Until recently, Luton’s 132 cameras were linked to analogue recorders, but staff at the town’s central monitoring centre became aware they could be missing out on the benefits of digital technology.
“Whilst we wanted to take full advantage of the very latest features and functions available with a digital system, what was of prime importance to us was ease of use of any system that we chose,” said Jason Butler, who has managed the system since it was first installed.
“Our operators have become very familiar with the simplicity of an analogue tape system and we didn’t want to have to introduce them to a new system that would involve protracted training.”
The new solution, provided by Vigilant Technology, was chosen after much deliberation and visits to other councils’ control rooms. It records from 84 PTZ and 48 fixed cameras at 12.5 images per second (in 4CIF resolution) and stores the data for 21 days to error-resilient RAID 5 arrays.
Footage is transmitted from car parks, housing estates and streets around Luton to the monitoring centre, which is home to three viewing stations. One of these allows operators to review recorded images; a second gives the centre’s manager an overview of all activity; and a third makes footage available to police 24 hours a day. System integrators installed a Synectics analogue matrix and a Vigilant Technology Elite Series video recording and management solution.
“By working in close partnership with Vigilant we have been able to ensure a smooth changeover and I am delighted to report that our operators have been positively surprised at how easily they are able to operate the new system,” said Butler.
Following the success of the initial upgrade, Luton Borough Council plans to install Vigilant’s Remote Gateway Server and Remote View software, which should allow operators to view footage remotely.