Adding to our Camera Install Labor Standards, IPVM has established standards for the following two common scenarios: "How many manhours would you estimate to: Configure an uninstalled camera, ie: IP addressing, firmware updates, basic image set...
By Brian Rhodes - over 4 years ago
IPVM is proud to release the first ever surveillance camera labor estimation standards. These standards help integrators improve the accuracy and efficiency of their installations, reducing risks and cost. Global Survey We developed these stand...
By Brian Rhodes - over 4 years ago
Falling overboard to die alone in a dark cold sea is terrifying. Video analytics might solve this, but cruise operators are wary of false alerts. In 2010, to deal with this, the US government passed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSS...
By Carlton Purvis - over 5 years ago
Two companies dominate the global market for access control credentials: HID Global and NXP Semiconductor. Both companies own or influence huge chunks of the credentials game, so which one should you choose? In this note, we explain how their offe...
By Brian Rhodes - almost 6 years ago
Charlie Pierce is a legend in CCTV and surveillance, having taught generations of new professionals. Pierce, the founder of LeapFrog Training and Consulting, has been in the industry for almost 40 years. We interviewed him to understand how the in...
By John Honovich - almost 6 years ago
While the US has typically been either favorable or indifferent to video surveillance, the UK is especially well known for its passion, both positive and negative towards video surveillance (or what they call CCTV). To get some local insights, we ...
By Carlton Purvis - almost 6 years ago
IFSEC has reported that Milestone has open-sourced their VMS. However, Milestone has confirmed that this is false and that they were referring to Milestone as being 'open platform', not 'open-source.' While it is disturbing that a major publica...
By John Honovich - about 6 years ago
We recently interviewed surveillance experts from the International Association of Chiefs of Police about various issues, uses, and best practices for police agencies regarding video surveillance. Interestingly, one point that the group frequently...
By Carlton Purvis - about 6 years ago
Qatar, the world's wealthiest country, is known for its opulence and may soon be for its mandatory first-rate surveillance systems. While many countries struggle with low quality, antiquated systems, Qatar seems intent on making every business in ...
By Carlton Purvis - about 6 years ago
ONVIF is simultaneously one of the most successful and disliked new offerings of the last few years. On the one hand, its adoption has been staggering, with over 3000 products supporting it. On the other, many people have had problems integrating ...
By Carlton Purvis - about 6 years ago
How can you tell high quality hardware from junk? Unlike other industries, where 'buyer beware' dominates equipment selection, security door hardware is often tested on how well it actually performs. In this note, we take a look at these ratings, ...
By Brian Rhodes - over 6 years ago
I was quite surprised when a Honeywell rep proudly declared to me that "Honeywell was the Most Open VMS on the Market." Even more surprising it was the very first line of his sales pitch. It raised a real interesting question -"What makes a VMS o...
By John Honovich - over 6 years ago
In this tutorial, we cover the fundamentals of connecting IP cameras to VMS systems, including: Analog vs IP RTSP Direct Integration 'Standards' - ONVIF / PSIA Advanced Integration - PTZ control, Panoramics Advanced Non Supported Functions...
By John Honovich - over 6 years ago
Axis and Mobotix are two of the biggest and oldest IP camera manufacturers yet their approaches are nearly mirror opposites. Based on an integrator member's request, in this note, we review the key structural differences of the two. Open Standard...
By John Honovich - over 6 years ago
Try having one manufacturer's VMS integrate another manufacturer's VMS, DVR or NVR. The results are likely to be disappointing. While integrating different manufacturer's cameras to a VMS is increasingly simple, integrating different recorders int...
By John Honovich - almost 7 years ago
Just four years ago, IP camera standards were no more than a dream. All IP cameras were integrated with proprietary interfaces or using the simplest most basic connections. This added to the cost of using IP and blocked out many cameras from being...
By Ethan Ace - about 7 years ago
Fueled by massive Chinese government spending, Chinese video surveillance is one of the fastest growing markets in our industry. With its already formidable size and potential rapid growth, many manufacturers woud love to get a piece of that actio...
By John Honovich - about 7 years ago
The smart home automation segment has exploded. Now with Axis releasing a camera integrated with Z-Wave, the technology is taking on a new wrinkle in extending I/O features with a whole category of wireless sensors. But is this a sign of things ...
By Brian Rhodes - about 7 years ago
This guide is intended to help users decide when to use 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet vs 1 Gbps Ethernet in surveillance deployements. It covers: The basics of Ethernet, Fast vs. Gigabit Power over Ethernet support Cost differences When to use Fas...
By Ethan Ace - over 7 years ago
If your surveillance equipment is not UL listed, it can be ripped out. Often this feels completely random (as discussed in a member's exchange). Understanding UL listings can avoid these issues and their related high costs. In this note, we overvi...
By Ethan Ace - over 7 years ago
More than 1500 products are now ONVIF compliant but users cannot easily determine which features are supported by any given product. Features which many users would consider vital, such as PTZ control, the ability to change stream settings, and mo...
By Ethan Ace - over 7 years ago
Cabling is a fundamental, yet often overlooked, component of any surveillance project. Indeed, often estimating cabling costs can be more difficult than camera pricing as cabling frequently faces difficult to detect challenges. In this report, we ...
By Ethan Ace - over 7 years ago
In November 2011, the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance released version 1.0 of its Area Control Specifications. These specifications aim to standardize the way access control and intrusion detection systems communicate with host softwar...
By Ethan Ace - over 7 years ago
This report provides a summary of key announcements and news being made related to or around the ASIS 2011 show.For each product or change, where applicable, we provide a link to the manufacturer's announcement on their site and then a link to our...
By John Honovich - over 7 years ago
A common question in IP surveillance is: What are the best ways to extend power and Ethernet past the typical 100 Meter limitation of UTP cable? Indeed, this is often cited as a weakness of IP relative to analog cameras. This is a controversial cr...
By Ethan Ace - almost 8 years ago
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