Sen feb18

FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE 395

WIDE ANGLES & HEMISPHERICS

PP 100001158

l Case Study: Westpac Stadium Takes Big View l MQU Camera test: The Laws of Motion l South Australia Police Go Digital l BNP Paribas Looks to Sony l Alarm Monitoring: Z-Wave’s 700 Series l Product Review: Sony SNC-VB642D Bullet l The Interview: Ran Vijay Singh, ESL l New Product: The Genesys of PSIM

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Thermal2017-5-18.pdf 1 2017/7/14 14:29:40

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editorial S E CU RI TY E L ECTR O NI C S & NETWO R KS FE B R UARY 2 01 8 ISSUE 395

By John Adams

OPERATIONAL DEMANDS WILL J-CURVE RACE TO THE BOTTOM

HE more security managers you speak with, the more clearly you can see a conceptual J-curve effect in the race to the bottom price, with end users increasingly granting their operational priorities precedence when it comes to calculating electronic security return on investments. Whether it’s public venues like stadiums and universities leaning in on the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism, or major sites looking to enhance the robustness and redundancy of fundamental security infrastructure, there’s considerable and thoughtful investment taking place on a global scale.

When you are taking security threats seriously from the point of view of overall business survival, buying inferior solutions simply because they are the cheapest option no longer seems a good idea. Instead, the greatest return on investment comes from solutions that offer the best performance in clever ways that enhance ROI more broadly through sharing of information, reduction of burden on system operators and the guarantee that elevated operational parameters will always be met.

Something else that’s interesting from an observer’s point of view, is that security managers and their board-level steering committees are synthesising the latest security technologies, pushing on the borders of possibility in a way we’ve not seen before. One aspect of this shift is likely to be an increase in the number of well-informed, well-qualified security consultants working on behalf of clients to ensure

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Today, modest applications can leverage the latest technologies across multiple layers of their business, streamlining management of sites, personnel, assets and resources.

the latest solutions are applied to threat profiles old and new.

Another aspect is certainly that as wider society becomes more techsavvy, the possibilities of security technology – whether that be drones, artificial intelligence, biometrics, cloud-based infrastructure, 4K camera resolutions and all the rest – become front of mind. A CEO enjoying 4K resolution from a GoPro Hero6 on the front of a mountain bike or surfboard on weekends is not going to need the benefits of high resolution explained to them – they know that more pixels means more detail, as well as enhanced storage to handle the burden.

Of course, there have been falls in price, even at the technological top end and that’s no bad thing.

We’ve discussed this before in SEN, but I can’t help mentioning it again, because there’s something wonderful about the possibilities. It’s the fact lower hardware costs, enhanced management solutions and powerful underlying infrastructure now put brilliant technologies into the hands of every security manager. It’s possible to buy outstanding security devices for far less money than ever before and this cost reduction is certain to be the real facilitator of universal integrated solutions.

Supporting the falls in hardware price from the point of view of brilliant applications, is software that is not just seamless vertically in terms of operational capability, but seamless laterally, in terms of sub-system integration capability. This is a huge deal. It means security managers can not only get the most out of existing

sub systems but are encouraged to take on new solutions sure in the knowledge their long-term return on investment is a real number.

Of course, it’s not all about the top end. Think of NVRs that can handle huge cable runs, offer powerful IVA and LPR algorithms, support affordable thermal cameras and even more affordable motorized bullet cameras and compact PTZs. Think of affordable access control solutions that bring serious manageability to 16-doors – comprehensive reporting, remote management, enterprise performance capabilities. It’s clear that the sorts of systems only heavyweights could afford 5 years ago are now stock in trade for SMEs. From the point of view of installers and integrators, what’s required is a new language, a new way of talking about security solutions that disconnects them from the static and reactive system designs of the past. Today, modest applications can leverage the latest technologies across multiple layers of their business, streamlining management of sites, personnel, assets and resources.

It’s often hard to get the motor going after the Christmas period – half the mind is still snorkelling some special outcrop of coral reef, walking up a deserted beach, looking out across a quiet holiday valley. But if anything can collectively launch us into 2018 it should be this – never before have any of us had such brilliant, such capable, such efficient electronic security technologies to sell, to integrate and to leverage for all we are worth. n

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Sign up for SEN’s new look weekly Enewsletter

See SEN’s new look website www.securityelectronicsandnetworks.com

FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE 395

WIDE ANGLES & HEMISPHERICS

PP 100001158

l Case Study: Westpac Stadium Takes Big View l MQU Camera test: The Laws of Motion l South Australia Police Go Digital l BNP Paribas Looks to Sony l Alarm Monitoring: Z-Wave’s 700 Series l Product Review: Sony SNC-VB642D Bullet l The Interview: Ran Vijay Singh, ESL l New Product: The Genesys of PSIM

See all the big products tests and product reviews + lots more in SEN’s monthly magazine

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22: WESTPAC STADIUM TAKES BIG VIEW Integrator, Security Services, with support from CRK and Dallmeier, has installed multiple Dallmeier Panomera units as part of an ongoing CCTV upgrade at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, NZ. The recently completed solution is the first application in which Panomera has been calibrated not only to view stands in a stadium, but to cover an entire field in order to provide situational awareness during major events, such as concerts.

34: LAWS OF MOTION MACQUARIE University undertook a dome camera motion blur test in January as part of an ongoing CCTV upgrade which will see the university’s 900-camera CCTV solution migrated to an external cloud provider.

40: SAPOL GOES DIGITAL South Australia State Police has taken its

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patrol procedures digital, increasing officer efficieny while opening the way for integration of digital signature capture, body worn cameras and authorised access of remote resources like printers using the existing access control solution.

42: BNP LOOKS TO SONY A leading player in global financial services, BNP Paribas is a European-centred banking group with more 190,000 employees in 74 countries.

Like other banks, BNP Paribas Fortis is facing a range of threat vectors like robbery, vandalism and card fraud. Similarly, bank staff members require safeguarding from potential aggressors.

44: NIGHT INTO DAY Sony’s SNC-VB642D 1080p bullet camera is an affordable and extremely flexible surveillance camera that has a few tricks up its sleeve enabling it to ensure the best possible operational outcomes in extremely challenging environments.

54: SPIRIT OF THE PACIFIC Electro Security Limited is a Fiji-based security integrator which specialises in project work for major clients. The company is headed up by Ran Vijay Singh who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in loss prevention and CCTV gained working for various security organizations in Sydney back in the 1990s.

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regulars 10 NEWS Latest business, product and technical news from Australia and around the world.

58: WIDE ANGLES & HEMISPHERICS Of all surveillance parameters, none is so riven by internal contradiction as the concurrent demand for wide angles of view and sufficient resolutions to deliver useful depths of field.

52: MONITORING Z-Wave’s new 700 Series incorporates SmartStart setup and S2 framework for improved cybersecurity.

The 700 Series is designed to increase battery life to 10 years and to empower artificial intelligence and machine learning, the 700 Series is likely to have a profound influence on the future of alarm monitoring.

66: GENESYS OF PSIM SENSING Products has released Genesys PSIM management software, which is built on peer-to-peer architecture where all computers are masters and monitor each other, along with each driver instance. This powerful solution has an interface created by gaming graphic designers and best of all, has a single perpetual license fee.

FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE 395

WIDE ANGLES & HEMISPHERICS

PP 100001158

l Case Study: Westpac Stadium Takes Big View l MQU Camera test: The Laws of Motion l South Australia Police Go Digital l BNP Paribas Looks to Sony l Alarm Monitoring: Z-Wave’s 700 Series l Product Review: Sony SNC-VB642D Bullet l The Interview: Ran Vijay Singh, ESL l New Product: The Genesys of PSIM

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

66: EDITOR’S CHOICE What’s new from our manufacturers.

72: 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

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Mobotix Opens Up at Milestone Integration Platform Symposium p.14 DTI Wins Additional $A9.5 Million Dallas CCTV Contract p.16 SecTech Roadshow 2018 Hits 19 Roadies: Only 1 Space Remains! p.18 Hills Opens New National Distribution Centre p.20

F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 8

COMPILED BY JOHN ADAMS

UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG SEEKS DEVELOPMENT OF SECURITY MASTER PLAN

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UNIVERSITY of Wollongong is seeking proposals from experienced security consultants to develop a security infrastructure master plan to address current and future development that is supported through security strategies and measures that address welfare health and safety and security, contribute to crime prevention and mitigate and respond to the risks that are identified in the national guidelines for the protection of crowded places.

UW is a geographically large university, with 30,000 students spread across 9 domestic campuses

and 4 international centres. The Wollongong campus, the university’s main campus, is on the original site 5 kilometres northwest of the city centre, and covers an area of 82.4 hectares with 94 permanent buildings. Apart from the extensive teaching and research buildings, the campus includes student residences, conference facilities, food halls, cafes, restaurants, a bar, conferences facilities, indoor sports centres and gymnasium, Olympic-standard swimming pool and sports fields. These faculties incorporate 40 teaching units with over 900 members

Vlado Damjanovski

of academic staff and more that 1900 staff overall.

Two kilometres away, the Innovation Campus (iC), is a 33-hectare greenfield site that lies adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in North Wollongong.

UOW’s regional

locations include Bega, Batemans Bay, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands.

The University also has 3 Sydney campuses, including the UOW Sydney Business School in the CBD, the South Western Sydney

campus in Liverpool and Southern Sydney campus in Loftus. Overseas, the University of Wollongong has a presence in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The tender closes on February 21, 2018.

DAHUA TECHNOLOGY RANKED TOP 3 GLOBALLY IN A&S SECURITY 50 n DAHUA Technology has been ranked number 3 in the annual Security 50.

The rankings are based on product sales revenue, gross profit, and profit

Fu Liquan

margin during the previous fiscal year. With a sales revenue of CNY13.33 billion (US$1.93 billion) and 32.26 per cent annual growth from 2015, Dahua jumped

one position higher than last year’s ranking.

“It is a great honour to be recognized once again by the 2017 Security 50 and we are delighted to become one of the top 3 companies in the security industry,” said Fu Liquan, chairman of Dahua Technology.

“This outstanding performance demonstrates Dahua’s continuing dedication to innovation in the application of video surveillance.”

In 2016 Dahua introduced new value propositions comprising innovation, quality, and services, to create value for city management, business operations, and consumer living. Dahua’s continued high investment in R&D, which reached 10.69 per cent of sales revenue in 2017 culminated in a series of innovative smart products based on deep learning technology, including front-end and

back-end products that support facial recognition, electronic police video check points, and structured video servers.

Dahua says its core strategy is globalization and AI and IoT are currently the main themes.

The company says it will continue its investment in globalization and R&D to become a world leading video-centric smart IoT solution and service provider.

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NEWS F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 8

MOBOTIX OPENS UP AT MILESTONE INTEGRATION PLATFORM SYMPOSIUM n RYAN Fairclough, sales director MOBOTIX APAC, said the company was proud to be a platinum sponsor of MIPS (Milestone Integration Platform Symposium) APAC, taking place in Hanoi, Vietnam from 23 – 26 January 2018.

This is the first time MOBOTIX has attended a Milestone Systems’ Community Event and the sponsorship is a clear sign of the company’s

Ryan Fairclough

commitment to greater openness.

Since its inception 13 years ago, MIPS has promoted collaboration and innovation within the Video Surveillance industry. MIPS 2018 will be asking how the power of the open platform community can be enlisted to create a more intelligent world. This is a conversation which both MOBOTIX and Milestone Systems look forward to joining.

“Attending MIPS for the first time represents a new era for MOBOTIX,” said Fairclough. “Our new vision of openness and collaboration means we can now work with third parties, such as Milestone, to deliver high-value solutions. Something we are very excited to be doing”

Thomas Lausten, chief executive officer of MOBOTIX AG said the partnership marked a new direction from MOBOTIX, as the company moves towards greater openness.

“It is a great opportunity to combine the flexibility our cameras’ decentralized architecture and extremely robust cybersecurity technology, with Milestone’s open platform VMS.” Lausten said.

OUR NEW VISION OF OPENNESS AND COLLABORATION MEANS WE CAN NOW WORK WITH THIRD PARTIES, SUCH AS MILESTONE, TO DELIVER HIGHVALUE SOLUTIONS.

Tim Prag (l) and Aaron Obrist

TIM PRAG AND AARON OBRIST JOIN NAS AUSTRALIA n TIM Prag and Aaron Obrist have joined NAS Australia as national sales manager security products and security product manager, respectively.

Prag was previously employed as director of sales and business development with the Risco Group and Aaron was Risco’s technical & sales support manager.

The exciting appointments ensure NAS Australia will be able to offer the most comprehensive sales and technical support of the Australian Risco Distributors.

“I welcome the additional firepower that Tim and Aaron bring to our team from a security perspective,” said David Dargie, NAS Australia product director.

“I look forward to NAS bringing together detection and visual verification strategies with Risco and WAMA in both wired and wireless domains, and their integration with other digital systems in automated homes and business, throughout Australia and the South Pacific region.”

SEAN GUINEY LAUNCHES INDEPENDENT SECURITY PROFESSIONALS

A convenient way to remotely access the CS Technologies, Evolution Building Access Control System.

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n WITH more than 27 years’ experience in the security industry, 25 years’ experience in the emergency management sector and one successful business already under his belt, Sean Guiney has ventured out once again, this time to launch his own security consultancy firm - Independent Security Professionals.

According to Guiney, Independent Security Professionals will focus on all aspects of security, from strategy and planning through to detailed design, construction phase services, operational procedures and lifecycle planning.

“Through all these stages, customer service remains a core philosophy of Independent Security Professionals,” Guiney said. “A critical step often overlooked in security consulting is to truly listen to clients’ needs and to design strategies

or systems in response to these needs, rather than from preconceived ideas or assumptions.

“Independent Security Professionals will work in partnership with clients to understand their people and organisational goals.

By understanding these factors, security strategies can be tailored to achieve the greatest results across both security and risk management, as well as into other organisational areas such as customer engagement and technology.”

Sean Guiney

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Learn more at tecomc4.com.au and request a demonstration today.

UTC Fire & Security Australia Pty Ltd trading as Interlogix is part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security. © 2018 United Technologies Corporation, Inc. All rights reserved.

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NEWS F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 8

JOHNSON CONTROLS AWARDED AEO STATUS BY TRANSPORT FOR NSW n JOHNSON Controls Transportation and Integrated Controls (formerly Tyco Traffic & Transportation) has been awarded Authorised Engineering Organisation (AEO) status by Transport for NSW’s Asset Standards Authority (ASA).

The AEO status is acknowledgement of Johnson Controls Transportation and Integrated Controls’ engineering management systems and capabilities, and follows a stringent assessment process by the ASA. The NSW Government recently committed a record $41.4 billion to transport and roads over the next 4 years. The AEO framework provides Transport for

NSW with assurance that outsourced engineering services are delivered by capable and competent organisations. AEO status is required in order for companies to compete for work through the Transport for NSW procurement process.

“As an AEO, we look forward to collaborating more closely with Transport for NSW on tendered transport projects throughout the state,” said Jordon Peters, general manager service and development at Johnson Controls Transportation and Integrated Controls.

“We have a large, Australian-based engineering team which designs and builds

world-class transport traffic management systems incorporated into thousands of networks both in Australia and around the world. As an AEO business, we aim to deliver innovative, cost effective solutions across

a wide range of transport projects.”

Luke Homann, director, authorisation and audit, ASA congratulated Johnson Controls on achieving AEO status, which he said opens new opportunities to collaborate

with ASA on future transport engineering projects.

“The ASA is committed to increasing participation amongst the private sector and we welcome Johnson Controls to the AEO community,” Homann said.

DTI WINS ADDITIONAL $A9.5 MILLION DALLAS CCTV CONTRACT n AUSTRALIAN integrator DTI Group reports that the Board of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has awarded contract options for the further supply and installation of advanced CCTV surveillance systems on light rail vehicles (LRVs) operated by the North Texas transit agency. DART operates across 13 cities situated in the 4th largest

metro area of the United States.

The options involve the supply and installation of surveillance systems valued at approximately $US7.2 million (A$9.5 million) on 115 existing LRVs. Deliveries are expected to commence in the first quarter of calendar 2018 and will roll out over an 18-month period.

Each LRV will be equipped with a digital surveillance system, 13 high-definition 6MP cameras each providing a 360-degree panoramic view of the passenger area, 3 transit rated power over Ethernet network switches, and a multifunction 4G, LTE, 802.11 a/b/g/n ruggedized router to provide live viewing of passenger

cameras. The 4G/ LTE ‘live’ streaming functionality includes seamless integration into the existing station and platform camera systems.

The award of these options is a strong endorsement of DTI’s integration capability as well as its ability to deliver into global projects. In addition, DTI will significantly exceed the Disadvantaged, Minority and WomanOwned Business Participation target of 28 per cent for the project. The DART project is the largest major rail project awarded to DTI in the United States.

THE OPTIONS INVOLVE THE SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $US7.2 MILLION (A$9.5 MILLION) ON 115 EXISTING LRVS.

GENETEC WINS SECURITY SAFETY ACT CERTIFICATION FROM U.S. DEPT HOMELAND SECURITY GENETEC reports its Security Center security management solution has become the first unified VMS, access control, ALPR, communications and analytics security solution to be granted Security Safety Act Designation and Certification by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

This certification provides liability protection to Genetec and its customers in the event of a terrorist act and offers further evidence to government customers that Security Center meets the highest possible quality standards.

Security Center 5.7 allows users to make insight-driven decisions based on security and analytics data. This latest version also adds privacy protection for individuals, efficiently distributes HID mobile access control credentials, and ensures business continuity with native access control failover.

THE OPTIONS INV THE SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS VALUE AT APPROXIMATE $US7.2 MILLION (A$9.5 MILLION) ON 115 EXISTING LRVS. DELIVERIE ARE EXPECTED T COMMENCE IN TH FIRST QUARTER O CALENDAR 2018 WILL ROLL OUT O AN 18-MONTH PE

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NEWS F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 8

SECTECH ROADSHOW 2018 HITS 19 ROADIES: ONLY 1 SPACE REMAINS! n SECTECH Roadshow 2018, a national roadshow showcasing the latest security products and solutions that visits every Australian mainland state capital each May, now has 19 roadies with only 1 space remaining.

Current roadies include BGW Technologies, Bosch Security, CRK, Dahua, Hikvision, Honeywell, ICT, LSC, Pelco, QSS, Tyco Security Products, Video Alarm Technologies, Video Security Products, CSD, ISCS, Seadan. Teleste, Vivotek and CSM. SecTech Roadshow’s simple formula is to take a select group of cutting edge electronic security manufacturers and suppliers and their latest

products and solutions on a joint national roadshow that allows roadies to reap the rewards of the collective pulling power of the group, as well as SEN’s promotional engines.

SecTech organises transport and its team help with unpack and pack-up in every city.

Now in its fourth year, SecTech Roadshow grew 20 per cent last year, with 1750 installers, consultants and security managers taking time out to see the latest technologies in their home town, the big camera shootout, sponsored this year by CSD and Milestone, with no down time for travel, no travel expenses and a

convivial local atmosphere.

SecTech Roadshow visits Melbourne May 8, Brisbane on May 10, Sydney May 15, Adelaide on May 17 and Perth on May 22. For more information, contact Monique Keatinge on 61 2 9280 4425.

NOW IN ITS FOURTH YEAR, SECTECH ROADSHOW GREW 20 PER CENT LAST YEAR, WITH 1750 INSTALLERS, CONSULTANTS AND SECURITY MANAGERS TAKING TIME OUT TO SEE THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES IN THEIR HOME TOWN.

INDIGOVISION AUSTRALIA WELCOMES AIDEN JOHNSON n INDIGOVISION Australia has added Aiden Johnson to its local team in the role of sales support engineer.

Aiden’s professional background lies with the Lion Group in their retail sector and Advanced Voice Systems within the IT and telecoms industry, where he completed industry excellence courses.

“After reading an article on IndigoVision in an industry publication, I loved what I discovered about the company,” said Johnson. “The products just work and its goals in the security market caught my interest. When the opportunity arose

Aiden Johnson

to join the IndigoVision APAC team, I didn’t think twice.

“I look forward to working with my team, partners and customers,” Johnson said. “With new products approaching, I’m excited to see what IndigoVision has in store for the future, and for making the world a safer place.”

JOHN GAFFNEY RETURNS TO HILLS n SECURITY sales specialist, John Gaffney has returned to Hills to take up a position in the Balcatta branch, Western Australia. Gaffney previously worked for Hills for seven years before taking up a position with Gallagher Security in 2014.

Hills’ head of sales – security, surveillance & IT, Bill Sakellariou, said that Gaffney’s return would revitalise the Balcatta trade centre.

“John is passionate about driving results for customers and delivering the highest quality service, and with over 30 years

John Gaffney

industry experience as an installer and security sales professional, brings a high level of practical knowledge to the WA team,” Sakellariou said.

“He understands the day to day issues of installers, and his insights will be invaluable.”

KNIGHT BROTHERS WINS AUSSIE VEHICLE MITIGATION CONTRACT n KNIGHT Brothers has secured a contract for a major event coming to Australia in the spring that will be protected by 11 portable Delta MP5000 vehicle mitigation barriers.

“Australia is developing an increased focus in this space, highlighted by a recent national strategy relating to the practical implementation of suitable measures to protect places of mass gathering,” said Dr Daniel Knight, director of Knight Brothers.

“Having been involved in the high-security industry

and working closely with Delta Scientific for some years, it was clear that Australian venue, event and public space operators were facing various challenges implementing temporary and deployable vehicle protection measures which were crash-certified to international standards.

“Knight Brothers offers government and commercial clients the ability to procure highquality and certified vehicle protection solutions from an Australian owned and operated company that is

supported by global leader Delta Scientific. We have already developed a strong response from operators of some of Australia’s leading sporting stadiums and event venues and will be seeing Delta’s portable barrier systems in use from early 2018.”

Delta’s MP5000 portable barricades and TB100 temporary bollards can be installed in 15 minutes or less to protect streets, entrances or wide expanses such as access to pedestrian areas or even airport runways.

They protect people and critical infrastructures at public events such as parades, festivals, sporting weekends and any place were vehicles could attack transitory events. Mobile

deployable vehicle crash barriers carry a recognized K8 rating (M40 ASTM rating), stopping a 6400kg vehicle traveling at 64 kmph.

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NEWS JU F E LY B R2 U0 A1R7Y 2 0 1 8

MOBOTIX EMBRACES NEW STRATEGY OF OPENNESS AND PARTNERSHIPS n OPENNESS and partnerships were centre stage at the MOBOTIX Global Partner Conference, where the company launched a new strategy to deliver higher value solutions across more market segments.

The MOBOTIX GPC hosted 234 participants from 46 countries to coincide with the launch of its new website and a company strategy that focuses on ‘Beyond Human Vision.’

The 3-day event in Langmeil, Kaiserslautern included more than 20 presentations covering market trends, sales strategy and technical sessions in areas such as Cyber Security and IoT. The breakout sessions on Day 3 included regional updates

and expert panels that connected partners with senior MOBOTIX product management executives, developers and solution specialists.

The GPC also included project examples from invited customers, which included McDonald’s (Germany), Jashanmal Group (Dubai) and Belfius Bank (Belgium) as well as details of exciting initiatives in Singapore, United States, Australia and Greece.

For the first time, MOBOTIX welcomed an expanded partner showcase including Gold Sponsorship from Konica Minolta, Genetec, Strops and Milestone, plus an additional 11 Silver sponsors across diverse areas such as storage,

facial recognition, portable surveillance, wireless connectivity and IoT. “Our Global Partner Conference marks the

GENETEC APPOINTS DANIEL LEE MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR ASIA PACIFIC/OCEANIA n GENETEC reports that Daniel Lee has joined the company as managing director for its Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

In this executive appointment, Lee will be in charge of managing sales and strategy to bring the company’s unified IP security solutions to broader APAC markets.

Lee’s responsibilities will include leading a growing team of sales, support,

Daniel Lee

training, and marketing professionals to achieve continued growth and innovation across the APAC region and expand into new markets.

Lee is a seasoned IT industry entrepreneur, CEO, angel investor, and board member. For 19 years, he grew his own IT and physical security services distribution business called Lan 1, which was acquired by

Hills Limited, Australia, in 2012. Lee joined Hills as an advisor to the board and served as head of product practice until 2016. Lee has a Bachelor’s degree in engineering and electronics from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and speaks English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Lee is a standing member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and will be based in the Genetec Singapore office, traveling extensively throughout the APAC region.

“We are pleased to welcome Daniel Lee to the Genetec family as managing director for the APAC region,” said Guy Chénard, Vice President, Global Business Development and Sales at Genetec.

“Daniel brings many years of experience and a fresh determination and drive to expand Genetec solutions for security, intelligence, and operations to the APAC market,” added Chénard.

start of a new journey for MOBOTIX that starts with acknowledging our traditions, embracing a transition onto a new

path that welcomes the opportunities of tomorrow,” says Thomas Lausten, chief executive officer for MOBOTIX.

HILLS OPENS NEW NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTRE Davis Lenz

n HILLS has now taken its supply chain functions in-house and opened a National Distribution Centre in Seven Hills, NSW, as part of its process of digital transformation.

Hills CEO, David Lenz, said that the facility would provide Hills with a future proof distribution capacity and support its new e-commerce platform that is scheduled to launch in February 2018.

“This is an exciting time for Hills,” Lenz said. “We are transforming our business to provide a better customer experience. The new e-commerce platform will give customers access to pricing and the ability

to purchase online 24/7.

It will also offer real time inventory, order tracking and an improved product search and compare capability.

“These changes will deliver improved productivity across our organisation, enabling our teams to be even more engaged with our vendors and customers delivering the high level of value added services that our customers expect. We have a big year planned and everyone is excited about the next 12 months at Hills.”

Hills’ new e-commerce platform will go-live in February 2018.

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(02) 9749 5888

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www.eos.com.au

30/1/18 3:58 pm

â—? Case study

Westpac Stadium

WESTPAC STADIUM TAKES BIG VIEW Integrator, Security Services, with support from CRK and Dallmeier, has installed multiple Dallmeier Panomera units as part of an ongoing CCTV upgrade at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, NZ. The recently completed solution is the first application in which Panomera has been calibrated not only to view stands in a stadium, but to cover an entire field to provide situational awareness during major events, such as concerts.

VERY security manager faces a serious dilemma when trying to apply video surveillance technology to wide, deep spaces. All must make decisions about which image parameter is most important to them, situational awareness or depth of field. But for some end users there is no acceptable trade-off and a solution must be found that delivers operators situational awareness across an entire angle of view and throughout an entire depth of field. It was this paradox, highlighted by an incident at Westpac Stadium the previous CCTV solution failed to record, that drove management’s openness to a surveillance solution the likes of which has never been seen before.

According to Amirali Pirani, account manager CCTV, CRK NZ, the Panomera installation at Westpac Stadium began 18 months before commissioning.

E

Westpac Stadium in Wellington, NZ

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BY J O H N A D A M S

“The first work we did at Westpac Stadium was supplying cameras for installation in the car parks,” he explains. “These worked well, and Westpac Stadium management was happy with performance. I then showed them the 4-sensor Panomera running through a VideoNet box plugged into one of the TVs on the concourse. The system came up and worked straight away, and because Westpac Stadium management was interested in trying to get coverage of seating around the entire bowl, with everything always in focus and everything recorded, they gave us the opportunity show them a Panomera solution that could meet their needs.

“We used 6 Panomera units to cover the whole stadium, which was perfect,” Amirali says. “When we did the demo, Westpac Stadium management said, ‘that looks great but now we also want to cover the field (for events)’. So, we re-did the design with 8 additional Panomera units to cover the field. We then re-did the demo so management could see what the system would look like from an operational perspective once installed.”

According to Pirani, Panomera is not something you simply take out of the box and switch on – it’s

a multi-sensor system you create with a design that evolves and scales to meet the demands of the application. Getting setup right during calibration is vital to ensure complete coverage after commissioning, he says. That meant plenty of involvement from CRK and from Dallmeier engineers in Germany.

“Robert Kennedy came over from Melbourne and we used a high resolution laser scanning system to create a 3D scan of the stadium, then Trevor and James Williams from Surveillance Services spent 2 weeks mounting a Panomera unit at every planned location around the stadium bowl in order to establish the system’s exact view so we could map the image combinations that would be required.”

WHAT IS PANOMERA? Before we proceed, it’s worth answering an important question: What is Panomera? The key thing to bear in mind with Panomera is that it allows objects very deep in a scene to be viewed in the same high resolution as those objects in the foreground and the angle of view can be very wide or very deep or both. At the core of this technology is the simple fact that using different focal length lenses allows a wide scene to be broken up into multiple areas, each covered by 1 camera, all of which are in very sharp focus. Fundamentally, Panomera is built around hardware and software, with the hardware being Dallmeier’s own Lowlight sensor cameras, carefully calibrated to ensure that each provides an in-focus image of a designated part of the scene.

Panomera software processes multiple image

PANOMERA IS NOT SOMETHING YOU SIMPLY TAKE OUT OF THE BOX AND SWITCH ON – IT’S A MULTI-SENSOR SYSTEM YOU CREATE WITH A DESIGN THAT EVOLVES AND SCALES TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE APPLICATION.

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● Case study

Westpac Stadium

streams in real time and combines them into a mosaic – from this mosaic of footage, motion can be analysed. Dallmeier builds optical solutions itself to supplied site specifications to ensure there’s no errors built in, making the most challenging part of the solution much easier for installers and end users. A strength of Panomera is that its shape is malleable – users can have rectangular or horizontal or halfway in between – that was ideal for Westpac Stadium, with its oval shape.

Importantly, powerful compression means Panomera delivers simultaneous full resolution recordings of huge scenes at up to 30ips across an entire array. While this technology has an optical heart, it’s the power of the Panomera software that brings it all together into a workable solution. That’s because the Panomera system is built on multifocal and multi sensor technology – each sensor being an individual Dallmeier camera with a dedicated focal point and angle of view.

Thanks to the multicast capability of Panomera, multiple users can view the images from Panomera simultaneously, without requiring repeated transmission of the data via network. This reduces the necessary bandwidth significantly and it explains the centralised nature of the Westpac Stadium surveillance network with workstations in the rack supporting remote viewing stations via Ethernet.

THE SOLUTION We start out in the network room with James

Mathew Hellyer at Westpac Stadium

Williams from integrator Surveillance Services and Amirali Pirani explaining the layout of the new system. First the boys show me a new mini PC that’s just been installed in the CCTV rack to allow remote connection via 4G. It’s an addition that makes it very easy for an authorised engineer to undertake remote maintenance or adjustment of the system from anywhere in the world.

Next, I get a walk-though of the system itself, which is built around a well-optioned rack in the network room, with 4 machines supporting 4 remote workstations via Ethernet. There are 3 NVR arrays in the same rack. The management systems is Dallmeier SMAVIA, which supports the Panomeras, as well as PTZs and fixed cameras mounted inside and outside the stadium, as well as in the carpark.

There’s a handful of analogue cameras handled by encoders that will be upgraded to IP cameras, and moving forward, the SMAVIA clients will be replaced by a SeMSy video management solution.

There are 14 Panomera units located around the Westpac Stadium bowl, with each 7-sensor Panomera unit carefully calibrated to cover a section of the field or the seating opposite. As mentioned, this is the first stadium in the world to cover seating and the field using Panomera – that means there are more Panomera units than usually installed in order to handle the huge increase in coverage. One of the beauties of Panomera is it means that in the stadium there’s no need for many additional cameras – coverage is complete, with some overlap, and the addition of a couple of PTZs allows the security team

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E N T E RTA I N

SECURE

30/1/18 4:00 pm

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Alarms

to look for specific details at very high resolutions – things like patrons bringing in glass bottles. A key issue for Westpac Stadium was ensuring the new solution gave coverage of the field area during night concerts – they wanted to go with the NightLine Panomera, which has strong performance in low light.

“There are 4 workstations in the rack, 1 serves the network room and other 3 others are the same PCover-ethernet delivered upstairs to the game day control room,” Williams explains. “You can see the 3 storage servers in the rack holding hard drives – NVRs 1, 2, 3 – all the fibres from the Panomera units come into the rack – different colours for different things – workstations, servers. We’ve made it in such a way the client can pull it out and swing it around.

“We use the IPS 10,000, which can support up to 100 channels and it can extend to a JBOD – this gives Westpac Stadium 90 days storage. We also created a physical switch for them – here it is on the desk - so they can switch from constant recording, which they would use during an event, to motion automatic recording on all channels – with one flick of a switch.”

GEOGRAPHY MAKES WELLINGTON A TOUGH APPLICATION FOR EXTERNALLY MOUNTED SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS AND ESPECIALLY TOUGH ON BIG-ZOOM PTZS.

Node zero

According to Pirani, there’s a fibre backbone.

“All the Panomeras are linked by fibre to this backbone – this is the first stadium in NZ to go with the Connected Venues Project, which means they can deliver free Wi-Fi to around 15,000 patrons at any given time (34km of fibre supporting the Wi-Fi system - every sector has multiple Wi-Fi points),” he explains. “And the installation of Panomera was tied into that – the cablers doing the Wi-Fi also ran the single mode fibre to the Panomeras and James hooked them up, each unit being powered locally as well as by local UPS.” There are 22 LG cameras in the carparks, all streaming via wireless with WiFi links coming in on one fibre link from a local network point. Surveillance Services also changed the existing cameras to IP PTZs around the concourse – these are Uniview 20x PTZs. We have a look at a big Uniview 44x zoom mounted externally and facing back down the harbour towards the CBD. It’s very powerful and although the camera is firmly mounted on its cantilever pole, you can see movement increasing as you zoom in.

There’s a simple reason for the camera shake – it’s application specific and relates to the impact of prevailing easterly airstreams squeezing down between the relatively high ground of NZ’s North and South Islands. Flying over the white-caps of Wellington Harbour the day before, face pressed to the Airbus window, my first sense was the rugged green of circling hills, coalescing to a point in the squat, oval shape of Westpac Stadium. My second sense was the buffeting of a relentless wind. On visiting day it was blowing at a steady 25 knots, with gusts of 40 knots on exposed parts of the harbour.

Geography makes Wellington a tough application for externally mounted surveillance cameras and especially tough on big-zoom PTZs.

THE INSTALLATION The Westpac Stadium installation took place in March 2017 and the commissioning was completed shortly after. Same as upgrades to any existing stadium, there was an existing system in place and the cutover of this system to the new solution had to be carefully managed. Surveillance Services handled the physical side of the installation with support from Westpac Stadium’s own cablers. While Dallmeier and CRK were not involved on the installation side, on the engineering and programming side they had a lot of input.

According to Williams, there were a number of challenges with the Westpac Stadium installation.

“It’s obviously a large site and part of the complexity

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Alarms

of this stadium is that it’s not rectangular but an oval,” he says. “This means it’s more difficult to calibrate the Panomera units because the angles of view are always variable - you can’t set up multiple units with the same settings as you might if every unit had an identical depth of field.

“Scaffolding was another challenge – moving the scaffolding around the bowl during this process was time consuming, as it was more than 5m high and had to be handled by an authorised team,” he explains. “And when we were putting the Panomeras into the bowl, there was some construction going on so there were parts of the bowl we could not work in, as hammer drills were creating vibration through the structure, which could have interfered with calibration.

“There was a tie in with the guys doing the power – we needed special powers supplies for the Panomera units and we needed to keep them close to the power supplies. Westpac Stadium has its own cablers and they were in the process of cabling for the Wi-Fi as well as for our stuff, so everything had to

THE LONGEST POINT IS AROUND 180M AND WE CAN GET GOOD RECOGNIZABLE SHOTS AT THAT DISTANCE.

be tied in and then done in stages.

“From the point of view of our cable infrastructure, there’s one big cable tray that goes right around the stadium which our cabling runs through. Important, too, there are cabinets and PoE switches all around the concourse, so we can add cameras very readily by connecting cabling to that infrastructure.”

Another quirk of this installation was that when the units are installed under a roof line, as they are at Westpac Stadium, they are top-mounted and don’t have the sunshade installed over them. This meant the word Panomera would not entirely visible on the housing.

“The client wanted Panomera to be clearly visible to patrons and thought it looked better aesthetically, so we needed to retain the shade,” says Williams.

“This required custom cutting of grooves in the shade, so they could be bolted to the underside of the housing to ensure they would not interfere with the top mounting brackets – this was careful metal work that had to be done one unit at a time on site. I used an aluminium lathe to cut out the grooves required.”

Williams says that his side of the control room installation was not that complex.

“The cabling came in, I installed the in the racks, the cabling was terminated to the hardware and, when we were allowed to, we took the cameras off the old rack (which is still running) and patched them into the new one camera at a time,” he explains. “It took a day to install the rack – the components weigh a ton and the higher they need to be lifted the harder it is.

Some of the units have 3 power supplies – each of the power supplies is served from a different, individual power source to give redundancy – one has a UPS. It’s a very robust solution.

“There’s an encoder for analogue cameras in the rack and that part of the commissioning was tricky, because some of the cabling to the encoders is suspect so there was trouble connecting. The legacy analogue cabling was inappropriate – RG6 Sky TV cabling had been used – such cables are not good for CCTV as the tin foil coating causes issues. We even found an RG 11 cabling run in the system – getting BNCs for the cable was a nightmare as it’s so thick.

“The process was time consuming. You’d connect a camera and it would not appear, so you’d start trouble shooting and it’s a huge site. You’d re-crimp the terminations at one end or the other and it might work, or not. There are about 14 analogue cameras left on site and these will be replaced by IP cameras moving forward. We also replaced some external PTZs with Uniview PTZs.”

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● Case study

Westpac Stadium

DRIVING THE SYSTEM Operationally, Panomera is a revelation. Typically, with a wide angle view you rapidly drill into softness and pixellation but as you shoulder your way into a scene with Panomera – moving between the different focal lengths and angles of view - there’s a slight distinctive flutter in the image as you change from one camera to another then the system serves you up the perfect high-resolution image you were looking for. The result is a virtually seamless viewer that in the case of Westpac Stadium, gives profound depths of field all the way from hyperfocal distance of the first sensors to the maximum distance of the cameras calibrated for distance work.

Typically, a stadium would have hundreds of cameras for operators to navigate – comparatively, the Panomera solution at Westpac Stadium, delivers operators virtually complete coverage of the bowl from a single interface. There’s no need to manually switch cameras by clicking on tiles on screen – instead you just steer around the view using a PTZ control while the software does all the camera selection under the surface. It means there’s less need for huge video walls as you’re not showing hundreds of distracting cameras in the control room.

As Pirani points out, if you put 16 cameras on any

Westpac operations manager Mathew Hellyer

monitor, the viewing tiles are tiny, while Panomera means there’s a single scene on the screen and you just swoop in and out and around about, all the while the entire scene at full angle of view and full depth of field is always recorded.

“The good thing with Panomera is that it takes the whole 3D image of the curved stadium, but it appears flat on the monitor and in consistent perspective, despite the fact there are multiple sensors and each sensor is stitching itself to the other without distortion or loss of detail,” Pirani explains. “The longest point is around 180m and we can get good recognizable shots at that distance. With Panomera, each sensor is looking at its own respective area and these areas are then stitched together by the software. When you zoom in it’s virtually seamless, same with panning – the process is not visible to the operators. Instead the experience is of an image stream that always stays in focus no matter what operators are doing. And of course, the same scenes with the same in-focus depths of field, are always being recorded so nothing is ever lost – that’s the beauty of Panomera.”

As Pirani drives the system its intuitive nature is immediately apparent. He selects the units he wants to view, steers around them, zooms in and backs out, then spirals away to the other end of the stadium, backing out a little for context then diving in to grab individual seats underneath the corporate boxes on the far side of the bowl. As he does so I can read seat numbers. As he steers around the site it occurs to me that with Panomera Dallmeier has made individual cameras disappear.

THE END USER PERSPECTIVE According to Matt Hellyer, operations manager, Westpac Stadium, the new surveillance system has multiple operational roles to play during ordinary work days, as well as at big events.

“We are a cricket oval but are multi-use and the CCTV system is about the safety and security of our stadium patrons but it’s also about our site,” Hellyer says. “We have some site tenants and there are other users in and around the facility – it’s 24 hours constant access. Given the nature of our site – it’s on a main arterial road – on a big event day it gets heavily congested and the new system also gives us great views of our entry, the street approaches and the concourse area, showing the queue length. It’s very helpful. We also now have great, constant coverage of the corporate boxes.

“And, of course, we have those big game days, which come with their challenges, as well as major concerts. Low light during concerts will add a whole new layer of difficulty – the dark areas, the bright areas, the flashing lights, patrons all over the field, not only in seats. It’s meeting those big demands that this solution is all about.”

According to Hellyer, there was always an element of flying blind at past concerts.

“As soon as the lights go out you have the bulk

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Amirali Pirani ( L), David Royer and James Williams.

of the crowd on the field and you really can’t see anything at all,” he explains. “At such times you are relying on the skills of your staff and the quality of the communication systems you have in place to support them. Visibility with cameras – if we can get any visibility of the field - is a bonus. In the past with the PTZs, it was pick one of many, zoom in and pan around, try to find the incident and then focus on the people involved. And when you are zoomed in it’s so easy to get lost. With the Panomera system the entire scene is always there, it’s easy to find on-screen and if we do miss something, it’s still recording in the background for later investigations – that’s perfect for us.

“When we look back at incidents we’ve had in the past, before this system was commissioned, what’s been obvious is that the lack of complete coverage impacted on our investigations,” Hellyer says.

“Those incidents were the catalyst for this solution.

We’ve since had another incident with an attempted pitch invasion on a game day and we were able to jump back in a few seconds and see exactly the circumstances that led up to the event. This was a great advantage from the point of view of our initial response and our subsequent investigation.”

According to Hellyer, Westpac Stadium goes its own way when it comes to managing the surveillance solution in real time.

“Operationally, we do things a bit differently,” he says. “We don’t have a dedicated security monitoring team that only runs the system on a game day – instead everyone pitches and helps as required. Our comms officer is the central person on the cameras and the other 2 workstations are supplementary.

Members of the team will get on and off the system as they need to. And efficiency is a point worth making. We have found operations to be faster thanks to this system – time consuming searches are a thing of the past – if you know the general area you can zoom in and out and pan very quickly without losing context.

“Installing was a time-consuming process and there was plenty of involvement from the manufacturer. Because of the shape of the dome there were technical challenges to overcome – we needed eastern and western, and northern and southern views to ensure every single access point was viewable. To achieve this, we split the Panomera views into blocks, so if there’s an incident occurring, within seconds we have eyes on scene. As you’d imagine, there was a lot of calibration during setup in order to ensure these views are right but now they are right, the system is very powerful.”

Hellyer says there was some operator training required during the transition to the Dallmeier solution.

“This is very different to the more traditional CCTV system we had with lots of fixed cameras and PTZs to navigate but we are all now very used to jumping onto Panomera, though I do notice some security team members still favour the optical zooms they are used to for certain long-range tasks.”

Meanwhile, Westpac Stadium’s facilities manager, David Royer, who wears the security management hat, says that although he’s only recently come on board it’s clear from his experience that the Westpac Stadium surveillance solution is special.

“From what I have seen this is an immensely powerful solution,” Royer says. “Looking at footage from game days it’s possible to see what the capability of Panomera is. From an operator’s perspective, you can go from the entire field almost down to a single seat without losing the clarity and sharpness of its perfect focus and there’s no pixellation. My experience in the past has been with fixed focal length lenses and this is something quite different – the level of detail is incredible.” n

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HUB Australia

SOUTHERN CROSS SALTO CO-WORKING spaces are becoming an increasingly important sector of the real estate market and one pioneering company, Hub Australia, is on a mission to create a state-of-the-art home for small to large businesses to prosper and grow.

UB Australia specialises in creating flexible workspaces that provide growing businesses with the resources and learning opportunities to scale their businesses for long term success. Founded by Australian entrepreneur, Brad Krauskopf, Hub strives to provide more than just a place of work, but a community that encourages collaboration, growth and entrepreneurship. The company operates in 3 Australian cities, with facilities in Sydney and Adelaide, and more recently, Hub Southern Cross in Melbourne. The new location has tripled Hub’s footprint in the city, and occupies 3900sqm and 2 floors of the historic Mail Exchange building on the corner of Spencer and Bourke streets.

Providing space for up to 700 members, Hub Southern Cross has a variety of areas for 1 to 20-person teams that includes private offices, open plan dedicated and flexible seating, and for larger company members, bespoke spaces that can be customised to suit. There are more than 20 differently styled bookable meeting spaces, ranging from a 2-person to 14-person cutting-edge

H

boardroom with the latest technology presentation and conference facilities. Other key features onsite include a 400Mb internet connection, a 50+ seat café, a gym, bike parking, relaxation space, media room, hundreds of plants, a member gallery and an event space for up to 100 people.

For its building security and to control access into and around the various Hub facilities the company chose a keyless access control solution, from SALTO Systems.

“The co-working market now has over 7000 players around the globe and is a fast growing business sector for SALTO worldwide so we’re delighted to have been chosen by Hub to provide access control for their new facility,” says Dennis Mavropoulos, SALTO’s channel manager.

“When they took the decision to upgrade from their previous proximity based system, they chose a SALTO solution due to our product range, along with the ability to work wire-free to secure more access points.”

More than 90 doors, including the main entrance door, as well as offices and meeting rooms, are now secured with products from SALTO’s standalone, battery-operated, XS4 family; including XS4 Mini, XS4 Locker Locks, XS4 2.0 wall readers; and GEO electronic cylinders. These control every aspect of access control, enabling Hub Southern Cross to add or delete access privileges simply and quickly.

According to Mel Dwyer, business development manager at local certified SALTO dealer Aus Lock & Safe Company, which carried out the installation and commissioning of the Hub Southern Cross building, when the Aus Lock & Safe team first got the call to come in and present SALTO to Hub Australia they loved it.

“Hub Australia quickly saw its potential and when we explained how we could customize both door hardware and system software to exactly match their needs, they were sold,” Dwyer says.

“They especially liked the compact size and design of the XS4 Mini handle set, as they felt its fresh, modern look would work particularly well with the interior aesthetics of the building.

“Add to that the fact the cost of going with SALTO for this project was approximately half that of a rival access control product and their choice made great financial sense, too. The installation went smoothly and we’re pleased to have another SALTO customer enjoying total control over their building security.”

Hub is very pleased with its new solution.

“We value the power and importance of growing businesses in our community and wanted to create an environment where Hub members could work productively but securely on their endeavours,” says Hub Australia’s Brad Krauskopf. “What we like about our new SALTO access system is the costeffectiveness of the solution and the fact that it’s scalable, and can easily be expanded to meet any future growth needs we may have, as and when required.” n

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30/1/1812:13:18 4:00 pm 19.02.2015

● Special report

Macquarie University

LAWS OF MOTION MACQUARIE University undertook a dome camera motion blur test in January as part of an ongoing CCTV upgrade which will see the university’s 900-camera CCTV solution migrated to an external cloud provider.

QU’S motion blur test was undertaken by MQU’s CCTV consultant Scott Myles and included parameters such as motion blur, bit rate, sharpness, WDR, depth of field, noise, and colour rendition in low light and very low light applications, as well as ease of integrating with MQU’s Milestone XProtect Corporate VMS. SEN’s Rotakin unit was seconded to assist the process of establishing units of blur and the results of the test showed 3 standouts, though each camera approached the challenges of the application in different ways, creating application-specific tradeoffs.

“The test was conducted in the sort of conditions a camera will typically face in a university environment and it was pleasing to find 3 cameras that met the criteria, though to varying degrees

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BY J O H N A D A M S

against each parameter,” Myles said. “It was also good to get input from one of MQU’s experienced security operators, whose instincts corroborated the data we had gathered.

“While this test is concerned primarily with blur – we didn’t want to meet that parameter to the exclusion of other valuable parameters – sharpness, colour, depth of field and the rest. I told the engineers who set the cameras up prior to the test, to apply camera settings which were good for both day and night, giving us the best balance through a 24-hour light cycle, while keeping control of bitrate.”

When SEN arrived at MQU with Ronnie Rotakin, the cameras were already set up on a board outside the MQU security office pointing up the carpark towards a chain link fence and gate, with a line of

trees in the background. Nearer distances were marked off at 5m intervals using labelled traffic cones. SEN’s Rotakin unit was deployed to measure motion blur. I’d decided not to bring test target Norman, which is designed to measure colour rendition and sharpness. In hindsight, the use of Norman would have allowed a more accurate sense of static colour rendition and face recognition deeper into the scene, but in the planning process I decided a static Norman would distract from the primary goal of the test, which was to establish the image quality of moving faces. We managed without Norman, but we missed him.

With cameras, cones and Rotakin set up it was simply a matter of waiting for light levels to fall so we could go through the camera group one parameter at a time. Worth pointing out is that there were a couple of cameras that had not been integrated with the Milestone system and so could not be considered.

We started out viewing the scene from the security control room in reasonably good light

WITH CAMERAS, CONES AND ROTAKIN SET UP IT WAS SIMPLY A MATTER OF WAITING FOR LIGHT LEVELS TO FALL SO WE COULD GO THROUGH THE CAMERA GROUP ONE PARAMETER AT A TIME.

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● Special report

Macquarie University

– around 20-40 lux at the target. The light was primarily low kelvin – between 1800 and 3000 in my estimation. This quite high level of light - you’d rarely experience 40 lux on the street at night - still left some cameras with a motion blur deficit.

We did not go into each camera individually to check shutter speed but in some cases, it seemed as little as 1/30th of a second. One camera, however, seemed to have sacrificed light gathering potential and detail deeper into the scene to handle motion blur better – the strategy was successful, but it came at a cost of darkness elsewhere in the scene.

The labelled cones were excellent in that they took the guesswork out of depth of field assessments. As the night wore on and our eyes got tired, it became tempting to generalise performance and having those labelled cones in place allowed working depth of field – the distance to which sharpness is retained – to be pin-pointed within 5 metres.

Another variable was the sweet spot in the focal point of each camera lens. All the cameras were operating at their widest lens settings – around 2.8mm for the most part – yet there seemed to be differences with focal points. This was exacerbated by digital zoom, which added pixel spread to the equation whenever applied. Then there were

processing differences, amplification variations, colour casts introduced by the low kelvin luminaries in the carpark. Making judging these differences more challenging, many camera characteristics were inter-related.

The mounting of cameras flat on the mounting board introduced another variable during the WDR test – internal dome bubble reflections and internal lens reflections. In one case, the WDR test provoked a camera to display a curious pattern of concentric rings and a large greenish disc on the monitor and it was only later in the test we realised what we were seeing was a reflection off the front of the lens reflecting back at the sensor of the dome bubble and the green disk was a reflection of the lens coating.

THE TEST Going through performance one camera at a time for each parameter was instructive. Importantly for the client, the test was being conducted in real time using MQU’s Milestone XProtect Corporate VMS. As we were beginning to go through the cameras something interesting happened. A person who could see the Rotakin spinning outside the security office rode down on a bicycle to take a look and during this little investigation moved between the cameras and Ronnie. These movements at close

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Scott Myles (l) with campus security manager John Durbridge

AS MYLES POINTED OUT, END USERS WANT MORE THAN A FACE AT 5M – WHAT THAT MORE IS, DEPENDS ON THE CUSTOMER AND THE APPLICATION. distance, which constituted a greater portion of the scene, led to the introduction of more widespread blur and artefacts as cameras tried to process the scene.

While we can’t give the full test results, we can speak generally about performance. There was some colour casting with a number of the cameras as the low kv light spilled into the image. I thought the Vivotek was best against motion blur but managed this at the cost of some darkness in the rest of the image – perhaps a fast shutter speed. Pelco was a good static image but was less strong against blur. Panasonic and Axis delivered good all-round images - stronger in some areas and less strong in others - but importantly, the order of performance changed as we tested each parameter.

When it came to colour rendition I liked Panasonic, Pelco, Axis then Vivotek. Depth of field varied and we saw sweet spots in the focal range, too. Pelco showed this characteristic the most, being strong in the middle distance. The night image quality looked like Panasonic, then Axis then Pelco, then Vivotek.

Sharpness was Axis, Vivotek, Panasonic, Pelco.

When it came to bitrates, Vivotek by a mile then Axis. With motion blur I liked Panasonic, Vivotek, Axis then Pelco.

When we turned all the lights off, performance shifted again. With sharpness I thought Panasonic, Axis, Vivotek then Pelco. With bitrate, Vivotek by a mile, with good sharpness and low noise. With depth of field, Panasonic, Axis, Vivotek then Pelco.

With motion blur, Vivotek, Panasonic, Axis, then

Pelco. With WDR, Panasonic then Vivotek but we decided Axis was giving the best faces in these conditions, though losing some background in the process. At another point in the test we agreed that Pelco was giving the best front to back static image for situational awareness, taking every factor into account.

“All in all, this was a very tough test – there’s so much variation in different parts of the scene as conditions change and each of the cameras handles things differently and exhibits different characteristics throughout the process,” said Myles.

“Importantly from the perspective of MQU, the idea here is to narrow down the field to the group of cameras that handles the conditions in the most balanced way and I think we have achieved that.”

Something interesting from my point of view, is that testing cameras in isolation as SEN often does, doesn’t allow you to rate cameras against each other in terms of comparative characteristics. And having a second pair of eyes on the monitors helps, too.

Many of the rankings came down to an argument.

As Myles pointed out during the process, it was relatively easy to separate the cameras based on a single parameter of performance, though he also pointed out that every layer of performance was different in every situation tested – that was where things got tough to call.

The MQU test showed you should not choose a camera based solely on one characteristic – for instance, low blur at a particular focal length, but you would reject a camera if it displayed high levels of motion blur in all conditions. As Myles says, end users want more than a face at 5m – what that more is, depends on the customer and the application.

At the end of the night before packing up, we asked an MQU operator which camera he thought was managing the challenging conditions best. When he told us his opinion, we both agreed with him but later, I had doubts. n

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● News report

Grey market

THE GREY & THE BLUE SEN’S longest ever online poll, which received almost 200 responses from installers and integrators over an 18-month period, found that while most installers were wary of grey market products, nearly 50 per cent would seriously consider using them.

N answer to the question: “Would You Ever Use Grey Market Products?” the SEN poll found that for 15 per cent of installers the savings are worth the risks – they voted yes. For 27 per cent of responders, the risks of grey market products are acceptable sometimes, depending on the product and the application. Meanwhile, 58 per cent of installers and integrators said they would never use grey market products, agreeing that the loss of warranty and support was simply not worth the risk.

According to James Layton of Bosch Security Systems, it’s very hard to say what percentage of the market is subject to attrition towards parallel importing – it varies heavily depending on the type of product (for example – intrusion systems are often heavily customised for the market in question and thus may not be available in other markets, whereas video products are generally the same the world over), and also on the country of origin.

“Like any industry, some distributors in Australia are very risk adverse, whereas others are prepared to carry a certain level of risk,” he explained. “Grey market importing is all about balancing additional risk to your business in the form of warranty, service availability, quality and legal compliance; against the short-term benefit of reduced material costs.”

According to Layton, this dichotomy will obviously lead to some distributors struggling to remain cost competitive, and increases the likelihood of several resellers engaging in a “race to the bottom”.

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BY J O H N A D A M S

“In reality, all levels of the supply chain seem to be engaging in this practice,” Layton said. “End users will regularly seek to purchase security products for DIY self-installations from sites like eBay or Gumtree. System integrators will regularly seek to differentiate themselves from their competition with lower prices or new technologies from overseas. Distributors will sometimes look to the grey market to fight reducing margins or gain access to a product set that they could not secure distribution for through regular means.

“Finally, operators outside of our industry such as electricians, electrical wholesalers and IT professionals will often use parallel importing to access new products or markets in order to easily create business growth.”

Layton says there are 4 fundamental risks for installation companies that choose to engage in what is essentially parallel importing.

“First, they accept full commercial responsibility for the product – there is no manufacturer support, no warranty, and potentially no certain availability of spare components,” Layton said. “Yet the integrator needs to commit to provide all of those things to their customer – potentially creating a risk of costs in excess of what they saved on the purchase.

“Second, many manufacturers have slight variances in the products they make available to different regions. This could be as simple as including a power lead for a different fitting, to something as complex as wireless frequencies or built-in languages. A current example would be Z-Wave home automation products which have different operating frequencies in each region.

“Third, the integrator really has no direct interaction with the product until it has already arrived in Australia. Especially when purchasing from locations in Asia Pacific, there is a risk that the product may in fact be a knock-off of a real product,” Layton said.

“Additionally, many products that make their way in to the grey market are components that failed factory testing but still had the appearance of full function. The integrator may find that they have paid for a low-quality product that is effectively unsellable.

“Finally, and most importantly, there’s the legal regulatory compliance of the products to take into account. ERAC and ACMA have guidelines on how an electrical product is tested and marked before it enters Australia. When a product enters the country from overseas, compliance with these guidelines falls on the company that first receives the goods in Australia.

“If the product is discovered to not comply with these guidelines, the integrator or distributor that imported them can face heavy fines – potentially tens of thousands of dollars per incident. When a product also includes telecommunications or wireless components, additional regulatory bodies and potential fines can become involved.” n

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Formerly Samsung Techwin

30/1/18 4:00 pm

● Case study

SAPOL

SAPOL GOES DIGITAL South Australia State Police has taken its patrol procedures digital, increasing officer efficiency while opening the way for integration of digital signature capture, body worn cameras and authorised access of remote resources like printers using the existing access control solution.

OUTH Australia State Police (SAPOL) has pioneered a vision for modern digital policing which allows officers to complete all paperwork from anywhere in the field, carry technology directly to the scene of an incident for tasks such as capturing statements, spend more time in the field, and apply a host of forward-thinking technologies to carry out their duties.

The Mobile Rugged Tablet project expands SAPOL’s mobility strategy, which incorporates mobile performance management software from NetMotion and local solution provider Advanced Mobile IT (AMIT).

“SAPOL’s goal was to do away with officers carrying paper-based notebooks for recording notes and capturing statements, then having to go back to the station and type it all up,” explains AMIT business development manager, Nicholas Cizauskas.

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BY J O H N A D A M S

Giving police an office away from the office allows them to take a device directly to the scene, capture statements, search for and access any data required, write a report, and if necessary finish it up in the car between shifts. Time that had been spent typing in the station is instead spent doing policing work, making police more visible in the community.

SAPOL quickly found its existing CheckPoint VPN solution could not satisfy all scenarios.

“They had created multiple edge cases,” Cizauskas explains. “Removing the device from the car, connecting it to the cellular network, putting it in a hardwired dock – and when the device switched between networks, applications lost their handshake with the back-end system.”

Most critically, there was no notification to the officers in the car or the staff in the communications centre that they had lost the ability to exchange messages. To SAPOL, that level of risk was simply unacceptable.

Cizauskas and AMIT advised SAPOL to try NetMotion.

“We provided them a trial license and helped them set up the pilot,” Cizauskas says. “After testing it through all their scenarios, they told us, ‘That’s it!

This is going to hit it.’”

SAPOL found that with NetMotion providing a reliable network layer, they could evolve the device to better service the frontline by opening up a world of new applications. The application suite consists of the entire office suite, as well as access to back-end systems and to the intranet. The latter allows officers to look up general orders and standard operating procedures, and to download standard templates for forms.

The new solution opens up many new efficiencies. For example, the building access card for the SAPOL offices includes a printer access code.

This facilitated SAPOL to commence a pilot where officers can securely access printing functions using their Mobile Rugged Tablet while on the road; they then go to the office and use their access cards to collect their printing.

Having NetMotion in place also allows SAPOL to pursue new initiatives.

“They’re looking into signature capture, and integrating bodyworn video with the tablets,” says Cizauskas. “With NetMotion in place, that provides the backbone for all the new technologies.”

SAPOL has 8 different types of vehicles in the fleet for patrol purposes.

“All of them are equipped with mobile devices running NetMotion,” explains Cizauskas. “That includes 4-wheel drive vehicles for remote areas. The helicopter has a rugged tablet with an extendable touchscreen. In the next phase, we’re furnishing executives and senior officers with enterprise-class tablets. They’ll all be running NetMotion because the leadership knows the product is so reliable.”

SAPOL is also taking advantage of NetMotion’s data-gathering capabilities. Dashboards with

THEIR GOAL WAS TO DO AWAY WITH OFFICERS CARRYING PAPER-BASED NOTEBOOKS FOR RECORDING NOTES AND CAPTURING STATEMENTS, THEN HAVING TO GO BACK TO THE STATION AND TYPE IT ALL UP.

indicators show if a device is truly being used in a mobile manner or just sitting in an office, or if a device isn’t being turned on at all. The coverage maps have also proved invaluable, as in the example of one user who was having trouble getting connectivity at home. The maps revealed that he was in an area with no network coverage at all.

“Without the data, SAPOL technical staff would have had to commit all sorts of effort and resources,” says Cizauskas. “As a solutions provider, it’s great when we can deliver a product that can pay for itself.”

How does a public agency justify the expense, especially when there’s an existing product in place?

According to Cizauskas, the key is a successful trial and a compelling business case. The SAPOL team took the product and device to the frontline officers, while keeping senior staff in the loop. Knowing that the frontline officers were happy with the product made the superintendent, CIO and CTO happy with the product as well. To build the business case, the SAPOL product manager confirmed the results of the trial in writing, and also presented a matrix that covered the various usage scenarios and how Checkpoint and NetMotion satisfied them. Only NetMotion covered them all. Then it was simply a matter of formalising the approval in a proposal to the commissioner for signoff.

SAPOL had conservatively estimated its mobile solution would save officers 15 minutes per shift.

“In reality, they’ve told me officers are saving as much as 2 hours per shift,” Cizauskas says.

“Thanks to NetMotion and the other products we have furnished, we were able to facilitate SAPOL’s mobility strategy, giving their officers more presence in the field using the latest technologies.” n

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● Case study

BNP

BNP LOOKS TO SONY A leading player in global financial services, BNP Paribas is a European-centred banking group with more 190,000 employees in 74 countries. Like other banks, BNP Paribas Fortis is facing a range of threat vectors like robbery, vandalism and card fraud. Similarly, bank staff members require safeguarding from potential aggressors.

N the past, BNP Paribas has relied for video security on a fleet of analogue CCTV cameras. However, low image quality frequently made it difficult to identify suspects, especially in dimly-lit and harsh backlight conditions, such as direct sunlight through a window or reflected by wet ground.

To upgrade its current CCTV system, BNP Paribas Fortis opted to move to the benefits of an IP-based network video security solution to be able to directly integrate cameras into existing network infrastructure, as well as enable remote video monitoring. Working with security solutions provider SERIS technology and Stanley Security Benelux, BNP Paribas Fortis has installed more than 4,400 Sony IP network cameras. The reliable, highperformance cameras have been installed at the

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BNP’s new HQ

As well as offering excellent image quality, their efficiency and reliable operation make a real contribution to lowering long-term ownership costs.

bank’s new Belgian headquarters and commercial buildings all over the country.

A blend of discreet minidome cameras (SNCEM630, SNC-EM631, SNC-EM600, SNC-EM601 and SNC-EM641 models) protects BNP Paribas Fortis premises. The cameras’ sensitive Exmor R CMOS sensor ensures crisp images with HD or full HD resolution, while selected models offer IK10 resistance standards against unwanted tampering and vandalism.

Hemispheric SNC-HM662 cameras offer a 360-degree all-round view in self-banking zones and bank lobbies. As well as deterring unauthorized loitering, it provides situational awareness of potentially aggressive customers who may be a threat to employees. Protected against harsh weather and vandalism, ruggedized SNCWR602 and SNC-WR632C rapid dome cameras provide round-the-clock surveillance of outdoor areas. The cameras’ high dynamic range ensures clear images in a wide range of lighting conditions, accommodating extremes of bright light and shade in the same scene.

The cameras are integrated using the XProtect Corporate IP Video Management Software (VMS) platform from Milestone Systems. Designed for large-scale mission critical security applications, this manages convenient recording and sharing of video from multiple sites. BNP Paribas Fortis reports that it also values the Sony IP cameras’ excellent network security provision, with the risk of attacks from hackers minimised by regular firmware updates.

“Sony cameras were the obvious choice to improve our video security capabilities,” says Michaël Thys, expert security equipments, BNP Paribas Fortis. “As well as offering excellent image quality, their efficiency and reliable operation make a real contribution to lowering long-term ownership costs.”

Sony is also pleased with the performance of the application.

“The retail banking industry presents several challenges for any security solution,” said Petra Swinnen, regional account manager for Sony Video Security Solutions.

“This large-scale migration to Sony IP cameras has allowed BNP Paribas Fortis to protect its frontline operations, while giving valuable extra peace of mind to employees and customers alike.” n

THE CAMERAS’ HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE ENSURES CLEAR IMAGES IN A WIDE RANGE OF LIGHTING CONDITIONS, ACCOMMODATING EXTREMES OF BRIGHT LIGHT AND SHADE IN THE SAME SCENE.

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â—? Product review

Sony

NIGHT INTO DAY Sony’s SNC-VB642D 1080p bullet camera is an affordable and extremely flexible surveillance camera that has a few tricks up its sleeve enabling it to ensure the best possible operational outcomes in extremely challenging environments.

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BY J O H N A D A M S

ONY SNC-VB642D bullet camera is a day/ night 1080p, IP66 and IK8 bullet camera with a motorised 3-9mm F1.2 lens giving 3x optical zoom and auto focus, a 1/2.8-inch type Exmor R CMOS image sensor and XDNR processing, which Sony says improves low-light performance, delivering a minimum scene illumination of 0.006 lux (30 IRE) in colour mode at up to 60ips in H.264 or JPEG. This camera has a WDR range of 90dB with built-in infrared illumination that’s coupled with Advanced IR technology to capture near and far objects without the flare of IR overexposure. The SNCVB642D can view objects in darkness at distances up to 100m (30 IRE) from the camera. There’s also analytics controlled white light, which has a range of 7m and is ideal for use around building entrances.

More on this key feature later!

Minimum scene illumination is 0.01 at F1.2 (at 3mm and 1/30th of a second and 50 IRE). The IR illuminator has twenty 850nm LEDs and offers a distance of 60 at 50 IRE and 100m at 30 IRE. There’s also a white light LED array with a working distance of 11m at 30 IRE and 7m at 50 IRE – we’re at 30 IRE for this test. WDR is 90dB with View-DR technology activated and the signal to noise ratio is more than 50dB. Shutter speed is 1-1/10,000th of a second, and there’s exposure control, exposure compensation, shutter speed and iris control. There’s also auto white balance, ATW-PRO and colour temperature settings for fluorescent lamp, mercury lamp, sodium vapour lamp, metal halide lamp, white LED, one push WB, manual, indoor and outdoor.

Angle of view is 35.6 to 105.3 degrees and the vertical viewing angle is 20.1 to 56.9 degrees, aperture is F1.2 wide open, closing down to F2.1 at 9mm and the hyperfocal length is 300mm.

Other features include image rotation of 90 and 270 degrees, mirroring, tone correction visibility enhancer, XDNR noise reduction, electronic image stabiliser, 20 privacy masks, SDXC storage slot, voice alert, CBR and VBR bitrate control, 3 streams and 20 clients, intelligent video and audio analytics using DEPA advanced, intelligent motion detection, face detection, tamper alarm and scene analytics including passing, intrusion, left object detection and removed object detection. The audio compression format options are G.711/G.726/AAC. Taking the camera out of the box I can see the VB642D is well built. Perhaps it’s not quite as polished as some Sony products – external bullet

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Lovely balanced wide image

No trouble with plates

THIS CAMERA HAS A WDR RANGE OF 90DB WITH BUILT-IN INFRARED ILLUMINATION THAT’S COUPLED WITH ADVANCED IR TECHNOLOGY TO CAPTURE NEAR AND FAR OBJECTS WITHOUT THE FLARE OF IR OVEREXPOSURE.

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30/1/18 4:37 pm

● Product review

Sony FROM THE GET-GO I CAN SEE IT’S UNUSUALLY GOOD WITH LICENSE PLATES FROM ABOUT 5MM ONWARDS.

A plate in sub 2 lux!

The wide 3mm view

cameras built to take knocks seldom are - but the cast alloy base and rear-body, and the quality poly that make up the front of the camera body and sunshade have good hand-feel. During our test the lack of chromatic aberrations, ghosts, blooming and smearing, suggest solid engineering at multiple levels.

Before we push on it’s worth talking a bit about the Sony Exmor R chip inside the VB642D. This chip represents a major development, with back-illuminated architecture enhancing signal transmission by moving the read circuitry from the front of the sensor, where it traditionally has taken up space between lens and photodiode.

Exmor R delives photons via a more direct path to the photodiode, meaning less attenuation of the light signal. Exmor R also is able to capture photons entering pixels at greater angles of incidence with more efficiency than front-illuminated sensors.

According to Sony, Exmor R sensors also reduce random and fixed-pattern noise by converting pixel charges into digital signals earlier in the readout process than rolling shutter sensors. They achieve this by reducing the length of the internal analogue signal path. Further reducing noise is correlated double sampling (CDS), a process of reading each pixel twice to remove unwanted noise before the analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). CDS is also used after the ADC to verify the accuracy of its output.

TEST DRIVING THE SONY SNC-VB642D

Virtually no blur at all

We’re using SEN’s dedicated Dell Optiplex 9020, with its i7-4770 processor offering 3.4GHz of processing, 8GB of RAM and AMD. This server is a few years old now, but it still has plenty enough horsepower for our small CCTV subnet. The camera is supported by a NetGear GS108P PoE switch. There are no other cameras on the network.

All my settings are very close to default but with brightness and sharpness up a couple of stops. My first impressions are that the camera is a little soft at 3mm but tightens up as you zoom. From the get-go I can see it’s unusually good with license plates from about 5mm onwards. I also notice a little pulsing of the image stream, even in good light, as well as what seems like some mild tone mapping – it’s too bright out front for this to be a matter of shutter speed.

However, it’s possible that what I’m seeing is a characteristic of the Exmor R processing engine,

Court admissible faces at 11m

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30/1/18 4:37 pm

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SEM0218_47.indd 1

30/1/18 4:00 pm

● Product review

Sony

Strong image in 80,000 lux

Still bright at 7:50pm. No blur!

which may be paying special attention to changing pixels. In any case, none of this seems to have any impact on the camera’s ability to get fast moving plates. There’s occasional stepping of the image stream, too, which might relate to buffering by the processing engine as it undertakes those multiple steps.

The zoom is solid – even though it’s only 3-9mm, it really makes a difference in my street scene – it’s not so long that I ever zoom out of context, either.

Re-focus is on the good side, too. Not as fast as the fastest auto focus functions we’ve seen but in the top category. The camera’s ability to handle variable light is excellent – the shaded areas are very well handled, and the bright areas remain extremely consistent with no over-exposure whatever. Many more expensive cameras can’t manage as well as this out here. Colour rendition is also very good.

There are no discernible chromatic aberrations.

There’s barrel distortion at the wide end – about 8-9 per cent – but by the time I’m at 5mm, there’s no sign of it.

A few days later I take Norman out front to test WDR performance. It’s more than 80,000 lux out on the street. Performance in this level of backlight is seamless. The whole image is very Sony – very well balanced. WDR is brushed off by this camera – it’s a non-issue. I see no chromatic aberrations in these tough conditions at wide or long ends, which is unusual.

Again, I notice underlying processing swim – it’s screen wide so can’t be an elevation of processing for region of interest and I’m starting to think it’s to do with the way the Exmor R delivers an image stream. There’s also that characteristic once-persecond pulsing you see with many cameras. Once again, neither of these things seems to impact on image quality.

The ability to handle intense variability of light in challenging scenes is confirmed out here. The camera is also a gun performer for nabbing plates – it’s good wide open, better still as you start reeling in the motorised zoom. On that topic, Sony’s zoom function in the browser is 50 for the wide end (3mm) and 656 for the long end (9mm). I play with all these settings but settle on 500 – that’s around 7mm – for this front street scene. I have the camera pointing a little high to ensure my fully zoomed street scenes retain context and offer me the best possible angle of view and sharpness to go with the excellent colour rendition, WDR and variable light performance. This costs me coverage directly in front of and below the camera, but the price is worth paying, given the benefits of digital zoom when it comes to getting moving plates.

As the day wears on and shadows deepen on the street, the camera remains good with plates from about 5mm onwards and it holds this capability as the light fades. I notice that even with frame rate set

Plate into headlights 30m into scene at 7mm.

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at 25ips it seems a bit lower thanks to occasional stepping. It’s hard to know what this is – it seems to me my earlier summation is correct - the camera is stepping the video stream to buffer what’s coming from the sensor and processing engine. There’s a little more than the usual amount of latency – perhaps 350th of a second, maybe a little higher.

That night I take the VB642D out the back. As light levels fall, the image processing becomes a little more noticeable but much less than I expected it would. It’s been a very windy week and the fence I’ve got the Sony mounted to is moving around a lot – this makes assessing noise more difficult.

Regardless of fence movement, the image stays tight as light falls. I first notice amplification stress starting to intrude in the form of slight smudging in areas of darkness that are also in shadow at around 720pm, but it’s not too intrusive 10 minutes later and after a while I stop wondering if it will increase.

By 7.55pm, it’s dark out the front but things look a lot brighter out the back thanks to the lack of building shadow and exposure to the western

THE ZOOM IS SOLID – EVEN THOUGH IT’S ONLY 3-9MM, IT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN MY STREET SCENE – IT’S NOT SO LONG THAT I EVER ZOOM OUT OF CONTEXT, EITHER. RE-FOCUS IS ON THE GOOD SIDE, TOO.

sunset. There’s a bit more noise but it’s nothing to write home about. As the time moves past 8pm, the camera’s appearance on the monitor starts losing touch with the level of light I can see through the back door. The image has barely changed all afternoon. Something that’s interesting is the fact colour rendition is virtually unaltered.

I’ve been at a zoom of 500 all afternoon so I pull back to 300 and this wider angle of view tells me the neighbours have their lights on, but not much else has changed. I go to a zoom of 656 (9mm) and now I can see a little greenish yellow colour from the low-pressure sodium street lights but it never causes colour cast – this camera handles colour temperature variations very well. By 815pm, the street lights are on and it’s full dark out front, with not much light left in the sky out back. A car comes down the lane and I can see that the camera handles blooming well, too. Instead of a blob of red from brake lights around 10m from the lens, it’s delivering fat, 4-pointed aperture stars. Noise is still there but is no worse – the wind, however, is much worse. At this point, I quit the test for the night.

Next evening in full dark sitting at my workstation after tweaking zoom, I can see the camera is retaining colour – it manages this without any huge increase in noise. In the back lane with sub 2 lux at the lens, the camera does exhibit some interesting behaviour. At first, I think the scene might be a little too light - the camera keeps hopping from

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● Product review

Sony application strongly, with a good even spread. The less light there is on the scene the better it appears to be. When I shift the angle of view off the lane and across the rooftops towards the district, the IR really comes into play. Performance is more than useful - the IR does drill into the scene at longer focal lengths.

CONCLUSION

Colour rendition is excellent, as is ATW

night mode into day mode and while in day mode offering a surprisingly good colour image. After a couple of minutes, the camera returns to night mode and the IR comes on again.

It takes longer than it ought to have taken for me to realise the camera is picking up movement in the windy scene and activating its white light every few minutes.

Something else I notice is that whenever I select a wider angle of view the camera will detect the movement of the zoom as movement in the scene and hop into colour mode. Not a bad way to get an intruder to look at the lens of a camera to give best possible faces, I think. While in colour mode with the white light activated a car comes down the lane at about 15kmph and I grab a shot at about 8m from the lens – when I look at the snapshot I’m amazed to see that I got the license plate. Not a grainy half-imagined license plate but a real, sharp plate.

Through the office I scamper and climb up onto the fence – yes, the white light really is activated.

A neighbour comes down the lane with his dog and again the light activates. The white light array reduces blur and gives me a pretty good general image across my angle of view. I’ve got guaranteed admissible faces out to 11m, probably further.

Next, I get Ronnie out into the lane and when I start him up 8m from the lens he immediately trips the white light. Looking on screen I can see there’s amplification noise but very little blur. I force the camera into night mode and with IR activated there’s not much in the way of blur, either. Looking at the images later I can see the colour image supported by white light is superior to the IR. The IR range of the VB642D is said to be 100m but I don’t have the depth of field and complete darkness to assess that – it certainly covers my

Sony’s VB642D is an unusually good camera that manages its work in ways I’ve not seen before.

With its slightly noisy image stream I was prepared to consider this a camera built to a price. But there’s much more going here. Thanks to Exmor R processing, a quality lens, good autofocus speed and that analytics-powered integrated white light, the VB642D gets faces and moving license plates in levels of light that would overwhelm most other cameras.

Further strengths of the VB642D include a useful zoom range for street applications, strong IR performance, excellent WDR and a seamless variable light performance in tough street scenes.

There’s a little more than the usual level of noise in good light and less than the usual level of noise under 2 lux – throughout the transition from light to dark, amplification is very consistent. Regardless of its other qualities and characteristics, the greatest strength of this camera is an operational ability to guarantee license plates and faces in low light. n

FEATURES OF THE SONY SNC-VB642D BULLET CAMERA INCLUDE: l

1080p Resolution from ½.8-inch Exmor R CMOS

l

Motorised 3-9mm F1.2 lens with auto focus

l

Minimum scene illumination of 0.006 lux at 30 IRE

l

IP66 and IK8 rated housing

l

IR Range of 100m and white light range of 11m

l

XDNR noise reduction, electronic image stabiliser,

l

20 privacy masks, SDXC storage slot, voice alert

l

Intelligent video and audio analytics

l

H.264 and JPEG at 60ips.

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Genesys PSIM software, highly recommended.

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Most importantly, Genesys includes Migrating 3+™ technology, a patented automatic failover solution that adds higher levels of automatic configurable redundancy and system scalability

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than conventional PSIMs. The ability to roll out a solution from a single site to Enterprise offers end users the ultimate flexibility to expand as their budgets and requirements dictate, or to close down sites or buildings on a temporary basis in an emergency.

When it comes to life-cycle, GENESYS GUARANTEES A MINIMUM OF 10 YEARS OF CONTINUING SOFTWARE SUPPORT providing true low cost of ownership.

To find out why Genesys PSIM is so highly recommended, arrange a demonstration at sales@sensingproducts.com or call (02) 8896 4364.

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30/1/18 3:59 pm 29-Jan-18 10:22:23 PM

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Z-Wave 700 Models Future

SIGMA Designs unveiled its new Z-Wave 700 platform at CES 2018. The new platform will deliver an increase in intelligence for the next generation of smart home sensors, as well as bringing a big increase in battery life of up to 10 years. Is Series 700 the future?

T’s instructive that the quickfire pace of technological development in home automation and wireless alarm panel market has established the primacy of the Z-Wave standard over all other wireless industry standards that came before it. In large part, that’s because alarm manufacturers never came together to create industry standards of their own – it’s too late for that now. The only choice is to keep up with the changes.

The latest of these is the Z-Wave 700 platform, which incorporates SmartStart setup and the S2 framework for improved cybersecurity. The 700 Series is designed to drive battery-powered devices, empowering artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems to utilize sensor data and make smart homes smarter, safer and more connected. It’s a big deal for the future of the home alarm and home automation markets. Security players will have to conform to the standards consumers are coming to expect.

“Z-Wave 700 really enables a totally new generation of sensor-based products because of its very long range, very long battery lifetime, as well as the fact it is super-fast and enables small products to be developed for low cost,” Sigma Designs product marketing manager, Johan Pedersen, told SSI recently.

If the message has not sunk in yet, Sigma Designs reports that security sensors and battery powered devices are well on the way to being Z-Wave’s biggest

I

volume category – that means proprietary wireless comms or industry standard wireless comms like 433Mhz, which are shared with a host of lower tech devices like garage door openers, are unlikely to last in their current formats.

According to Pederson, the increase in battery life is a big breakthrough for users and for installers of Z-wave technology.

“Security sensors, if you have a lot of windows in your home with motion sensors, battery life is a big barrier,” he explains. “And if you must change the battery in all these devices every few years, the 700 Series will make significant improvements. It enables way more security installs to have battery-operated devices. You won’t have to have cables running around through all these sensors.

“Furthermore, Z-Wave is the only technology where you know that all products are able to speak to each other.

They’re interoperable. No matter whether it’s an old product or a new product. This is not possible with any other technology out there.”

Z-Wave 700 Series features include bestin-class low power radio performance enabling multi-year battery lifetime and more than 10-year sensor lifetime on a coin-cell. There’s range of more than 100m, covering multi-stories in a house and the far end of the yard. Low cost developer kits, tools and ready-made certified reference code ensure minimum time from prototype to certified product. An ARM-based platform with large memory

on the chip and many peripherals, enable intelligence at the edge with fast energy efficient computation and secure inclusion in less than 1 second. Certified interoperable and backwards compatible - every 700 Series device also now has the highest level of security with Z-Wave Security 2 (S2) framework and consistent easy install with Z-Wave SmartStart.

Many security manufacturers are getting serious with Z-Wave and there will be ramifications for alarm monitoring, with more opportunities for those light footed enough to pursue them. A recent addition is Axis Communications, which

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has announced a new palm-sized PTZ camera with wireless I/O connectivity for communication with other devices using the Z-Wave Plus standard, a standard widely used in the smart home market.

The new addition enables flexible wireless communication with supporting security devices and makes installation both easier and more cost-effective. There are 4 compatible I/O devices: AXIS T8344 Power On/Off Plug, AXIS T8342 Door/Window Sensor, AXIS T8341 PIR Motion Sensor and AXIS T8343 Alert Button.

The discreet AXIS M5065 network camera comes with 5x optical zoom,

autofocus and built-in analytics. AXIS M5065 delivers HDTV 1080p resolution and includes analytics such as AXIS video motion detection, removed object detection as well as audio volume and scream detection. With the camera’s wireless I/O connectivity, it is possible to use an on/off command to control up to six wirelessly connected devices supporting Z-Wave Plus.

“At Axis we are always trying to use the latest technologies to make security less of a hurdle for business owners,” says Kent Fransson, global product manager at Axis Communications. “By introducing

wireless I/O connectivity in a security context, we allow customers to set up an agile surveillance and security system to meet their individual business’ needs, without having to invest a large proportion of their budget on set-up fees.

“For instance, they can use an AXIS M5065 wirelessly connected to a door sensor to monitor or be alerted if someone opens a door to a cabinet with expensive goods. That is just one example of how a camera with wireless I/O connectivity could make security both easier and costeffective and we see that it being used more broadly in the future.” n

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â—? Regulars

The Interview

Spirit of the Pacific Electro Security Limited is a Fiji-based security integrator which specialises in project work for major clients. The company is headed up by Ran Vijay Singh who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in loss prevention and CCTV gained working for various security organizations in Sydney back in the 1990s.

JA: Ran, could you tell us a little about ESL, where you are based and what your specialities are?

RVS: Electro Security Limited is a limited liability company under the Companies Act with registered office at WM Scott Graham & Co of Eldon Chambers, 9 Ellery street, Suva, that operates from Suite 5, 32 Spring Street, Toorak. We are a Fiji-based company which initially started providing security services in 1995, trading as Electronic Central Security based in Samabula, specializing in electronic security installation for domestic, corporate and industrial applications.

We specialize in CCTV, providing well-known and well-supported CCTV products and services such as Pacom,

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R A N V I J AY S I N G H W I T H J O H N A D A M S

Bosch, Sony, Pelco, Panasonic, Ikegami and other brands to the marketplace.

We provide service and support on a national basis with our in-house team based in Suva and a network of experienced technical agents in the western division. These agents are controlled from a single point of contact in Suva which, experience shows, provides many benefits to our clients and customers.

JA: You grew up in Fiji, then moved to Australia for high school and university, then to NZ, now back to Fiji – could you tell us the story of how you got into the security industry?

RVS: I grew up Tailevu, which is inland in Fiji, attended Natovi Catholic Mission School and later, Queen Victoria School. During the last years there I applied for an Australian International Development Assistance (AIDAB) Scholarship programme to study in Australia for my last 2 years of high school at Randwick TAFE. Having relatives in Sydney made this much easier and after I finished the HSC, I lived at Redfern in Sydney and worked as a security officer at the local Woolworths store while studying for a Bachelor of Science in Computing at UNSW. Once I’d completed the Bsc in Computing I worked in various companies in Sydney and chose to move back to Fiji in 1999 to be closer to family. I decided to set up a security installation business in 2000.

JA: What sort of security installations was ESL doing at the time?

RVS: At first we were doing domestic alarm installations – we were the first company in Fiji to install EDM alarm systems and Pacom CCTV and later, we started getting into more complex integrations, incorporating CCTV, access control, audio/video intercoms, gate automation and perimeter security.

JA: How did you transition from a domestic alarm installation business to integrated security solutions provider – it’s quite a bit step – was it a challenging process?

RVS: Any new business is challenging, and it certainly was difficult for us

FIJI IS A SMALLER MARKET THAN NEW ZEALAND OR AUSTRALIA, SO WORD OF MOUTH IS VERY EFFECTIVE IF YOU PROVIDE A QUALITY SERVICE.

in those early days. We had to do everything by ourselves with limited resources – chasing new work, installing systems, maintaining systems, as well as making sure we were trained and on top of new technologies. At first, we focused on domestic alarm systems, automatic gate installation, audio video intercoms.

We approached ANZ Bank offering our services anf they engaged us for minor security system maintenance and later we won tender to install anti - jump barriers for local branches in Fiji. As this was outside our expertise, we partnered with Higgins from Brisbane to handle the installation.

Later ANZ Bank Fiji contracted ESL for service maintenance and upgrade transitions for ANZ branches Fiji-wide with a comprehensive Service Line Agreement (SLA). This also prompted ANZ Group Security to endorse ESL with ANZ ‘Approved Contractor’ status in 2014 for ANZ Group Standards. This enhanced business opportunities with other commercial banks including Westpac in Fiji and the Pacific.

JA: ESL is an ASIAL member, isn’t it?

What led you down that path?

RVS: I’ve been visiting the Security Exhibition for many years and in 2010 we decided to join ASIAL – we’re the only security company in Fiji which is an ASIAL member. A key reason for that membership is that ASIAL has a clear code of ethics and professional standards that we adhere very closely and it’s important to us and to our customers. We were looking for a way to differentiate ourselves and for an association that reflected our own ideals.

JA: ESL doesn’t just work in Fiji – the company has contracts going on all across the Pacific, doesn’t it?

RVS: Yes, that’s right - we are very active across the Pacific – especially with banking sectors, ANZ Kiribati, ANZ Christmas Islands, ANZ Vanuatu, Westpac PNG – where we just installed Dahua IP CCTV. We are also undertaking a complete transition for ANZ Santo in Vanuatu, as well as installing ATM CCTV for ANZ Vanuatu-wide. Other work is being undertaken in the Solomon Islands.

We have just completed major ATM CCTV upgrade works for Westpac PNG-wide, which involves 75 ATM sites with remote software setup designed by Dahua for remote access and system health checks that can be accessed by Westpac Head office in POM for live view and footage retrieval and by our Fiji office for troubleshooting backed up by Dahua tech support in Sydney and China.

JA: Tell us more about the work you are doing in the financial sector.

RVS: We are also engaged with security system design and build for commercial banks, financial institutions and developers for the security system layout. Normally floor plans are forwarded to us, we lay out all the security devices strategic locations and mountings for CCTV, security alarm system and integrated access control. The final enhancements are done by the corresponding architects before being presented to the stakeholders for approval.

Recently we have been awarded tender to upgrade 3 major ANZ branches here in Fiji for complete transition to Dahua CCTV IP and integrated Tecom Challenger 10 access control and alarm system.

There’s also an analogue Pacom CCTV upgrade for ANZ Kiribati, with an upcoming transition to IP CCTV for other branches.

We have also introduced Dahua CCTV IP to Westpac Fiji main branch who are very impressed with the solution and output picture quality.

Our focus is to keep functionality high and costs low. For most our clients a key issue is court admissible evidence and that’s what we focus on – quality footage and easy operation.

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● Regulars

The Interview

JA: What other customers do you have in Fiji?

RVS: Other customers we have in Fiji include Academic institutions like schools, colleges and universities, high commissions including Australian High Commission, South African High Commission , British High Commission and PNG High Commission, manufacturing companies, supermarkets, petrol stations and depots, a gold mine, hospitals , transportation sectors, commercial banks include ANZ Bank, Westpac, Bred Bank, Reserve Bank of Fiji, and corporate installations. Besides Fiji, we look after installations in Vanuatu, Kiribati, Xmas Islands, Solomon Islands PNG and we are talking to potential customers in East Timor about a Geutebruck installation.

JA: More than most integrators, you seem to install across multiple manufacturers in each market segment – how many manufacturers do you support and why?

RVS: We have been trained and certified

by Hills NZ for Tecom Challenger, which we comprehensively use for major installations, as it’s robust and easy to programme. We also like the functionality of the system with its simple but effective relay boards and input/output boards. We have also used Inner Range Concept 4000, Gallagher from New Zealand, Genesis from Mainline Security and IDtek from Ness Security. Our techs are also trained and certified by Geutebruck, Dahua, Axis and Assa Abloy.

We have access to acquire most security hardware as per requirement by individual corporate client or scope of works for projects. We support a diverse group of manufacturers because we are the security integrator our clients need us to be. Some customers may want us to recommend a solution to them based on cost, but others have specific ideas about an installation and want to use products and solutions here that they use elsewhere in their organisations. If they want to use those products and solutions, we need to know how to help them.

JA: When it comes to CCTV, do you exclusively install IP systems, or do you do some analogue, too?

digital transition – that shift to IP is now really getting up steam.

RVS: We work almost exclusively with IP surveillance solutions but there is still a lot of analogue here in Fiji that we might do upgrades to or maintenance on. We’re certainly in the process of assisting major customers with the

JA: What about alarm monitoring technology in Fiji and the Pacific?

In Australia the transition from PSTN is almost complete, with most systems employing wireless and/or IP connections to get alarm signals to

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the monitoring station. Where is the Pacific at when it comes to monitoring comms?

RVS: Most links in Fiji and many other places in the Pacific are still PSTN, with some customers beginning to use a combination of GSM and PSTN or just GSM if they have connection and the site is remote. We recently did some work at a gold mine and because of remoteness they needed to monitor the alarm using wireless via satellite uplink. Certainly, the transition to wireless alarm reporting has begun.

JA: When we spoke at the security exhibition last year you mentioned you had no sales people – how does that work?

RVS: Fiji is a smaller market than New Zealand or Australia, so word of mouth is very effective if you provide a quality service. We win jobs based on the quality of our work and are committed to standards, and our reputation allows us to work on referral with no sales people. Assisting in this is that we concentrate on the high end-market where there are fewer but larger jobs.

JA: What are the challenges of working in multiple markets across the Pacific?

RVS: Initially everything has to be planned precisely to get the techs on site, work permits, itinerary, connecting flights, accommodation, transportation and logistics. There’s acquisition of hardware from overseas suppliers, shipments, port of entry customs and delivery on site. We must work out the duration and schedule of works, implementation of sub-contractors on the ground from that country if hired previously.

Other factors that could be a hindrance to any installation include things like the sea spray issue in Kiribati and Christmas Island, where equipment corrodes fairly quickly due to salty air. Rodents are another issue where low voltage cables get chewed in the ceilings, especially for remote ATM CCTV installations.

Power fluctuations and surges are very common issues across the Pacific that require adequate UPS protection during design and installation.

WE WIN JOBS BASED ON THE QUALITY OF OUR WORK AND ARE COMMITTED TO STANDARDS AND OUR REPUTATION ALLOWS US TO WORK ON REFERRAL WITH NO SALES PEOPLE. Vandalism, graffiti and tampering is also common for installed security in public places, mainly for ATM CCTV. With access control readers, a lot of installations we undertake are internal or undercover but those that are outside are exposed to weather – sun and heavy rain – must be IP66 or 67 and IK against vandalism. The same applies for CCTV cameras.

There’s also personal risk to attending techs and staff that requires added travel insurance policies, personal security considerations and secured transportation procedures and adherence to ‘no go zones’, especially in PNG. JA: Starting out as a security officer you must feel proud of the success of the ESL – did you ever think the business would grow as large as it has, or cover customers in so many different countries?

RVS: Initially it was very difficult due to financial burdens and buying power, loan facilities and access to overseas suppliers. Once we started working with commercial banks, we built our confidence for loan facilities and letters of credit to acquire hardware. Service line and contractual agreements with clients also helped us maintain long term serviceability and continued works to sustain profitability. Prompt service and quality workmanship with branded security hardware gave ESL the niche in the security industry and referrals then brought us to the attention of additional Pacific clients.

JA: What advice would you give to security installers wanting to break into the integration market? How can they grow their business and make it more profitable?

RVS: We believe in customer service - any low voltage equipment installed requires periodic maintenance and service schedule especially CCTV for

picture clarity and peak performance.

You cannot just install and forget. In Fiji we always emphasise using high end gear for high end integrations.

Durability and robustness play key factors in major installations, meaning fewer breakdowns and unnecessary attendance during the defects lability period (DLP), or warranty work - especially for access control installation, automatic doors, gates and barriers, and vehicle entry systems.

For security businesses, proper assessment, correct proposal and tender evaluation, code of ethics and practice, licensing and certification, specialist skills and workmanship, are some of the key factors installation companies must be across to grow in this industry. A membership of an association or trade association professional affiliation is an added advantage for any integrator seeking to promote a code of ethics or code of professional conduct. Integrators should also align closely on the inhouse standards required by client or local standards and Standards Australia/NZ as required for professional installation practices.

JA: What should security managers and other end users look for in an integration company? What qualities do you think are most important?

RVS: For end users, it’s important to find integrators who conform to objective standards and strive to meet a code of ethics. This is not always easy to do.

In Fiji we do not have any evaluation system in place that would allow this there is a licensing board managed by the Ministry of Defence which assesses security companies to some extent and provides a general security license, which does not distinguish installers, integrators, distributors, security guards and security contractors. A licensing system is very important because if skills-based it allows an end user to assess the expertise of the integrator. n

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● Special report

CCTV

WIDE ANGLES & HEMISPHERICS Of all surveillance parameters, none is so riven by internal contradiction as the concurrent demand for wide angles of view and useful depths of field.

HERE’S no decision that pains a security manager quite so much as trying to decide which aspect of image quality is more important from the operational perspective of a security team – angle of view or depth of field. A Holy Grail of surveillance solutions is the ability to provide both these requirements at the same time with simultaneous recording.

The need for situational awareness and high levels of detail is baked into the very nature of powerful PTZ cameras, is an important characteristic of motorised bullet cameras and is the reason for being of many systems

T

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BY J O H N A D A M S

IF ANY SINGLE SOLUTION HAS TOUCHED THE GRAIL, IT’S DALLMEIER’S PANOMERA, BUT NOT EVERY APPLICATION NEEDS AN ENGINEERED SOLUTION OF SUCH HIGH QUALITY. that tackle open spaces with a 3-decked broadside of fixed lens full bodies, bullets and domes. The same imperatives drive the development of big pixel panomorphic cameras, which employ muscular software algorithms to untangle their never-ending barrel distortions.

If any single solution has touched the Grail, it’s Dallmeier’s Panomera, but not every application needs an engineered solution of such high quality.

The secret for installers and end users is trying to find a camera or a solution that delivers the best balance of detail and angle of view, while providing an image that is navigable at a cost that is affordable.

According to Andrew Cho at EOS, the main attraction of the hemispheric camera or very wideangle camera, is the amount of the visibility from a single camera, but he agrees there are challenges.

“Pixel spread with a single wide lens is one of the biggest challenges,” Cho says. “But getting end-users to understand the environmental requirement for the hemispheric camera is another. The limitation of the installation height and the expectation of picture quality at a certain distance needs to be addressed properly, too.

Cho argues a strength of hemispheric cameras lies in their ability to provide useful marketing analysis results.

“For example, fixed cameras are limited in terms of vision when it comes to analysing the movement within a store, while hemispheric cameras can cover much large areas and analyse movements to provide more useful information.”

A key aspect of managing wide angle and hemispheric views is the ability to display and manipulate the image stream in multi-screens.

Getting this right is vital.

“The manipulation of the image stream in multiscreen is the de-warping function,” Cho explains.

“Raw video streams from a hemispheric camera can be very difficult to monitor but products like WISENET provide on-board dewarping features to manipulate the video stream into easier forms to monitor such as quad split, panoramic view or a controllable digital PTZ view.”

For Cho, the perfect application for hemispheric cameras is ceiling mounted applications where

primary monitoring requires a birds-eye view from the ceiling,” he explains. “For example, monitoring the aisle in a supermarket from the ceiling. Multisensor cameras are best in situations where end-users require a wide horizontal monitoring application with a good depth of field, such as stadiums or street surveillance.”

Resolution is a key aspect of wide angle cameras and Cho argues 8MP or 4K is the ideal choice for larger applications, or 4-5MP for smaller spaces. He says multi-head cameras will become more popular, given they can provide larger coverage with simpler installation.

Cho agrees hemispheric and multi-head cameras do provide end-users with more and better choices.

“Importantly though, there must be a proper assessment of the environment as sometimes such a solution could be over-engineered and end up costing more money without any additional benefit compared to a normal fixed lens camera,” he explains.

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● Special report

CCTV

WITH A HEMISPHERIC CAMERA, THERE IS ONLY ONE CAMERA TO INSTALL, ONE CABLE TO RUN AND ONE POE PORT USED. Over at Hikvision, Cecil Nie says that to a degree, the attraction of hemispheric cameras and very wide-angle cameras is their ability to offer complete situational awareness from a single camera point.

But he says there are limits to the camera’s true performance based on its technical characteristics.

“Low profile hemispheric cameras use a single lens which captures everything in view,” Nie explains. “The lens is termed a ‘fisheye’, which means the picture is distorted and yet all-compassing. The quality of the lens, and the resolution of the sensor, will determine the usefulness of the result when you zoom in on the image.

“Between the various manufacturers you will find varied results in the quality of the images when you zoom in. It is fairly well accepted now that the absolute minimum specification for a useful image in a smaller environment is 5MP. The VMS or NVR that the camera is connected to, will often offer a dewarping of the entire image. In other words, it

will provide separate images (e.g. split into 4 separate quadrants), that have been corrected to deliver straight lines (as we would normally view a scene).

“Another version of this camera type, and in a larger profile, is the multi-head. This is where a number of cameras are in one housing and the images are stitched together to provide a somewhat seamless image. This avoids everything going through one lens so the quality of the image tends to be a little better. Some of these are even married with a PTZ suspended in the middle to provide the ability to zoom in on activity while still viewing/recording everything in the scene.”

According to Nie, the real strength of the hemispheric cameras is that they are low profile on the ceiling and are more aesthetic than traditional cameras.

“Architects often like security to be unobtrusive in the environment as it can send the wrong message,” he explains. “With a hemispheric camera, there is only one camera to install, one cable to run and one POE port used.”

Nie says management of wide angle and hemispheric views is vital for video management solutions.

“This capability is a must have now and operators rely on this to provide useful video,” he says. “The ability to digitally pan, tilt and zoom the image stream in multi-screens allows flexibility when reviewing critical footage.

“We are seeing these cameras deployed over retail counters, self-serve areas, multi-bay loading docks, underground car parks and the like.

The cameras only need 1 cable yet cover large areas in their entirety, so there is an efficiency/cost saving in the installation. Panoramic cameras are very useful in outdoor car parks when mounted on the external wall of a building.

This often negates the need to put cameras out on poles throughout a carpark.”

When it comes to resolution, Nie says in offices, small retail areas, or small loading docks, 5MP is sufficient resolutions, but Hikvision recommends its 12MP cameras as a minimum standard for bigger spaces.

“In large warehouses we also recommend mounting the camera on a pendant bracket, so as to get closer to the area of activity.”

Multi-head cameras that deliver Full HD resolution through say, four 90-degree camera lenses, are particularly strong in some street

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applications where they offer reasonable depth of field – including faces towards 20m – and always-on recording through a full 360-degree field of view. Nie believes such cameras will become more common in street surveillance applications.

“We don’t want to rely on operators and PTZs due to human fatigue or error, or they might be looking at one incident while another incident is occurring outside their field of view,” he explains. “Multi-head cameras resolve such issues.”

“Hemispherics and multi-head cameras are a key aspect of many surveillance solutions, especially considering the price for such cameras has reduced dramatically. The development in compression technology (now H.265) also allows higher megapixel cameras to operate more efficiently without sacrificing too much storage.”

Over at Axis, Oshana Jouna says that while hemispheric cameras provide a wide field of view with greater coverage resulting in low camera count for a given site, it’s also important to highlight that for the most part, hemispheric cameras are primarily used for situational awareness meaning that should more precise detail be required, it should be used in conjunction with other cameras placed at key points.

“Some of the design considerations when using hemispheric cameras include: Pixel density: It’s less of an issue as higher resolution cameras become available, but we can still see soft edges even on higher resolution cameras due to the optical distortion of a lens where more detail is contained in the centre of the image and gradually reduces as you move towards the edge.

This becomes more obvious when you digitally zoom into a specific area of the image.

Camera mounting height: To get a complete view of an object standing on the edge of the scene, the

camera needs to be mounted high enough to view it. In some indoor applications the mounting height could be a limiting factor.

Overview image difficult to analyse: Real-time image processing technology helps to dewarp the spherical image and can also offer multiple views in real-time but the dewarping drivers are not available with every VMS. Image only suitable for general overview: This is a trade-off between pixel density and angle of view.

As the object is closer to the centre of the camera where the pixel density is highest, the angle of view is not suitable for facial recognition/identifications.

However, as we move away from the centre the angle is suitable but there are not enough pixels to achieve facial recognition/identification quality. Therefore, the hemispheric camera is only suitable for general overview and if facial recognition/identification is required another camera should be used.

Multi-head/multi sensor camera are processor intensive: Multi head cameras usually address the pixel density issue but this requires more processing power if a stitched image is needed. The stitching can be achieved at the camera side or the server side, in both cases more processing power is required. If a stitched image is not required, multi-head cameras are a good alternative to hemispheric cameras.

According to Jouna, strengths of hemispheric cameras include lower cost, as a single camera can be used to achieve a wider coverage.

“They are also easier to install,” he explains. “If we are using single lens hemispheric camera or a multi-head camera, we only need to run one cable.

To provide the same coverage with narrow angle cameras for the same coverage more cameras are required, therefore more network cables and more installation locations. It’s also easier to review footage from only one camera with no blind spots after an event or crime has occurred.

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● Special report

CCTV WHEN HEMISPHERIC OR ULTRA WIDE-ANGLE CAMERAS ARE USED CORRECTLY, THEY PROVIDE EXCELLENT SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.

“With dewarping, the overview image can be saved and dewarping can be achieved on the recorded footage and the live view. This feature is supported on most of the major VMSs. Also, as we have less cameras in the system, the maintenance process will be easier.”

According to Jouna, the perfect applications for panomorphic cameras include warehouses with a large open area with high ceiling, large building lobbies, gyms and carparks.

“Applications where multi-sensor camera are preferred over panomorphic include the intersections of hallways, aisles and roads, and at the corners of buildings, city surveillance at intersections, parking lots where the sensors need to be focused on certain areas, where corridor format can be used to capture vertically oriented scenes in 4 different directions and in the lobbies of schools, hotels and offices. I’d say 8 Megapixels is a good compromise between image quality/pixel density and bandwidth/ storage requirements.”

Jouna says multi-head cameras are gaining in popularity for city surveillance, especially at major intersections.

“Most of the multi-head cameras are flexible in terms of lens selections – for instance, you can have different lenses with different fields of view installed on one camera,” he says. “An example is having one of the sensors installed with wide angle lens looking at a wide area, while the other sensors are equipped with narrower angle lenses focusing on narrow streets and therefore achieving longer range/higher pixel density. The other factor that makes the multi-sensor camera popular for street surveillance is the ease of installation, you can have 4 cameras (4 sensors) using a single POE connectivity. And the licensing cost for the VMS is also lower in multi-sensor camera.

Effectively 4 cameras are installed at the price of 1.”

Phil Viggiano of CRK says a key issue with these camera types is managing customer’s understanding of how the cameras should be used, and the performance expectations – such solutions do not suit every camera application, he argues.

“When hemispheric or ultra wide-angle cameras are used correctly, they provide excellent situational awareness,” Viggiano explains. “However, they do have performance limitations when compared to traditional single sensor cameras. Dynamic range, low light performance, and infrared illumination distances are generally limited compared with more conventional cameras.

“In terms of strengths, once customers become accustomed to the user interface, they generally find it easier to understand and operate.

Nor do integrators have to second guess exactly

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where each camera needs to be positioned and which are the areas of interest – the cameras are seeing everything. At the core of this is managing the video interface. Dallmeier has spent more than 7 years perfecting its Panomera user interface (SMAVIA Viewing Client).”

According to Viggiano, large geographic areas are best suited to multi sensor cameras.

“The most obvious examples are airports, stadiums, railway yards, city streets and other big spaces,” he explains.

“No single design would be able to handle such very different deployments, which is why there are so many different versions of Panomera - low light, wide angle, 4K, etc.”

When it comes to best resolution, Viggiano says in the past high resolution meant high streaming rates and poor low light performance.

“By comparison, the latest Generation 12MP fisheye 360 degree camera from Uniview supports H265, has extremely good low light performance, and supports infrared up to 10 metres,” he explains.

“IP67 and IK10 ratings mean it can be used in outdoor and harsh conditions, making it a jack of all trades.

“Multisensor cameras are well suited to very large applications where depth of field must be combined with wide angle of view. The new Dallmeier Panomera W8 is already being used in these environments all over the world, in particular with safe city projects and airports.”

Brendan White of MOBOTIX says hemispheric camera technology was initially designed to mitigate the cost of placing multiple cameras within an area to guarantee a holistic field of view.

“This minimised the number of required cameras, while also lowering operational costs but despite the attraction of hemispherics and wide angles, there are some challenges, depending on the camera system,” he explains. “For instance, pixel spread with single lens hemispherics, stitching with multi-head wide angle cameras – in my opinion, hemispheric cameras should only ever be used for overviews, with identification of persons within 3 metres.

Clarity of objects past this point may suffer from lens distortion and pixel spread.

“The main strengths of hemispheric cameras is their ability to cover large areas from a single point, providing great situational awareness of sites, which is paramount when constructing an accurate series of events,” he says.

“Meanwhile, multi-sensor cameras are most suitable for sites that require wide-angle coverage but are still looking to maintain a certain level of

pixels on target, effectively making use of ‘4 cameras in one’ saving on the physical installation and labour of actually installing four individual cameras.

According to White, the quality of dewarping varies by camera manufacturer.

“Most end-users are not familiar with the ‘fisheye’ view,” White says. “This makes it important for hemispheric cameras to be able to offer efficient dewarping in a decentralised environment when cameras are installed as standalone. Equally, it should also be possible to offload this distortion correction onto a software VMS platform to enhance the dewarping process via hardware acceleration.”

White argues that for the current iteration of hardware available in early 2018, 6MP Resolution is the sweet spot for hemispheric camera quality, as the wider end-user market is not using 4K monitors.

“Also, bearing in mind that hemispheric cameras are mostly used as overview cameras providing coverage for larger areas, this resolution is often more than adequate for the purpose,” he says. “Taken as a whole, hemispheric camera technology allows for efficient overviews of wide areas while contributing to the holistic operation of a CCTV system, allowing a user to construct an accurate series of events.

Requiring few cameras in turn decreases the initial installation costs and provides year-on-year savings with regards to power consumption.” n

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● New product

Sensing

GENESYS OF PSIM SENSING Products has released Genesys PSIM management software, which is built on peer-to-peer architecture where all computers are masters and monitor each other, along with each driver instance. This powerful solution has an interface created by gaming graphic designers and best of all, has a single perpetual license fee.

ENESYS, distributed and supported in Australia by Sensing Products, is more than a PSIM technology but takes PSIM to another level. It is an integrated security management system (ISMS) that integrates multiple systems from multiple manufacturers – presenting them as one holistic technology. It means that every electronic security or fire safety device from CCTV to public address, from fire detectors to BMS – can be monitored and controlled from a single platform.

Most importantly, Genesys includes Migrating 3+ technology, a patented automatic failover

G

solution that adds higher levels of automatic configurable redundancy and system scalability than conventional PSIMs. Control is effectively distributed across multiple dedicated workstations so that if one fails, control is migrated to a second workstation seamlessly, with no interruption or downtime. The system is therefore not restricted in its performance by the size or capability of a traditional server, nor does it require the added expense of moving to server farms or utilising clustering software.

Genesys is built around intuitive software that combines a range of industry-leading features and benefits, including an enhanced graphical user experience using 3D modelling and a comprehensive event management database. Events and alarms are presented to the operator clearly as and when they happen using flexible cause-and-effect rules and escalation. Unlike VMS or access control solutions that are centric to their prime function, Genesys ISMS is product agnostic – providing standardised control across all disciplines enhancing ease of use, delivering greater efficiency and offering enhanced ROI. The ISMS software is totally scalable, from control of just a single building to multi-site, multi-country, enterprise systems that can operate over local or wide area networks. Events can be transferred to any operating security control room on the network (either local or remote), by site, discipline, or alarm escalation, providing effective monitoring and highlevel management of any situation.

The ability to roll out a solution from a single site to enterprise offers end users the ultimate flexibility to

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expand as their budgets and requirements dictate, or to close down sites or buildings on a temporary basis in an emergency.

SYSTEM ADVANTAGES The Genesys version 2 PISM software is a .NET application written in C# which means that there is a common base programme to connect directly with other software development kits (SDK) from third party vendors. This ensures direct communication rather than via software wrap giving ease of integration and therefore greater stability. Genesys software employs the use of multiple engines, giving advantages. Separating the driver engine allows the drivers to be distributed across multiple PC’s so that the idea of a traditional client server becomes redundant.

This technology means that the system can be easily expanded and is not reliant on one PC or server for all communications, therefore the power available is multiplied by the number of available workstations on the network. The migrating driver engine (patented) provides unparalleled levels of redundancy, if a workstation fails or the network is disrupted, then the system can fragment or migrate to ensure maximum operation is kept at all times.

Furthermore, separating the driver engine means it can be monitored and if it hangs up it can be restarted, or the driver channel isolated, to ensure all other elements of the system operate even if one driver fails – again offering outstanding redundancy and reliability.

As a standard element of the Genesys platform, alarms can have alarm task lists attached, providing an auditable list of actions the operator is required to take to reset an alarm event, they can add notes to these events for full management history. Alarms can have pre/post event viewing on the Genesys screen activated when the operator accepts the alarm event thus providing visual verification of the alarm and the current position using the CCTV images and DVR replay facility. As the system will be one network, it is possible to monitor all or parts of the system from any of the locations providing enhanced redundancy options.

Genesys utilises Windows Presentation Foundation to provide high levels of graphical adaptability with a graphical map tree, so that the user is kept aware of the site they are connected to and its geographical location. The graphical maps include auto or manual Zoom functionality using HD X 2D or 3D graphical plans. Including a 3D site map overview window that enables a user to verify the location of an alarm or event on large or multiple sites, the operator can also select location maps manually from the 3D window using the 360-degree rotational functionality. The zoom functionality also has the added advantage that fewer maps are required for each system as the quality/definition is substantially enhanced using high resolution format. The system has been developed to be highly intuitive and by using games graphic artists

BY SEPARATING THE DRIVER ENGINE ALLOWS THE DRIVERS TO BE DISTRIBUTED ACROSS MULTIPLE PC’S SO THAT THE IDEA OF A TRADITIONAL CLIENT SERVER BECOMES REDUNDANT.

and engineers so the look and feel of the system is enhanced to provide ease of operator use.

Alarm task lists allows management to set out how operators are to respond to alarm events, the operators ‘tick’ off each task and these are recorded within the system log for analysis. Any changes to the operation of the system or details for any specific alarm event can be altered within the system configuration easily and quickly. This ensures that the system can adapt to the required responses keeping the reactions current.

Pre/post alarm events are displayed to the operators automatically on their Genesys terminals when they accept the alarm event. This provides fast, efficient and proportioned response to alarm events. It means that when an operator accepts an alarm Genesys will automatically display the CCTV footage just before the alarm through to a short time after the alarm has been triggered. Operators can then make informed decisions as to the level and severity of response from an informed position. If the system grows or other systems are added e.g. access control, then this will also react in the same fashion, allowing operators to deal with more alarm events effectively. There are also multi-state device and state icon trigger features associated with action lists.

Genesys V2 also offers completely configurable layouts for the various modules over 1, 2 or 3 PC monitor screens per work station, offering absolute flexibility, plus the ability to increase functionality as the system grows. The modules include graphical maps, DVR/CCTV, alarm event logger and associated action lists, monitor for displaying video streamed camera images (including megapixel IP images), control panels for intruder, fire, audio, PIDS etc, and 3D 360-degree rotational maps of multiple sites or buildings.

The system configurations and event logs are held on an SQL data base enabling the client to use various analytics tools that will enable end users to data mine information for analytics and audit trails.

The database is also held on each workstation used on the system offering a patented migrating server technology (MST+3). n

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● Regulars

Products

Editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry.

INTELLIGENT 4-DOOR ACCESS CONTROL FROM CONSOLIDATED SECURITY MERCHANTS l ZKTECO inBio460pro, intelligent 4-door access controller from Consolidated Security Merchants provides TCP/IP and RS-485 connectivity and supports full range of card readers, including EM, HID Prox, ZK KR-series, Mifare, iClass, and XceedID multitechnology.

The controller supports up to 30,000 card users the inBio460pro stores the fingerprint directly in to the controller so that the users can be logged in and out at a central PC management location, controller can store up to 3,000 fingerprint templates, 30,000 card users and 100,000 events where EC10 for lift control is used and licensed user software 3.0 is required.

InBioPro Series is a project oriented high-end product line with unique features such as embedded fingerprint verification and advanced access control functions, which can be managed by TCP/IP communication thru LAN or WAN networks.

The InBioPro Series is the perfect match for ZKBioSecurity web based software platform to provide a full featured biometric security solution. In combination with the FR1300 RS485 reader, the panels can authenticate users under multiple verification modes such as fingerprint, card and password for a higher security level.

Distributor: Consolidated Security Merchants Contact: 1300 663 904

FLIR RELEASES QUASAR 4X 2K PANORAMIC CAMERA SYSTEM l FLIR has released its Quasar 4x2K panoramic camera featuring 4, full HD optical sensors. The latest security camera in the FLIR Quasar family, the 4x2K produces 4K resolution for highly detailed scenes. The mini-dome camera offers wide area surveillance to monitor cities, critical infrastructure, and other high-profile security areas.

Offering interchangeable field-of-view options of 180 and 360-degrees, the Quasar 4x2K can replace multiple individual cameras, allowing security operators to reduce the number of security cameras required for monitoring wide areas. With automatic stitching that combines the 4 sensors into a 180-degree view, the camera generates a highly detailed, seamless image that eliminates blind spots and scene duplication.

Built-in infrared illumination automatically adjusts to the 180 or 360-degree viewing mode and monitors without the need to illuminate the scene.

The Quasar 4x2K integrates with FLIR’s video management systems (VMS) and major third-party VMS. Using a 1-step configuration process that guarantees quick and efficient mounting, the Quasar 4x2K easily adjusts to either 180 or 360-degree viewing mode in the field. With an IP67 environmentallyrated dome enclosure to withstand mist, rain, and accidental submersion, the Quasar 4x2K provides 24/7 video surveillance either in or outdoors.

The Quasar 4x2K camera is available to purchase now through established FLIR dealers and integrators.

NX WITNESS FROM ISCS l NX Witness says that while it may already have the most versatile VMS on the market, more features have been added, including a browserbased client in the Cloud Portal, the ability to create and add overlaid buttons to trigger system actions, and the ability to create customizable viewing sequences using any resource - cameras, layouts, web pages, offline files, and even server health monitoring.

There’s now also Force Acknowledgement and Bookmark by operators before a desktop client notification disappears.

• Multicast streams can be added to Server as a camera.

• H.265 codec is now supported!

• API Generator - create HTTP Generic Events or API calls via the Web Admin interface.

Distributor: ISCS Contact: 13 11 10 10

Contact: +61 3 9950 2800

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PDM8 8-CHANNEL POWER DISTRIBUTION MODULE l PDM8 from Tactical features an integrated monitored fire trip input via a 22K EOL resistor or non-monitored voltage trip and each of the 8 outputs can be configured to remove power in the event of a fire trip or remain active via jumper switches. There’s also a common fault relay output to signal failure of any individual circuit. This output may be used to drive DVR alarm inputs, security alarm inputs / building management systems or a local sounder / strobe to inform personnel of equipment failure.

Available in either 12Vdc or 24VDC models, the use of PDM8 minimizes the likelihood of a total system shutdown in the event of a short circuit on any one single circuit run.

Featuring state-of-the-art SMD technology and 8 individual M205 1A fused protected circuits - each with an LED to indicate fuse status – as well as power status LED, the PDM8 is available with a variety of fuse ratings to suit your application. When ordering please specify 250mA, 500mA or 1A (1A supplied unless otherwise specified). Installers should ensure that total system current draw does not exceed the rating of the connected power supply and fire trip relay (8A). The PDM8 is available nationally from CSD, Ness and Hills.

Distributor: Tactical Technologies Contact: +61 2 8822 1888

QSS LAUNCHES NEW Q ALUMIA PRO CCTV RANGE l Q SECURITY Systems has launched its new Q Alumia Pro CCTV range of video surveillance products, including high-quality plug and play NVRs and IP cameras in all popular form factors. Q Alumia Pro NVRs are available in 4, 8 and 16-channel configurations, all with an inbuilt PoE switch for all camera channels. The 4MP cameras are available in mini dome, turret, vandal dome and bullet models. Video is accessed via the QViewer client software for Windows, QView mobile app for Apple and Android, web browser or NVR software.

System features include: • H.264/H.265 and Ultra 265 video compression that reduces a 4K 25ips video stream to just 2Mbps • Long range PoE to support up to 300 metre camera runs • Cloud firmware upgrade functionality for both NVR and cameras • 4K HDMI monitor output • Up to 12MP recording resolution • Inbuilt video analytics including people counting, abnormal audio detection and line crossing • Strong cyber protection features • ONVIF conformance.

PARADOX IP150-V4 PLUG AND PLAY INTERNET COMMS MODULE FROM CSD l Paradox’s new IP150-V4 is a plug and play internet communication module that utilises the new Paradox Swan server and no longer requires port forwarding. It is compatible with Spectra, Magellan and EVO control panels and enables control and monitoring of a Paradox security system remotely via the new free Insite Gold App, which supports unlimited number of sites and a low yearly subscription cost.

The IP150-V4 has all the standard features such as reviewing alarm events, history log, troubles, bypass zones, activating PGM’s and 2 new features, ACM12 access door control and selectable push notifications for both IOS and Android phones.

The IP150-V4 is a great, user friendly module for many installations.

Distributor: CSD Contact: 1300 319 499 Website: csd.com.au

Distributor: QSS Contact: +61 3 9646 9016

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● Regulars

Products

Editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry.

AMADEUS 8 ENTRY FROM CSM l AMADEUS 8 is DDS’s next generation access control, alarm monitoring and video supervisor. Amadeus 8 manages a cardholder’s access points and time authorisations as determined by assigned access groups. The system also improves operator situational awareness by providing actionable information through multiple screens to resolve potential security breaches. Amadeus 8 also supports Suprema BioEntry W2 access terminals (more bio reader types are on the way.

The system utilises a model of the Amadeus-linked Hikvision system to realise a CCTV client that is far from passive. An operator can link any camera to a specific tile on the screen. There’s a hassle-free timesheet report generator for time and attendance.

Amadeus 8 uses 26-bit LPR technology to support parking lot access control. A cardholder’s license plate works with the LPR feature to create an alternate cardholder identification platform.

Amadeus 8 only supports MS SQL server version 2008 or higher. The SQL database stores system information and may be installed on any machine accessible to the server PC and client PCs. Distributor: Consolidated Security Merchants Contact: 1300 663 904

HIK-CENTRAL VMS FROM HIKVISION l HIK-Central is Hikvision’s new management platform, replacing the IVMS-5200. The Hik-Central solution synergizes products, technologies, and functionalities that make central control of security systems easy, efficient, and unified. Based on a client-server model, it’s a video management solution that assists with the daily running of your business, securely with centralised management, information sharing and multi service cooperation.

Hik-Central is compatible with the entire line of Hikvision products. It offers features such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and people-counting. Hikvision always strives to develop and deliver the absolute best products and complete end-toend solutions in the security surveillance industry. A successful surveillance operation is ultimately determined by its management platform.

VIVOTEK SD9366-EH PROFESSIONAL SPEED DOME FROM SENSATEK l VIVOTEK SD9366-EH is the latest professional speed dome camera with wiper from VIVOTEK, specifically designed to enhance low light surveillance in large coverage areas. Equipped with 250m IR illuminators and a 30x optical zoom lens, the SD9366-EH provides low light performance in the most challenging situations. The camera also adopts VIVOTEK’s latest Smart IR II technology, Vari-Angle IR. VIVOTEK’s Vari-Angle IR provides smooth vari-angle adjustment of the IR illuminators, allowing broad coverage FOV and highly uniform IR intensity while avoiding hot-spots traditionally associated with IR illumination.

Distributor: SensaTek Contact: 1300 560 026

Distributor: CSD Contact: 1300 319 499

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EXTREMECONTROL FROM EXTREMENETWORKS l BY February 22 2018, Australian businesses need to have measures in place to protect their network from a data breach and, if a compromise occurs, heavy fines apply in line with the changes to the Australian Privacy Act. Extreme Networks, the third largest networking vendor worldwide, can help you manage, protect, analyse and monitor your network in time to meet mandatory breach notification responsibilities.

Extreme’s industry-leading solutions, such as ExtremeControl, Extreme Fabric Connect, ExtremeSurge, Extreme Information Governance Engine and Extreme Air Defense break new ground making it easy to roll out granular policies across your wired and wireless networks that meet industry compliance obligations.

Distributor: Sektor Distributors Contact: 1300 273 586

MORE POWER TO TAC

l PELCO’S iconic Esprit positioning system is now enhanced, making it ideal for overt coverage that requires a visual deterrence to intrusion, in mission critical situations requiring a highly durable and reliable camera system, where visible light is not desired nor permitted, where lighting and weather conditions vary, and where coverage well above the horizon is needed.

Models include standard, wiper, pressurized with wiper and IR options. Specifications include 1080p, 60FPS, 130dB-WDR, built in analytics, de-fog mode, power via (HPoE, 24VAC, 48VDC or 100-240V), Onvif - (G, S and Q), smart compression, variable speed: 0.1 to 140 degrees, pan movement: 360 degree continuous pan rotation, and vertical tilt unobstructed from +40 to –90 degrees.

l TACTICAL TIM-01A Universal Digital Timer Module has been designed to provide 8 field programmable functions controlling a Single Pole Double Throw relay with timing intervals ranging between 1 second and 99 days. The unit must be powered by a constant 12V or 24V dc power supply and will accept either positive or negative triggering from external devices such as reed switches, request to exit buttons and access control PLC’s (Programmable Logic Controllers).

TIM-01 may be programmed for fail safe operation (relay is energised when trigger is not active & will deenergise during power failure) or fail secure (relay does not change state during a power failure). Programming may be changed while unit is powered, but power must be disconnected, then reconnected before changes become active as DIP switch configuration is read during boot sequence only.

Distributor: Pelco By Schneider Electric Contact:+61 2 9125 8094

Distributor: Tactical Technologies Contact: +61 2 8822 1888

PELCO ESPRIT

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● Regulars

Products

Editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry.

INNER RANGE RELEASES T4000 4G AND T4000 ROUTER FUNCTIONALITY l IN a significant update to the T4000, Inner Range has introduced a 4G model. And in an industry first, the T4000 can now also function as a router. With an affordable data subscription, installers and end-users can remotely connect and manage their security systems on sites without internet access.

The T4000 uses mobile data to provide Inner Range controllers internet and SkyTunnel access. SkyTunnel is a secure cloud-based service by Inner Range that simplifies the connection of Inner Range security controllers to software, smartphone apps and web interfaces.

“Router functionality with the T4000 can help to overcome many of the networking hurdles often experienced when dealing with IT departments and corporate networks” said Jason Hartley, T4000 product manager.

Unlike domestic routers, the T4000 is a commercial grade security product that can be battery backed, is continuously polled and has redundant mobile network connections.

Router functionality can be enabled on all T4000s new in the box and out in the field, with firmware version 3.10.xxx or later. Firmware updates can be performed over the air cost-free, with no hardware purchase required to gain this new router feature.

The T4000 router functionality combined with Inner Range’s SkyTunnel is a cost effective and surprisingly simple way to connect to security controllers on remote sites.

Distributor: Central Security Distribution Phone: 1300 319 499

MOBOTIX RELEASES MXBELL MOBILE REMOTE STATION l MOBOTIX new app, MxBell adds a mobile remote station for MOBOTIX IP video door stations, in addition to the MxDisplay+. The app makes it possible to receive notifications when the doorbell rings and open the door from a mobile device, and even display a live view from the door camera. MxBell can be downloaded free of charge from Apple’s App Store and from Google Play.

The new app sends push notifications to a user’s smartphone or tablet when someone rings the doorbell. With MxBell, users can communicate with a visitor standing at the door or even open the door remotely. Push notifications are messages that appear on a user’s display without having the specific app open, which is a great advantage. In addition, the app also provides support for live views from MOBOTIX IP cameras with gesture control, an automatic camera search, a live view, and camera connections via SSL, remote connections and mobile data. There are more convenient features in store for the MxBell app in future updates.

MxBell is compatible with devices running iOS 8 or higher and Android 4.4 or higher and with MOBOTIX IP Video Door Stations (T24/25) with firmware 4.4.2.73 or later (for push notifications), MOBOTIX IP cameras (Mx5) with firmware 4.4.2.73 or later and MOBOTIX IP cameras (Mx6) with firmware 5.0.x.x or later.

TVT NETWORK VIDEO RECORDERS FROM CSM l THE new TVT series network video recorders are suitable for a broad range of applications, including home, commercial and retail applications.

Offering full feature, high resolution, 8MP images, this leading-edge range of 4K recorders ensures that no critical information is missed. The NVR adopts the most advanced SOC technique to ensure high definition recording on each channel and uses minimum hard drive capacity with its H.265 compression. The units come complete with full PoE capability and have connect capability with a smart phone app for iOS and android applications. The easy to use user interface and comprehensive feature set for this product range makes it ideal for a broad rnage of applications including multi-use sites.

Distributor: Consolidated Security Merchants Contact: +61 3 8545 9813

Distributor: Mobotix Contact: +61 2 8507 2000

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PANASONIC IPRO EXTREME SURVEILLANCE l PANASONIC has released the i-PRO Extreme PTZ camera range designed to support safe cities through monitoring fast-changing environments from railway stations to airports and shopping malls. The WV-S6131 is a full HD indoor dome camera with 40x zoom, the WV-S6111 is an HD indoor dome camera with 40x zoom, and the WV-S6530N is a weatherproof full HD outdoor dome camera with 21x zoom.

The cameras use H.265 compression technology coupled with Panasonic’s Smart Coding technology to deliver the highest quality images at the lowest bitrates reducing streaming and storage by approximately 75 per cent over the H.264 industry standard. This allows companies to store significantly more data at a lower cost and reduce bandwidth requirements. i-PRO® Extreme cameras also provide a highly secure protection layer and robust authentication to guard against hacking attacks.

Key features include Intelligent Auto control 144dB of Extreme Dynamic Range 40x zoom lens (WV-S6131/6111) ClearSight Coating IP66, IK10, wide operating temperature up to 60C and electric dehumidifier (WV-S6530N). There’s Extreme H.265 compression with smart coding, secure communication suite and full encryption SD card.

Distributor: BGW Technologies Contact: +61 2 9674 4255

AXIS PALM-SIZED WIRELESS PTZ CAMERA l AXIS Communications has announced a new palm-sized PTZ camera with wireless I/O connectivity for communication with other devices using the Z-Wave Plus standard, a standard widely used in the smart home market. he new addition enables flexible wireless communication with supporting security devices and makes installation both easier and more cost-effective. The discreet AXIS M5065 Network Camera comes with 5x optical zoom, autofocus and built-in analytics.

AXIS M5065 delivers HDTV 1080p resolution and includes analytics such as AXIS Video Motion Detection, removed object detection as well as audio volume and scream detection. With the camera’s wireless I/O connectivity, it is possible to use an on/off command to control up to six wirelessly connected devices supporting Z-Wave Plus.

Thanks to the technology, business owners can easily and cost-efficiently design a tailormade system by themselves, combining camera and accessories based on their needs.

Changes and updates to the system can be made just as easily. There are 4 compatible I/O devices: AXIS T8344 power on/off plug, AXIS T8342 door/window sensor, AXIS T8341 PIR motion sensor and AXIS T8343 alert button.

SMART SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS NOW AVAILABLE FOR CONNECT O2 l VIEW your home from anywhere in the world, with clear, sharp HD video footage streamed directly to your smart device. Rapidly respond to security alerts from your Connect O2 system by viewing your home in real time video and warn off any intruders with 2-way voice communication.

Connect O2 currently has 3 IR enabled cameras available for purchase, 1 indoor box camera, one external bullet camera and one indoor PTZ. The cameras are simple to install utilising Wi-Fi (or ethernet) connection and QR scans for easy installation.

Record continuously for up to 7 days locally, while security events are sent and stored securely in the SECURENET cloud.

Distributor: EOS Australia Pty Ltd Contact: +61 2 9749 5888

Distributor: Axis Communications Contact: +61 3 9982 1111

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● Regulars

Help desk ■ Below are the approximate recommendations for rest times (complete rest, that is) between sets according to your goal, per the National Streng th and Conditioning Association (NSCA). *Note that since fat loss depends primarily on diet, there is no official rest-period prescription for it, although we feel that both short and long rests work, depending on the program.

Q: How dangerous are low voltage circuits? Is it possible to be injured or killed by making direct contact with them during troubleshooting?

A: Low voltage circuits are not inherently safe and the higher the energy levels in the circuit the more chance of arcing that ionizes air into a conductive path seeking ground. History tells us people have died after exposure to DC currents as low as 42V. Of course, it’s not the V DC we should be worried about but amperes – the electrical current – that passes through the human body. More than 10mA can produce severe shock, 100-200mA (0.1 to 0.2A) can be lethal, while currents above 0.2A will not lead to death if the victim is resuscitated immediately.

Something many people don’t know is that the survival rate for high voltage shock is actually better than it is for low voltage shock.

To minimise risks, use the shortest possible test probes to ensure you never bridge live conductors.

And before you get to work, make sure your probes and leads are insulated appropriately for the voltage you’ll be testing. Don’t measure a voltage with your DMM set to the wrong range, or try to measure a voltage that exceeds the rating of your test equipment.

Don’t use test devices with exposed terminals and never allow

Our panel of experts answers your questions.

a test lead to come unclipped from a meter terminal and start flapping around if the lead terminal or meter terminal is live. It’s finicky, but if you feel there are risks wear rubber soles on rubber mats and carefully manage power inputs. At worst you’ll save delicate components from static snaps.

Q: We are using a standard CCTV camera for ANPR work – the camera has the software capability, but we are finding results patchy. An issue is motion blur, even at relatively slow speeds. The camera’s low light shutter setting is 1/25th of a second and we have it at 100th of a second, which does make the scene somewhat darker. Could you give us your thoughts on appropriate setup?

A: There are lots of issues to take into account with license plate recognition.

Just off the cuff we’d be looking at a longer lens – a prime if possible (though we don’t know if a 5-6mm fixed focal length CCTV lens exists). This will give you the maximum aperture at a slightly longer focal length, increasing sharpness and removing unwanted angle of view. You’ll need to consider angle of incidence between lens and license plate. You don’t want it to be too acute, or performance will be weakened. To reduce angle of incidence, position the camera on secure side of the gate – within reason, the further from the

plate the camera is, the less the angle of incidence.

We’d be thinking about a directional light source that need not be enormously bright, but must be capable of illuminating the front of the vehicle as it approaches entry and exit points. You need to think about a light source capable of generating reflectance from the different coloured surfaces it will encounter, including red. A capable light source will circumvent many of your issues. But before you go down that path, try a shutter speed of 250th of a second. You will need that sort of shutter speed to ensure a plate at around 10kmph.

A somewhat darker scene is acceptable if you always get a plate and a plate is always what you need.

Q: What should we take into account when planning our CCTV solution when it comes to infrastructure between the surveillance cameras and the storage solution? Does the link need to be synchronous?

A: When it comes to storage, you need to take into account that a video surveillance solution is always writing and only occasionally reading. This means the system infrastructure needs to be designed to handle this sort of load – the primary pipe from the CCTV system to the storage system will see heavy traffic – the more cameras, the heavier the load,

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WHEN IT COMES TO STORAGE, YOU NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT A VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SOLUTION IS ALWAYS WRITING AND ONLY OCCASIONALLY READING. investment for a system that delivers an elevated level of security. Now biometric solutions are similar in cost to card-based systems, it’s very difficult not to seriously consider them in smaller applications where card management will be the greatest ongoing cost.

though you can mitigate this with motion detection in some applications. Going back the other way, things will be a lot quieter – you will never be viewing 500 cameras in full resolution at full frame rate.

Q: We are having issues in a loading bay with a full body camera that’s not housed – dust is getting onto the sensor. Could we weather seal the base of a CCTV camera lens? How would you recommend doing it?

A: Yes, you could weather seal the lens by adding a rear gasket. A weather seal is a thin rubber flange that encircles the base of the lens mount and creates a dust proof and splash proof seal when pressed against the camera body. Because CCTV lenses screw onto the camera body, if you could bond a fine circular seal to either camera body or lens base, tightening the lens on the camera body would create a seal. Something that’s interesting here, however, is that the typical screw-in CCTV lens is unlikely to allow the ingress of dust when done up tightly. It’s more likely the lens body is allowing dust access to the sensor via the varifocal adjustment

slot but even that should not allow huge amounts of dust inside in a typical internal environment. Another alternative is to swap out the camera for IP66-rated dome camera.

Q: We’re an SME looking to install a small but high security access control solution with minimal running costs.

What would you recommend?

A: For high security and low running costs, it has to be biometrics. Talk to CSM about ZKTeco, Security Distributors Australia about Ievo and EDS about Morpho. Biometric access control has really reached a place where it’s likely to challenge the traditional access cards model – that place isn’t user comfort with biometric databases – it’s return on

Q: We have a particular camera located in full sun and looking through a foyer window to a carpark that needs monitoring. The camera struggles with direct sunlight as well as reflections off the front window and we’re wondering whether adding something like a UV filter or polarising filter to the lens would assist?

A: UV filters had a purpose back in the days of film because the silver halides that form the photosensitive material on the surface of film are highly sensitive to UV. Modern digital camera sensors are designed not be sensitive to UV, so adding a UV filter is going to add another element that will attenuate the light signal reaching the lens, may add internal reflections in an already tough environment and will not eliminate the UV light the sensor cannot see.

A polarising filter is a different proposition – essentially it denies access to light from an adjustable angle – optimum is 90 degrees to the light source – in most cases, the sun.

If properly set up, a polarising filter will cut down on reflections passing through the front lens element from water, glass, cars and any other reflective surface. It can enhance contrast and reduce haze, smog and rain. In good light, a polariser will make some colours more intense – the blue of the sky, the green of trees – it will do the same with clothing colours.

In low light, a polariser will add another 1-2 stops to the apparent aperture of the camera, so the scene will be darker and/ or noisier, depending on how the sensor responds to the reduction in light reaching it. Polarisers work best when carefully set up in ideal conditions – that means it could help you during the day but you need to assess night performance – look for increases in noise and loss of depth of field. n

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events

FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE 395

WIDE ANGLES & HEMISPHERICS

PP 100001158

l Case Study: Westpac Stadium Takes Big View l MQU Camera test: The Laws of Motion l South Australia Police Go Digital l BNP Paribas Looks to Sony l Alarm Monitoring: Z-Wave’s 700 Series l Product Review: Sony SNC-VB642D Bullet l The Interview: Ran Vijay Singh, ESL l New Product: The Genesys of PSIM

ISC West Date: April 11-13, 2018 Venue: Sands Expo, Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A Contact: (203) 840-5568 ISC West is the largest security industry trade show in the U.S. and gives visitors the chance to network with more than 1000 exhibitors across a wide range of security technologies.

+ SecTech Roadshow 2018 Dates: May 2018 Venues: Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth Contact: Monique Keatinge +61 2 9280 4425 SecTech Roadshow in it's 4th year takes leading electronic security manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers on a national tour.

Internet of Things World

+

Date: May 14-17, 2018 Venue: Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA, USA Contact: +1 646 616 7610 IOT in action. From strategy to implementation.

Every vertical covered. Every technology demonstrated. Where the world gathers to put the Internet of Things into action.

Security 2018 Date: July 25-27 Venue: 2018 Mebourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Contact: +61 3 9261 4662 Security Exhibition brings the largest selection of electronic and physical security suppliers in Australia to one destination for 3 days.

SECURITY & GOVERNMENT EXPO

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Security and Government Expo 2018

Date: November 2018 Venue: The Realm Hotel, Canberra Contact: Monique +61 2 9280 4425 Security and Government Expo is a one-day expo with over 30 companies promoting their technologies and products in the nation’s capital. SAGE brings together government and commercial end users, consultants, integrators and installers in Canberra and the ACT to see the latest security solutions in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

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No.1 Video Management Solution Now Available At

CREATING THE PERFECT PARTNERSHIP The best integrated CCTV, Access Control and Security Platform available!

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