provided by: 
ALARM SUPERVISION WITH IP VIDEO
Video management software for IP Video systems can offer a rich set of real-time responses to intrusion events. While video management software (VMS) is best known for providing viewing and recording functions for IP cameras and encoders, some products are evolving to provide rich alarm management capabilities.
Alarm management features coupled with video access over IP networks can provide compelling solutions for remote video monitoring. Multiple facilities can be remotely monitored over the Internet and wide area networks by using access and intrusion events to trigger video switching and other automatic responses.
VIDEO MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE PACKAGES
VMS packages are generally classified as either open or proprietary. "Open" products are interoperable with multiple camera and encoder manufacturers. Open VMS products include Broadware's Application Server, Genetec's Omnicast and Milestone System's XProtect. Many IP Video device manufacturers provide proprietary software products that work exclusively with their devices. Examples include Axis Camera Station, Bosch VIDOS and Sony's Real Shot Manager. Most manufacturers encourage third party development with "open" systems to complement their proprietary software products.
ALARM INPUTS FOR VMS INTEGRATION
A majority of VMS products can be integrated with intrusion devices and systems at several levels: simple contact closures, COM ports and software interfaces.
Simple contact closures and COM ports can drive I/O alarms embedded on network cameras and video servers. The contact event from a PIR motion detector or other intrusion sensor is passed to the VMS via the software's TCP interface to the network device.
This interface is simple and universally implemented on the cameras, encoders and supported by management software. For example, Genetec's Omnicast software manages PIR events in combination with intelligent video motion detection to track prisoner movement throughout a facility operated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta, Canada.
The deepest integration occurs when VMS packages use software API's to other software systems over TCP/IP. These integrations are more complex for the software vendors to implement and are not universally implemented to all vendor devices.
TCP/IP integrations can provide more detailed contextual information like badge information (access) and zone information (intrusion). Software interfaces are more common with access control and video analytics.
ADVANCED ANALYTICS
IP cameras and servers offer a complementary approach to intrusion detection through the implementation of motion and object detection.
Most network cameras support on-board motion detection and many camera manufacturers are differentiating themselves with embedded video analytics. The analytics can go beyond basic motion detection by classifying the size, characteristic (car, person) and direction of the motion.
A common analytics application is "virtual fence" or "trip wire" detection. This analytic provides an alarm when a person or vehicle breaches a demarcation line of separation. Detection can be specified to prohibit crossover or to allow movement in a single direction.
Virtual trip wires are designed to generate alarms for fence jumpers and persons or vehicles passing through a fence or access control point. These applications have been implemented in IP cameras from ioimage and Sony and video encoders from Verint.
To date, support from open platform software providers to take advantage of embedded analytics has lagged the device implementation. Milestone XProtect currently supports Object Detection on Sony's IPella IP cameras. Genetec has plans to support device-based analytics with Omnicast later this year. Proprietary software like Bosch VIDOS and Verint Nextiva will work with embedded analytics from those manufacturers.
ACTIONABLE RESPONSE
The real power of the VMS comes into play with alarm responses. Regardless of the source of the alarm (contact closure, motion detection or analytics event), most VMS products provide some level of automated response management. Software products will differ by the scope of features for alarm management and by the devices that they support.
These are some of the alarm management features that were found in a recent review of the leading software products:
Automatic Actions
- Stream a live video feed associated with the alarm to a PC workstation, PDA or analog video monitor.
- Alert security guards through visual video pop-ups and audio alerts.
- Start instant replays of event video.
- Display a graphical map of the facility.
- Display alarm-specific instructions for the security guard.
- Drive PTZ cameras to preset positions or pre-configured tours.
- Send notification e-mails and text messages.
- Drive contact closures over TCP/IP to close gates/lock doors.
- Initiate video recording with bookmarks for easy search and retrieval of the event video.
Operator Tools
- Two-way intercom application over IP to converse or warn the intruder.
- Incident reporting tools to annotate video with a text report to file as forensic evidence.
- Alarm audit trails that report what alarms have been acknowledged and reviewed by security guards.
- Alarm and motion video searches across multiple cameras.
- Synchronized playback across multiple cameras.
THE DIFFERENTIATOR
The leading VMS packages provide a rich set of automated real-time actions and forensic tools to verify and manage intrusion incidents. Currently, many of these features differentiate full featured software products from entry-level products. Look for more alarm management features to work their way into entry level software products and expect the market leaders in software to take advantage of embedded analytics as complimentary sources of event triggers.
TOM GALVIN of NetVideo Consulting (www.netvideoconsulting.com) is a network video specialist. NetVideo Consulting provides product evaluations, training programs and software tools to enable successful networked video solutions. Galvin recently published a competitive study of video management software and other IP video products.
author: By Tom Galvin