2008 News

 

2008 news  -  2007 news  -  2006 news  -  2005 news  -  2004 news

30 June 2008 - IndigoVision Drives H.264 into mainstream IP-CCTV

IndigoVision, a leading manufacturer of complete IP Video CCTV surveillance solutions, has announced significant price reductions on its 9000 range of H.264 products. This is part of a wider strategy to drive H.264 systems into the mainstream of IP Video solutions. The 9000 range is priced only slightly above the company’s hugely successful 8000 family of MPEG-4 based products.

The 9000 range delivers higher quality video compared to 8000 based systems, with a typical reduction of 20 to 30% in bandwidth and storage requirement. This means H.264 solutions can in some cases be more cost effective than MPEG-4 systems.

“Introduced in 2006, our H.264 products were some of the first to be launched in the marketplace and have since been deployed and field-proven in surveillance projects around the world,” said Oliver Vellacott, IndigoVision’s CEO. “These price reductions will not only help increase the adoption of H.264 based systems, but they will also help accelerate IndigoVision’s already outstanding growth.”

This strategy will see price reductions across the 9000 family of products, including transmitter/receiver modules, Network Video Recorders (NVRs), and the company’s popular range of fixed and PTZ IP Dome cameras.

back to top

24 June 2008 - IndigoVision Announces Support for IP Video Open Standard

IndigoVision, a leading supplier of complete IP Video and Alarm management solutions, has announced that it will support the network video standard being developed by Sony, Bosch and Axis, once it is ratified.

Commenting on the announcement, Oliver Vellacott, IndigoVision CEO, said: “We are pleased to announce that IndigoVision’s class-leading Security Management Software, ‘Control Center’, will support cameras compliant with the forthcoming standard. ‘Control Center’ is deployed worldwide, currently supporting over 100,000 cameras and 10,000 operator workstations. The IndigoVision offering includes integrations with the world’s leading Access Control and Alarm products to provide powerful security solutions.”

 

back to top

New IndigoVision Analytics Drive Real-Time Medical Emergency Response

IndigoVision has released a new package of real-time analytics for its complete integrated IP Video system. The analytics run in the camera at the ‘network edge’ making the solution totally scalable and not reliant on central processing to analyze the video.

Real-time analytics lead to increased effectiveness and improvements in incident response. The new analytics algorithms include ‘intelligent re-arming’, ‘hooded camera’ filter, ‘dual tripwires’ and ‘no motion’ alarms. This allows pre-determined events to be identified as they happen, at any camera, and then drive the virtual matrix, e.g. display a salvo on a bank of monitors.

The re-arming analytics feature was developed in direct response to a customer requirement to monitor the helicopter arrivals at a hospital in the USA. The operators are automatically alerted to the helicopter landing via an alarm in ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and alarm management software. The alarm is triggered by the motion of the helicopter in the scene. To avoid further false alarms as the helicopter remains on the heli-pad and personnel move around, a re-arm time can be set. This will re-arm the motion trigger once the motion in the scene has stopped for at least this time, e.g. the helicopter has taken off. A fail-safe maximum time is also configured, which means the alarm would re-trigger if the helicopter was still present after this time.

The ‘hooded camera’ filter creates an alarm if the ‘region of interest’ is obscured, e.g. covering the camera, spray painting the lens or excessive de-focusing of the camera. The ‘no motion’ filter can be used to monitor items such as machines and escalators and trigger an alarm if they stop. The new ‘dual tripwire’ feature extends the functionality of the existing tripwire algorithm with the addition of a second tripwire and configurable parameters that determine how the two tripwires interact with each other.

These new features complement the existing suite of analytics which can be run in real-time at the camera or on recorded video in ‘Control Center’ for post-event analysis. The existing analytics include congestion detection, motion detection, abandoned object detection, counter flow, virtual tripwire, shape-based detection, object tracking and theft detection.

back to top

10 June 2008 - Long-Term Success for IndigoVision IP-CCTV

IndigoVision’s integrated IP Video technology has been providing multi-site CCTV surveillance for St Joseph’s Health Care’s four facilities in and around London, Canada since 2001. The IndigoVision solution has provided St Joseph’s with reliable and scalable CCTV surveillance for more than seven years. The system now includes 250 cameras, over twice the number that was originally installed. IndigoVision’s position as a leader in IP Video technology is underpinned by the many projects that have been field proven over a number of years, such as the one at St Joseph’s.

IndigoVision’s technology provides complete IP-based system solutions for transmission, control and storage of live-networked video. The system is location independent, allowing an operator to view live digital and recorded video from a different building, town or country. It is these features that allow St Joseph’s to monitor all of its 250 cameras from each local site as well as centrally from the Security Control Center located at the Parkwood Hospital, without the need for an expensive cabled infrastructure.

The system, which was originally installed by local systems integrator Integrated Video and Surveillance, utilizes St Joseph’s existing wide area network to deliver high-quality live video around the site. This provides a far more cost effective solution than analog CCTV systems and has enabled St Joseph’s to expand the number of cameras installed from the cost savings realized from the project. The system is easily scaleable allowing additional cameras to be added anywhere on the network without additional cabling. The project has been so successful that St Joseph’s has received many visitors from the security community who were interested in seeing IP-based digital video in operation.

“A live network gives my staff the opportunity to view real time images which is so important in caring for our clients. Emergency Response is crucial when dealing with a violent person or someone in need of medical attention. We cannot afford the time delay in dispatching our officers who are the front line responders in all our color code emergencies. Viewing in real time gives us an advantage and ensures the most appropriate response is achieved. It also allows my staff to provide immediate security response to our outside areas to apprehend or investigate any wrongdoings in progress,” explained Mike Bessegato, Director Fire & Security Services/Emergency Planning, St Joseph's Health Care.

back to top

29 May 2008 - Greek Casinos Upgrade to IndigoVision’s IP-Video for High-Stakes Surveillance

IndigoVision’s integrated IP Video solution has been used to upgrade two Greek Casinos to fully-digital CCTV surveillance, in full compliance with the demanding Greek gaming laws. The Casino Rio, located north of the Western port city of Patras and Casino Xanthi, which is situated in the Northeast city of the same name, are now both benefiting from vastly improved CCTV systems.

The two projects, totaling nearly 300 cameras, were installed by IndigoVision’s local partner ILKA S.A., who worked closely with IndigoVision and the Gaming Authority to gain the necessary licenses. As with many Gaming Boards worldwide, the Greek Gaming Authority demands 24/7 monitoring and recording of all gaming tables, slot machines and money counting areas at 25fps, with recordings kept for 20 days. If the CCTV system is unable to monitor and record a specific gaming table, then that table must be shutdown. To ensure compliance, an employee of the Gaming Authority is permanently on-site using the CCTV system to monitor the casino operation.

Like many casinos the Rio and Xanthi were using outdated analog VCR-based CCTV systems, that were becoming difficult to service and support. It was extremely time-consuming to search and analyze recorded footage, particularly if synchronized viewing was required from 2 or more cameras. IndigoVision’s IP Video solution overcame these problems by providing tools which allow fast access to recorded footage, from multiple cameras, enabling gaming disputes to be quickly resolved.

Commenting on the project Dimitris Megas, Casino Rio’s Surveillance Manager said, “We invested a considerable amount of time analyzing CCTV systems from some of the best known suppliers in the industry. We focused on the three main areas of quality, stability and versatility in an effort to choose a solution that met our requirements. We came to the conclusion that the IndigoVision system was the best solution, both technically and commercially, for our casinos. The transition from the old system to the new digital system was very smooth ensuring our casino operation was not disrupted.”

Each casino has their own security control room, where operators use ‘Control Center‘, IndigoVision's video and alarm management software to view live and recorded video from any of the cameras in the casino. Thirteen ‘Control Center’ workstations were installed between the two casinos, all with multi-screen support. ‘Control Center’ provides the operators with an easy to use interface and advanced features to help them manage camera viewing, such as maps which depict each camera and its field of view overlaid on a schematic of the casino. Simply clicking the camera icon on the map displays that particular cameras’ feed, allowing the operator to quickly view an area of interest.

The ageing VCRs have been replaced with IndigoVision's Network Video Recorders (NVRs). IndigoVision’s complete end-to-end IP Video solution allows users to implement advanced redundancy strategies for CCTV recording, which was an important requirement for the casinos. As part of the overall recording strategy back-up NVRs have been installed in both casinos. These will automatically start recording if any of the primary NVRs fail or require maintenance. PCs running IndigoVision’s Windows NVR software were installed in each casino connected to several Raid-5 storage arrays providing total disk storage in excess of 100TB. In addition to video from the cameras, Casino Rio is recording 60 channels of high-quality audio and Casino Xanthi 38 channels, each from camera mounted microphones.

The majority of the original CCTV cameras were re-used by connecting them to IndigoVision 8000 transmitter/receiver modules which convert the analog feed to high-quality, 25fps digital video for transmission over the IP network. This is achieved without any frames being dropped, whatever the level of motion and activity in the camera scene. Any dropped frames within a video clip could hide fraudulent or criminal activity and make any customer disputes more difficult to resolve. Each camera also benefits from Actively Controlled Framerate (ACF), a unique feature built into the 8000 module, which reduces the amount of video that is transmitted and recorded. When a scene is inactive the video can be streamed at a much lower frame rate. As soon as motion is detected the video is instantly streamed at full frame rate.

The combination of ‘Control Center’ and the IP network creates a ‘virtual matrix’, which unlike its analog matrix equivalent provides a totally flexible and scalable solution. Any camera can be viewed on any ‘Control Center’ workstation and additional cameras can easily be added to any point on the network when the system is expanded. The flexibility of IndigoVision's IP Video technology meant that the migration to digital was phased so the casinos remained open and any downtime was kept to a minimum. The final equipment footprint of the new system was also considerably less than the original system, freeing up valuable space.

This project together with the company’s other recent casino installations establishes IndigoVision’s IP Video solution as the benchmark for the casino industry. It also demonstrates that IP Video is a field-proven platform for the demanding CCTV requirements of casino operations, which need high resolution video images and fast analysis of recorded footage. IP Video provides significant benefits compared with traditional analog CCTV systems, such as scalability, real-time camera-based analytics and fault tolerant configurations. To find out more about IndigoVision’s solutions for Casinos visit http://casinos.indigovision.com.

back to top

20 May 2008 - IndigoVision Launches Powerful New Alarm Management Features for IP-CCTV

One of the many new products and developments launched by IndigoVision at the recent IFSEC 2008 show was the latest upgrade to ‘Control Center’, the company’s IP Video and alarm management software. The upgrade, due for release at the end of May, enhances the alarm handling capabilities with features that help improve efficiency and response times when dealing with incidents.

IndigoVision’s complete IP Video and alarm management system is an open-architecture solution that can provide true integration with other security systems such as alarm systems, access control and intruder detection. The benefits of integrating systems together can be significant, allowing the user to trigger operations in one system from events generated in another. There are many advantages to consolidating the alarms in the CCTV system as it is the operator interface most used of all the security systems.

Release 3.10 of ‘Control Center’ incorporates many new alarm management features including Alarm Groups, Cascaded Alarms and Looped Replay on Alarm. The new Alarm Groups feature allows the end user to designate groups of monitors or video panes for alarm display only. Each group can be configured to display different types of alarms, such as from access control or intruder systems. Within each group alarms can be cascaded or queued in the monitors or video panes.

The Looped Replay on Alarm feature further demonstrates how incident response can be improved with good alarm handling. When an alarm is raised, for example from a forced door in an access control system, live video from the camera monitoring that door is automatically displayed next to a looped replay of recorded video from the same camera. The looped video is displayed for a pre-determined time either side of the incident. The operator can then instantly see the cause of the alarm and monitor the live situation.

These new alarm features allow ‘Control Center’ to operate in what is known as a ‘black’ or ‘dark’ screen monitoring mode, where video is only displayed on alarm. This method of operation is recognized as providing a more efficient operator environment that leads to quicker incident response.

back to top

7 May 2008 - IndigoVision’s IP Video Provides CCTV for South African Metro Project

IndigoVision’s complete end-to-end IP Video system is providing the CCTV surveillance for an impressive integrated security system for the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The metro area is home to over 1.3 million people, covers an area of 770 square miles and includes the towns of Uitenhage and Despatch, together with Port Elizabeth which will be a host city for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The IP-CCTV system, which was supplied by Norbain South Africa, is part of an integrated security system that includes access control, intruder detection, perimeter security and fire detection all of which were designed and installed by Afrisec. The systems are fully integrated across a newly installed 1000 Gbit LAN running on a fiber backbone, with wireless network links for more remote sites. The system will also provide services such as IP telephony and intercoms. The Safety & Security Directorate, which operates the system, worked closely with Afrisec, who produced the initial Security Master Plan from which the system was implemented.

The initial phase of the project provides CCTV surveillance of the Port Elizabeth Central Business District (CBD) and the along the beachfront, using 45 fixed and PTZ dome cameras, monitored at a Central Security Control Room located in the South End district. There are also other satellite control rooms in Metro buildings in the CBD and on the Beachfront. Operators based in all the control rooms use IndigoVision’s ‘Control Center’ software to view live video from the cameras and analyze recorded footage from IndigoVision Network Video Recorders (NVRs), which provide 30+ days of recordings from all cameras. The distributed nature of IndigoVision’s IP Video system allows a ‘Control Center’ workstation to be located at any point on the network, facilitating the use of multiple security control rooms.

The IP Video system is tightly integrated with the other Building Management and Security Systems used on the project providing a platform for true integration, so that an event in one system can trigger an action in another. For example, an illegal entry alarm from the access control system can automatically cause the nearest CCTV camera to pan and zoom to view the entry point and display the video on any ‘Control Center’ workstation for immediate operator response.

As the system expands IndigoVision’s real-time analytics will be installed on certain cameras. This will alert operators to events as they occur, such as vehicles moving in the wrong direction, congestion or a virtual tripwire being crossed. This dramatically reduces the time to locate critical events, enabling timely response to potential incidents.

The Metro area has 236 potential sites that require security. These will be implemented based on priority and available budgets. Other strategic sites, such as the airport, which have their own existing CCTV system, will be updated to IP Video so they can be monitored centrally as well. Here the existing analog cameras will be connected to IndigoVision’s transmitter/receiver modules, which convert the analog camera feeds to high-quality MPEG digital video for transmission over the network. This effectively creates a hybrid CCTV solution for the airport, whereby the airport maintains its existing analog system whilst allowing remote monitoring and recording of the video over the network.

The scalability of the IP Video system allows other surveillance areas to be added easily in the future. For example, the fiber backbone currently runs through the centre of the CBD, allowing businesses and other private buildings to be monitored from any of the control rooms. A CCTV camera can be connected to any point on the network without the need for additional cabling. The flexibility provided by a distributed IP Video system cannot be matched by a traditional analog CCTV solution. When the Soccer World Cup comes to Port Elizabeth in 2010 transportation routes, tourist hotspots, hotels and the stadium will need to be monitored via the central control room – all of which is very cost effective now that the network infrastructure is in place.

back to top

24 April 2008 - Chilean Casino Chain Banks on IndigoVision IP-CCTV

Enjoy Group has chosen IndigoVision’s IP Video system to provide a complete digital CCTV surveillance solution for all nine of its casinos in Chile. The first 500-camera system has been completed at the casino complex in Coquimbo, which will shortly be extended to cover a new hotel and convention center. Once complete the entire project will have upgraded over 2,500 cameras to digital IP-CCTV surveillance. Fifteen casinos worldwide have now invested in complete digital CCTV solutions from IndigoVision, firmly establishing the company as the market leader in this demanding industry.

The systems are being installed by IndigoVision’s local partner Bitelco Diebold LTDA, with the storage solution supplied by Intransa. IndigoVision was chosen following a rigorous competitive analysis by the casino. This involved the installation of a 30-camera test system that allowed the casino to compare systems from different vendors side-by-side. The final systems will be installed and operated in full compliance with the Chilean Gaming Board. The flexibility of IndigoVision’s IP Video solution will in many cases enable the existing casinos to remain operational while the upgrade takes place and also allow the existing CCTV cameras to be re-used. Once the upgrades are complete Enjoy Group has plans to build a central investigation and monitoring center that will allow live and recorded video to be viewed and analyzed from all of the casinos.

“IndigoVision’s system performed very well during our testing of competing systems. We were particularly impressed with the video quality, the video search and analysis features and the efficient use of network bandwidth and storage,” said Manuel Abella, Enjoy Group’s Projects and Systems Director.

The casino security staff will use ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and alarm management software, to view live and recorded video from any camera in the system. ‘Control Center’ is license free software allowing the casino to deploy as many workstations as required for no more than the cost of the PCs. Recording is achieved using IndigoVision’s Windows Network Video Recorder (NVR) software running on PC servers, which in the case of the Coquimbo is 4 servers with 36 Terabytes of RAID redundant disk.

Many casinos are now finding that their existing analog/VCR CCTV systems cannot cope with the demands of the complex surveillance environment associated with modern casino operations. Long-term storage and fast retrieval of video from a VCR-based system is a big problem. In order to quickly resolve gaming disputes and track incidents, fast video searching and retrieval is of paramount importance - all of which is provided by the combinations of ‘Control Center’ and the NVRs. Another important feature of the IP-CCTV solution is the ability to remotely view recorded video on any ‘Control Center’ workstation wherever they are located on the network – this is impossible with the existing analog/VCR system.

Each of the CCTV cameras will be connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter/receiver which converts the analog feed to DVD-quality, 4SIF, 30fps digital video for transmission over the IP network. This is achieved without any frames being dropped, whatever the level of motion and activity in the camera scene. This is a fundamental requirement of Gaming Boards and casino operators. Any dropped frames within a video clip could hide fraudulent or criminal activity and make any customer disputes more difficult to resolve.

This project demonstrates that IP Video is a field-proven solution for the demanding CCTV requirements of casino operations, which need high-quality video images and fast retrieval of recorded footage. IP Video provides significant benefits compared with traditional analog CCTV systems, such as scalability, real-time camera-based analytics and fault tolerant configurations.

back to top

16 April 2008 - IndigoVision Wins Prestigious Frost & Sullivan Award

IndigoVision, the leading supplier of complete IP Video and Alarm management solutions, has been honored by Frost & Sullivan with the prestigious 2008 European Network Video Surveillance Award for Customer Value Enhancement. The award is presented each year to the company that has demonstrated more innovative, value creation and enhancement strategies than competing vendors.

This Award has been presented to IndigoVision in recognition of the company’s ability to offer a complete range of high-quality products and solutions to its customers and to meet end-user needs through research and development.

The key differentiators of a Customer Value Enhancement Award compared to a traditional Customer Service Award are that it is a proactive rather than a reactive function, which focuses on value creation and enhancement rather than simply ensuring client satisfaction. It also recognizes the investment customers make in a company’s products or services rather than simply providing after sales support and service.

Commenting on the importance of the award Oliver Vellacott, CEO, IndigoVision said, "I am delighted that the company-wide commitment to customer service and product development has been recognised with this award. This achievement recognises the technological lead that IndigoVision has developed in the increasingly important IP security marketplace and the importance it places on the relationship with our partners."

IndigoVision has over 1000 major installations worldwide including two Olympic Games, the 2006 Soccer World Cup, 7 major rail networks, 2 of the world's top 5 banks, 13 casinos and 28 airports. IndigoVision completely develops its technology in-house, including a rich suite of hardware products and 'Control Center' its flagship Video and Alarm Management software. The company currently works with over 200 authorised systems integrator and installer partners in 40 countries around the world.

back to top

2 April 2008 - IndigoVision’s IP-CCTV Protects State Mansion in New Delhi

IndigoVision’s integrated IP Video system is providing high-security CCTV surveillance for the Madhya Pradesh State Mansion in India’s capital New Delhi. India has 28 states and 7 union territories each run by its own state government and each has their own representation in New Delhi, including Madhya Pradesh, the largest State in India. Madhya Pradesh’s political office in New Delhi is the Bhawan Mansion, which is overseen by the State’s Commissioner of Police. This very important local government site comprises of residential suites, administration buildings, armed security outposts, car park and approach roads.

The new CCTV system has been designed and supplied by IndigoVision’s local partner Neural Integrated Systems and installed by Royal Computers. IndigoVision’s IP video solution was chosen following on-site trials of competing systems and provides both high-quality video and audio surveillance of the interior and surrounding grounds. The State Mansion is faced with multiple security issues including criminal activity, terrorism and the need to counteract corruption and therefore needed the very best CCTV solution. The building also accommodates many visiting high-ranking State dignitaries that require the highest level of protection.

Commenting on the project, Mr. R.R. Gupta of Neural Integrated Systems, said, “The requirements for the new CCTV system were very demanding, both in terms of flexibility and quality. The client was particularly impressed by the quality of the recorded video and audio from the IndigoVision system and the flexibility to up-scale the system for the future.”

With extensive experience of CCTV installations across various sectors, Mr. Anil Gupta of Royal Computers said of the IndigoVision solution, “The ease of installation, set-up and user-friendliness of the system has been excellent. This, complemented with an exceptional level of support, is becoming the benchmark in the increasingly important IP Video marketplace.”

‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and Alarm management software, allows the security team to view live and recorded video and to listen to the audio from any of the cameras in the system. The flexibility of the IndigoVision solution means that ‘Control Center’ PC workstations can be located at any point on the network. ‘Control Center’ is also license-free and so additional workstations can be added for no more than a cost of a standard PC. This was another important reason that the IndigoVision solution was chosen as workstations have been installed in a number of locations throughout the building, in addition to the main security control room. IndigoVision’s Network Video Recorder (NVR) software provides 30 days of continuous recording for both video and audio from all the cameras in the system. Tamperproof high-quality video and audio clips can be exported for evidential purposes using ‘Control Center’.

The surveillance is achieved with a combination of internal and external fixed dome and PTZ CCTV cameras, each fitted with a highly-sensitive microphone. The video and audio feeds from each camera are connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter/receiver module, which converts the signals to digital data for transmission over the network. IndigoVision’s MPEG-4 compression technology ensures the very best quality images are transmitted and recorded with the minimum of data, reducing the network bandwidth and NVR storage requirements.

back to top

19 March 2008 - IndigoVision’s IP Video Powers Mobile CCTV Vehicle

IndigoVision’s integrated IP Video solution is being used to provide the CCTV surveillance system for a Community Safety Vehicle operated by the London Borough of Waltham Forest, UK. The vehicle is a joint initiative between the Borough, the Metropolitan Police and NCP, the council’s parking enforcement contractor.

The vehicle is equipped with 5 fixed cameras and 2 fully functional Forward Vision MIC cameras mounted on a 20 ft hydraulic mast and an automatic license plate recognition system connected to the Police National Computer for live verification. The system is controlled by two onboard operators that each use ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and Alarm Management software, running on a dual monitor workstation to view live and recorded video from the cameras. All recordings are made by an onboard IndigoVision Network Video Recorder (NVR) with hot-swappable hard drives. The vehicle is supported and maintained by IndigoVision’s local partner Clearview Communications.

A third ‘Control Center’ workstation is located in the Borough’s Editing Suite at the local Council offices, where video from the onboard swapped hard drives is saved and analyzed. ‘Control Center’ provides a comprehensive set of analytics and tools to allow fast analysis and retrieval of recorded footage. Video clips can be exported for evidential purposes using sophisticated encryption and watermarking techniques to ensure the material is tamper-proof.

“The Community Safety Vehicle allows us to target areas not covered by fixed CCTV installations and areas that suffer traffic congestion and parking violations,” said Mario Demetriou, the Borough’s Anti-Social Behavior Manager. “IndigoVision’s ‘Control Center’ software really makes the job of analyzing the video easy, both onboard the vehicle and back at our editing suite.”

The vehicle is typically used during the day by NCP for traffic enforcement and in the evening and during special events by the police for surveillance operations. On a typical day the vehicle can detect up to 100 traffic violations that result in fixed penalty charge notices being issued.

Each analog camera on the vehicle is connected to an IndigoVision rack-mounted 8000 transmitter/receiver module. The 8000 converts the camera feed to DVD quality digital video for transmission over the onboard IP network. The 8000 can also run real-time analytics such as virtual tripwire which, for example, can alert an operator and automatically start recording when a vehicle crosses into a bus lane.

back to top

10 March 2008 - IndigoVision IP-CCTV Keeps Cincinnati Shoppers Safe and Secure

Northgate Mall in Cincinnati, Ohio has installed an IP Video CCTV surveillance system from IndigoVision as part of a recent renovation. The Mall has more than 1.1 million square feet of retail space and over 100 specialty shops and four department stores. Twenty-seven cameras monitor the main public shopping areas inside the mall and the surrounding areas around the outside of the building. The system was designed and installed by IndigoVision’s local authorized partner Mobilcomm.

‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and alarm management software, is used by operators to view live and recorded video from any of the cameras. Two ‘Control Center’ workstations are used, one in the main security control room and one in the manager’s office. Video is recorded using IndigoVision’s Network Video Recorder (NVR) software running on a Windows 2003 server. The flexibility of IndigoVision’s IP Video solution allows workstations, cameras and NVRs to be located at any point on the network. This creates a ‘virtual matrix’ which replaces the traditional analog switching matrix providing for remote monitoring and a truly scalable solution for the future.

Commenting on the system, Jerry Weller, Northgate Mall’s Manager, said, “The video quality produced by the system is excellent and the ‘Control Center’ software is very easy to use. The map layout on ‘Control Center’, which shows the camera positions, has been a great help in training new operators. The search and analysis tools also allow the operators to quickly find the required video clip from recorded footage”.

Northgate Mall’s security team work very closely with the local police and have assisted them on several occasions by supplying video clips of incidents from outside cameras. Video clips can be exported from ‘Control Center’ for evidential purposes using sophisticated encryption and watermarking techniques to ensure the material is tamper-proof.

Each camera is connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter/receiver module which converts the analog feed to DVD-quality digital video for transmission over the network. Each 8000 module can also transmit 2-way high-quality audio and interface to hardwired I/O, both of which have been used to good effect at Northgate Mall. In order to prevent inappropriate use of the family restroom an intercom has been installed that the public has to use to gain access. When the intercom button is pressed an alarm is triggered in ‘Control Center’, which displays the location on the camera map and the video image from the local camera. Two-way communication is initiated between the member of the public and security operator. The restroom door is then released via an 8000 output triggered from ‘Control Center’. The whole intercom function has been totally implemented using standard IndigoVision features.

back to top

27 February 2008 - Integrated IP-Security Protects New Courthouse

IndigoVision’s IP Video CCTV system is providing the technology behind a Fabricom-GTI integrated security solution for the new Courthouse in the Belgium city of Ghent. This innovative project integrates CCTV, video-intercom and access control into a single IP-security system. By using the IP Video system to provide fully-featured video-intercom facilities IndigoVision has created a truly scalable and cost-effective solution by eliminating traditional intercom switching hardware.

The new 600,000 sq ft courthouse in Ghent is operated by the Belgian Ministry of Justice and consists of a fully-secure environment that houses holding cells, court rooms, hearing rooms and offices, with public areas running throughout. The security facilities are used by the police, Ministry of Justice security staff and personnel manning the reception desk. The system was designed and installed by IndigoVision’s local partner and integrator Fabricom-GTI.

The IndigoVision software development kit enabled a tight integration of IndigoVision’s hardware and ‘Control Center’ IP Video and Alarm management software in ICAROS, Fabricom-GTI's security and building management system. Alongside access control, intruder and fire detection and other building related systems, an ICAROS workstation gives the operator seamless access to all the unique IndigoVision features for alarm and video management. This tight integration offers the end-user significant benefits. Whenever an alarm is generated the nearest camera feed is automatically displayed on a monitor and recorded. An alarm can be generated from CCTV camera motion detection, access control points, video-intercom units or from the intruder and fire detection systems. Operators can also manually select camera views for display and recording. Eight IndigoVision Windows-based Network Video Recorder (NVR) workstations are used to record the camera and intercom video at 4SIF, 25fps, as well as the two-way audio from the intercom units.

The combination of the video management software and the IP-network creates a ‘virtual network’ which provides unlimited camera switching combinations, overcoming the severe limitations of the traditional analog CCTV matrix. This allows complete flexibility and scalability for the future. Traditional video-intercom systems typically use a central switching matrix that requires separate cabling from each intercom unit. By fully integrating the video, audio and I/O from each intercom unit into the IP Video system, this switching hardware is eliminated and the benefits of the ‘virtual matrix’ can also be applied to the video-intercom.

Video from 83 fixed and PTZ CCTV cameras and 34 video-intercom cameras, which are compact cameras built into the door intercom units, are connected to IndigoVision’s 8000 transmitter/receiver modules. The 8000 converts the analog feed into high-quality MPEG-4 digital video for transmission over the IP network. In addition high-quality two-way audio and I/O from the intercom units are also connected to the 8000 units for compression and transmission. The 8000 units have built-in analytics including motion detection, which is used to trigger an alarm when scene activity is detected. Running real-time analytics at the camera significantly reduces bandwidth requirements on the network and ensures the system is totally scalable.

back to top

11 February 2008 - IKEA France Invests in IndigoVision IP-CCTV for New Store

IKEA France has invested in IndigoVision’s complete IP Video solution for CCTV surveillance in its new 215,000 sq ft flagship store in Grenoble. Swedish-based IKEA is one of the largest and best-known home furnishing retail groups in the world, with stores in 36 countries. IKEA invests heavily in CCTV technology in their stores to ensure their customers and staff are safe and secure at all times. The new store, which opened in October 2007, is seen as a test site for the adoption of IP-CCTV for other new IKEA stores in France.

The 36-camera system was installed by IndigoVision’s local partner Concept Maintenance and is an ideal solution for stores such as IKEA where network density is very high. IndigoVision’s advanced compression technology allows the entire IP Video system to operate on the store’s existing LAN with minimal impact on network bandwidth. The IKEA network supports Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), which allows any new IP cameras to be connected directly to the network via a single CAT-5 cable. This provides a very scalable and cost-effective solution for future expansion.

Image quality and ease of use of ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and alarm management software, were just two of the reasons the IndigoVision solution was chosen. The security operators required no more than 2-hours of training to fully operate the system. A single ‘Control Center’ workstation is located in the security control room where the operators view live video only. A second ‘Control Center’ workstation is located in the IT room where the Security Manager can view both live and recorded video, as only management is allowed to view recorded footage. Three IndigoVision standalone Network Video Recorders (NVRs) provide 15 days of continuous recordings from all cameras.

Commenting on the operation of the new system, Sylvie Weber, IKEA’s Country Security Manager, said of the IndigoVision system, “We are very pleased with the system and in particular with the superb image quality and the ‘Control Center’ user interface. It’s very easy to find and analyze a particular video clip, which can then be exported in a tamper-proof form for police evidence if required.”

The safe and speedy evacuation of staff and customers during a fire or incident is paramount to IKEA’s operational planning and they run many practice simulations. The CCTV system has been configured to help in situations like these. For example when an emergency exit is opened a ‘Control Center’ alarm is triggered which automatically pans the nearest camera to display the exit so operators can ensure a smooth and orderly evacuation.

IndigoVision’s IP Video solution can also be used to provide benefits beyond store security. Many retailers are accessing in-store footage to help analyze merchandising, in-store promotions and footfall trends. This can be achieved locally and nationally, with central marketing teams accessing live and recorded video from any store at any location across their corporate networks.

back to top

8 February 2008 - New Products Enhance IndigoVision IP Video Solution

IndigoVision will be showing for the first time a number of new products and enhancements for its integrated IP Video solution at ISC West. These will include new additions to its popular IP Dome range, a 4-Channel transmitter/receiver rack and a major upgrade to its NVR capability.

IndigoVision’s new internal and external vandal resistant fixed IP Domes are high-end professional CCTV cameras that incorporate a Sony EXview HAD CCD Sensor and the company’s class-leading MPEG-4 or H.264 compression, ensuring excellent performance. Coupled with a guaranteed frame rate of 25/30 fps, the IP Domes provide an image quality that is as good as or better than an equivalent analog camera. The discreet, IP66 vandal resistant enclosure can be ceiling or wall mounted and provides maximum protection for tough environmental conditions. The built-in support for Power-over-Ethernet allows the camera to be powered directly from the network for lower installation costs. Each camera is available with a number of options including PAL or NTSC formats, a standard or telephoto lens and a color or day/night sensor.

The 4-Channel rack is a new addition to the company’s family of transmitter/receiver products and supports both MPEG-4 and H.264 compression technologies. Up to four CCTV cameras can be connected to the rack, which converts the analog feed to high-quality digital video for transmission over the network. The product sits between the existing single channel unit and the 10-Channel rack, providing wider choice for the system designer and integrator. The new unit has also been developed with the mobile surveillance market in mind, where typically 4 or less cameras mounted on buses, trams and trains need to be connected to an on-board IP network for monitoring and recording. The rack has an extra network port which allows direct connection to a Network Video Recorder (NVR), providing a standalone compact mobile solution. The 4-Channel rack has a slim profile which can be mounted in a 19” rack or to any flat surface.

To coincide with the show IndigoVision has also released a major upgrade to its ‘Control Center’ IP Video and alarm management software and family of NVRs, which allow users to implement advanced redundancy strategies for CCTV recording. Resilient and redundant recording solutions are becoming important to many CCTV users that require potentially valuable recordings to be protected against equipment and network failures. IndigoVision already provides a scalable and distributed solution that allows NVRs to be transparently located at any point on the network, removing single-point failures, which are common with traditional analog/DVR recording systems. The new upgrade takes this further by allowing NVRs to work as failover backups and mirrors for primary NVRs and to create sophisticated webs or chains of NVR redundancy.

back to top

28 January 2008 - IP-CCTV Enhances Security for Petrochem Storage

IndigoVision’s complete IP Video solution has been installed to enhance the security at Royal Vopak’s petrochemical storage terminal in West Thurrock, UK. With 347,100m3 of storage capacity in 125 tanks, Vopak’s terminal is a very demanding environment with security and health & safety of paramount importance.

The terminal provides independent storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products for Vopak’s customers. Products are transported from the terminal to the customer by road, pipeline and river via the 3-berth jetty.

Vopak Terminal London recently chose to upgrade their ageing analog CCTV system with a complete end-to-end networked IP Video solution from IndigoVision. The 40-camera system was specified by consultants, M J Partnership and installed by ADT Fire & Security Ltd in partnership with Waterstons, Vopak’s IT consultants.

At the heart of the system is ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and Alarm management software, which allows operators to view live and recorded footage, from any camera, from any point on the network. Vopak has utilized this flexibility with the installation of a number of ‘Control Center’ workstations both in the central control room and at other locations around the site, allowing other authorized staff to access the system. ‘Control Center’ software is license-free, which means Vopak can install a workstation for no more cost than a PC.

The IP Video system has provided Vopak with many benefits including fast image retrieval and greatly improved live and recorded video quality, which can be used for evidential purposes; something that was not achievable with the old analog system. In addition, video footage can also be used as a training aid for Vopak.

“We are delighted with the new CCTV system,” said Peter Lloyd, Engineering Manager at Vopak Terminal London. “The video quality is exceptional and the flexibility of the ‘Control Center’ software is allowing us to use it as a site-wide management tool.”

Video recording is achieved using IndigoVision’s Network Video Recorder (NVR) software which provides up to 3 months of continuous storage from all of the cameras. ‘Control Center’ provides a number of tools that allows fast retrieval and analysis of the recorded footage by the operator. The 40 CCTV cameras, which are a mix of fixed and PTZ from the original installation, are each connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter/receiver module which converts the analog camera feed into DVD-quality MPEG-4 digital video for transmission over the network.

The combination of ‘Control Center’ software and the network creates a ‘virtual matrix’, which is a more flexible and scalable video switching platform than the original analog matrix that it replaced. Any camera on the network can be viewed from any workstation on the network, no matter where they are located. Similarly, any workstation can access recorded video from the NVR server. This scalability also means that it is easy and cost effective to expand the system in the future as cameras can be added to any point on the network without the need to run new cabling.

back to top

16 January 2008 - University of Miami Adopts Campus-Wide IP-CCTV

IndigoVision’s complete end-to-end IP Video solution is being deployed at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as part of a campus-wide CCTV upgrade. The University’s medical campus spreads out over 45 acres in downtown Miami, Florida but it also has a number of remote sites, including one that is 100 miles north in Palm Beach County and another which is home to the new Miami Institute for Human Genomics, located 25 miles southwest of the medical campus. This type of wide-area application was too demanding for the existing analog CCTV system, leading to many operational problems. However, by adopting IndigoVision’s IP Video solution many of the difficulties were overcome and much of the original CCTV infrastructure was re-used, including all of the cameras.

The on-going project is being installed by Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies Miami Office and will eventually encompass all of the Medical School’s 300+ CCTV cameras and use ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s Video and Alarm Management software for viewing live and recorded video. The system uses fifteen ‘Control Center’ workstations, one in the main security control center, others at satellite security stations around campus and three in security administration offices on campus. IndigoVision uniquely provides ‘Control Center’ software as license-free, allowing the university to deploy workstations around the campus for no more than the cost of a standard PC. This further reduces the upgrade costs and was another factor in the University choosing IndigoVision.

The original VCRs have been replaced with IndigoVision Network Video Recorders (NVRs). Four Windows-based NVRs are installed in the main security control center and three stand-alone NVRs at remote locations. Recorded video from any of these NVRs can be viewed and analyzed from any ‘Control Center’ workstation wherever they are located. Over 38 Terabytes of storage in a campus datacenter provides the university with more than 30 days of recordings from all cameras.

The adoption of IndigoVision’s IP Video technology has provided the university with major benefits that were not available from their existing analog/VCR system. These benefits include the viewing of live and recorded video from anywhere on campus, fast analysis and retrieval of recorded footage and complete control over resolution and frame-rates which allows them to match network resources. Expansion is straightforward and future plans include incorporating another 150 cameras from the University of Miami Hospital, a 560 bed facility recently acquired by the University.

Commenting on the success of the project, Tony Artrip, Executive Director of Public Safety for the campus said, “IndigoVision’s CCTV system is a simple, straight forward solution that is easy to use and does exactly what it is designed to do. It is great to view any of the cameras on campus or at remote location locations miles away, directly from your desktop. Searching for an incident on recorded video could not be easier.”

A recent incident demonstrates how the university has used the system to good effect. An item was stolen from a remote site located 75 miles north of the medical campus. The relevant footage from the incident was retrieved almost immediately and sent via e-mail to the police having jurisdiction. With the original system it would have taken someone hours to reach the remote site and off-load the video to a usable format for the local authorities.

The University is investigating using the IP Video system for distance learning applications which would involve broadcasting lectures to many remote students at the same time. This can be achieved with IP multicasting, which is a very powerful feature of IndigoVision's IP Video technology. It allows live or recorded footage from a single camera to be efficiently viewed by multiple operators simultaneously, no matter where they are located on the network.

back to top

3 January 2008 - New Advanced Redundancy Features for IndigoVision NVRs

IndigoVision, the integrated IP Video systems manufacturer, has released a major upgrade to its ‘Control Center’ software and family of Network Video Recorders (NVRs), allowing users to implement advanced redundancy strategies for CCTV recording. IndigoVision has always been at the forefront of robust and resilient network recording with both its range of standalone NVR products and Windows based NVR server software.

Resilient and redundant recording solutions are becoming important to many CCTV users that require potentially valuable recordings to be protected against equipment and network failures. IndigoVision already provides a scalable and distributed solution that allows NVRs to be transparently located at any point on the network, removing single-point failures, which are common with traditional analog/DVR recording systems. The new upgrade takes this further by allowing NVRs to work as failover backups and mirrors for primary NVRs. The backup NVR can continuously record the same video in parallel as the primary NVR (mirroring) or automatically takeover recording if the primary NVR fails. The backup NVRs can be located at a different physical location to the primary NVRs, adding further to the resilience of the system.

The backup NVRs continuously monitor the primary NVRs to check availability and synchronize configurations. The switching of the primary NVR to a backup unit can also be manually initiated to allow routine maintenance or fault investigation of the primary NVR. Several backup NVRs can monitor a single primary NVR and similarly a single backup NVR can monitor several primary NVRs. Sophisticated webs or chains of NVR redundancy can be implemented allowing the user to choose their level of redundancy based on a risk/cost analysis. IndigoVision’s family of robust standalone NVR products also provides a level of built-in resilience with dual redundant network connections and power supplies, RAID configurations and hot-swappable drives.

‘Control Center’ PC software allows users to view live and recorded video from any CCTV camera on the network and provides a range of tools for the management of alarms and the analysis and fast-searching of recorded footage. ‘Control Center’ is also used to configure the recording strategies for each NVR. Uniquely, IndigoVision’s ‘Control Center’ software is license-free, allowing users to install any number of CCTV viewing workstations, at any location, for no more cost than an entry-level PC.

In addition to the NVR redundancy features, the latest upgrade to ‘Control Center’ also includes many new features including video bookmarks and advanced IRIS control for PTZ cameras. Video bookmarks allow the user to add notes associated with a specific section of recorded video. Like alarms, bookmarks are saved on the NVR and associated with the recording so that other operators can view them.

back to top