In the past few years, significant advances have been made with organizations such as ONVIF and PSIA, but one of the great failings of these standards remains the fact that most surveillance technology has its in-built functionality limited by these standards.
A surveillance camera might have a theoretical maximum frame rate, but this is limited by the overall network capacity. Quite often, some of the more exciting capabilities of a device, many of which helped sell the system to the feature-hungry end user, become useless on a multi-vendor system. Invariably, a complete end-to-end system is required to ensure that a system’s full capabilities can be used.
There’s a recurring argument in the forums of IFSEC Global on what makes a system IP. Where does IP begin? is a system truly IP if it’s not end-to-end?
Well, one way to get around both of these issues is to build a complete end-to-end IP system from one vendor.
IDIS’s DirectIP system doesn’t just feature HD IP cameras and network video recorders, but the company has also produced DirectIP switching hubs, accessories, and its own VMS. Alongside the various IP components you’ll also find DirectIP video encoders that allow you to continue using existing analogue cameras, or a DirectIP Ethernet over coax transceiver enabling the transmission of images from a Full HD network camera over an existing infrastructure of coaxial cables.
The DirectIP solution is truly plug-and-play, meaning that it is simple to install and operate. The ability to easily integrate legacy products into the DirectIP network enables a flexible solution for a range of different organizations.
Whether you are an installer or an end-user, the DirectIP solution will benefit you with its simplicity and performance. End users in commercial buildings, transport facilities, banks, hospitals, factories, shops, and schools can all see exactly how the solution can help them, but here we illustrate a quick example of a complete DirectIP install:
IDIS: Office Building Surveillance Solution
In this image we can see a complete IP installation in a commercial office building.
A total of 27 IDIS DirectIP network cameras are connected to three DirectIP PoE switching hubs throughout the business via Cat5 cables (which can stream up to 100 Mbit/s and are shown in red). These three switching hubs are then connected to a DirectIP NVR in the security control room using Cat6 cables (shown in blue) which are capable of streaming up to 1 Gbit/s.
The cameras throughout the business take on varying roles for the end user. Cameras such as the one marked with “A” provide valuable asset protection that reduces crime and is integrated with alarm devices. “B” indicates general corridor observation, while “C” shows cameras supervising restricted access and monitoring the behaviour of authorized staff within those areas.
Other tasks that the IP network is capable of include monitoring access controlled areas (D), outdoor entrance observation (E), elevator monitoring (F), external security (G) and vehicle identification in the car parks (H). All of this can be achieved in a simple plug-and-play fashion throughout a facility.
And by integrating with alarm systems such as intruder or fire, DirectIP solutions can ensure that your assets are safe in any event, irrespective of the complexity of the building.
If you were to take just five key points of the core benefits of a plug-and-play end-to-end IP surveillance network then they could be summarised as this:
To find out more about DirectIP and IDIS visit www.idisglobal.com.
This article acknolwedges the endemic non-interoperability issues that continue to restrict market adoption of IP cameras: Installers continue to spend valuable resources keeping track of which IP cameras will interoperate with the other equipment they carry. And making sure everything still works across all permutations of firmware. The solution, of course, is plug and play: 100% multi-vendor interoperability, as is enjoyed by installers working with PAL and HDcctv-compliant equipment. As this article points out, ONVIF has not yet achieved plug and play. However, the solution advocated in the article, to buy equipment only from one brand, is unsatisfactory. What happens… Read more »
Hi Rockoff,DirectIP is ONVIF, Axis and Panasonic compatible and will integrate with third party systems. The bundled VMS allows you to manage integrated security from both an NVR-based network security or existing DVR-based systems. I hope that helps. If you need more technical information please let me know.
Hi TMS,
Thank you for the reply.
I do need more technical information: Does ONVIF conformance guarantee 100% multi-vendor interoperability?
Thanks –todd
Hi Todd, Sure the definitions are not the same. But yes it’s both in our case, by using our own proprietary protocol DirectIPTM the systems becomes Plug and Play. We never aim to be 100% multivendor plug and play, but adapt the most common systems out in the field. The adoption of ONVIF will cover >50% of the market. Within our market is not possible to have 100% multivendor compatibility. Technical issues can be solved, but the biggest issues are of political and strategic origin.Return of investments is the driver behind these issues to keep systems closed for other manufacturers.… Read more »
Carlo, You are correct about IP cameras, they cannot be made plug & play. That is not a market issue, it is a technical issue: Unless and until there is a universal, comprehensive standard for IP video, including of course the compression algorithm itself, it will remain the case that Ethernet trasnport is a bar to interoperability. You are not correct about HDcctv. HDcctv is like USB and HDMI: It is a universal, comprehensive electrical interface standard. HDcctv-compliant equipment is 100% multi-vendor interoperable. Out of the box plug & play. The market is moving to HD surveillance. The market is… Read more »
Todd, We are not on the same page ….. Again, our IP based system is plug and play ! Your examples USB and HDMI in comparison to HDcctv is also not plug and play, take a new device USB 3.0, to have all advantages you need to upgrade your hardware, HDMI has don several revisions to the latest technologies and innovations. So this will be the pad for HDcctv ? You always attack IP core technology in your comments and stories ? This I don’t understand at all. Let look to the future, not tomorrow but let’s say two years… Read more »
Carlo, I’m not attacking IP, I’m attacking all-IP-cams hype. IP video has gained 100% market share, everyone uses IP networks for remote access. The question remains: Where is the best place to convert TV signals to Ethernet packet streams? The answer is, not always in the camera. IP cameras do solve some real surveillance issues in some cases, but you need to be prepared to tackle new IT issues, including interoperability, that have nothing intrinsically to do with surveillance, in order to take advantage of IP cameras. Use IP cameras wisely. Interoperability: Of course you don’t get all the features… Read more »
Todd, A hype that’s taking longer then the economic crisis…… You always need to take the technology in consideration when advising a integrator, installer or end user. Personally i don’t have any issues with the road we have chosen. I believe it the right road to the future. Depending on your network true put you can already connect a 4K camera our multiple cameras to our DVR. At this stage we utilize 12 mbits for a 1080p stream, our true put is 32 Mbits for our low cost system and going up to 320 Mbits in our 6000 series. The… Read more »
Carlo, You’ve jumbled so many issues together. Leave it at this: HDcctv is about undelayed, highest-quality local-site transport of surveillance video that is as reliable and convenient as analogue. HDcctv will be ready for 4K by the time 1/3″ sensors have sufficient sensitivity for surveillance. The old “the building is wired for Ethernet, so everything should be Ethernet” argument. Have another look at your PC there, Carlo: In addition to an Ethernet port, it sports HDMI, USB, analogue audio, and perhaps other interfaces. Now why would that be the case? Because Ethernet is not optimum for every type of signal!… Read more »
Wow, there was a lot there: So, Is the official IDIS position that 90% of IP cameras / NVRs will interoperate out of the box because they implement H.264 over RTSP in the identical manner? If so: How does the buyer distinguish whether a given product is in the 90% or the 10% (short of buying it and testing it)? Every major VMS manufacturer accepts HD video from any source, be it MP IP cams, HDcctv encoders, or HD DVRs. That you would highlight that as an IDIS differentiation, or as a weakness of HDcctv, reflects a deepset confusion. It’s… Read more »
Tomorrow Todd, now I will go to sleep !
Good morning Todd,Lets organize this then:1. Leave it at this: HDcctv is about undelayed, highest-quality local-site transport of surveillance video that is as reliable and convenient as analogue.Local = Yes, undelayed = until now, highest-quality = not trueLocal: The world around you is getting more mobile as we speak, so sec. local is not a option, most user will have mobile devices to check and view there video system. When doing so your so-called undelayed video is even worse in delay due to the fact that you cant support multistreaming and adaptive bandwidth control in you hardware device so far.Undelayed:… Read more »
Carlo, Thank you for taking the effort to clarify your thought process. I am happy to help clear up some of your fundamental misconceptions. “Local-site transport” refers to moving a video signal from one point to another within the secured premises. It has nothing to do with iPhone viewing, because we still need to get the video from the camera mount to the control room, where the WAN modem is. One way is to convert the HDTV signal to Ethernet packets in the camera (as IP cams do), the other is to move an HDTV signal to the control room… Read more »