’s most important features were, he told me without hesitation that low light performance was the biggest thing.

“In our market low light performance is most important,” Lankow says. “We also need to supply surveillance systems with a GUI that’s easy for our customers to operate when they need to, easy to download video footage for police.

“Our systems are often working in environments that are low light, seeking identification of challenging targets – the cameras have to count where they are installed,” he says. “In applications where something will happen, where investigations will take place, like a hotel where staff work with police to supply footage of serious incidents, you want performance your customer can depend on or it’s a real problem.” zzz

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n ew p ro d u ct

bosch divar ip

Bosch DIVAR IP A new DIVAR IP recorder family with integrated Dynamic Transcoding Technology has been released by Bosch.

DIVAR IP is an all-in-one VMS and storage solution, with scalable recording and HD image quality from any location, even with limited bandwidth.

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UST released by Bosch is the new DIVAR IP recorder family. The new family consists of allin-one video management systems as well as storage solutions, and combines a network recorder, storage array, client workstation and integrated software.

Today’s users need instant access to high-quality surveillance video whether they are monitoring a whole chain of hotels or a single gas station. And users have come to expect the same degree of comfort and performance when away from the office or control room. With the launch of 4 new DIVAR IP video recorders, Bosch is responding to these needs by offering customers simple yet scalable storage solutions, or scalable all-in-one solutions for small to large sized security systems.

All DIVAR IP recorders enable recording, viewing, and export of high definition and standard definition resolutions, while streams are displayed in 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios simultaneously. The recorded videos can be viewed and managed, depending on the model, using a remote operating client and integrated operating client, or a built-in web application.

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There’s instant access to HD video scenes from anywhere, thanks to Bosch’s Dynamic Transcoding Technology. This technology enables highresolution live video streaming and playback even over limited bandwidth connections, adapting the image quality to the available bandwidth. This applies for 3G areas with limited reception, as well as WiFi connections with constantly changing throughput. The Bosch Video Security app allows HD video to be viewed on an iPad/iPhone from any location.

The all-in-one DIVAR IP 3000/7000 recorders are equipped with Bosch’s Video Management Software and offer advanced alarm processing to ensure the most critical events are identified and managed.

They feature fully integrated support for Forensic Search, allowing operators to find an event among hours of recorded material. Once footage has been found, Instant Detail Enhancement displays the paused image in full HD quality.

The new DIVAR IP family is scalable so as to meet the requirements of different application sizes.

For example, the DIVAR IP 3000 supports up to 32 channels with up to 8 TB of storage – ideal for smallmedium applications.

The DIVAR IP 7000 comes pre-licensed for 32 channels and can easily expand up to 128 channels.

Its internal storage supports up to 16 TB of recorded video. To increase the storage capacity, the new DIVAR IP 2000 and DIVAR IP 6000 storage devices can be added to all the models in the DIVAR IP family.

Finally, all 4 of the new DIVAR IP recorders are ONVIF-compliant and integrate seamlessly with a wide range of security software and hardware solutions from Bosch, such as BVMS, the IP 2000, IP 5000, and Autodome cameras, as well as those of third-party providers. This is backed by the Bosch Integration Partner Program, which grants partners immediate access to online tools for easy integration of management and recording software, video analytics, monitor wall systems, and cloud monitoring. zzz

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p ro d u ct rev i ew

emerald ip reader

emerald shines CEM Systems’ emerald IP reader controller working with CEM AC2000 software, gives a very clear idea of the power networking is going to bring to access control solutions. As well as being a handsome device, it’s as clever as a fox.

M

Y demo of emerald at the SEN office in Sydney was a real eye-opener. Sure, I’ve heard of emerald before but I’d never really considered the specifications in enough depth to develop a proper appreciation for this solution. Showing me over the reader are Zac Donev, sales director - South East Asia and Oceania at Tyco International, and David Galligan, strategic sales manager at Tyco Security Products.

CEM Systems, which is a subsidiary of Tyco International, calls emerald an intelligent access terminal and there’s a reason for this. Along with being nice to look at, with its 4.3-inch LCD touch screen, emerald offers a lot of functionality.

Built by CEM Systems in the UK, emerald is a card reader and a door controller that hustles an integrated voice over IP intercom between door and a CEM Intercom workstation thanks to a built-in microphone and speaker. Showing the power and flex of new technology, emerald also incorporates a range of remote server-based applications – hundreds of them - and the unit’s

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API will be opened later this year, according to the boys, allowing integrators and users to create their own applications. The upshot is that emerald carries access control to the edge – and beyond.

You get 3 options with emerald – the TS100, the TS200 which adds integrated VoIP intercom and the TS300, which adds integrated VoIP intercom and remote applications. For the purposes of this review, when we say emerald, we are discussing the fully-loaded TS300 version. In terms of network architecture, there’s an on-board 10/100Mbps Ethernet connection that allows emerald to communicate directly with the Linuxbased AC2000 host server.

There are neat features all over the place with emerald – a sort of synthesis of available technology. A mini PIR sensor powers down the screen until it senses motion and emerald is no dumb terminal. Along with specific response to unauthorised access attempts, it’s capable of questioning cardholders on matters of OH&S, informing them of expiring cards and other issues.

This emerald reader is tough, too. It’s weather resistant to IP65 and vandal resistant to IK47, and it has hardened glass with anti-glare coating – that means you can install the reader inside or out. Also neat is optional power over Ethernet plus (PoE+) allowing the terminal and additional door locks and sensors to be powered using a single Cat 5e/6 cable at the door.

A reader that’s also a controller needs some serious firepower and emerald delivers. According to David Galligan there’s an off-line database of 250,000 users and 50,000 events.

“CEM’s motto is ‘more at the door’,” says Galligan.

“And that’s just what emerald delivers. Generally, if you have a prox card reader, a green light means you’re in and a red light means you’re out. But emerald does things in a different way.

“For instance, a system can request a user answer a series of questions relating to OH&S before they are allowed access – are the wearing safety gear, have they a current license for equipment. This puts the onus

by john adam s

back on cardholders because there is a complete audit trail of their responses. Setup of this functionality is very easy. System operators or integrators type questions in and add related images and activate the functionality.”

To demonstrate the process, we have a runthough of a potential airport system. When a card is badged, the screen asks if the cardholder is wearing a safety vest and waits for an affirmative response (via the touch screen) before moving on to the next question.

Next, the system asks if the cardholder is wearing earprotection. And in this demo case, it tells the cardholder their card is expiring.

“Something that is important from an operational point of view is the level of communication,” Galligan explains. “If a cardholder can’t get authorised access from a reader, the reader will tell them why, rather than the cardholder running to the security office demanding to know why they are locked out.”

As well as expired cards, the system will advise the cardholder they don’t have access to an entry,

CEM’s motto is ‘more at the door’ and that’s just what emerald delivers. or perhaps they are trying to access the entry in the wrong time zone. According to Galligan, there are hundreds of conditions that can be set up by integrators or users.

“This reader has some great features,” says Galligan. “The integrated VoIP intercom system means cardholders can initiate a 2-way conversation with the security office from the reader. Security staff can identify a cardholder’s voice or other credentials and allow access through the door remotely.

“As part of this process, the operator can justify what they have done in overriding the system. You can have text insertion before the door is opened – security managers can mandate what is required

as identification – say, verify stored picture.”

A really interesting feature of emerald is the ability for authorised users to run remote applications hosted on the AC2000 central server.

These remote apps display critical statistics and important information for system maintenance, such as top system alarms and most recent alarms, at the remote reader. There are apps for ‘First and Last swipes’ for time and attendance purposes, ‘Your Card Details’ and ‘Scheduled Visitors’. It makes emerald a surprisingly flexible beast.

“Using remote applications users can interrogate the reader to see who was last in and out of a door,” Zac Donev explains. “Hong Kong Jockey Club has put an emerald reader on every stall so trainers can see who has been around the horses without the security manager having to manually run endless time-consuming reports.”

Remote authorisation rights designated to authorised staff in set areas is great for hospitals where it can be used by authorised personnel to grant visiting specialists temporary access to particular wards or clinics.

“There’s a lot of that sort of clever functionality built into the system,” Donev says. “It also applies to installation and maintenance. If there’s a fault on the door, authorised administrators or maintenance techs can interrogate any door from here – there’s

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Using remote applications I can interrogate the reader to see who was last in and out of a door. no need for 2 technicians to trouble-shoot a system and find a faulty reed switch.

“And an authorised security manager or security officer operating in the field can set and adjust threat levels on the server from a remote emerald reader in response to unfolding events.

If it’s a university or school and they see some incident taking place, they can apply a threat level from 1-4. This level impacts on system operation – it might lock an area down, or open an area.”

There’s also a meeting room booking app – you just go to the reader and book the room and if someone else tries to access the room at your times they won’t be granted access by the system.

“A lot of the features in the server are actually built into the emerald reader and access to these apps is adjustable by user profile. One user might get access to 2 apps, another might get access to another 2 apps,” says Galligan. “We are also going to open up the API at the end of 2014 so customers can start writing their own apps to suit their own requirements.”

In terms of access control features, Galligan says CEM’s access control solution does what every access control system does – opens and closes doors, reports on alarms, sends messages to control rooms. But he says it’s the little things that make a real difference in the way users relate to the system.

“One of the things security managers like is the dashboard – this is a feature that came out of one of our partner conferences – we asked users what they wanted to see in our software – that’s where this reader came from. Users wanted a touch screen reader.”

Via the dashboard, authorised users can access customisable widgets that allow them

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emerald ip reader

to interrogate the system and find out when the last maintenance was carried out. Or security managers can see how long it takes for security officers to respond to alarms across the site. And there’s an invalid swipe analysis that lets managers to see what’s happening across the site.

“You can have a look at how many cards are parked on a site – say, if a card is not used for 60 days for some reason – it can be automatically parked so it can’t be used until it’s unparked,” Galligan says.

“That’s nice for airports which have hundreds of contractors.”

“From the point of view of integrating video, we also talk to most the major VMS systems on the market, and we do high level lift control, as well as building and HR systems,” Galligan explains. “In big sites like Heathrow Airport, CEM is used by HR for time and attendance by airlines – it allows accurate billing by tracking staff activities at gates.

Another capability of emerald is the ability to display advertising, which is relevant in applications like casinos, airports and shopping centres. It allows an end user to generate additional revenue from the stakeholders in their business through selling advertising space.

“As a reader controller, emerald has 4 inputs (request to exit, door contacts, fail safe, secure) and 2 outputs for the door off the reader so instead of installers running 7 cables for a door, it’s just a single Cat-6,” Galligan explains. “Installers cable around the door jamb straight out of this device.

And there is 2 amps at the door – that means plenty of power for electric locks. And if you want these sort of functions on the secure side of the door CEM has an interface module to handle it.” zzz

Features of CEM Systems’ emerald reader controller include: l Multifunctional access terminal l User-friendly 4.3” capacitive LCD touch screen l Innovative touch screen reader l Intuitive GUI enhancing user experience at the door l Ethernet card reader & controller in one l PIR motion detection l Voice over IP (VoIP) Intercom functionality l Support for a range of smart card technologies l Ability to run ‘Remote Applications’ from AC2000 central server directly at the door l Scramble keypad option for Personal Identification Number (PIN) l Offline database for 250,000 cardholder records l Multiple door modes l Power over Ethernet Plus technology l Easy to install.

compact without compromise When you need Full-HD performance but require a discrete, compact size, the panasonic SW-158 and SF-138 mini-dome cameras are the perfect solution. Offering a versatile design without compromising panasonic’s renowned picture quality, these cameras will deliver in the most testing environments.

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ViQs technology ViQS technology delivers full-Hd performance, requiring less bandwidth and smaller data storage capacities than conventional cameras. ViQS cameras allow you to vary the compression rate and image quality, so you can record important areas in full-Hd and all other areas at a lower resolution.

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a la rm s sensors

Internal alarm sensors When it comes to selecting internal alarm sensors, what are the features installers should be looking for? Are all internal sensors the same or do some offer superior catch performance and false alarm resistance?

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by john adam s

W

HAT makes for a quality internal alarm sensor? That depends on the environment the sensor is installed in – the more challenging the environment, the better the design and quality need to be. In many internal applications, passive infrared sensors are the perfect solution, while for more challenging internal environments, you need to look at dual technology detectors.

When selecting a PIR for internal use look for dual or quad multiple pyro-electric sensing. These reduce false alarms through increased stability.

Other features you should rate highly include creep zones, a good-sized detection window, not just a slot or a small hole; and RFI, surge and lowvoltage protection. You also want zone adjustment that allows range to be changed or particular zones to be ignored, latching (with LED indicator), walk test capability (and LED indicator).

You want a high signal-to-noise ratio, antimasking, tantallum capacitor circuits for EMI/RFI rejection, trouble log, silent alarm relay, enhanced processing, temperature gain compensation and a tamper switch. Other beneficial features include site adjustable sensitivity, first-to-alarm memory, low voltage signal and auto self test.

The best PIRs will have dual edge or quad sensing zones and an array that offers a significant number of look down zones, as well as more than one sensing range. They’ll have surge and low voltage protection, adjustments letting you alter the range of mask zones, as well as LED-supported latching. A plug-in test meter is an advantage.

Once the temperature gets over 35C, any PIR is going to be seriously disadvantaged even if temperature compensation is winding up the tiny pyro signal through an amplification circuit.

If things are going to be warm or there will be direct sun on glass, you should think quality dual technology. Dual technology sensors combine a pair of technologies that are sensitive to 2 different types of disturbance – microwave and PIR. The thinking behind this is to ensure that each sensor supports the weaknesses of the other to eliminate false alarms.

It works thanks to the intrinsic nature of each of these 2 sensing technologies. PIR elements sense the level of IRE changing between zones over a set time at a set speed. There aren’t many environmental disturbances that mirror this sort of activity - but heat sources, especially warm air currents, spell trouble for PIRs. Microwaves work differently. They cover an area with a signal and then pick up variations between the signal sent and the signal reflected back.

It’s called the Doppler shift. Microwave sensor technologies offer strong detection performance they’ll pretty much detect anything that moves.

When selecting a PIR for internal use look for dual or quad multiple pyro-electric sensing. These reduce false alarms through increased stability.

In terms of dual technology, what’s vital is that PIRs are sensitive to movement across their zones, while microwave devices activate if they pick up a Doppler shift that moves either towards the sensor or away from it.

Who has what?

According to iTech, the company’s best internal sensor is the hard-wired Crow Swan Quad PIR with 18m standard wide angle lens. The unit’s specifications include quad element PIR (pyroelectric) sensor, bi-directional temperature compensation for consistent catch performance when hot and humid, pet immunity to 25Kg (adjustable), 18m wide angle detection distance with range adjustment and tamper protection.

Setting it apart from the competition are reliability

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a la rm s sensors

What sets the DG75 apart from the competition is the fact it is extremely reliable and false-alarm free.

and consistent performance within wide environmental conditions.

According to iTech, “Although most installers perform this task successfully, it’s important that the appropriate sensor technology (PIR or dual technology) is selected for a given application. The one-type-fits-all installation undertaken because the end user may want all sensors to look the same, or because of under quoting to win the installation, can result in poor overall system performance that may require site re-visits.

“Equally as important as appropriate selection of sensor technology, is the correct sensitivity adjustment and walk testing of a sensor onsite,” iTech says. “If sensors are left at their factory settings, they are more likely to false alarm due to over-sensitivity that is inappropriate for the size of room they are installed in or because of environmental conditions.

Over at Bosch Security Systems, the leading internal sensor is the Blue Line Gen2 TriTech range, which has dynamic temperature compensation for superior catch performance and microwave noise adaptive processing to reduce false alarms from repetitive sources.

The Blue Line Gen2 has wall-to-wall coverage when installed in applicable environments giving superior catch performance. Other features

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include flexible mounting height and no installer adjustments, so as to reduce installation time and false alarms, improve catch performance.

The sensor has a self-locking enclosure with integrated bubble level to assist with fast installation, There’s a pet‑friendly selectable model available for pets up to 45kg.

According to Paul Knight at CSD, the company’s leading internal intrusion sensor for domestic and small commercial applications is the Paradox DG75 with high-security digital motion detector with pet immunity.

Core specifications include dual optics (2 dual opposed PIR element sensors), pet immunity using a patented combination of advanced optics and digital processing technologies to be immune to pets weighing up to 40kg, digital dual opposed detection and an 11m x 11m, 90-degree viewing angle. There are both wired and wireless options available.

“What sets the DG75 apart from the competition is the fact it is extremely reliable and false-alarm free. Reliability, ease of installation and value for money are the key things installers need to be looking for.”

Meanwhile, Honeywell has a huge internal intrusion sensor range including the IS2500 Series, 5800 Series Wireless, DT7200 Dual Tec Series, DT7400 Dual Tec Series, DT900 Dual Tec Series, and the Ceiling Mount Series.

For instance, the IS2500 PIR is hard wired, has a mounting height of 2.3m to 2.7m, uniform sensitivity optics, patented mirror lookdown (creep) zone, dual-slope temperature compensation, microprocessor control, silent tamper proof relay, 45-degree terminal blocks, DIP-switch programming, spare EOL terminals, automatic walk test mode and 4 sensitivity settings.

Models in the range include the IS2535T (3-in-1 PIR) with 11m x 12m range and (selectable 0, 18, 36kg pet immunity); and the IS2560 PIR with 18m x 26m range and the IS2500 PIR with 30m x 6m range.

When it comes to dual technology sensors, Honeywell’s offering includes the DT7200 Series which features K-Band technology for better pattern containment and shaping, resulting in superior false alarm immunity, a sturdy, attractive housing, uniform sensitivity optics and temperature compensation. There’s zero clearance black bug guard, mirror look down and microwave supervision. Models available include the DT7235 11m x 11m Dual Tec with 45kg pet immunity and the DT7235TCE with 11m x 11m Dual Tec without.

According to Honeywell, the company’s range of PIRs and dual technology sensors is “rigorously challenged in state-of-the-art test rooms built to exceed the toughest SIA standards. This means an installer should never have to compromise between performance and false alarm prevention when selecting an intrusion sensor.” zzz

Intelligent Touch Terminal VoIP Intercom

IP Reader & Controller

emerald Can your security system do this? emerald™ is a multi functional intelligent access terminal that is revolutionising the security industry.

With its sleek design and state of the art custom LCD touch screen, emerald is a powerful card reader and controller in one, featuring fully integrated Voice over IP (VoIP) intercom and a range of Remote Applications that provide a whole new multifaceted access control experience. emerald uniquely opens

emerald™ – The industry’s most multifunctional intelligent access terminal.

For more information: Call: (61) 419 241 076 Email: tycosp-apac@tycoint.com or visit us at www.tycosecurityproducts.com © 2014 Tyco Security Products and its Respective Companies. All Rights Reserved.

Remote Applications

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multicom 4 p lus

Multicom 4 Plus Suretek’s Multicom 4 Plus takes alarm panel communications and feeds them onto digital networks, changing the way monitoring companies interact with their customers.

T

HERE’S something about the alarm monitoring industry that generates zeal, I think to myself, sitting in Suretek’s Wetherill Park office listening to managing director Glenn Smith talk about the company’s Multicom 4 Plus unit.

It’s partly the people but more than anything it’s the culture. Alarm monitoring companies are responsible for something. The seriousness of their operations, their sense of ownership of customer protection, bleeds into everything they do, infusing it with fierce meaning.

I’ve driven out to Suretek to get a quick runthrough of the MC4P but as Smith dabs away at his palette and starts to paint a picture of the unit’s development I realise it’s going to be impossible to subtract this small polycarbonate box from the life and history of his company.

Smith started out building control rooms in the early 90s before running his own control room, then selling it to join Suretek in 2001. This self-history governs him as a supplier of alarm monitoring software and hardware. There’s deep empathy for his customers, an awareness of exactly how it feels.

There’s something else in him, too. An holistic

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sense of monitoring as a networked business. From their inception in the 19th century monitoring stations have always been conceptual data networks sprawling across cities, across nations.

The fact is, monitoring people have always had to imagine the shapes of their businesses – networks of controllers, dots joined by spider-spools of direct line, PSTN, wireless links – and now, by digital networks.

Multicom 4 Plus In simplest terms, Multicom 4 Plus is a low cost dual SIM GPRS/GSM unit that turns any alarm panel – including those stars of the 1980s – into fully networked security solutions. MC4P works together with CAMS software, or with any other alarm monitoring solution, and the company’s AlarmLINK app, to allow monitoring stations to offer their customers an IP-based level of service.

That includes IP-based cost efficiencies and IPbased levels of communication, while dispensing with analogue phone costs for reporting and system management. But more on this later.

Holding the MC4P in my hand I’m reminded of a hand-held 2-way radio – there’s a similar form factor and an externally mounted antenna. Across the faceplate are 6 LEDs displaying GSM, GPRS, Panel, Comms with Fault and Power. Installers can mount this housing next to an existing panel or install the housing inside the panel with a fly-lead to externally mount the antenna.

Features of MC4P include 2 GPRS paths, 2 Contact ID via GSM paths, and 2 Contact ID via PSTN paths. There are four 24-hour alarm inputs with programmable end-of-line resistors (EOLR) and a dedicated tamper input. Handling output devices are 2 programmable dry relay contacts for system trouble or for use as automation outputs.

The unit reports its own faults, tampers and alarm events, there’s full Contact ID to GPRS conversion, 128-Bit AES encryption and programmable alarm reporting priority. You also get Surepoll Private IP WAN (polling, programming, alarm communications, remote software updates).

MC4P’s hardware is C-Tick approved and certified, and is designed in Australia, meeting class 1, 2, 3 & 4 of Australian Standard AS2201.5 2008.

Functionally, MC4P takes signals from the connected alarm panel and flicks them to any Surepoll-enabled monitoring station across GPRS, GSM, or PSTN if this is required. Should one path fail the MC4P switches to another path and tries again. Dual-SIM technology doubles redundancy on GPRS and GSM by using 2 separate carrier networks. Adding to robustness, the MC4P detects faults and outs on the active SIM, and automatically switches to its second SIM. According to Glenn Smith, Suretek originally intended to skip 3G and move directly to 4G. “However, modems in the M2M space are still

by john adam s

not available on the preferred Australian carrier frequencies so last month we decided to release our 3G solution for our regional partners and these stocks will be available in April this year,” Smith explains.

“GPRS is still a viable solution and with the hand held consumer market moving to 3G/4G, GPRS is actually becoming more reliable. With all carriers having interconnect agreements until 2017 and with end of life roll out we will likely not see this closure until 2020–2022.”

Smith says this breadth of comms support means the MC4P not only delivers alarm messages more securely and across more paths, but it also enables polling as frequently as every 40 seconds – that’s top performance. In addition to polling, the MC4P offers PFP, a proprietary Poll Fail Protocol that verifies active communication paths in the event of signal dropout or panel failure.

Also neat are built-in output relays that enable users to remotely arm and disarm their alarm panels, open gates or turn lights on and off.

Monitoring stations or their clients can control these outputs with simple, secure commands sent from smart phones by the consumer or direct from a monitoring station’s automation software.

According to Smith, while some installers and monitoring centres might be nervous about it, the digital future offers the industry and its customers a new beginning.

“It’s a very exciting time – the best time is ahead of us,” says Smith. “Perhaps it’s a little frightening for those who depend on rebates but if you embrace IP

It’s a very exciting time – the best time is ahead of us.

You can’t be frightened to move away from the old business model.

there’s a lot to look forward to, a lot of business to be done. You should not be frightened to move away from the old business model.

“If you move a customer from the old PSTN model and sell them properly, you can save them phone line charges, save them call charges and offer them a superior service, with higher rates of polling and more communication at less overall cost, and without losing revenue yourself.”

Nor does the new model mean monitoring business itself is under threat.

“I’ll never build a device that enables a client to self-monitor or that bypasses the control room,” Smith says. “But I will always build a device that allows control rooms to enhance the services they offer to clients.

“The key to all this is getting alarm systems off PSTN networks and onto digital networks with fixed costs for data rates where things like increased polling and increased levels of communication have no impact on system running costs - and to do it reliably. Only our managed service does all this.”

Doing this properly depends on the Suretek network, which has been developed over many years in partnership with Telstra and Optus. Also vital to this business concept is the MC4P unit supported by Suretek’s AlarmLink application driven by Suretek’s cloud-based network.

“AlarmLink works with any alarm panel including the old Ness 5000,” Smith tells me. “It reports through Suretek’s Surepoll network and allows monitoring stations to share information about their system with users. And because it’s IPse&n 53

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based there’s no call cost associated with this increased level of communication between monitoring centre and end user.

“The way it works is that monitoring stations push information to their clients via smart devices running the AlarmLink app,” Smith explains. “The message might be ‘An alarm has gone off on Zone 1, what would you like me to do?

Call police, send a patrol, speak to an operator?’

And the monitoring team knows if the client has seen the data and acknowledged or even ignored it.

“This sort of communication is how we all communicate with each other now and we communicate this way because it is convenient,” Smiths says. “This communication method should be used to enhance alarm monitoring services. Monitoring stations don’t want to be ringing a client 3 times a week to check lateto-close alerts – it eats half their profits. With AlarmLink, this function is automated in CAMS software and is very intuitive. As a result, profitability goes up, comms costs for the end user go down, service levels go up.”

I will always build a device that allows control rooms to enhance the services they offer to clients.

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AlarmLINK app

According to Suretek’s Peter Konstanta, AlarmLINK is a 2-stage app.

“Stage 1 of AlarmLINK, which is our current version, is not dependent on any specific alarm monitoring software at the monitoring centre – it allows the end user to communicate with their alarm system - remote arm/disarm, view panel history and a bonus panic feature which sends the current coordinates of the smartphone user to the monitoring centre, attached to the users account,” Konstanta explains. “Users for AlarmLINK can be administered from our installer smartphone application called TechTools. ““Stage 2 of AlarmLINK, which will be the next version of the app, will add additional features for our customers utilising CAMS Software at their monitoring centre. It will support end-user integration with CAMS through the same GUI as the current app. The integration with CAMS is what makes the 2-way communication model described here possible,” says Konstanta.

A neat function of the Multicom Smart Bus product is that users can receive notifications of high/low temperature alarms through AlarmLink.

“This combination of technologies makes any alarm system much more capable for no additional cost. It will report any event to the user and it works with any panel through any product in our Multicom range, including Multicom 4 Plus,” Smith explains. “Because we are integrated in the backend we don’t need a new panel to be installed to handle IP. We can use the existing hardware.”

Looking at the AlarmLink app on an iPhone, I can see how simple operation is. There’s a screen with simple navigation icons. Arm/disarm, Panic, Control, History. You tap through these gateways to the functionality beyond.

According to Smith, MC4P is going very well.

Installers are so keen on it, the company has had to increase manufacturing orders to keep up with growing demand.

Before I leave, Smith shows me Suretek’s colocation monitoring centre. Adjacent to a museum of alarm and fire monitoring, though twin pairs of stainless steel doors like the valves of a giant heart, is the enormous 17-workstation co-location monitoring centre Smith has spent years building by hand. I’ve seen this centre a number of times but now nearing completion it’s a thing of real beauty.

The nature of this co-location monitoring centre is that it allows Suretek’s CAMS and ADSW monitoring station clients who are faced with disaster to re-direct all their alarms traffic seamlessly to a secure central location. Standing there staring around me, I realise it’s entirely appropriate that at the core of Suretek and of Glen Smith, is the most magnificent alarm monitoring facility in Australia. zzz

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vario ip w8

Raytec Vario IP w8 Raytec’s Vario IP w8, distributed locally by Pacific Communications, is one of those products that tells us just how clever the future is going to be.

L

IGHT. It’s the unsung hero of video surveillance applications. Without light you can forget about capturing useful images, your entire surveillance solution is worthless. Not for nothing do installers and end users say low light performance is the most important IP camera feature.

When I first saw Vario IP what struck me first was its compact size, given that it’s capable of driving 150m in long range applications. What Vario IP w8 (white light) offers integrators and end users is an affordable luminary with low running costs that can be controlled remotely by browser, as well as being switched automatically by alarm inputs.

According to Pacific Communications’ product development manager Lou Mavrelis, there’s an IR version as well as the cool white (5500-6000K) SMT LED version we are looking at.

“The beauty of the Raytec illuminators is that they all come with diffusers out of the box so you get a 10-degree diffuser, a 30-degree diffuser and a 65-degree diffuser. This means you can spread the light beam,” Mavrelis tells me. “And we don’t have

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to carry multiple units – there’s one unit and the diffusers allow that unit to offer 3 different light spreads.

“From the point of view of installers it means they can adjust the setup of a light depending on changing threats. With a 10-year life span (and a 5-year warranty), this flexibility makes a lot of sense.”

In terms of outright performance, Vario IP w8 pushes out nearly 3000 lumens while drawing only 48 watts. It’s the diffusers that make this power work in the real world. The 10 x 10-degree diffuser gives a range of 150 metres at 10 degrees of spread, the 35 x 10 degree diffuser (fitted as standard) gives 80m at 35 degrees and the 65 x 25-degree diffuser offers 45m at 65 degrees. Optional diffusers include the 80 x 30-degree, which gives 30m at 80 degrees and the 120 x 50-degree diffuser, which gives 20m at 120-degrees.

Vario lenses use hot-spot reduction technology (HRT) to produce images far better than those possible with normal LED illuminators. The HRT system delivers a highly diffused elliptical beam shape to deliver light directly to where it is most needed, allowing greater illumination distances, reducing light and energy wastage and preventing the overexposure of foreground objects.

The lighting performance is impressive of itself but things get much more fun when you bring the browser into the equation. Vario IP’s browser landing page is very simple. On the left is a stack of function buttons providing gateways to functions like Settings/Groups, Access, Network, System Information, Diagnostics, Advanced Diagnostics and Software Updates.

Advanced user-defined software features integrated into the interface include, timer functions, soft start turn-on, 3 x deterrent patterns, 3 x deterrent speeds, selectable external telemetry input: volt –free or TTL, photocell sensitivity trigger level, assign illuminator to group for collective control, create user and administrator passwords, assign name, group name and IP address, restore factory defaults, restart/reboot, software upgrade and standard and advanced diagnostics.

The rest of the page displays status and control functions for the particular Vario IP unit the browser is associated with. There’s On, Group On, a slide button for power level displayed as a percentage, Boost and Group Boost function and the Deterrent pattern which can flash in patterns such as Morse SOS. This feature has its own power setting.

by john adam s

“From this home page an authorised user can access the unit, switch it on and control the light level from wherever they are, Mavrelis explains.

“You can create a group of Vario units by associating IP addresses and then switch that group together, and there is also an alarm condition where the lights will create a pattern, or they will flash as a deterrent.

“In settings and groups you can control when switching will occur from day to night operation, as well as setting the type of input – relay contact or other – and you can change power setting. And Vario IP comes with an API so you can create your own interface with it so as to integrate lighting into your own VMS. “There’s also a remote control that security officers can use to switch lights on and off and change light settings and override timer functions.

The unit has an LED status that can be seen from a distance so you can tell if the unit is functioning properly without climbing up a ladder or hiring a scissor lift.”

Setup is easy. Connections are RJ-45 for control and 24V AC/DC for power. Once the unit is powered up and connected to a network, discovery software means simple and fast connection directly to each lamp and its web interface. It goes without saying that maintenance of your lighting scheme is made much easier because it can be carried out wherever you happen to be. There’s no time consuming site visit.

Optional software levels are also available for advanced control of your lighting within the overall security system. This includes dedicated Raytec software providing additional features and an API for easy integration into VMS and BMS environments.

Specifications include IP66 rating, 1.65kg weight, -50 to 50C operating temperature, 2840 lumens output, 48-watt maximum consumption, 24V AC/ DC input power, a U-bracket is supplied and there

Milestone integration

They all come with diffusers out of the box so you get a 10-degree diffuser, a 30-degree diffuser and a 60-degree diffuser so you can spread the light beam.

are other bracket options available. Dimensions are 135 x 180 x 68.2mm, network requirements are a PC running Windows 7 with IE8 and network access via Cat-5 cable. Vario IP w8 has password protection, individual or group control (groups up to 16 units) power control between 20-100 per cent and a Boost function that gives 120 per cent power for 10 seconds as a deterrent.

Raytec’s Vario IP is also now integrated with Milestone’s XProtect video management system, making Vario IP network illuminators the first range of CCTV illuminators in the world to be integrated into a VMS. The integration is made possible via Raytec Milestone plug-in software, available free of charge from the Raytec website via online request form.

Users can also take instant manual control of any single illuminator or group of illuminators using the Milestone Smart Client, to immediately respond to live events during day to day operation. Lighting levels can also be remotely fine-tuned to perfect image quality for the best CCTV footage at all times.

Advanced settings allow for user defined lighting design to meet the requirements of any installation. zzz

Features of Vario IP w8 include:

Vario IP browser

l Quick access screen for adjustment and response to live events l Basic settings: Power on/off, boost and deterrent lighting l Advanced user defined settings: timer functions, deterrent function, photocell sensitivity adjustment, soft start and many more l Instant control of individual or group of lights l Diagnostics for instant feedback on the status of each light l Advanced diagnostics for remote support and troubleshooting l Easy upgrade of software versions l Password protected l Different access rights for user and administrator.

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BY JOHN A DAMS Your Monitoring Specialists

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Fantastic Four 4G LTE for our wireless monitoring devices.

What’s the big deal? In my mind it’s serious video verification. How come? Because along with its proposed future peak download of 300Gbps for applicable devices, 4G hustles a potential upload of 150 Mbps. That’s plenty.

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N

OT getting the 1Gb national broadband we all wanted is disappointing but for alarm monitoring providers, installers and end users, 4G (using 1800MHz and 700MHz bandwidths) is going to offer a panacea. That’s because it will offer strong performance much sooner.

Current speed tests published by CNET suggest Telstra 4G is 20.7 Mbps (down), 6.2 Mbps (up), 80ms ping; Yes Optus 4G is 18.3 Mbps (down), 8.3 Mbps (up), 84ms ping; while Vodafone AU is 33.9 Mpbs (down), 5.2 Mbps (up), with a 72ms ping.

It goes without saying that we are unlikely to get all that performance, all the time and everywhere. There will be holes in the coverage, there will be

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contention and these and other sources of attenuation will shave performance.

But even half this performance will be a game-changer across multiple applications, from video verification of alarm events to remote monitoring of integrated video surveillance systems.

What is 4G LTE? For a start, it’s an IP network – not a call-channel system like 3G. According to the International Telecommunication Union’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), 4G services must offer compatibility of services within IMT and with fixed networks, capability of interworking with other radio access systems, high quality mobile services, worldwide roaming capability, and enhanced peak data rates to support advanced services and applications.

Something that’s great about 4G is that it melds disparate networks as mobile devices move around. That means a security manager might use paid 4G in one location and WiFi in another, depending on where they are on a site, and the handover is silky smooth with no drop-outs or latency.

While there’s good 4G coverage in cities across Australia right now using Telstra 1800MHz bandwidth, Optus has catching up to do. This is because Telstra has enough capacity at 1800MHz to support its 4G network. Optus bought into 700MHz from the ACMA last year to expand its 4G services into regional areas – it needs additional metro and regional coverage to offer a complete service.

The performance of the big 2 – Telstra and Optus – is important because many of our alarm monitoring solutions use both networks to give full redundancy.

Presently, the requirement is for dual SIM designs, one for each network. But when the Optus 700MHz network is fully operational in March 2015, monitoring stations and installers will be able to drive alarm communications across the 2 networks using a single SIM.

Current services Telstra is the standout right now, with 20MHz of the available spectrum in

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The performance of the big 2 – Telstra and Optus – is important because many of our alarm monitoring solutions use both networks to give full redundancy.

Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, and 15MHz in Sydney and Melbourne. The company threw $A1.3 billion at 700MHz and 2.5GHz last year, buying 2 x 20MHz of the 700MHz spectrum and 2 x 40MHz of the 2.5GHz. It’s a powerful coverage that supports Telstra’s head start in 4G. Kicking off in 2011, the company powered up its 3500th base station last year and said it had 3.2 million 4G devices connected. Telstra’s 4G network supports 19.5 million Australians, or 85 per cent of the population. Along with big cities, Telstra has 300 regional towns covered and that’s important.

In 2014, Telstra’s plan is to invest $A500 million to leverage faster 4G LTE technology to put more speed into its network, as well as increasing reliability and capacity. Further, Telstra says it will

start using some of its low-frequency 900MHz 2G spectrum for 4G. That’s of interest if you are using 2G GPRS but any shift is likely to play out over 6-8 years.

The telco is testing that first in north Brisbane and considering deployments in other regional areas. When they are released in the future, 4G devices supporting LTE Advanced will be able to combine the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands for extra capacity.

Optus intends spending $A2 billion over 2 years on 4G. The company has 4G FD-LTE across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane and it has coverage in Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, the Gold Coast and the Central Coast.

Optus also added 4G TD-LTE networks for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in September, following a pilot in Canberra.

Mid-last year, Optus expanded the FD-LTE network in Adelaide and Wollongong and in December 2013, powered up 4G in Gosford and Somersby, with other central coast centres coming on line early this year.

Optus 4G FD-LTE technology runs in the 1800MHz spectrum band, while the TD-LTE 2.3GHz network has superior performance but fewer devices.

Optus paid around $A650 for 2 x 10MHz of the 700MHz spectrum and 2 x 20MHz of the 2.5GHz spectrum.

Vodafone is another serious player with coverage in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong. Last month, Vodafone started a roll out of 4G in the ACT. It plans to invest $A1 billion in 4G over the next 2 years.

Vodafone’s LTE over 1800MHz channel levers the 20MHz of spectrum Vodafone has in that band and with such a big hunk of bandwidth, Vodafone’s performance is in theory, and in practice if recent tests are anything to go by, superior to the competition.

Thanks to its ability to support remote networking of a wide range of electronic security devices, there’s plenty to look forward to with 4G and best of all, it’s coming soon. zzz

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s p e ci al f eat u r e

bit rate

Itsy bitsy Arguably the most important aspect of camera setup is bit rate, yet it’s something many installers get wrong. Too often bit rate, the data rate for a video file, is set so low that any moving objects in a scene turn into shimmery blurs across the monitor.

W

HEN you start talking CCTV, the talk always tends towards high resolution, low light performance, wide dynamic range, high frame rates and a whole bunch of features that are fabulous if you are viewing live footage from one input on a local monitor at huge bit rates. But if you’re going to be viewing or recording footage from multiple cameras, all these features bow to the power of bit rate.

If the bit rate is too low for a given scene, there might be insufficient data to create predictive frames at a particular resolution, given variations in scene movement. As a result, the camera system will make general estimates that will result in any movement being blurry. Bit rate applies not only to network data but to the compression rate of the stored video stream.

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What this means is that you need a higher bit rate in scenes with more movement, including pedestrians and traffic. You also need a higher bit rate if you need high levels of contrast in your scenes - for instance, if you need number plates, facial features, cards in a casino and other fine detail.

Those camera views that are giving a security team general views don’t need to have such high bit rates.

But there’s not a lot of point talking about bit rate unless we spend a little time get a handle on H.264 compression, which was designed to allow the most efficient video transmission across networks. Given its very nature, H.264 is a compromise and as CCTV integrators and users insist on 1080p HD video performance, it stands to reason there will be some juggling of priorities required.

When it comes to bit rate, the key thing is how

by john adam s

This compression protocol snares efficiency by guesswork and that’s because H.264 doesn’t transmit or store raw uncompressed images in a linear temporal fashion.

H.264 works. This compression protocol snares efficiency by guesswork and that’s because H.264 doesn’t transmit or store raw uncompressed images in a linear temporal fashion. At their core, bit rate issues with H.264 relate to this fundamental truth - the more movement in a scene the more data, will be generated and if bit rate is fixed low, movement will mean loss.

H.264 video streams comprise 3 frame types – I for Intra-coded, P for Predictive and B for Bipredictive. Every I-frame represents the full image with all its data intact. I-frames are 100 per cent of a given scene, P frames are 60 per cent the size of I-frames and B frames are 10 per cent of I-frames. Up to a point, the fewer I-frames in a stream, the poorer the image quality will be, the lower the bandwidth will be, the less will be the burden on processors.

With H.264, the frequency of the I-frame rate should be set around 0.5-1 Hz. Meanwhile, P-frames relate to changes between sequential I-frames and P-frames so the image can be reconstructed using data the system already has. Finally, the B frames add more information about I and P frame differences and in doing so provide lubrication to the streaming process. P and B frames incorporate displacement vectors that allow a system to predict changes to the scene so as to reduce the burden on various components of the network.

From the point of view of the installer the first thing to think about is what the system is designed to do – let’s assume that our camera must provide face recognition and general scene detection in a busy hotel. Because the camera is running over the security subnet and not a patchy ADSL service, bandwidth is reasonable but at choke points it must be shared by 50 cameras. One issue is storage. We will need to set bit rate to ensure recording quality is optimum while recording volumes are minimal.

For many systems, including our hypothetical hotel, no one is monitoring the system in real time, but good performance at the viewing workstation is still required. Further, our bit rate selection also relates to quality of recordings, which will be vital in any investigation. Obviously bit rate is going to be impacted on by image resolution and by frame rate.

The higher image quality and frame rate you select, the higher bit rate must be. For this reason, many manufacturers include bit rate calculators on their web sites which do a good job of telling an installer exactly what’s required to meet given requirements.

Something I’ve seen in the past is a camera set to 1080p HD and 15 frames per second in a busy environment and lumbered with a tiny bit rate. The results were exactly what you would expect. When nothing moved in the scene, the image was ok. But as soon as people started walking across the camera view it was as if Frodo Baggins had put on the One Ring.

This really is a key discussion. Every camera manufacturer goes on about the endlessness of their pixels, but if scenes are not viewed live in 1080p HD, or stored in full resolution for playback, then outright pixels are meaningless. It’s something to

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s p e ci al f eat u r e

bit rate

On remote sites, bit rate can be dictated by upload speeds – or it can be traded off for lower frame rates.

take into account during the planning stages. First, what is the total available bit rate available to share between cameras? Second, what image quality are you prepared to pay to store? Second, which camera will provide that quality?

Installers need to sit down with end users and establish what performance is required very early in the process. Let’s say for our recording purposes it’s 720p HD and 8 frames per second. That’s a high quality image with a more than adequate frame rate for most applications. I would argue that it’s better to reduce the length of time footage is retained, rather than under-cut bit rate.

Installers and end users need to be realistic.

General identification will demand that a human figure occupy 50 per cent of screen height and court admissible evidence asks 75 per cent of screen height or more. If camera position or lens focal length are not capable of offering these underlaying fundamentals, then the requirement for high quality images supported by high bit rates is reduced.

Something else to bear in mind is fixed or variable bit rate. When there’s movement in the scene and data rate goes up, variable bit rate is free to increase to accommodate the increased demand. When there’s no movement with the VBR set, the scene will go back to the lowest possible bit rate so as to save on storage costs. Of course, there will be a little lag with variable bit rate and a fast moving object may be out of the scene by the time the system reacts to the demand to increase bit rate.

But if constant bit rate has been set, once

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there’s too much movement in the scene to be accommodated by the available bit rate, then you’ll get increasing loss of detail. Bit rate and I-frame interval image quality are closely linked. The more I frames, the higher the image stream quality, however, too many I frames can overburden the compression protocol and this will lead to a lower quality image. Yes, it’s a juggling act.

Most VMS solutions have integrated bit rate calculators that allows installers to work out the most appropriate bit rate for a given aspect of an application – whether that be for live viewing or storage. At all times, your best source of information is going to be manufacturers and distributors of the equipment you are installing.

Given sufficient network bandwidth and data storage capacity to handle the camera numbers, it should be possible to provide adequate bit rate.

In Gigabit subnets, potential bit rate should be sufficient for most needs even on bigger DVR/NVRs with up to 32 inputs. But there will still be issues relating to storage space and the quality of image views in multi-screen layouts.

You will also need to plan for the integration of remote workstations across WANs or mobile devices across variable wireless networks. On remote sites, bit rate can be dictated by upload speeds – or it can be traded off for lower frame rates. While QCIF at 7 frames per second on a mobile device is poor live viewing quality, it might be more than sufficient for situation awareness, with 720p HD video stored at 15 frames per second on site for investigations. zzz

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I n stal lat i o n s

fibre

Building fibre connectors When assembling sub-miniature version A (SMA) fibre connectors, it’s important to take your time and make sure you get the basics right. This way you’ll ensure the integrity of the signal path for years to come.

F

IBRE is a beautiful way to move data around on larger sites. But despite the fact it’s high end, there are still installations of fibre that resemble the head of Medusa after a particularly bad night’s sleep.

Fibre should be done properly. Cables should be housed and labelled. Piling fibre cables up in mounds on the floor as I’ve seen in some video surveillance applications is just plain wrong.

Vital to successful use of fibre optic cable is having an understanding of the methods employed to link cable to transmitters and receivers. You also need a strong grasp of connecting, splicing and terminating cables. Even if an installer is careful, it’s still likely there will be between 0.5 and 1.0 dB signal loss (up to 26 per cent) per connector.

In basic terms, connectors are used to link a run of fibre optic cable to either another section of fibre or to a receiver or transmitter. There’s a more exacting method of joining cables used over longer cable runs called splicing.

Any capable technician can handle basic fibre optic connection though is does demand a sound grasp of technical skills. Fibre optic termination and connection kits are readily available from fibre optic suppliers.

In terms of system links, fibre optic cable requires interface connectors allowing it to communicate with monitors, cameras and switchers. In this it functions within the same framework as is required for standard coaxial installations.

Fibre optic systems need a connector from the transmitter to the cable, then from the cable to the receiver – both requirements relate to converting a video signal to a light signal and then back again.

These connectors employ the technique of buttcoupling cut and polished ends to give a direct optical connection from one length of fibre to another.

In terms of installation, 2 male connectors are used to position the fibre in exact alignment within the ferrules. With the fibres bound in position using

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Any capable technician can handle basic fibre optic connection though is does demand a sound grasp of technical skills.

epoxy, the surfaces and fibre ends are then ground and polished. The 2 most common connector types are the cylindrical ferrule connector and the cone ferrule connector and the cone ferrule connector.

When cylindrical ferrule connectors come together, cylindrical sleeves guide the ferrules into contact.

Cone ferrule connectors work differently. One connector is used to hold the fibre dead centre while a plug shaped like a cone guides the fibre into exact position. Once in position inside the cone ferrule, adhesive is added and pressure applied to the ferrule to draw it tightly around the fibre. This done, fibre and ferrule are polished and positioned in the final alignment housing.

Surveillance installers are advised to use the smaller fibre-resilient bonded connector and the SMA connector. Both are cone ferrule in design, economical, easy to use, perform well in the field, can manage 125 micron fibre and reduce signal loss to a minimum.

It may also be necessary to splice cable after a breakage or if a run of cable is more than 2km long.

Splicing is a more challenging job than adding cameras but the rewards are greater. A well-spliced cable may lose only 0.05dB of signal (2-3 per cent) meaning there’s no need for in-line amplifiers.

It should be pointed out that connecting and

splicing single-mode (10-micron core) cable is tough and would be a major challenge for an inexperienced installer in the field. Alignment discrepancies increase by a factor of 10 compared to multimode fibre connections – enough to completely ruin a signal.

SMA connections For a start, slide the strain relief boot and crimp sleeve onto the cable (tape the relief boot out of the way during assembly). First strip the cable to the manufacturer’s requirements, then soak the exposed fibre in acetone for 30 seconds before wiping it dry with tissue paper. At this point it’s recommended that the connector be slid onto the cable to assure a proper fit. Once this has been ascertained, remove the connector and proceed.

Screw the connector into the installation tool for ease of handling then mix the epoxy. You’ll need to fold back the cable’s Kevlar strains and dip the bare fibre into the epoxy to coat its surface. The fibre is then threaded through the connector till the outer jacket butts up against the connector backpost - just be careful not to force the fibre.

It’s also best to wick the epoxy by sliding the fibre in and out gently several times without completely removing the fibre from the connector. While holding

Very nice fibre cassette indeed.

the connector with the installation tool, slide the crimp sleeve over the Kevlar onto the knurled portion of the backpost until it butts.

Now crimp the sleeve using a crimping tool, remove the installation tool and apply a bead of epoxy to the front tip of the connector. When getting this together take care not to get epoxy into the barrel of the connector. If this happens, clean the connector with Isopropyl alcohol after the epoxy sets and prior to polishing.

Cure the epoxy for 5-10 minutes and then, using a scribing tool, score the fibre close to the epoxy bead and gently pull the fibre until it separates. Place lapping film with 14, 3 and 1-micron aluminium oxide grits on a smooth surface, preferably glass. When you do this, it’s a good idea to leave some of the film overhanging the glass allowing easy removal.

Now rub the fibre gently on dry 15-micron film in a circular motion until the fibre is flush with the epoxy bead and install the connector in the polishing tool.

You carry out coarse polishing on 12-micron film by moving the polishing tool in a gentle fibre-8 motion while lubricating the film with water. Polish in this way for about one minute or until all the epoxy is removed.

Now continue the process on the 3-micron film for another minute, then put in 25-30 figure-8 patterns on 1-micron film to give a mirror finish. If you want to get cleaner than this, finish off with a 5-micron film.

In order to maintain proper end separation, the connector needs to be polished so it’s flush with the tool. One way to make a fast check is to put the polishing tool with the connector attached onto a flat piece of glass. If any rocking action is present then you’ll need to carry out some more polishing with 1-micron film.

When cleaning, remove the connector from the polishing tool and rinse both items with water to get rid of any fine grit particles. Now trim the Kevlar close to the crimp sleeve and put the strain relief boot over the crimp sleeve. Till you’re experienced, the polished fibre should put under a 50x magnification for inspection before final installation.

When checking your work, the optimum result will see the fibre attain a mirror finish and be flush with the face of the connector. This fibre should be free from most pits, scratches and cracks. Always be sure to clean the connector with alcohol or lens cleaner. zzz

Common causes of poor fibre performance are: l Axial or lateral misalignment of fibres l Fibre tip separation l Distortion of fibres l Angular core misalignment l Fibre end separation l Fresnel reflections spilling signal l Poor fibre tip finish.

se&n 67

cas e st u dy

minsk airp ort

CEM Lands in Minsk Minsk Airport is being secured with CEM Systems AC2000 Security Management System, including CEM hardware and software modules.

C

EM’S powerful and flexible AC2000 access control and security management system has been installed at Minsk by integrator, Unibelus.

Minsk National Airport is the main air gateway to the Republic of Belarus and occupies an advantageous geographical location as it is situated at the intersection of the biggest main lines connecting Western Europe with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Minsk Airport has a capacity of 2 million passengers per year.

“In selecting AC2000, Minsk Airport has chosen an access control and security management system that has a long and established record at some of the world’s most prestigious airports,” said Philip Verner, EMEA regional sales director, CEM Systems.

“CEM has a history of understanding the security requirements and needs of airports and the industry

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leading CEM AC2000 system has been used to secure airports for over 20 years.”

The powerful CEM AC2000 system has a proven record as one of the most reliable and resilient security solutions available. It not only provides Minsk National Airport with advanced access control and system failover, but also a range of software applications to enhance the airport’s onsite operations and increase business efficiency.

AC2000 Failover is supported by a failsafe secondary server and the highest assurance of system reliability should the central AC2000 server hardware fail. This automatic process ensures zero data loss and is cost effective as it requires no intervention from a support engineer.

Minsk Airport also installed the AC2000 video interface for MatriVideo to allow security personnel to associate access control alarms with MatriVideo digital video clips as well as view live camera footage. Using the AC2000 Alarm Event Display (AED) application, all alarms and camera footage can be displayed centrally on the AC2000 system, enabling it to act as the central command and control for alarm management.

To increase flexibility and reduce operational costs, the airport has utilised the AC2000 WEB Visitor Management application to remotely manage visitor access via a standard web browser.

Only authorised security personnel at Minsk Airport have the ability to manage visitor access levels and validate visitor ID cards. ID cards can then be printed via the AC2000 VIPPS (Visual Imaging Pass Production) application allowing the airport to personalise cards by adding their logo, staff signatures, and images.

In order to monitor staff work times, the airport uses the AC2000 Time and Attendance module.

This user friendly interface is easy to set up, easy to use and saves both time and money as it eliminates the need for a separate timekeeping system.

The airport also used low cost eDCM300 intelligent 2-door controllers, designed to interface to third-party read heads. The tamper proof controller has a structured database which allows storage of large amounts of cardholder records for off-line card validation. zzz

Features of CEM AC2000 include: l Highly stable Linux operating system l Windows based operator workstations l Virtually unlimited expansion l Intelligent, multi-technology CEM card readers l Seamless integration with external systems; CCTV, intrusion, fire, perimeter detection l Multi-language support l Extensive web-based AC2000 applications l Redundant server.

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cas e st u dy

ridley college

Second sight Ridley College integrates 140 analogue and IP cameras on an exacqVision video surveillance solution with access control to empower its security team and enhance security and safety across its campus.

O

NTARIO’S largest co-educational, boarding school, Ridley College has prepared students for university since 1889. The school currently has an enrolment of more than 600 students from 35 countries and multiple buildings across its sprawling 108-acre site.

Ridley College physical plant personnel approached integrator Bulldog Security to find a video surveillance solution for their boarding school. They wanted an open architecture system that would allow them to utilize their existing analogue cameras and also integrate with their existing Keyscan access system. In addition to a high functioning, cost-effective system, Ridley College staff members desired a system that would create a balance between a high level of security and a positive living and educational environment.

After evaluating the needs and current system, Bulldog Fire and Security recommended they deploy exacqVision hybrid servers, the exacqVision Enterprise video management system (VMS) software and add new Arecont Vision and Axis IP cameras to cover high traffic, critical areas on campus.

The exacqVision system provides a sense of confidence, a sense of security and a sense of protection.

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Installing 11 exacqVision A-Series hybrid servers gave Ridley College the opportunity to grow and migrate its surveillance system. The exacqVision A-Series hybrid server enabled the college to utilize its existing infrastructure and analogue cameras while adding new IP cameras to the system. The hard drive scalability was another benefit. With the exacqVision hybrid server, Bulldog staff members can easily change a hard drive if necessary.

Ridley College has 10 security staff members who use the exacqVision Enterprise VMS software.

Each day when their shift begins, the security staff pulls up the exacqVision software to check if all cameras are online and the surveillance system is operating properly. With exacqVision Enterprise, they can quickly glance through the list of cameras simultaneously and see which ones are offline.

Since Ridley College has more than 140 cameras on its system, security staff needed an easy way to monitor cameras.

The mapping functionality available in the exacqVision Enterprise software allows security

staff to quickly view video from any camera on the system that has motion or a current alarm. The camera icon turns blue for motion and red for alarm on the map. By clicking the camera icon, security staff can instantly see the actions causing motion or the alarm events on the video.

Another compelling benefit was integration of exacqVision with Ridley College’s current Keyscan access control system. Staff monitor every door that has Keyscan access to ensure only authorised people are entering buildings. The exacqVision integration with the Keyscan access control system has the ability to show video of the person and access control information within the video.

Additionally, the technical administrator and Physical Plant Department personnel have access to use the exacqVision client on their computers.

Since the exacqVision client operates on Mac as well as Windows, every authorised user at the college is able to have access to the system at any time. The authorised users all have various technical levels and each user is able to comfortably implement the use of the exacqVision system into their day-to-day operations.

“With the wide range of users we have, I was impressed with how easily everyone picked up the system and could capture video clips with ease,” says Julia Bertollo, director of the physical plant at Ridley College.

Meanwhile, house masters rely on the client software as a tool to improve their students’ behaviour so as to offer the best education possible.

In the event there is an issue of theft, concern or bullying reported on campus, the housemaster is able to access exacqVision video as a tool to further investigate the situation.

House masters review the video and utilize the information to provide students with the opportunity to make better choices, or in some instances, to discipline their students. In one situation, the house masters used the exacqVision client to review damage to a field and zoom in to determine who was involved.

“Since we’ve installed the exacqVision system, we’ve been able to recoup (some of the) loss of damage we’ve incurred in the past,” said Julia Bertollo. “After many years of broken windows and property damage, the return on investment (through damage reduction) has been thousands of dollars.”

The Ridley security vehicle is equipped with an iPad for mobile use of the exacqVision video management system via the free Exacq Mobile app. This provides an easy way for security staff members to monitor the campus while making their rounds.

“The exacqVision system provides a sense of confidence, a sense of security and a sense of protection. We can view the entire campus from anywhere in our security vehicles, which is spectacular,” says Bertollo.zzz

se&n 71

n etwo rk i n g

basics

Networking primer WITH all the talk about IP security devices going on it’s worth taking a look at just what these devices are all about, as well as considering the nature of actual transmissions sent between 2 IP addresses.

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by john adam s

F

IRST up, take on board the fact that Internet protocols are described using the general term transmission control protocol (TCP) and Internet protocol (IP), or TCP/IP. Together TCP/ IP comprises an overall Internet protocol suite – nothing more. Separately, the Internet protocol (IP) is simply a set of rules that defines how datagrams (bundles of information) are going to be sent across the Internet. IP outlines the format of datagrams, and it details the addressing scheme.

On its own, IP is sort of like a post system. You can address a datagram and drop it in the system but that won’t actually create a link that allows the transmission to go somewhere. And of course, this is where the transmission control protocol (TCP) comes in. TCP details how issues surrounding transmission of the datagram will be dealt with and establishes a link between source and destination.

Considering these definitions, you can see that using the term TCP/IP to define any device with networking potential only contributes to a growing volume of jargon in the electronic security industry.

IP cameras, which are generally LAN-based, could simply be called networking cameras but that doesn’t have quite the same ring to it from a marketing point of view.

Meanwhile, it makes sense to think of TCP as a kind of onboard traffic controller. The importance of the TCP component of any datagram traversing the Internet relates directly to managing the complexity of that network’s physical structure. All parts of the Internet are connected by routers and switchers and at busy times these devices can be swamped by datagrams from thousands of machines.

In the face of all these datagrams (digital electrical or light signals on copper or fibre networks, remember), the TCP component of the message is designed to recognize bottlenecks and to manage the connection process by redirecting the message via another router which has less traffic.

Quite simply, TCP defines a process. When a datagram is sent, a timer begins counting and when a datagram is received on the other side of a network, an acknowledgement is sent to the sending computer from the receiving computer.

This acknowledgement turns off the timer. Should no acknowledgement be received from the receiver then the sending machine will transmit the datagram a second time.

The nature of TCP is not just reactive, either.

This set of protocols is clever enough to work out how long it will be before an acknowledgement is received based on the volume of network traffic or the distance between the sender and the receiving machine.

Understanding NOS Another term that’s important to understand when you think about networked security systems is NOS – the networking operating system. When you think

The importance of the TCP component of any datagram traversing the Internet relates directly to managing the complexity of that network’s physical structure. about any networked security solution it’s obviously just a large number of microprocessors and digital storage devices connected by copper wire and network interface cards and managed by an operator interface. Without some form of direction, there’s not much chance all this hardware is going to be able to support itself.

What’s required to run the system is the NOS the network operating system – a similar operating system to the one installed on any computer. A network operating system manages network traffic flow and allows client machines to get access to network servers.

A general definition of the NOS is that it allows networked software applications to run on computers and other network devices. This supports applications like Web browsing, instant messaging and FTP, all of which require the presence of a NOS. There are 2 kinds of NOS, the added-on network operating systems and inclusive network operating system, with the variable simply being whether the NOS is included as part of the client operating system.

Early computers were managed by the disk operating system – DOS – which had no networking capability whatever and as computing became more complex it was obvious more was needed. The answer was Microsoft’s MS LAN manager software, an add-on NOS. Later on Windows NT, 2000, XP and 7 series operating systems had inclusive network operating systems built into them. While it may seem incongruous that a processor can run its own

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operating system and a networking operating system at the same time, it’s actually not all that complicated a process.

If you recall earlier articles that talked about the ability of processors to handle multi-tasking duties, the nature of NOS operation becomes clearer.

Obviously a machine with a standard configuration processes data in a linear fashion and can only do one job at a time.

And this is where interrupts come in. If you’re working in a given program for example and you want to check your email, you click on your inbox and an interrupt is sent to the processor so it stops working in Excel and calls up Outlook Express. The computer then works its way through the tasks requested and then goes back to Excel when you’re finished with your email.

Clearly there must be 2 parts to network operating software, one of which looks after the client side of the network and the other which handles the server. This applies in a DVR/NVR or a networked access control application. In the case of CCTV, the DVR/NVR is the server and the security manager, managing director and the gatehouse PC may be set up as clients. In larger systems, a dedicated server will handle this role and may integrate multiple DVRs/NVRs and client workstations.

Client software is installed on the authorized workstations, while server software on the server manages the way in which the electronic security systems supplies data across the network. Depending on the nature of the NOS, the client server software will not only dispense data, it can also ensure the passage of data occurs in a secure environment. Bear in mind that modern inclusive client/server NOS applications cover both client and server though only one side may be activated.

When security installers set up a networked machine or an IP camera, in order to allow it to access a remote DVR/NVR they are employing a network operating system called a redirector (it also gets tagged the requestor or the shell). This redirector NOS is designed to keep an eye on a client machine’s resource requests. If one of these requests is for network resources then the redirector points the request in the right direction. On the other side of the network, a DVR/NVR’s server software receives and handles requests from clients.

You can think of a DVR/NVR as a controlledaccess file server – a device that contains files (image streams) that a number of users may want to access.

Another term that’s important to understand when you think about networked security systems is NOS – the networking operating system

This file server is nothing more than a hard drive in the remote device. To make handling files easier, system designers have worked hard to make the network as transparent as possible and when DVR/ NVRs are installed, this transparency is carried over.

What this means is that if you’re fishing through explorer looking for the DVR/NVR file server it’s likely to simply appear in the index column as the S-Drive (it can be any delineation so long as it’s a drive designator not be applied to another server). Alternatively, you might access the DVR/NVR through a shortcut on the desktop of the client computer.

A networked DVR/NVR, a dedicated video server or a global access control server incorporates server software with 3 specific functions. First the server NOS takes requests from authorized clients trying to access images or event data in the system. Secondly the server hands over video or event data to the client by allowing access to its storage array and finally the server monitors the authorization status of a client and will only allow access to clients who should have access.

And what is digital data?

Now we’ve had a look at TCP/IP and NOS, let’s go back

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and focus on some nitty gritty – let’s establish exactly what it is that network cards pass between each other across a local or wide area networks. We know it’s a packet of data but what actually is a data packet and how is it transferred?

Going back in history makes the explanation easier for those analogue techs who’ve not thought much about digital yet. As we know, the first electronic switching device was the vacuum tube and these vacuum tubes were used in the gigantic computers of the past. These computers used 8 tubes to represent a single character. They did this by holding each group of 8 tubes in a configuration of various on/off states with some vacuums tubes being powered “on” and others turned “off”.

Modern computers employ an almost identical method of indicating a character but instead of vacuum tubes, they use the tiny circuits inside microprocessors. Essentially these computer chips/ microprocessors are simply blocks that contain thousands and thousands of integrated circuits arranged into bits and bytes.

There are 8 bits in a byte and each byte represents a single character. It also has an individual address on the bus – this is a complex network of conducting

connections built into a PCB. To make it easier, think of the bus as the roads that connect businesses in an industrial park. The circuit board’s conducting pathways allow electrical signals to pass between the different components on the board.

In its simplest form, when a character is punched into a keyboard it passes across the bus and is stored in a particular byte, whose switches are manipulated to represent the value of the character stored there.

The address of the byte is then logged so it can be accessed again later.

The differing value of the characters a byte can represent is defined by the ASCII code. This code defines the method used to convert characters and numbers into bytes with a value between 0 and 255 and the code can be used in a range of configurations to represent words, numbers, sounds and images.

The binary language of the ASCII code has little in common with printable numbers and letters. The letter T in ASCII is represented as 0101 0100. We could lost in the mire of binary mathematics (it’s a complex discipline all on its own) but let’s move on.

An easy way to comprehend digital data is to conjure in your mind an oscilloscope image of a sinusoidal electrical waveform. That’s basically a curved wave form that cycles above and below 0 volts, with a complete cycle comprises 360 electrical degrees. The height of an electrical wave is defined by the amount of electricity flowing through a tested cable and displayed on an oscilloscope. Voltage is displayed on the vertical Y-axis, while time is shown on the horizontal X-axis.

When a receiver on an analogue circuit gathers in a signal it’s managed on the basis of varying voltages, with the receiver’s circuitry designed to recognise different values and interpret them in different ways.

It’s a technology that works well enough but it relies on the circuitry being sensitive and interference being kept to a minimum.

Digital technology is different. When data is sent across a copper cable it is sent as an analogue waveform but the transmitter and receiver are operating more like a morse code operator than the analogue transmission of a telephone caller. Think of the oscilloscope screen again. A digital signal is received as a square wave – it’s not sinusoidal like an analogue signal.

This is because the digital signal is either there or not there. It has an absolution value that’s not open to interpretation by receiving circuitry and so is much less effected by RFI/EMI disturbances.

For example, in a digital transmission a voltage peak of 10 volts may represent 1 while the baseline (this can be a positive or negative value) is usually considered 0.

Network cards work to interpret the electrical signals transmitted across the network cable and their varying frequencies, extracting the digital data encoded into them, storing it and passing it on to software that processes the values. zzz

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editor’s choice Ionodes IP Video Management Platform - Cirrus CR4 l CIRRUS CR4 Series compact video management platforms

were designed to let you easily deploy state of the art Genetec VMS for sites of virtually any size. Powered by the latest in Intel Mobile processor technology, the CR4 Series IP recording appliances have the horsepower needed to manage local video recording of up to 64 HD IP cameras. Up to 8GB of high performance DDR3 memory as well as integrated Intel HD graphics engine means the platform can also run local client applications and decode and display up to 32 HD resolution H.264 streams locally.

Distributor: OPS Contact: +61 3 9646 9004

What’s new in the industry

Axis M1145-L and M1145 fixed cameras l “THE AXIS M1145-L and AXIS M1145 with full HDTV 1080p resolution provide an affordable solution for efficient 24/7 monitoring with clear identification,” says Wai King Wong, country manager, South Pacific, Axis Communications. “The AXIS M1145-L features built-in IR LED illumination invisible to the human eye and ideal for discovering people and objects in a range of up to 15 meters (50ft.), even in complete darkness.”

With a slim and compact design, the cameras enable quick and easy installation, simple setup and a trouble-free video surveillance solution for applications where monitoring is required round-theclock. To minimise environmental impact, the plastic parts in AXIS M1145-L and AXIS M1145 contain 39 per cent respectively 42 per cent recycled plastic.

There’s HDTV 1080p resolution video at full frame rate and multiple H.264 and Motion JPEG streams which can be individually optimised for bandwidth and storage efficiency. Additional features include support for edge storage with a built-in microSD/SDHC memory card slot, pixel counter, Axis Corridor Format, Power over Ethernet (IEEE 802.3af) and I/O port for PIR sensor options. Release is through Q1, 2014 at the suggested retail price of $A610 and $550.

Distributor: Axis Communications Contact: +61 3 9982 1111

Dahua DH-NVR724 DR-256 standalone NVR

Hikvision DS-2CD64 miniature IP camera

standalone NVR is based on Ivy Bridge and suitable for medium-to-large applications. The device is up to 256-ch camera input and of 512Mbps accessing; max of 24 HDDs (pluggable) with 4TB for each; it also supports 128ch@1080P or 256ch@720P real-time recording, RAID, redundancy power system and dual module hot spare, which makes it secure and more reliable. Additionally, the device max supports 6 HDMI outputs and a direct connection to video-wall. Furthermore, it also supports multi-brand network cameras such as AXIS, Bosch Cannon, CP Plus and Sony.

l HIKVISION DS-2CD64 miniature-sized IP cameras are designed for covert and discreet surveillance. It provides flexibility and ease of installation in very limited spaces, making it ideal for discreet surveillance applications in ATM, access control and luxurious stores etc. This series is the first of its type with true 120dB WDR and other powerful image processing functionalities like 3D DNR and BLC, which allows capturing crystal-clear HD (1280x960) images under any lighting conditions. It supports on-board storage of up-to 32GB. Equipped with Alarm I/O and Audio I/O interfaces, the cameras allow users to connect to a variety of external audible & visual alarm devices for further security control purposes.

Distributor: Dahua Contact: overseas@dahuatech.com

Distributor: CSD Contact: +61 2 8014 2600

l THE newly developed Dahua DH-NVR724 DR-256

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DVTel Thermal Cameras With Video Analytics

Raytec Spartan

l DVTEL has released ioimage Thermal, a new line of thermal

cameras. Available in fixed and pan-tilt versions, the cameras feature video analytics to deliver image interpretation and comprehension for customers requiring detection in low-light or zero-light environments.

Powered by DRS Technologies the cameras can be integrated with existing surveillance systems. The ONVIF Profile-Scompliant ioimage Thermal camera is the first product in the line of edge-based surveillance devices from DVTEL that are optimised to work in low and zero-light conditions. The new thermal line is compatible with the entire DVTEL IP-based technology portfolio and is scheduled to be available in early 2014 through DVTEL’s network of authorised resellers.

Distributor: Pacific Communications and QSS

l RAYTEC Spartan is a range of ATEX/IECEx LED floodlights for hazardous area environments with benefits of huge energy and maintenance cost savings.

Spartan delivers an output of up to 9000 lumens using half the number of LEDs compared to traditional solutions and requiring a maximum of only 120W. Its CoolXtrude thermal management system delivers outstanding power whilst ensuring an operational life greater than 10 years, allowing Spartan to be rated for up to T6 environments.

Spartan modular design provides instant access to key components including LED and PSU modules. Spartan PSU modules are removable and can be instantly replaced – perfect for isolated locations. They can also be located remotely for ease of maintenance in areas with limited access.

Spartan is ATEX and IECEx approved for all Zone-1 and Zone-2 applications and is enclosed in a marine grade aluminium housing with toughened front glass window, using Raytec’s field-proven, long-life LED technology.

Distributor: Pacific Communications Contact: +61 3 9638 6400

FLIR adds e-zoom to F-Series and PTSeries lFLIR has added a number of enhancements to its F-Series

and PT-Series security cameras, including a totally new and user-friendly web interface, an enhanced level of security with 3 login levels, and continuous e-zoom functionality.

E-zoom functionality is now added to all 640x480 versions of the F-Series and PT-Series cameras. This means that there are no more fixed intervals while using the zoom functionality.

Users can now stop at any zoom position that they like. The e-zoom appears as a very smooth and continuous image along the entire zoom range.

Other new features include the new web interface that offers a live streaming video page and web-based camera controls (for pan-tilt-zoom functionality, preset and scan lists, AGC presets and much more), and enhanced security with three login levels (user, expert and admin).

Distributor: Flir Systems Contact: +61 3 9550 2800

Axis Enhances P13 Series l AXIS Communications has released the new Axis P13 fixed network cameras, available in both indoor and outdoor-ready models.

The Axis P1357 and P1357-E (external) combine 5MP with outstanding light sensitivity. With the release of these 2 models, the latest low light technology has now been implemented in the entire Axis P13 Series, resulting in further improved image quality in this already successful series. All models support wide dynamic range - dynamic contrast and include day and night functionality with an automatically removable IR-cut filter. They use the same lens mount as the previous Axis P13 models, and offer easy installation such as remote back-focus adjustment for finetuning the focus from a computer.

The new cameras support P-Iris control, the Axis Application Development Partner Program and Axis Camera Station.

Distributor: Axis Communications Contact: +61 3 9982 1111

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editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry

iVision Turret camera by iTech

HID ActivID authentication appliance

l ITECH’S outdoor ‘turret’ IP camera comes in both 1.3 and 3MP variants. Its tough construction and vandal-proof housing makes it a worthy investment for any business. It offers up to 30 metres EXIR range, is a true day/night camera and is IP66rated.

This IP camera also features Digital Wide Dynamic Range, 3D digital noise reduction and PoE (Power over Ethernet) capability ensuring seamless network connectivity.

l HID Global’s ActivID Authentication Appliance is used by enterprises and banks worldwide to secure access to networks, cloud applications and online services to prevent breaches.

Organizations can reduce costs by deploying a single solution capable of handling a versatile range of multi-factor authentication methods, enabling users to connect securely from any location, at any time via their preferred device.

The ActivID solution supports multi-factor authentication with all leading mobile phones and tablets. Available as a virtual appliance or as hardware, the ActivID Appliance strikes the perfect balance between security, flexibility, cost and convenience

Distributor: iTech Contact: +61 3 9580 0730

Distributor: OPS Contact: +61 3 9646 9004

New Integriti Low Profile, WideBody Enclosure

American Dynamics expands Illustra line with 825 Fisheye

l DESIGNED with cost-effective intelligent access control solutions in its sights, the new Integriti Wide-Body enclosure from Inner Range will conveniently house all the electronics, power supply and backup batteries necessary for Intelligent access control of up to 8 doors. This eliminates the need for any additional enclosures or external backup power supplies.

With the Integriti 8Amp 13.75Vdc Smart power supply onboard the enclosure provides ample device and lock power and allows for Lead Acid battery configurations for up to 36Amp hours of backup supply time.

Flexible mounting options for all Integriti Controllers, LAN Modules and UniBus Devices is standard. Additional modules or devices can be conveniently housed within the enclosure with the addition of the hinged second layer equipment mounting plate. The enclosure is secured with a key-lockable front cover with front and rear tamper monitoring.

For more information please contact Inner Range Melbourne.

l AMERICAN Dynamics has released Illustra 825 fisheye camera. With 5 megapixels, this camera can provide a 360-degree views of a whole lobby using a ceiling mount or a 180-degree view of a room, using a wall mount, or 2 x 2 view of 4 simultaneous de-warped streams.

The Illustra 825 Fisheye is easy to set up, configure, and maintain with its web-based user interface. The Illustra Connect tool provides quick access to firmware upgrades, IP address assignments, diagnostics and more. The camera also boasts efficient bandwidth and video storage that further help to significantly reduce cost. ONVIF compliant, the Illustra 825 Fisheye works with a variety of mounts in the American Dynamics portfolio.

Distributor: Inner Range Contact: +61 3 97804300

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Distributor: Tyco Security Products Contact: +61 4 6776 3544

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Axis M1025 Network Camera

Genetec Stratocast l STRATOCAST is an affordable, powerful video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) solution.

Designed to meet the needs of small and midsized businesses, Stratocast offers a high-end and extremely reliable video security solution without the costs and advanced configuration typically associated with installing and managing onpremise surveillance systems.

Stratocast effectively minimize the usual high fixed cost associated with new security system setup or expansion through minimal onsite equipment, simile install and commissioning, reduced cost in hardware and labour and automated, frequent firmware releases.

Distributor: OPS Contact: +61 3 9646 9004

l AXIS M1025 Network Camera is an indoor, network camera with a compact design that delivers excellent video quality in full HDTV 1080p or 2 megapixel resolution, in full frame rate. The camera includes smart features like support for HDMI output (Micro) for live streaming onto a monitor at HDTV 720p; support for memory card to store videos; Corridor Format that optimizes the surveillance of narrow corridors and aisles, and support for Power over Ethernet in addition to DC power.

AXIS M1025 Network Camera features support for AXIS Video Hosting System with one-click camera connection and has memory card support for Axis Camera Companion, the cost-effective IP video solution designed for small installations. AXIS M1025 includes support for multiple H.264 video streams.

AXIS M1025 is planned to be available in Q1 2014 through Axis distribution channels at a suggested retail price of $330.

Distributor: Axis Communications Contact: +61 3 9982 1111

Sony launches IPELA ENGINE EX X-series IP cameras lSONY has released the Generation 6 X-series cameras featuring Sony’s IPELA

ENGINE EX signal processing system. Sony’s 3 X-Series IP66-rated (weather resistant) and IK10-rated (vandal resistant) cameras represent Sony’s first ruggedized IP cameras with image stabilization technology and a built-in microphone that captures audio that can be recorded along with video for live monitoring for later analysis.

A sensitive, high-resolution Exmor CMOS sensor captures crisp, detail-packed Full HD (1920 x 1080) video images. IPELA Engine EX signal processing system handles low-light conditions or strong backlight.

All of the cameras include key features of the IPELA Engine technology platform, including Sony’s wide-dynamic range technology View-DR and XDNR noise reduction technology. Extra intelligence is added by DEPA Advanced Intelligent Video Analytics that can intelligently trigger an alarm based on user-defined rules.

The SNC-XM636 and SNC-XM637 are designed with different horizontal viewing angles (83 degrees and 113 degrees, respectively) ideal for video inside trains comply with the European EN50155 and EN45545 standards.

Distributor: Sony Contact: +61 2 9887 6666

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re g u lars help desk

helpdesk

Our panel of experts answers your questions.

Q: We’ve been doing a job on an access/ alarm panel in an airport in recent months and it has been a real eye opener.

Trying to establish what sensor belongs to which controller. We joke that the system has forgotten where half its sensors actually are. There are literally thousands of zones in this system and the documentation is appalling. Is there a way to do this right?

Q: We’re having some trouble on a site with our full body cameras going out of focus after hours. What’s going on here and how can we fix it?

A: When cameras lose focus at night it’s usually due to the back focus and/ or lens focus not being set correctly.

If the cameras are within reach of a ladder we suggest you undertake a backfocus of the cameras at night with the lens focus set to infinity, or during the day using neutral density filters over the lens to open the aperture to its maximum (lowest F-stop). A common reason for the lens focus to stray at night as light levels fall is that depth of field reduces as the lens iris opens. Because of this it’s important to set lens focus to the area of interest at night when the light is low, the lens iris is wide open and the depth of field is reduced. If it is not possible set to set at night again use neutral density filters and undertake the process during the day. We think it’s sometimes better to do these jobs at night or in the late evening – this is easier during winter months when sunset comes early.

It sounds unusual but because lens focus must be set on site there’s sense in setting back focus and lens focus at the same time on site after sunset under the site’s artificial lighting. Don’t forget that the colour temperature of the site’s lighting compared to daylight can impact on focus when the lens is wide open. This means applying back focus and focus settings in darkness with site lighting will give a better result than using filters in full sun.

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A: It sounds like you techs are a maintenance crew and that means you’re between a rock and a hard place. You can just work it out the best you can so the system functions at a management level, or you can completely map the systems inputs and outputs at ground level. Yikes.

To ensure such horrors never take place the project manager on the security side needs to build a columnar zone schedule to record zone numbers, as well as device types, EOL location and zone response. Part of the zone schedule should include a floor plan of the site with sensing devices included. One copy of this schedule should be kept by the security/facilities manager, while another copy should be retained by the integration company for maintenance purposes. As you clearly know, a major airport may have 5000 or 10,000 alarm points and failure to keep track of which sensor relates to which EOL in which panel is a maintenance tech’s nightmare.

Q: I’ve carefully shrink-wrapped cables in an external housing with condensation issues which occur despite efforts at mitigation through air flow yet I keep having problems with corrosion causing resistance. Is heat shrink water resistant or do I need to use another cable type.

A: Heat shrink will give weather resistance if you use the correct type. There are 3 different types - thin wall, dual wall (thin wall with an adhesive) and heavy wall with a sealant. Thin wall heat shrink provides insulation against shorts but zero in the way of weatherproofing. Use thin wall inside under ceilings where things are always going to be nice and dry.

In tougher installs, go for dual wall or heavy wall. The way these work is that the adhesive is forced out the ends of shrink on application. Once squeezed out, the adhesive dries and creates an excellent barrier to moisture. If you only need weatherproofing go for the dual wall shrinks. If your environment is on a pole in the wind where chafing will be an issue, go for the heavy wall varieties.

Q: We had an access control system with a short in the bus that took ages to discover. A short was actually the last thing we thought the problem could be. In the end, the short was located in damaged cable during a physical inspection of cable plant. Is there a quick way of finding a short we can use another time?

Q: A brand new single mode fibre system we’ve had installed by a cable company is lossy and it’s causing us problems. What’s the most likely cause of loss – what’s gone wrong?

A: It must be connections. There are 4 common causes of loss in a fibre optic connection. There’s lateral displacement when one fibre’s axis fails to meet equally with the axis of the joined fibre – this could be caused by vibration or a knock but it would have to be a lot of vibration. There’s end separation when the fibres are separated by a gap – this could be caused by vibration or rough handling after commissioning.

There’s surface roughness of the joined sections and there’s angular misalignment.

When using single mode fibres the need for accurate splicing and connection is greater than it would be for multimode. The tiny diameter of the fibre core means tolerances are even tighter. Pull out the work warranty and get the cablers back.

A: Find cables that are sheathed with ethylene-methylacrylate. The beauty of EMA gear is that it resists fire and has low smoke emission – ideal for your sort of an application. Along with this it’s abrasion, oil and fuel resistant and able to function at 120 degrees C. There are some installation considerations with toughened cable – including the fact they should be installed with a bend radius 6 times the external diameter. Pretty obviously the structures supporting fire resistant cable should also be fire resistant – that includes fixings. A key element of fire resistance is to ensure the cables have no connections, junctions or terminations in the ‘hot’ zone – you’ll need to do some planning to get this right.

Other options include Nexans’ Alsecure Plus and Alsecure Premium cabling which is made specifically for electronic security applications.

A: As you discovered damage to a cable run caused by a short is most likely to occur wherever there’s highest resistance in the circuit. In order to find the short circuit, take off the load component of the circuit at the controller and test it looking for a zero or near zero Ohms reading across its terminals. If you get such a reading it means the short is in the load. If there’s a normal reading then the short may be in the circuit itself.

To check, leave the load out of the circuit and replace it with your DMM keeping power and battery disconnected. With power disconnected you are looking for zero Ohms and anything more indicates a short in the circuit. It’s not too hard to pinpoint a short in a circuit by exploiting a switch or break. If a break in the circuit has no impact on the meter reading then the short exists on the meter side. If the meter reading goes to O.L when the circuit is opened then the short is on the far side of the opening. zzz

Q: We’re planning an installation for a day care centre and trying to find a differentiating factor between ourselves and competitor quotes. We are thinking about using cabling with fire resistant insulation. Is there a product we should be looking for in your opinion?

“A key element of fire resistance is to ensure the cables have no connections, junctions or terminations in the ‘hot’ zone...”

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events

april 2014 – SEPTEMBER 2014

ISC West

February 2013 Issue 351

Date: 2-4 April, 2014 Venue: Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A. Contact: +1-203-840-5602 ISC West is the largest physical security show in North America featuring over 1,000 exhibitors in one place in just 3 days. You’ll see more breakthrough product unveils than ever before.

MEGAPIXEL LENSES Safety & Security Asia l Avigilon’s new H.264 HD Pro l QSS is distributing DVTel l Alarm sensor standards l Bosch secures Gardens by Bay l Synology Surveillance Station l Installing wall anchors l Arecont’s MP camera broadside l Installing end of line resistors

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Date: 22 – 25 April, 2014 Venue: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Contact: 65 6278 8666 SSA 2014 will present an array of issues and challenges faced by the government and civilians to increase awareness of the importance of maintaining security in numerous forms. Congruently, a series of solutions and strategic plans are also exhibited to encourage and enlighten the people on ways they can adapt to combat this heightening threat.

Security 2014

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Date: June 4-6, 2014 Venue: Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre Contact: Kylie McRorie kmcrorie@divcom.net.au +61 3 9261 4504 Security 2013 brought together more than 4500 security professionals and 150 leading brands in its busiest and most successful show in years. Visitors and exhibitors alike celebrated in the largest annual event for the industry to seek out the latest security solutions, share ideas and extend their professional networks. The Security Exhibition & Conference returns to Melbourne for the first time in 14 years from 4 – 6 June 2014, we look forward to seeing you there.

Secutech Thailand Date: 3 – 5 July, 2014 Venue: Bangkok / Thailand Contact: 886 2 2659 9080 Ext. 665 Secutech Thailand is a dynamic trading platform for security, fire and safety that helps spearhead security businesses into Pan Asia. Technology includes CCTV, access control, biometrics, RFID, smart cards, gate/fence, intrusion alarms, intercoms and networking solutions.

Security in Government Conference 2014

= DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY.

Date: September, 1-3 Venue: National Convention Centre, Canberra Contact: 61 2 6141 2987 The SIG Conference targets senior executives responsible for managing security in agencies; officers from all levels of government who contribute to the development of security capability and response; security practitioners from the public and private sectors who contribute to the provision of services to government and critical infrastructure providers

Security China Date: 28 - 31 October, 2014 Venue: New China International Exhibition Center, China Contact: Tel: 86 010-51920615 Fax: 86 010-51920049 Security China in Beijing is located in the biggest security distribution and procurement center in China and provides a major platform for exhibitors to meet government level buyers and senior management.

DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY.

February 2013 Issue 351

WEBSITE

MEGAPIXEL LENSES

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MAGAZINE

l Avigilon’s new H.264 HD Pro l QSS is distributing DVTel l Alarm sensor standards l Bosch secures Gardens by Bay l Synology Surveillance Station l Installing wall anchors l Arecont’s MP camera broadside l Installing end of line resistors

29/01/14 2:55 PM

ENEWSLETTER

Advertising enquiries call Monique Keatinge on 02 9280 4425 or email info@bridgepublishing.com.au

NEW IP CAMERAS Ranging 1.3MP to 5MP

iTech Multicam

NVR

Bullet IP Camera

16Ch NVR with 8 PoE Ports

32Ch NVR with 16 PoE Ports

www.itechsec.com.au (Formerly Crow Australia)

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