Sen apr15

HD Camera Shootout

April 2015 Issue 364

At SecTech you decide

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ng

r

se ct e re chro gis ad s ev f ter how er re now .co yt e fo m.a u

l What to see at SecTech Roadshow l Interlogix ZeroWire l Ipswich Safe City Genetec upgrade l Review: Dahua play station l Alarm.com Apple Smart Watch app l Review: New Mobotix i25 l Alarm monitoring snapshot l Enterprise access control

Partner with Genetec and Panasonic!

Hills are making security easier by offering 8, 16 and 23 channel Genetec and Panasonic kits!

All kits include the Panasonic WV-SW155, a Super Dynamic HD Vandal Resistant Dome Camera, and the SV-32 Network Security Appliance, a turnkey system to easily deploy a unified or standalone video surveillance and access control system.

The kits offer you: l Rapid deployment l Easy installation l Total security solutions

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l 8 x Panasonic IP Cameras

l 16 x Panasonic IP Cameras

l 23 x Panasonic IP Cameras

l 1 x Genetec Network Security Appliance

l 1 x Genetec Network Security Appliance

l 1 x Genetec Network Security Appliance

l 8 x Genetec SV-32 Licenses

l 16 x Genetec SV-32 Licenses

l 23 x Genetec SV-32 Licenses

l 1 x 16 Port PoE Switch

l 1 x 24 Port PoE Switch

l 1 x 24 Port PoE Switch

l 1 x 22” monitor

l 1 x 22” monitor

l 1 x 22” monitor

l 1 x Keyboard and mouse

l 1 x Keyboard and mouse

l 1 x Keyboard and mouse

Trusted by some of our nations most significant sites and with 70 years experience, you’ll secure more business with Hills.

For a free demonstration visit your local branch today.

Call 1800 685 487 or visit hills.com.au/branches to find your nearest branch.

editorial s ec u ri ty e l e ct ro n i c s & netwo r ks A PRIL 20 15 i ssue 364

HD Cameras: Which is the Best?

O

BJECTIVE camera testing.

We all talk about it but it’s notoriously difficult for most of us to undertake. That’s why the HD Camera Shootout at SecTech Roadshow is a really big deal. In one room, on one day, in the capital city of your home state; installers, integrators and end users get one chance to see the industry’s leading HD cameras going head to head in low light and strong backlight.

We’ll pit the best cameras from Bosch, Panasonic, Hikvision, Axis Communications, Mobotix, Avigilon, Arecont and the 1-inch newcomer Logipix One, distributed locally by Brisbanebased Sylo.

What we’ll be doing at SecTech’s HD Camera Shootout is over a consistent depth of field in each location, challenging the best HD cameras in the business to show us their stuff under difficult conditions. And you installers, integrators and end users get to decide for yourselves which camera you think is doing the best.

The HD Camera Shootout will take place at every SecTech Roadshow venue: Brisbane on May 4, Sydney on May 6, Melbourne on May 11, Adelaide on May 13 and Perth on May 18.

The times for each HD

By John Adams

The HD cameras we’ll be testing at SecTech Roadshow’s HD Camera Shootout are all excellent and we know each will give us an image stream between 5-10 lux and even lower. But what we all want to know is which HD camera does it best Camera Shootout will be on the hour every hour between 1pm and 4pm each day of SecTech Roadshow.

Although conditions will inevitably vary slightly between the locations, ambient light levels will be at least 250 lux and we plan to test the cameras down to sub 5-lux. We’re not looking to test these cameras in a coal mine but to get an idea of performance in real-world levels of low light.

We’re especially interested in performance between 5-10 lux, that’s down to about half the level of ambient street lighting. While we’re at it, we’ll head under 1 lux to find out which camera holds colour longest. We’ll also check out which camera gives the nicest image quality supported by an external infrared light source when in night mode.

The HD cameras we’ll be testing at SecTech Roadshow’s HD Camera Shootout are all excellent and we know each will give us an image stream between 5-10 lux and even lower. But what we all want to know is which HD camera does it best? Which camera gives us the most detail? Which camera gives us the least noise? The least motion blur? I think we’d all agree that any camera capable of

getting a decent live image stream under 5 lux, gets a gold star. But which camera will that be?

In each test chamber we’ll have a manikin in a chair at a set distance with a license plate in its lap and we’ll lower the lights progressively to get a sense of raw performance. There will also be a backlit screen we’ll use to test for resistance to backlight. A train set running inside the field of view will show motion blur as light levels fall. Other colourful and high contrast items, including lights, will be located on either side of the target area.

Variables we think we’ll see include image acuity and contrast, a general sense of edge-to-edge sharpness, colour rendition, colour shift as light levels fall, noise, noise suppression artefacts, signs of motion blur, lens blooming, light fall-off and vignetting, and lots more.

Hop onto www.sectech roadshow.com.au right now and register to get free parking, free entry, a free happy hour, and your chance to answer the video surveillance industry’s biggest question from the comfort of your own home state. Which HD CCTV camera is the best? zzz

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Brisbane Monday 4th May 2015 Sydney Wednesday 6th May 2015 Melbourne Monday 11th May 2015 Adelaide Wednesday 13th May 2015 Perth Monday 18th May 2015

Enquiries please contact Monique Keatinge +612 9280 4425

Bring your business to the future of security Gallagher Command Centre v7.30

Premier Reporting

The next generation of Gallagher’s world leading security management platform continues to grow its feature set and functionality with the release of version 7.30. Recognised as one of the world’s most powerful security systems, Command Centre v7.30 integrates access control, intruder alarms control, perimeter security and business management through one intelligent platform.

Premier Reporting provides readily available data to more efficiently and effectively manage and monitor staff, time, contractors and clients all while adhering to business compliance and standards.

Gallagher Mobile Client

It’s not just access control Command Centre streamlines all your business systems through one platform

A number of powerful Command Centre features have now been introduced in Gallagher’s new mobile app. Sleek, simple, yet strong and secure, the interface allows alarms to be monitored and acknowledged on the go, and door and zone status can be checked and overridden anytime, anywhere. Inspired by, and developed with customers’ needs in mind, this application maximises the productivity of security personnel and business stakeholders, and is perfect for organisations with multiple sites across the country or world.

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v7.30 comes with enhanced graphical reporting that reduces paper trails, saves time and creates meaningful data to easily identify security and business trends.

Businesses can drive compliance and mitigate risks including health and safety through Command Centre’s ability to connect and exchange a range of security and business information. Command Centre can integrate and interface with systems from HR, video and elevators through to BMS (Business Management Systems) including heating, lighting and air conditioning – making it an exceptionally scalable and interoperable solution that’s only limited by the imagination.

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Brilliantly simple end-to-end security For enterprises that want the best in security and business management, Gallagher continues to deliver it.

Visit security.gallagher.co/latest-releases

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effortless plug and play performance using Dahua’s wide range of internal and external IP cameras.

2: What to see at SecTech Roadshow SECTECH Roadshow will see Security Electronics and Networks Magazine hosting a nationwide tech tour showcasing the latest products from Bosch, CSD, Hills, Canon, Panasonic, Q Security Systems, Sylo, Ness, HID, LSC, Geutebruck, Mobotix and Axis Communications.

30: Interlogix ZeroWire Conceived by Australia’s foremost alarm engineer, Gabriel Daher, Interlogix ZeroWire is a powerful wireless security and automation solution that’s as attractive for end users as it is for installers.

34: Safe City Ipswich City Council has upgraded its Safe City public surveillance solution to Genetec Security Center and added Briefcam. The integration was undertaken by Elbex Access and Security.

50: Play station Dahua’s DHI-NVR4432-16P is one of a number of Dahua’s PoE NVR series which deliver

apr 15

56: Phoenix rising University of Phoenix stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, AZ, has deployed the Avigilon high-definition surveillance solution to monitor its campus and increase public safety.

58: Watch this space Alarm.com, which is going to be pushing into the Australian alarm monitoring market in a big way over the next couple of years, has released an app that allows Apple Smart Watch wearers to control security from their wrist.

64: Alarm monitoring snapshot Alarm monitoring trends in the U.S. are highly relevant to the Australian market, which experiences similar shifts in technology and application.

66: New Mobotix i25 Mobotix i25 is a compact wall-mountable hemispheric indoor camera that offers a super-wide allround 180-degree panorama view in high resolution. Replacing 4 standard CCTV cameras, one i25 views and records an entire room, wall-to-wall.

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80 72

14

regulars

70: Vivotek for EDEKA Voth Following careful planning by SECOMP, a German-based distributor of Vivotek products, a comprehensive video surveillance solution has been designed and installed throughout the entire complex of retailer, EDEKA Voth.

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

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72: Enterprising endeavours Enterprise access control solutions are major long term investments and installers and end users need to think hard about key functionalities and future trends before coming to hard conclusions about which solutions will suit them best.

HD CAMERA SHOOTOUT

April 2015 Issue 364

AT SECTECH YOU DECIDE

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se cte ch

PP 100001158

RE ro GIS ad TER sho ER FRE NOW w.co YT E FO m.a HIN R u G

l What to see at SecTech Roadshow l Interlogix ZeroWire l Ipswich Safe City Genetec upgrade l Review: Dahua Play Station l Alarm.com Apple Smart Watch app l Review: New Mobotix i25 l Alarm monitoring snapshot l Enterprise Access Control

SEM415_1cover.indd 1

25/03/15 4:47 PM

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

58: monitoring Alarm.com, which is going to be pushing into the Australian alarm monitoring market in a big way over the next couple of years, has released an app that allows Apple Smart Watch wearers to control security from their wrist.

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

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

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

Subscriptions 11 issues per annum One year (11 issues)

WEBSITE www.securityelectronics andnetworks.com.au

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

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QSS to distribute Bosch Solution Alarm Panels p.16 CSD Carves 40 Per Cent off Hikvision Prices p.18 Seadan and Pelco Form Strategic Partnership p.20

news in brief ap r i l 2 0 1 5

Jeff Klemm c o m p i l e d b y j o h n ada m s

SecTech Roadshow: Pre-register now for Free Everything!

■

SECTECH Roadshow is a nationwide tech tour with Bosch, CSD, Hills, Canon, Panasonic, Q Security Systems, Sylo, Ness, HID, LSC, Geutebruck, Mobotix and Axis Communications bringing the world’s best electronic security products to the capital city in your state for one great day! No need to spend money travelling interstate – we bring the show to you!

Pre-register now and everything is FREE at Sectech!

Free entry, free parking, a free Happy Hour between 4.30-6pm, and don’t miss our big HD Camera Shoot out running all day!

SecTech Roadshow will be in Brisbane on May 4; Sydney on May 6; Melbourne on May 11, Adelaide on May 13 and Perth people on May 18. Don’t miss it!

Hills and Tyco Join Forces in Distribution New Deal n HILLS has signed an exclusive agreement with Tyco Security Products (TSP) to distribute a range of access control, video and selected intrusion products in Australia and New Zealand.

Ted Pretty, Hills group managing director and chief executive officer, said the deal extends the relationship that has been built over a number of years with Tyco.

“We have successfully built a great relationship with Tyco in New Zealand and this deal is a fantastic opportunity to extend

14 se&n

Tyco’s product offering into Australia,” said Pretty. “Hills will have the right to distribute Tyco’s access control products from Software House, CEM and Kantech, video management products from American Dynamics and Exacq, and intrusion products from Visonic.”

Hills will replace TSP’s existing distribution arrangements on a phased basis. Products are expected to be available from April through Hills national branch network in line with Hills usual purchasing practices.

Ted Pretty, Hills MD and CEO

Panasonic Australia announces new Panasonic Security Partner Program

PANASONIC Australia has announced a new partner program designed specifically for security systems integrators. The inaugural Panasonic Security Partner Program will offer a diverse range of benefits to enhance customer offerings and provide direct access to Panasonic sales and technical teams.

“The need and demand for security systems is increasing in almost all spheres, from public safety to retail environments, from transport to universities and many other areas,” says Adrian Aliberti, product marketing manager – security, Panasonic Australia.

The program allows security integrators to apply to become authorised Panasonic integrators, as a first step to registering. Once registered, integrators will have an opportunity to be designated a partnership level based on their involvement in the tiered program – Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Security integrators completing the required training and achieving key sales targets can progress to higher levels in the program.

“We are really pleased Panasonic has developed the Security Partner Program,” said Jeff Klemm, owner of security integrator, BASE 10. “Panasonic’s security products offer advanced solutions and are highly in demand. This initiative will provide important sales and technical support, which will help us enhance the service we deliver to our customers.”

Secure more business with Hills.

Hills Video Security Professional IP series The Hills Video Security (HVS) CCTV range of professional grade network video recorders (NVRs) and IP cameras lead the way in innovation with a feature rich, plug-and-play solution.

The HVS NVRs come with Hills AutoConfig, a P2P application for remote access where no configuration is required. Connecting to the Hills IP cameras is also easy, involving only simple plug-and-play steps.

INTRUDER DETECTION

Hills NVR Features l HDMI & VGA @ 1080P

FIRE DETECTION

l 3TB HDD storage pre-installed l Built-in 4/8/16 port PoE switch

(NVR-CH4/CH8/CH16) l Hills Auto-Config l Hills Firmware Server upgrade l Plug-and-play with Hills IP cameras

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YEAR WARRANTY

Hills IP cameras Features l 3 megapixel l Up to 2048x1536 resolution l Full HD 1080P real-time video l Infra-red (IR) l DWDR/3D DNR/BLC l PoE connection l Plug-and-play with Hills NVR

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Trusted by some of our nations most significant sites and with 70 years experience, you’ll secure more business with Hills.

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news

QSS to distribute Bosch Solution Alarm Panels

april 2015

Rob Rosa

Hills Tech Expo n HILLS Tech Expo held in the Sydney Hilton early March was probably the first time the electronic security industry’s largest distributor has really given us a look at its full potential as an end-to-end supplier across a range of interlocking market segments.

This was a pivotal moment for Hills – almost as much an internal event as

external, it brought together 49 vendors, 250 Hills’ staff and 700 customers in a 3-day whirlwind, comprising the Tech Expo proper, 21 seminars and 42 pods.

Operating across market segments that include Security, CCTV and IT, AV, Comms/Satellite/Mobility and Health, Hills revealed deep, lateral presence.

It was impossible not to be impressed with the

professional presentation of the event, which was managed internally by the company’s marketing team, and by the response from customers and staff.

Walking the floor for a couple of half days and talking to clients, vendors and staff, I got an intense sense that this was the bonding exercise the big Hills’ crew has been craving over the past 18 months.

Operating across market segments that include Security, CCTV and IT, AV, Comms/ Satellite/ Mobility and Health, Hills has deep, lateral presence.

George Hindy Joins Calamity Monitoring n GEORGE Hindy has joined Calamity Monitoring as national technical manager. Most recently a service delivery supervisor at ADT Security, George joins Calamity with 20 years of hands-on experience in security sales, installation and service management.

“George will be fantastic at supporting our growing list of national and chain customers and their challenging security requirements across alarm, access and monitored CCTV systems,” said Daniel Lewkovitz, Calamity CEO. “Calamity has achieved considerable recognition from its modern approach to security across both its

16 se&n

George Hindy

monitoring and service/ installation divisions.

“George was the perfect candidate bringing both an outstanding technical

familiarity and a customer and contractor focus.”

Hindy will be based at Calamity’s Centre for Advanced Security

Technology and Leadership Excellence (CASTLE) in Sydney and will look after commercial customers country-wide.

BOSCH has announced that effective from March 16th 2015, Q Security Systems will be distributing the Bosch Solution alarm panels, including the ever-popular Solution Ultima, the new Solution 2000/3000, Solution 16i and Solution 6000 access control and alarm panels.

“Our relationship with Q Security Systems continues to strengthen and prosper,” said Chris Dellenty, general manager, Bosch Security Systems.

“The distribution of the Solution series alarm panels completes the picture for QSS’ customers.”

The alarm and access panel range complements QSS’ existing offering of the broad range of Bosch intrusion sensors, and sits alongside the comprehensive Bosch Video Systems portfolio QSS has been distributing since May 2014. The extended partnership agreement enables QSS to promote a complete Bosch Security Solution.

“QSS is excited with this latest addition to our current Bosch portfolio of CCTV products, making us a true onestop shop for one of the best security brands in Australia.” said Rob Rosa, QSS chief executive officer.

“QSS will support the Bosch intrusion products, including launching aN 1800 intrusion support line for QSS customers within the next few weeks.”

With 5 offices Australiawide and more than 50 employees, a technical service centre and a national distribution centre, Rpsa says QSS is well-resourced and experienced in the security industry to provide access and expert support for the complete Bosch Security product range.

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news

Brewer joins Hills

april 2015

Phil Brewer

QSS Signs National Distribution Agreement with Nortek Security & Control LLC and Alarm.com n QSS says it has signed a national distribution agreement with alarm manufacturer Nortek Security & Control LLC, and with cloud-based SaaS provider, Alarm.com.

As part of the agreement, QSS will distribute Nortek’s wireless 2GIG Security and Home Control System, which tightly integrates with Alarm.com’s leading smart home services platform. The fully integrated solution allows users to connect to nearly

every aspect of their home through a single, easy to use mobile app.

The 2GIG System Security and Home Control System offers customers an advanced security and home automation management solution. The hallmark of the system is the intuitive, user-friendly interface found on the 2GIG GC2 panel, as well as the additional access provided on browser and mobile devices via 3rd party services like Alarm.com.

Through the 2GIG System’s home control functions, users can control lighting, HVAC, and other Z-Wave smart devices in the home right from the panel, web-enabled phone, or the internet. There’s no need for extra control hardware — it’s all contained within the 2GIG Home Control System.

Adding devices such as PIRs, smoke detectors, door and window sensors, wireless cameras and many other devices has never been easier with the

intuitive learning mode capability embedded in the 2GIG GC2 panel.

Meanwhile, Alarm.com provides an integrated connected home experience through an intelligent cloudbased services platform and easy to use mobile app.

According to QSS, if customers are seeking more information about these solutions there are information sessions in each state and they can contact their local branch to register.

PHIL Brewer has taken on a new role as vendor business manager - Tyco Security Products at Hills Ltd. Brewer is responsible for managing the business of electronic security products from Tyco at Hills. He takes charge of a range of products that feature complete integration between intrusion, access control and video systems for unified surveillance systems.

Tyco Security Products’ brands carried by Hills include DSC, Kantech, exacqVision, American Dynamics, Software House, CEM, Visonic, SurGard, Proximex and Elpas.

Brewer said he was excited to have joined the industry’s largest electronic security distribution company and Australia’s leading supplier of innovative technology.

CSD Carves 40 Per Cent off Hikvision Prices n CSD has slashed up to 40 per cent off pricing for the market-leading Easy IP 2 Line range in celebration of its extraordinary growth since partnering with Hikvision in 2013.

“We believe this is an historic turning point for the security industry in Australia as we will now be offering a high quality 3MP camera for less than the price of a good analogue camera only 12 months ago,” said Mark Cunnington, CSD managing director.

“After selling more than 30,000 Hikvision cameras

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in Australia in 2014, Hikvision has made some volume-based adjustments to our pricing and we are excited to be able to share the savings with our customers”.

Hikvision sales in the region grew by almost 100 per cent in 2014, based largely on a very strong value proposition, and the company has similar growth expectations for 2015.

According to Cunnington, this new pricing may well prove to be a game changer for Hikvision, CSD and the industry as a whole.

Hikvision sales in the region grew by almost 100 per cent in 2014, based largely on a very strong value proposition, and the company has similar growth expectations for 2015.

Mark Cunnington

expo + hd camera shootout

brisbane 4th may Sydney 6th may melbourne 11th may adelaide 13th may perth 18th may

Finally, a security system you’ll love to use..

Q SECURITY SYSTEMS ARE NOW DISTRIBUTING THE 2GIG SECURITY AND HOME CONTROL SYSTEM

Q Security Systems are now offering their customers the latest and most advanced security and home management solution in the industry. 2GIG Technologies manufacture some of the most technologically-advanced residential security solutions and is number #1 in the US. Complete with a colour touch screen, GSM radio and Z-Wave chip, 2GIG GO!Control is one of the most advanced systems on the market.

Alarm.com is the industry leading technology provider of interactive security, integrated home automation, energy management and video monitoring solutions.

Together, Alarm.com and 2GIG Technologies are committed to the pursuit of convenience and control for today’s modern security system users, as well as consumers seeking whole home solutions. We offer the most innovative products and services that have proven to drive customer growth and deliver lasting satisfaction.

Visit Alarm.com for more information

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W W W . Q S E C U R I T Y S Y S T E M S . C O M .A U

news

Seadan and Pelco Form Strategic Partnership

mp a ar ric l h2 0 2 1051 5

Ian Harris (l) and Larry Kallenbach

SmartTek Grants OnWatch of Australia Exclusive Rights to App Trio n SMARTEK Systems has signed an agreement granting Australia’s OnWatch distribution rights for its trio of apps.

Onwatch, established in 2004, is a privately owned and accredited central alarm monitoring station based in Sydney’s Double Bay. The Onwatch agreement marks the first of several international agreements SmartTek says it is working to establish.

“Using the SmartTek Systems app and infrastructure, we see exciting new opportunities to offer our customers better protection and innovative new services, the sort of added value that is impossible to provide with traditional systems and through conventional

suppliers,” said David Sweet, managing director, Onwatch Australia.

“This move will position Onwatch as a leading player in the Australian mobile PERS market and signals a fundamental change in the opportunities for the provision of Personal Safety and Medical Emergency services. It heralds a step-change in the Australian mobile Personal Emergency Response Service market.”

The trio of apps is comprised of the previously announced SmartAlert, a panic, safety, and mobile personal emergency response system (mPERS), designed to preserve the users personal privacy; SmartGuard, designed to

give families peace-ofmind by providing optional location information about family members; and SmartTrack, a powerful fleet-tracking and mobile productivity solution for small businesses. Pilot testing of the new app offerings has been ongoing with central stations for months and the service will soon be ready to come to market.

“The landscape of the alarm industry is changing not just in the US but internationally, and the agreement with Onwatch will keep SmartTek at the forefront of bringing that change to a global audience,” said SmartTek Co-founder Barry Schweiger, also co-founder and former president, Fire

Burglary Instruments.

“By extending protection services to subscribers and their families when they are out of their homes, at school, work or out enjoying themselves, security companies can practically guarantee increased RMR and lowered attrition rates. We see this as a very strong closing tool for dealers.”

SmartTek’s Apps eliminate the need to purchase any additional equipment, and there are no additional cellular charges to the central station, dealer or subscriber. Dealers simply have their subscribers sign up, download and install the app on their iPhone or Android smartphone and they are immediately protected.

SEADAN Security & Electronics reports it has expanded its CCTV division after confirming a strategic partnership with legendary CCTV manufacturer, Pelco by Schneider Electric.

According to a release, the newly formed alliance will provide the Australian market with a greater breadth of choice in CCTV innovation and technology.

“Seadan is pleased to be appointed a supplier of Pelco and its products will be on display shortly in all our showrooms across Australia,” said Ian Harris, Seadan Security & Electronics MD. Seadan Security & Electronics is a leading Australian wholesale supplier of security system solutions, including CCTV.

The landscape of the alarm industry is changing not just in the US but internationally, and the agreement with Onwatch will keep SmartTek at the forefront of bringing that change to a global audience

Sylo Signs Exclusive Regional Agreement high resolution camera maker,with Logipix n SYLO has signed an exclusive regional agreement with Logipix, a Hungarian manufacturer of high-end, high resolution CCTV solutions.

According to Sylo’s Mark Hartmann, the company is excited about the release of the Logipix One 14MP camera, which it will showcase at Sectech Roadshow in May. Logipix One is an

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amazing camera. It’s compact in dimension, built like a watch and has a ground-breaking 1-inch sensor providing 14MP of resolution. Owing to the monster sensor – it’s triple the usual size - this camera produces more detailed images with sharper edges and much improved low-light performance.

Best of all, it delivers all

this at an impressive 20fps recording speed at full resolution. According to Hartmann, Logipix One will soon be integrated into Axxon Next VMS. The integration will be handled by Brisbanebased Sylo’s Oleg Malashenko, a former lead software developer at Axxon Soft, in partnership with the Axxon development team.

Chris George (l), Mark Hartmann and Peter Jeffree

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s p e ci a l f eat u re s e cte c h r oa d s h ow

What to see at SecTech Roadshow SECTECH Roadshow will see Security Electronics and Networks Magazine hosting a nationwide tech tour showcasing the latest products from Bosch, CSD, Hills, Canon, Panasonic, Q Security Systems, Sylo, Ness, HID, LSC, Geutebruck, Mobotix and Axis Communications.

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ECTECH Roadshow will visit Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth in May, allowing installers, integrators and end users to see the best electronic security solutions in their own capital cities. SecTech is the perfect opportunity to get your technical teams across some of the latest gear in the market without the cost of interstate travel. Not only do we come to you, everything is free at SecTech. Free entry, free parking and free beer at the end of the day. And installers won’t want to miss SecTech’s HD Camera 22 se&n

Shootout, which will run on the hour at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm each day of the SecTech Roadshow. If you always wondered which of the industry’s leading HD cameras was best in low light and backlight, this is your chance – come along and see for yourself!

New Bosch technology at SecTech VISIT Bosch Security Systems at SecTech Roadshow to see the latest products and technologies on offer – including the DINION IP ultra 8000 MP camera

Elephant proof.

Our cameras are much tougher than they look. That’s because we don’t just give them a few strikes during testing, as you might expect. Instead, we subject them to about 30 heavy strikes – directly on their weakest spots. Don’t worry though, we keep them away from elephants.

It’s just one of the tough tests Axis cameras face, so you can be sure you’ll always get the best image quality and high performance – no matter what’s thrown at them.

Learn more about Axis’ quality assurance work at axis.com/quality or send an email to contact-sap@axis.com for more info.

Distributed by:

Visit us at:

expo + hd camera shootout

brisbane 4th may Sydney 6th may melbourne 11th may adelaide 13th may perth 18th may

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featuring 4K ultra HD technology (to be featured in the HD camera shootout), the DIVAR IP 2000 Series easy to use all-in-one recording and management solution, and the brand new compact and stylish 720p indoor TINYON IP camera with PIR-based motion and audio detection. See our innovative technologies in action including starlight technology that makes darkness visible, Content Based Imaging technology (CBIT) for increased image detail, Intelligent Dynamic Noise Reduction (IDNR) for reduced storage costs and less bandwidth required, Dynamic Transcoding for access to HD images anywhere, anytime, and Intelligent Auto Exposure to provide perfect exposure every time. Joining these will be the new Solution 2000/3000, the feature rich and extremely price competitive alarm panel with future expansion options incorporating video integration and home automation, along with userfriendly touchscreens and remote app control. Let us show you how you can maximize your security solution with Bosch.

QSS brings Bosch, 2GIG, FLIR, DVTEL and more to SecTech Q Security Systems will be demonstrating a wide range of products from some of the major brands QSS represents at SecTech Roadshow in May. Visitors will experience the full functionality of the 2GIG Go! Control panel and home automation system via the Alarm.com application everyone is so eager to see in action. Expect to see the FLIR ONE thermal imager, and remote apps for Bosch’s IP Video (Divar) and 6000 Alarm System, Verint Nextiva, DVTEL’s Meridian and QUASAR cameras. QSS will also display its own QVS NViewer App, which will be monitoring the industry’s most powerful PnP IP video system, the INDEPENDENCE. And last but not least, the NUUO IVIEWER app will be demonstrating some of the latest QVS and Arecont Cameras remotely.

New from Axis at SecTech Axis P1365 features Forensic Capture in strong WDR, as well as Lightfinder, H.264 high profile and 50/60 fps. This camera can seamlessly transition between WDR-Forensic Capture and Lightfinder mode.

Also be sure to check out Axis F41 mobile NVR and Axis F1005-E camera. New Axis F Series offers flexible, high-performance 1080p cameras for discreet indoor, outdoor and mobile surveillance applications. They are ideal for ATMs (automated

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sectech roadshow

If you always wondered which of the industry’s leading HD cameras was best in low light and backlight, this is your chance – come along and see for yourself!

teller machines), banks, stores, hotels, as well as rugged environments such as emergency vehicles, buses and trams.

Next comes Axis Q3505-V 9MM - AXIS Q35 Fixed Domes have top-of-the-line image usability, durability and reliability. The indoor and outdoorready vandal-resistant cameras are ideal for high-security applications in areas such as cities, airports, railway stations, and industrial and critical infrastructure facilities.

Axis will also show Q6045-E MkII - a top-of-the-line indoor PTZ dome, offering a rich viewing experience with HDTV 1080p, 20x optical zoom, and fast and precise pan/tilt performance for superb wide area coverage and great detail when zooming in. It is ideal for airports, train stations, arenas, shopping malls and warehouses.

You’ll also see Axis Q6000-E, which can be integrated with an AXIS Q60-E to create a pioneering camera solution offering full 360-degree overview to zoomed-in detail in one click, while always recording the 360-degree scene. It is an ideal solution for city surveillance in market squares, parking lots and large open areas such as food courts in shopping malls.

Axis Q16 network camera series comprises indoor and outdoor-ready fixed cameras that deliver outstanding image quality in demanding video surveillance conditions, such as poor or highly variable lighting. This camera features Zipstream technology, which has been developed specifically for video surveillance applications and lowers bandwidth and storage requirements by an average 50 per cent or more.

New from Hills at SecTech HILLS will bring a wide range of new product on the SecTech Roadshow, including DVTEL’s new 4K Ultra HD bullet and dome cameras.

Hills will display Tyco’s DSC alarm panels with support for home automation/integration and Alarm.com service will also be available in Australia.

The DSC range will include the NEO alarm and automation panels range.

Hills will show HID’s mobile-ready readers, which can be configured to be mobile-enabled when the user decides to purchase the credentials and portal registration. The reader will assist with the transition between existing IClass and Multiclass platforms to then encompass mobile credentials all on one site.

At SecTech, Hills will also show ASSA ABLOY’s

Avigilon helps you identify the 2014-May-05 07:38:09.223 PM

who was caught 2014-May-05 07:38:09.223 PM

on the campus 2014-May-05 07:38:09.223 PM

while analogue helps you identify CAM1 2014-May-5 07:38:09 PM

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s p e ci al f eat u r e

Aperio, a new technology developed to complement new and existing electronic access control systems, providing end users with a simple, intelligent way to upgrade the controllability and security level of their premises.

The heart of Aperio is a short distance wireless communication protocol; designed to link an online electronic access control system with an Aperio enabled mechanical lock.

Other products you’ll see at SecTech include the ZeroWire wireless alarm panel range, incorporating CCTV and home automation, Redwall and RedScan high security external sensors, Xtralis – Adpro E PRO external long range motion detectors, and the Xandem TMD tomographic motion detection system to protect large areas of up to 3000 square metres.

New from CSD at SecTech CSD will be showing the latest from Avigilon, Hikvision, Mobotix, Inner Range and Paradox at SecTech Roadshow. Don’t miss gems like Hikvision’s new Darkfighter fixed and PTZ cameras, the latest of Inner Range Integriti, Paradox alarm and automation panels and sensors and the famed Avigilon high resolution video surveillance solution, which continues to take the CCTV industry by storm!

New from Ness AT SecTech you’ll see the all new NESS NVIEW range of AHD, SDI and IP CCTV products, bringing high definition CCTV to all installers. Check out the Ness D8x/D16x DELUXE with more AUX outputs, enhanced voice alarms and voice prompts for remote telephone operation.

You’ll also see Ness SMARTLIVING control panels and 2-way wireless security, which are bus-based systems with a wide range of keypad and touch screen interfaces. At SecTech, powered demos and online apps will be running live for all products. Try

sectech roadshow

our smartphone/tablet apps at the show and see what fast high definition looks like live!

LSC brings its best to SecTech ONLY LSC has everything to secure your world – mechanical locking and world class electronic security options. We exist so you can keep your customers secure. When you visit LSC at SecTech 2015 you’ll see the Creone KeyBox range, a new solution for management of valuables & keys.

You’ll also see our popular STI safety products, new Electronic Line fully wireless alarms with cloud based technology and hard-wired access control systems including the new range of MicroLatch products. The world’s best security brands have one thing in common – LSC.

Panasonic brings best in CCTV to SecTech SEE the best from the company that brought you the very first security camera in 1957 and invented over a dozen industry standards. Panasonic provides industry-leading solutions to capture, record, manage and analyse surveillance video. Check out our comprehensive lineup of video surveillance products and solutions that offer the industry’s highest picture quality, mission-critical reliability and the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership.

When it counts, you can count on Panasonic video surveillance products and solutions to deliver. Find out more at SecTech!

See Geutebruck’s latest at SecTech GEUTEBRUCK hardware and software solutions have been selected by high security sites for reasons beyond high performance; these include redundancy, reliability and backward capability.

In Australia we provide component level support, system engineering and servicing for our entire range of CCTV solutions. Our clients have enjoyed backward-compatible software release/updates/ enhancements for over 20 years. In addition, Geutebrück offers; 24/7 technical support, component level repair locally in Australia & no ongoing or annual fees. Talk to us at SecTech and find out more.

New from Mobotix EXCITING new things from Mobotix at SecTech

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Dare to compare How does your current system rate against the new Solution?

SOLUTION 2000/3000

YOUR SYSTEM

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INPUTS/OUTPUTS On Board Zones Zone Doubling Expandable To

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Wireless

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On Board Outputs Expandable To

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USER INTERFACE Maximum Keypads LCD Icon Keypad

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IP

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Event Log Remote Software

Built around the concepts of lifestyle, connectivity and expandability, Bosch introduce the Solution 2000 & 3000 alarm panels. Offering everything you love about the Solution Ultima and more, we’ve created a security system that has all the technology it needs to identify intruders without being hard to use. Customers will love its simplicity and installers will love the extended feature set, along with its extremely competitive pricing. With future expansion options in coming months incorporating video integration and home automation, Bosch is excited to present the Solution 2000 & 3000.

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Security Master License No: 409 400 739

For more information download the Solution 2000/3000 Info Kit at www.boschsecurity.com.au/NewSolution or contact a distributor.

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sectech roadshow illumination system, enabling video surveillance even in complete darkness.

The 4 fixed-dome network cameras include the outdoor-use VB-M641VE and VBM640VE, 3 and the indoor-use VB-M641V and VB-M640V.3. Canon’s new lineup of outdoor-use network cameras, including the high-performance VB-R11VE, VB-R10VE and VBM741LE, are capable of panning 360 degrees, and withstanding temperatures down to -50 degrees C and up to 55 degrees C, as well as harsh coastal maritime weather conditions. The 2 outdoor models also achieve IK10 classification 4 against physical attack.

Sylo’s cool, new stuff

include the i25, a new indoor camera built on the 5MP hardware platform with many of the same features as the Q25 but at a lower price point. The wall mountable i25 captures an entire room with a stunning 180-degree wall-to-wall view, without any blind spots. Virtual PTZ on live and recorded images is performed by the i25 camera without requiring an additional computer or software.

Also new at SecTech is the Mobotic c25, with a diameter of only 12cm and a weight of 200g, it’s the smallest and lightest Mobotix hemispheric video system yet. Suitable for mounting on indoor ceilings (protection class IP20, 0 to 40 degrees C), standard features include a light-sensitive 5MP day sensor, a 4GB MicroSD memory card (expandable to 128 GB), an HD sound microphone and the latest camera software.

Next comes Mobotix 6MP (3072 × 2048 Pixels) Moonlight sensor technology, which can handle illumination down to around 0.25 lux. The new Mobotix 6MP image sensors (available as a day and night version for color and black/white images), feature even better light sensitivity than the 5MP sensors, making these the best Mobotix cameras and IP systems ever.

Canon to show 9 new network cameras CANON will show 9 new VB-R and VB-M series network cameras, including 3 pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) models — Canon’s first network cameras capable of panning 360 degrees — as well as 2 full body models and 4 fixed-dome models.

The PTZ dome-type models comprise the VBR11VE and VB-R10VE.1, which feature all-weather designs making them ideal for outdoor use, and the indoor-model VB-R11. The 2 full body cameras, the VB-M741LE and VB-M740E.2 also include another first for Canon as the former is the company’s first network camera to incorporate an infrared

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QUEENSLAND-based Sylo will be showing off the latest gear from the likes of CCTV manufacturer 3S, VMS maker AxxonSoft, as well as the awesome yet extremely compact 14MP Logipix One camera with a 1-inch sensor and high end GBO lens. Sylo also has high quality mobile NVRs and face recognition technology.

New from HID HID will showcase the HID Mobile Access solution at SecTech Roadshow. The solution delivers a more secure and convenient way to open doors and gates while introducing a simple secure identity management process. It includes everything necessary for organizations to immediately begin using Bluetooth Smart and NFC-enabled smartphones and other mobile devices as an alternative to keys and smart cards in today’s increasingly popular BYOD mobility environment.

The solution also makes it possible for users to unlock doors and open gates from a distance using the company’s patented ‘Twist and Go’ gesture technology. zzz

register now!

Installers, integrators, end users and consultants planning to attend, please note - everything is FREE at Sectech! Yes, that’s right - free entry, free parking (you need to pre-register to score this), a free Happy Hour between 4.30-6pm, and don’t miss our big HD Camera Demo running at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm every day!

Pre-Register now at www.sectechroadshow. com.au and pencil in these dates: For Brisbane people it’s May 4; if you’re in Sydney, it’s May 6; we’ll be in Melbourne on May 11, Adelaide on May 13 and Perth on May 18. See you there!

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Interlogix ZeroWire

by john adam s

Interlogix ZeroWire Conceived by Australia’s foremost alarm engineer, Gabriel Daher, Interlogix ZeroWire is a powerful wireless security and automation solution that’s as attractive for end users as it is for installers.

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HEN an engineering version of the ZeroWire wireless security and automation system was displayed at Security 2013 in Sydney there was no doubt it was a powerful piece of technology. An all-inone security and automation system that could handle 128 sensors, the real power of this system lay in its embrace of open wireless comms.

The system hustled cellular, WiFi and Ethernet connectivity, as well as offering Z-Wave communications for agnostic control of any

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Z-Wave automation devices. Along with being open at the device level, ZeroWire functionality and reporting was open to customers, too, thanks to a built-in web server offering browser, Android and Apple iOS capability. That all seems so obvious today, but when the system was dreamed up, it was bleeding edge.

Now Interlogix, which purchased ZeroWire when it bought Australian communications manufacturer UHS from Hills Ltd in September 2014, is leaning in with ZeroWire. The solution, re-sized to 64-zones, was recently unveiled at Consumer Electronics in Las Vegas and looking at the specifications it becomes even clearer just how keen Gabriel Daher’s vision was when he conceived ZeroWire as a wireless everything solution.

Something that’s new with ZeroWire since Daher showed me the system in July 2013 is video capability. ZeroWire now natively supports IP cameras and can facilitate both viewing of

www.centralsd.com.au • 1300 319 499

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Interlogix ZeroWire

ZeroWire is an ideal choice for today’s homeowner looking for a complete, costeffective solution that provides security and interactive home control through personal technology devices. live video and replay of video recordings, either to confirm intrusion or for general monitoring.

Adding video really is the icing on a scrumptious cake.

But to my mind the greatest strength of ZeroWire is retaining Sigma Design’s Z-Wave capability. Z-Wave technology is duplex, low power draw, fast thanks to a 100kbitps rate and has extremely low latency of .05 of a second.

It also operates in the comparative peace and quiet of the 900Mhz band.

It’s a credit to Interlogix that Z-Wave is still available. There are plenty of electronic security manufacturers which would not be prepared to leave a huge part of their new solution open to third party devices. That’s because Z-Wave is a broadly open comms standard with devices made by 250 or more manufacturers.

Z-Wave technology is licensed by Sigma and while proprietary in terms of product badging, under the hood there’s uniformity of wireless comms. That means Z-Wave devices can intercommunicate between manufacturers’ controllers. Incorporating Z-Wave means Interlogix is offering something wonderful to installers and end users that’s rarely seen in systems of this size and accessibility - a measure of open-ness.

Integrated Z-Wave comms mean homeowners can manage the whole spectrum of Z-Wave lights, security, smoke detection, carbon monoxide detection, flood sensors, air conditioning controls, energy management controls, medical monitoring alarms, locking devices and heaps more, now and in the future. In fact, there are around 1000 Z-Wave home automation devices currently available.

Something else to bear in mind is that ZeroWire also offers integrated Wi-Fi. Now, Wi-Fi is an open wireless standard but it seems Interlogix will be employing it carefully. Rather than porting ZeroWire to whatever is the nearest WiFi router, the current thinking seems to be that this comms path be used to integrate ZeroWire with UTC products, including Carrier air conditioners and Kidde fire systems.

In terms of outright specifications, the ZeroWire system supports up to 64 zones and can accept more than 250 users. It has

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c o n t e x t - s e n s i t ive keys and a voiceguided menu for simple installation and operation and supports door/ window, glass break and environmental sensors; motion, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

The system can also handle up to 20 key fobs that can be used locally for arming/disarming, turning on or off a Z-Wave-enabled light, or activating the panic feature from a compact, remote device.

There’s also dual-path reporting over broadband and cellular networks for increased levels of security. Something that’s interesting is the fact Interlogix is highlighting that ZeroWire’s teeny footprint and low-profile allow it to be wallmounted or table-mounted. Whenever I read the words ‘table-mount’ my mind always spins an image of cloud.

Those cloud features work both ways. As well as giving users remote and mobile access to functionality and reporting, ZeroWire is the consummate SaaS (security as a service) module, offering enterprising alarm installers an IP business model with a long line of sales hooks. zzz

Integration into common management systems.

Integration into common management systems.

Integration into common management systems.

Further information can be found at: Further information can be found at: Further information can be found at: www.panomera.com

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cas e st u dy

Ip swich Ci ty Council

Ipswich City I Council Ipswich City Council has upgraded its Safe City public surveillance solution to Genetec Security Center and added Briefcam. The integration was undertaken

by Elbex Access and Security.

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PSWICH City Council owns and manages one of the oldest and best known public surveillance systems in Australia. It was installed in 1994 and represented the best video surveillance technology of the day, including extremely capable Elbex EX2000 motorised PTZs, and multiple Elbex PTZ pendent domes.

The original system was installed by Council in response to rising street crime and the designers and operators of the Safe City solution were tasked with making Ipswich safer for its citizens. In partnership with Ipswich Police, and with unqualified long term support from Ipswich City Council, that goal has been well and truly realised for more than 2 decades.

Around 3 years ago it was decided that to open the Safe City solution to IP camera technology, as well as to bring Council’s adjacent security surveillance

By John Ada m s

Ipswich Mall

Safe City video wall

system into the Safe City control room, a new video management system was needed. After a 2-year testing period, Council chose to install Genetec Security Centre, a VMS designed from the ground up to be hardware agnostic. The initial Genetec Security Center 5.2 installation was to be upgraded to 5.2 SR9 the day after I visited and shortly to be unpgraded to 5.3.

I took a tour of the Ipswich system with Larry Waite, Safe City security coordinator at Ipswich City Council and David Keidar, CTO of integrator, Elbex Access and Security. Both Waite and Keidar have an association with the site that stretches all the way back to that original installation and they express the same seamless ownership of its history and operation.

Waite first began working on the system as a

supervising contractor in 1994, became contract manager for the site, then joined Council as an employee in 2011. His breadth of experience makes him an excellent guide. Managing a test bed as challenging and diverse as Safe City has rendered Waite a pure empiricist when it comes to claims about camera technology, and he has an holistic sense of technology and procedure. Nothing that fails to enhance the objective operational performance of the system will be integrated into the Safe City solution.

“We have 2 different systems, a Safe City system and Council’s 270 static security cameras, which monitor Ipswich Council’s infrastructure,” Waite tells me. “There are about 240 cameras in the Safe City system and the video signals come back to the Safe City control room on Council’s intranet, which is now mostly fibre and supports all Council’s network requirements.

“While we share a fibre for Council’s security camera video streams, for Safe City cameras we use our own dedicated Safe City fibre, which ensures we have no issues with bandwidth. The Safe City cameras are mainly PTZs and about 35 fixed cameras.”

Fit for purpose While Council’s static security cameras simply monitor council assets and infrastructure, the Safe City surveillance solution installed in public spaces is designed solely for public safety, for protecting the public and public property.

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Briefcam!

“Ipswich City Council owns and runs the Safe City system and the Safe City team is responsible to the committee of council – including the CEO and mayor,” explains Waite. “Also governing the system are a number of procedures that cover operations, and the retention and release of video.”

Footage from Safe City’s cameras can be viewed by police live or supplied in support of investigations and prosecutions. The symbiotic relationship between Safe City and Queensland Police Service goes back to the early days when the 2 shared an operations centre in Ipswich Mall. As well as assisting with investigations, the Safe City team also works in real time with police officers when required.

As part of this relationship there’s a memorandum of agreement between the City of Ipswich and Queensland Police Service in which each agrees to work to increase effectiveness of community policing, to identify long term preventative measures that reduce crime and improve safety, to recognise roles and accountabilities of individuals groups and agencies to provide a safer environment for all, and exchange information freely to address common concerns.

The Safe City upgrade Safe City’s VMS upgrade and the integration of Council’s formerly separate security cameras into the Safe City control room is built around Council’s unprecedented fibre intranet, which stretches for tens of kilometres across the council area. The upgrade from the former video management solution to Genetec Security Center is designed to make Council device agnostic – not just to video surveillance cameras, but to any other devices Council may choose to incorporate into its solution in the future.

With the new VMS, changes on the perimeter of the system – new cameras or any other devices in the future – have no impact on the functionality of Genetec Security Center in the control room.

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Ip swich Ci ty Council

Important, too, the new system means that as well as installing the latest IP cameras, Council can continue to leverage its existing analogue cameras, and deploy medium-term solutions such as HD-SDI technology, that use existing coaxial infrastructure.

“We are in the process of phasing out all the analogue cameras – we must be getting close to 50 per cent,” Waite says. “There are more cameras arriving all the time to allow us to swap out the old cameras and move to IP. Currently, however, we have IP and legacy analogue. We run a bit of everything, including Panasonic, Pelco, Samsung, Bosch, Axis and the Elbex analogue cameras - I think we might even have some Ikegami cameras still in the system.”

Waite says a key part of preparing the system for the future involved selecting the right VMS. “We spent 2 years trialling VMS solutions before deciding on Genetec – we set up a mini control room and tested different solutions over that time,” he says. It was an important decision. As well as an open solution, you obviously need a VMS that delivers more than just an image stream – it needs to access all the capabilities of your cameras.”

Given Safe City is a mature application comprising legacy technologies, it seems only natural there be a large number of analogue cameras working together with new HD PTZ cameras. As we chat my immediate thought is that Council is careful with budget but as Waite and Keidar discuss the system and, later on when I see applications of cutting edge technologies, I realise there’s something else at work here.

Same as all public surveillance solutions, Ipswich Council is a 24-hour site and the size and scope of its camera installation, the variability of light sources in Ipswich Mall, along major roads, and in backstreets, covered walkways and parklands, means that low light performance is not merely paramount but utterly central to core system functionality.

“Part of the reason it has taken so long for Ipswich City Council to undertake this process of upgrade is the strong low light performance of Elbex analogue PTZ cameras,” Keidar explains. “They have a ½-inch sensor and good quality glass optics and a slow shutter speed, a combination which makes them very sensitive to light.

“Over the years we have been constantly trying new cameras and we just could not find anything that performed as well throughout a 24-hour operational cycle as the existing Elbex cameras,” he

Briefcam allows the team to ask it to only show green cars that have passed a camera, if that’s what they are looking for, or the red cars, based on the direction of travel and other parameters.

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says. “The first HD camera that managed to break into the system was the Axis Q6044 720p HD PTZ. We are using 720p simply because in the real world it’s more sensitive in low light – we would love the higher resolution of 1080p HD but for our needs low light performance is paramount.”

“The next HD camera we brought in was a Pelco PTZ, which you simply take out of the box, bolt to a wall and it runs, so in that sense it’s a very easy camera to use for an upgrade like this one,” Waite explains. “Pretty much every camera we could find we have tried in a 24-hour real time application and the process never ends because this system is large and always growing.”

Because of the demanding nature of the site and its local and international reputation, Waite says there are plenty of quality manufacturers eager to supply cameras for the Safe City system.

“When it comes to technology, we never dive into anything – we’ve always sat back and waited to see what was available and to trial before we buy,” says Waite. “When things are applied in the real world, they may not work as well as they do on a stand at a trade show.

“Every salesperson says they have the best camera – no matter who you speak to they always have the best camera. Rather than getting into a debate with them, we ask for a sample, install it in the field and then tell manufacturers or suppliers how good their camera is from the perspective of our own application.”

Larry Waite

When it comes to technology, we never dive into anything – we’ve always sat back and waited to see what was available and to trial before we buy.

Touring the system While we talk, we’re driving around the streets of

Servers in the network room

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Ipswich and some things really stick out. The first is the huge geographical size of the application and second is the number of cameras – mostly PTZs. Underlying both these parameters is the hidden power of that enormous fibre infrastructure. In other applications side-boring or wireless links might consume significant chunks of budget and demand intense planning but Council’s fibre foresight dissembles all those agonies into irrelevance.

As part of our tour, we hop out of the car and check out a number of camera pole installations.

Some have an analogue PTZ and an IP fixed camera, another has a pair of analogue domes, one Bosch and one Elbex. They are ported into nearby pits for power and comms, just as all the cameras are on this system.

“There’s a pattern to trenching for the cameras – the furthest camera is Rosewood, about 30km from here on the fibre LAN. That distance shows how extensive this solution actually is,” Waite tells me.

On Brisbane St we cruise past 11 camera and pole installations along a 2km stretch. Many of the dedicated camera poles have a Bosch static camera covering a nearby taxi rank or bus stop, as well as a PTZ, allowing 360-degree views for hundreds of metres in all directions. Cameras are thoughtfully located in areas of perceived public risk that are informed by experience in cooperation with Queensland Police Service.

Later when we walk the CBD mall and adjacent side streets I’m doubly surprised by the number of cameras here and the fact so many of them are Elbex analogue PTZs. Clearly, Safe City has had comprehensive coverage of the Ipswich CBD for many years. As well as the main mall and multiple key streets, locations like walking tracks and pathways over the bridge are covered by multiple camera views. The bridge walkway is further

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supported by Help Points and a PA, which directly communicates with the Safe City control room.

The control room The Safe City control room is accessed through a car park in a Council-owned building in the town centre. The site also supports security officers who patrol the city and the adjacent car park makes the location very convenient for this dual purpose.

While the control room was not built as a dedicated control room, it’s a very workable space – secure and large enough to contain administrative offices, the control room with its video wall and workstations, a large meeting room and a network room containing the decoders, switches and servers that support the system.

The control room itself is large laterally and the video wall is enormous. This may not be the largest video wall in Australia but it’s big – I’ve not seen anything as big recently.

Walking into the Safe City control room you feel it’s a warm and friendly working environment and this opinion is only confirmed after spending a couple of hours with the team. You can also see it’s a working space - there are 2 operators on duty when we arrive and they go through what look to me to be a series of set procedures with quiet efficiency. Each of the workstations is set up with Genetec Security Center software and the viewer is familiar Genetec, everything is in easy reach of an operator’s mouse click.

It’s a measure of the capability of a VMS that it blends into the functionality of a control room’s operation and Security Center achieves this slick invisibility. Throughout my visit there’s not a single instance in which the management system sticks an awkward elbow into the face of the operators.

Everything just works.

Having recently sat down with the latest version of the software, I’m acutely aware we are viewing the tip of an iceberg. Ipswich City Council’s future is now set up across CCTV, access control, intrusion

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The heart of the matter

and global integration of sub systems and business systems. Something else with Genetec is that there’s no annual per-channel license fee. Instead there’s a non-compulsory software maintenance agreement that entitles a user to direct support from Genetec and ongoing upgrades to the latest version. Nice.

As part of Safe City’s policy of actively engaging with cameras, Waite says operators are always using VMS functionality to actively search for incidents.

This way of working the system is informed by long experience and is in part predicated on system size.

“If we had 250 image streams all touring at once it would drive operators crazy,” Waite explains. “We need to be more systematic than that. We found many years ago that once the system grew past a certain point the automatic tours were no longer working for us.

“Instead what we do is target hotspots based on our experience. At a given time of a certain day we will move cameras and park them to view particular locations where events have occurred in the past. We can do this in part because of the nature of Ipswich.

In a major city, hotspots are not so predictable or easy to ascertain.

“From an operational point of view, I think of the cameras as a fishing net we throw over the city,” Waite says, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. “Every knot in the net is a camera - take cameras away and you create holes in the net, while strategically placing a camera will capture everything that moves in and out of a particular area. It’s a philosophy we’ve developed over many years based on observation.”

“Do police have access to Safe City video feeds or do your operators steer them to events in real time?”

I ask.

“A little of both,” explains Waite. “You see those 2 large monitors in the centre of the display – those images can be sent through to the shift supervisor at the police station about 1km away, as well as to the police communication room about 5km away.

“We can also communicate over police radio and inform police of an event on screen and assist them in real time – but if they want to review or get copies of that footage then they need to come to us and follow one of 2 separate documentation processes.

Certainly police appreciate the system and the courts love it because when faced with clear video evidence most perpetrators plead guilty, so cases are not dragged through the courts.”

With the upgrade to Genetec Security Center has come the capability to work more effectively with police officers when they are on patrol.

“We now have tablets that we can give to police so they have mobile footage of events in real time,” says Waite. “For instance, police can see all the cameras in the mall in a 9-screen split on a tablet. This allows them to see what’s going on in the next street over during the process of an operation.

“Using police radio, police officers can tell us who they are looking for and we can say – ‘they are on such

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and such street’. Police can then zoom in using the tablets to identify individuals and take appropriate action to apprehend offenders. This new mobile component of the Genetec system is very flexible.

We’ve only used it in the CBD with police so far, but it can be used in parks by our rangers, too.”

Smack in the middle of the video wall is something I’ve never seen in the wild – an application of Briefcam. For the uninitiated, BriefCam VS Forensics is a PC-based software solution that takes large video streams covering many hours of events and compresses them into seconds.

It goes without saying that for security teams on large sites with hundreds of cameras, the process of mining video streams searching for reported events can be a full-time job. Essentially, BriefCam’s VS Forensics solution synthesises events from real time video streams, presenting them as compact, overlaid progressions of events, which each event time-tagged.

Operationally, what this means is that an entire morning’s events can be compressed into 5 minutes of video, with events overlayed not quite on top of each other so the eye can see multiple persons and/ or vehicles moving across the screen, each tagged with an event time. Operators simply select video clips based on time and appearance to play in real time. While Briefcam can be installed as a task in Genetec Security Center, at Safe City the solution runs independently, with operators pulling video streams into Briefcam whenever required.

According to Waite, Briefcam allows the team to ask it to only show green cars that have passed a camera, if that’s what they are looking for, or the 42 se&n

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red cars, based on the direction of travel and other parameters. As Waite explains, operator Justin processes a video stream of morning traffic through Briefcam to demonstrate and it’s flat-out amazing.

Without any more than a minute’s delay, Briefcam serves up time-stamped footage of every red car that has passed the camera that morning, all overlaid on one composite image stream. It’s just awesome.

“Basically you set up the parameters and BriefCam goes to work compiling the footage using metadata and metatags,” says Waite. “You give BriefCam the camera and say ‘look for a particular thing over 12 hours’ and you go away and work on something else for 10 minutes and when you come back, the task has been completed. Briefcam sorts through the metadata and finds the footage on our servers and collects it on its own server. We can find answers very fast – a missing child just using details like the colour of a shirt or hat.”

According to Waite, Safe City’s installation of Briefcam is part of a policy of applying technology that allows the control room operators to work at maximum efficiency.

“A key to our thinking with BriefCam is that we can’t keep adding more staff as the system grows each year – operators will be tripping over each other,” says Waite. “We need to start looking at smarter ways to do time consuming things and Briefcam really meets that demand. It certainly takes the time out of searching.

“We’ve only had the system for a couple of weeks so we are still getting used to it. Operationally, we installed it to allow us to keep an eye on events in some of the quiet areas we typically don’t have to monitor in real time but want to keep an eye on as efficiently as possible. We also plan to use Briefcam to help us manage our new waterpark.”

Waite can’t help revealing the experimental nature of the Safe City team. Even though Briefcam has only just been installed, he’s already thinking about using it to empower more of the system.

“Briefcam is designed for use with static cameras not speed domes but I think if we leave a PTZ stationary we can use it to run through all the events viewed by the PTZ for the period of time it’s parked,” he says with a grin. “It’s certainly our intention to find out if that’s the case.”

According to Keidar, the installation of Briefcam at Safe City has been as big a deal for the distributor as it is for the end user.

While Council’s static security cameras simply monitor council assets and infrastructure, the Safe City surveillance solution installed in public spaces is designed solely for public safety, for protecting the public and public property.

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“When we went through the process of installing Briefcam it was an exciting first for them as well,” he says. “It’s an expensive solution but for an application that suits it, there’s nothing that fits this requirement as effectively.”

Waite agrees.

“Same as everything we install here, there was a long process of consideration with Briefcam,” he says. “We had previewed it in multiple ways. We looked at all the footage on Youtube, we read all the literature and then we got Hills in and they talked about what Briefcam could do for us.

“Within minutes of Briefcam being powered up and set to processing a video stream from one of our SafeCity cameras we all realised this solution was even more capable than we had thought. It’s just going to save a lot of time and that was the whole point of using it.”

While I’m in the control room I can’t help but ask the operators what they think of the new Genetec system. Both nod in agreement that it’s very good and Justin points out that the learning process has been relatively simple.

It’s hard not to go sideways from there. In their experience, is HD better than analogue?

“In the daylight conditions, HD is great,” the boys tell me.

On the split screens of the video wall it’s hard to

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see higher resolution and what I find immediately interesting is how well the Elbex cameras are doing in terms of colour rendition and contrast. Then Justin calls up an Elbex camera on one of the big centre screens for comparison. We are all agreeing the image is nice when he pulls across an HD feed and oh yeah, there’s a big difference in resolution, colour and contrast.

Of course, these are the latest HD cameras, while the Elbex cameras are nearly 10 years old.

And image quality during the day is only half the story. As we are viewing the cameras, operator Jeff surprises me by announcing quite unprompted: “You still can’t beat the Elbex cameras at night time.”

He’s not alone in his opinion. Justin agrees with alacrity. “That’s true,” he says. “With that camera Elbex really got it right.”

“Would illumination levels be under 10 lux at night system-wide?” I ask.

“Yes – it’s definitely under 10 lux in many places at night,” Waite says. “But the video wall really does look spectacular at night – that’s the best time to see the screens. The performance of the cameras in this system after dark is fantastic. We do have a couple of parks where the scene is dull and other security camera locations where we turn lights off.

But globally, performance is very good.”

“I have to ask on behalf of SEN readers - what’s

your favourite camera in the system in terms of all round performance?” I ask.

According to Waite, that’s a tricky question to answer.

“Certain cameras give us strong performance in different ways,” he says. “The 720p Axis PTZ camera gives us the best images through a 24-hour period, while the Pelco PTZ is very good out of the box when it comes to easy installation. When it comes to the analogue and IP, the performance gap in favour of analogue at night has definitely closed over the last 18 months and it’s now going the other way.”

Waite also has some astute observations about the network demands of IP cameras in real world applications.

“There’s no doubt that bandwidth is an issue with digital,” he says. “We find that while analogue cameras might need 3-3.5Mbps, an IP camera will need 5-25Mbps, depending on how much movement is going on in the scene. Obviously, you can limit bandwidth demand but if you strip away the quality you lose the reason for the choosing HD in the first place.

“We also want 25ips in our application. People say you can’t see the difference between 12.5 and 25 with the naked eye but you definitely can. Given these conflicting needs, an IP video system is a competition for resources.

As we are viewing the cameras, operator Jeff surprises me by announcing quite unprompted: “You still can’t beat the Elbex cameras at night time.”

“As I explain it, all the resources of the system go into creating the best possible recordings and what resources are left over go to the video wall we are looking at,” Waite says. “This means that at times of system stress you get a flicker on the video wall that you don’t see on the real time recordings. It’s a balancing act but we are close to getting what we need. A resolution of 1080p HD is all we need here if the low light performance is good.”

It’s now late in the afternoon and looking at the video wall, as the sun is sinking and softening the images are definitely looking better and better. We’re losing the hard shadows and exposure wars which can impact on image quality as iris apertures close in bright sunlight. This said, we’re now seeing some lens and dome bubble flare as the sun gets closer to the horizon.

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Pole mounted PTZ and fixed camera

others, it takes them less time to re-learn,” Waite explains. “It can take people a while to learn to think outside the box they are comfortable in, in this case to realise Genetec can do more than they are used to being able to do with another VMS. “There have been instances where old procedures have been used – for instance, burning of footage to disk using third party software instead of dragging and dropping a video stream within Security Center itself. At the same time team has found and shared new ways to handle procedures that are much more efficient than the old ways.”

Success of the system

Next, Waite shows me the server room. It’s a good space for the job, long and with enough access front and rear of the racks. Everything in the room relates to the Safe City solution – encoders, switches and servers.

Fibres from the dedicated Council intranet come into the building’s riser, go into decoders in the server rack, through switches and flow to recording servers first, then via PCs (soon to be upgraded) to the video wall. Recording is at 25ips per channel in high definition with a 14-day retention time.

Because of the maturity of the Safe City application, there’s new and old hardware in the server room but it’s all now running the latest Genetec software.

“Something Genetec Security Centre does that’s extremely important to us is scale,” says Waite. “There is no limit in terms of growth and that’s excellent from our perspective. Every time we add more cameras we can just add more hard drives and expand the system.”

“What were the challenges the Safe City team needed to overcome during the process of upgrade?”

I ask.

“There were some challenges,” Waite explains.

“It can be challenging to configure a video wall so there’s no latency.”

Training was another area that needed careful attention.

“There were some training challenges – some people embrace changes in technology better than

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Given the longevity of this system and its mission to provide safety to the people of Ipswich, it’s not surprising Waite and the Safe City team have a strong sense it has made a difference to the community in the sense of modifying behaviour.

“This system absolutely has had an impact,” Waite says. “There are a number of reasons for this, in my opinion. In Ipswich, while we have some tourism, most the people here are local so we know most of our offenders. Ipswich is not a capital city where there are unknown people coming in from all over Australia and all around the world, it’s more like a big country town.

“For these reasons the Safe City system has led to what is touted as a 78 per cent reduction in crime compared to the year before the system was installed, despite a much larger population. Crimes we used to get in Ipswich like bag snatches, car thefts, armed robbery and thefts at ATM machines – we simply don’t see those types of offenses anymore,” Waite says. “Instead the offenses we see are far less severe. They are alcohol related, opportunistic, school holiday muck-ups, mostly quite minor.

Police are able to deal with recidivist offenders very quickly and more effectively, compared to a large city. If we see something occur, we may not know a person’s name but you can bet the police will because it’s a small community.”

According to Waite, when it comes to a sense of safety, at lot of it is about perception.

“The public perception of danger might not reflect reality. For instance, we have groups who gather in the mall and are sometimes perceived

Crimes we used to get in Ipswich like bag snatches and car thefts and armed robbery and thefts at ATM machines – we simply don’t see those types of offenses anymore

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as threatening. But the people who live and work in Ipswich know that while there may be certain groups who have the odd argument, they are socialising in the mall, not harassing the public. So part of the process is to focus on changing public perception into something more positive.”

...we added Genetec license plate recognition last week and we have it monitoring one street in Ipswich just to see how well it works.

Conclusion The process of upgrading to Genetec Security Center has been about preparing for the future. What does that future hold? Waite believes uncertainty about the future is the entire point of the upgrade.

“Who knows what’s going to happen in the next 12-18 months?” he asks. “At the moment our goal is to continue the process of going digital. Eventually we’ll take Council’s static camera system digital over a 5-10 year period, funds allowing.

“Within our Safe City brief, we will continue to experiment with what technology is out there.

We recently looked at a camera with a focusing long distance laser light, which was not really suited for what we do and we are currently testing some 360-degree 5MP cameras for Council retail applications. In some of our facilities we might have 7-8 cameras watching a retail counter, where a single 360-degree camera could handle the same task.

“We added Genetec license plate recognition

last week and we have it monitoring one street in Ipswich just to see how well it works.

“At this stage it seems to have some strong capabilities – especially from a police point of view in terms of helping to identify stolen cars and the like. It’s something we look at. Because we have the facilities and the fibre network, we can play with technologies and then get back to suppliers with honest feedback.

“Once you start going IP you can apply it to any number of devices, so we’ll be looking at ways to integrate other subsystems and devices into the system to increase functionality and efficiency,” Waite says. “We will never stop seeking clever new solutions that will make the Safe City system more efficient for our staff and Ipswich safer for the public.” zzz

ipswich pound

l ONE of the sites we visit during our tour of the system is Ipswich Pound, a high sensitivity site which has experienced incidents where Council staff have been harassed by members of the public. There was an old analogue security surveillance system installed here, which has recently been swapped out for a new HD-SDI solution supplied by Conceptual Technology Solutions.

Walking the site, it’s a much bigger operation than you’d think – there are separate facilities

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for dogs and cats, there’s a store, admin areas, multiple reception areas. And the site is large – it seems about 5 acres or so, perhaps a little more. There are even compact stock yards and paddocks for horses, as well as a substantial 24-hour drop off facility, allowing small animals to be left at the pound after hours.

Commensurate with the complexity of the site, video coverage is comprehensive, too.

There are not too many areas that don’t have good coverage, often from 2 directions.

“We literally just swapped out the cameras and the DVR – that was all that was done,” explains Waite. “Our integrator Elbex, took a day and a half to complete the work and performance is considerably enhanced.

“The issue we have here is that when something has happened – owners have got upset their precious pets are at the pound – the old analogue cameras might show general scene but we could never identify any of the people in the images,” says Waite. “With this change to HD-SDI we can now clearly identify the people in a scene, as well as identifying all the registrations of vehicles coming into the site.”

We check out the site – have a look at node zero – at the network rack and the monitor and the HD-SDI DVR. It’s all very tidy and compact, given this is a 30-plus camera system. The

HD-SDI from CTS number of cameras indicates how important it is considered to get complete coverage of the site. Peering at the monitor, image quality is surprisingly good, especially given the hard seeing conditions outside where the sun is merciless, and inside where lighting is inconsistent.

“The new system has been very helpful,” says Pound manager Kylie. “I would say that once a fortnight we would be relying on the system to get some footage of an incident.

We’ve had some good prosecutions with the new system as well – things legal would not have been able to follow up on in the past.

“This new system means that when we take cases of misbehaviour or vandalism up to our chief officer we can say ‘this is what happened’ and there’s no questioning it – the evidence can be clearly seen.”

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W

HEN Seadan’s Bruce Maxwell and Ben Sampson pop into the SEN office to drop off a Dahua solution for us to test drive, one of the things that impresses me most of all is the speed of setup. By the time Maxwell has finished telling me about the company’s new 4K range, Sampson has got this plug and play system, comprising Dahua’s DHI-NVR4432-16P and a spread of 4 cameras, up and running.

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The hardware itself is well made. The NVR is a nice unit – it’s rack-mount, handsome with blue lights accenting the front panel. Ports are clean – there are 16 alarm inputs, network port for connection to a remote switch, USB front (2.0) and rear (3.0), audio on the rear, RS232 for PC and keyboard and RS-485 for PTZ control.

In terms of performance, this NVR is not the world’s most powerful but it’s extremely heavy on real world functionality at its price-point. There’s a dual-core embedded processor running an embedded Linux operating system, HDMI, VGA and BNC ports with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, audio input and output, and a global recording rate of 200Mbps, with a bitrate range between 48 and 8192 Kbps.

Compression is H.264 and MJPEG, maximum resolution is 5MP (2560 x 1920) and there are 4 HDD SATA ports offering up to 16TB of storage, as

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Panasonic, Pelco, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony, Videotec, Vivotek and others straight out of the box. This is nice capability to have.

Of the cameras I played with, the external bullet got the most attention, it’s simply easier to view a bullet or full body camera without mounting it than it is to prop a dome up on its flank. But playing with the other cameras internally gives me a clear idea that they are more than capable. Several have the same 3MP drive train but I have a sense that of the domes the 5302 is best in terms of colour rendition and backlight capability. It does well with depth of field, too. And with all 4 cameras up and running, there’s very little latency through the system.

Driving the system

well as 16 PoE inputs with a maximum of 25.5W per port. An eSATA port offers expansion to an external Dahua 24TB HDD box should this be required.

You can drive the unit from the front panel in the usual way. Something you notice about the DHINVR4432-16P is that to adequately cool the 4 HDD bays, it sports a high volume fan that moves plenty of air through the case to stay under its maximum working temperature of 55C. The cameras feel good and work well, the joins are tight, the connections look well made. They have IP66 ratings and good resolution numbers.

There’s the IPC-HFW5200CP outdoor IR bullet camera, the IPC-HDB4200CP-0360B vandal, the IPC-HDW4300CP-0360 IR ball, and the IPCHDBW-5302 vandal dome. Importantly, the DHINVR4432-16P NVR also supports cameras from Arecont Vision, Axis Communications, Bosch, Brickcom, Canon, CP Plus, Dynacolor, Honeywell,

Tip-toeing through the menu is not challenging.

Sampson has given me a short brief during setup.

Main menu gives access to all aspects of the setup, networking, reporting and comms, including a viewer with a swag of display options. You can find your way anywhere you need to go through the main menu. I have a play with some camera configuration settings and spool up sharpness, saturation and contrast a little. The camera is set to day mode to start with. 3D noise is enabled.

Something that’s handy is a mask allowing motion detection areas to be easily selected.

I’m running a 4-screen split during this demo.

The viewer has time line search, search by camera, you can set up video motion detection across 396 zones (22 x 18 selectable tiles), the system can report options on alarm events from alarm input devices.

You can also generate alarms on video loss and camera blank.

From the viewer you can manage recording, drive PTZs, setup tours, alarms, set up video push to email or FTP, as well as creating buzzer alerts and generating screen tips for operators. Record

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mode can be undertaken manually, scheduled as regular or continuous, can be set up on VMD, or on alarm event. The record interval can be 1-120 minutes with pre-recording of 1-30 seconds and post-recording of 10-300 seconds. Synchronised playback options are 1, 4, 9 and 16 cameras.

This NVR’s search mode is simplicity itself. You can hunt for video on the basis of time/date, alarm event, VMD or Exact Time search (accurate to one second), There’s also a smart search function. As you’d expect, the viewer incorporates playback functions including play, pause, stop, rewind, fast play, slow play, next file, previous file, next camera, previous camera, full screen, repeat, shuffle, backup selection, digital zoom.

Along with direct driving of the system using a mouse and a connected monitor, you can hop into the system using an iPhone, iPad, Android, or Windows smart phone. Set up is via QR code generated on the monitor. Point the phone, click, remote set up done. There’s also access for 128 users, which is plenty for broader applications, which might require viewing of cameras by multiple members of a surf club or similar.

Testing the IPC-HFW5200CP When I first set up the IPC-HFW5200CP 2MP outdoor IR bullet camera outside, conditions are

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Dahua DHI- NVR 4 4 32-1 6P

pretty nasty, with a lot of glare on a bright cloudy day. Grey but glary days like this are a pain for camera testing as they tend to wash out colour and deepen shadow. But while there’s a little of that going on, when the sun comes out from behind the clouds for a few minutes here and there you get a much better sense of what the camera is capable of.

This is the same old view over Surry Hills that readers know about, with plenty of texture and contrast and serious depth of field. Details stretch from a couple of metres all the way through to 1000 metres and more. Looking at the view full screen, with loads of movement from wind-blown trees, there’s a little processing ‘swim’ in the image but it’s no different to that seen with other IP cameras.

My sense is that viewing this big scene the camera is restricted by its general purpose 3-12mm lens more than anything else. It shows the slight distortion of straight lines you see with very wide angle lens but I’m getting a good, tight view and it stays that way all afternoon and into the night. With a very wide angle lens like this you are never going to get high resolution zooming at 1920 x 1080 on a 50-inch Samsung monitor in full screen.

This IPC-HFW5200CP has a 1/3-inch 2MP progressive scan Sony Exmor CMOS offering H.264 and MJPEG dual-stream encoding, 25/30fps at 1080p (1920 x 1080), DWDR, Day/Night (ICR), auto iris, 3DNR, AWB, AGC, BLC, network monitoring via web viewer, CMS (DSS/PSS) and DMSS. There’s a 3.312mm varifocal lens and 30m of IR. This camera is PoE and IP66-rated. These are good numbers.

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Dahua DHI- NVR 4 4 32-1 6P

Bruce Maxwell (l) with Ben Sampson

set up like this with the sun at only 15 degrees from the sensor.

Something I notice as light levels fall from a maximum of about 80,000 lux during some breaks in the cloud during the afternoon down to 5000 lux in the late afternoon, is that the image seems to improve. As light falls from extremes the camera delivers better colour rendition, better contrast and enhanced depths of field. Later on as light levels drop to 1200 lux at 6.30pm things continue to remain tight. There’s a reason for this improved performance – I’ve seen it in other cameras, too but I’m not sure exactly what it is.

At about 7.10pm with around 100 lux showing on the Sekonic, I set the bullet to night mode and that’s when it impresses me most. The IR is not activated but the image is excellent. I can see a bird flying up Elizabeth St at about 250m away.

The great performance as light levels fall away is unexpected. The hard foreground shadows I’d been seeing all afternoon have disappeared and this camera is going great guns. There’s what I think is elevated ISO noise and some processing artefacts in the scene but overall, colour rendition is good.

Frankly, it’s dark outside. The good night performance continues and it’s still in colour, too.

I’m getting some yellow shift now, probably from the low pressure sodium streetlight in the lane.

The image seems to keep improving right down to about 10-12 lux before beginning to get a little noisy. At about 7.45pm I measure 1 EV in front of the camera (about 5 lux), and at this point noise is impacting on image composition. You’d set IR to come in at about 8-10 lux, I think, which is great performance at this price point.

Something else I have a play with is face recognition in strong backlight and performance in this key area is solid. There are variations between the cameras – I think the little domes do better than the bullet, while the bullet handles internal scenes more effectively in the presence of strong backlight.

In either case, performance is good. Appropriately installed to capture faces, none of these cameras would let you down.

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Other cameras I take a look at as part of the demo include Dahua’s IPC-HDB4200C which has a 1/2.8inch 2MP progressive scan Sony Exmor CMOS, H.264 and MJPEG dual-stream encoding and runs at 25/30fps at 1080p. The camera is day/night, has 3DNR, auto iris, AWB, AGC, BLC and offers multiple network monitoring options including web viewer, CMS (DSS/PSS) and DMSS. There’s a 3.6mm fixed lens standard, with 2.8mm and 6mm options and you get MicroSD slot, IP66, IK10 and PoE. The IPC-HDBW5300/5302 vandal dome has a 1/3-inch 3MP progressive scan Aptina CMOS, offers H.264 and MJPEG dual-stream encoding, a maximum of 20 fps @ 3MP (2052×1536) or 25/30fps @ 1080P (1920×1080). There’s DWDR, day/ night(ICR), 3DNR, auto iris, AWB, AGC, BLC, there are multiple network monitoring options. There’s 2.712mm or 3-9mm varifocal motorized lens options, built-in 1/1 alarm in/out, IR range of 20 metres, MicroSD slot, IP66 and IK10 ratings and PoE. Finally, there’s the IPC-HDBW-5302 vandal dome, again with a 1/3-inch 3MP progressive scan Aptina CMOS, H.264 and MJPEG dual-stream encoding, 20fps @ 3MP (2048×1536) and 25/30fps @ 1080p (1920×1080). This camera also has DWDR, day/ night (ICR), 3DNR, AWB, AGC, BLC, offers multiple network monitoring via web viewer, CMS(DSS/PSS) and DMSS, has a 3.6mm fixed lens (6mm optional), a maximum IR range of 20m, IP66-rating for external use and PoE. All these Dahua cameras are capable and priced very sharply indeed. zzz

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University of P hoenix stadium

Phoenix rising University of Phoenix stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, AZ, has deployed the Avigilon high-definition surveillance solution to monitor its campus and increase public safety.

H

OME to the NFL Pro Bowl on January 25, 2015, Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015, and many other large scale sporting and entertainment events, University of Phoenix stadium covers 1.7 million square feet spread across 5 different levels.

The University of Phoenix Stadium, with its retractable roof and field is unlike any other stadium in North America. It’s a marvel of design, engineering, and technology. This multi-purpose facility, which opened on August 1, 2006, has previously hosted several high-profile professional and college football events or ‘bowls’ as well as numerous international soccer matches, headlining concerts, and trade/ consumer shows.

“Safety is a top priority at stadiums worldwide,” says Bryan Schmode, chief operating officer, Avigilon.

“Increased concerns about security threats are causing venues that host large, high-profile events to

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Avigilon delivers a complete endto-end offering to meet our security needs.

justifiably scrutinize their security practices.

“The University of Phoenix Stadium is leading the way with its commitment to keeping its guests and facility secure. We are extremely proud to provide our solution to one of the most celebrated and visible sports stadiums in North America.”

The University of Phoenix Stadium deployed the Avigilon solution to cover the entire seating bowl and field. In total, the project will add more than 200 Avigilon HD cameras to the facility. The seating bowl and field are monitored by 16 Megapixel (MP) HD Pro cameras to provide clear visual detail and the ability to zoom in to select locations as necessary while Avigilon 2 MP HD PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras provide additional coverage.

Management of the system is handled by the award-winning Avigilon Control Center (ACC) software, which enables stadium employees to operate all cameras and search through footage quickly and easily. The project is scheduled to be rolled out in 4 phases. In the next phase, the stadium will deploy Avigilon’s Access Control Manager (ACM) at additional entry points throughout the facility to ensure entrances and exits are controlled and secured. In addition, new 5 MP HD Bullet cameras will be added to the exterior of the building to monitor the stadium’s plaza. Together, ACC and ACM will provide a complete and efficient monitoring system for the entire stadium.

“We selected Avigilon for its quality products, the image clarity of its cameras, the solution’s ease of use, and because Avigilon delivers a complete endto-end offering to meet our security needs,” says Peter Sullivan, general manager and regional vice president for Global Spectrum at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

“As the host venue for the NFL Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIX, we look forward to the confidence and security Avigilon will provide our facility and the guests who will be attending these great events.” zzz

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Watch this space Alarm.com, which is going to be pushing into the Australian alarm monitoring market in a big way over the next couple of years, has released an app that allows Apple Smart Watch wearers to control security from their wrist.

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I

F you’re a certain age, there’s something very Dick Tracy about smart watches and that applies doubly if you’re talking about using them to control security systems. In a move that confirms the truism that today’s technologies are yesterday’s science fictions, Alarm.com has optioned its Alarm.com App to drive on the Apple Watch.

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As a generally objective commentator, I find myself agreeing.

It’s not just the on-your-wrist alerts and updates that are appealing. It’s the open nature of Smart Watch ecosystems that opens me up to their potential. What’s so different about Apple Watch from other Apple releases is that it’s been completely left up to developers. In fact Apple is relying on developers, including Alarm.com, to facilitate swathes of functionality by creating thousands of apps before Apple Watch is released at the end of April.

The idea with Apple Watch is that it stays connected to an iPhone 5 or newer Apple smart phone, allowing it to display texts and emails, and to patch through and make and receive phone calls via its speaker and microphone. Along with these and other functions, Apple Watch can also act as a remote for connected home security and automation systems.

From a user’s perspective, you drive Apple phone by tapping, swiping, pressing 2 buttons on its flanks, the larger of which is also a scrolling wheel. Tapping the screen activates the display, while swiping it brings up Glances, which are miniapps for anything – news, weather, fitness, security. You then tap to the screen to launch the full scale app.

Alarm.com’s subscription-based security and smart home service has had an iOS app for ages. This new, Apple Watch-specific extension of that app allows full control of all your Alarm.com devices and feature functionalities using a combination of Apple Glances and a full app.

When it comes to running the Alarm.com app on Apple Watch you’ll need to be using an Alarm.com optioned system and there will be a subscription-based service with a number of package tiers available.

Depending on option choices, you’ll get control of lights, locks, and garage doors, thermostats and cameras.

According to Alarm.com senior vice president of marketing Jay

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Apple Phone and its competitors will play a role in this process not by replacing their host smart phones but by making connected systems more immediately accessible to users.

Kenny, by turning your wrist, the Alarm.com app appears on the screen of the watch, showing the status of your home devices. These status reports allow you to check if doors or gates are locked, check if your system is armed or see if automation features like air conditioning are running.

Open the app, and you’ll get the full suite of Alarm.com controls, so you can manage and customize each of your compatible devices.

Because the Alarm.com app leverages Apple Watch’s Glances and quick touch features, as well as the form factor of the watch face, instead of having to load an app or scroll through a menu, the Apple Watch notifies the homeowner, shows them what’s going on and lets them engage with their smart home devices faster and with the fewest instances of contact.

The Apple Watch can also leverage Alarm.com’s geofencing feature, which sees Alarm.com home

security and automation systems base commands on the location of a user’s GPS-enabled mobile phone.

With the new Alarm.com app loaded on the watch, the home control system can respond to the location of the watch using a system of actionable notifications.

This clever piece of tech means a user can receive alerts based on proximity to their house. Apple Watch might vibrate to let them know they left a door unlocked or the curling iron on as they walk away from their home. Then, by tapping ‘door lock’ on the app display, they can lock the door. Still another tap might bring up a real-time CCTV image captured by a surveillance camera at the front door.

The idea is that the system allows users to action remedial system events with one tap on the screen so they don’t have to progress past a Glance to open the full app.

Alarm.com’s geo-fence feature gives some charming functionalities. While the user is wearing their Apple Watch with Alarm.com App, the system is alerted when the user comes within a programmable range of the house at a particular time of day – it might be 1000 metres after 7pm – and it will activate the air conditioning, and turn on external and internal lighting.

With thousands of apps looming, it’s obvious Apple Watch will play a role in bringing vast amounts of information to the attention of wearers. We talked last issue about how the way users interact with technology will drive the nature of technology. Apple Phone and its competitors will play a role in this process, not by replacing their host smart phones but by making connected systems more immediately accessible to users.

The Alarm.com app will be available for download from the Apple Store when the watch is available. Typically Alarm.com systems in the U.S. have a $40-$60 monthly subscription – the figure will probably be towards the upper end of this range in Australia. zzz

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The Next Generation in Security Systems

n ews re p o rt

alarm monitoring

Alarm monitoring snapshot Alarm monitoring trends in the U.S. are highly relevant to the Australian market, which experiences similar shifts in technology and application.

I

T’S the similarities between long term trends in the U.S. and Australian markets, both of which use many of the same hardware and software solutions, as well as the same business models, that make the 2014 Security Sales & Integration Installation Business Report so interesting.

According to the report, just as they are in Australia, third-party central monitoring stations (bureau monitoring services) are very popular among American security installers. In the U.S. 74 per cent of installing security contractors use a third-party central monitoring station. The figures for smaller companies are 74 per cent, for midsize companies it’s 83 per cent; and for larger firms it’s 55 per cent. In the U.S. around 16 per cent of installing security contractors own and operate their own central monitoring stations. The numbers are 3 per cent for small firms, up to 17 per cent for midsize companies and 45 per cent for large companies.

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Thanks to consumeroriented, interactive lifestyle service offerings, the average monthly monitoring fee rose to its highest level since 2003.

The percentage of U.S. households with professionally monitored alarm systems is growing, while the percentages of homes with self-monitored systems and local alarm systems are not. Professional grade monitoring grew from 15 per cent to 18 per cent between 2012 and 2014.

Conversely, self-monitored, fee-based monitoring services dropped from 4 per cent to 2 per cent.

Local alarm-only stayed fairly constant with the longer term trend at 6 per cent.

The most common causes of false alarms in the U.S. are an interesting topic and these causes are as mundane as you would expect them to be. Interestingly though, it looks as if they could be significantly reduced with some effort. User difficulties when entering and exiting alarmed buildings continue to set off the most false alarms, although these causes fell 16 percentage points from a year ago. The only areas exhibiting increases in false alarm cause were weather related, which was up 5 per cent and equipment failure, which jumped 2 per cent.

Taken as a whole, false alarms were caused by improper arming and disarming in 52 per cent of cases, by improper arming and exit in 48 per cent of cases, by lack of end user training in 34 per cent of cases, were weather related in 34 per cent of cases, due to equipment failure in 31 per cent of cases, pets in 20 per cent of cases, installation issues in 8 per cent of cases, and the result of other causes in 6 per cent of cases.

The fact these numbers add up to 226 per cent suggests there’s considerable cross-over between the causes of false alarms. The first 3 are almost certainly related to a lack of user training and unfamiliarity with system operation but procedural issues relating to access to armed fire exits is another issue that torments monitoring stations at close of business every day.

As for the typical residential intrusion alarm system in the U.S. there are clear signs of change and these changes are being generated by the availability of new security and home automation devices, as well as changing expectations users have of their security system’s core functionalities.

Thanks to consumer-oriented, interactive lifestyle service offerings, the average monthly monitoring fee rose to its highest level since 2003.

The average customer price paid for the installation of a residential intrusion alarm system moved upward to $US52, which was an increase of 4.2 per cent in 2013, to return to its highest figure since 2008.

Over the next couple of years, an acceleration in the uptake of interactive alarm and home automation solutions is likely to lead to similar trends in Australia, where big North American solution providers including Honeywell, 2GIG and DSC, as well as Alarm.com and Telstra, are looking to contest a market that remains quite traditional. zzz

n ew p ro d u ct

Mobotix i2 5 by john ada m s

New Mobotix i25 Mobotix i25 is a compact wall-mountable hemispheric indoor camera that offers a super-wide 180-degree panoramic view in high resolution. Replacing 4 standard CCTV cameras, one i25 views and records an entire room, wall-to-wall.

M

OBOTIX has released a new wall-mount dome camera, the i25, which is designed to offer all the functionality Mobotix installers love so much, along with a significantly sharper price point. It’s a nice looking camera – I got a look-see at the Hills Tech Expo at the Hilton last month and came away impressed.

“The i25 is significantly less expensive to the customer than previous models,” says Graham Wheeler of Mobotix. “You install this in a small

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retail environment and where you may have had 2 cameras before, now you have a single 180-degree camera. You can even connect it via RS232 if you like. What Mobotix has done is re-written the whole engine inside the camera. The lens modules now do all the compression and they are much faster.

“When you look at the price to the customer of $A700, you have to take into account that it’s the equivalent of 2 cameras and a DVR and it’s not just the i25 hardware and software that’s simpler, it’s the installation as well.”

The camera Wheeler is showing me looks more organic than other Mobotix designs but it’s made of the same tough poly and to the same design and build standards. The connection points are the usual industrial strength we’re used to. Best of all, what Mobotix seems to have done is shoe-horned its best 5MP technology into a different housing.

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n ew p ro d u ct

Mobotix i2 5

What Mobotix has done is re-written the whole engine inside the camera. The lens modules now do all the compression and they are much faster.

The newly-designed curvy wall-mount form factor blends in with a range of environments.

Dimensions are 10.7cm high x 14.5cm wide x 4.5cm deep and camera weight is only 200g.

The camera is available in both day (colour) and night (B&W) models, which caters to the most challenging lighting conditions and a wide range of applications.

Features of the i25 include a high-sensitivity 5MP sensor (2592 x 1944 pixels) that offers highcontrast images without motion blur even in low-light situations (MxLEO). Hemispheric lens technology offers 180-degree views with no blind spots (it’s also available as a 92-degree version with lens L23 F1.8).

The i25 camera’s integrated MxActivitySensor detects small movements and reduces the number of false alarms, as well as cutting down on storage. We rate MxActivitySensor highly – it’s a piece of technology that really enhances cameras as edge devices. Free management software includes Mobotix MxEasy VMS, a suite of control room software called MxControlCenter and the Mobotix app for iOS devices from iOS 5.0.

Importantly, hemispheric distortion correction takes place inside the i25 and not later on the computer. This reduces the image data before it’s transferred and saved. This decentralized Mobotix solution lowers the volume of network traffic and allows dozens of hemispheric cameras to be displayed on a computer or smartphone. That’s pretty neat.

The camera has a 1/2.5-inch lowlight exposure optimization progressive scan CMOS sensor, image format configurable as 4:3, 8:3 and 16:9, user-defined image cropping, for example, 5 MP, QXGA, Full HD, and MEGA Max. Live/Recording in MEGA/HD is 30 fps, at QXGA: it’s 15 fps and at 5MP it’s 10 fps. Image compression is MxPEG, M-JPEG, JPG, H.264 (SIP Video only). The camera is configured with an internal DVR with MicroSD slot storage handling internal video recording, while external storage can be undertaken directly to NAS and PC/server without additional recording software.

Image processing incorporates MxLEO, backlight compensation, automatic white balance, image distortion correction (panoramic

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image correction included), motion detection and MxActivitySensor. There’s virtual PTZ, digital PTZ, continuous 8x zoom and full image recording in the background.

Other features include video motion analysis, temperature sensor, microphone sensor, shock detector, illumination sensor, further sensors/ IO via additional devices, and alarm notification via e-mail and/or FTP. There’s also VoIP audio microphone using 16-bit/16kHz (HD voice). The camera interfaces with Ethernet via MxRJ45 and there’s a MiniUSB video phone telephony SIP client. Meanwhile, on the network side there’s SSL connection, IP address filter, IEEE 802.1x, intrusion detection and digital image signature PoE class is variable (2/3) according to operating mode, with a power consumption of 4W. Protection class is IP30, ambient temperature 0C to 40C, which is typical for an internal camera like this. Like other Mobotix cameras, the i25 is maintenance-free and has no heaters, fans or moving parts. Also attractive, there’s no licensing or software fees, and you get free updates.

Along with a slimline hemispheric camera, the c25, Mobotix has also launched a new 6MP sensor called the Moonlight. According to Mobotix, cameras with the new sensor are able to deliver high-quality images on full moon nights (illumination of approx. 0.25 lux) without any additional lighting. Sensitivity this good is pretty amazing and Mobotix is adamant that the Moonlight sensor is perfect for applications where illumination levels drop below 5 lux, which is well below street lighting. zzz

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EDEKA Voth

Vivotek for EDEKA Voth Following careful planning by SECOMP, a German-based distributor of Vivotek products, a comprehensive video surveillance solution has been designed and installed throughout the entire complex of retailer, EDEKA Voth.

E

DEKA Group is one of Germany’s most successful companies and EDEKA Voth in Lemgo is one branch among several EDEKA retailers. EDEKA HQ is located in Hamburg, where strategies are formulated to create and maintain smooth IT structures throughout the entire organization.

The wholesale level, comprising 7 regional wholesale businesses, is to supply top-quality goods to 4000 subsidiary, self-employed retailers nationwide, and support management in terms of distribution and expansion.

EDEKA Voth management acknowledges that the security plays a crucial role influencing the stability and sustainability of operations. As a result, it places considerable effort in building an impermeable security infrastructure for protecting consumers and employees.

After EDEKA Voth reviewed its security options in 2013, a solution was designed for encompassing the entire site by SECOMP, a German-based distributor of Vivotek products which was commissioned to revamp the security system at EDEKA Voth.

Following careful planning and cooperation with CNS in Lemgo, a solution was designed that encompassed both indoor and outdoor surveillance throughout the entire complex.

In all, 24 Vivotek cameras were installed, comprising a combination of FD8166, FD8335H, IP7361, and MD7560. The FD8166 with its compact size and low-profile design was selected for monitoring grocery aisle activity. Meanwhile, 20 FD8166 cameras, 1 between 2 aisles, were installed throughout the complex. This model features a 2MP CMOS sensor capable of capturing 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution video at 15 FPS. Additionally, the camera supports the industrialstandard H.264 compression technology, which reduces file size and conserves network bandwidth.

This technology is essential in this context due to the number of cameras installed.

The fixed dome network camera FD8335H, featuring WDR Pro, removable IR-cut filter, and built-

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The state-of-theart solutions developed

by Vivotek explicitly satisfies EDEKA Voth’s security and surveillance demands.

in IR illuminators, was selected for monitoring back door activity around the clock. Designed with a 1MP CMOS sensor, the camera is capable of capturing 720p HD at 30 FPS. Additionally, the IK10 and IP66rated housing renders this model ideal for outdoor applications.

Meanwhile, the bullet style IP7361 was selected to monitor the warehouse loading area. The IP7361 is equipped with a 2MP CMOS sensor (1600 x 1200 pixels) with a 6 to 9mm varifocal, auto-iris lens that enables the camera to deliver extremely detailed images at 6 times the coverage of conventional VGA cameras without sacrificing storage space or network bandwidth.

Similar to the FD8335H model, the IP7361 features the IP66-rated housing, removable IR-cut filter, and built-in IR illuminators, making this model perfect for outdoor surveillance. For the entrance of the complex, fixed dome network camera MD7560 was opted. The MD7560 features an advanced 2-megapixel CMOS sensor capable of capturing 1600 x 1200 resolution video. It also supports a wide-angle lens, making this camera ideal for areas with high volumes of activity, such as store entrances. The IP67-rated tamper and vandal-proof housing further increases the robustness of the camera, enabling it to withstand harsh environmental conditions.

“EDEKA placed considerable effort into building an impermeable security infrastructure for protecting consumers and employees,” says an EDEKA spokesperson. “The state-of-the-art solutions developed by Vivotek explicitly satisfies EDEKA Voth’s security and surveillance demands.” zzz

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Enterp rise access control

Enterprising T endeavours Enterprise access control solutions are major long term investments and end users need to think hard about key functionalities and future trends before coming to hard conclusions about which solutions will suit them best.

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HERE are a number of fundamental changes pressing on the access control industry as wider technology accelerates towards an endto-end digital future. But not surprisingly, the nature of the future of access control remains a point of conjecture. For some organisations, a cloud-based access control solution, which sees local controllers managed by remote software, might be a perfect solution. For other high security applications, however, any solution that connects to the Internet cannot be tolerated.

Remote management via WANs is one of a number of internal contradictions that beset enterprise access control. And the bedrock of those contradictions is the fundamental truth that the core functions of an access control system cannot be subject to the vagaries of WAN connection.

By John Ada m s

This means that even if you do manage a solution remotely, or create virtual servers in a local private cloud, you are still going to need to install robust solidstate local controllers that will never die.

It’s against this dichotomous backdrop of dependable and highly secure traditional technology, and accessible and flexible digital technology, that we consider the key current trends facing enterprise access control.

Gallagher, the manufacturer of Cardax access control solutions, was one of the first companies to seriously take up the challenge of access control’s digital future. The big Kiwi’s exemplary high end solutions and pioneering spirit lend Gallagher particular authority when it comes to the future of enterprise access control.

Steve Bell

We believe cloud technologies will impact the security and access control market, although solutions targeting the enterprise market are still in their infancy.

For Steve Bell, Gallagher’s chief technology officer – security, a key trend in enterprise access control is empowering security teams using mobile technology.

“Mobilising the workforce is a leading trend,” explains Bell. “Being able to perform your role when you’re not at your desk is so important in maximising the productivity of your security team and is wellsupported by the growing number of mobile and connected devices.”

Bell says Gallagher believes there will be an expanded role for cloud in enterprise access control but he argues pragmatically. It will take some time before natural shifts in IT infrastructure investment bring their weight to bear.

“We believe cloud technologies will impact the security and access control market, although solutions targeting the enterprise market are still in their infancy,” Bell explains. “As enterprises move more of their IT infrastructure to the cloud it’s logical that access control will migrate as well. But with the current investment of enterprises in WAN-based server/client architectures we don’t expect to see major movement towards the cloud in the shortterm.

“At the same time, as enterprises work through issues such as security of data in the cloud, there will be both internal drivers towards cloud and the comfort that cloud-based security solutions are maturing. So we expect to see a mix of both private and community clouds fulfilling the security and access control needs of enterprises in the longerterm.”

Given the complexities surrounding the decision making process, Bell’s view of the most important general functionalities of any enterprise access control solution from the point of view of end users, is clearly centred on a security management approach.

“From the end user perspective it is about managing risk while maintaining the enterprise’s reason for being; so system performance, reliability and convenience of use from door access to system

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Enterp rise access control

Steve Katanas

monitoring and control on into evidential reporting; are all important aspects,” he explains.

“The access control system needs to integrate seamlessly within the enterprise, sharing information to efficiently support work flows and to provide value beyond pure access control.

When incidents do occur, people need information immediately at their fingertips, so the strength and visibility of your audit trail comes into play.

“The ability to integrate well with systems like video so as to provide the complete picture wherever the user may be, is also very important.”

Needs are parallel, yet different from the point of view of installers and integrators, according to Bell.

“For the installer, they need reliability as well as flexibility; the knowledge and confidence that they can configure the system to work for the customer in whatever manner they need,” he explains.

For Steve Katanas of HID, the leading trend in enterprise access control right now is that enterprise operations must increasingly and simultaneously, improve security at the door, for their data, and in the cloud.

“Organizations are quickly moving to converged solutions that enable IT and PACS credentials to be provisioned to a single smart card or smartphone, using a single set of processes,” argues Katanas.

“This enables a very convenient tap-in strong authentication model throughout the physical and IT infrastructure, and centralizes identity and access management so that organizations can consolidate tasks and reduce ongoing operational costs.

“Security is also improved, enabling enterprises

74 se&n

Wireless intelligent locksets are the first step, and will become more prevalent as new, lowercost, energyefficient models are introduced to the market

to move beyond their previous focus on using static passwords to secure the network perimeter by authenticating users inside the firewall – an approach that grows increasingly insufficient given today’s Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and internal risks associated with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) adoption.

“Enterprises will accelerate their move to strong authentication for remote access and extend its use to the desktop, key applications, servers, and cloudbased systems as part of a multi-layered security strategy.”

There are a number of long term trends the access control market has been waiting on to arrive for what seems like decades. Convergence is one, affordable IP-based access control solutions is another, and biometrics is yet another still. When it comes to the first, Katanas believes the market is already seeing the integration of access control systems with network authentication, and the cost-effective addition of visitor management solutions.

“We will also see growing adoption of low-cost, customizable networked access control solutions that bring intelligence and decision-making to the door, and improve security by enabling a physical access control system (PACS) to be integrated with other solutions on the same network,” Katanas says.

“At the same time, biometrics will move into secure printing applications, making it easier to protect documents by requiring users to authenticate with a card, badge, or finger, and the enterprise environment will also likely be one of the first places where biometrics emerges on mobile devices.”

When it comes to opportunities of cloud, Katanas argues for a future that reflects the benefits of edge intelligence and an increased role for smart mobile devices.

“Physical security and access control solutions continue moving to IP-based architectures that are easier to deploy and maintain,” he says. “In addition, a standards-based IP architecture facilitates the integration of a physical access control system

(PACS) with other systems that can share the same network.

“A major benefit of this approach is the ability to move intelligence to the door, which streamlines system monitoring, management and reporting via standard web browsers.

By migrating to open architecture IPbased intelligent controllers, users also can simplify future infrastructure enhancements and modifications since they can invest in hardware platforms that are not tied to proprietary protocols and software. IP-based access control is moving beyond host-controller communications to include controller–module and controller-reader communications as well.”

According to Katanas, we’ll see a move to untethered connectivity in this networked access control environment.

“Wireless intelligent locksets are the first step, and will become more prevalent as new, lowercost, energy-efficient models are introduced to the market,’ he says. “Mobile access control using smartphones is also on its way, which will leverage these devices’ wireless connection to act as both the key and processor, and become the rules engine for making access control decisions.

“It will be possible to build and deploy readers (and locks) without any significant intelligence or connectivity capabilities and, because of the interoperability benefits of open-architecture IPbased intelligent controllers, users will have a broad range of controller and reader platforms to choose from, including basic readers and wireless intelligent readers that provide access to multiple credential technologies.”

According to Katanas, the most important general functionalities of any enterprise access control solution from the point of view of end users are new products and technologies that enable their business. Not surprisingly, Katanas sees such functionality being driven by the ubiquitous mobile technologies that increasingly govern cardholders lives.

“The industry is quickly moving beyond static, proprietary access control architectures to more secure, open and adaptable solutions that support customers’ needs,” he says. “Users also require new credential form factors including mobile devices that offer a more secure and convenient way to open doors and parking gates.

“The adoption of mobile devices for access control involving the use of Bluetooth Smart short-range connectivity technology responds to such need.

Bluetooth combined with gesture technology offers an additional benefit for access control - the ability for users to open doors from a distance by rotating their smartphone as they approach a mobile-

enabled reader. This new gesturebased technology capability offers a new user experience, creates new ways to open doors and gates, and will enable many additional future applications.”

The key functionalities for installers take a different shape.

“Installers are facing increasing pressure to deliver greater value and solve more complex problems for their customers,” Katanas says. “They need to help their customers to easily and inexpensively expand and upgrade their systems to meet changing needs while leveraging new technologies. With access control platforms that use dynamic rather than static technologies, security becomes independent of hardware and media, supporting evolution beyond current abilities with the adaptability to combat continuously changing threats.”

Meanwhile, Honeywell’s product marketing manager, access systems and home solutions, Sam Hollins, believes key trends in the current market include web-based incident auditing, biometric integration and wireless readers.

But Hollins suggests cloud may not have in immediate impact on high security enterprise access control solutions. From Hollins’ perspective, dedicated WANs are still the preferred method to provide a more secure environment.

From the point of view of important general functionalities of an enterprise access control solution, Hollins says end users need to think about credential management, visitor management, incident auditing and system availability.

“For installers, the key things are ease of linking regional sites, system backup (regional and enterprise wide) and ability to utilise multiple card types/formats,” Hollins explains. zzz

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new pr o d u ct s h owcase / new p roduct showcase / new p roduct showcase /

editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry

Comelit’s Intercom to PC l COMELIT has added a PC-Intercom to its VIP range, connecting the door station direct to a PC or MAC. The PC-Intercom can be used to fully manage video entry calls via LAN (Ethernet or WiFi) and can be expanded with other products from the VIP catalogue.

Available in a pre-programmed kit and ready to use, simply insert the USB stick provided into the computer and install the software to start receiving calls and communicating with the external unit. This software comes complete with a user license and is available for both PC and MAC systems.

Distributor: Security Merchants Australia Contact: 1300 663 904

Darkfighter PTZ

Vivotek IP816A-HP l VIVOTEK announces the launch of the IP816A-HP, a professional 2-Megapixel box network camera with advanced image process technologies such as WDR Pro and SNV (Supreme Night Visibility). Featuring WDR Pro, the IP816A-HP is able to provide superior visibility in environments with high contrast lighting conditions. WDR Pro allows the IP816A-HP to capture both the dark and bright parts of an image and combine up to 2 separate frames to generate a highly realistic representation of the original scene.

Utilizing 3D Noise Reduction technology, the IP816A-HP is able to suppress sensor noise, thus reducing bandwidth consumption and enhancing image detail in extremely bright as well as dark environments. The IP816A-HP is equipped with a P-iris lens, which maintains the iris opening at an optimal level at all times, resulting in both superior sharpness and superior depth of field.

VIVOTEK has also introduced Snapshot Focus function to the IP816A-HP, allowing the installer to record a short clip of the scene on site, and then playback this clip at any speed to check, or fine-tune, the focus, as well as RBF (Remote Back Focus) System.

Distributor: Vivotek Distributors Contact: +886-2-8245-5282

l HIKVISION, distributed locally by CSD, is expanding its range of ultralow-light surveillance cameras with the release of the Darkfighter PTZ network camera. This cutting-edge camera utilises a 2MP lens which is specifically designed to capture sharp images in extreme, lowlight conditions. The result is clear colour images in conditions that would defeat most conventional IP cameras.

Packed with a host of additional features, the DarkFighter PTZ opens up new opportunities for 24-hour CCTV surveillance with the incorporation of EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation), 120dB WDR and a plethora of Smart Detection technologies that further improve image quality and operational convenience. Fully protected by an integrated heater in the sturdy IP66 and vandal-proof housing, the new Darkfighter PTZ is the perfect candidate for deployment in challenging outdoor day/night environments.

Distributor: Central Security Distribution Contact: 1300 319 499

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new pr o d u ct s h owcase / new p roduct showcase / new p roduct showcase /

editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry

Megapixel Resolution, Seen Now on TruVue l 3 MEGAPIXEL real time 25FPS encoding generally conjures images of hefty price tags, but SMA has just upgraded all TruVue camera specifications and introduced a couple of new gems, like the 3MP Gimbal Dome.

The versatile 2.8-12mm Lens is complimented by 3rd Generation Matrix LED lights and ICR for True Day/Night performance. The high performance acronyms are all here, WDR, CVBS, 3DNR and with PoE power as standard.

Providing 1 main stream and 2 sub streams, this camera ably supports P2P transmission as well as data efficient smart phone and tablet remote access.

Security Merchants Australia Contact: 1300 663 904

Paradox AU – Installing just got Easier l CENTRAL Security Distribution is pleased to release a series Paradox AU alarms. The new AU panels are based on the existing Spectra and Magellan alarm panels but have been preloaded with defaults to suit the Australian Market.

“Security companies were asking for alarm panels that suited how Australian installers program,” said Paul Knight, intrusion product manager for CSD. “We listened, Paradox acted and the new AU panels were born. We understand that anything that makes an installer’s life easier and faster saves them time and money so we were pleased to see Paradox support for these new panels” The new Paradox AU alarm panels will be available from mid-April.

Distributor: Central Security Distribution Contact: 1300 319 499

78 se&n

Axis P3905-RE network dome l AXIS P3905-RE is an outdoorready camera addition to the family of compact, rugged and discreet cameras of the AXIS P39-R Network Camera Series. They are all specially designed for onboard video surveillance in or on buses, trams, subway cars and other rugged environment vehicles.

This P3905-RE camera is designed to be mounted on the exterior of a vehicle, increasing safety onboard and to simplify incident investigations. For example, the camera can be used for rear view surveillance alongside the vehicle outer surface, or down mounted over a door. It could also be used as a forward-facing camera.

AXIS P3905-RE has passed the demanding IP6K9K tests. It withstands tough conditions such as vibrations, shocks, bumps and temperature fluctuations as well as normal maintenance of a vehicle like washing.

Distributor: Axis Communications Contact: +61 3 9982 1111

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RUN Milestone Mobile AND WITNESS ANY MOMENT WHEREVER YOU ARE

Instant access to your video surveillance from your smartphone or tablet Compatible with all XProtectŽ video management software (VMS) and the Milestone Husky™ NVR series, the free Milestone Mobile app gives you secure access to your video surveillance system anytime, anywhere. Available in 27 languages, the app lets you conveniently view live video, as well as playback and export footage from your smart device.

Discover how to expand your surveillance and security system capabilities with XProtect video management software at milestonesys.com

Milestone Systems Australia Tel: +61 3 9016 7877

POSSIBLE STARTS HERE

re g u lars help desk

helpdesk

Q: What’s the perfect aperture setting for a manual 2.8mm wide angle CCTV camera lens with a 30m depth of field allowing maximum face recognition throughout the scene over a 24-hour period?

A: There certainly isn’t a ‘perfect’ aperture setting for a wide angle CCTV lens expected to cover a 94-degree field of view with a DoF of 30m with variations from say, 85,000 to 5 lux or less. For a start, the sweet spot of a lens – the point at which a narrower aperture gives the highest MTF and sharpness – is never going to be wide open. The sweet spot will be found stopped down at least one, maybe two or more stops.

Concurrently, the best aperture setting for low light is going to be the smallest number (the biggest physical aperture).

Let’s say it’s f1.2. But the best aperture setting for increased depth of field will be the largest possible number (the smallest physical aperture), which might be f5.6. At f1.2 around 14 per cent of the light passing into a lens might reach the sensor, whereas only 0.625 per cent of this light will reach the sensor at f5.6.

Bigger apertures do give shallower depths of field, though this issue is less of a concern with auto-iris or P-iris CCTV cameras/lenses, which are able to adjust automatically to give best overall performance based on available light.

But the need to be wide open for best low light performance and stopped down to focus at 30m will bamboozle any camera, auto-iris or not, especially under 10 lux.

80 se&n

Our panel of experts answers your questions.

Something else to take into account with wide angle lenses is lens distortion. The wider the angle, the more pronounced distortion will be, particularly at the edges.

Distortion is annoying during the day but at night the distorted areas of an image will lose contrast faster, robbing a viewer of situational awareness.

There are also fun variables like sensor sizes. GBO’s 1080S (BGWT has it locally) has a massive chip size of 1-inch giving it an enormous appetite for photons. Other low light cameras have sensors of around half an inch, while some cameras get by with 1/3-inch sensors. Smaller sensors detect smaller volumes of light. These and other variables, including lens quality and image processing, impact on camera performance in multiple interlocking ways.

To assess the best settings for a given site you need to sit down in front of a monitor and play with aperture and focus in real time until you arrive at a level of performance that looks better than the performance offered by other settings you try. Something worth looking at is VMS software that offers the ability to adjust camera settings for night and day allowing you to tweak settings like ISO to improve sensitivity after dark.

The process is a double edged sword.

With higher ISO comes greater sensitivity in low light at the price of higher noise.

With slower shutter speeds comes greater sensitivity to light at the cost of motion blur.

We’d be thinking about multiple cameras set to handle different depths of field supported by IR or white LEDs, or covering all the entry/exit points to the space you are defending if it’s recognition you are after rather than situational awareness.

Finally, none of this takes into account the idea of getting face recognition with a wide angle lens at depths of field up to 30m. For accurate face recognition, a human figure has to be about half the height of the viewing monitor. What this means is that using a 2.8mm focal length on a 1/3-inch camera, the person needs to be standing 2.5 metres from the lens in good light. To get face recognition at 30 metres you need a 35mm lens, giving you a field of view of only 8 degrees.

Q: Does the size of a CCD have an impact on the size of the scene as it will be viewed on the monitor? Are there other ways to change the scene angle than to choose a CCD with a given size?

A: Yes – using the same lens, a smaller CCD will give a slightly different field of view – 1/3-inch sensors will give a narrower field of view than 1-inch sensors can. But you change the viewing angle by changing the focal length of the lens, not changing the camera! Smaller focal lengths give wider viewing angles, longer ones gives narrower viewing angles. With the right lens, 1/3-inch CCDs can give 180-degree views with super wide angle lenses.

Q: Last issue Help Desk almost suggested it was possible to use higher quality older lenses in place of megapixel lenses on the latest HD cameras. Could we actually do this?

A: If the lens quality is there, certainly you can. There’s not a magical feature of lens glass that when included suddenly allows it to resolve at megapixel resolutions. Lenses do vary in quality and in some cases the resolution of a camera will be effectively limited by the low resolving power of a poor quality lens. If, by using MTF charts, you are able to show that an older lens preserves contrast as the lines on the chart become narrower as well as a newer lens preserves them, then use the older lens.

Q: What’s the right way to install an external analogue box camera in a housing to resist rain and spray? We’ve just had a poorly done camera give up after only 18 months with water damage.

A: If the housing is well built, the key to longevity is the cable entrances. Pull a little more of the cable run out of the wall – say another 6 inches. Be gentle when you start the pull just in case there’s no slack in there.

If there is, use this extra cable to make a drip-loop that hangs down below the rear of the housing. You want the bottom of the loop to be lower than the bottom of the housing and an inch or 2 lower than the connections so the cable rises up to the rear

of the camera housing. If the loop is lower than this that’s fine but don’t bring it down so low it can be reached by vandals. Water can’t run uphill so that solves potential moisture problems with rain scooting down the cable and accumulating in the housing.

Next take a tub of Vaseline and smear a glob in the female BNC connector port before replacing the male connector. As marine electricians know, Vaseline is a dielectric.

This means it will not create a short but will protect electrical connections through the exclusion of air from vital metal surfaces. In a relatively clean environment this should solve the problem for a few years before another cleanup is required.

Q: I’m interested in ways in which to apply average light values to an illuminated scene being recorded by a video surveillance camera. Is there a rule that would allow me to easily calculate the rate of loss between a source of illumination and a camera lens?

A: Buy a light meter and take it to the site, then moving around the illuminated scene, take a series of light readings in a pattern that you can easily repeat, jotting down the answers on a pad for later analysis. What you want to do is add up all the results and divide them by the number of readings you took to obtain an average. If the light measured near the luminary is 100 lux, chances are it will drop to 20-25 per cent of this total when illumination over the whole scene is taken into account. In terms of a rule relating to light loss, divergence of a light beam means that every time the distance between the light source (this could be a reflective surface) and the camera doubles, illumination at the camera is reduced by 25 per cent. This is called the inverse square law of illumination. zzz

Lenses do vary in quality and in some cases the resolution of a camera will be effectively limited by the low resolving power of a poor quality lens.

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events april – july 2015

HD CAMERA SHOOTOUT

April 2015 Issue 364

AT SECTECH YOU DECIDE l What to see at SecTech Roadshow l Interlogix ZeroWire l Ipswich Safe City Genetec upgrade l Review: Dahua Play Station l Alarm.com Apple Smart Watch app l Review: New Mobotix i25 l Alarm monitoring snapshot l Enterprise Access Control

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Date: 15 - 17 April, 2015 Venue: Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A. Tel: 1-203-840-5602 With more than 26,000 industry professionals and more than 1000 exhibits, ISC West is the largest physical security event in the Americas. ISC West’s attendees represent over $US50 Billion in buying power.

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Secutech 2015 Date: 28 - 30 April, 2015 Venue: Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Taiwan Tel: +886 2 2659 9080 Email:intl@newera.messefrankfurt.com Secutech is where technological innovations become business opportunities and suppliers of security components, devices and total solutions gather here annually and present their solutions to the industry.

SecTech Roadshow

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Date & locations: Brisbane, Monday 4th May, 2015 Sydney, Wednesday 6th May, 2015 Melbourne, Monday 11th May, 2015 Adelaide, Wednesday 13th May, 2015 Perth, Monday 18th May 2015, Contact: Monique Keatinge on +61 2 9280 4425 www.sectechroadshow.com.au SecTech Roadshow is a dynamic new event that will put the latest security products into the hands of installers and end users in the capital cities of 5 Australian states over 2 weeks. SecTech is an exciting new concept – a pop-up roadshow with one stand per exhibitor – no one company dominates the floor. At SecTech, new products do the talking.

IFSEC Date: 16 - 18 June, 2015 Venue: ExCeL London, U.K. Tel: 44 (0)20 7069 5000 IFSEC International is the only event to bring together the entire buying chain, from end users, installers and integrators to consultants, distributers and manufacturers.

Security Exhibition & Conference

= DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY.

Date: July 15-17, 2015 Venue: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Contact: Kylie McRorie on 03 9261 4504 or www.securityexpo.com.au for more information.

Australasia’s premier security industry event, the Security Exhibition & Conference, will return to Melbourne in July 2015. In 2014 more than 4500 security professionals attended, there was a record number of individual registrations and 170 brands exhibited on the show floor.

DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY.

HD CAMERA SHOOTOUT

April 2015 Issue 364

AT SECTECH YOU DECIDE l What to see at SecTech Roadshow l Interlogix ZeroWire l Ipswich Safe City Genetec upgrade l Review: Dahua Play Station l Alarm.com Apple Smart Watch app l Review: New Mobotix i25 l Alarm monitoring snapshot l Enterprise Access Control

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MAGAZINE

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ENEWSLETTER

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

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