CCTV Handbook 2016

CAMERA SELECTION GUIDE
www.securitysa.com CCTV Handbook 2016
contents
From the editors desk ...........................4

CCTV Round Table 2016 .................................. 6
iLegal 2016..................................................................................................... 12
Opinion........................................................................... 26
CCTV in 2016 ............................................................................................ 26
By Rob Anderson
Is surveillance learnable? ........................................................................................ 28
By Dr Craig Donald
iLegal 2016 gets rave reviews ............................................................................... 13

Effective operators mean effective intelligence............................................. 13
Trends ................................................................................................................... 30
The control room of the future............................................................................. 14
Seven video surveillance trends you cant afford to overlook ................. 30
Megapixels in focus .................................................................................................. 16

Partnerships succeed in fighting crime ............................................................. 16
City surveillance ................................................................................... 32
Game of drones.......................................................................................................... 18
City surveillance: 20 years later ............................................................................ 32
Securing your security infrastructure ................................................................ 20

POPI and CCTV ........................................................................................................... 20
Visual alarm verication ........................................................... 37
SLA considerations ................................................................................................... 22
Camera within an alarm .......................................................................................... 37
Securing your security systems ............................................................................ 23

All about efficiency ................................................................................................... 24
Smart buildings ...................................................................................... 38
Focus on mobile surveillance ............................................................................... 24
Video management integral to building management .............................. 38
A risk management and intelligence platform............................................... 25

Something old, something new .......................................................................... 25
Thermal cameras................................................................................... 40
Thermals expand their operations ...................................................................... 40
High denition analogue ......................................................... 42

Analogue fights back ............................................................................................... 42
Video analytics......................................................................................... 44
Automated analytics with iSentry ....................................................................... 44
Counting people in retail........................................................................................ 46
Logistics ............................................................................................................. 47
Logistics security with 4K ....................................................................................... 47
CCTV Handbook 2016 www.securitysa.com
Camera selection guide .............................................................. 48

DVR/NVR round-up ........................................................................... 62
Remote monitoring ......................................................................... 68
Weighing up the benefits of offsite monitoring ............................................ 68
Management platforms.............................................................. 72
How to choose video management software ................................................ 72
The right VMS decision ........................................................................................... 74
Security lighting .................................................................................... 77

Throwing light on the dollar price ...................................................................... 77
Storage ................................................................................................................ 78
White papers .............................................................................................. 90

Cyber security: Is your CCTV system secure from cyber attack? ............. 90
Storage: what is the right choice? ....................................................................... 78

Video compression technology: More video, less storage ......................... 92
IP surveillance ........................................................................................... 81
Panoramic cameras: Exploration of panoramic surveillance..................... 94
Maximise surveillance with the right technology ........................................ 81
Hyperconvergence ............................................................................ 82
Case study ....................................................................................................... 97

4K in your trolley........................................................................................................ 97
Converged data centres ......................................................................................... 82

Four cameras watch 7000 cars ............................................................................. 98
Plug & play gigabit switch ...................................................................................... 83
Long-term upgrade to AHD .................................................................................. 99
Home surveillance .............................................................................. 84
Protecting history at Petra ...................................................................................100
Home is where the surveillance is ...................................................................... 84
Luxury virtual service .............................................................................................101
Market consolidation .................................................................... 86
Indian Railway opts for Mirasys ..........................................................................102

Suburb gets ANPR ...................................................................................................103
Market consolidation, good or bad? .................................................................. 86

Wild connectivity on safari...................................................................................103
Mobility .............................................................................................................. 88
Video management in the age of the mobile Internet................................ 88
Company listings ................................................................................104

from the editors desk

Its a buzzing
industry
Welcome to the CCTV Handbook 2016, our
annual foray into whats happening in the
world of surveillance in Africa and globally.
Were particularly fortunate in this issue to
be able to include not only our usual round
table discussion with a few users and
integrators about the realities they face
in the surveillance world, but also a review
of iLegal 2016. It certainly is a busy and
buzzing industry.
iLegal has become something of an icon
in the local surveillance market. Its a one-day
conference Hi-Tech Security Solutions and
Dr Craig Donald host that has repeatedly
been able to deliver outstanding presentations and pass on useful information to those
involved in surveillance decision making.
This year was no exception. We had a full
house, despite the economy, and the reviews
from the attendees were overwhelmingly
positive.
On a personal note, I would like to take
this opportunity to again thank the attendees
for their time as well as our presenters who
put a significant amount of work into their
presentations, and once again delivered
beyond expectations. The team organising
the event at Hi-Tech Security Solutions also did
a fabulous job in tough conditions you
know the economy sucks when even the
luxury goods companies complain about
a lack of budget.
In the 2016 handbook you will be able
to read a short review of the presentations,
but it has to be said: you had to be there. You
cant do justice to a full presentation in a page
or less of editorial, but we try to convey the
salient points. The keynote from Australias
Jeff Corkill set the scene. He spoke about the
importance of extracting intelligence from
your surveillance operation as well as the
traditional evidential footage.
The concept of intelligence was one that
repeatedly raised its head in the conference
The CCTV Handbook

is published by
solutions
www.securitysa.com
Published by
Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd
1st Floor Stabilitas, 265 Kent Avenue,
Randburg
Box 385, Pinegowrie 2123
Tel: 011 543 5800
Fax: 011 787 8052
ISSN 1562-952X
Editor
Andrew Seldon: andrew@technews.co.za
Contributors
Rob Anderson
Dr Craig Donald
Allyson Koekhoven
Brett van den Bosch
Business Manager
Vivienne Dorrington:
vivienne@technews.co.za
and you will see it popping up throughout the

handbook. Big data, as the IT world calls it, is
no longer the domain of IT; there is no bigger
data than hours upon hours of high definition
video footage.
It is also pertinent to thank all the people
who contributed to this handbook in their
different capacities. I would hand out bottles
of red wine as thank you gifts, but I seem to
have finished them all in the process of
finalising the publication.
Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the handbook and the information we have to offer.
As always, your comments and criticisms are
very welcome. Its less than a year before we
start the next CCTV Handbook and your input
is invaluable.
Andrew
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What keeps security

and surveillance leaders
up at night?
By Andrew Seldon.
CCTV ROUND TABLE

CAMERA SELECTION
GUIDE
Left to right. Seated: Rian Giesing, Gerhard van Den Bergh, Logan Naidoo. Standing: Massimo Carelle, Sydney Nonyongo, Ruben Tshwene.
What is really happening out in the world when it comes to surveillance installations
and operations? Hi-Tech Security Solutions asked a few people involved in surveillance
security for their opinions.
Its easy enough to find success stories about
surveillance installations from almost anywhere in the world. Its also simple to get the
specifications of various cameras, storage systems and management platforms. What is not
so easy is to actually install and manage the
installation and operations of a security system
that relies in part or as a whole on surveillance.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions decided to ask a
few people who have been on the sharp end
of the surveillance industry, in other words,
those involved in making it work and answering questions from the board when things go
wrong, to tell us about the pros and cons they
have come across in their daily jobs.
Fortunately, we managed to get a positive response from a number of high-profile
surveillance experts to join our round table.
Our guests were:
Logan Naidoo, a consultant at CKR Consulting
Engineers,
Massimo Carelle, risk manager at Ingram
Micro,
Ruben Tshwene, technical director Westgate
Super Regional Shopping Centre,
Sydney Nonyongo, assistant operations manager at Westgate Super Regional Shopping
Centre,
Rian Giesing, head of security and safety at
Rand Merchant Bank (part of the First Rand
Group), and
Gerhard van Den Bergh, national facilities and
operations manager at Mowana Properties.

Starting off with the million-dollar question,
we asked the round table attendees whether
they could elaborate on the benefits they have
attained through surveillance installations. More
specifically, what have their systems delivered
and how did they get to the stage where they
were satisfied with the installation.
Not surprisingly, while the attendees were,
in general, positive about the performance of
their technology, the real benefits one gains
is when the technology is part of a carefully
planned security process that takes people,
technology, and perhaps most important of all,
carefully defined processes into consideration.
Van Den Bergh, who is in charge of a
number of shopping centres, is reserved about
the surveillance installations he manages. This
is because there is no standard to the implementation in various centres. This means that
one centre will have a sterling system that
delivers precisely what management wants,
while another will have a less functional installation that needs work before it will deliver as
desired an ongoing process at Mowana.
Despite that, he says the surveillance solutions in general are a definite benefit to centre
management as well as shoppers. However,
he also notes that what makes it work is the
staff tasked with managing and running the
system, as well as their interaction with other
employees.
Giesing adds that, from the RMB perspective which is naturally different from the retail
environment, the direct or immediate benefit
is in the ability to do a review of footage and
give business an immediate answer as a result
of incidents, occurrences, accidents and similar
events. In addition, the banking environment is
more controlled and he therefore has the luxury
of implementing specific standards in terms of
technology, training and saturation of cameras
per floor, which he admits is a great luxury.
The question of quality of technology also
comes into play for all the attendees. It can be
good to have the Rolls Royce equipment for
all your needs, admits Van Den Bergh, but you
dont always need the absolute best to achieve
what you want. Although he also notes that
going for the cheapest option available is not a
good solution either.
Cheap vs. quality

Naidoos experience has shown him that quality does count. He has clients that invested in
quality cameras and are still using them 10
years later, while others who opted for cheaper
brands find problems with the image after as
little as three years. Its not always necessary to
choose the more expensive option, there are
less costly options that will do the job required.
But again, your selection must be based on
your requirements, not price. There is always a
Continued on page 8
CCTV ROUND TABLE

CAMERA
SELECTION GUIDE
Ruben Tshwene.
Rian Giesing.
Continued from page 7

cheaper option, but it is not necessarily going
to deliver.
He provides an example of a retail environment where claims against the centre have
been easily dealt with because the camera
systems were designed to perform, not bought
on cost. An individual claimed he had been
mugged in the centre, not an impossible
scenario in South Africa. However, the surveillance system was able to track this person from
when they entered the mall to when they left
as well as a short time after he had left and it
proved he was not attacked in the centre.
And then theres the story of a guard who
was caught charging staff R5 per day to park
inside a centre.
Of course, as others have noted, this type
of quick solution relies on technology, but also
on the personnel hired to manage the surveillance system. Their ability to use the management platform effectively is as important as the
platform, cameras and other technology. And
the training of staff to work as an unit when
events occur is also critical.
Naidoo also mentions that there are many
aspects to purchasing a solution, whether
hardware or software. Even the most expensive
Rolls Royce systems will need maintenance
and repairs at some stage, and this is where
local support and skills play a big role in the
overall pricing. It is always wiser to pay more
and get local expertise on call than to save
upfront costs only to lose time and money
waiting for overseas repairs or technicians.
A job description
The most important issue when looking at
surveillance solutions, according to all the
attendees, is to ensure that you know what you
want. The days of simply installing a bunch of
cameras in what you think is a good position
are over if they ever were here.
Carelle reverts to the old adage of giving
each camera a job description. When you know
what you want from each camera, you are in
a better position to judge which technology
is required and whether less costly brands will
perform as required. Of course, as Giesing notes,
customers dont always know what they want.
Logan Naidoo.
Massimo Carelle.
This is especially important today with

all the add-ons one can use in surveillance,
whether they are classified as video analytics or
something else. The value-adds one can build
on top of the surveillance takes the security
operation from a traditional reactive system that
sets processes in motion once an event has happened, to a proactive one in which businesses
can prevent some negative events.
Van Den Bergh highlights an example in
the form of LPR (licence plate recognition). One
mall in his group installed LPR and has reduced
the number of stolen cars to zero in the first
three months of having the system in place.
In fact, it has also helped apprehend some
criminals before they could even try to break
into a car. Linking the system to the SAPS and
other databases allows the centre to identify
stolen or suspicious cars as they enter and alert
the centres security teams.
Facial recognition is another add-on that
is being tested at some public spaces such as
retail locations. There have been some positive
results, but time will tell if this functionality will
further assist in making centres safer.
A key issue Nonyongo highlights is that, no
matter what solution an integrator promises,
purchase decisions and recommendations
must also take into account that environments change constantly and what is the
norm today may not be the norm tomorrow.
Understanding and designing your environment well is therefore critical.
Education is key
No matter what the goal of your surveillance
solution is, the key to success is education. In
the first instance, its about educating the users
or buyers in terms of what is possible and what
is not possible. Looking at the value-added
functionality mentioned above, your client
would not know that a cheap camera system
would not deliver the LPR or facial recognition
results required. Similarly, if all you require is a
view of the staff entrance, you dont need the
best camera on the market.
For those people who will be managing the
surveillance installation, it is also important
to educate their bosses as to what they can
realistically expect to achieve. With television
Sydney Nonyongo.
Gerhard van Den Bergh.
programmes like CSI, many people believe the

impossible is only a click of a mouse away.
Then there is the question of staff training.
You cannot simply take a few guards from the
beat, put them in a control room and expect
them to be good operators. They need proper
training, and even more importantly, they
need to have the right aptitude for the job.
Then they need to be trained on the platform
they are using to ensure the investment in the
system pays off. Any system is a bad system if
the operators are not capable of handling it.
Additionally, the staff in positions related
to the surveillance, which can include guards,
also need to be trained in the correct processes
to follow when an event occurs. This, of course,
means standard operating procedures (SOPs)
need to be designed and implemented for all
staff, from the control room to the perimeter
in order to ensure they understand how to act
and what makes an event normal or abnormal.
And this training extends to simple things
such as reporting when a camera is out of focus,
or a light bulb in an important area is out.
Nonyongo adds that training is often not
enough as operators are put into situations
where they simply cant be effective. For
example, they may be put in front of a number
of screens they have to watch, without being
given the regular breaks they need. This will
result in them missing events due to exhaustion. And, of course, even the best and most
motivated staff can only be of limited value
when they are tasked with watching a large
number of screens all day.
He suggests refining their tasks and using
analytics to assist them will deliver a far better
result. For example, motion detection in rarely
used corridors will lighten their burden, as will
specifying a small number of sensitive areas
that they can focus on instead of tens of little
video feeds on multiple screens.
Another educational area few people want
to talk about is the impact of senior management on buying decisions. Its not unheard of
that a financial manager would query the cost
of an installation because he or she knows you
can get a cheaper camera or service provider.
In these scenarios, Nonyongo suggests taking
Continued on page 10
ROUND TABLE
CAMERACCTV
SELECTION
GUIDE
them out of their offices and on a tour of the site in order to help
them understand why you want the solutions you have asked for.
Van Den Bergh agrees, noting that your operations department needs to know what they are doing if they are going to be
able to convince management that the solution doesnt just boil
down to cost cutting. You may even find they have statistics to
throw at you saying how many cameras or guards are standard
in an environment like yours.
Again, knowledge of your situation assists in convincing
them otherwise. Giesing notes that you need to work from
a well-devised plan that incorporates your entire site. If you
dont cover everything from the beginning, you will continually
be running backwards and forwards adding bits and pieces.
Similarly, the security operations team needs to know about
the companys expansion plans to allow it to incorporate those
changes in future security strategies.
Standards and regulation

An issue which was also raised by all of the attendees, and which is
raised in almost every round table the security industry is involved
in, is that of regulation and standards. The participants asked how
they could know whether a company they were planning on hiring
would fulfil its role effectively and not leave then with a second rate
installation they would have to pay another company to fix.
The stories of failures they mentioned came from both large
integrators and smaller installers, as did the stories of success.
There is therefore no way to know whether the company you
hire will deliver unless you first do your homework and check
every potential service providers credentials and their past history by talking to older customers, especially when dealing with
large sums of money. However, at the end of the day, you need
to take a subjective decision since there is no public forum to
rate installers and integrators, and one cant rely on the certification of the industry regulator for much more information than
that they have paid their fees.
This sad state of affairs means everyone, from experienced
installers to your local electrician can offer to install CCTV
cameras with no formal qualifications or training. Even securityspecific installers can run into problems without the right
experience and skills. A VMS system might say it is able to handle
94 cameras, for example, but Naidoo asks if that means all 94
are running at maximum resolution? And then what about your
network? Can it handle all that footage all at once? And can your
servers and storage deal with the maximum?
One option in dealing with this type of scenario that
Nonyongo and Van Den Bergh suggest is a rental plan. In this
scenario, the customer does not put a large sum down and
purchase the solution outright, but contracts to rent or lease the
system for a monthly fee over a number of years.
The benefit of this type of deal, apart from a capex expenditure perspective, is that the integrator puts the money in up front
and only makes it back over the number of years the contract is
valid for. It also allows the customer to set up service level agreements (SLAs) in terms of what cameras should be doing and what
reaction times to support queries will be etc. A carefully designed
contract will also allow for penalty clauses through which the
customer can claw back money for services not delivered.
An industry that has done a good job of dealing with the lax
regulatory environment in South Africa is the fire industry. The
associations in this industry have made sure that fire installers
10
and their companies need to be certified, and there are penalties

if they break the rules.
Here again user education is important because the end user,
the paying customer, ultimately decides which company to use
and if they do not understand what benefits come from using
certified service providers, the cheapest option will win and the
result could be a disaster.
This does not, however, excuse your need to get good people
on board. Giesing explains that people can make a poor system
succeed and a good system fail. In his environment, he identified
a couple of people with the right aptitude and attitude and has
been training them and moving them up the ladder for a number
of years. The result is people who know the environment and
exactly what they need to do to get the results they require.
Service provider support

A final topic the round table attendees mentioned concerns
their service providers. While the debate over insourcing or outsourcing continues, in many instances informed by the industry
our attendees operate in, many make use of service providers
in some form. However, there is a key element missing from the
services these companies provide.
The SLA is this key. And even though the service providers
agree to the SLA contract, if they were enforced strictly, there
would be regular and large penalties to pay. Whether this lack of
adherence is due to poor training or supervision, hiring cousins or
friends, or for whatever other reason like the customer not enforcing the SLA, it is an issue all companies face.
Then there is the concern about service provider hiring practices. Despite the efforts of some associations, one often finds
someone who is fired from a security service provider for a serious offence simply moves on to the next security operator and
gets a similar job there, his experience at his previous employer
counting in his favour. And while this is common in some guarding circles, it is not unheard of in control room operations.
For those who take responsibility for their own personnel, hiring
the right people and continual training is a crucial element of their
success on the job in the short and long term. Effective employees
enhance the security system and develop a trust relationship over
time, enhancing their own work experience and environment.
When one distils the comments made by the various round
table attendees, it becomes clear that there are many issues
they need to deal with in their daily jobs which dont necessarily
have to do with their managements goal of keeping people and
assets secure. Its a job with a broad focus, and only one of the
things to pay attention to is technology.
Some of the problems faced could be lightened if the South
African security environment was one in which regulations were
enforced as a norm. Interestingly enough, there are actually
enough regulations, just no enforcement from the regulatory
bodies and in most instances from the industry bodies as well.
Despite all this, the job still needs to be done and there are many
opportunities for third-party companies to deliver services and
advice, as long as they take the time to understand what the client
wants and how best to deliver. Getting your ducks in a row before
going on a sales drive costs time and money, but pays off in the end.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions would like to thank our attendees at
this years round table for their time and input. As with all articles
like this one, much information could not be included due to
space restrictions, but with jobs as broad as those the attendees
have, a few pages cant do them justice.
11
12
2016
CAMERA SELECTIONiLEGAL
GUIDE
iLegal 2016 gets rave reviews

iLegal 2016 was met with rave reviews as it dissected todays new legal, technical,
and operational challenges and responsibilities.
April 20th 2016 saw the latest iLegal conference taking place in Johannesburg. With presenters and visitors from around the country,
iLegal 2016 was well supported, and according
to attendees comments, well worth the time
to attend.
While the event covered a broad spectrum
of topics, a short review of each will follow,
there were some common themes that kept
reappearing throughout the day. It seems the
surveillance world has quickly moved from
being the old physical security domain of guys
with guns and barriers to control ingress and
egress, to be a more intelligent guardian of
safety and security.
The keynote presentation was focused on
intelligence, specifically obtaining intelligence
from your surveillance operations instead
of just videos. Just as the IT world is making
a noise about big data, the ability to sort
through mountains of data and extract value,
the surveillance world is on a similar path.
The difference in surveillance is that we not

only rely on data in this case video for our
information source, but also people, specifically the operators behind the scenes. The
combination of technology and people offers
organisations the best option to do more
than look for video evidence after the fact.
Well trained people and effectively designed,
installed and maintained technology can
create a proactive solution that still provides
evidence, but also intelligence to prevent or
mitigate dangerous events.
Apart from intelligence and people (people
with effective training and the right aptitude),
control rooms or nerve centres as they are
likely to be called in future, are also a critical
factor in tomorrows surveillance world. Within
the scope of the control room, we will see
cloud and mobile technology being employed
to assist operators and managers, and we
can expect to see control rooms taking on
more than security tasks. Its likely that your
control room, whether on an estate, a mall or

a business campus, will take responsibility for
everything from surveillance monitoring to
plumbing and even fielding calls from irate
customers (to a limited extent).
ilegal 2016 was a full day of information
overload, but the presenters outdid themselves in informing and educating. A new
format, that of a panel of experts was a great
success in trying to discover the legalities
around drone use in South Africa. For the first
time we also had someone talking about cyber
security and how it impacts, or is impacted
by security operations on the IP platform. The
Internet of Things (IoT) may not be a common
term in security as yet, but the industry is
already a part of the whole concept.
The following pages contain brief overviews of the presentations of the day. We cant
really do justice to the work and effort the
presenters put in, but the reports will provide
an idea of the information shared on the day.
Effective operators mean effective intelligence

By Andrew Seldon.
Intelligence is often the vital missing component of surveillance.

The keynote speaker at iLegal 2016 was Jeff
Corkill, a lecturer in the School of Computer
and Security Science at the Edith Cowan
University in Australia, and a member of the
ECU Security Research Institute. He spoke on
the strategies for leveraging intelligence to
move to a proactive rather than reactive CCTV
approach.
The problem most surveillance installations face is that they are not used to their full
potential. Most systems are used to deal with
cases after the fact, in other words, once a
crime has been committed and operators are
instructed to look for evidence. While this is a
critical function of surveillance, most organisations stop here and miss the full potential of
their systems.
This potential is the ability to gather
intelligence from your surveillance footage
that would allow for proactive prevention
of crimes, or at least mitigation strategies
that would limit the damage. As an example,
Corkill used the publically available footage
of the recent suicide bombers in Belgium.
The surveillance footage captured allowed

the authorities to identify the perpetrators
and to follow up the investigation to find
co-conspirators.
From that perspective, the surveillance
worked well. However, one of the images
available clearly shows the two bombers
walking, each with a glove on only one hand.
Unless a Michael Jackson convention was in
town, this should have been a clear warning to
operators. A warning could have been raised
and people in the surrounding areas evacuated. It may not have stopped the bombing
(since they were intent on suicide), but it could
have saved many people from trauma.
Corkills message was that the real value
of surveillance is realised when it collects data
for evidence, but also when it analyses data in
real time to provide intelligence. This, however, means that the operator is not a passive
observer, but someone who knows the environment under observation and makes sense
of the multitude of events occurring each day.
Jeff Corkill.
13
iLEGAL 2016
The control room of the future

By Andrew Seldon.
The old control room is on its way out, high-tech and highly skilled is the future.
Hannes Hendriks is the estate manager at
Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate. He spent
18 years in the Defence Force and left as a
Lieutenant Colonel, thereafter becoming
involved in a number of large security projects
in South Africa. At iLegal 2016, Hannes spoke on
the Future Surveillance Control Room and the
impact technology would have on it, and the
personnel required to make it work. Although
aimed at the residential control room, the principles can be extrapolated to any industry where
control rooms are an important aspect of the
surveillance project.
Hannes started his presentation looking at all
the different risk management methodologies
and functionalities that can or should be managed in control rooms today. These range from
traditional access control and CCTV, through to
health and safety, landscaping and irrigation,
and incorporating service level agreement (SLA)
management and a host of other functionality.
Naturally, not every control room manages these
features, but the control room, or nerve centre of
the future will be equipped to handle all this and
more both technically and with well-trained
human resources.
In terms of estate control centres, Hannes
expects the future to include a complete GPSenabled, cloud-based estate management solution that handles all functions of the estate. This
solution will have two components. The first is a
web application to be used by office personnel
and will be a central repository for all association
and account-related information. All employees
and operators need is a browser to access the
system, there is nothing to install and all account
information will be securely hosted on servers.
The second component is the mobile manager which will be supplied to guards and other
employees or contractors to simplify compliance
inspections and work order entry. The mobile
application will provide managers with the tools
they need to access the relevant accounts and

work efficiently on the estate property.
This streamlining of business processes,
whether in estates or other control centres,
is critical to the future control centre as it
evolves from looking after security issues alone
to the full management functionality of its
environment.
As in many other presentations at iLegal, the
key to the control room of the future is intelligence. Taking the output of connected devices,
whether security or otherwise and incorporating
them into a package designed to sort and analyse the data into useable and pertinent information or intelligence is key to the success of
these operations.
As the world becomes more connected,
there is simply too much information for humans
to sort through and understand. Intelligent analytical operations will hide the mass of data from
operators and managers, only providing them
with relevant reports and information that will
empower quick and effective responses.
Hannes demonstrated the use of intelligent dashboards in his presentation. These
are designed to provide a graphical overview
of almost any areas under the control rooms
purview, allowing those responsible to gain
quick insight. Problems can be highlighted and
assigned to the relevant parties quickly, whether
it is a perimeter breach or a burst water pipe, and
through mobile access they can be managed
and followed through to conclusion.
Key to this new control centre is the use of
technology. However, Hannes noted that all too
often, advanced technology is underutilised
because it is difficult to learn and use, and many
people are still unwilling to trust it. To be used
effectively, these systems must be designed in
harmony with the needs, expectations and capabilities of the people who will be using them.
The final component of the future control
Hannes Hendriks.
centre is people. Operators and managers can
no longer be guards who have been promoted.
They need to be people with the aptitude and
willingness to work in a control room environment, while learning and adapting to new
technologies.
Of the many skills the operators will require
in future, which range from computer literacy
skills and accredited control room operator
courses, they will also need the personalities that
remain calm under pressure, exhibit excellent
communication skills and be problem solving oriented. Hannes adds that a degree or a
diploma will also most likely be a prerequisite.
Effective operators mean effective intelligence

The operator should be the critical link
between the observed environment and the
response to events. Naturally, this means a
Grade D guard cant simply be put in front of a
computer and told to watch the screens.
This active operator must know what the
norm is in their environment to be able to
detect abnormalities or variations. They need
14
to be able to identify possible persons of interest by their behaviour within the activities they
are trying to convince people they are doing.
This requires a high level of observation
skills and the need for assistive technology to
help them sift through the masses of normality
to find the anomalies. These technologies can
take many forms, including video analytics,
but should be backed up by a dedicated

analyst who can verify potential situations
based on visual cues before taking action.
Jeff warned that while technology was
and is beneficial, it only forms part of the
answer to effective surveillance solutions.
Your key is well-trained people, and tried and
tested processes.
15
iLEGAL 2016
Megapixels in focus
By Andrew Seldon.
Megapixel cameras deliver, as long as you are aware of the potential pitfalls.
Megapixel cameras provide the potential for
greatly increased quality of viewing. Their
introduction to a system does, however, create
technical and data challenges as well as new
perspectives on what can be viewed and how
to view specific areas.
Leo Nardi, technical manager at Justicia
Investigations joined the presenters at iLegal
2016 to review his experiences at Toyota as the
company engaged in a long-term project to
upgrade its camera installations to megapixel
IP systems. Leo started his presentation giving
a brief overview of the evolution of CCTV cameras from the early 1940s to today.
He then described the project Toyota is
engaged in to upgrade its ageing analogue
cameras to IP, in part because of the age of the
systems and the associated performance issues,
and partially because the company wanted
to improve the quality of its video images and
increase the length of recording retention.
As an aside, he mentioned the 90/10 rule
he has found when installing cameras: when
using fixed cameras, organisations have a
90% success rate in achieving the results they
require; when using PTZ cameras, they will find
a 90% failure rate as the PTZ is almost invariably focused on a different area to where an
event occurs and by the time the camera is
pointing in the right direction the event is over.
In the IP world, Leo says there are many
benefits to megapixels, from better resolution
and improved video analytics that can be performed on the images. However, he has found
that the technology is oversold. For one thing,
the cost factor is not clear from the start.

In terms of costs, when you incorporate all
the costs, including installation, networking,
storage and so forth, these cameras have a
higher price than most vendors tell you about.
In addition, the analytical market also often
promises more than it can deliver. There are
good analytical engines out there, but it is a
matter of testing to find the one that works in
your environment and the busier and dirtier
the environment, the harder the task.
Then theres the question of storage. More
megapixels requires more kilobytes and your
storage system will need an upgrade if you
have a large number of cameras, another cost
issue. Yet another caveat is licensing fees. You
cant buy a management platform outright,
for example, you need to pay a licence fee per
camera every year. His advice is to do your
homework upfront and get all the cost details
before making a final decision.
Customers must also keep an eye on integration claims. While the vendors may claim they
are able to integrate easily with third-party
systems, this is not always accurate unless the
customer is able to do some work on the integration which requires specialised skills.
Thats not to say megapixels dont deliver.
They certainly do, however, a successful
upgrade requires careful planning. Leo suggests starting with in-depth site planning
defining what you require, which will clearly
show which cameras require high megapixel
ratings and which need less resolution. You
will also need to take your existing control
Leo Nardi.
room personnel on the journey, as they will
be required to learn and run the new system.
Similarly, your onsite CCTV technicians will
need to have their skills upgraded unless you
want to outsource to a third party for installation, maintenance and future upgrades.
Its important to engage all the role players
in the project. There will be issues to resolve
and the process will be much easier if everyone
is on board and committed to the project from
the start. The project at Toyota was undertaken
in this manner and has delivered the results
required.
For more information, contact Justicia
Investigations, 0860 00 5111,
www.justicia.co.za.
Partnerships succeed in fighting crime

By Andrew Seldon.
Cape Town relies on partnerships, public volunteers and surveillance to fight crime.
The city of Cape Town has its work cut out for
it when it comes to safety and security. Apart
from the abnormally high everyday crime and
violence which is normal in South Africa, the
city also needs to deal with high levels of gang
activity, which makes policing a tough task.
In fact, the amazing results Cape Town
has produced in fighting crime (as noted in
www.securitysa.com/54014n) may not have
been realised if it wasnt for some forward
thinking by the citys leadership.
16
The citys Alderman JP Smith, who serves

as the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety
and Security, took some time at iLegal 2016 to
tell the attendees how Cape Town has made a
dent in its crime statistics, assisted by the rollout
of CCTV cameras by independent citizens and
companies. JP noted that the city, while considering deploying CCTV cameras but limited
in budget, noticed many private concerns had
installed cameras for neighbourhood watches
or other private operations.
Cape Town changed its bylaws to allow for

the installation of private cameras and even
erected poles people could use to place their
cameras on. In return, the city gets to stream
the feeds to the citys Traffic Management
Centre apart from their private use. The Traffic
Management Centre has banks of screens from
across the city and many people tasked with
managing the feeds and dealing with crimes.
The result has been a citywide surveillance
17
iLEGAL 2016

operation, which is still growing as a result of
private and city installations, allowing operators
to identify stolen or suspicious vehicles via licence
plate recognition and track them across the city to
give the police an accurate idea of where to find
them. It naturally also assists with all other crimes,
from muggings and vandalism to murder.
Of course, the process involved in fighting
crime goes far beyond only using CCTV. The city
makes use of a variety of human resources, from
neighbourhood watch volunteers who patrol
their areas and report any unusual activity, to paid
volunteers who support the metros police force
in various operations. It also educates citizens in
how to avoid common crimes like bag snatching.
And, in line with a common theme throughout iLegal 2016, the city is also focused on
intelligence gathering operations. The Strategic
Information Management Service is a team of
skilled and experienced professionals who collect and analyse crime information to facilitate
improved crime fighting. JP says this team is
growing as it continues to get excellent results.
In addition, 2016 will see dashboard cameras and tablets being rolled out in the citys
Metro Police cars. These will be connected to
the surveillance system as well as other information sources to facilitate improved operations
by mobile teams as well as better handling and
direction of anti-crime activities.
One of the technologies the city is using to
good effect is its gunfire detection solution,
ShotSpotter, developed locally. This solution
allows authorities to accurately identify the
location of gunshots and dispatch teams to the
required area immediately. This has resulted
in a 100% response rate to gunshots in highcrime areas and an increase in community trust
in the police.
JP also noted that drones are a vital tool
in the fight against crime and the city would
be engaging more of these devices for future
operations. Drones have been through 8
months of testing, and have proven efficient
for rapid deployment and awareness in tactical
situations. And this is only the beginning.
He said the success Cape Town has achieved
Alderman JP Smith.
is due to partnerships developed along the way
between all parties involved, private and public.
Together, the city has achieved more than any
other in the country reliant on a silo approach.
Game of drones
By Andrew Seldon.
Lisa Emma-Iwuoha takes on the unenviable task of simplifying South Africas drone laws.
Drones are causing quite a stir in the security
industry due to their utility in monitoring and
responding to alerts almost immediately. They
also enable companies to patrol far larger areas
faster and more safely than traditional patrols.
In South African law, drones are referred
to as Remotely Piloted Aircraft systems (RPAs).
There are quite a few laws governing the use of
drones for private or commercial use (the laws
differ between the private user and the commercial user). Lisa Emma-Iwuoha, an attorney
from Michalsons Attorneys joined iLegal 2016
Lisa Emma-Iwuoha.
18
to take on the unenviable task of simplifying

the legalities around drones.
Starting off, she explained that drone pilots
need a valid RPA pilots licence, which is valid
for 24 months from the date of issue. To obtain
this, the pilot needs to be 18 or older, pass the
CAA online theoretical knowledge exam, pass
the skills test, complete a medical self-assessment form and be proficient in English.
You can also not fly in bad weather or where
your view of the drone is obstructed although
different exemptions cater for this. If you use it
for private use, however, you dont need any of
the special classifications or certifications.
Without special permission from the director of Civil Aviation, one is not allowed to fly
a drone above a height of 50 metres, or close
to a person or people, or a building. If the
people are under your control, such as when
filming a movie, for example, you can fly above
them, and if you have permission you can
also approach a building etc. You are also not
allowed near or above strategic points, such as
nuclear plants, prisons, police stations etc.
South African law says they are not allowed
to transport cargo or make deliveries; tow
another aircraft, perform aerial displays or fly
in formation. Again, this does not apply if you
have been granted an exemption.
Drone panel
After Lisas short presentation, Dr Craig Donald
hosted a panel discussion on drones, where
the audience was able to ask the experts any
questions related to the technology they
might have.
The panel members were:
Attorney Lisa Emma-Iwuoha,
Hennie Kieser, EXCO, Commercial Unmanned
Aircraft Association of South Africa (CUAASA),
and
Francois Stander, research and resource
development, Tshwane Metro Police, City of
Tshwane.
The panel was able to expand on the current legalities that affect drone use and explain
that any activity using drones for commercial
purposes, even it is privately owned, still
qualifies as a commercial operation and needs
the relevant commercial licence and permissions. They also noted that going through the
channels to become an accredited pilot will
require a significant investment of both time
and money.
For more information, contact
Lisa Emma-Iwuoha,
lisa@michalsons.co.za,
www.michalsons.co.za.
19
iLEGAL 2016
Securing your security infrastructure

By Andrew Seldon.
Deconstructing the pros and cons of on-site versus off-site surveillance.

When considering implementing or upgrading a
surveillance installation, it has become common
for some service providers to offer a hosted control room where the security system is monitored
from an off-site location. In some industries, safety
considerations even demand that control rooms
are located offsite, although in most cases its a
decision each organisation must make for itself.
The on-site/off-site decision is one that
many security and facilities managers need
to deal with, and one executive management
often also have a hand in making. At iLegal
2016, Dr Craig Donald addressed the on-site/
off-site debate by breaking down the primary
decision factors companies need to take into
account when considering which solution
works best for them.
The term remote could mean having a
control room in the same building or campus,
around the corner, in another city or even in
another country (although data laws may be
a hindrance). It can be staffed with the clients
own personnel, or by people employed and
trained by the service provider.
Donald started his presentation by highlighting what a control room would consist of
and what functions it would be responsible for.
Remote surveillance can or claims to fulfil all
these requirements, but does the client gain or
lose when choosing the remote option.
On the infrastructure side, one issue to
consider is the number of cameras and other
devices the client wants to monitor. If you have

a large number of cameras, remote monitoring would have to rely on selective viewing
(or black-screen operations) as there would be
enormous costs involved in transporting huge
volumes of video continually.
When it comes to people, the decision is
also a difficult one. When a company employs
its own operators, it naturally has control over
their training and performance. However, this
also opens the door to collusion or intimidation, issues not at all unusual in the South
African context. From this perspective, off-site
operators are somewhat safer.
The remote operators are, however, disassociated and distanced from the client and
this makes intimidation and collusion more
difficult.
Donald ended his presentation noting that
the optimal solution would probably be a mix
of on- and off-site monitoring. On-site control
rooms and operators have a far greater situational
awareness and better response to events as they
happen. They are also in a better situation when
they need to provide testimony in court. And then
theres the question of the PoPI Act, which makes
on-site storage and control over data critical.
Off-site monitoring, on the other hand,
adds a layer of integrity to operations because
there is no link between operators and on-site
staff. Youre also likely to get a better price
due to the rivalry between competing service
Dr Craig Donald.
providers, and auditing them can be handled
independently without the feeling of betraying
ones colleagues.
There is no correct answer. Some companies will favour financial factors in their
decisions; other will prefer to have all their
security personnel under their management
and trained in a manner that best serves the
company. The important factor is to weigh the
options carefully before making a decision.
For more information contact Leaderware,
+27 (0)11 787 7811, sales@leaderware.com,
www.leaderware.com
POPI and CCTV

By Andrew Seldon.
The POPI (Protection of Personal Information) Act is long overdue, but it will affect
the manner in which organisations conduct their surveillance operations.
The POPI (Protection of Personal Information)
Act has not yet commenced, although it was
enacted in 2013. The delay, while frustrating
for some, gives others a breathing space to
get their companies up to scratch on the law.
Francis Cronje, founder & MD at franciscronje.
com and CEO at InfoSeal, was on hand at iLegal
2016 to talk about what POPI is and the impact
it could have on surveillance operations.
Cronje took the time to explain to the
attendees what qualifies as personal and identifiable information, and noted that POPI applies
to the collection and processing of this data.
Organisations will have to select an
20
individual who will be responsible for the

implementation and maintenance of the processes governing POPI, although the penalties
for non-compliance can apply to a companys
directors, for example.
The collection of data is not banned completely, rather it is managed more effectively.
However, the collecting must be done with the
individuals consent. Additionally, one cannot
collect personally identifiable information
about children.
After the brief introduction to the POPI
regulations, Cronje went on to highlight
specific areas where the act could affect
companies. For example, cross-border data

transfers may not be the best idea once POPI
has commenced. How does a company know
which regulations its overseas service provider
follows and what recourse do you have if
something goes wrong?
When it comes to CCTV specifically, companies can still make use of their surveillance
operations, but they need to alert people as
to the use of CCTV on their premises. And, of
course, there are certain areas where it would
not be appropriate, such as bathrooms. Cronje
advises companies to use the results of impact
21
iLEGAL 2016
SLA considerations
By Andrew Seldon.
A maintenance plan, governed by an effective, well-planned service-level agreement

is critical to the success of a surveillance project.
Francois Malan, MD of Camsecure has many
years experience in installing and maintaining
surveillance solutions in South Africa, Africa and
the Middle East. He joined iLegal 2016 to deliver
a presentation focused specifically on what a
maintenance programme consists of and what
companies should ensure they include in their
SLA (service-level agreement) with their service
provider.
One of the important points Malan made
throughout the presentation was the need for
a defined maintenance programme, not simply
relying on a service provider on a call-out basis.
Not only will this help to ensure your system
performs optimally at all times, but it will be less
costly than making a call every time something
goes wrong or simply ignoring problems until
they are large enough and there are sufficient to
warrant a call out fee.
He also advised companies to look beyond
the legalese that make up most of these
contracts, and often result in nobody within the
clients company or the service provider knowing what they are supposed to do. Make sure
your operational requirements are clearly stated
in the SLA; waffle will result in poor service and
endless misunderstandings.
To do this, he suggests first defining the
service you require. Do you need someone to
clean the cameras once per month? What about
checking the cameras firmware for updates?
What about ensuring the cameras are pointing
exactly where they are supposed to point? What
about the servers and computers in the control
room who maintains and updates them?
These and a host of other issues must be clearly
set out in the SLA.
The facilities or security manager (or
whoever is responsible) must also ensure that

standards of service and the performance of
equipment are set and documented in the contract. The company should also set benchmarks
relating to performance and maintenance, and
measure these year on year. This will ensure
that everybody understands the minimum
required, and gives the service provider a base
to work from. It will also provide the client with
a base on which to measure the performance
of the service provider, avoiding any misunderstandings or finger pointing when one person
expects one thing and gets another.
Along with this, the client must also have
the ability to monitor their system to ensure the
standards are maintained. This does not have to
consist of expensive technical equipment, but,
for example, can be something as simple as a
benchmark document containing a snapshot of
each cameras correct view. The provider will be
tasked with ensuring the camera is not moved
or loses its focus at set intervals. Simple spreadsheets and checklists will also make the process
easier for all. A set standard for product and
repairs must be defined to ensure the correct
products are always used and repairs handled in
accordance with these standards.
The SLA must also contain procedures for call
outs and reporting. Things to include here are
response times, how many call outs per month
will be required, out of call-out rates, spares that
should be held on site or with the service provider, and the process around job cards and logs.
And this leads to the question of reporting.
All too often, reports on maintenance and
SLAs are done via word of mouth when the service provider meets the relevant manager. The
SLA must make allowances for formal reporting
Francois Malan, MD of Camsecure.

processes, weekly or monthly as required, along
with documentation regarding every system
installed, all work done and changes made.
Malan stressed that the most important
facet of your maintenance and service provider
relationship is communications. Everyone concerned needs to know who to contact in various
situations, what correspondence is required
(such as purchase orders, invoices, reports etc.)
and the timeframes of appropriate responses.
An SLA consists of much more than the few
items listed above, as Malan explained in his
presentation, but its a job worth doing well.
At the end of the day, it doesnt matter how
much you spend on a security or surveillance
project if you cant keep the systems running
at an acceptable level, and at a predetermined,
acceptable cost.
For more information contact Camsecure,
+27 (0)11 781 1341, francois@camsecure.co.za,
www.camsecure.co.za.
POPI (Protection of Personal Information) and CCTV

assessment to determine whether CCTV is
justified in all the circumstances and if so, how
it should be operated in practice.
Furthermore, it is also important to establish who has responsibility for control of
the images, for example, deciding what is to
be recorded, how the images should be used
and to whom they may be disclosed.
Finding your CCTV videos on YouTube is
not acceptable.
Moreover, in terms of storing the images, a
22
company will have to ensure it has set up the

recording in such a way that images cannot
be inadvertently corrupted or copied. People
who you have recorded (or collected personal
information from) also have a right to ask what
data you have related to them.
Finally, although there is so much more
to consider, once CCTV images have been
collected, the company needs to ensure
they are stored securely and that there is a
process for destroying the footage after a
certain time. This process and timetable needs

to be adhered to and the footage properly
destroyed.
In conclusion, Cronje noted that POPI compliance is not impossible if one has the correct
information and uses it to design your data
collection and handling processes correctly.
Francis Cronj, francis@franciscronje.com,
www.franciscronje.com.
2016
CAMERA SELECTIONiLEGAL
GUIDE
Securing your security systems

By Andrew Seldon.
Good Advice: Protect your surveillance systems to protect yourself.

We install surveillance cameras and related physical security systems to
protect ourselves, our assets and our people. Unfortunately, as surveillance solutions have evolved to the IP platform, irrespective of the
benefits IP delivers, these systems and devices have become part of the
network, and more dangerously, part of the Internet.
Given the skills and innovation were seeing in the world of cybercrime, its no wonder then, that our cameras, NVRs, DVRs and management platforms have become a target for these criminals. Its not that
they specifically want to hack into our cameras, although that seems to
be a sideline, but they want to find an easy way into our network to get
at the data we have stored.
At iLEGAL 2016, Manuel Corregedor, operations manager at
Wolfpack Information Risk took attendees through a brief introduction
to the weaknesses of their surveillance systems. Wolfpack is a company
that focuses on threat intelligence and research, training in the area of
combating cybercrime as well as offering an advisory service.
Corregedor started by highlighting the threat landscape the always-on
world faces today, as well as the evolution of hacking from a fun activity
that did little more than irritate victims, to a major money-making racket
for organised crime, to the latest state or activist means for collecting
information and disrupting companies or even whole economies.
Hack your CCTV

He then focused on CCTV cameras and their vulnerability to hacking.
From home users connecting cameras to the Internet to watch their kids,
or even babycams designed to keep a remote eye on babies, through to
gaining access to private and public sector data via unprotected surveillance cameras, there are many reports on how people have exploited
cameras for criminal purposes.
The vulnerabilities we face with cameras range from not changing the default password on cameras through to not updating camera
firmware with the latest updates and countless others. These all leave
companies with easy-to-exploit vulnerabilities. One need only do a
Google search to find more stories than we would care to imagine.
But you dont have to be a hacker to find vulnerable cameras. Corregedor

showed two websites designed to find them for you. Hi-Tech Security
Solutions will not promote these sites, but they are easy enough to find.
The first produces a list of insecure cameras from around the world.
All the user does is choose a country and click on the camera he would
like to watch. At the time of writing, there were 4949 cameras available
for viewing in the USA, 568 in the Russian Federation, 24 in New Zealand
and only 6 in South Africa. If youre not into being a peeping Tom targeting a particular country, you can also search for cameras in specific
locations, such as in kitchens or coffee houses and so forth. The cameras
are located in businesses or homes, and sometimes in public spaces,
creating a serious privacy problem to say the least.
The second site promotes itself as the search engine for the Internet
of Things (IoT) and allows you to search for any devices online, including
surveillance cameras. It even allows you to choose pre-selected searches for
cameras or industrial systems and much more. This site finds open cameras
and those that are protected by passwords; you can even instruct it to find
cameras that are using the default passwords. The result is the same, not only
are we faced with a privacy problem, but also open doorways to networks.
People, process and technology

Corregedor went on to explain that the risks we face are a combination
of technology, people and processes as always seems to be the case.
He then went on to briefly touch on the subject of how to assess your
risk and formulate a plan to deal with the problems you find.
The goal is to implement effective prevention solutions, and this
does not always require buying the newest and most expensive technology. Sometimes it means using what you have effectively. An important
part of this is understanding that a camera is a risk, but it is part of a
broader infrastructure that has different risks and vulnerabilities, and
companies need to assess the whole in order to protect themselves.
For more information, contact Wolfpack Information Risk,
info@wolfpackrisk.com, www.wolfpackrisk.com.
23
iLEGAL 2016 SPONSORS
All about efficiency

Local video management system demonstrates
why it is a global leader.
Cathexis used its sponsorship of iLegal 2016
to highlight the enhancements it made to its
locally developed CatVision video management
software. The companys stand had numerous
videos on display demonstrating the capabilities
of the VMS, whether it was collecting number
plates and the speed of cars on a highway or
tracking people entering restricted areas.
The latest enhancements to CatVision are
not ground breaking innovations, according
to MD Gus Brecher, but part of a focused effort
from Cathexis to make the system easier to use
and to ensure optimal efficiency, which will save
customers money on the hardware they require.
The role of management software has
become more important over the years as
the resolution of surveillance cameras has
increased. Better quality images mean better
analytics can be performed on the video, but it
also means companies require more network
bandwidth and more storage space to transmit
and hold the higher-resolution video, and they
need more CPU cycles to deal with enhanced
analytics processing requirements.
To cater for the increased demands video
places on storage and client servers, Cathexis
has focused on improving its software to
take better advantage of the server hardware
used by the customer. As an example, Brecher

notes that many VMS vendors say they are
able to handle 300 Mbps of video per recording server. The latest version of CatVision has
been optimised to support up to 1500 Mbps.
This means companies can handle up to 1 000
cameras on a single recording server, which
dramatically reduces hardware spend. Cathexis
has also improved the efficiency of client or
viewing servers by using intelligent video
stream switching to ensure that the processing
requirements are effectively reduced
In order to help to make control rooms
more efficient, Cathexis has introduced
SmartSearch. This technology makes searching
for and finding specific video footage easier
and faster by enabling very fast searching
via snapshots or thumbnails (SnapSearch)
and also the ability to search recorded footage by looking for motion in selected areas
(MotionSearch).
Another boost for operators is
Neighbouring Camera Mapper, a new feature
that makes it easier for operators to track suspicious people and vehicles. A common problem
operators encounter is the difficulty in tracking
people as they move around. All too often the
operator wastes time trying to switch from one
camera to the next because they dont know

which cameras are placed where.
Neighbouring Camera Mapper solves this
by automatically bringing up the next camera
as the operator is following someone. In this
way it becomes easier to follow a suspicious
person or package as it moves around, without
wasting time or relying on guards to assist.
Brecher also notes that the value of partnerships and alliances is becoming more
important as customers demand integrated
solutions that are easy to use. Cathexis has
recently confirmed alliances with numerous
third parties in the surveillance and other
security areas, such as access control.
As budgets get tighter, its up to Cathexis to
innovate and find ways to allow our customers
to do more with their video without demanding
they upgrade their hardware, says Brecher.
For more information contact Cathexis Africa,
+27(0)31 240 0800, sales@catafrica.co.za,
www.cathexisvideo.com.
Focus on mobile surveillance

Elvey Security Technologies took advantage of its
iLegal 2016 sponsorship to highlight the range of
Heitel mobile surveillance storage systems it has
on offer. Transportation and logistics has become
a prime target for criminals in South Africa, resulting in the need to develop innovative security
solutions to protect people, vehicles and assets
while in transit as well as in the warehouse.
The Heitel mobile NVRs, including the
entry-level CamDisc E, are designed to make
surveillance while on the move simple and
reliable. The CamDisc supports the transmission
and recording of four IP video cameras, and has
a 1 TB hard drive integrated into the system for
video and GPS data storage. It also supports bidirectional audio streams, allowing communications between a control centre and the driver.
Customers can also choose to include 3G or
4G communications to transfer data to a control centre from the vehicle under surveillance,
or they can add a 4-channel analogue video
24
card to support existing analogue cameras.

Francois Smuts was one of the Elvey team
members on the stand, where he was able to
inform visitors of the benefits Heitel solutions
offer and show a number of videos demonstrating the technology in action. Elvey also
highlighted the Dahua camera range, a few of
which were also on the display.
Elvey supplies a full range of surveillance
products apart from the Heitel brand. It can
provide clients with a variety of professional
and specialised cameras, monitors, switches
encoders and decoders, as well as the cabling
required as the foundation for a surveillance
project. Understanding the requirement for
integrated solutions, Elvey also provides a
selection of market leading products and
solutions in the intrusion, access control, fire
protection and communications markets.
He adds that Elvey not only distributes surveillance equipment, but has a proven support
methodology built up over the years. Its valueadd stretches down to the branch level where
it is able to cater to the needs of installers and
integrators, assisting them in various areas of
the sales and implementation process. Smuts
says Elvey is successful when its channel partners and their clients succeed.
The distributor also places a strong focus
on training to ensure its channel has the skills
required to implement and maintain products
effectively. Apart from Elveys in-house training
programmes focused on a variety of products, it
is also an official partner for Tavcom training in
South Africa. Tavcom Training is an international
provider of accredited online and classroom
security training courses which cover CCTV,
access control, intruder alarms and more.
For more information, contact Elvey Security
Technologies, +27 (0) 11 401 6700,
info@elvey.co.za, www.elvey.co.za.
iLEGAL 2016 SPONSORS

CAMERA SELECTION
GUIDE
A risk management and

intelligence platform
Effective data mining is key to successful risk management.
Neahges Africa is a subsidiary of an international company and is focused on risk management on the African continent. The companys
Kelly McLintock says Ges offers comprehensive solutions adhering to international best
practices. Its integrated security services
include mobile and fixed-site protection,
community engagement plans, intelligence
and analysis support, security assessments and
technologies.
Ges Africa was an exhibitor at iLegal 2016
where the company was able to interact with
visitors and explain the companys approach to
risk management. Ges was also able to demonstrate a partnership with a locally developed
situational awareness and IoT (Internet of
Things) management solution, Synapse.
The solution assimilates client-owned
technologies into a unified management solution. The integrated solution offers real-time
situational awareness and event resolution
ability by gathering intelligence from multiple

sources through machine-to-machine communication, workflow integration and human
interfacing. Synapse is designed to interface
and operate at all tiers within operations.
Ges Africa also makes use of Capsule
Technologies to ensure that the data the
security and risk management industry relies
on is kept in a failsafe and robust storage solution that can support the industrys demands.
McLintock says Capsule brings next generation
storage and server virtualisation concepts to
an industry which is challenged by exploding
requirements in storage processing power and
network speed.
To round out its offering to clients, Ges also
offers clients the technology and solutions
required to capture information from edge
devices in order to send them to Synapse for
analysis. These include:
BYOD (Cell phone pads or laptops).
Cameras: Bosch /Axis.

Access control readers and controllers.
Radios.
Alarm systems.
Motor vehicles.
Sensors.
Meters.
McLintock adds that the GES/Synapse
solution goes further than traditional security.
Generally, any electronic devices that can
transmit information can be used as a data
source for Synapse to mine and analyse, feeding back actionable information on an organisations risk posture.
For more information, contact Kelly Mclintock,
+27 (0)82 805 8447, kelly@neahgesafrica.com.
Something old, something new

MiRO supports IP convergence with a security focus.
Value-added distributor MiRO focused on
three of its products on its sponsors stand at
iLegal 2016. The products on display were from
VIVOTEK, Uniview and LigoWave.
Marco de Ru, CTO at MiRO was on hand to
discuss the products from MiRO, as well as the
role MiRO plays in the security industry. De Ru
explains that MiRO is an IP convergence company and as the security industry moved to the
IP platform it became part of the IP convergence trend and MiRO now finds a significant
part of its business is security based.
Since MiRO is a complete solutions
provider, it is able to provide full solutions

to the security market, from the network to
the cameras and the management software
required to run everything efficiently.
De Ru adds that companies looking for
surveillance solutions often have a good
concept of what they want in terms of cameras
and their functions, but tend to forget that
surveillance needs a good infrastructure if the
solution is to deliver as required. From this perspective, MiRO is in a good position to assist
as it can advise on cabled network solutions as
well as wireless solutions.
There are people who have doubts about
the efficacy of wireless networks for the surveillance world, but De Ru says it all depends
on how you design the network and the
products you use. Wireless networks today are
as reliable and secure as their wired counterparts, and companies need to examine their
environment to determine which solution is
the best fit for them. In many cases, MiRO has
found that a combination of wired and wireless
technology provides the best results.
The LigoWave product set is a wireless
networking solution that has been installed in
over 150 countries for a variety of communications requirements. The company believes
wireless is the future and MiRO has taken this
brand into numerous customers with success.
A new entrant to the MiRO product range
is the Uniview brand. Uniview has a history of
innovation and offers a range of cameras that
meet every need. The cameras are found in a
variety of security projects globally, including
public security, traffic monitoring, petrochemical surveillance, high-end buildings and more.
The third brand on the MiRO stand was
VIVOTEK, a camera brand that needs no introduction. De Ru says VIVOTEK has quickly grown
to establish itself as one of the world leaders in
network video surveillance with a wide range
of IP cameras, NVRs and encoders.
Visitors to iLegal 2016 were able to view the
products and chat to MiRO staff about their
features and benefits, as well as what MiRO
as an IP convergence company can offer the
security industry.
For more information contact MiRO
Distribution, 086 123 MIRO, riandi@miro.co.za,
www.miro.co.za.
25
OPINION
CCTV in 2016
By Rob Anderson, MD of Rob Anderson Consulting.
New technology is fantastic, but should you be selling it to your clients?

The CCTV world continues to evolve at an
amazingly fast pace. Regardless of whether
you have been in the industry for years
or you are a recent entrant, it has to be a
challenge.
The change from taped recordings to
digital storage feels like something that
happened a lifetime ago. This change then
paved the way for the IP world to move into
CCTV.
We have seen the IP CCTV system maturing and producing results that have great
benefits, but the analogue solutions have
not died. In fact, they appear to be trying to
challenge the IP revolution.
Just when we thought that the PC based
NVR would be the only way forward, we
see that embedded recorders continue to
play their part. In fact, we are seeing hybrid
(incorporating both analogue and digital)
embedded recorders that are very good.
Thermal imaging cameras then made
Rob Anderson, MD of Rob Anderson Consulting.
26
their appearance, the idea being to solve

some of the problems experienced with
optical cameras in very low light conditions.
The thermal camera suddenly looked
like taking over the challenge of night CCTV
solutions, but optical camera manufacturers
took up the challenge and extra low light
cameras hit the market. These cameras are
producing results that seem impossible to
believe in terms of picture quality under
extremely low lighting conditions.
The talk is now that new cameras are on
the horizon which will combine thermal and
optical camera technologies, to provide the
optimum solution. The disadvantage is that
these amazing technological advances are
taking place at a time when we have a dire
shortage of skills to implement the solution.
And to make it all a bit more difficult, the
solution has to be used by people/operators/security guards who do not usually
have this sort of technology as their core
education.
What tools do they need to understand
the solutions we are putting in from of
them? And from the technology design
point of view, does the head-end software have the flexibility to provide the
requirements and user interface that the
operational task requires. In fact, what is
the task?
This all leads us to ask: Can we be sure
that we are offering our client the best possible solution, to provide the best outcome,
and that we have the infrastructure to
support new technology for, say, the next
ten years?
We should also reconsider the name
we continue to use. We still call it CCTV

(Closed Circuit TV). It is no longer a closed
system. We connect the system to networks
and Internet and get open access. This
introduces a new risk, and should be called
OCTV.
When we consider all these facts, and
many others as OCTV practitioners, we
have a big responsibility and much to
consider in providing quality and relevant
solutions for our clients. Are we up for the
challenge?
How do we develop an approach to
achieving this quality solution? Clearly
this article will not solve this dilemma.
What will go a long way to achieving the
best result, is to focus on a few important
considerations:
a. The outcome must be operationally practical and add value to the clients security operation. If the system is difficult to
operate and does not provide the results
required, it is a failed system.
b. The system must function efficiently
under all situations. The situation could
be an environmental issue, power failure,
network failure or operator failure.
c. The system must have adequate product
support and if this is no longer available, equipment can be replaced with an
alternative.
d. Let somebody else try the ground breaking technology first. Each camera must
be placed for a very valid reason.
e. Dont put the new unbelievable
technology into your clients project.
Solutions must be tried and tested.
f. If you cant write down the job description of each camera and describe how
the system must be operated to achieve
the outcome, dont build it.
Change is ongoing, so defining your
design and selection process and then
measuring the outcome on a regular basis,
is important. We all need to make this part
of our way of operating. Enjoy being part of
the evolution, and helping the industry to
mature. Your client will be satisfied and you
will have a viable business.
For more information contact Rob
Anderson, rob@robanderson.co.za,
www.robanderson.co.za
27
OPINION
Is surveillance learnable?
By Dr Craig Donald.
Can you change somebodys natural ability to do surveillance?

People bring natural skills to the work and
play environments that enable them to do
things better than other people. For some,
like sportsmen or sportswomen, there is a
physical ability, coordination, muscle tone,
reflexes and eye-hand or eye-foot coordination that makes people better at certain
sports.
A swimmer is likely to have a different
combination of these to a soccer player.
However, it is the level of these natural abilities that causes people to follow a particular
career path and is the reason that some are
paid millions and perform in the top sports
tiers, while others provide a supporting role
or drop out. There are also natural requirements for different jobs in security, and
surveillance is just one of these.
Effective surveillance needs good observation, an eye for detail, visual analysis, visual
perception and acuity among others. There
are some people who naturally pick up more
things than others. Ive found that the 80/20
rule is not uncommon in some surveillance
operations, where 20% of operators pick up
80% of detected incidents.
If somebody doesnt have these natural
skills, does it mean that they are not suitable
for the position? Like anything else, we have
to recognise that there is always a range of
abilities and it may not be in our budget to
get the absolute best. Not everybody can be
Manchester United or Barcelona players. So
in these kinds of cases, you may set a minimum expected standard.
For example, in our assessments of applicants for surveillance we recommend a level
of performance based on research that we
think would make a good operator. People
can accept applicants scoring lower, but that
comes with its own risk. Subsequently, one
of the most common questions we get is
whether we can improve this natural ability
of people so that next time they can pass.
It is a very relevant question for the person
applying for the job, as well as the organisation who is needing to fulfil the staffing
requirements.
So the question arises, can you improve
natural abilities?
Improving natural abilities

We have generally found that when we
28
repeat an evaluation of observation and

visual analysis, people score much the same.
This indicates that a person is fairly consistent across time in these skills. However, like
an athlete trains in order to refine the ability,
there must be ways of improving natural
performance.
I had a delegate on one of my courses
who picked up some behaviours on video
that virtually no one else had. I discussed it
with her afterwards, and she said she spends
a lot of time playing find the hidden object
games. The need for quick review, homing
in on certain characteristics, and needing
to sort out key characteristics are elements
that are relatively important in visual analysis
skills. Somebody who repeats these activities
frequently must improve to some extent.
The question though, is can anybody do it
or only somebody with the potential or a certain level to start with? No matter how often
you run the 100 m, none of us will be Usain
Bolt, but we may get a little faster if we do
so. It may be possible that this woman was
already good, which is why she enjoyed the
hidden object games. So there is obviously a
base line from which improvements will be
made, and equally limits on how much we
can improve.
I visited Zurich airport a few years ago
to look at the aviation X-ray screener operations. They have a stringent selection policy,
but for those who succeed, there is extensive
training afterwards. This training progresses
in levels, but involves the items in the X-rays
having their position changed, being offset
by other items, camouflaged in various ways,
and generally becoming more and more
difficult to identify as levels went up. There
were far fewer personnel at upper levels of
certification indicating the difficulty for most
people to improve to these levels, but their
performance was awesome.
One of the reasons the top screeners were
successful was developing almost a mental
memory for the ways in which threat items
could be detected. For example, repeatedly
viewing an item rotated in various different
ways eventually develops an almost automatic mental recognition of the threat condition no matter what angle you are looking at.
Eventually, they hardly have to think about it,
as recognition becomes almost automatic.
Dr Craig Donald is a human factors specialist in security and CCTV. He is a director

of Leaderware which provides instruments for the selection of CCTV operators, X-ray screeners and other security
personnel in major operations around the
world. He also runs CCTV Surveillance
Skills and Body Language, and Advanced
Surveillance Body Language courses for
CCTV operators, supervisors and managers internationally, and consults on CCTV
management. He can be contacted on
+27 (0)11 787 7811 or craig.donald@
leaderware.com
Ive found with training that a similar kind
of thing can happen with CCTV people see
an indicator that they have been shown to
highlight an incident condition during training
and respond to this, and the more they have
seen it, the quicker and more consistent the
response. So a person can develop a particular
characteristic through some kind of muscle, or
in this case, mental memory.
Does this change the natural skill level
though? We find that people who are better
at recognition to start with can typically
develop more effectively and perform at
higher levels. Further, while one aspect of the
persons abilities may change with this mental
rehearsal, this is unlikely to change qualities
of the person in all the other areas it simply
improves one aspect of the person.
OPINION
Maximising performance
We find that natural visual analysis skills therefore remain relatively consistent for a person
across time. Some specific aspects may be
strengthened through practice, but the overall
capacity of the person is likely to be relatively
similar. So the focus changes to trying to maximise the performance of people with lower
skill in other ways.
Interest is one of the defining factors in
improving performance. Ive found that where
interest is lacking, performance inevitably
suffers. The personality of some people is
also more suited to driving performance than
others. Outgoing, extroverted and energetic
people seldom can handle the constraints of
a surveillance control room for an extended
period.
No matter how talented, they are likely to
be bouncing off the walls in a few days. On
the other hand, from a personality point of
view, people who are suspicious, question
behaviour, and dont take things for granted
are also likely to pursue targets more strongly.
Those with a good situational awareness will
often pick up things because of sensitivity
to what is going on around them. The more
people know an area and have a feel for the
conditions, the more likely they are to pick

up if something is different. Sometimes this
awareness develops over years and becomes
some kind of local knowledge.
Lastly, whether people get training for this
type of task and the level of training they get
will have a strong influence on their performance. Ive heard people complaining about
how can they be expected to pick up things
doing surveillance if they have never being
trained for it. They have a point with these
comments. Certainly I have found training
changes people at a number of levels, including interest, situational awareness and motivation, and is capable of a significant and rapid
improvement in performance.
Observation and analysis skills

Our research indicates a strong relationship
between surveillance abilities like observation and visual analysis skills and detection
on the job. There are some people who
simply do not have the skills to make good
operators and who will always struggle to
recognise details that are being displayed in
front of them.
Ideally you want the best people possible
to deliver on the capability of your system,
and you are likely to get much greater return

from your system if you take this approach.
However, we cant simply take it for granted
that people who have the natural skills will
automatically pick up things. We need to be
constantly looking at ways in which we can
improve performance of people at all levels.
Mental exercises, viewing of previous
incidents, analysis of ways in which people
can commit offences, and operators continually viewing and thinking about what they
see around them may be important ways
to enhance peoples performance. One of
the features of an Advanced Motor Vehicle
Driving course is that you provide an ongoing commentary about what is happening in
front of you.
Getting operators to do this, even if in
their own mind, is a way of focusing them on
what is happening in the areas they are viewing. Develop the skill by asking them on a
regular basis what is going on, where certain
people have come from, things out of the
ordinary. In fact, any question asked regularly
about the scenes they are looking at is going
to improve performance as it gets people
thinking about what they are looking at and
that can only be a good thing.
29
TRENDS
Seven video surveillance trends

you cant afford to overlook
A Seagate White Paper.
The surveillance industry is set for growth into new as well as old areas.
Do you know whats next for video surveillance? Its an incredibly dynamic industry that
continues to grow at an exponential rate.
Are you keeping up with the trends that are
fuelling this momentum? More importantly,
are you capitalising on the trends that can give
you a profitable competitive advantage? This
article will show you what to watch out for and
provide some insight you can implement that
will help you do just that.
Network cameras as emerging stars

Fixed-dome and180/360-degree IP network
cameras are the fastest growing product
segment, and the city surveillance and utilities/energy sectors are vertical markets to
watch. According to IHS, 180/360-degree IP
panoramic network cameras are forecast to
increase global unit shipments by more than
60 percent year-over-year.
With their increased scope, these cameras
are the preferred choice for monitoring wide
indoor areas, meaning customers can save
money by installing fewer cameras while still
covering the same area. Thats why theyre
predicted to gain increasing market share in
verticals such as retail, airports and casinos.
Even entire cities are attempting to capitalise
on this trend in an effort to help them solve
and prevent crimes.
Crowdsourced video surveillance

With the increasing prevalence of mobile
users, crowdsourced video surveillance data
will be on the rise. This trend took centre stage
during the Boston Marathon bombing as personal photos and videos played a major role in
identifying the Boston bombing suspects. In
30
2011, investigators seeking information about

rioters in Vancouver received more than 5000
hours of video from the public, ultimately
helping them find the suspects.
One of the immediate practical applications of this trend is the ability to improve
reaction time of law enforcement agencies,
especially with the use of social media monitoring. Of course, the continued growth in this
space will create data analysis and manipulation challenges as authorities deal with the
unsophistication of the source files.
No substitute for the right

surveillance storage
Relying on traditional desktop drives, while
they may have the required space, isnt a best
practice because theyre not built to withstand
the constant data writing involved when
capturing multiple streams of high-definition
video. The rigors of todays video surveillance
systems require true 24x7x365 operation. And
the reality of the situation is that standard
desktop drives just cant handle the workload.
Customers use desktop-class drives today
for low-cost, high-capacity storage, but they
compromise their system reliability by using
these drives in a surveillance environment.
It makes sense then that choosing the right
drive can dramatically improve a systems
overall ROI. There are a variety of companies
that manufacture drives built specifically
to help optimise video content recording/
playback and drives built to quickly process
data and provide faster performance. For
example, Seagate provides surveillance drives
that provide enhanced data integrity and can
help you reduce cost of servicing by delivering
optimised HDDs for surveillance applications

and improving their overall lifespan.
Video surveillance backup and

video data recovery
The #1 pain point for video surveillance systems integrators is data loss. And with good
reason. After all, what exactly is the proper
protocol to follow to recover your surveillance footage?
If your customers have tried to pinch
pennies by installing a standard drive for
their surveillance systems storage, the
answer is nothing. If they bristled at the initial cost of a proper drive, chances are they
arent going to want to absorb a starting
recovery cost of about $499. That means the
data is gone.
Companies like Seagate offer surveillance hard drives that are specifically engineered for demanding surveillance systems.
Seagate now offers a three-year Rescue
Data Recovery Services plan with select
Surveillance HDD models. If customer data
is lost, deleted or corrupted, Seagate Rescue
will help your customers get their data
back from their failed drive with a reported
industry-leading data recovery rate of 90%.
Video management systems and

video bandwidth management
With the rise of high-definition video and
IP cameras, its more important than ever
to take into account the bandwidth needed
to run your system at maximum efficiency.
If bandwidth isnt optimised, video quality
will degrade and the efficacy of the entire
system will be irreparably compromised.
TRENDS
According to Genetec, multicasting,
multi-streaming and video compression are
three innovative methods that users can
use to optimise bandwidth management
in video surveillance applications. With
video management software (VMS), users
can leverage existing hardware and software functionalities to experience benefits
such as reduction in bandwidth requirements, optimisation of network resources,
and decrease of storage needs. As long as
theyre supported by an intelligent VMS,
multicasting, multi-streaming and video
compression can ultimately contribute significant cost savings and long-term investment protection.
Video analytics: Do more than

ever before
Embedded low-end video analytics applications have already been offered as free
features. But are free apps a viable option, or
will there continue to be a market for video
analytics? One thing is clear: vendors can
no longer charge for basic algorithms. Yet,
more advanced analytics remain profitable.
There are multiple considerations when it
comes to analytics, with each area projected
to continue growth well into the future.
HD over coax
According to IHS, we should expect more new
product and service announcements from
network-focused security companies as they
seek to add new revenue streams to their
portfolios. So where will some of these new
sources of revenue come from?
Even as the popularity of IP cameras continues to grow, acquiring more than 50% of
the market by 2017-18, we see HD over coax
being a promising area to watch. Its gone
through evolution from analogue to HD-SDI
(high-definition serial digital Interface) in its
early stages and now with HD-CVI (high-definition composite video interface) and HD-TVI
(high-definition transport video interface)
iterations, and AHD (analogue high definition).
It has maintained its position in the market
for two simple reasons. One, there is no
latency over coax so what you see is what you
get in real time. This is obviously the preferred
working state for businesses like casinos
and some applications that need real-time
monitoring of their properties, and who are
not worried about missing anything due to
latency issues.
And two, its innately easier to set up a
true plug-and-play solution. IP ultimately offers
higher quality, better integration and higher
scalability, but it can be complex especially

for small installations. With IP and analogue
cameras displaying different strengths, more
companies will start to implement hybrid versions of each technology in their systems.
As video surveillance continues to evolve
across both public and private sectors, theres
an increasing opportunity to capitalise on these
emerging trends in order to gain a distinct competitive advantage for you and your customers.
More than ever before, businesses need
to listen to their customer needs, understand
their path to growth and engage with them
not just at the initial install. By thinking of the
engagement as more than a one-time sale
and focusing on the expansion of systems
themselves over larger spaces or with more
cameras they set themselves up for future
opportunities to generate sustained success.
This white paper has been edited. For the
full version, please see http://www.seagate.
com/files/www-content/ti-dm/_shared/
images/top-video-surveillance-industrytrends-for-2015.PDF (short URL: http://goo.gl/
GkCxo6).
For more information contact Martin Kruger,
Seagate South Africa, +27 (0)76 360 2850,
martin.kruger@seagate.com
31
CITY SURVEILLANCE
City surveillance: 20 years later

By Neale Strauch, MD, Techsec Security Services (T/A The Lab).
City surveillance: has it improved or declined over time?

Twenty years down the line and having
completed many city surveillance systems
and expansions thereof, we find ourselves
questioning the technical, operational, legal
and maintenance methodologies followed in
southern Africa.
During the late 90s, we published a summary of a thesis on the utilisation of CCTV in
public spaces (CCTV in the streets the true
facts, N. Strauch, 1997), which was based on
research we had done. The aim at the time was
to identify what was done in other countries
(Europe) and specifically to find out what
would suit the African continent and to learn
from their mistakes.
Well, 20 years later and the conclusion
seems to be the same, more new companies
have joined this lucrative sector of the market,
re-inventing this wheel many times with new
technologies leading the operational output,
untrained staff and low maintenance uptimes.
The operational methodologies have gone
a full circle where we find ourselves doing
things the way they were done in the late
1990s.
Yes, it could be said that there is a success
story behind each of the systems operated in
our country and it is not my intention to criticise any of these. The experience gained over
the years where city surveillance has remained
my core interest needs to be told, if only to
shed some light on what works and where the
pitfalls are.
As a third-party company (a specialist
32
subcontractor), we give our clients the full

service ranging from the design of these
systems, the civil works, fibre installation,
planting of poles, control room layout, the
installation of the cameras and head-end
culminating in the handover of a functional
system.
In saying this, we have had many frustrating discussions with end-users, consultants, clients and suppliers who deem their
new systems as the solution to all a specific
citys problems. This does go a long way,
but is generally seen primarily as a crime
prevention tool. It has been difficult to alter
this perception to the understanding that it
is a city management tool.
Then again, managing the city by these
means, it seems, could allow a service
provider to step into the shoes of those
responsible for other services such as
electrical, water, sanitation and traffic; the
reporting thereof could thus be harmful.
On the other hand, in cities where the tool
is embraced as a management tool, these
managers have the facts at their fingertips.
Water leaks are fixed immediately, rubbish
heaps are cleared, traffic lights and traffic
congestion is taken care of and streetlights
are functional.
Electronic patrols of each area covered
by the surveillance technology can be done
frequently, picking up all management
incidents and reporting these to the different departments.
Why is this then not the case?

Six main methodologies need to be understood, specified and implemented.
1. City surveillance is not about the cameras,
the people or the technology used. City surveillance has only one output, the footage.
2. City surveillance is not only a crime-fighting
tool, it is a city management tool.
3. Hot spotting where cameras are deployed
at statistically high crime points throughout
the city is a recipe that just does not give the
successes hoped for. Each city has its own
character, thus a design that enables track
and trace by the operator brings success.
4. Operators are a unique breed of person.
They are not uncles, cousins, children or a
D grade security guard. Operators should
have the ability to proactively identify the
incident, follow it through its lifecycle and
build the case.
5. Smart cities where technology warns of
gatherings or loitering, rings bells when illegal parking or driving is analytically determined and criminals are identified anywhere
in the city via facial recognition, might work
in the minds of clinically calculated software
design professors. South Africa, however, is
undisciplined and electronic rules that are
set-up to detect exceptions just cannot be
implemented and are impractical to police.
6. Maintenance policy is critical.
The footage
It has become critical that attention be given
to all factors that influence the quality of the
footage during the design phase. With the
flood of technology advancements and dumping of cheap products into the South African
market, we seem to believe the specification
sheets attached to tender documents. The IP
products in particular have created a storm,
some of the end users deem the words digital
and IP to be this massive advancement and
even believe that all IP products, by virtue of
the name, are the same.
Bad footage, even when compared to old
analogue recordings, are popping up in the
market and when utilised in the public surveillance scenario will cause cases to be lost in a
court of law.
Simply put, if the operator is correctly selected and the system is designed
33
CITY SURVEILLANCE

specifically for city management, then recording space is only needed for 48 hours and in
some cases 72 hours. If the operator did not
see the incident and the recordings are not
reviewed, then only the odd, by chance incident recording could mean something. Any
incident that was not seen by the operator
should be picked up on the next rotation of
the camera or from a static, and there will thus
still be time to respond.
City management
Over the years, incidents have been logged,
recorded and processed, giving a perception
that crime is being tackled by the utilisation of
city surveillance. Is this the case? Yes, but what
about all the other service related incidents a
city can be proud of?
Some cities that utilise the tool to manage
all their service-related incidents should be
screaming this success from the top of their
highest buildings. During a normal day service
delivery managers are faced with many challenges, some of which seem trivial, but to
the citizen on the street it is noticeable when
things are different.
Traffic lights seem to go off just before
morning traffic and then there is chaos. How
true is this, and all we do is sit there in queues
hoping that someone will send out a crew to
either repair the fault of have a points man
deployed. In the world of an organised city
where embracement and understanding of
the added value of a surveillance system is
prevalent, these failures are reported as and
when they happen, with immediate reaction
and repair even before the city awakens.
An interesting case that comes to mind
that can demonstrate the power of effectiveness in both city management and the fight
34
against crime happened when an operator

who took her job seriously noticed a city
owned truck had been parking at the same
place every Wednesday. Initially, just mentally
recording the fact, she made it her personal
project to find out more.
During her break she then approached
the review specialist and they reviewed and
stored this footage. As time went by they both
realised that there was something fishy going
on and involved their managers, who escalated this to the responsible person in the city.
A project was registered and all eyes were on
the truck, every move was watched and eventually it was confirmed that diesel was been
sold off to small users. The decision to hold
back on arrests paid off and in the end, with
buy in from the manager involved, the Metro
Police and SAPS, a whole ring of criminals was
apprehended and convicted.
Planned operations with Metro Police
to enforce bylaws such as closing times and
selling of alcohol at night clubs all under the
watchful eyes of the control centre can be
done. During such operations, having SAPS
and Metro both in one vehicle attending to
crime and bylaw enforcement at the same
time, can only be dreamt of.
Some centres have allocated seats for
city management functions, Metro Police
and SAPS, but this is few and far between.
There is unfortunately, in some cases, a sense
of degrading the position of such officers
especially where a service provider manages
the centre. The choice to utilise own staff or
to outsource is a discussion that will be had at
another time.
These officers, if motivated and chosen correctly, can drive such a centre to its maximum.
However, it would need a senior official to
whom they would report who is dedicated to
the centre and physically sits here. Even leading the Metro and SAPS vehicles to a crime
scene via radio is problematic when done by
a service-providers supervisor, because these
services have protocols and dont really like
listening to a civilian.
Once again, the solutions are easy but
need dialog and buy-in from the authorities in
that city. In places where it has been implemented, it works reasonably well as long as
the dedication and the chip on the shoulder
of some is not the important factor. There
are many more such management functions
that could be discussed and it is merely the
creative thinking and willingness to utilise the
surveillance centres to their fullest that will
make the difference.
Hot spotting
Evaluating a city during the design phase takes
input from all involved to ensure that the most
effective placement of cameras is determined.
Years ago, we would look at a city to find what
we then termed crime drawers. These are spots
where criminals are naturally drawn to: ATMs,
taxi ranks, banks, shopping centres, stations,
taverns and main walkways are some examples.
We would then evaluate statistics and overlay
them on these spots to determine the factor of
accuracy. This is called hot spotting.
As time moved and experience was gained,
we found this to be ineffective. This mainly
because the reaction teams had to race from
spot to spot and perpetrators would inevitably
be long gone. Printed snapshots of the perpetrators pinned to a wall showed no real success
and they were never seen again. The advent
of facial recognition software caused much
excitement and product sales people crossed
our doorstep on a daily basis. It was said that
we could load this wonderful software and
when a face which was loaded on the database
was recognised, it would warn us and we could
send the SAPS to apprehend him.
Little did we know that hit rate, lighting and
the angle of view would have such an influence
that to date this has not succeeded. Operators
are there to build the case through its lifecycle,
not to hit the reject button every 10 seconds
because of mismatches.
The implementation of a successful city surveillance system is based on in-depth design,
taking into account the crime drawers, but
rather overlaying the city with three layers.
Layer one is the city entry and exit level.
Here we identify the entry, to moving through,
and the exit routes of the city. Typically cameras (PTZ domes and static) are placed along
these routes. Number plate recognition can be
utilised as an aid at this layer.
CITY SURVEILLANCE
Layer two is the tracking layer. These are placed along secondary
routes and are aimed at tracking vehicles and people along these
routes.
Layer three is the trace layer. Generally, these cameras are placed
at intersections, using them in all four directions, with a camera at the
next intersection one street up. This causes a matrix effect covering
the area with a video blanket.
It can be argued that this is almost impossible to achieve because
of the quantity of positions needed, but it should also be noted that
housing areas are not covered in this fashion, the entry / exit and the
track level is utilised in these areas. It would be impossible to cover
each house and even when a house is in close proximity, the first
question is usually, Can the camera see into my bedroom? Yes. Please
close your curtains if you dont want to be seen.
Typically, a medium city such as Bloemfontein would need about
46 entry / exit domes with 184 statics, 93 trace dome cameras and 183
trace cameras. Costing of such a system, when done correctly with
a UPS at each point, surge and lightning protection, quality power
supplies and legal electrical terminations, would average at R380 000
per point, including the total fibre infrastructure, control mechanisms
and control room.
A smaller city such as Klerksdorp would need about 38 entry / exit
domes with 152 statics, 48 trace dome cameras and 42 trace cameras.
Operators
It is quite evident that operators are generally not selected or tested
against any measured criteria. They are mostly employed by choice
of management, or requested by clients uncles, sons, children, and
many tenders call for a D-grade guard. If this is the criteria, then no
wonder the success of these multimillion Rand systems are not as
successful as we want them to be. Models developed by professionals such as Dr Craig Donald, Steve Clupp and even some experienced
centre managers just seem to fall by the wayside.
Many questions remain unanswered and this mainly because the
funding is not available and the fact that service providers cannot
afford the services of a professional. By adding a fixed amount, a line
item in tender documents that can be used to pay for the services
of such a professional would enable and force the selection of this
special breed of person.
Technology is moving at a rate that has become far superior to
the abilities of the R5 000 a month person, and in cases where skilled
people are employed the task at hand gets boring (because of the lack
of utilising the system to its maximum extent) and they only last till
the next job comes up.
Smart cities and technology

We have come a long way since the days of VCRs, PTZ cameras with
300 mm lenses, housed in gigantic plastic bubbles with no optical
correctness, IR lighting the size of a A4 sheet of paper that no one
could afford and fibre cable with mechanical splicing. Our belief in the
technology has remained and developments like these have changed
the way we do things.
The only constant is that we live in an undisciplined South Africa
where rules are made to be broken and are impossible for the law
agencies to police. Jaywalking is the norm, not the exception; crowds
gathering and walking on the inner roadside around parked cars is a
minute-to-minute, second-to-second event. Double parking and taxi
drop-offs are anywhere and the litter boxes along the streets are there
to serve as a seat or a street vendors table. How then can we take a
35
CITY SURVEILLANCE

disciplined, analytical approach in an attempt
to aid the operator to identify these exceptions when they are the norm?
The utilisation of analytics is not totally
impossible in the city scenario and has been
used successfully to warn of pattern changes it
traffic, double parking in busy main arteries, one
way traffic violations and even where vehicles
have crossed the centre on double ways. The
challenge arose in policing these incidents, the
Broken Window Syndrome starting with management who dictated policy on what should
be reacted to, gradually watering the use thereof
down to disuse and eventual switch-off.
Good planning, great management,
professional operators and massive buy in is
needed to overcome these challenges. It can
be and is done to a certain extent at some
of the centres, but the over selling of functions within the technological space is being
interpreted as the full truth, leading decision
makers to believe that they can get away with
less operators when using this wonder drug
called technology.
Latency, for example, is an inherent factor
within the IP world we live in. There are some
schools of thought that argue that it has no
effect on the way that operations are carried
out because the operator gets a feel for it and
can compensate whilst building the critical
case. Is this true? It might be dependent on
what that latency is?
Maintenance policy
Maintenance is the aspect that is generally
misunderstood or underestimated. A maintenance policy should define the acceptable
levels of uptime ensuring that the system is
always ready for use. Maintenance is defined
as preventative and corrective maintenance,
but what does this mean and how can it be
measured?
It is important to realise the depth at
which maintenance should be measured.
Strategically maintenance, support and technical sustainability is a disciplined, unified and
36
iterative approach to those management and

technical activities needed to:
Acquire the required support. During the
design phase we should ensure that the
maintenance elements such as personnel,
tools, spares, vehicles and workspace is
included.
Provide the required support during the
operations at minimum cost. Having the
the system is to be 24 hours per day.

Peak Operational Times = Between 05h00 to
08h30 and 15h00 to 18h00 daily including
weekends and public holidays.
Minor adjustments may be performed during
operations, but no adjustment may be performed during peak operational times.
No preventative maintenance shall be
performed during peak operational times,
correct personnel and tools available for the

task at hand.
Maintenance tasks are grouped as follows:
Corrective maintenance tasks restore a
failed item. This is easily done if the design
caters for fast and effective replacement
of these items. An example thereof is our
patented STEVE (Surge Technology for
Electrical and Video Equipment). This product
is mounted within the pole structure and
carries all power (including UPS) and surge
protection elements for the cameras in the
field. Diagnostics is easy and the replacement
of the STEVE is via plug-in connectors. Lowlevel technicians can thus unplug the unit and
replace it with a spare within three minutes
ensuring that the downtime is minimal.
Preventative maintenance tasks systematically inspect, detect and correct incipient
failures, primarily wear-out failures, either
before they occur or before they develop into
major failures. Simple test sheets are utilised
to measure all Voltages, Amps and Ohms and
log these into the database. It is surprising how
soon the naughty boys (camera locations and
control room elements) are identified via graphs
aiding in the replacement of items which are not
performing to specification. The added value
is empowering the technical team to use facts
about failed items during the warrantee period,
identifying possible bad batches or component
/ design failures within a product. It has been our
experience that the product suppliers are grateful and work together with us to resolve inherent
product glitches.
The following are examples of the determined policy statements.
Operating Time (Mission) = Daily operations of
only urgent operational repair, limited to the

replacement of LRUs will be permitted.
Failed LRUs will either be discarded or sent to
intermediate support for repair.
Only general purpose or standard test and
support equipment will be used at organisational level support.
Tests carried out at organisational level will be
logged for intermediate and depot use.
Replacement units shall be plug-in and
require a minimum amount of fasteners, or
in the case where special fastening methods
are to be used for vandalism purposes, all
fasteners are to be standardised.
By utilising such a policy, dictated upfront
during the tender and included in the design,
a stable system can be guaranteed. It is no use
blaming Eskom when we dont have enough
power backup. We cant pass the buck when
the 10 cent power supplies that we used keep
failing.
City surveillance is a specialist field which
has taken us 27 systems throughout Africa to
understand. We have the luxury of not being
a product supplier, thus giving our clients the
best advice available without the pressure of
having to adhere to manufacturers sales targets
and agency agreements.
A city surveillance system has to function
24/7, why then do we deem an aircraft more
important when it only performs its purpose
20% of the time.
For more information contact
Neale Strauch, Techsec Security Services T/A
The Lab, +27 (0)12 654 5985,
neale@thelabsa.com,
www.thelabsa.com
VISUAL ALARM VERIFICATION
Camera within an alarm

By Andrew Seldon.
Integrating communications, video and motion detection in one passive.

Integration is a well-used word in the security
industry. Everyone talks about it, some even
do it, a few do it very well. When it comes to
surveillance, integrating added functions and
features to a CCTV system normally puts the
camera front and centre, with the add-ons playing a lesser role.
Alarm company Jablotron has changed this
by joining the video verification game with
its PIR motion detector. A traditional motion
detector that detects movement within the
space under guard, this PIR also has a highresolution camera on board as well as other
functionality to ensure the safety of users.
When motion is detected, the device takes
three photos of the event. The images are
stored on the onboard SD card in high resolution, and one is sent in low resolution via the
GSM interface as an alert to the user and/or
a guarding company. The company says the
image will be sent within three seconds, ensuring no time is lost in what could be a potential
emergency.
Once received on their smartphone

app, users can request a high-resolution
image be sent to them and alert their armed
response company to take further action, if
required.
Bruce Lang from Jablotron SA adds that
the PIR also includes a flash for capturing
images in poor lighting conditions, ensuring the user gets a good look at whomever
or whatever is moving around where they
shouldnt be. The latest version causes the
flash to go off on its own after the initial
three images have been captured. This will
naturally make the intruder look towards
the flash, when another photo will be taken
presumably of a startled intruder looking
at the camera.
The images taken can also be viewed on
the MyJablotron website as well as copied
to a computer from the SD card. The device
manages its own SD card and will overwrite
the oldest images if the available storage is
filled which shouldnt happen frequently.
Users can use the smartphone app to get

the device to take a picture at any time, such
as when they want to ensure their kids are
home from school, etc.
The indoor camera covers an area
of about 55 and has a range of about
12metres. Jablotron offers both a wireless
and a hardwired version depending on the
users preferences and an outdoor version
will soon be available.
The PIR motion detector and camera
combination is part of Jablotrons range
of alarm and automation systems, ranging
from control panels through to keypads,
motion detectors, magnetic detectors and
so forth. It also provides an automation facility out of the box, which users can customise to their requirements such as switching
on or off lights.
For more information contact Bruce Lang,
Jablotron Alarms SA, +27 (0)11 615 3675,
bruce@jablotronsa.co.za
37
SMART BUILDINGS
Video management integral to

building management
By Henrik Pedersen, business development manager, Milestone Systems.
Will video management systems become visual building intelligence hubs?

The world of construction is heading for
continued growth in many economic hotspots
around the world in 2016. London, for example,
has been experiencing an unprecedented
boom in the building of commercial office
space and this is now spreading to other major
UK cities such as Birmingham and Manchester.
There is simultaneously an evolution occurring
globally in the way we design and create our
buildings. Worldwide, the trend is to create
buildings with the final user-occupants top-ofmind from day one.
The growing user-centric construction
trend is now supported by some key standards
developments, which are again percolating
into design and construction practices across
the globe. For example, from April this year the
UK Government will require all firms involved in
creating public buildings in the UK to conform
with Level 2 Building Information Modelling
(BIM) demands. Level 2 BIM requires much
tighter, ideally 3D model-based, specification of
buildings to ensure smoother commissioning
of buildings so that they work better for occupants from the outset, are easier to maintain,
underpinning upgrading schedules for buildings equipment and systems.
Simultaneous with Level 2 BIM adoption, is the roll out of the Government Soft
Landings (GSL) protocol which demands that
new government buildings are designed with
user experience in mind. Soft Landings is a
strategy adopted to ensure the transition from
construction to occupation is bump-free and
that operational performance is optimised. The
Soft Landings Framework is a joint initiative
between BSRIA (Building Services Research
and Information Association) and UBT (Usable
Buildings Trust).
38
Henrik Pedersen, business development

manager, Milestone Systems.
The global organisation BSRIA is a test,
instruments, research and consultancy organisation serving the construction and building
services markets. It provides specialist support
services for design, construction, facilities
management, product testing and market
intelligence.
GSL is an open-source framework, available on the BSRIA website, that is intended to
smooth the transition into use and to address
problems that post-occupancy evaluations
show to be widespread. It was updated in
2014 to align with the Royal Institute of British
Architects (RIBA) 2013 work stages.
User is central
However, it is not just about the technology
but how it is used to help building users.
Award-winning architect and innovative

design-thinker, Paul Fletcher, recently said
that BMS need to change from what many
are today, making the buildings user feel
dumb by taking control away from the user,
to instead handing power back to them. By
the same token, he believes that architects
and developers need to move away from the
current mind-set which divorces the user as
the layman from the design process, instead
involving them in creating the building
around the future occupants specific needs.
So systems that control buildings should
instead enable users to control them. And
building firms should be more focused on
supplying value added services associated
with the smooth running of a building rather
than just putting up a building and walking
away. The idea of Building as a Service is even
coming through into public discourse.
Coincidentally, smart technology being
specified in a new commercial building
project makes all this possible. New buildings
are built with multiple sensors everywhere
from IP cameras, to fire and smoke detectors,
thermostatic controllers, heating ventilation
and air conditioning (HVAC) control systems,
biometric readers for access control and much
more besides. All these IP devices are also getting more intelligent.
IP video management systems (VMS) such
as Milestone XProtect are now capable of
turning images from the front of a car, as it
enters a buildings underground car park, into
a number plate which can then be checked
against an database of authorised licence
plates. Once a match is established, the car
park barrier can be automatically lifted. By
contrast, an image or video stream of an
SMART BUILDINGS
unauthorised vehicle can be sent automatically to a remote security managers mobile

device and they can make a decision whether
to release the barrier, or not, having established the credentials of a visitor through the
video and had a short conversation.
We are also seeing visitors being logged
on an access control system as visitors at
reception. Once tagged, they can be tracked
around a building. So an alert can be sent
to the VMS if that unique visitor is picked up
in a restricted area, for example. The breach
can then be sent with a snapshot image
from the nearest camera verifying the
context for this breach, helping the security
guard to establish rapidly, again via a smart
device of choice, whether this represents a
genuine security threat.
Seeing the heat

Infrared network cameras are increasingly
being deployed in buildings as well. These
are not only useful from a security perspective to detect activity, in a restricted
server room for example, but also to help
manage buildings HVAC systems. Thermal
images from these cameras can help show
areas of a building where heat is leaking
away perhaps where a window has been
left open, or a window frame has been
compromised and needs maintenance or
replacement.
These sensors can also help isolate the
parts of the building that need heating
or air conditioning and the parts where
occupancy-levels are low and therefore no
HVAC is required. For example, as people
leave a meeting room the sensors can send
an alert to the central BMS which would
trigger HVAC and lighting systems to automatically shut down. As such, the vision for
future Smart Buildings is about creating
buildings that are intelligent enough to
react to usage levels and environmental
changes dynamically.
So if it is a hot day and the server room
is running very hot, thereby compromising
the hard disk drives (HDD) of servers (and
therefore corporate data they hold), once a
temperature threshold is reached systems
could send an alert and trigger the air-conditioning to increase output in that area.
Video management systems such
as XProtect, can act as an intelligence
centre or visualisation hub where alerts
are verified alongside any visual evidence
that the buildings sensors can provide. Is
the increase in heat in that server room
actually because a server is running
abnormally hot (which is often a precursor
to HDD failure) for example? Or worse, is

there a small fire underway which needs
immediate attention? This intelligence can
be gleaned by marrying a temperature
threshold alert with a real-time video
image. Based on a verified level of threat,
the right person can be sent to deal with
the problem.
Video management central

to BMS
Extending the thinking a little further into
services within a building: it would be
great if a large company could provide a
desktop PC webcam view of the central
cafeteria to staff so they can time their
lunch-break when queues have died down.
Equally, why not turn video recordings of
that cafeterias occupancy through entire
lunch periods over several weeks into hard
data about numbers of people using the
facilities there? This data could be turned
into intelligence about peak usage of the
facilities, establishing whether changes
to the service need to be made to better
meet the needs of employees and visitors.
So it is possible to see video management systems sitting right at the centre
integrated with BMS and taking in and
making sense of data coming in from
multiple smart sensors, creating intelligence out of data from multiple integrated
IP devices.
In this vision, XProtect can be used
to not only enable more comprehensive
building security, but also more intelligent
and responsive building management, as
well as building services optimisation. Now
that is a vision that is worth pursuing as it
offers much greater control for buildings
users. It is also food for thought for architects, designers, construction firms, BMS
providers, building services providers and
facilities managers alike.
It is therefore no surprise at all that we
are starting to see mergers and acquisitions
bringing security product manufacturers
together with building control systems
players. Recently, the Tyco Security Products
merger with building management systems
provider Johnson Controls, shows that the
power of bringing smart building systems
together with security management is not
lost on some of the bigger players in both
of these converging markets.
For more information contact Milestone
Systems, +27 (0)82 377 0415,
arms@milestonesys.com,
www.milestonesys.com
39
THERMAL CAMERAS
Thermals expand their operations

Thermals cameras have become a standard part of the surveillance industry.
Thermal cameras have gone from being
expensive devices reserved for military or
government use to less costly solutions for
a wide variety of uses, from 24-hour perimeter protection through to measuring the
temperatures of machinery while in operation. Today, one finds thermals in almost any
security installation, from residential estates
to large commercial operations and more.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions asked FLIR
and Bosch Security for some input regarding thermals and what they are capable of
today. Within the realm of commercial, read
affordable operations. Our respondents are:
David Montague from FLIR Systems, and
Charles Coetzee from Bosch Security
Systems.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions: What advances
are we seeing with respect to thermal
technology (resolution, clarity of images,
distances etc.)?
Montague: We are seeing a transition to
640x480 resolution products as the benefits
of achieving further distances with analytics is appreciated with these products. The
cost to benefit ratio makes sense, as the
price differential between the two options
becomes less.
Coetzee: The Bosch outdoor IP thermal
cameras provide early detection and the
display of irregularities over large areas.
These cameras can see through dense
smoke or bad weather conditions such as
heavy fog or snow, or even in absolute darkness. Providing high sensitivity, uncooled
long wave thermal imaging, these cameras
deliver outstanding image quality. They use
a VOx (Vanadium Oxide) focal plane sensor
40
array with 320 x 240 pixels, combined with

dedicated image processing algorithms
to deliver sharp, clear thermal images that
make it easier to recognise objects or suspicious activities.
Some of the key benefits this provides is
a more precise temperature sensitivity, e.g.
temperature differences of 50 mK or less are
made visible. Further video processing features include multiple automatic, dynamic
image optimisation algorithms, as well
as polarity control (white hot/black hot).
Automatic flat-field correction (FFC) results
in a more uniform, quality image.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions: Where are we
mostly seeing thermals deployed and
why (for example, on long perimeters)?
Montague: Thermals are being deployed
in many perimeter applications. In past
years thermal imaging was mainly used
in high asset value applications such as
airports, power stations, etc. Although
thermal often offered the best solution for
all perimeter security, the cost was relatively
prohibitive. In recent years the price reduction has expanded the applications and FLIR
has products that will secure residential
premises at an affordable price. All perimeter applications can now get the best solution at an affordable price.
Coetzee: Were seeing increased growth
in areas such as ports and traffic monitoring, border control, perimeter surveillance
as well as power plants and industrial
installations.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions: Are thermals
still necessary when low-light cameras
are claiming to be able to obtain colour

images in near total darkness? Where
are thermals and low-light cameras best
deployed and why? Furthermore, are we
seeing the end of IR cameras?
Montague: Thermal imaging cameras
detect the heat source of objects and will
provide the same image in total darkness
and during the day, creating good contrast images in the scene and they can see
through most weather conditions. No additional lighting is needed. Thermal cameras
have virtually no moving parts and are not
dependent on external lighting to illuminate
the scene, so the MTBF is extended compared with other technologies. FLIR offer a
10-year warrantee on the thermal detector.
Coetzee: Yes. This is however, dependent
on the application requirements. Optical
cameras have their place when designing
systems, but when the terrain becomes challenging, lighting around the area becomes
a factor and if it is very dense in shrubs and
vegetation, thermal cameras will be the best
solution.
Low-light cameras still require the presence of some type of light source to be fully
effective. Conversely, when too much light is
present, this can also prove troublesome for
visible light cameras. Thermal cameras do
not experience these troubles as they work
on infrared radiation, hence will continue
to be more effective in any challenging
environment where an overabundance, or
absence of light exists.
IR cameras will always have their place
in the market. As mentioned above, thermal
cameras are suitable for any application
where extreme challenges in lighting occur.
THERMAL CAMERAS
Thermal technology has been strongly

adopted for many perimeter surveillance
solutions, coupled with HD colour cameras
for daytime operation. IR cameras still have
a major role to play in many instances, but
due to current limitations on most built-in
IR technology, the effective range is often
no more than 30metres. Thermal technology, however, allows detection of objects
kilometres away.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions: Can more
advanced analytics be used with thermals? Can intelligent tracking be done,
either by the thermals themselves or by
automatically directing a PTZ to an alert/
event?
Montague: FLIR has several options in
relation to analytics, there are edge options
with the FC and the new FC-ID. This option
started with a type of motion detection, but
the demand for more sophisticated analytics
on board is becoming heavier all the time,
the FC-ID offers advanced analytics. In addition, FLIR offers server based analytics.
FLIR has a range of PTZ multi-sensor
cameras that can be used in tracking targets. Often we are seeing the need to detect
an intruder and then handing over to a PTZ

multi-sensor for tracking.
Coetzee: Yes, with Boschs on-board
Intelligent Video Analytics (IVA), we are
able to offer intelligence at the edge. The
Bosch suite of video analytics range from an
object entering or leaving a scene, multiple
cross line configurations, object tracking,
loitering, idle, and people counting to name
a few. Up to eight individual tasks can be
selected and combined into one scene to
build sophisticated detection systems.
Intelligent tracking within Bosch camera
technology is more based around the
moving PTZ portfolio, while video analytics within static thermal cameras (VOTs)
are based around analytics rules which are
configured on the cameras. With the Bosch
IVA, intelligent tracking in the scene can
be achieved on thermals, for applications
where PTZs are employed, the auto-tracking
can effectively move and reposition the
camera to follow the object of interest.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions: What are your
latest thermal offerings?
Montague: The FC-ID series of cameras
feature on-board video analytics optimised
for FLIRs thermal video. They are easy to

set up and capable of classifying human or
vehicular intrusions, FC-Series ID cameras
provide reliable detection with low false
alarm rates, all without human intervention.
Other models can be viewed at www.flir.
co.uk/security/display/?id=72433.
FLIR now offers an end-to-end solution
from PSIM-VMS-CCTV cameras, thermal
cameras and analytics. Many integrators
are seeing the benefit of working with one
supplier on the total solution. The recent
acquisition of DVTEL by FLIR has contributed to the enhanced offering.
Coetzee: Bosch fixed cameras, like the IP
VOT Thermal Cameras, come in four different
lens options comprising 9mm, 13mm, 19mm
and 60 mm. Bosch moving cameras, like the
analogue MIC Series 612 Thermal Camera is a
dual thermal and optical PTZ camera.
For more information, contact:
FLIR Systems, +44 780 151 4810,
theresa.turner@flir.uk.com, www.flir.com
Bosch Security Systems - South Africa
& sub-Saharan Africa, +27 (0)11 651 9600,
charles.coetzee@za.bosch.com,
africa.boschsecurity.com
41
HIGH DEFINITION ANALOGUE
Analogue fights back

By Andrew Seldon.
The analogue industry has jumped back into the game with high definition offerings.
Just as we were all prepared to announce the
death of analogue and the ultimate victory
of network (or IP) surveillance, the analogue
industry jumped back into the game, offering
HD (high definition) video and more from
analogue systems. And even more importantly, you can use them on your existing
analogue infrastructure so they say.
According to the companies involved,
depending on which version one chooses,
HD analogue can deliver higher definition
video over the same infrastructure with a
few changes but still keeping it analogue
with no latency and at a lower cost. This
makes it easier to manage and install as the
technical trickery of IP systems is avoided. In
many installations, especially smaller ones,
HD analogue systems are not only retaining
existing clients, but gaining new converts
who would otherwise have gone the IP route.
However, its not a simple decision to stay
with analogue. There are various HD standards in the analogue world and each want
to be the eventual winner. Hi-Tech Security
Solutions asked three of the leading players to tell us about their HD offerings in the
analogue world, what their standard offers
customers and how they see it developing
in future.
Rebooting analogue
Frank Zhang, product manager for Hikvisions
backend devices explains that the Chinese
surveillance giant provides its Turbo HD
products built on the HDTVI standard.
Compared with other HD analogue standards, HDTVI excels in ultra-high signal
bandwidth, which results in more saturated
colour and brightness, and makes the images
more clear. Hikvision will soon introduce an
upgraded Turbo HD solution (Turbo HD 3.0),
with product models providing up to 5 MP
resolution (2592x1944).
Another Chinese company steaming
42
ahead in the surveillance world is Dahua.

It has developed the HDCVI standard.
According to the companys John Li, compared to other HD analogue standard, HDCVI
is better, firstly because it owns independent
intellectual property rights.
Secondly, Li says HDCVI has full compatibility with legacy and other systems. This
means HDCVI is penta-brid, which means it
is compatible with HDCVI / AHD / TVI / IP /
CVBS. The whole HDCVI family is also compatible with both older and new versions of
its products.
In addition, Li says HDCVI features
higher resolution and longer transmission
distances, and not only provides 720p and
1080p resolutions, but 4 megapixel and 4K
(8 megapixel) as well. As for the transmission
distance, HDCVI supports up to 1 200 m over
coaxial cable and 450 m over UTP.
The company also boasts that HDCVI supports multi-signal transmission in one coaxial
cable. In other words: video, audio, data and
power.
Its worth noting that Zhang says the
Turbo HD solution offers seamless compatibility with various third-party HDTVI compliant cameras and DVRs. Turbo HD 3.0 will also
support AHD compliant products.
The third standard to consider is AHD
(analogue high definition). Developed by
Nextchip, it is promoted in South Africa by
Hitek Security. Tomer Elhadad, CEO of Hitek,
says AHD offers a few advantages of its own.
The first is that these cameras support both
old analogue technology as well as AHD.
Moreover, the AHD DVR from Hitek supports
analogue, AHD as well as IP.
Elhadad adds that customers can develop
AHD systems using AHD devices from the
Provision range, which Hitek sells, or any
other brand. This is the same as people were
used to with traditional analogue systems.
Unlike other standards, you are not limited
to buying all your product from the same

manufacturer.
In terms of resolution, AHD already supports up to 2 MP, with 3 MP and 4 MP solutions
in the pipeline.
Something old, something new

One of the alleged benefits of HD analogue
systems is that users can make use of their
existing infrastructure, which means you save
on cabling. Elhadad says upgrading to AHD
is as simple as changing cameras and DVR
units, and you set to go.
Hikvision is the same. Zhang explains that
customers only need to replace the front-end
cameras and backend DVRs, again without
the trouble of re-cabling. Whats more, the
Hikvision Turbo HD 3.0 supports up to 1 200 m
transmission distances.
Dahua, again, echoes the others.
Customers can seamlessly upgrade from SD
analogue to an HDCVI system, the only thing
they need to do is to replace the analogue
cameras and DVRs with HDCVI versions. No
cabling needs to be changed.
According to Li, HDCVI has more than 10
million supporters from 150 countries, and
over 200 global partners have joined the
Dahua HDCVI Academy, aiming to accelerate
HD development. The company believes that,
although the current HD analogue market is
shared by CVI, AHD and TVI, it is an inevitable
trend that all standards will converge, as convergence is a real and important customer
requirement.
However, Elhadad says last years export
figures from China show that AHD is leading the pack by a significant margin when it
comes to analogue HD sales.
Analytics on analogue
In todays IP surveillance world, one of the
benefits of higher resolution images is the
ability to add value to the installation with
HIGH DEFINITION ANALOGUE
video analytics. Fortunately, the same is possible with HD analogue.

Dahua provides video management
software, the Smart PSS for PCs and DMSS for
mobile devices that support analytics. HDCVI
technology supports various intelligent functions including motion detection, tripwires,
left object detection, facial recognition,
people counting, heat maps etc.
Elhadad adds that any video analytic
software already available in the market will
be able to make use of AHD video footage.
Hitek also offers CMS software that allows you
to manage all your Provision ISR devices under
one platform.
Hikvision provides its own video management software with Turbo HD analogue solutions. This includes the current iVMS-4200 VMS
and iVMS-5200 Professional VMS. Video analytics is available on these platforms, including
motion detection, intrusion detection, linecrossing detection, alarm management video
quality detection and more smart features.
The bottom line

We naturally expect the vendors to promote
their own products and promise awesome
results for those who implement them, but
when dealing with HD analogue, what are the
real cost advantages a company would experience? After all, when buying new cameras and
DVRs, you are committing significant funds to
the project.
Zhang explains that the advantages of HD
analogue over IP systems are mainly in cost-savings and their real-time capability (non-latency
transmission). In terms of upgrading from SD
analogue to HD analogue, users will benefit
from:
No need for re-cabling, which reduces installation costs,
HD analogue devices are more cost-effective,
and
More flexible in restructuring, you dont have
to do all the restructuring at one time.
In terms of the installation of new HD
analogue systems, users will benefit from:

HD analogue devices are more cost-effective
and costs less to install,
Easy to install, easy to use,
Low demands on the installers technical skills,
Low maintenance cost, and
No need for switches or hubs for bridging,
which also reduces the overall costs.
When comparing the cost to an IP solution,
Elhadad says, I can say that the cost of AHD is
similar to standard analogue systems and an IP
system will still be in the range of two or three
times more expensive.
Li says that even if a customer has an SD
analogue system, simply replacing all the
cabling costs a lot. For most mid-sized or
large surveillance systems, such as buildings
or public facilities, it is unrealistic to change
the cabling. Furthermore, the cameras and
HCVRs in an HDCVI system are remarkably
less expensive than IP cameras and NVRs of
similar performance.
From the above, it seems clear that analogue is fighting back, not only to retain its
market share, but to grow it with the introduction of HD solutions that can compete
with most of the IP systems being installed
today. Over time, it is probably a good bet
that the competition between CVI, TVI and
AHD will see the manufacturers releasing
higher definition capabilities and longer
transmission lengths to support their zerolatency systems. Who will win in the end
remains to be seen, but it seems as if customers can once again include analogue in their
long-term plans.
For more information, contact Dahua,
+86-571-87688883, overseas@dahuatech.
com, www.dahuasecurity.com.
Hikvision South Africa, +27 (0)10 035 1172,
support.africa@hikvision.com,
www.hikvision.com.
HiTek Security Distributors, +27 (0)21 946
3344, sales@hiteksecurity.net,
www.hiteksecurity.net
4K analogue video
Analogue CCTV users can now enjoy
5 MP HDTVI and 4K video resolution
while safeguarding their investment
with existing cabling infrastructure.
Hikvision is launching its third-generation analogue HD solution, Turbo HD
3.0, which also supports latency-free
1080p HD video up to 800m and 720p
transmission up to 1 200 m over coaxial
cable.
Turbo HD 3.0 uses HDTVI technology, eliminating compatibility issues
whenever you have to mix old technology with new products, and making
installation simple and cost-effective.
Hikvisions high-calibre H.264+ compression technology improves encoding efficiency by up to 50% compared
to standard H.264, dramatically reducing bitrates while maintaining high
transmission quality without losing
forensic details.
Hikvisions Power-over-Coax (PoC)
feature simplifies installation, as one
coaxial cable carries both the video
signal and the power supply. This translates to reduced installation time, which
also translates to a reduction in both
installation and material costs. In addition, the Turbo HD 3.0 analogue solution supports UTC for remote set-up
and configuration and enables control
of the OSD menu and PTZ control via
coaxial cable, enabling faster camera
installation and easier management.
Turbo HD 3.0 is also compatible with
the majority of products from other
manufacturers.
Hikvision, +86-571-8700-6060,
wulin@hikvision.com,
www.hikvision.com
43
VIDEO ANALYTICS
Automated analytics with iSentry

By Andrew Seldon.
Automation makes its way to video management systems.

There are many respected video analytics
systems on the market for surveillance users
to choose from, some developed right here in
South Africa. The critical component in all of
these systems is the ability to analyse video
footage and initiate an action or response
when a suspicious activity is noted.
One of the systems is iSentry from ISDS,
although it has its roots in Australia where it
was developed by Sentient Vision Systems.
What makes iSentry different from other
analytical systems is that instead of preprogrammed algorithms that determine if
something in front of a camera is of interest,
iSentry is designed to be self-learning.
As noted, iSentry originated in Australia
before being brought to South African ISDS
in 2008 and jointly developed thereafter. The
original idea for the system was to provide
visual input to machines in order to give them
a form of awareness without requiring human
input. The company then moved into other
areas where the same technology could be
used effectively, namely surveillance.
One of its first customers was the
Australian Roads Agency, where the organisation wanted to be informed of road incidents
in real time. This was the beginning of the
solution now known as iSentry.
Callum Wilson, MD of ISDS explains that
in the road agency scenario, the organisation needed to catch any anomalies in the
traffic, whether an automobile accident or
something involving a pedestrian. This is a
critical environment and missing something
is never acceptable. It also means that the
44
management system needs to be able to

detect expected problems as well as those
that have not been specifically programmed.
iSentry beat out its competitors in this scenario because its analytics are not rules-based.
This means it can teach itself what qualifies as
normal, and highlight any anomalies irrespective of whether they have been seen before.
In the Australian Roads Agency project, the
system was the only one that detected that
an aeroplane making an emergency landing
on the highway was an anomaly. The other
systems accepted the plane landing because
it was landing in the direction traffic was supposed to be going and the pilot was able to
avoid causing an accident. iSentry was able to
ascertain that this large object coming out of
the sky, even though it was obeying the rules,
was out of place.
Wilson explains that the system does not
grade events, but rather learns what is normal
and highlights abnormalities. Parameters are
set during installation, thereafter the system
builds its own intelligent decision making processes. Currently, iSentry handles behavioural
analysis, object detection, moving target
detection at land and sea, and ground change
detection, among others. Wilson says it is very
effective in wide outdoor environments, even
in adverse weather conditions.
Independent learning
When using surveillance systems to monitor
fluid and busy high-risk environments, using
a rule-based system is difficult. If something
happens that falls out of the set parameters,
no alert is given when an operator should

receive one. iSentry avoids this by learning
what is normal and then alerting operators
when anything falls outside of this norm
regardless of whether the event is in fact a
critical scenario or not.
Wilson says there is no human interference in the learning process and no prior
learning is required. The system really analyses the situation itself and applies hierarchical artificial intelligence to determine what
is normal and whats not. It analyses the
scene from a pixel level and decides what
belongs there, what moves, what doesnt
move and in which way they move. It then
marks anything outside of the paradigm it
creates as unusual.
As an example, Wilson says that setting
the system up to monitor a busy road and
leaving it for 48 hours will see iSentry learn
enough to cut out 95% of the traffic on the
road.
The key, according to Wilson, is to never
miss an alert, but to make the whole surveillance process more manageable. Instead of
having operators watching a host of screens,
the system allows them to ignore 95% of the
footage and focus on the 5% it determines
is unusual. And as operators dismiss some of
the 5%, the system continues learning and
reducing the number of alerts it provides.
Its also worth noting that the alerts
are delivered on live video, not recordings.
However, when something of interest is
raised, the system allows operators to drill
down into historic footage if required.
VIDEO ANALYTICS
Camera choices
As with all management platforms today, iSentry
branched out from analogue cameras into the
IP world and initially connected to a variety of
cameras via the software interfaces provided by
the manufacturers. This, however, proved less
than optimal as code had to be developed for
every camera supported, and then updated when
the firmware on the camera was updated a
never-ending task.
The Australian developers then decided to
take the raw RSTP (Real Time Streaming Protocol)
video stream and analyse that. After some work,
the software works effectively and iSentry is now
effectively hardware agnostic. For remote monitoring applications, ISDS has also developed its
own compression algorithm to limit bandwidth
usage. The proprietary streaming protocol also
adjusts to the available bandwidth to ensure the
images get through to the control room.
The hardware agnosticism also applies to the
systems iSentry is run on. It can make use of commercially available IT platforms if required. ISDS,
however, also provides a full solution to support
its clients and resellers.
The applications interface is designed to be
easy to learn and use, while being intuitive. When
an alert is raised, it remains on the screen until
the operator dismisses it, ensuring someone
takes action and is accountable. It also keeps a

timeline of the events of the day (or however
long the company requires), allowing supervisors
to quickly move through historical footage and
alerts.
The different situations operators may face
can also be organised and handled by means of
standard operating procedures (SOPs), which will
ensure operators take the correct actions every
time.
Making the case for CSS Tactical

CSS is a security service provider that started
operations about eight years ago in the Illovo
area. The suburb was using traditional armed
response services and finding it ineffective. CSS
decided to take a different approach to guarding the suburb with tactical vehicles and better
trained personnel.
Even with the improved equipment and
people, guards cant be everywhere all the time.
The company therefore decided to combine
people and technology and install cameras (with
the residents approval) to enable it to conduct
live surveillance 24x7. CSS also realised that
having people staring at a bunch of screens
would not be an effective solution and needed
a software solution that would filter out the irrelevant data and alert its operators to anomalies.
CSS chose iSentry and now sees about

97% of the video surveillance footage ignored
by the software, with anything unusual, such
as a prowling car late at night, brought to the
attention of operators who can then dispatch
a unit to investigate. The fact that iSentry
keeps an audit trail of everything the operators do, provides CSS with an additional guard
that watches the operators to ensure they are
not compromised.
CSS has since taken this approach into
other areas, such as Dunkeld, where it has
seen contact crime decrease from one per
week at the start of the contract to one every
four months, proving the effectiveness of its
approach. Using iSentry provides operators
with increased situational awareness, which
allows them to make optimal use of their
human resources on the ground and see to it
that the armed response teams arrive before
the criminals can act.
More information is available on
YouTube at: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=iu23WQra8to and www.youtube.
com/watch?v=yjnQmFP9TGQ.
For more information contact ISDS,
+27 (0)11 326 4571, carrie@isds.co.za,
www.isds.co.za
45
VIDEO ANALYTICS
Counting people in retail

By Andrew Seldon.
People counting is becoming an important component of retail management.

Mobeni Integrated Systems has a long history
of providing security at South Africas main
airports where it has a significant rollout of
surveillance cameras, services and management software. The company recently made
the decision to expand its scope of operations
into the retail space.
Krish Deokali, managing director of
Mobeni, says the decision to enter the retail
market came as a result of the company
deciding to expand its services. Not only is the
retail market one where security is a primary
concern, but it is similar to airports in that
there is a constant flow of people into, out of
and around the location.
As an experienced service provider,
Mobeni has the ability to service these environments with surveillance solutions, but is
also able to add additional functionality to the
security installation. In the retail environment,
this means being able to assist shop and mall
managers with accurate people counting
software. The software used is a mixture of
international analytical software that has been
tailored by Mobeni to local conditions.
Foot count technology provides retailers
with accurate information on the number of
people entering and exiting their location at
any time of the day. It can also highlight which
entrances and exits are most used, allowing
them to tailor rental agreements to the location
of a store as well as inform the security operator
where, for example, they need to place more
guards to handle more visitors.
The benefit of the setup Mobeni offers is that
the same cameras used for security can be used
for people counting as long as the cameras
have been positioned correctly and deliver the
required quality images. If required, the software
can also determine the number of adults and
children, which are counted separately, as well
as other categorisations such as distinguishing
between customers and trolleys. For individual
stores, the information can inform them of what
specials or advertising to place within or outside
their stores on particular days, or at specific
times of the day to attract walk-by customers.
The footfall software can also divide malls
into zones and track the movement of people
as they move through the malls on heat maps,
showing dwell times in specific locations, again
providing more insight as to where is a prime
position for particular stores.
46
Krish Deokali, managing director of Mobeni.

The information can also be used as a
cost saving mechanism when used with a
building management system. When there
are lower numbers of people in a mall, for
example, the management may decide to
reduce the number of escalators or elevators in use, saving on electricity charges
and allowing maintenance to be done with
the least impact on shoppers. Similarly,
during peak hours, the management can
ensure that its escalators are all operational.
Integration into a building or a risk safety
management system will alert the mall or
facility operators of overcrowding in specific
zones to ensure safety standards can be
met.
The same applies to heating and air
conditioning systems. These can be adjusted
according to the number of people present,
as well as adjusted in different zones to meet
the needs of visitors and employees.
Deokali adds that the software used has a
multi-tenant capability, which allows centre
management to obtain an overall view of the
whole area under surveillance, but it can also
provide individual stores with data pertinent
to its business including in-store heat maps.
As an example, he explains the system can
collect point-of-sale information, whether
manually or automatically if the POS systems
are integrated, giving store management an
accurate view of the value per square metre
of its shop space and various other KPIs can
be automatically calculated, such as average sales per customer, service ratio, daily
turnover compared to foot traffic etc.
Trends can also be analysed once the

system has enough historical data on board.
This will allow centres and individual stores
to predict foot count on specific days such
as the day before Christmas and ensure
they are prepared for an influx of people.
The information can be analysed for a
particular store, or nationally for a number
of stores in a chain, permitting the chains
owners to accurately determine the value
and ranking of all its stores nationwide. A
real-time dashboard also allows management to gain a current view on their stores
or centres and plan accordingly. Reports can
also be generated automatically and sent to
the relevant people.
The software is web driven, making
it easy to use and easily accessible. In
addition, Mobeni offers the solution as a
hosted offering, meaning retailers need
not concern themselves with IT problems,
but can simply use the software to run
their businesses optimally. Deokali adds
that centres requiring a local server will be
accommodated, but it makes more sense
to opt for a cloud solution when you have
numerous stores across the country and
dont want to have the technical and maintenance hassles of having a server installed
in each one.
The next version includes Wi-Fi tracking
that will allow the software to track customers routes and measure service times. In
addition, a unique feature that will incorporate weather data will give a more meaningful understanding of trends and customer
behaviour.
While Mobeni can make use of existing cameras for the analytics operations,
Deokali says the company recommends
their range of 3D cameras and sensors as it
delivers over 96% accuracy when it comes to
people counting and the analytics is done
on the camera, saving bandwidth and computing resources. The cameras also include
onboard foot count data storage for up to
60 days, thus eliminating data gaps in case
of a network or service provider failure.
Krish Deokali, Mobeni Integrated Systems,
+27 (0)11 396 2616, krish.d@mobeniis.co.za,
www.mobeniis.co.za
LOGISTICS
Logistics security with 4K

By Laurence Smith, executive, Graphic Image Technologies.
Dont let your merchandise out of your sight, even when its left the warehouse.
Until recently, warehouses were seen as a
separate entity in the overall supply chain,
merely a repository for merchandise storage
before it was moved onto its final destination. Now retailers and other businesses have
realised that by integrating the warehouse
and freight transport into the greater supply
chain, they can reap the benefits of enhanced
inventory management, better loss prevention and shrinkage protection.
When it comes to transporting merchandise between warehouse and retail
destinations, merely tracking the movement
of trucks is no longer enough, and companies are having to rely on armed escorts
and the implementation of smarter security
technology to get their freight to its destination. Despite additional security measures,
there are still syndicates that outsmart these
technologies and additional measures while
in transit. In addition to merchandise being
at risk during transport, these goods are also
vulnerable in the warehouses while waiting
for collection.
Inside and outside the warehouse

The main risks in warehousing and freight
transport are theft, loss and mishandled
goods. However, the transportation of goods
continues to be one of the most critical areas
of vulnerability. While systems can be placed
both in the vehicle and the warehouse exit
and entry points, their effectiveness depends
on the implementation and strict controlling measures to ensure the integrity of the
system.
Inside the warehouse environment
security can be enhanced through the use of
Ultra-High Definition (UHD or 4K) IP cameras,
which offer better resolution and more detail.
Because of the high resolution of these 4K
cameras, fewer of them are required to monitor a larger area, which means fewer cameras
to manage, fewer network points and less of a
drain on bandwidth and storage.
This is largely due to the fact that these
cameras are capable of adaptive video streaming, which allows for recording of the video at
4K resolution, but allows for viewing at resolutions that meet the viewers requirements.
These cameras have even evolved to the point
where its now possible to use them for visual
monitoring and verification of merchandise.
For example, in a warehouse where goods

are picked from the shelves and placed in a
cage ready for transport collection, by using a
4K camera, an operator can visually ascertain
whether the correct number of crates or boxes
were loaded from the warehouse.
Eyes on the goods

Using these 4K cameras and the associated
video recorder management applications it
is possible to monitor the merchandise all
the way from the warehouse, until it reaches
its end destination. Each situation is different but, for example, by utilising closed
body trucks the freight is not as exposed to
the risk of theft. A closed body truck can be
monitored, using a mobile DVR and cameras
which can monitor what is going on inside
the truck, as well as provide visual verification
that the correct goods were loaded into and
off the truck.
Such a mobile video recording and transmission system also ensures that the load is
secure during its journey as an alarm is sent
to the control centre with video verification
in the event that the load bay door is opened.
Once the goods have reached their destination, footage from the mobile DVRs cameras
could be used to conduct an external visual
inspection to make sure that the load doors
are still sealed (this verifies integrity of load).
A main gate interlocking system could
also be implemented here whereby access is

given to the control centre operator (not the
guard at the gate) and the driver, vehicle and
guard would be recorded as they enter and
exit the premises. While this can be time consuming, it enables the goods to be tracked
along every metre of the journey with visual
verification of any intrusion or collusion
between parties.
Where bandwidth availability is an issue,
the same technology that is used for cashin-transit vans could also have application in
freight transport. Such a system is effective in
its simplicity as it enables remote monitoring
of the vehicle making use of GSM networks
with bandwidth requirements as low as
8 Kbps. Using cellular and wireless technology, live video is streamed (and recorded)
from vehicles to a remote control centre.
Despite the fact that warehouse and
freight security has long been overlooked, its
undeniably important to focus more attention on the integrity of the supply chain at
this point. By securing the goods in transport
and storage in a simple, visual way, retailers
will be able to see the positive impact on
security, in the elimination of theft, loss and
damage of valuable goods.
For more information contact Graphic Image
Technologies, +27 (0)11 483 0333,
laurence@git.co.za, www.git.co.za
47
IP
Axis Communications
Category: IP
Supplier: Axis Communications
Brand: Axis Communications
Camera name: P1364
Maximum resolution: 1280x960 @ 25 fps
Software provided with camera: Axis Camera Companion
On-board storage: 64 GB
Onboard intelligence: Video motion detection, active tampering alarm, audio detection.
Support for Axis Camera Application Platform and third-party applications.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: This network camera has outstanding light sensitivity and delivers HDTV 720p video at 50/60
frames per second in H.264 and Motion JPEG. The day/night camera features a P-Iris lens for optimal
image clarity, in addition to digital PTZ and multi-view streaming.
Variations in range available not already detailed above: The camera offers a varifocal F1.2, 2.88.5 mm, P-Iris, IR-corrected and
CS-mount lens. Axis Zipstream technology greatly reduces bandwidth and storage requirements. Supporting WDR Forensic Capture,
video is highly optimised for forensic purposes and provides extreme levels of detail even in very complex light conditions.
P1364 includes the ability to seamlessly transition between WDR and Lightfinder modes.
Contact: Vanessa Tyne, vanessa.tyne@axis.com, +27 (0)11 548 6780
IP
Bosch
Category: IP
Supplier: Bosch Security Systems
Brand: Bosch
Camera: Autodome IP 5000 IR
Maximum resolution: 1080p @ 25/30 ips
Software provided with camera: Onboard web interface
Onboard intelligence: Motion+, iDNR (Intelligent Noise Reduction), WDR,
Intelligent defog, Privacy masking
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: The Autodome IP 5000 IR delivers the highest image clarity in extreme low light situations or even in
complete darkness. The built-in intelligent IR beam ensures optimum illumination of objects regardless of the level
of zoom. Easily identify objects at 190 metres during the day and 150 metres at night or in low lighting conditions.
Variations in range available: NEZ-5130-IRCW4: 30x, 720p30 HD camera with outdoor pendant housing and sun
shield. NEZ-5230-IRCW4: 30x, 1080p30 HD camera with outdoor pendant housing and sun shield.
Contact: Jason McGregor, jason.mcgregor@za.bosch.com, +27 (0)11 651 9809
IP
Bosch
48
Category: IP
Supplier: Bosch Security Systems
Brand: Bosch
Camera name: Dinion IP bullet 5000 HD
Maximum resolution: 1080p @ 30 ips
Software provided with camera: Onboard web interface for configuration and testing
Onboard intelligence: Motion+
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: The 1080p bullet from Bosch is a professional surveillance camera that provides high quality HD images for demanding
security and surveillance network requirements. This robust bullet camera is a true day/night camera offering excellent performance
day or night. The built-in infrared LEDs provides quality night time monitoring with 30 metres viewing distance in darkness.
Variations in range available: Dinion IP bullet 4000 HD which is a 720p resolution bullet camera that also allows for 30 metres
viewing distances in darkness and has the same onboard intelligence.
Contact: Jason McGregor, jason.mcgregor@za.bosch.com, +27 (0)11 651 9809
IP
Canon
Category: IP
Supplier: Canon
Brand: Canon
Camera name: VB-M741LE
Maximum resolution: 1280x960 @ 30fps
Onboard intelligence: Camera tampering, moving/abandoned/removed
object, passing, intrusion, volume and scream detection.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: Ideal for use in extremely cold and hazardous outdoor
areas, these 1.3 MP bullet cameras offer built-in IR LED and ultra wide
113.4 degree angle of view for high quality imaging day or night.
Perfect for the following markets: government, power plant,
railway, military, casino, airport and border.
Contact: Braam Steyn, +27 (0)11 675 4910, braam.steyn@canon.co.za
IP
Canon
Category: IP
Supplier: Canon
Brand: Canon
Camera name: VB-R11VE
Onboard intelligence: Auto tracking, camera tampering, moving/abandoned/
removed object, passing, intrusion, volume and scream detection.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: Ideal for demanding outdoor applications, these 1.3 MP continuous
360 degree PTZ cameras with 30x zoom offer fast and accurate monitoring and
excellent tracking in both low light and harsh environmental conditions. Perfect
for the following markets: government, power plant, railway, military, casino,
airport and border.
IP
Canon
Category: IP
Supplier: Canon
Brand: Canon
Camera name: VB-M50B
Onboard intelligence: Camera tampering, moving object, abandoned object, removed
object, passing, intrusion, volume and scream detection.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: This lightweight 1.3 MP PTZ camera boasts a large aperture Canon
telephoto lens and a highly sensitive CMOS sensor that delivers exceptional detail in
low-light conditions. Compact and innovative PTZ camera with the ultra-low-light
performance required in intelligence and evidence-gathering applications.
49
IP
C-Video Concepts
Category: IP
Supplier: C-Video Concepts
Brand: inMotion
Camera name: in6100S12 TigerShark2
Software provided with camera: Admin and management tools
On-board storage: Dual MicroSD card slot - max. 32 GB
Onboard intelligence: Motion detection, zone detection, other analytic features optional.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: High-end TrueWDR (140 dB) outdoor vandal (IK10) IR dome with motorised lens control.
The TigerShark2 engine provides optimal pictures in any given light situation, and 60 fps capture allows crisp
images of fast moving objects. Full featured with 12 V/ 24 V/ PoE, 2-way audio, alarm and dual MicroSD Slot.
Sun cover is standard.
Variations in range available: Optional lens: 7 - 22 mm motor control TDN lens.
Optional version: NightTiger (Super LowLight with WDR).
Contact: Clint Holloway, clint@cvideoconcepts.co.za, +27 (0)31 309 1048
IP
C-Video Concepts
Category: IP
Supplier: C-Video Concepts
Brand: inMotion
Camera name: in7100S20
Software provided with camera: Admin and management tools
On-board storage: 32 GB MicroSD card
Onboard intelligence: Motion detection, zone detection, more analytic features optional.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: The high-end outdoor IR bullet camera in7100 series offers 60 metres of IR range and is powered by the new NightTiger Super
LowLight WDR engine. which provides colour at night and full dynamic range in the sun. The motorised lens control allows easy setup while the
POE adapter provides for easy connection.
Variations in range available: in7100 with TigerShark2 engine (TrueWDR 140 dB), -in7100 with TigerShark2 engine and 6 22 mm lens with
100 metre IR range.
Contact: Clint Holloway, clint@cvideoconcepts.co.za, +27 (0)31 309 1048
IP
Card Control Systems
50
Category: IP
Supplier: Card Control Systems
Brand: Hikvision
Camera name: DS-2DF8223I-AEL
Maximum resolution: 1920x1080 60 Hz @ 30 fps
Software provided with camera: SADP Discovery and IVMS-4200
On-board storage: Supports up to 128 GB Micro SD/SDHC/SDXC card.
Onboard intelligence: Intrusion trigger, line crossing, face detection, region entrance,
motion detection, region exiting trigger, smart tracking when patrolling between multiple scenarios.
ONVIF / PSIA: Both ONVIF and PSIA
Description: Hikvisions Darkfighter series smart PTZ dome cameras are able to capture high quality
coloured images in dim light environments with cutting-edge low illumination level down to 0.002 Lux (colour).
An embedded 1/1.9 progressive scan CMOS chip makes true WDR (120 dB) and 2 MP real-time resolution possible.
With the 23x optical zoom day/night lens, the camera captures more details over expansive areas.
Variations in range available: 24 V AC and Hi-PoE, various mounting modes
Contact: Sakkie Coetzee, sakkie@cardcon.co.za, +27 (0)11 907 3192
IP
Dallmeier Electronic
Category: IP
Supplier: Dallmeier Electronic
Brand: Dallmeier Electronic
Camera name: DF5200HD-DN Nightline Series
Maximum resolution: 2 MP Full HD (1080p)
Software provided with camera: Free SMAVIA Viewing Client: VideoIP client software for the
independent and convenient operation and live display. Support of the evaluation of recordings
on SMAVIA Recording Server appliances over LAN/WAN.
On-board storage: EdgeStorage in case of network failure (32 GB SD card, not included)
Onboard intelligence: Digital or mechanical (ICR) day/night switching, automatic ALC/AGC/AWB,
3D noise reduction, SmartFinder.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: The cameras of the DF5200HD Nightline series have been developed with special attention to changing light conditions for
24-hour video surveillance. The combination of the most advanced sensor and encoder technology results in recordings with excellent
contrast, brilliant clarity and highest detail resolution and colour fidelity, even in low light conditions.
Variations in range available: Variants with box, in-ceiling, surface mount housing. Variants with F1.6 / 4,510 mm lens.
Variants with F1.6 / 1240 mm lens.
Contact: dallmeiersa@dallmeier.com, +27 (0)11 510 0505
IP
Hikvision
Category: IP
Supplier: Hikvision
Brand: Hikvision
Camera name: DS-2CD4A24FWD-IZ
Maximum resolution: 1920x1080
Onboard intelligence: Motion detection, line crossing detection,
intrusion detection, audio exception detection, object removal detection,
scene change detection.
Description: The DS-2CD4A24FWD-IZ(H)(S) (B) smart cameras are able to capture high quality colour images in back
light environment. They offer Full HD resolution with up to 60 fps frame rate, 120 dB WDR, PoE, defog, 3D DNR and
complete smart feature-set to meet a wide variety of applications.
Specially designed for securing perimeters.
Contact: Hongda Xu, xuhongda3@hikvision.com, +27 (0)10 035 1172
Hikvision
IP
Category: IP
Supplier: Hikvision
Brand: Hikvision
Camera name: DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZHS
Onboard intelligence: Licence plate recognition, motion detection, line crossing
detection, intrusion detection, audio exception detection, object removal detection,
scene change detection.
Description: Darkfighter series ultra-low light smart cameras are able to capture high quality colour images in
dim light environments. They offer Full HD resolution with up to 60 fps high frame rate, 120 dB WDR, PoE, defog,
3D DNR and complete smart feature-set to meet a wide variety of applications. Specially designed for automatic
number plate recognition for South African customers.
Contact: Hongda Xu, xuhongda3@hikvision.com, +27 (0)10 035 1172
51
IP
HiTek Security Distributors

Category: IP
Supplier: HiTek Security Distributors
Brand: Provision ISR
Camera name: I4-251IP5VF
Onboard intelligence: Digital WDR, 3D DNR, motion detection, privacy masking
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: Newest to our IP family is the Dark-Sight series. Offering 5 MP real-time
resolution, 48 IR LEDs (40 m IR), 3.310.5 mm vari-focal lens and a 1/1.8 Sony
CMOS sensor. Enhancements include H.265 4 K compression allowing for less
network latency, 50% higher compression efficiency, 50% less HDD storage
and 50% bandwidth usage.
Variations in range available: Other products in this range include a vandal-proof dome.
Contact: Priscilla Gildea, priscilla@hiteksecurity.net, +27 (0)21 946 3344
IP
MiRO/Rectron
Category: IP
Supplier: MiRO/Rectron
Brand: VIVOTEK
Camera name: H.265 series IP cameras
Software provided with camera: All VIVOTEK cameras are seamlessly
integrated with its professional video / central management
software (VAST).
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: VIVOTEKs new H.265 surveillance solutions include a series of 2 and 5 MP
network cameras, NVRs and professional VMS. To maximise bandwidth and storage efficiency,
Smart Stream II achieves greater cost-effectiveness. Combining this with H.265 technology, users will
benefit from reduced bandwidth and data storage demands by up to 80% over H.264.
Contact: Jackie Wu, jackie.wu@vivotek.com, +886 (8245) 5282
MiRO/Rectron
IP
Category: IP
Supplier: MiRO/Rectron
Brand: VIVOTEK
Camera name: IB9381-HT
Software provided with camera: VIVOTEKs network cameras are seamlessly integrated
52
with its professional VMS-VAST.

ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: This brand new, professional H.265 high-efficiency outdoor bullet network camera
offers 30 fps @ 5 MP or 60 fps @ 1080p with outstanding image quality. Combining both H.265 and
Smart Stream II, the IB9381-HT can reduce bandwidth and storage consumption by up to 80% while
retaining exceptional 5 MP image quality.
Variations in range available: WDR Pro for unparalleled visibility in high contrast environments, remote focus for easy
focus adjustments, weatherproof IP66-rated and vandal-proof IK10-rated metal housing, SNV (Supreme Night Visibility)
for low light conditions, video rotation for corridor view.
Contact: Jackie Wu, jackie.wu@vivotek.com, +886 (8245) 5282
IP
MiRO
Category: IP
Supplier: MiRO
Brand: VIVOTEK
Camera name: H.265 Anti-Grip 3 MP Fisheye Network Camera - CC8370-HV
Maximum resolution: 30 fps @ 2048x1536
Software provided with camera: VIVOTEK VAST 32-CH software
Onboard intelligence: Five-window video motion detection
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: A vandal-proof fisheye network camera with a unique anti-grip design and
inconspicuous appearance which makes it ideal for high security institutions/facilities.
Featuring 180 horizontal panoramic views with adjustable 25 tilt angle, the camera
allows for an amazing range of viewing angles and options.
Contact: MiRO Sales, sales@miro.co.za, +27 (0)12 657 0960
IP
MiRO
Category: IP
Supplier: MiRO
Brand: Uniview
Camera name: UN-IPC3234SR3-DVZ28
Software provided with camera: EZStation video management suite with live
viewing/recording, device management and alarm display. EZTools to find Uniview
devices, remotely manage upgrades, installations, storage and recording time.
Onboard intelligence: Video motion detection
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: A 4 MP vandal-resistant IR dome camera with a vari-focal motorised lens (2.8- 10 mm) that comes
with Smart IR range up to 30 m, corridor mode, H.265 compression technology and 120 dB Wide Dynamic Range (WDR)
for protection against glare. It also supports two-way audio, DC 12 V output and has an SD Card
slot for onboard storage.
IP
MiRO
Category: IP
Supplier: MiRO
Brand: VIVOTEK
Camera name: FD9171-HT
Software provided with camera: Installation Wizard 2 and VAST 32-CH software
Onboard intelligence: Five-window video motion detection, line crossing detection,
field detection, loitering detection.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: An H.265 high-efficiency indoor dome network camera, offering 30 fps @ 3 MP with outstanding
image quality. In addition, VIVOTEKs sophisticated Smart Stream II enables the camera to optimise resolution
for a desired object or area. The FD9171-HT also features a built-in PIR sensor to help detect any unexpected events
and to provide real-time responses.
53
IP
MiRO
Category: IP
Supplier: MiRO
Brand: VIVOTEK
Camera name: IB9371-HT/EHT
Onboard intelligence: Five-window video motion detection, line crossing detection,
field detection, loitering detection.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: An H.265 high-efficiency outdoor bullet network camera, offering 30 fps @ 3 MP with outstanding image quality.
The IB9371-HT is also equipped with WDR Pro and SNV, empowering users to enjoy superb image detail in any lighting condition.
Combining H.265 and Smart Stream II, bandwidth and storage consumption are reduced by up to 80%.
Variations in range available: The IB9371-EHT offers a wider operating temperature range that further enhances the
performance and reliability of the IB9371-EHT in both extremely cold and warm weather, even while using PoE.
IP
MiRO
Category: IP
Supplier: MiRO
Brand: Uniview
Camera name: UN-IPC2324EBR-DPZ28
Software provided with camera: EZStation video management suite with live
viewing/recording, device management and alarm display. EZTools to find
Uniview devices, remotely manage upgrades, installations, storage and recording time.
Onboard intelligence: Video motion detection
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: A 4 MP IR bullet camera with a varifocal motorised lens (2.8 - 10 mm) that comes with 3D Digital Noise
Reduction (DNR), Smart IR range of up to 30 m, corridor mode, H.265 compression technology and 120 dB Wide Dynamic
Range (WDR) for protection against glare. It supports two-way audio and has an SD Card slot for onboard storage.
IP
MiRO
54
Category: IP
Supplier: MiRO
Brand: VIVOTEK
Camera name: SD9364-EHL
Maximum resolution: 60 fps @ 1920x1080 in all-compression mode
Onboard intelligence: Five-window video motion detection and auto-tracking on moving object.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: The SD9364-EHL is equipped with high-performance H.265 compression
technology and offers 1080p Full HD resolution, IR illumination up to 150 m and,
by adopting a 30x optical zoom lens and purpose-designed VAIR (Vari-Angle IR)
for anti-glare, is able to capture fine details at top-notch quality, no matter
what time of day or night.
IP
Panasonic
Category: IP
Supplier: Panasonic
Brand: Panasonic
Camera name: WV-SPW631L
Software provided with camera: Free PSSCT tool to configure multiple
cameras IP addresses and settings.
On-board storage: Up to 256 GB with 2 x 128 SXDC SD memory card
Onboard intelligence: VMD such as intruder / loitering / scene change / object / cross line detection.
Face detection.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: All-in-one, easy installation design, 133 dB Wide Dynamic Range, 0.04 lx min. illumination in colour mode,
2.8 mm to 10 mm motorised zoom lens, built-in IR LED, electric dehumidification device, IP66 for outdoor use.
Variations in range available: 9 mm to 22 mm motorised zoom lens models, HD models,
and other variations available.
Contact: Martin Kruger, m.kruger@za.panasonic.com, +27 (0)11 312 7015
IP
Panasonic
Category: IP
Supplier: Panasonic
Brand: Panasonic
Camera name: WV-SFV481
Software provided with camera: Free PSSCT tool to configure multiple
cameras IP addresses and settings.
On-board storage: Up to 128 GB with 1x 128 SXDC SD memory card
Onboard intelligence: People count (line cross), heatmap, VMD such as
intruder / loitering / scene change / object / cross line detection.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: 9 MP fisheye camera, 0.04 lx (B/W) high sensitivity, auto back focus feature, IP66 and IK10 rated,
electric dehumidification device.
Variations in range available: 9 MP and 3 MP fisheye cameras for indoor and outdoor use
Contact: Martin Kruger, m.kruger@za.panasonic.com, +27 (0)11 312 7015
Reditron
IP
Category: IP
Supplier: Reditron
Brand: Dahua
Camera name: DH-IPC-HFW8281E-Z
Maximum resolution: 50/60 fps @ 1080p
Software provided with camera: Dahua Smart PSS remote software included.
Onboard intelligence: Tripwire, scene change detect, missing/abandoned
object detect, audio detect, defocus detect, face detect.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: 2 MP Starlight WDR is an ultra-smart network camera for general outdoor surveillance.
Variations in range available: 1/1.9 2 MP progressive scan CMOS, Ultra WDR up to 120 dB, audio input, POE,
intelligent function.
Contact: Lisa Bowles, sales@reditron.co.za, +27 (0)87 802 2288
55
IP
Regal Distributors
Category: IP
Supplier: Regal Distributors
Brand: Hikvision
Camera name: DS-2CD6812D(-W)
Software provided with camera: iVMS-4200 Client Software is a centralised video
management software using a distributed structure for surveillance device control and management.
Designed for management to multiple devices, including DVR, NVR and DVS to optimise playback,
live view, TV wall and E-map functionality.
Onboard intelligence: 3D digital noise reduction, backlight compensation (BLC), highlight compensation (HLC), line crossing, dual lens,
onboard audio, defog.
Description: The 1.3 MP CMOS stereo desktop camera offers Full HD resolution with 120 dB WDR, HLC, defog and 3D DNR to meet a wide
variety of applications. It supports dual lenses and dual channel video output, each channel exporting 960p@30 fps images simultaneously.
Dual stream is supported on each channel with high definition main stream and standard definition sub stream.
Variations in range available: - (W): Wi-Fi supported
Contact: Quintin van den Berg, hikvision@regalsecurity.co.za, +27 (0)11 553 3300
IP
Regal Distributors
Category: IP
Brand: Hikvision
Camera name: DS-2CD6986F-(H)(A)
Software provided with camera: iVMS-4200 Client Software is a centralised video management software using a
distributed structure for surveillance device control and management. Designed for management to multiple devices,
including DVR, NVR and DVS to optimise playback, live view, TV wall and E-map functionality.
Onboard intelligence: Region of interest, 3D digital noise reduction (DNR), backlight compensation (BLC), highlight compensation (HLC),
defog, line crossing.
Description: Hikvision 1/18 progressive scan CMOS, 7.3 MP, 180 degree multi-sensor panoramic Darkfighter dome camera. The Darkfighter
series ultra-low light smart cameras are able to capture high quality coloured images in dim light environments. The DS-2CD6986F offers
Full HD resolution with PoE, defog, 3D DNR to meet a wide variety of applications.
Variations in range available: - (H): -40C 60C, - (A): 24 V AC 10% / PoE (802.3at)
IP
Regal Distributors
56
Category: IP
Brand: Hikvision
Camera name: DS-2DY3220IW/3320IW-D/D4
Software provided with camera: iVMS-4200 Client Software is a centralised video
management software using a distributed structure for surveillance device control and management. Designed for
management to multiple devices, including DVR, NVR and DVS to optimise playback, live view, TV wall and E-map functionality.
Onboard intelligence: Region of interest, 3D digital noise reduction (DNR), backlight compensation (BLC), highlight compensation (HLC),
defog, line crossing, audio exception detection.
Description: These network IR PTZ cameras are able to capture high quality images in low light environments with their black anti-reflective
glass that increases the luminousness up to 120 m IR distance. An embedded 1/2.8 progressive scan CMOS chip makes WDR and 2 or 3 MP
real-time resolution possible. They have a 20X optical zoom day/night lens.
Variations in range available: -(D4): Pan: 360 endless, tilt: -40~30, -(D): Tilt: -40~-20, pan: 0~120 and 240~360
IP
Sensor Security Systems

Category: IP
Supplier: Sensor Security Systems
Brand: Hikvision
Camera name: IDS-2CD6412FWD/C
Maximum resolution: 1280x960 @ up to 30 fps real-time video
Software provided with camera: With Hikvisions built-in industry-leading traffic counter
algorithms, the iDS intelligence network camera adds significant workplace efficiency with its ability
to automatically count all people traffic statistics and chart which direction the people are walking in.
Onboard intelligence: Intrusion detection, line crossing detection, audio exception detection, defocus detection, motion detection,
face detection, dynamic analysis and network disconnect.
Description: Ideal for the retail market, this 1.3 MP intelligent network camera not only boasts people counting ability, but also
support for statistical traffic reports based on configurable time interval (day/week/month/year). Other camera specifications
are: 1/3-inch progressive scene CMOS sensor Supports 120 dB WDR Triple video streams Supports Smart Codec and
high bandwidth efficiency
Variations in range available: Cable length of lens: 2 and 8 metres
Contact: Marco Della Peruta, marco@sensorsecurity.co.za, +27 (0)11 314 9419
IP
Sunell Security
Category: IP
Supplier: Sunell Security
Brand: Sunell Security
Camera name: 3.0 MP Network IR High Speed Dome
Maximum resolution: 3 MP @ 25 fps
Software provided with camera: Free software IMS boasts features such as
auto search and add camera; and recording, playback and management.
Onboard intelligence: Motion, intrusion, line crossing, tamper,
network disconnect, disk alarm, I/O alarm.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: 1/2.8-inch progressive scan CMOS 12x optical zoom, 16x digital zoom
2048(H) 1536(V)/ 25 fps Multiple streams IR range 100 m Smart IR Low bitrate, excellent low light performance
3D DNR, dWDR, ICR, defog.
Variations in range available: Various dome models available from 720p to 3 MP
Contact: Sunell Security, sales@sunellsecurity.com, +86 (755) 2675 4336
UTC Fire and Security
IP
Category: IP
Supplier: UTC Fire and Security
Brand: TruVision
Camera name: TVW-1130
Software provided with camera: TruVision Navigator is powerful yet licence-free DVR/NVR
management software providing backward and forward compatibility that allows users to manage
the TruVision line of recorders as well as legacy recorders.
Onboard intelligence: Motion detection, tamper proofing, privacy mask, cross line detection, intrusion detection.
Description: This IP Megapixel Wi-Fi panoramic wedge camera offers high-definition images utilising panoramic technology to provide
up to 160 horizontal field-of-view. Adhering to PSIA and ONVIF open communication standards and supporting a CGI command set, it
allows for simple integration into any IP system. IK08 and IP66 impact and environmental ratings allow for use in outdoor installations.
Variations in range available: NTSC version
Contact: Randhir Seodutt, randhir.seodutt@fs.utc.com, +27 (0)11 579 7300
57
ANALOGUE
Crown Hyper World

Category: Analogue
Supplier: Crown Hyper World
Brand: Trend Tech
Camera name: TT-1139
Maximum resolution: 1.3 MP
ONVIF / PSIA: Not applicable
Description: This 1.3 MP AHD camera features a 3.6 mm lens and 24 LEDs.
Contact: Muhammed Gani, sales@crownhyperworld.co.za, +27 (0)11 830 1452
ANALOGUE
Dahua Technology
Category: Analogue
Supplier: Dahua Technology
Brand: Dahua Technology
Camera name: DH-HAC-HFW3231E-Z(H)
Maximum resolution: 1080p @ 25/30 fps
Description: 1/2.8 2.1 MP CMOS
25/30 fps @1080p, 25/30/50/60 fps @ 720p
high speed, long distance real-time transmission
HD and SD dual-output (SDI optional), SD tester out
OSD menu, control over coaxial cable
120 dB True WDR, day/night (ICR), AWB, AGC, BLC, 3DNR Audio, alarm, heater(optional)
2.7~12 mm motorised lens, auto iris
Max. IR LEDs length 100 m, Smart IR
IP67, IK10, AC 24 V/DC 12 V
Contact: Fritz Wang, overseas@dahuatech.com, +86 (571) 8768 8883
ANALOGUE
Elvey Security Technologies
58
Category: Analogue
Supplier: Elvey Security Technologies
Brand: VisionLine
Camera name: Fixed Lens IR Bullet AHD Camera
Onboard intelligence: Motion detection, Privacy masking
Description: 1/2.8 Sony Exmor CMOS sensor, AHD 1.0 MP/ 1.3 MP/ 2.0 MP optional,
HD megapixel 3.6 mm lens, 24 x 5 mm IR LEDs,
IR range of 20 m, OSD optional, Waterproof to IP66
Variations in range available: Mini indoor IR dome, Mini anti-vandal IR dome
Contact: info@elvey.co.za, +27 (0)11 401 6700
THERMAL
Axis Communications
Category: Thermal
Supplier: Axis Communications
Brand: Axis Communications
Camera name: Q1941-E
Maximum resolution: 384x288 thermal detection
Onboard intelligence: Video motion detection, audio detection, shock detection.
Support for Axis Camera Application Platform.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: An affordable outdoor, bullet style thermal camera with a built-in window
heater for harsh weather conditions. The network camera can optimise detection performance to meet most application
requirements, e.g. perimeter surveillance.
Variations in range available: A range of lens alternatives (7 mm, 13 mm, 19 mm, 35 mm and 60 mm) make it possible to optimise detection
performance to meet most requirements. It supports electronic image stabilisation that keeps the video smooth during vibrations, and Axis
Zipstream that lowers bandwidth and storage requirements.
Contact: Vanessa Tyne, vanessa.tyne@axis.com, +27 (0)11 548 6780
THERMAL
Dahua Technology
Category: Thermal
Supplier: Dahua Technology
Brand: Dahua Technology
Camera name: DH-TPC-PT8620-T
Maximum resolution: 1944 x 1092
Software provided with camera: IVS: Tripwire, intrusion, object detection (person and vehicle),
abandon detection, missing detection, hot resource detect and alarm.
Onboard intelligence: IVS: Tripwire, intrusion, object detection (person and vehicle), abandon detection,
missing detection, hot resource detect and alarm.
Description: 1/2.8 2 Megapixel progressive scan Exmor CMOS Max. 60 fps@720p and 30 fps@1080p resolution Powerful 40x optical
zoom 640x512 VOx uncooled thermal sensor technology A thermalised lens (thermal camera), focus-free Supports temperature measurement Max. 160/s pan speed, 360 endless pan rotation Up to 300 presets, 5 auto scan, 8 tour, 5 pattern Built-in 7/2 alarm in/out.
Variations in range available: Multiple network monitoring: Web viewer, CMS(DSS/PSS) and DMSS
H.264 and MJPEG dual-stream encoding IP66.
Contact: Fritz Wang, overseas@dahuatech.com, +86 (571) 8768 8883
THERMAL
Industrial Automation and Control

Category: Thermal
Supplier: Industrial Automation and Control
Brand: Mobotix
Camera name: MX-FlexMount S15 Thermal
Maximum resolution: 6 MP
Software provided with camera: MxManagementCenter: Professional VMS for Windows and Mac. Touchscreen drag&drop interface, 60-times
playback speed, event statistics, alarm management, multiview, smart-config, multi-monitor capability, event search.
Onboard intelligence: Decentralised in-camera intelligence, thermal radiometry, motion detection and analysis ignores interference and
irrelevant movements, external signals, temperature alarms, shock-detector.
Description: Advanced thermal, easy concealable dual lens video system (covers two separate areas) designed to reliably detect motion in images
at night, and detect moving objects during the day in shadows, semi-darkness, smoke or behind bushes. Measures thermal radiation of objects and
humans over long distances, even in complete darkness. Miniature size and flexible, allowing for user-specific installation. No lighting required.
Variations in range available: The dual thermographic solution can be used in three different ways: 1. As a single thermal system with 1 Thermal
lens, 2. In dual thermal operation with 2 thermal lenses, 3. Combined operation with 1 thermal lens and 1 day or night optical lens for clear
identification of people and objects (6 MP, 360 hemispheric).
Contact: Cliff Nel, sales@iacontrol.co.za, +27 (0)12 657 3600
59
SPECIALITY
Dallmeier Electronic
Category: Speciality
Supplier: Dallmeier Electronic
Brand: Dallmeier Electronic
Camera name: S7 50/14 Nightline
Maximum resolution: Effective resolution of 50 MP
Software provided with camera: Free SMAVIA Viewing Client: VideoIP client software for
the independent and convenient operation and live display of Panomera multi-focal
sensor systems. Support of the evaluation of Panomera recordings on SMAVIA Recording Server
appliances via LAN/WAN.
Onboard intelligence: Digital or mechanical (ICR) day/night switching, automatic ALC/AGC/AWB, 3D noise reduction,
object tracking, SmartFinder.
ONVIF / PSIA: ONVIF
Description: The multifocal sensor system Panomera is a patented camera technology developed for the surveillance of large-scale areas
from a single location, in real time and at high frame rates. The innovative lens and sensor concept offers a unique overall view. Regardless of
which area an operator concentrates on, the entire surveillance scene is simultaneously recorded at maximum detail resolution.
Variations in range available: Horizontal field of view: 14, Recognition distance above 125 px/m: 160 m,
Covered space above 125 px/m: 3230 square metres, Effective resolution: 50 MP.
Contact: dallmeiersa@dallmeier.com, +27 (0)11 510 0505
SPECIALITY
Jablotron
Category: Speciality
Supplier: Jablotron
Brand: Jablotron
Camera name: JA-120PC (bus wired); JA-160PC (wireless)
Software provided with camera: Communicates directly with JA100 control panels
On-board storage: 4 GB SD card
Onboard intelligence: N/A
Description: The JA-120/160PC is the wireless component of the Jablotron 100 system.
It serves for the detection of human movement in building interiors and visual
alarm confirmation.
Contact: Bruce Lang, bruce@jablotronsa.co.za, +27 (0)11 615 3675
ACCESSORY
ComNet
60
Category: Speciality/accessory
Supplier: ComNet
Brand: ComNet
Name: CNGE2+2SMS
Maximum resolution: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Onboard intelligence: Gigabit backbone, Redundant ring RSTP, No programming,
-40C to +75C operation.
Description: A plug & play, intelligent redundant ring Gigabit switch with PoE up to 60 W,
and one of the smallest 4-port Gigabit switches on the market. The new CNGE2+2 range allows the user to
build IP networks without complex configuration, simply via DIP switch for redundant ring or point-to-point topologies.
Variations in range available: 2 x 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45 PoE+ ports, 2 x 100/1000 Mbps SFP ports,
PoE watchdog and monitoring, Dual power inputs (48 - 57 V d.c.), IEEE 802.3at 30 W or 60 W PoE,
2 x I/O ports (user configurable), DIP switch control.
Contact: Yunus Mamoniat, info-europe@comnet.net, +44 (1133) 076400
61
DVR/NVR ROUND-UP
Type of device
Hybrid recorder (both analogue and IP

cameras directly supported)
Network video recorder (IP cameras supported only)
Network video recorder (IP cameras

supported only)
Supplier
ADI Global Distribution
Bosch Security Systems
Brand
Hikvision
Bosch
Hikvision
Product name
DS-7732NI-I4/16P
DIVAR IP 7000 R2
DS-9632NI-I8
Description
32 channels
H.264+ and dual-stream video
compression
Supports IP cameras
HDMI output at up to 3840x2160 (4 K)
ANPR blacklist/whitelist management
supported on selected models
RAID-5 protected (standard configuration),

all-in-one, up to 128 channels
Secure operation with real-time access
Instantly find what you are looking for
Advanced user and alarm management
Embedded or PC
Embedded operating system technology
PC-based technology
Operating system
32 channel IP video input

HDMI/VGA
Up to 12 MP resolution recording
HDD hot swap with RAID0, RAID1,
RAID5 and RAID10
Max 48 TB storage
DIVAR IP 7000 R2 comes fully loaded

and fully functional with Windows Storage
Server 2012 R2, 64-bit
Maximum number of cameras

supported at maximum resolution
32 channels
128 channels
4 channels @ 4K, 16 @ 1080p, 24 @

720p or 32 @ VGA
Maximum video resolution per

camera
4000x3072 at 20 fps
UHD
4K (3840x2160) /60 Hz
Remote management & viewing

apps/technologies
Web browser interface; Windows Desktop;

Mac Desktop; Android; iOS

Android; iOS; Bosch Video Management
System, Bosch Video Security Client

Android; iOS; Blackberry; Windows Mobile
Maximum number of concurrent

users
32
10
128 remote connections
Type of protection & levels
Password protection, digital watermark

technology
Standard Microsoft Server authentication

and password policies
3 user level management, HTTPS
Hardware format
Rack mountable; standalone/desktop
Rack mountable
Rack mountable
Storage type
SATA
Data: SATA and OS: SSD
8x SATA, 1x eSATA
Maximum storage capacity
24 TB
64 TB but can expand
48 TB
External storage & HDD extendable Up to 8 NAS disks; eSATA
4x additional DIP 6000 R2 units which can

allow for a maximum of 64 TB per unit
eSATA, NAS
Backup types
USB; iSCSI; Ethernet
iSCSI, export to USB
USB, DVD-RW, LAN
ONVIF compliance
Yes
Yes
Yes
Video inputs
IP: 10/100/1000 Mbps self adaptive

16HD-TVI/composite analogue, BNC
interface (1.0 Vp-p, 75 )
2x IP (10/100/1000 Mbps)
2 x 10/100/1000 Mbps
Camera configuration &

management features
IPV4 TCP/IP, PPPoE, DHCP, EZVIZ Cloud

P2P, DNS, DDNS, NTP, SADP, SMTP,
SNMP, NFS, iSCSI, UPnP, HTTPS
IPv4, SNMP
UPnP, SNMP, NTP server, Telnet, PPPOE,

RTSP, HTTP
Camera video stream protocols
H.264, H.264+, MPEG4, G.711u
H.264, MPEG4, MJPEG
H.265, H.264, H.264+, MPEG4
Data export formats
MP4
AVI, MP4, MOV, ASF
MP4
Physical video outputs
1x HDMI, 1x VGA
1x VGA port, 4x Mini DisplayPort
2x HDMI, 2x VGA
Physical user interface
Joystick, mouse
Joystick, keyboard and mouse
Keyboard, mouse, front panel
Alarm or analytics services
Motion detection, intrusion detection, line

crossing detection, POS transaction
detection, ANPR detection
All analytics are camera based
Face search, people counting, plate

search, behaviour search, heat map, face
recognition, face detection, line crossing,
vehicle detection, unattended baggage
detection
Software integration capabilities via the

Bosch SDKs available on the Bosch IPP
platform
16x inputs, 4x outputs, Point of Sale,

Control 4 Smart Home
Integration with other systems
Certifications
CE, FCC
CE, UL
CE, FCC, CAN ICES 3 (A)/ NMB 3(A)
Warranty
3 years
3 years
3 years
Stream balancing: Automatic bandwidth

management of multiple transcoded
streams
Professional graphics adapter with four
DisplayPort outputs
320 Mbps incoming bandwidth

256 Mbps outgoing bandwidth
Jason McGregor
jason.mcgregor@za.bosch.com
+27 (0)11 651 9809
Sakkie Coetzee
sakkie@cardcon.co.za
+27 (0)11 907 3192
Additional information
Contact
62
Marcoms SA
marcoms.za@adiglobal.com
+27 (0)11 574 2532
DVR/NVR ROUND-UP
Type of device
Digital video recorder (analogue cameras

supported only)

supported only)

supported only)
Supplier
Crown Hyper World
Dahua Technology
Dahua Technology
Brand
Trend Tech
Dahua Technology
Dahua Technology
Product name
TT-D1106
NVR5216-16P-4KS2
DHI-NVR616DR-128-4 K
Description
Up to 16 channel IPC input

H.265/H.264/MJPEG/MPEG4 codec
decoding
Max 320 Mbps incoming bandwidth
Up to 12 MP resolution preview and
playback
Max 4ch@4K/16ch@1080p
H.265/H.264 decoding
HDMI/VGA simultaneous video output
Supports 2 SATA HDDs up to 12 TB, 2
USB (1 USB3.0)
Supports IPC UPnP, 16PoE ports
Max 128 channel IP cameras connection

Max 384 Mbps incoming bandwidth
Up to 12 MP resolution preview and
playback
Supports RAID 0/1/5/6/10/50/60
Supports N+M hot standby
Supports iSCSI and Mini SAS to expand
storage space
Embedded or PC

16
16 channels @ 1920x1080 @ 30 fps

camera
1280x960
4K
4 channels @ 38402160

apps/technologies

Android; iOS


Mac Desktop; Android; iOS; Windows Mobile

users
128
128
AES
LDAP authentication
8 channel AHD DVR

Supports VGA, HDMI and AV out
P2P software
Full HD DVR
Operating system

Hardware format
Standalone/desktop
Rack mountable
Storage type
SATA
SATA
SATA
2 x 2 TB
6 TB
96 TB
eSATA
48 HDD max. 108 TB
External storage & HDD extendable

Backup types
USB
USB, FTP
iSCSI; Mini SAS; USB
ONVIF compliance
No
Yes
Yes
IP, POE
4 RJ-45 ports (10/100/1000 Mbps)

4 Ethernet ports joint working or 4
independent -1000 Mbps Ethernet ports
2 Gbps optical fibre interface
Video inputs

management features
Data export formats
AVI
DAV, AFS
H.265/H.264/MJPEG
HDMI, VGA, AV
1x HDMI, 1x VGA
2 HDMI (up to 3840x2160), 1 VGA


Certifications
SABS
CE/FCC/UL
Warranty
1 year
3 years
3 year software upgrade plan
Contact
Muhammed Gani
sales@crownhyperworld.co.za
+27 (0)11 830 1452
Fritz Wang
overseas@dahuatech.com
+86 571 8768 8883
Fritz Wang
+86 571 8768 8883
63
DVR/NVR ROUND-UP
Type of device
Hybrid recorder (both analogue and IP

cameras directly supported)

supported only)

supported only)
Supplier
GeoVision SA
Graphic Image Technologies
Brand
VisionLine
GeoVision
FLIR/DVTEL
Product name
AHD DVR
GeoVision Video Management Software (VMS)
Horizon/Latitude NVR
Description
GV-VMS is a comprehensive video management system that records up to 64

channels of GeoVision and/or third-party
IP devices. GV-VMS comes with a variety
of intelligent video analytics to offer precise
monitoring and to reduce the need for
manual supervision.
The Horizon NVR is for small to mid-sized

installations and comes pre-configured for
easy setup and operation. The Latitude
model has flexibility in managing IP video,
audio and data.
Embedded or PC
PC-based technology
Server-based technology
64-bit Windows 7/8/8.1/10 /Server 2008

R2/Server 2012 R2
Windows 7, 8 and 10
16 channel, high-resolution hybrid DVRs

Standard H.264 high-profile compression
Real-time recording on each channel
IPC x 8/24 Mbps
Output: HDMI, VGA, CVBS
Operating system
16 cameras @ 1080p @ 25 fps
64
2000

camera

apps/technologies
8 channels @ 3 MP (1080p) @ 25 fps
12 MP (4000x3000)
4K

Web browser interface; Windows;

Mac; Android; iOS; Blackberry; CMS
Web browser interface; Android; iOS

users
10
50
5 upwards, depending on licensing and

hardware specs
3 levels
Support for up to 1000 accounts for logins

and passwords
Password protection, SHA1 based digital

signature, 1024-bit RSA encryption
Hardware format
Rack mountable
Storage type
SATA
SATA, USB, NAS, iSCSI, GV storage
DAT, CD-RW, external HDD
8 TB
120 TB
As per client requirements
eSATA, external USB, NAS, GV-Storage,

GV-Backup Centre
Yes, extendable
External storage & HDD extendable

Backup types
USB
HDD, NAS, CD, DVD and more
DAT, CD-RW, external HDD
ONVIF compliance
Yes
Yes
Yes
Video inputs
16 channel 1080p AHD, BNC interface
P only 10/100/1000 Mbps
Up to 2000 cameras

management features
Pv4, DHCP server, NTP server, UPnP,

SNMP
H.264
MJPEG, H.264, H.265
H.264, MPEG-4, MJPEG
Data export formats
AVI
AVI, EXE, JPEG
FLIR/DVTEL proprietary format or AVI
1x HDMI, 1x VGA, 1x CVBS
Software supports up to 8 high definition

monitors
VGA, HDMI, DVI
Mouse
Touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, joystick
Keyboard, mouse, CCTV keyboard
Motion detection
Object counting; people counting; intrusion

alarm; face detection; motion detection;
crowd detection; scene change detection;
unattended and missing object detection
Server based and edge device analytics

available
Complete SDK available
Software integration. Also includes mobile

tracking and monitoring integration.
ONVIF Profile S, Snapshot search
Certifications
CE, FCC
ADA, CE, CSA, EIA, ISO 9001, NEMA,

NFPA, NTSC, PAL, UBC, UL
Warranty
2 to 3 years extendable
3 years
No yearly licence fees; 24/7 support
Hardware: three-year ProSupport and next

business day, on-site service; Software:
One year including updates
Jacques Taylor
sales@geovisionsa.co.za
+27 (0)12 664 0411
Laurence Smith
laurence@git.co.za
+27 (0)11 483 0333
Contact
64
info@elvey.co.za
+27 (0)11 401 6700
DVR/NVR ROUND-UP
Type of device

supported only)

supported only)

supported only)
Supplier
HiTek Security Distributors
MiRO
MiRO
Brand
Provision ISR
VIVOTEK
Uniview
Product name
NVR3-32800(2U)
ND9541
UN-NVR308-32E
Description
Up to 32 channels at 4 MP realtime over

network
H.265 and dual-stream video
compression
HDMI (1920x1080) and VGA
(800x600/1024x768/1280x1024) video
output
Alarm in x16/alarm out x4
Remote video playback
Plug & play, one-button auto setup

VIVOTEK camera configuration and
VAST CMS integrated
Live and playback fisheye dewarp
Up to 12 MP camera live view and
playback
Dual LAN network ports with failover
function
Uniview 32 channel NVR

320 Mbps incoming bandwidth, 320 Mbps
outgoing bandwidth
8 bay HDD storage
H.265/H.264 recording and 4 K resolution
HDMI-VGA output
Embedded or PC

32 @ 30 fps
32
32

camera

apps/technologies
4 MP @ 30 fps
12 MP
8 MP

Mac Desktop; Android; iOS; Windows Mobile
Windows Desktop; Mac Desktop; Android

iOS; iViewer (iOS/Android), EZConnect
(iOS/Android), Installation Wizard 2,
ST7501, VAST


users
20
64
Depending on available streams and

bandwidth, 128 remote connections

20 users online with professional authority

management
User account time limit: 10 mins; User

level: administrator/regular user; User
feature definition: by camera
Username/password; IP control (white-list/

black-list)
Hardware format
Rack mountable
Rack mountable
Rack mountable
Storage type
SATA
SATA
SATA
48 TB
6 TB x 4 bays = 24 TB
6 TB x 8 bay = 48 TB
None
eSATA
Operating system
External storage & HDD extendable Up to 8 SATA (6 TB each); eSATA

Backup types
USB, eSATA, network
USB storage
USB storage
ONVIF compliance
Yes
Yes
Yes
Video inputs
Video inputs (LAN side) 32 channels over

network (1000 Mbps)
2 RJ-45 10M/100M/1000M self-adaptive

Ethernet interfaces
2 RJ-45 10M/100M/1000M self-adaptive

Ethernet interfaces

management features
TCP/IP, DHCP, DDNS, NTP, SMTP
IPv4, DHCP server, NTP server, SMTP,

web browser, CIL 5
IPv4, DHCP server, NTP server, SMTP,

UPNP, RTSP, IP filter, PPPOE, DDNS, FTP,
IP server, P2P
H-265 and H-264 compression
MJPEG, H.264, H.265
H.264, H.265
Data export formats
AVI, DAT
EXE
.mp4
HDMI, VGA, CVBS
HDMI x1, VGA x1
2x HDMI, 1x VGA
Mouse, remote control
2 x USB 2.0 front; 1 x USB 3.0 back; Alarm

in x 8; Alarm out x 4; Audio: 3.5 phone jack
audio output x 1 and 3.5 phone jack audio
input x 1; RS-485: 1 port
Keyboard, mouse
Alarm I/O
Continuous, schedule, manual, event,

activity adaptive streaming
Motion detection, tampering detection
Integration with alarm and access control
None
Alarm output
Certifications
CE, FCC, UL, IEC
CE, LVD, FCC, VCCI, UL
CB test certificate
Warranty
3 years
3 years
3 years
2 x RS-485 PTZ control; AC 110 V/220 V

power supply; 1 channel audio output
Contact
Priscilla Gildea
priscilla@hiteksecurity.net
+27 (0)21 946 3344
Check firmware upgrades for more

functionality
MiRO Sales
sales@miro.co.za
+27 (0)12 657 0960
MiRO Sales
sales@miro.co.za
+27 (0)12 657 0960
65
DVR/NVR ROUND-UP
Type of device

supported only)

supported only)

supported only)
Supplier
Reditron
Regal Distributors
Sunell Security
Brand
Dahua
Hikvision
Sunell Security
Product name
DSS7016D
DS-9600NI-I16 Series
4, 8, 16, 32 channel NVR
Description
General Surveillance Management

Centre
Supports 2000 channels (500 input
devices)
Supports unlimited accounts management and 8000 online users
Supports 700M local storage capability
Supports 2000 devices to auto-register
Supports 100 ONVIF devices
6, 32 or 64 channel H.265/H.264/MPEG4
video formats
Supports third-party network camera
integration
Up to 64 IP cameras can be connected
Supports recording, live view, storage
and playback at up to 12 MP resolution
Up to 16 channel 6 MP IP cameras
access
Easy to use GUI/web/client
Up to 4 SATA hard disks up to 4 TB
RJ45 10/100/1000 Mbps network
interface
16 POE ports
Simultaneous HDMI and VGA up to
1080p output
Embedded or PC

2000 channels (500 input devices)
64 @ 25 fps per channel
16

camera
1080p
4K (3840x2160)/60 Hz
6 MP/ 5 MP/ 4 MP/ 3 MP @ 15 fps; 1080p

@ 25 fps (PAL), 30 fps (NTSC)

apps/technologies

Mac Desktop; Android; iOS; Blackberry;
Windows Mobile

Mac Desktop; Android; iOS; Windows
Mobile
Web browser interface; Windows Desktop

Android; iOS

users
1000
32
Linux
AES-256 encryption, digital watermark
User level
Hardware format
Rack mountable
Rack mountable
Storage type
SATA
SATA, RAID
Up to 4 SATA HDD
70 TB
16 SATA x 6 TB = 96 TB
16 TB
External storage & HDD extendable Supports local storage and IP-SAN storage
1x eSATA interface, NAS, RAID, IPSAN
USB attachment
Backup types
eSATA, USB, ISCSI
USB, FTP
Standard
ONVIF compliance
Yes
Yes
Yes
Video inputs
4x 1000 Mbps Ethernet port
IP only, 2 X R-J45 10/100/1000 Mbps selfadaptive Ethernet interfaces
16 channels 6 MP/ 5 MP/ 4 MP/ 3

MP/1080p/960p/720p/D1/VGA/CIF/QCIF

management features
IPv4, IPv6, DHCP server, NTP server,

UPnP, SNMP
IPv4, IPv6, DHCP server, NTP server,

UPnP, SNMP
IPv4, DHCP server
H.265, H.264, MJPEG
H.264+, H.264, MPEG-4
H.264. MPEG
Data export formats
WMV, AVI
MPEG-4
AVI, TS
2x HDMI, 1x VGA
2x HDMI, 2x VGA
VBGA, HDMI
USB, mouse, keyboard
Front panel key interface, jog shuttle, mouse
Screen, keyboard, mouse
Network alarm input from camera and

analytics
Automatic number plate recognition; Line

crossing detection; People counting;
Intrusion detection; Heat mapping; Foreign
object detection; Motion detection; Face
detection; POS overlay
2 alarm channels, built-in analytics
Software integration with Hikvision access

control, POS and data generation systems;
16 x dry contact inputs; 4 x digital outputs
ONVIF compatible
Certifications
CE, FCC, UL, RoHS
Operating system
Warranty
3 years
3 years
3 years
Lisa Bowles
sales@reditron.co.za
+27 (0)87 807 2288
Quintin van den Berg

hikvision@regalsecurity.co.za
+27 (0)11 553 3300
Sunell Security
sales@sunellsecurity.com
+86 (755) 267 54336
Contact
66
DVR/NVR ROUND-UP
Type of device

supported only)
Supplier
Brand
TruVision
Product name
TVN70
Description
Up to 400 Mbps camera bandwidth with

128 camera channels
96/64 TB embedded storage with or
without RAID
Recorder failover, network and PSU
redundancy
Truvision Navigator and mobile app
(licence free)
External integration via SDK and full
support for PSIA and ONVIF
Embedded or PC
Operating system
128

camera

apps/technologies
6 MP

users
256

Hardware format
User access levels for operator and admins
Storage type
SATA/RAID
96 GB
Web browser interface; Android; iOS
External storage & HDD extendable Internal storage of 16 x 6 TB drives, external

storage via eSATA
Backup types
eSATA, NAS, SAN
ONVIF compliance
Yes
Video inputs
IP only 10/100/1000 Mbps

management features
IPv4, DHCP
Live streaming: 256; Playback: TCP: 256

UDP: 16; Streams per camera: 128
Data export formats
AVI, JPEG
VGA, HDMI
Joystick, keyboard, mouse
16 alarm inputs, 8 outputs
Integration software packages such as

Lenel Onguard, TruPortal, Advisor Manager
and Mastermind. An SDK is also available
for possible integration into third party
system
Certifications
CE, N4131, UL, ICEES-003
Warranty
3 years
Contact
Randhir Seodutt
randhir.seodutt@fs.utc.com
+27 (0)11 579 7300
67
REMOTE MONITORING
Weighing up the benefits of offsite

monitoring
By Allyson Koekhoven.
How do you decide whether onsite or offsite monitoring is best for your company?
Remote versus onsite surveillance monitoring? Perhaps the debate should begin with an
overview of exactly what offsite monitoring
entails. Underpinning the successful adoption
of either option is a complete understanding of
the importance of aligning ones decision with
a service provider who has a solid reputation,
verifiable with a documented footprint of working installations.
The term remote surveillance refers to the
monitoring of the surveillance equipment
installed on a site, from an offsite location. It does
not, however, define the type or level of service
to be provided. Continuous remote surveillance
entails the use of monitoring staff, resources
and equipment at a remote control room that is
dedicated to continuously monitoring the clients
property, personnel and procedures. In the event
that these procedures or activities are not being
followed or conducted correctly, the client will be
notified via an agreed method.
This service, according to Dusty van den
Berg of Daytona Electronics, is generally used
for production type monitoring (for example,
nightshifts). With virtual guard tours and random
remote surveillance, the remote operators are
68
not connected to and constantly monitoring

the activities or procedures on site, but either
randomly or at specific times establish a connection to site. This service is often used for monitoring of guard stations to ensure the guards are at
their station and are awake, or to ensure gates
and doors are closed.
Finally, video alarm verification or black
screen monitoring involves reliance on simplified equipment and systems to alert the operator to a situation on site, who will then verify the
event and action the corresponding procedure
to terminate the issue at hand. This, Van den
Berg says, is often used on perimeter protection
or office buildings where there should be no
movement between certain times. A motion
sensor on site will trigger a video alarm in the
remote control room, allowing the operator to
determine the validity of the alarm and action
the corresponding procedure to resolve the
issue.
Busy-ness dependent
Mike Voortman of Verifier maintains that the
busy-ness of a site will generally determine
whether remote or onsite monitoring, or
perhaps a combination of the two, is better. On
quieter sites, economies of scale often dictate

the adoption of remote surveillance. By setting up an event-based system, whereby one
cost effectively mainly monitors site events, as
opposed to a constant feed, one can reduce
operational costs.
On the other hand, sites which are busier
during the day, such as shopping centres and
precincts, are often better suited to onsite
monitoring. Voortman emphasises that it is virtually impossible to remotely monitor the high
levels of traffic experienced in these locations,
with day-to-day management of, for example,
missing children, fire doors opening, and busy
parking areas being key factors. However, it is
possible to switch to remote monitoring after
hours in such scenarios.
Warren Myers of Myertal believes that offsite
monitoring is suited to almost every possible
scenario and environment. He says that the
company uses a self-learning video analytics
software which bolts into any CCTV system
and learns the environment over a five-day
period. Once this learning phase is complete, the
software automatically and proactively picks out
69
REMOTE MONITORING

threats and prioritises them to an offsite control
room in real time.
The advantages of onsite monitoring include
the fact that situational awareness is enhanced
through the local knowledge and intelligence
acquired through speaking to onsite customers. The downsides include the possible lack
of availability of space and sourcing of capital
outlay for a control room environment as well as
issues with the onsite staff who may be prone
to collusion risk, require extra operator training,
and who suffer from fatigue due to intensive
monitoring. In addition, heists at control rooms
are common risk areas. This, therefore, emphasises the importance of having a failover system
which reverts monitoring to an offsite location.
Offsite monitoring eliminates the possibility
of collusion, provides a failover capability, allows
independent dispatching of reaction teams,
removes localised risk, allows the sharing of services, and helps to keep onsite staff on their toes.
Since the control room is already established
there is no additional capital cost for the client.
A disadvantage includes the reliance on site
staff and reaction teams to react to onsite issues.
In addition, feedback can be a challenge from
responders; and it is not viable to monitor busy
sites during busy times. Offsite monitoring is
reliant on connectivity between site and control
room so a breakdown in communication may be
an issue. However, with the correct systems and
failovers in place, this weakness can be omitted.
Who to choose?
When deciding on an offsite monitoring service
provider, it is advisable to undertake extensive
checks and to obtain a number of client references. One should consider factors such as the
ability of the monitoring company to mitigate
risks. Voortman advises against trying to find the
silver bullet one-stop-shop, as often one actually
needs a specialist provider. He continues that
the one-stop-shop model can sometimes result
in collusion, so risk should be spread over one
supplier of guarding services and another one
conducting remote monitoring. Additionally, a
comprehensive service level agreement should
be non-negotiable and the presence of transparency by the service provider is essential to
maintaining a successful relationship.
Van den Berg adds that in terms of risk,
there are benefits and disadvantages to both
onsite and offsite monitoring. The drawback
with any security system or procedure is that
it is designed to assist in preventing specific
actions or functions, or known criminal activity.
However, there is no foolproof security system
so it is important to undertake a thorough due
diligence of service providers, by visiting their
70
remote control room, speaking to the staff working there, visiting sites that are currently being
monitored and chatting to existing clients.
Most importantly, one should aim to
maintain a good and open working relationship
with the selected supplier. Risks and the modus
operandi of criminals change, so procedures
should also be monitored and updated regularly
with the remote surveillance supplier to ensure
that the solution is current.
Myers says that on the back of the SLA, business operators should receive a daily report that
outlines onsite activity and the actions taken
by the remote monitoring supplier. Ideally, this
service provider should have a fully equipped
control room that is manned by appropriately
trained and vetted operators who are both
relieved every two hours and are being constantly managed.
What do I get?
Remote monitoring companies provide a variety
of services including perimeter intrusion detection, virtual guard tours, analytics, VoIP audio
challenge whereby the control room can communicate directly with suspected perpetrators,
lockdown monitoring, forensic and footage investigation, retail risk reduction (footage extracted
and assessed offsite). Remote access control can
also be provided whereby standard operating
procedures (SOPs) are followed by the security
guards on site. Other elements include failover
control provision to onsite control rooms and
guard replacement, which results in a reduction
of the quantity of manned guarding required.
Van den Berg says that with the speed at
which technology is advancing, and the use
of open source software, one can integrate
and monitor virtually any process procedure
or system. In addition to the aforementioned
services, other notable services are video alarm
verification and site checks for staff leaving late
in the evening or arriving early in the morning.
He says that the company currently not only
monitors video feeds, but in the event of an
alarm they can communicate with the criminals
and alert armed response and the police, as well
as warn staff on site of any pending dangers.
Together with this, they are able to deploy
instant countermeasures such as smoke screens
and pepper gas systems. The ability to remotely
control the opening and closing of main gates
and doors is advantageous.
He highlights that with the ongoing development of technology, soft alarms or early
warning systems can be generated and alarms
can be generated if there is a person or vehicle
loitering outside the property, or if a parcel is
moved out of a receiving door or into a dispatch
door. Furthermore, remote monitoring of access
control, fire detection, alarms and other systems

is possible. If a fire alarm is triggered, onsite
management will be automatically notified and
visual confirmation of the validity and location of
such incidents will be provided.
Myers cautions that the use of virtual guard
tours removes the true essence and value of offsite monitoring, since the operator needs to log
in at the exact time when an intruder is breaking
in, which is highly unlikely.
Counting pennies
So when the chips are down, which monitoring
method provides the most cost effective solution for clients? Voortman asserts that if monitoring is event based, then offsite monitoring wins
hands down. Obviously, if offsite monitoring
becomes bogged down in operators continuously having to watch screens then this will not
be the case. In addition, this ideal scenario is
based on the experience of the remote monitoring team and relies on an efficient configuration
of the solution.
Van den Berg says that the cost differences
between offsite monitoring and onsite monitoring are relative to the quantity of cameras
and equipment to be monitored, the type of
monitoring required as well as the number of
operators required. If only random or timed
patrols are required, then generally the remote
surveillance route would be more cost effective
as this service can be shared with other clients
requiring the same service. If only video alarm
verification is required, then again the remote
surveillance route would generally be more cost
effective, as it is also a shared service.
He adds that the amount of surveillance
equipment and/or number of sites would also
be a determining factor in financial costing.
Onsite monitoring for a single retail store wishing to monitor one system would not be cost
effective, whereas onsite monitoring which is
based on volume would be more cost effective
for a larger chain of franchised stores or a large
mining operation.
Myers points out that the average 24/7
C-grade CCTV operator or guarding post from
a reputable security company costs approximately R20 000 per month. If one considers
that an eight-camera package, which includes
all hardware on rental, maintenance, insurance,
24/7 offsite monitoring using smart video analytics and connectivity costs R9500 per month,
the advantages of offsite monitoring, for event
based scenarios are obvious.
The choice of offsite versus onsite monitoring is definitely a case of horses for courses.
Ideally, clients should review a number of service
providers and obtain comprehensive feedback
on the best solution for their specific application.
71
MANAGEMENT PLATFORMS
How to choose video management

software
By Niall Beazley, director, Vision Catcher.
Niall Beazley discusses the options for managing your video streams, specifically the
choices to make in selecting a VMS platform.
Video management software (VMS) is supplied by all CCTV vendors as part of an
embedded software on a digital video
recorder (DVR), the remote site interface, the
software used for a networked video recorder
(NVR) be it embedded on a Linux platform or
personal computer (PC) based on a Windows
Server or the mobile application. They are all
VMS options that allow you to interact with
cameras and, in some cases, more than just
cameras: access control, analytics, intrusion
and point of sale.
Vision Catcher was one of the first companies to introduce VMS and DVRs into the
South African market in 1998 with the use of
the Novex VMS that was deployed into various verticals, including telecommunications,
petro-chemicals, banks, mines, many other
corporations and industries. The then basic
VMS software proved the ability to link video
capture cards in a PC with up to 16 cameras on
a display, enabling multiple viewing options
and recorded video replay.
The choice of recording and replay device
was between an embedded DVR or the PC.
The embedded DVR offering a VMS on an
embedded Linux operating system restricting access to programmes, thus theoretically
reducing the risk of viruses or someone
changing key settings. Today, choosing the
right VMS is critical for your solution to perform to the level of your expectations and is
often overlooked as you purchase an embedded NVR and camera package.
Features & advantages

The right VMS should provide you with at least
the following features:
Software options.
Cost options.
Simplicity.
Flexibility.
Integration.
Intelligence.
Scalability.
Reliability.
Upgrades.
This simple list defines the advantages you
might be expecting in a suitable VMS. As an
72
example, a basic embedded DVR will give you

the software option for an inbuilt four, eight,
sixteen or thirty-two channels of video which
will determine the cost option. The VMS should
be relatively simple to use and flexible as the
user probably only wants to review key events,
and is unlikely to require much integration, may
not look to add to the NVR in terms of additional cameras or upgrades, but it needs it to be
reliable. Therefore, a low cost DVR with limited
performance may be your choice.
Compare the comments above for the DVR
and now consider a medium to enterprise
VMS solution. There is often a requirement
for live and remote monitoring rather than
just recording and playback after an event.
The solution plan will often be to add best-ofbreed cameras from different vendors over a
period of time, expanding the system in small
steps. The solution must therefore be scalable
as new sites or cameras are added, flexible to
map and interact with each camera through
integration options and simple to use for any
trained operator. The right VMS will provide
a minimum of these features and will show
clearly the advantages of choosing a bespoke
VMS solution.
and highlight your key points of concern, which

should allow you to make the right choice.
DVR, NVR or VMS
NVR
The NVR route normally requires you to
replace all analogue cameras with IP cameras. The exception is to use an encoder as a
legacy option for priority analogue cameras.
You have the ability to decide what solution is

best for your requirement. The right threat
analysis questions from your security vendor
should elicit the answers for your perceived risks
DVR
You may have a legacy product that can
still be used and upgraded over time. Some
vendors will offer a DVR option using existing
analogue cameras and adding HD-SDI cameras
to improve resolution up to 1080p (2 MP). Beware
of the old cabling and deteriorating signal
performance. The DVR will provide improved
VMS features, but also watch out for the
live and recorded video quality as it is often
restricted to keep costs down.
Hybrid
In between the DVR and NVR is a hybrid that
offers you the ability to continue using your
existing analogue cameras together with the
choice of adding a selection of IP cameras as
you need. Over time, you could reduce the
analogue cameras and increase the number
of IP cameras as you evolve and upgrade your
solution. The VMS should give you the option
to upgrade software and licences as required.
This is often a very important consideration as
we will explain later.
The NVR may be scaled in a similar manner to

the DVR, offering lower costs for less cameras
based upon the Mbps data throughput which
determines the quality and capacity of the
NVR components and hence the cost. This
solution should be upgraded to keep pace
with firmware and feature updates but may
have hardware limitations that keep you using
the existing software and cameras. Remember
that newer cameras with improved features
have new firmware requiring VMS software
upgrades and may exclude you from adding a
preferred new camera.
VMS
Vendors offering a VMS solution need to be
able to provide realistic technical support.
VMS software assumes that the purchaser
has an understanding of both hardware and
software implementation to ensure that the
VMS is stable and reliable for the end user.
This is why most VMS vendors insist that the
installer/integrator is properly qualified to a
set level to be able to sell and support the
product. Be careful of the VMS vendor who is
not fully certified (posing the question: how
many DVR or NVR vendors are actually qualified to support their products?).
Choosing the VMS solution route allows
you to design and build a bespoke server
solution having calculated the required data
throughput for live viewing, recording and
playback. Add to this, the knowledge that your
storage will manage the required number of
days recorded and give the option to bookmark and archive relevant events. The VMS
interface should be simple and intuitive, providing the operator with an easy-to-the-eye
set of features including intelligent options
linked from event, analytics, point of sale
exception, audio or other interfaces to bring
up the view, push video or draw attention to a
particular incident.
Your VMS choice should offer you the ability to purchase software at varying licensing
levels or packages where you would use the
software on a workstation or server designed
by the supplier for the expected number of
cameras, data throughput and operational
requirement.
With the current exchange rates, it is often
perceived that purchasing the software and
designing your own hardware is a cheaper
option. In many cases this is not true as the
increased performance of the hardware supplied by the VMS provider extends licensing
periods and enables superior data throughput
by up to 20% to 30% with greater efficiency.
This translates to better overall performance,
more cameras, greater storage, quicker search
and playback options all on the one device.
Software subscription agreements

Licence upgrades are often poorly explained
leading to confusion and concern over hidden
costs at a later date. When you purchase an
embedded NVR and cameras, it will have a
current VMS software version. The VMS version is purchased as part of the embedded
NVR and will work with its prescribed list of
cameras as per its specification.
Once installed and working you may
decide to add new cameras. It is very important that you check the current VMS version
to see if it supports the new cameras (firmware) and ensure the old VMS version is also
updated along with older camera firmware.
If you do not follow the software upgrade
options you may not be able to add the new
cameras to your system.
Every day new cameras are released with
new firmware. The camera firmware is the
on-camera software which allows the camera
to perform its functions/features. The camera
firmware is updated regularly for the older
cameras but care should be taken that the
firmware upgrade is compatible with the existing VMS software. This now starts a software
upgrade cycle between cameras and the VMS,
add a camera and it needs a certain version of
VMS, change the VMS and you may need to
update camera firmware. It is this interaction
that requires the VMS producers to constantly
review and update their software, which in turn
leads to a cost requirement for the development.
This cost requirement effectively becomes the
Software Subscription Agreement (SSA).
Most VMS vendors should offer you a
Software Subscription Agreement (SSA)
option. Normally this is around 5% to 10% of
the licence cost per annum. Those VMS vendors that state they do not charge for software
upgrades have often brought in SSAs at a later
stage when they change versions at a much
increased premium. The big advantage of your
SSA is that you are keeping current with the
evolving developments of the software with
new added features as well as the camera
firmware upgrades. The new versions often
provide improved performance, a VMS that
evolves with you and current trends, keeps
track of camera upgrades and allows you to
choose best of breed products. Purchasing
the SSA at the small price applicable will
ensure your VMS is up to date with all the new
features available.
For more information, contact Vision Catcher,
+27 (0)11 463 9797, info@visioncatcher.co.za,
www.visioncatcher.co.za
73
The right VMS decision

By Brett van den Bosch.
Filtering the VMS features that really matter.

As video management system (VMS) platforms
become ever more capable and inevitably more
complex, it increasingly becomes the case that
one size does not fit all. There are, however,
hallmarks that differentiate the most popular
solutions on the market, and although requirements may differ vastly between sites, the range
of options can be narrowed down by heeding a
common set of principles. We asked the South
African vendors of three leading VMS platforms
what they consider the most important factors
to consider.
A management platform should offer ease
of use. The system should work for the customer
and the user should not have to work hard for
the outcome they require, says Graphic Image
Technologies Laurence Smith. At the end of the
day, it is the control room operator that has to
work with the software and find it easy to use,
even on a late night shift when urgent reaction
is demanded.
These days video analytics play a big role in
securing a site. Again going back to the control
room, it is an advantage if the operator is alerted
to an alarm without having to constantly look
at the monitors and knowing any alarm is a
true detection 98% of the time. Whether it is
server- or edge-based, analytics do a great deal
to improve surveillance effectiveness.
According to Gerhard Furter from InfinIT
Business Intelligence Solutions, a management
platform should offer exactly what it sells: A
platform, or supporting base, from which to
mould and construct a mechanism that offers
the client the ability to manage, or align and
control, their business case. By definition this
management platform is thus not constrictive,
and does not require that the client alter any
processes to comply with the management rules
of said platform.
Every ability and feature of the platform
should contribute to the level and magnitude of
control that the client retains over any processes
or activities, without limiting the client in any
way. A good management platform should
mimic an old English butler: the result of the
systems actions must always be conveniently
at hand, without the effort taken to achieve this
ever being evident, or even a factor, he explains.
IP Video Solutions Max de Lorm goes so far
as to say that the VMS is the most important
part of a surveillance system, as it determines
the stability, reliability, usability, expandability
74
and would only use a few hundred kilobits per

second. When the image is zoomed into and
the UHD is utilised, the throughput will be at a
maximum of 4 to 5 megabits per second.
InfinITs subsidiary, Synapse PSIM, has produced an intelligent physical security information management system (PSIM) called Synapse.
Synapse is an advanced PSIM offering all of the
expected features of a good management platform, but with the addition of powerful in-line,
real-time analytics, and a software framework
that is malleable to specialised client requirements, Furter states. Synapse thus combines
the best of the world of off-the-shelf products
with the benefits of bespoke development and
Max de Lorm.
and compatibility of the entire surveillance
solution, he says. It is also, generally, quite
costly to replace down the line, so it is one of
the most important decisions to make. A good
VMS platform should also enhance situational
awareness and allow operators to very quickly
and effectively respond to events and incidents,
such as life-critical incidents, in real-time and not
just simply record and playback video.
A closer look at three of the options

Graphic Image Technologies offers the DVTEL
(now FLIR) VMS solution, which has three variants. Latitude allows for up to 2500 cameras on
a single directory. With Latitude 7.1 due to be
released soon, it will manage up to 10 000 cameras on a single directory server. The other two
wizard-driven complete systems are the Horizon
for up to 100 cameras and the Meridian for up to
24 cameras.
This is a video management system with
great integration, Smith says. FLIR/DVTEL has
implemented adaptive streaming on the DVTEL
camera and VMS solution. This reduces the
throughput to the control room and remote
connections, and will only stream the image
size that the user is viewing on the screen. It
will adapt to the selection the viewer selects
up to the maximum capability of the camera
and maximum configuration settings. A good
example is the DVTEL 4K or ultra-high definition
camera that can be displayed on any monitor
customisation, and drives this to a new level with

an intelligent backbone that is based on the
highly successful Silo analytics platform.
In Synapse, every signal, after being managed exactly as every unique client process
requires, is analysed for its impact on the clients
environment, Furter elaborates. The resulting
patterns, anomalies and exceptions are changed
into actionable knowledge that can even rewrite
business rules to optimise the functioning of
the platform. Which gate is always unlocked just
before a break-in? Which employee is often present in the data centre when equipment goes
missing? When can I expect the highest volume
of contractors, and why? Synapse will answer
these questions and more, without the need for
constant system supervision the mobile framework in Synapse ensures that your management
intelligence finds you, in time, and exactly where
you need it.
On offer from IP Video Solutions are two
options: Genetec and NUUO. Genetec is the
number one VMS in the world, says de Lorm.
It offers a Windows-based solution which
incorporates video surveillance, access control
and licence plate recognition under a single
umbrella, negating the need for third-party
integration. Genetec is ideally suited for medium
and large enterprise installations and is used
worldwide anywhere from branch offices to city
surveillance. It is an open platform VMS, and as
such supports more than 3000 devices from over
200 vendors, and also allows for central management of multiple sites. Genetec also supports
advanced edge-based recording across all
its products on the camera in the event that
the server is not reachable. There are existing integrations between Genetec and other
management systems such as access control.

Some of the supported access control products
include Gallagher, Suprema, HID, ASSA ABLOY
and Salto.
NUUO is very well established in the South
African market with strong growth in South
Africa for over 10 years, continues de Lorm. It
offers both Linux network video recorders (NVR)
as well as Windows based VMS, and has recently
added cameras to its product line-up.
Balancing integration with openness

FLIR/DVTELs VMS supports integration with
multiple applications, including Google Earth,
ShotSpotter and Gallagher Access Control, to
name a few, Says Smith: From the customer
perspective, it provides a solution to multiple
segments. In this regard, integration with other
systems is key. Again it boils down to having an
easy control room to operate.
When a customer has fire detection, access
control, an alarm system or electric fence, it
is important for the control room operator to
see when a fire alarm goes off, or when somebody enters a restricted area or climbs over a
perimeter fence. With so many different brands
out in the market, it is important that many of
them are integrated with your CCTV network
Gerhard Furter.
management solution and specifically with the
FLIR/DVTEL VMS, he explains.
Although Synapse offers flexible integration
in that clients are not limited by the number of
systems that can be integrated into the PSIM,
Furter says the system stops short of embracing
open integration. Any decent PSIM will make
allowance for future integrations, and Synapse
follows suit, he points out. We are not, however,

proponents of the open integration model. A
PSIM is a mission critical, often line-of-business,
system, and as such stability and predictability
are sacred in an open integration policy it is
very difficult to enforce this rule. Clients are subject to the skill of the contractor completing the
integration, and such is the nature of the beast
that accountability becomes a nightmare.
We offer an alternative in the form of certified integration professionals with clear and
controlled knowledge of Synapse, who have
been vetted and have proven themselves to
be dependable service providers. In the case of
Synapse, these include highly respected companies such as CDP Technologies, FurterTech and
Macado.
By contrast, De Lorm is all about openness:
All video surveillance systems should be openplatform, which means that they support almost
any camera from any vendor in the market, he
states. Currently there are hundreds of vendors
that manufacture IP cameras, and a lot of these
vendors also supply a video management
system, but you will find most of these will only
support cameras that they manufacture, or they
will claim to support other manufacturers while
75

only offering very rudimentary ONVIF support
and not proper integration.
A proper VMS will offer proper integration
and will actually list the camera vendor, model
number and even firmware tested and supported. Beware of vendor lock-in: there are still
a number of vendors in the market who will try
and sell you a single brand end-to-end solution. If you do this you are essentially locking
yourself in to that vendor and this will reduce the
number of options available to you in the future.
As de Lorm points out, open systems mean
different things to different vendors. The definition of an open platform is both the ability and
the willingness of the VMS to integrate with
other systems like access control etc., he says.
All real open platform vendors will be able to
supply a software development kit (SDK) and
support to assist anyone wanting to do third
party integration. Most importantly, vendors
should be willing to assist partners to develop
stable and proven integrations.
Focusing on the type of integration of
particular relevance to the South African market,
de Lorm points out that NUUO integrates to
most of the local POS platforms, including pump
integration for a number of local petroleum
companies; while Genetec has developed the
Sipelia communications management module,
which integrates seamlessly with SIP-based
systems such as intercoms and VOIP phone
communications.
Cyber security infiltrates all levels of

CCTV
In the larger context of CCTV being a security
solution at its core, FLIR/DVTEL offers cyber
defence on the hardware through port protection, to reduce the possibility of being hacked. If
an unauthorised connection is detected on the
system, it will shut down the port that connection is on. This is only the beginning and further
development is in process, Smith clarifies, going
on to say he believes defences like this will
become the norm since such hardware is connected to a site network and can provide access
to the complete network if unprotected.
Elaborating on the magnitude of the
problem facing the industry, Furter says, Cyber
security is a massively growing concern, especially since the advent of PSIM. Security and
protection concerns are now centralised in the
IT sphere, and as such are subject to the threats
prevalent in that space. This increases the need
to protect management platforms against cyber
compromise, and to ensure that compromised
systems will survive and even defend against
intrusions. It is fortunate that the IT industry has
been fighting this battle for decades now, as the
76
Laurence Smith.
skills and experience to achieve this new security
are now well established and readily available. Synapse implements a series of industry
standards in defence against cyber threats,
which include powerful encryption policies, data
obfuscation and steganographic transmission
techniques.
Security is certainly a very important aspect
of a VMS, De Lorm concurs. Any platform that is
capable of city surveillance should be capable of
encrypted communication, using TLS, to secure
communications between any platform components like servers, client apps etc. Furthermore,
a secure VMS platform should be able to encrypt
video from the camera both in transit and at rest.
It should also support certificate-based authentication like Active Directory Federation Service
(ADFS) to leverage a security token service.
Lastly, it must also record all activity to an audit
log, including failed logon attempts as well as
all system setting changes to any aspect of the
surveillance system which can later be checked
and verified.
Narrowing down the choices

Customers should look at a solution and not
just the VMS when an upgrade or new system
is required, according to Smith. Questions,
for example: what are the site, national or
global requirements? What integrations will
be needed? What do I want to see? need to be
asked. With thermal, infrared, 4K and low light
cameras readily available, it is not just a case of
putting down a camera and recorder, but specifically addressing the required solution.
The FLIR/DVTEL VMS and camera range offers
an efficient, reduced storage requirement solution, through efficient codec implementation,
with high quality, analytics, audio in and outputs,
a list of integrated edge devices and systems

with a 4 year + warranty on the Quasar range of
cameras. These are the things that provide peace
of mind and save money.
Furter also boils the process down to asking, and
answering, a few important questions: Does the
platform limit my choices regarding systems?
A good management platform should not limit
the client in their choice of, for instance, security
hardware, but should rather offer integration
and management policies that allow the client
to procure and implement systems at their
discretion.
Does the system offer added value? A good
platform will have additional features that augment the primary reason for its implementation.
These features should have true operational
value, and not just be a series of gimmicks
designed to fatten out the product offering, he
continues.
Will the platform enhance operations? It is
pointless to procure a new system that will do
nothing but replace the functionality of a previous system. A good management platform will
offer opportunities to optimise current processes, as well as tools to address any challenges
the client may be experiencing.
Is it worth the money? The provider of a
good platform should be sensitive to the volatility of the markets that it plays in, and should
be supportive of limitations on client budgets.
Implementation costs should be equally controlled, as this aspect of a project often presents
a hidden shock to the clients cash flow. A good
platform will be inexpensive to procure and
implement, but offer expensive quality and
functionality.
According to De Lorm, key decision criteria
when evaluating a new VMS must include
the companys VMS history and track record,
whether the product actually works as advertised and whether it is a first generation product
or something that has matured. Can the product scale and grow as the clients requirements
grow, and if new technology is launched, will it
be able to support it? he poses.
Does the VMS allow for multiple servers,
multiple sites, central management, failover
in the event of a recording server failure, and
does it understand how networks work? Can it
work in both a unicast and multicast environment? Is it hardware agnostic, allowing it to
run on any Windows based hardware, or will
the VMS company insist that the user buys
their costly branded hardware? Lastly, customers need to be very careful when selecting
a systems integrator who understands the
product and is able to design, install and support the product throughout its lifecycle, he
concludes.
SECURITY LIGHTING
Throwing light on the dollar price

By Andrew Seldon.
Industry veteran makes a move into locally designed and

produced lighting products.
With most of the country in mourning over
the antics of senior politicians and the resulting
weakness of the rand, Roston Sadie, MD of GIS
SA is not complaining. Over the past year or
so, Sadie and his partners have set a business
plan in motion to produce lighting products
in South Africa for the security and other
industries. Since these new products are
designed and manufactured locally, the
weaker rand gives GIS a boost in terms of
export potential.
The weak rand is nothing new. In fact, it
has been on a downward trend for a while,
boosted in its decline by recent events, which
has resulted in the cost of imported lighting
products (and any other imports, of course)
rising. In addition, when it comes to lighting
specifically, having to pay a 20% duty on the
import costs simply adds to the expense.
This has created an opportunity in the local
market, which GIS is taking advantage of.
Sadie says the products GIS manufactures
are all made from the best components in
order to offer quality goods, but because they
are produced locally, they cost half of what
the same quality would cost from the UK or
Australia.
GIS has a number of products it can assist
customers with, as well as lighting services
for those planning, for example, a perimeter
security system. Sadie says the companys first
offering is a perimeter lighting product that

delivers reliable illumination at a low cost.
It can be shipped as an infrared (IR) or a
traditional white light.
GIS also has a locally produced flood
light, the 50-Watt T1. Again, users can choose
between IR and white light. The product is
designed for flexibility, and can be adapted to
whatever the client needs, such as different
output at various times of the day. It can also
be adapted to be used as a full solar solution.
Two potential export contracts GIS is
looking into, one in Angola and one in
Zambia, may see the T1 adapted to be used
as street lights running on solar power. These
contracts would put GIS on the map as the
order will run into thousands of units.
Despite the advances of technology that
enables some surveillance cameras to see in
the dark, the security industry still relies on
lighting, both IR and white light, for many
applications. Especially when it comes to
IR lighting, the products GIS offers are, as
noted above, significantly less costly than the
premium international products and they are
of significantly better quality than the cheaper
imports.
Another product line GIS is working on
is locally produced power supplies. In many
projects the team has been working on, Sadie
has found that getting the right power supply
was an issue. The power supply GIS is

developing offers users a wider range of
output voltages to enable it to adapt to the
requirement of each project. This could well
be the first mountable constant current power
supply manufactured locally.
Sadie says the focus of GIS from the start
has been on producing quality products that
can measure up to any competitor in the
world. It has achieved this goal with the
assistance of its partners, such as EBV
Elektronik and OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.
Its partners have assisted with the development
process as well as testing to ensure quality
standards are maintained. Moreover, during
the design phase, Sadie received input from
many security industry players who were able
to use their real-world experiences to identify
what lighting solutions they would like to see
in the market.
The manufacturing business of GIS is still in
its infancy, but already Sadie says the market
has responded positively, including interest
from outside the countrys borders. With
internal potential and export options opening
up for GIS, the future of this local innovator is
looking very bright.
For more information contact Roston Sadie,
GIS SA, +27 (0)71 560 4151,
roston@gis-sa.net, www.gis-sa.net
77
STORAGE
Storage: what is the right choice?

By Christoph Bast, Research & Development, Geutebrck.
Decide on your storage requirements by defining your needs in

terms of reliability, capacity, cost and performance.
Everyone talks about it, everyone knows it:
The requirements for video surveillance are
continually on the rise. Evermore, cameras,
higher resolutions and longer retention times
are increasing the demand for storage systems.
When you need a new storage system, it is
important to first be clear about your specific
requirements. Put another way: You must
define your needs in terms of reliability,
capacity, cost and performance. Of course
these requirements are interdependent,
making the decision that much more difficult.
This article provides an overview of common
storage systems and their pros and cons to
help you make the right decision.
Reliability = Availability
Reliability is a great virtue; for video systems
as well. In this case, it can even be defined:
Reliability means availability. How much you
need depends on the application. The following
question may be able to help you assess your
needs: How critical is it if individual sequences
of images are missing in the recording? What
would happen if one in ten incidents were not
documented? Or one in a hundred?
Of course, everyone would prefer
absolute reliability and thus 100% availability.
78
Technically speaking, this level is almost

impossible to realise. And of course, more
security costs more money. The level of
availability is therefore always a compromise
between requirements and the available
budget.
But even here the situation is not black or
white the possibilities are vast.
The basis: RAID

RAID stands for Redundant Array of
Independent Disks. It is a method of storing
data on multiple individual disks that are
combined into a single logical unit. A RAID
controller controls the write and read operations,
so that the entire system achieves a higher
level of reliability or a higher data throughput
than the individual physical storage medium
itself. RAID is therefore more than just data
backup. When one hard disk fails, system functionality remains intact (exception: RAID 0).
After replacing the failed disk, the original state
of the storage system is restored by a rebuild.
Depending on the objective, different
RAID configurations, also called levels, are
used. In all, there are about a dozen different
combinations of configurations. Four types
used most often are:
RAID 0 or striping
High data throughput: Data is distributed
across multiple disks with the aim to achieve
a high data transfer rate. The bottleneck in
storage access is the mechanical limitation of
the hard disk (the speed of read/write unit).
By controlling multiple disks in parallel, it is
like their speeds are added together.
No data security: On the contrary, because
when one disk fails, not only is all the data
on that disk lost, the data on the other disks
are at risk as well due to the fact that the
information is distributed across them. If one
disk fails, all data records are affected whose
fragments were stored on this disk in most
cases this means the entire array of disks.
Recovering the data records that were not
affected is only possible using time consuming
methods.
Not a realistic option for video security:
Due to the lack of reliability, RAID 0 is not
recommended for use in video surveillance
systems.

RAID 1 or mirroring
Duplication of data: All data is mirrored, that
is, it is stored twice.
Maximum reliability: This method provides
STORAGE
a very high level of reliability as well as high

performance.
High costs: Doubling the number of hard
drives is usually quite expensive.
The net capacity is cut in half: Only half of the
total capacity of all physically present hard
drives is available for storing data.
Special area of use: The method is particularly
useful when the entire dataset must be removed
for external use without interrupting system
operation, for example for use as evidence.
RAID 5 and RAID 6 the standards
Reliability: User data and parity data
(generated during data storage) are stored
across all disks. Using the parity data, all data
can be completely recovered, even if one
disk fails (RAID 5). In a RAID 6 configuration,
it is even possible for two hard drives to fail
simultaneously, as in this case the parity data
has itself been backed up by a duplicate.
Continuous data access: Once a defective
disk is replaced, the system automatically
starts with the rebuild (recovery process) of
the parity data so that once this procedure
is complete the original level of reliability is
again provided. During this period, it is still
possible to access all user data.
Limited costs: The net usable capacity for
storing the user data depends on the
selected RAID level: In RAID 5 it is n-1, for
RAID 6 it is n-2, where n is the total number
of disks. In a RAID system with a total of 16
hard drives, 2 disks are used to ensure RAID
Level 6, leaving 14 hard drives to store the
user data.
Balance: Users for whom reliability, data
throughput and cost efficiency are equally
important often use RAID 5 or RAID 6.
Since the performance of RAID systems
depend on the proper interaction of hard
disks, it is advisable to only use identical hard
disk drives. Identical means: Same manufacturer,
same capacity, same type number and, if
possible, the same firmware version. Moreover,
in RAID systems we exclusively use so-called
enterprise HDDs that are certified for this
use. They usually are characterised by a longer
service life and reliability than desktop drives.
Which RAID level should be used

for video security?
Although RAID is a complex topic, this question
can be answered simply: The trend is moving
toward RAID level 6; in particular as hard drives
continue to increase in capacity.
With double parity, RAID 6 provides protection
against the simultaneous failure of two drives.
This means that even when the system is performing a rebuild, the RAID array is still
Figure 1. All recorders share a volume group with RAID 6. The maximum data throughput is
shared between the devices. The access speed for each recorder is limited. Geutebrck
Figure 2. Management of the RAID system is simplified. The performance of the individual
units increases. Writing, reading and access are faster. When a hard drive fails within a volume
group, only one recorder is affected. Geutebrck
protected against the failure of another hard
drive. The intense read and write operations
during the rebuild place increased demands
on the drives. In addition, hard drive sizes
continue to grow unabated, meaning the
recovery process takes longer as well. The
risk that a drive fails during a rebuild thus
increases with the hard drive capacity. RAID
6 ensures the reliability of the system even
during rebuilds and at the price of only one
additional disk!
An alternative is RAID 5 with an integrated
hot spare disk: A reserve disk that is incorporated in the system but remains inoperative
until one active disk fails. Only then is it activated
by the RAID controller and the rebuild process
starts immediately. The advantage: The hot
spare disk hardly ages for as long as it is not
in operation. The disadvantage: During the
rebuild there is no security against failure of an
additional disk. However, the rebuild time is
reduced. This makes sense if a system cannot be
easily accessed by the system administrator, and
as a result it can take some time until a defective
disk can be replaced. In principle, hot spare
can also be integrated into a RAID 6 system.
Be sure to enable Controller Messaging.
Ensure that your administrator takes the
message seriously and keeps spare disks
ready on site. The administrator can thus react
quickly and minimise the risk of data loss.
Figure 3. A G-Scope/8000 with integrated

RAID system can be expanded using JBODs to
a database size of 256 TB. Geutebrck
Central or local
system counts, the selection of the storage

concept and the connection with the datagenerating devices also have their influence. In
general, a distinction is made between network
attached (central) and directly attached (local)
storage. These are the differences:
It is and remains a matter of priority: Do you

need maximum storage capacity of hard
disks, optimum data throughput or maximum
reliability? Not just the RAID level within a
iSCSI Storage central storage over longer

distances
iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System
79
STORAGE
Interface) is a standard for storage networks

based on IP technology, and it is used for
centralised management of storage within
a LAN. It is used in particular when multiple
devices generate data that are stored on
a shared storage system. It can be used to
save space, for improved administration or
to combine the (individually small) storage
requirements of multiple units into a larger
array. Assuming RAID 6 is used by default, the
following variants exist:
For maximum storage capacity, all
available disks (n) are combined to form a
large storage system, a volume group. The
net capacity (RAID 6 = n-2) is then divided into
individual partitions (Virtual Disks). Each partition contains a corresponding portion of the
available storage capacity. The data generating
computers (in our application, DVRs or NVRs,
i.e. recorders) now use logical, virtual locations
instead of local storage media. A potential
bottleneck is the centralised storage management, which receives and distributes the data
from all recorders at a limited data throughput. The advantage, however, is that the RAID 6
reliability costs only two hard disks for the total
capacity of all recorders. (See Figure 1.)
For even more data security, multiple
volume groups within a RAID system are each

configured with a RAID 6 system. Each volume
group is a separate partition (Virtual Disk).
Each recorder uses a separate volume group
for its data. Each volume group is controlled
separately. Benefits are even greater reliability
and more efficient management by the RAID
controller with a correspondingly higher
data throughput per recorder. However, this
concept costs significantly more hard drives
namely exactly twice the number of volume
groups that are not available for user data.
(See Figure 2.)
therefore optimum disk access. This approach

is recommended if the storage requirements
for an individual recorder are high, for example
when the images from a large number of
high-resolution cameras need to be stored
over a long period of time.
Use recorders with an integrated RAID
system such as the G-Scope/8000 and expand
the storage up to the capacity you need using
SAS-connected JBODs (Just a Bunch Of Disks).
They are cost-effective expansion units, which
are controlled by the RAID controller of the
recorder.
SAS storage the direct link

SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) is a storage system
directly attached to the computer (also known
as: Direct Attached Storage (DAS) or Server
Attached Storage). There is a dedicated, direct
cable connection between the computer
and storage unit via a SCSI cable. The
distance between the two is limited to a
few metres.
The overall performance of the RAID system
is 100% available for the connected recorder,
but only for this recorder. Each additional
recorder needs its own storage system. The
advantage is very high data throughput and
Summary
A storage system is used to improve performance
in at least one major aspect compared to
operation of one or more individual hard
drives. Depending on the configuration, a RAID
system offers the following advantages:
Improved reliability of data storage.
Guaranteed high availability.
Improved data throughput rate.
Geutebrck, +27(0)11 867 6585,
bernard@geutebruck.co.za,
www.geutebrueck.com.
IP SURVEILLANCE
Maximise surveillance with the right technology

So how does one select an IP video surveillance camera with
so many features available?
Surveillance camera technology continues
to develop to accommodate the growing
demands of a burgeoning market. According
to Marco de Ru, head of product management
at IP convergence company MiRO, smart
manufacturers have embraced a number of
new technologies that improve reliability of
surveillance and increase image quality.
Clients are often at a loss when deciding what
technologies are best suited to the application at
hand and what features to consider when selecting
cameras to ensure maximum performance.
De Ru points out that while many of these new
technologies are sought after in a surveillance
camera, the camera location and system end goals
are the factors that should be considered when
selecting a surveillance solution.
So how does one select an IP video surveillance camera given the fact that there are so
many different camera types available and so
many different features? De Ru says that while
camera resolution is a prime consideration, it
is only one of the deciding factors one should

consider. Technologies like wide dynamic
range, H.265 compression, image stabilisation and
software defog are just some of the features
that are noteworthy.
He emphasises that it is critical to ensure
that the features of the specific camera fit the
conditions and application. For example, if one
has a camera mounted indoors facing a glass
sliding door, at certain times of day the sunlight
shining in from outside will cause over-exposure
of the image, thereby influencing the image
quality. In this instance, one needs to deploy
a camera with wide dynamic range. Wide
dynamic range takes the high exposure portion
and merges them with the low exposure portion to average out the over-exposure of light.
This substantially improves the image quality
and provides the user with usable footage.
Another thing to consider is whether cameras
will be integrated with access control systems. Long
considered a grudge purchase, many clients are
demanding systems that work seamlessly together

and maximise the return on investment. Pairing
access control and CCTV systems helps generate
smarter video data for the security system.
An access control system that uses proximity cards, without a CCTV system, means that
someone who should not have access to a
building could acquire access by using a lost or
stolen card. Although occupants may eventually notice intruders inside the buildings, the
access control system itself would fail to detect
that anything is amiss. One solution is to have
the CCTV cameras set up to record the entrance
whenever employees use their proximity cards.
Using video analytics, the camera system can
determine whether the person using the card is
actually the person authorised to use it. If not,
the system can generate an alarm.
For more information contact MiRO
Distribution, 086 123 MIRO, riandi@miro.co.za,
www.miro.co.za
HYPERCONVERGENCE
Converged data centres

By Andrew Seldon.
Hyperconvergence may benefit integrators involved in large surveillance

installations and need a simplified data centre approach.
Convergence is everywhere. The security
industry is no stranger to the term and the
implications it has for many vendors, installers,
integrators and even end users. But the concept
extends to all industries and what is happening
in the IT industry in the convergence world is
starting to impact security as well.
Hyperconvergence is a term Hi-Tech
Security Solutions has looked at before (www.
securitysa.com/53450n). Put simply, hyperconvergence is all about the convergence of
the data centre into a more easily provisioned
IT solution that incorporates everything in a
type of virtual machine, as well as a physical
container or appliance. Wikipedia describes
it as follows: A hyper-converged infrastructure
(aka hyperconvergence) is an IT infrastructure
framework for integrating storage, networking
and virtualization computing in a data centre.
In a hyperconvergence environment, all
elements of the storage, compute and network
components are optimised to work together
on a single commodity appliance from a single
vendor. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Hyper-converged_infrastructure.)
The book Hyperconverged Infrastructure
for Dummies by Scott D. Lowe goes into far
more detail, designed for those unqualified
in rocket science. It is freely downloadable at
www.hyperconverged.org/dummies-bookdownload.
While the term and its application is still
new, even in the IT world, it has already gained
some traction in the security world, and will
become even more popular as more companies
offer hyperconverged solutions. In security,
systems integrators will appreciate the ease with
which they can set up the back-end of their
surveillance operations using hyperconverged
82
solutions this applies to large installations

due to the cost of the appliances.
Instead of having to worry about setting
up servers, storage networking and so on, surveillance solutions can make use of a hyperconverged system to carve out a piece of the
data centre for their video footage. The beauty
of what hyperconvergence will do is allow
one person to allocate the server and CPU
resources, the storage space and the network
resources to be used by the surveillance solution.
You no longer need a specialist for each in
order to obtain the optimal infrastructure.
Tom OReilly.
In the first instance, this will ensure enough
resources are assigned to the solution so as not
to impact on the run-of-business functions;
secondly, it can also easily be changed to run
live analytics or provide more or less resources,
as they are required.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions asked two
companies that have recently released their
hyperconverged solutions to market to give
us more insight into this concept. It must be

noted that the companies have released their
hyperconverged solutions in 2016, therefore
they are still focused on the IT application and
the optimisation thereof. They are aware of
the usefulness of hyperconvergence in
surveillance projects, but it will be a while
before they have solutions specifically
designed for CCTV (the link above shows a
security integrator that is already at work
using this new technology in South Africa).
Hyperconvergence on the rails

EMC is one company on the hyperconvergence
trail. It recently released VxRail, a hyperconverged solution is describes as a data
centre in a box. It is a virtual appliance that
can be installed and easily scaled to meet the
requirements of a business.
It includes an array of product solutions,
but instead of having to manage each by itself,
the management function is centralised. It
is basically a software defined dynamic data
centre that includes all the components of a
data centre you would require.
No one has time to find all the different
components that go into a data centre,
procured from separate vendors, put together
and ensuring they all work together and then
manage the lifecycle by keeping them up to
date and secure, says Tom OReilly, CTO at VCE
EMEA, an EMC company.
OReilly explains there are four nodes in
each device (or four servers) and it can be
scaled to 64 nodes as 16 appliances are connected to operate as one. In a surveillance installation, for example, the system has the ability
to favour more storage nodes as opposed
to CPU nodes to cater for video. He says
HYPERCONVERGENCE
EMCs Isilon NAS (network-attached storage)

system is an option for surveillance storage
requirements.
The VxRail Appliance serves enterprises,
but also enables smaller companies to deploy
their own DC technology, according to VCE. It
offers flexible and cost-effective services that
can be scaled according to a companys needs,
whether installed in an in-house data centre
(or private cloud, to use the latest buzzword) or
within a data centre run by a service provider.
VxRail was co-designed with VMWare and
encompasses the hardware, network, storage,
virtual and software layers needed for a onestop solution. A single unit is able to provision
200 virtual machines in a matter of minutes,
while scaling with additional VxRail boxes is easy.
Moreover, if a VxRail unit starts to falter,
replacing it is a quick and painless operation.
The system is ready-made with its own
management software and it will plug into
any existing VMWare management ecosystem,
as well as mix with current VCE products.
The VCE marketplace offers free and paid
applications deployable at a clicks notice.
The important thing to understand is how
this brings a new capability to the market,
says Chris Norton, VCE country manager for
South Africa. Enterprises can use VxRail to
equip parts of the business with data centre
capabilities without adding extra load to
central infrastructure.
For example, if an enterprise has a remote
branch that needs to crunch a lot of analytical
data, it can deploy a VxRail server on-site, thus
avoiding the pain of re-engineering its core
infrastructure. It also sidesteps the problems and
costs of pervasive connectivity: whereas a branch
would normally connect to private or public cloud
servers, VxRail offers on-site autonomy.
Flexing hyperconvergence
Cisco has also released its Hyperflex series
of hyperconverged appliances. Cisco SAs
Edward Agostinho and Andre Hurter explain
that hyperconvergence is the culmination of a
process of simplification of IT in the data centre
that has been going on for years.
For example, when storage area networks
(SANs) first arrived, they were designed to
provide better storage resource utilisation
and easier management for businesss storage
systems. Other technology areas soon followed
until we reached the current state of what is
basically an automated data centre. In the past,
each area of the data centre required specific
components, each with an expert to get the
best performance out of it not any more.
Hurter adds that the key to Hyperflex is
deeper levels of abstraction and automation.
One simply plugs a server into a domain and
follows a few prompts to get it an IP address
and the system up and running. The company
has included a range of automation policies
that the user selects according to the companys requirements, and the system automatically configures the system storage, networking, etc. accordingly.
Users can scale to new requirements by
adding new devices as required. The company
says it will take less than an hour to deploy a
Hyperflex solution, including specifying and
activating the required network.
There are two versions of the product; the
smallest one is the HX220c, a 1-rack unit with
up to 7 TB of storage and up to two processors per node. The HX240c is a 2-rack unit with
up to 29 TB of storage and up to two processors per node. The scalability of the system
makes it simple to pool a number of resources
(including the network for specific tasks and
environments) and allocate them according to

whatever requirements the company has.
Simple complexity
The idea behind hyperconvergence is to
simplify the data centre and put it in a box,
making it easy to use and easy to scale. And if
the vendors are correct, using these solutions
is actually simple for the business wanting
data centre resources, however the technology
within is anything but simple.
In the surveillance industry, the benefit
these systems offer is that it will make the
process of setting up a data centre (or server
room containing all the IT equipment to
manage your surveillance footage and processing), that much simpler. You wont need an array
of experts, even when sharing IT resources with
business applications and processes, the setup
and management has been automated, including the network, ensuring your video doesnt
hog all the available bandwidth.
As noted above, the technology is new and,
in all likelihood, poorly explained in this short
article. However, the potential for hyperconvergence in the general IT world is enormous,
as well as for the security surveillance world.
While the vendors claim it can be used for
smaller companies as well as enterprise
clients, the costs ensure that it remains a
large company buy but who knows how
technology will change over the course of the
next few years.
For more information:
VxRail: www.vce.com/products/
hyper-converged/vxrail
Hyperflex: www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/
hyperconverged-infrastructure/index.html
Hyperconvergence: www.hyperconverged.org
Plug & play gigabit switch

Industry first plug & play intelligent redundant ring gigabit switch
with PoE up to 60 W.
The new four port intelligent managed
Ethernet switch supports configuration either
via DIP switches or through the standard
graphical user interface. The unique DIP switch
configuration provides network functionality
such as; redundant ring using RSTP, multicast
support to prevent network flooding (in pointto-point or linear topologies), redundant pointto-point links and SFP port speed simply and
quickly without any IP knowledge or network
configuration via a connected computer.
Providing two 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45 and two

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offers great flexibility by supporting any MSA
compliant 100 Mbps or 1000 Mbps SFP module
and ComNets unique Copperline extended
distance modules. PoE support is available on
the fixed electrical ports in two formats; up to
thirty (30) watts of power per port based on the
IEEE 802.3at standard or a High Output (HO)
version that can supply up to 60 watts of power
simultaneously from each port.
Weighing less than 1 kg and only measuring

10.4 9.4 3.7 cm, the CNGE2+2SMS is the
smallest switch of its type available on the
market and ideal for use in confined spaces.
CNGE2+2SMS series is made in the USA and
comes with lifetime warranty as standard.
For more information contact ComNet
Europe, +44 (0)113 307 6400,
ymamoniat@comnet.net,
www.comnet.net.
83
HOME SURVEILLANCE
Home is where the surveillance is

By Andrew Seldon.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions takes a quick look at home surveillance.

In the not too distant past, home surveillance
was a strictly amateur effort with cheap
cameras and questionable results. Today,
however, home surveillance has become a
sizable market with many companies putting
quality products and management capabilities
in the hands of users.
But what goes into a surveillance solution
for the home? Are companies putting their
standard cameras into the consumer market
as is? Or, are they developing specific solutions
designed for home use, with added functionality that corporate users would not use or
require, such as cloud storage? Hi-Tech Security
Solutions asked three experts for their opinions
on what makes a reliable home surveillance
solution today, when there are so many
options to choose from.
Roy Alves, regional business development
manager of Axis Communications, says
Axis doesnt see a need for home-specific
cameras. Most manufacturers nowadays offer
a very broad range of cameras that can be
used within a wide range of applications. A
camera that is used in a retail environment
could adapt well into the residential market.
However, cameras used in a home might not
need all the advanced features that a camera
used in an enterprise/commercial setting
might offer.
There are many technologies that have
been kept in the commercial domain and out
of the home for a long time, primarily due to
84
the cost of producing them and the subsequent higher cost to the end user, explains
Adrian Woodley, FLIRs UK & European sales
manager for consumer electronics. Some of
the features corporate users expect as
standard include wide dynamic range,
varifocal lenses, ultra-wide angle and thermal
technologies, for example.
They have been kept out of products
aimed at the home because of their cost
and the heightened price sensitivity of most
domestic consumers. However, due to the
increase in demand for home surveillance in
general, higher quality and increased ease of
accessibility to live view and recorded footage
that has occurred in recent years, a lot of these
technologies are now starting to filter down to
consumer or home-specific cameras.
Brian Wynberger, national technical
manager at Reditron echoes this, noting
that the cameras aimed at the home-specific
market focus on pricing. These cameras are
typically simpler versions of the commercial
equivalents as home users did not really
require all the added functions.
Wynberger raises a valid point. What
does the average home user need from a
surveillance solution? Naturally, the products
are interesting and fun to use to check that
the kids are doing their homework and not
playing video games, but do they really
serve a useful and reliable security function?
Moreover, should surveillance solutions not
be linked to an armed response company as

most house alarms are? This would address
the safety concerns of homeowners. Not only
could they see any problems as they occurred,
but they could be assured of some form of
response.
Video alarms?
The first thing to note, adds Wynberger, is that
a surveillance system is not an alarm system.
In many instances, an attempt is made to
have the video motion detection function
trigger the alarm system and warn the armed
response unit. However, due to numerous false alarms, this has proved a fruitless
exercise.
There are already many discussions among
armed response companies to include a video
service in their security offering, but Alves says
he hasnt seen much traction with it just yet.
Hopefully when factors such as bandwidth
and cloud video increases, this is something
that could take off.
There is also the natural hesitance by
people to have strangers accessing video
cameras in their homes, even when the
promise is made that it will only be done in
specific emergencies.
Thats not to say the idea is worthless.
It is possible to have surveillance solutions
integrated as part of an alarm system or
monitored system, but these are generally
supplied and installed as a whole by the
HOME SURVEILLANCE
company that offers the monitoring service, and this can be quite costly
says Woodley.
He sees that consumers will want home surveillance or home monitoring as part of their everyday life, to see what is going on in the home
at any given time of the day and not purely as a security function. He
also believes the mere presence of surveillance cameras as a deterrent,
chasing would-be thieves to another less secure house, making having
cameras on site a benefit.
Where to start?
If the homeowner decides that a surveillance solution is a good starting
point for improved security as well as other smart home functionality,
the first thing they need to do is ensure they have a decent Internet
connection.
Alves says the homeowner will need a reliable Internet connection to
be used in conjunction with intelligent network cameras (that allow for
DNS), a smart device to view the cameras as well as viewing/ recording
software, such as Axis Camera Companion, which allows for simple
viewing and recording off a smart device.
As far as the setup goes, Wynberger adds that a P2P (peer-to-peer)
option is the best to connect your various devices. Using a smart device,
all the user needs to do is scan a QR code or barcode from a device to
connect it to the home network. This avoids the hassle of setting up a
router and other technical tasks.
When it comes to avoiding hassles, using analytical and other
technology that business deems standard, such as motion-triggered
recording, push notification of an event trigger and a live view of any of
your cameras or recorded footage from your mobile device is key to a
successful home rollout for Woodley. Of course, these features need to
be made as simple as possible for the home user, once again to avoid
technical hassles.
The same hassle-free requirement is even more important when it
comes to setting up your network. Most people have enough problems
simply setting up their home Wi-Fi to connect everyone to the Internet.
Woodley says the attraction of plug-n-play and no wiring or drilling
is certainly a big attraction to consumers. Wi-Fi surveillance systems
are generally as reliable as the Wi-Fi signal itself, but with some of our
products such as the FLIR FX we have taken steps to make sure that you
never miss the things that matter.
The FLIR FX uses cloud recording which means your footage is stored
in the cloud. If a thief decides to take your traditional hardwired DVR
away, youve instantly lost all of your footage, however with the cloudbased system, if the hardware is taken your footage is safely stored.
The downfall of this is that many Wi-Fi systems rely completely
on the cloud so if you have a power cut or the Wi-Fi goes off for any
reason, you lose the footage during that time, Woodley adds. To combat
this, the FLIR FX has a Micro SD card built into the camera so should the
network be lost, the camera detects it and instantly starts recording
locally to the card. The footage will be pushed to the cloud at a later time
when it detects the Wi-Fi is back on.
Wynberger agrees, noting that using wireless should only be done

when there is no other option available. Wireless is influenced by
factors such as radio waves, EMC, weather and other conditions; Wi-Fi
surveillance systems also have a problem transmitting through solid
walls. Moreover, one needs to run power cables to the camera in any
case, which means the system is not completely wireless. Wireless
battery operated cameras are available, however these typically have a
battery life of three to 12 hours of continuous functionality.
Therefore, while wireless systems may sound good, perhaps it is in
the best interest of the homeowner to make sure the signals in his/her
house are up to the task. With Power-over-Ethernet solutions available
today, combining the power and network cabling into one cable may
be a good compromise between totally wireless and hardwired.
On the other hand, not surprisingly, 95% of recorded home
surveillance footage is never viewed, notes Woodley. It is only when
something has happened people tend to look back at their recordings.
In these types of scenarios, perhaps wireless would suffice. Again, its
up to the homeowner to ensure their network signal gets to where they
need it.
Wired vs. wireless
Products on offer
While Wi-Fi is definitely the simpler and more convenient way to go

when setting up a home network, a school of thought seems
somewhat nervous about relying on wireless for security functions.
Alves believes wired connections are often more stable. The challenge
in South Africa is that most homes are built from concrete, therefore
propagating a wireless signal through the structure can prove difficult.
Video requires exceptional bandwidth and unless the cameras are in close
proximity to the wireless router, we would advise a wired connection.
When it comes to the home market, Wynberger says Reditron offers a

wide range of surveillance solutions, from elegant slim-line recorders to
a range of cameras which will satisfy most home surveillance needs.
The solutions, of course, offer the option of remote access monitoring.
Woodley says FLIR offers 720p and 1080p high definition DVR
analogue systems, 1080p high definition digital NVR systems, wireless
720p and 1080p LCD and DVR systems and Wi-Fi cloud based cameras.
85
MARKET CONSOLIDATION
Market consolidation, good or bad?

By Andrew Seldon.
Mergers and acquisitions may shake up the market, but customers

generally win in the end.
We seem to be in a period of consolidation
in the security market. Enormous amounts of
money are being spent on buyouts and mergers, such as Canon buying Axis and Milestone,
Johnson Controls and Tyco merging, Avigilon
buying what amounts to a ton of video analytics patents, Flir buying DVTel and so on.
Some say this is a natural progression of
a maturing market, others may suggest that
western companies are reacting to competition from China, where quality products are
being sold at lower costs. Whatever the reason,
the market is changing. And no matter the
reason, the person who will feel the impact,
whether positive or negative, is the customer.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions asked industry
experts why were seeing the spate of mergers
and what the eventual outcome could be.
Ingo Mutinelli, sales director at Elvey
Security Technologies, says the outcome
depends on the reason for the acquisition or
merger. Many of these acquisitions/mergers are complementary, meaning that one
86
company buys the other for some critical or

innovative IP that will markedly improve an
existing product or put the buying company
into a space that it has battled to make inroads
into.
This can have a positive effect for their
partners and customers in that their available basket improves or a specific product
improves. The other reason would be for
efficiencies that can be realised by joining two
similar businesses making them more profitable or efficient, which should drive prices
down, making them more competitive and in
turn grow their market share.
Conversely something to look out for
would be creating a monopolistic environment
through acquisitions or mergers, which is not
good for partners or customers for obvious
reasons.
Rob Anderson, MD of Rob Anderson
Consulting echoes Mutinelli that consolidation
and mergers are generally based on one of
two reasons:
(a) Getting access to new technology and/or

increasing market share, or
(b) Using the acquisition to remove their
opposition in the marketplace.
Anderson says that, in both cases, there
is a period of concern and a reconsideration
of who should be used on your next project.
This leaves customers, SIs, installers etc. in a
position of difficulty when trying to provide
a long term support in such a fast changing
marketplace.
This should result in all parties being sure
they are offering solutions that are open and
unrestricted. There must be an easy path to
change without lock in to particular protocols and non-standard interfaces.
Competition and efficiency

Mutinelli doesnt think consolidation is a
response to Chinese competition. Mergers
and buyouts have been around for centuries
and while price is always a factor, I believe
technology, service and competence drives
MARKET CONSOLIDATION/HOME SURVEILLANCE

Irrespective of the marketing hype or slick
sales people, Anderson advises customers to
ensure they always work with good brands,
from equipment through to installation.
The most important rule is not to allow
your project to use software and products that
have non-standard protocols. The systems
must be open and allow for multi-product
connectivity.
Customers still rule
Ingo Mutinelli, sales director at Elvey

Security Technologies.
Rob Anderson, MD of Rob Anderson

Consulting.
many of the acquisitions and mergers we see

today.
Anderson expects the consolidation were
seeing is partially due to new competition, but
it is also due to the need for more robust business plans trying to be a producer of analytic
algorithms only is not likely to be profitable.
There is also a need to reduce the number
of layers of systems or companies between
the manufacturer and end user. Too many is
too costly. This reduction in the number of
mark-ups is driving a change in the rest of the
market and the result is good for clients.
solutions instead of products is also a factor in

the consolidation we are seeing.
Anderson splits the market between box
movers and mass distribution on the one hand,
and professional, large project solutions providers
on the other. Customers are inclined to opt
for the one-stop shop, or box mover because
costs are lower, however, there is often a lack
of expertise available to extract full value from
solutions. The average client is convinced by
the salesman that this solution is best. It remains
debatable if this solution is well serviced.
Share of wallet and how much of it they
can get drives how companies view their
market, notes Mutinelli. Consolidation and a
holistic offering is where manufacturers and
suppliers are headed. Customers also want
one port of call and they want simplicity, not
complicated value chains from many different
vendors.
Holistic offering
Its nothing new to say that the physical
security market is moving away from point
solutions, or silos as the IT word calls it,
towards holistic solutions that aim to deliver
everything the client requires. The drive to
Finally, Axis offers a wide range of entry-level
cameras such as the Axis M10 and M11 series.
The cameras offer best-in-class image quality and
professional monitoring capabilities. For outdoor
surveillance, Alves recommends the affordable
AXIS M30 Series which are highly discreet and
easy-to-install fixed domes. Our Axis Camera
Companion is a simple yet sophisticated video
surveillance solution for businesses/ residents
needing to monitor their premises. It is an efficient solution for small systems with one to four
cameras, but there is also full support for up to 16
cameras and it is available for download free of
charge.
Axis Communications, +27 (0)11 548 6780, sasha.
bonheim@axis.com, www.axis.com.
FLIR Systems, +44 780 151 4810,
theresa.turner@flir.uk.com, www.flir.com.
Reditron, 087 802 CCTV (2288),
marketing@reditron.co.za, www.reditron.co.za.
The era of consolidation is not likely to end

soon, there are already rumours of more
big deals in the making. The one thing the
end user can count on, however, is that their
suppliers, no matter who they merge with or
buy, still need customers to make a profit. As
noted above, many of these deals are driven
by the profit motive and this is good news for
customers.
If youre not looking after your customer,
you can close your doors, says Mutinelli.
Whether youre wheeling and dealing to
acquire a customer base or organically growing one, entities will always try their best to
look after their customers. Whether they get
it right or not is the question, and if not then
there are more than enough choices out there
for clients to try something else.
Elvey Security Technologies,
+27 (0) 11 401 6700, info@elvey.co.za,
www.elvey.co.za.
Rob Anderson, rob@robanderson.co.za,
www.robanderson.co.za.
Dahua eyes home security

Dahua Technology has introduced home Wi-Fi solutions, offering real-time
monitoring for home surveillance.
The resolution of the Wi-Fi series cameras is up to 3 megapixels and it can connect to
the easy4ip app for remote control and viewing the footage which is saved on local storage. Users are also able to communicate remotely via the built-in bi-directional audio. The
cameras can also send alarm notifications when they detect activity.
The simple 3-step installation process enables it to detect and connect to the Wi-Fi
network automatically, letting users view streamed video right away. Due to its compact
design, the camera can be placed almost anywhere and provides 120 degree monitoring.
Product highlights
Capture detail with 3 MP camera

7x24 real-time monitoring & playback.
Bi-directional audio.
Push alarm (motion detection & sound detection).
Plug-n-play with easy4ip app.
Easy installation.
For more information, contact Dahua Technology, +86-571-87688883,

overseas@dahuatech.com.
87
MOBILITY
Video management in the age of

the mobile Internet
By Anders Johansson, director, Milestone Eastern Europe.
Enhancing the value of video and providing visual awareness at

the edge of the network.
Mobility the rise of Internet-enabled
smartphones and tablets is radically
changing the way that business systems
operate: enhancing the value of video and
providing visual awareness at the edge of the
network where it can have the most powerful
and immediate impact.
The Internet, we can probably all agree,
is pretty great. Not only can we share our
photos with far-flung family and friends, we
can also do some pretty nifty things with it in
our working lives too. It continues to provide
a seemingly endless set of possibilities for
companies to help them work harder, better
and smarter. And now mobility adds another
range of opportunities into the mix.
The mobile Internet enables huge swathes
of the worlds population to more rapidly
access information and engage with others
on a scale never seen before. For businesses,
88
this goes beyond traditional systems like

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software:
video-enhanced business systems used for
securing people and assets are the next in line
to be given the mobile device treatment.
And this trend doesnt stop there.
Next up is the concept of the Internet of
Safety Things. The IoST is concerned with
connected smart assets and sensors which
are able to collect and share data, enabling
new insights that can transform a standard
company into a data driven business. Its a
specialised Internet of Things, with safety and
security-centric devices communicating to
deliver enhanced functionality and powerful,
actionable information.
Beyond the IoST lies Managed Visual
Services: the capability of effectively and
meaningfully using video from hundreds or
thousands of connected sensors.
Can you handle it?

With mobile devices becoming so commonplace, and with the trends mentioned above
rapidly developing, the systems that handle
them also need to evolve. They cant be the
same systems designed for a non-mobile,
stationary world, where cameras are only ever
mounted on walls and all networks are wired.
They need to be built with the understanding
that the notion of a system is flexible and
expandable, according to the way technology
and applications develop.
Were talking, of course, about concepts
like open platform technology platforms
that can provide organisations with the
necessary adaptability to ensure that they
can implement changes when and where
they are needed, according to their business
requirements.
So while the IoST might be in its early
MOBILITY
stages, where standards, privacy issues and

administration have yet to cohere into a more
mature and corporate-ready, implementable
concept, mobility is clearly alive and very
present today in the form of smartphones and
tablet computers.
Consumer adoption of both categories is,
we know, widespread and now mobility is
broadening its reach into the corporate world
as well. Tablet computers, a category that
barely existed three years ago, is estimated to
grow by almost 50 percent per year in
enterprise use, according to a recent IBM
study.
Data from the same study indicates that
individuals are using both mobile phones
and tablet computers to accomplish a wide
range of work activities that were previously
restricted to desktops. These activities range
from accessing email (62 percent via phone,
38 percent via tablet) to collaboration and
project management (25 percent via phone,
34 percent via tablet) to videoconferences
(30 percent by phone, 33 percent via tablet).
The study concludes: The ability to perform
these and access other enterprise applications
from non-traditional office settings holds the
possibility to reinvent at a fundamental level
how companies execute a range of activities
from sales and customer service to logistics
and maintenance.
Video business systems also benefit from
this focus on mobility: Mobile strategy leaders
have also seen clear benefits in their mobile
investments to date: 73 percent of leaders have
seen measurable ROI from their mobile
initiatives versus 34 percent of all other
companies in our study. Further, 81 percent
stated that mobile capabilities are fundamentally
changing the way their organisations do
business, the study says.
Mobile video: a radical departure

When smartphones or tablets are used as
clients, they enable a radical shift in how the
VMS (video management system) is used.
They allow a decentralised workflow where
video feeds can be used everywhere, not just
in front of a smart wall.
Push alerts to mobile devices effectively
break the monitor-wall restriction, removing
the last barriers for true mobile video systems.
Its no longer a single operator handling an
alarm and using video feeds to investigate the
incident further, manually setting in motion
the proper actions for resolving the incident.
Push alerts now mean the person responsible
for resolving the incident gets all the
information they need to do so, directly.
Using the mobile video client, the
responder can access the VMS and get the

full story without delay or the filter of
interpretation. This not only improves the
quality of the response, its also much more
convenient for the responder.
One example of this is the system at
Copenhagen zoo. The zoo has numerous
gates for receiving supplies. All of these gates
are unmanned, meaning that, previously, an
employee had to leave the zoo administration
building when access was requested and
walk to the gate to verify the identity of the
visitor and allow them entry. But now, by
using a mobile client integrated with the zoos
VMS, any authorised employee can access
the video feed from the camera covering the
gate in question, verify the identity of the
delivery and open the gate remotely. The use
of mobile clients saves the zoo 180 man-days
a year, improves handling of deliveries due to
reduced waiting times, and heightens security.
Mobile clients can also benefit more
traditional video security installations. The
Skult chain of hairdressers in Sweden use their
video installation for security and improving
salon efficiency. But in their new video
infrastructure no traditional clients are used.
They operate with mobile clients only.
This enables the owner of Skult to ensure
that every salon in the chain meets her
standards, and can quickly handle security
incidents, no matter where she is. But its not
just security incidents that can be monitored,
as CEO and owner Maria Jrgensen explains:
If I want to, I can check up on my salons when
I sit at home. Then I can call the store right
away if decorations at the store need to be
changed, for example. It is great to have such
flexibility.
Cameras on the move

This is impressive stuff. But mobile devices
can be used for much more than just functioning
as a mobile video client. Consider this: all
smartphones and tablets have an integrated
video camera, they have fairly accurate time
services, and nearly all are GPS-enabled. The
more advanced devices add a compass to
the feature set. These features make mobile
devices very capable cameras for use in a
VMS-context. Add to this the availability of
nearly omnipresent fast data connections, and
the resulting practical devices enable a large
number of new uses.
The ability to push video to a central VMS
from mobile devices, complete with evidence
class metadata like GPS position, camera
direction and time of day, is a truly compelling
concept. It offers the potential to report
incidents at locations not covered by
Anders Johansson, director, Milestone

Eastern Europe.
stationary cameras; it can provide extra,
complementary angles to recordings from
stationary cameras; and it could be used to
provide additional video data, as smartphones
have plenty of capacity for running video
analytics. Of course, optimised video push
capabilities demand that the VMS is adaptable
and capable of handling the video metadata.
If it cant, the use of mobile devices as effective
cameras is, at best, difficult.
Building for the future

Its clear that the corporate use of mobile
devices is increasing. This means that business
systems, infrastructure and workflow will
now all have to be designed, or adapted, to
accommodate these devices.
Video business systems are no exception
here. The use of mobile devices as clients can
improve productivity, as they enable a watch
and react everywhere workflow. Video pushed
from mobile devices is enabling both new
opportunities and giving first responders to
incidents ways to be more efficient.
All of this demands a VMS with a high
degree of adaptability and true openness a
video management system built with an
understanding of the requirements of the new
era of mobility.
For more information contact Milestone
Systems, +27 (0)82 377 0415,
arms@milestonesys.com,
www.milestonesys.com.
89
CYBER SECURITY
Is your CCTV system secure from

cyber attack?
A Cloudview White Paper.
Does your surveillance installation make it easier to hack your

organisations network and everything on it?
Visual surveillance is more integral to society
than ever before, helping organisations to safeguard their most valuable assets. However, the
DVR systems traditionally employed in CCTV
networks can make those very organisations
vulnerable. This paper will explore the ways
in which even well known DVR systems are
exposed to external cyberattack, often acting
as a potential entry point for wider corruption
or extraction of network information.
Port forwarding
Many DVRs allow users to view live or recorded
footage remotely using a web browser or app,
typically using port forwarding to enable this
functionality. At the heart of most organisations
security protocols is their firewall. This works by
preventing all inbound connections to a device,
so there is no way for the DVR to form a direct
connection to the Internet. To get around this and
enable port forwarding, a hole is punched in the
firewall, and connections are forwarded to the
DVR. The browser or app can now reach through
the firewall and access the DVR, allowing users to
connect remotely. However, with an open hole in
the security perimeter, anyone can get in.
90
The security of the network is now entirely

compromised by the DVR.
A number of DVRs automatically set up port
forwarding rules without notifying the user.
The DVR simply asks the router to set up port
forwarding. This makes set-up easier, but at the
expense of weakened security.
Some DVRs recommend running on a
non-standard port. Although this may reduce
the number of automated attacks, it does make
finding vulnerable DVRs easier.
Finding vulnerable devices

Everything connected to the Internet is
identified by an IP address. So when using
port forwarding to access the DVR, its IP
address needs to be known. As a result, many
manufacturers recommend using Dynamic
DNS, which automatically updates a name
server in the Domain Name Server (DNS).
However, Dynamic DNS also allows an
attacker to quickly find hundreds, or even
thousands of vulnerable devices relatively
easily. They simply need to test as many names
as possible until they get a response; an IP
address will only be returned when there is a
valid domain. In the case of specifically targeting DVRs, an attacker does not need to scour
the entire Internet but need only search the
domains used by known brands.
Firmware updates
Nowadays, everyone is familiar with companies
releasing software updates. When a bug or
vulnerability is found, the software company
will develop a fix and deploy it to users, often
using an automated mechanism.
However, automatic DVR firmware updates
are almost unheard of. For a large number of
devices, there may only be a couple of firmware
updates to fix the most serious of bugs. Once the
DVR is a few months old, and of no commercial
interest to the manufacturer, updates generally
cease, leaving companies vulnerable to attack.
Even when manufacturers do update the
firmware, it is often only a small subset of the
entire system. This means that they update the
programs developed to handle the DVR
functionality, but not the underlying operating
system. An analogy would be running an
up-to-date web browser on a Windows 95
machine. The browser may be secure, but the
CYBER SECURITY
underlying operating system is so riddled with

holes that it does not matter. You have locked
the door, but left the windows wide open.
No oversight
Generally, the first signs of a malware infection
on a PC are unwanted pop-ups, a general
slow-down, continuous network and disk
activity, strangely-named processes or alerts
from anti-virus software. Now imagine that the
PC is rarely used, and when it is used, it runs
a cut-down user interface with no anti-virus
software. How can problems be detected? The
simple answer is that they cant.
The same issues exist with a DVR. It will
rarely be used; live footage might be looked
at now and then, and recorded footage even
less frequently. The user interface provides no
feedback as to what is going on inside.
Vulnerabilities are common

Any complex system will have some vulnerabilities, whether obvious or very subtle.
Unfortunately, the majority of DVR software is
not built by highly skilled developers. Many
manufacturers only require that the software
works immediately. Often, the mistakes are
avoidable: common errors such as unbounded
memory access, SQL injection, and default
credentials.
Security, then, is often an afterthought.
Consequently, many systems acquire security
features as and when their weak points are
uncovered by third parties. In over 15 DVRs
tested by an independent consultant, none was
free from serious vulnerabilities. Some took many
hours to breach, but the majority took less than
an hour. Without the ability to update firmware,
backdoor vulnerability can persist for years,
leaving businesses entire network exposed.
Powerful machines
Inside a DVR is a powerful and highly capable
computer, normally running a full operating
system. There is little difference between a DVR
and a small web server; this makes DVRs ideal
machines for launching an attack against your
network. In comparison, a router or internetconnected thermostat is far more limited, while
many IoT devices have slow network connections,
limited processing power and very little
storage space.
This ability of a DVR to be used to launch
an attack against the rest of a network makes
the use of a cloud-based system even more
compelling.
Insecurity of cloud video solutions

Cloud video solutions are a newer breed
of video surveillance systems which are
beginning to replace traditional DVRs. Unlike

DVR systems which have bolted on Internet
features along the way, dedicated cloud video
solutions have been built to take advantage
of the Internet from day one, offering features
such as remote video streaming and data
back-up in a more reliable and user-friendly
way. However, they often suffer from the same
vulnerabilities as those found in traditional
DVRs.
Inbound RTSP connections to

IPcameras
Most IP cameras support incoming
connections using Real-Time Streaming
Protocol (RTSP). This allows video from the
camera to be viewed from another machine.
RTSP is very widely used; a scan of the Internet
shows that there are about 2.4 million devices
running RTSP. Approximately 1.3 million of
these have no authentication at all, with many
allowing an attacker to freely view live video
remotely.
Just as with most traditional DVRs, a large
number of cloud video providers recommend
port forwarding to allow access to the RTSP
stream from outside the firewall.
Poor website security

Cloudviews recent passive survey of 24 popular
cloud-based video websites showed that
many of them were making common security
mistakes. These include:
1. Use of insecure protocols: A number of the
sites did not use secure protocols to ensure
that communication between the user and
the site was secure. Using standard web
protocol (HTTP) allows an attacker to either
passively monitor, or actively tamper with,
communications. Usernames and passwords can be gathered, or videos viewed.
2. Poor configuration or implementation of
secure protocols: While some sites did use
secure protocols, they made mistakes in
their configuration, massively reducing
security. A significant number of sites
were still found to support options that
are known to be insecure. These allow an
attacker to downgrade the users connection,
giving the impression that the connection is
secure when it is not.
3. No encryption or digital signatures:
Encrypting the communication link is only
part of the picture. Once that data has
reached the cloud, how is it protected from
unauthorised access, and what happens if
the cloud system itself is breached?
Further to this, few cloud-based
providers ensure the integrity of the data.
How can users be sure that the video they
are viewing is not from two weeks ago?

How can the police be sure the video has
not been tampered with? This is where
digital signatures are required. A digital
signature, which is difficult to copy yet
easy to verify, proves that a certain device
has handled a piece of data. However,
few cloud-based providers use digital
signatures.
4. Common website vulnerabilities: Nearly all
the surveyed sites were also found to have
one or more other vulnerabilities.
5. No controls around access to customer data.
Beyond this, many cloud-based providers
have clauses allowing them to share data
with third parties. However, when we are
talking about sensitive data such as CCTV
stored on a server as part of a paid-for
service, there should be no need to share
user data with a third party without the
explicit consent of the user.
Conclusion
It should be clear that neither traditional
DVRs nor newer cloud video systems provide
the high levels of security necessary for the
protection of sensitive data gathered by visual
surveillance operators. Not only are such
systems vulnerable to attack from external
forces compromising the security of the
entire network but the operators themselves are also in danger of failing to comply
with data protection legislation. Indeed, very
few operators currently reach the standards
required, due to the failure of manufacturers
to provide adequate access and storage
controls, implement protocols or defend
against malevolent intrusions.
As visual surveillance grows ever more
important, companies must move away
from inherent vulnerabilities in DVRs and IP
cameras and embrace the technology of the
cloud provided that the cloud solution has
the necessary security safeguards to mitigate
the common flaws outlined on previous
pages. Security cannot be bolted on. Services
must be designed to be secure from the
ground up; and if organisations are to protect
their assets effectively, transparent security
must be at the top of the agenda.
Cloudview, +44 203 436 1100,
cctv@cloudview.co,
www.cloudview.co.
This white paper has been shortened. The full version
is available at http://www.cloudview.co/dls/white/
cyber-attack-white-paper.pdf (short URL: http://goo.
gl/SFpp9v).
91
VIDEO COMPRESSION TECHNOLOGY
More video, less storage

An Axis Communications White Paper.
Zipstream improves video compression without reducing usability.

Most networked video surveillance systems
today are limited by the amount of video that
can be stored for later use. Camera technologies
such as sensors, optics and embedded image
processing have evolved rapidly over the last
10 years, resulting in video with higher resolution, frame rate and dynamic range, capturing
more details of a scene. The development has
improved the quality of video evidence and
forensic analysis such as face identification, but
only when it is possible to retrieve the video from
the right place, the right time and with the right
quality. A high quality video source is of no value
if storage was limited and the system was
configured to remove valuable information
before it was needed.
There are various methods to limit storage
requirements by reducing the video bit rate,
such as limiting the storage retention time,
saving video in a lower resolution, reducing
the frame rate and increasing compression. In
all these methods, information about something critical might be missing when really
needed.
Optimised for video surveillance, Axis
Zipstream technology is a radically more
efficient H.264 implementation, lowering
bandwidth and storage requirements by an
average 50% or more. Axis Zipstream
technology adds a module inside the video
compression engine of the network camera
92
that ensures that important details in the

image get enough attention in the video
stream while unnecessary data can be
removed. Axis Zipstream technology cuts
the reduced storage cost by an average of
50% or more without costly and complicated
integration.
Background
Before video from surveillance cameras can be
efficiently stored on any media it has to be
processed to fit into the allowed space. To fit
video with high resolution and full frame rate
onto SD cards, which are the most popular and
cost-efficient media for embedded applications,
the original information has to be encoded. This
is done using video compression algorithms that
encode video data by reducing and removing
redundant information.
Video compression algorithms
Video compression algorithms are used to
find regions in the video that already has been
transferred and do not need to be sent again
in the next image frame. Another task for the
algorithm is to identify where in the video
details can be removed without reducing the
visual quality.
State-of-the-art video compression methods
that function well together are grouped into an
international standard, which is a video stream
syntax created for storing, sharing and viewing

video. Today, the most used video compression
standard is called H.264, which is a method
that is efficient enough to reduce several
days of surveillance video onto one single
SD card.
The solution used to compress video
according to H.264 is not part of the standard,
only the syntax and the method to perform
playback is standardised. This enables improved
H.264 encoding solutions to be created while
keeping the file format for interoperability.
Axis Zipstream technology is a more
effective implementation of an H.264 video
encoder for surveillance applications. It includes
various surveillance-unique methods that
enable networked cameras to produce video
with markedly lower bit rate.
How does Zipstream work?
Axis Zipstream technology is a collection of
algorithms in the camera that analyses the
video stream in real-time. Interesting details
and motion are preserved with the given video
quality while the Axis-unique module can filter
other areas harder to optimally use the available
bandwidth.
Axis Zipstream technology is not in any
way a replacement for High Efficiency Video
Coding (HEVC)/ITU Telecommunication
Standardisation Sector (ITU-T) H.265, which
VIDEO COMPRESSION TECHNOLOGY
was jointly developed by ISO/IEC Moving

Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and ITU-T Video
Coding Experts Group (VCEG). Zipstream is
a video coder enhancement, which can be
applied on many video compression standards
with minor adaptations.
Configuration options
Axis Zipstream technology adapts the compressed video stream based on four factors:
Scene motion.
Scene content.
Ambient light level.
Configuration options.
Configuration options that affect Zipstream:
Compression parameter.
Group of Pictures (GOP) length.
Frame rate.
Strength parameter.
Dynamic GOP parameter.
Bit rate reduction
The bit rate reduction can be derived from
either the dynamic Region of Interest (ROI) of
Zipstream or its dynamic GOP.
Dynamic ROI: The dynamic ROI optimises
bandwidth in real-time by
analysing where available bits will give the
maximum benefit from a forensic perspective.
This process is performed for all image content,
resulting in a totally flexible dynamic ROI. This
dynamic ROI automatically expand, shrink,
change shape, split, merge, disappear and
reappear depending on content, for the benefit
of tuning the instant bandwidth.
Since it is unknown in which parts of the
image relevant information may appear,
Zipstream prepares the system for unexpected
events. This dynamic automatic ROI is much
more convenient than other traditional ROI
implementations where the region is set
manually.
Dynamic GOP: The dynamic GOP reduces
the bit rate by avoiding storage consuming
I-frame updates. Typical surveillance scenes
with limited motion can be compressed to an
extremely small size without any loss of detail.
This algorithm makes a real-time adaption
of the GOP length on the compressed video
according to the amount of motion. All clients
or Video Management System (VMS) solutions
may not support smooth playback of video
with this algorithm enabled even though the
compressed video stream conforms to the
H.264 standard.
Expected reduction rates
Axis Zipstream technology reduces the
average bit rate by using real-time scene

information. One method to estimate total
savings is to look at the bit rate savings from
each method independently and multiply the
reduction factors.
Parameter settings
The original compression parameter is still
used when Axis Zipstream technology is
enabled. This parameter controls the amount
of compression applied to important forensic
details. Compression is usually set to 30
and this value is recommended also when
Zipstream is enabled.
The bit rate controller built into the encoder
can be combined with Zipstream to enforce
a Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) limit. MBR is a VBR
configuration with includes an upper limit to
protect the system from temporary bandwidth
spikes. However, the MBR limit must be sufficient to capture the details of moving objects
in the scene to enable the full potential of Axis
Zipstream technology and VBR.
To limit the bit rate for increased storage
time, cloud-connected cameras or cameras
using edge storage should be configured with
the strength parameter set to 30 and dynamic
GOP enabled. This setting is suitable to combine with motion detection triggering and/or
MBR systems where the bit rate is allowed to
adapt to changes in complexity. Edge storage
is a development in Axis network cameras and
video encoders that enables video recording
directly to an on-board SD card or a Networkattached Storage device (NAS).
The dynamic GOP algorithm of Zipstream
can be used to compress low motion
sequences. When using dynamic GOP, the GOP
length will vary, which might pose a problem
for some VMS and other types of client software. To improve support in existing software
solutions that do not optimally implement
playback of H.264 video with dynamic GOP,
either a shorter maximum GOP length could
be selected or dynamic GOP could be disabled.
Application areas
In professional VMS systems, bit rate reduction
is desirable while the image quality must be
kept for operations on critical sites around the
world. These systems must detect even the
smallest threat, and enable advanced forensic
work after any incident. Axis Zipstream
technology enables high security systems to
use continuous recordings due to the low bit
rate used for statics scenes.
When using Axis Camera Companion
(ACC) an even lower bit rate is desired, since
system cost and easy installation is a priority.
The aim is to store video of sufficient quality
on cost-efficient edge storage. However, video

quality should be decreased in a controlled
manner, in order to easily find and understand
the course of events. Zipstream reduces the
amount of missed triggers by allowing longer
recording segments for each motion-triggered
event without generating excessive data.
Axis Zipstream technology is relevant for all
users that wish to reduce the cost of storage,
but the primary application is in small systems
using edge storage. Any business with a need
for small, stand-alone, easy-to-use video surveillance, such as startup companies or smaller
businesses, will benefit from using Zipstream.
Forensic details
Axis recommends using networked video with
VBR where quality is adaptive to scene content
in real-time. Using Constant Bit Rate (CBR) as
a storage reduction strategy is not recommended, since cameras delivering CBR video
may have to discard important forensic details
in critical situations due to the bit rate limit.
Axis Zipstream technology makes it possible
for the system installer to continue using VBR
for optimum video quality while reducing the
storage requirements. This way the surveillance system can keep delivering high quality
video. Important forensic details such as faces,
tattoos and clothing patterns are isolated and
preserved, while irrelevant parts such as white
walls, lawns and vegetation are smoothed out.
Conclusion
Optimised for video surveillance, Axis
Zipstream technology is a radically more
efficient H.264 implementation, lowering
bandwidth and storage requirements by an
average 50% or more for many common 24/7
surveillance use cases.
Axis Zipstream technology makes it possible to use higher resolution and increase
forensic detail, while reducing storage cost and
enabling longer recordings. It enables high
bit rate in scenes with especially interesting
events in combination with low bit rate when a
scene is relatively static.
Zipstream will initially be available for
H.264-based products but there is nothing
in the technology that prevents the solution
from migrating to H.265 encoders when that is
technically possible.
For more information contact Axis
Communications, +27 (0)11 548 6780, sasha.
bonheim@axis.com, www.axis.com.
[Footer] This white paper has been shortened. For
more information, go to http://www.axis.com/global/
en/technologies/zipstream.
93
PANORAMIC CAMERAS
Exploration of panoramic surveillance

A Bosch Security White Paper.
Bosch compares single-lens panoramic cameras with multi-lens

panoramic cameras, fixed cameras and PTZ cameras.
Securing public areas with video surveillance
can be challenging. Specifically, blind spots
cause problems when tracking people passing
through the area. Whether it is an airport, a
bank building or a retail outlet, there are lots
of places where it is important to monitor
people from the moment they enter the
building and follow them as they move
around. All of their movements may be crucial
in terms of monitoring behaviour or forensic
search.
Even though todays conventional IP
cameras can deliver perfect images of what
they view, they simply cannot see everything
there will always be blind spots. However, a
panoramic camera can eliminate blind spots
that would otherwise impact the effectiveness
of video surveillance. But how do panoramic
cameras work and in what kind of applications
can they be beneficial?
Panoramic surveillance
Following the transition from analogue to IP
video surveillance over recent years, multimegapixel (MMP) cameras are now grabbing
all the attention. While the dramatic increase
in resolution benefits any surveillance application, it has also spurred development of high
resolution panoramic cameras.
Panoramic cameras usually come in two
different types: a 360 or a 180 field of view.
The extraordinary 360 field of view of these
cameras, coupled with exceptionally high
resolution sensors of 12 megapixels and even
beyond, results in detailed overview images in
one single view. Usually installed in a ceiling,
a 360 camera covers the entire area below
the camera, providing a full surround view
without any blind spots. A 180 panoramic
camera provides full situational awareness
when installed on a wall, e.g. in corridors or
reception areas.
Panoramic cameras start to prove themselves as a critical component when building a
video surveillance system that needs to meet
the highest security standards as their ability
to avoid blind spots enables operators to
minimise the risk of missing important
information. There are two panoramic camera
designs: multi-lens panoramic cameras and
single-lens panoramic cameras.
94
Multi-lens panoramic cameras generally

have three or four lenses/sensors. The camera
stitches together the separate video streams
from each sensor to form a single image.
Single-lens panoramic cameras use an
extremely wide angle lens of 180 or 360.
A multi-lens camera provides four images
from 90 lenses. The images are rectangular
in shape and are not optically distorted.
However, to create full situational awareness
the images need to be stitched together using
specific software.
A single-lens panoramic camera uses
a fisheye lens that creates a hemispherical
image of the full region located below the
lens. These lenses form a circular field that
ranges 180 horizontally and 180 vertically.
Optical distortion correction technology is
needed to create useful images, this is known
as dewarping.
Single-lens panoramic cameras are generally
available in two versions: 180 and 360. The
difference is in the size of the projected image
circle. With a 360 camera, the sensor captures
the full hemispheric region. The circular image
fits the size of the sensor and has a 180 field
of view horizontally and 180 vertically. With
a 180 camera, the circular image fits within
the vertical field of view of the sensor, but not
within the horizontal field of view. The camera
therefore has a 180 field of view horizontally,
but less than 180 vertically.
This paper will continue with the focus on
single-lens panoramic cameras.
Panoramic versus fixed cameras

Panoramic cameras are used to gain full
situational awareness with a single camera.
Fixed cameras are a great complement to
camera systems when identification and
details in a more restricted scene are needed
on short and long distances for instance,
when monitoring a local grocery store or overseeing an entire queuing area at an airport.
However, a panoramic camera can be used to
provide a complete overview of a certain area.
Panoramic versus moving

camera (PTZ)
A PTZ camera provides identification possibilities
on short and long distances thanks to its
optical zoom, which has a larger range than
the panoramic camera. PTZ cameras can display
and record only one part of the scene and are
sometimes pointing in the wrong direction
when an event occurs. This is where panoramic cameras can complement PTZ cameras
by monitoring and recording all events and
activities in the full area simultaneously.
This means that operators have full-area
access to both live and recorded images. The
panoramic camera monitors, analyses and
continuously records everything. Whats more,
panoramic cameras can effectively pan, tilt and
zoom into a specific region without losing sight
of other regions of interest. However, a panoramic
camera can zoom in only digitally and is
therefore not very suitable for identification as
resolution drops due to loss of pixel density.
PANORAMIC CAMERAS
Image performance
The image performance or quality of a
panoramic camera depends on the sensor
and the image processing algorithms applied.
When assessing image performance, users
typically look at four areas: resolution,
dynamic range, sensitivity and bitrate.
Resolution
Resolution is the number of pixels that can
be displayed. If the number of pixels on the
sensor is low, the image resolution will be low,
and details will not be visible. Low resolution
results in either pixilated or blurred images,
especially in places where panoramic lens
distortion needs to be heavily corrected and
the correction algorithms need to expand
images. A camera containing a sensor with
more pixels will require significantly greater
computing power.
The resolution of a panoramic camera is not
as straightforward as conventional security
cameras. A panoramic camera using a 12 megapixel (MP) sensor will not provide full 12 MP
resolution. The optical circle of the lens is smaller
than the active image area of the sensor and
therefore does not cover all active pixels. The
effective resolution of the image is the amount
of pixels that will fit within the optical circle.
As an example, take a 12 MP sensor with

4000x3000 pixels and measuring 6.20x
4.65 mm. The 360 optical circle of the lens
has a diameter of 4.1 mm. This would result in
square with a resolution of 7.0 MP. So when
selecting a panoramic camera it is important
to know whether it will really provide the
advertised resolution or whether this is just
the sensors resolution.
Dynamic range and sensitivity
Besides capturing details, the sensor is also
responsible for the dynamic range and low
light sensitivity of the camera. The usability
of a panoramic image is highly dependent
on the dynamic range of the sensor (i.e. the
strength of its ability to capture detail in both
bright and dark areas of the scene the higher
dynamic range the more details the sensor
will capture in bright and dark areas). With a
panoramic camera, there is a far greater likelihood of bright and dark areas in the field of
view. A sensor with a low dynamic range will
then not be able to show details in every area
of the scene.
Bitrate
All IP networks have a limit to the traffic they
can carry, this limit is known as bandwidth.
Increasing resolutions means increasing

amounts of data and this drives bitrates up. This
calls for tools and technologies to help managing
video data efficiency. Innovative data compression technologies such as H.265 reduce the
amount of data provided by a high resolution
camera such as a panoramic camera.
Intelligent Dynamic Noise Reduction (IDNR)
To reduce bitrates after encoding and further
minimise strain on bandwidth and storage
requirements, several forms of noise reduction
can be applied. Intelligent Dynamic Noise
Reduction (IDNR) is an innovative technology
that uses a combination of two noise reduction
techniques: one that is best suited for scenes
with motion (spatial noise reduction) and
another that is best suited for still scenes
(temporal noise reduction).
In this way, IDNR reduces bitrates and
required storage capacity without affecting
video quality. By combining these processes,
bitrate increases when an event occurs and
is minimised when there is no motion and
thereby lowers the total required bitrate.
Encoder regions
Area-based encoding (encoder regions) can
PANORAMIC CAMERAS
areas can be selected by the user, further

lowering bitrates.
Two new panoramic cameras
Multi-lens panoramic camera versus single-lens panoramic camera.

lower bitrates even further. This feature allows
the image to be divided into zones of high
importance and less compression to show
more detail, and those of low importance and
therefore high compression and less detail. For
example, if the top of the image is always
looking at the sky, this area can be marked
for high compression. By selecting important,
unimportant and normal regions in a
scene, and adapting the compression ratios
accordingly, a lower average bitrate can be
achieved.
Dewarping for distortion-free

viewing and recording
The fisheye lens of a panoramic camera
produces optically distorted images that are
circular in shape. Image correction technology
is needed to create an optimised and useful
image without distortion, this is known as
dewarping. The dewarping algorithm remaps
the pixels in the scene to optimise the image
and remove distortion. The algorithm can offer
various dewarped view mode options such as
panorama, double panorama and surround.
Dewarping can in some cases provide
real-time views across multiple streams. The
various video viewing modes allow the user
to control the 180 or 360 images and guarantee
distortion-free video. It is also possible to
define customised Regions of Interests (ROI) by
adding presets. This way, dewarping can also
help to make video data more manageable.
Edge versus client-side dewarping

Dewarping video images can be done either
by dewarping algorithm on the camera
before sending the video data to the Video

Management System, this is known as edge
dewarping, or on PC via a specific Video
Software Development Kit (VSDK), this is called
client-side dewarping.
Edge dewarping has some advantages over
client-side dewarping:
Edge dewarping makes the cameras integration into a system easier. Most panoramic
cameras require a specific VSDK for dewarping,
which makes integration into VMS challenging. The VMS will need to support the VSDK,
which can result in poor or no integration
with third-party software. This can, in turn,
limit the wide implementation and use of
panoramic cameras. Edge dewarping allows
the user to see a corrected image directly
from the camera without the need of any
special integration.
Edge dewarping sends undistorted virtual
camera images to the VMS. If the camera
architecture allows it, the camera can create
multiple virtual cameras, and edge dewarping
will help send undistorted virtual camera
streams to the VMS. Access rights to the
virtual cameras can then be managed by
the VMS and so providing different video
streams to different users.
Lower costs. Dewarping on the client-side
requires a lot of computing power. Edge
dewarping is done by the camera rather than
using the computers CPU, which significantly
reduces the processing power needed on
a PC.
Lower bitrates. Edge dewarping enables the
user to monitor only those areas that are
relevant for the user when there is no need
to monitor the entire image circle. Relevant
360 surround view vs. conventional fixed camera view
96
In 2015 Bosch Security Systems launched its

first panoramic cameras, the FLEXIDOME IP
panoramic 7000 MP and the FLEXIDOME IP
panoramic 5000 MP. They also offer the same
intelligent data minimisation for efficient
transmission and storage and are half the size
of multi-lens panoramic cameras.
The FLEXIDOME IP panoramic 7000 MP
uses a 12 MP sensor resulting in effectively
7 MP resolution at 30 fps The FLEXIDOME IP
panoramic 5000 MP uses a 5 MP sensor at
15 fps. The 360 lens on the 5 MP sensor results
in a 3.2 MP effective resolution. Both models
include built-in Intelligent Dynamic Noise
Reduction (IDNR), which reduces bitrates by up
to 50% at the source. This significantly reduces
storage costs and network strain without
compromising video quality.
The FLEXIDOME IP panoramic 5000 MP
includes Content Based Imaging Technology
(CBIT), which ensures the highest quality of
relevant images by tailoring the captured
images to the content of the scene. The
FLEXIDOME IP panoramic 7000 MP also features
CBIT in which Intelligent Auto Exposure
automatically adjusts the exposure settings
of the camera when the lighting conditions
change. The camera also comes with Boschs
VCA, Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA), so you
are alerted when needed and can trace back
important events from hours of video in
seconds. You can choose between a 180 lens
with effectively 8 MP resolution or a 360 lens
with effectively 7 MP resolution.
They both offer edge and client-side
dewarping to correct image distortion.
For more information contact Bosch Security
Systems - South Africa & sub-Saharan Africa,
+27 (0)11 651 9600, charles.coetzee@za.bosch.com,
[footer] This white paper has been shortened.
The full article can be downloaded at
360 full image circle / Double panoramic view
CASE STUDY
4K in your trolley
4K surveillance the future of video security
in shopping centres is here.
Eden Shopping Centre, a large retail and
entertainment complex in High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire, UK, has taken the giant leap
from an analogue to a HD video surveillance
system.
Ryan Mitchinson, head of commercial
operations at installer Link CCTV advises: When
we originally inherited Eden Shopping Centres
CCTV system, we were tasked with providing
a solution to upgrade the existing analogue
platform with a HD solution that was not only
capable of capturing and controlling CCTV
cameras, but also of a multitude of modern
functionalities that would enhance the security
operation on site. We opted to install a FLIR
Latitude virtual matrix and recording solution.
Security technology is constantly developing, so from the centres perspective it was
imperative to develop a future-proof system,
preventing the need for expensive replacements down the line, says Paul Maddox,
security manager at Eden.
As security within shopping centres turns
towards bodycams, FLIR created Truwitness
software that allows remote guards to stream
video directly to the control rooms monitor
wall from anywhere within the centre using
their smart device. This is a two-way communication which also allows the control room
staff to transmit video streams to playback on
their smart device. The software can also track
staff members, display their location on a map
and panic buttons can also be programmed to

alert the control staff of any issues.
Mitchinson comments: People counting
software upgrades can also be integrated
alongside ANPR, facial recognition and
many more analytic packages. This flexibility
coupled with the ongoing software upgrade
package that FLIR provide allows Eden
Shopping Centre to always have the latest
technology in use when required.
Better images, better evidence

Prior to their system upgrade, the Eden
Shopping Centre was confronted with insufficient image quality from the surveillance
cameras. In addition, the limited resolution of
the obsolete camera technology resulted in
the fact that not all critical areas were completely covered.
One of the new technologies that
Link CCTV Systems brought into the Eden
Shopping Centre was the FLIR Quasar 4K (Ultra
HD) mini-dome camera. The Quasar camera
has provided the centre with broadcast quality video and multi-streaming at zero frame
drops. Mitchinson confirms this improvement,
stating that the Quasar 4K cameras have
not only significantly improved the overall
image quality; thanks to their high resolution,
they also cover twice as much floor space
in comparison to the previous systems, so
the evidentiary use of the video surveillance
system has improved tremendously. Every

critical square metre is now covered.
Ray Walker, centre manager at Eden
Shopping Centre, agrees that the upgraded
system has had a considerable influence on
the centre: We are very proud to have such
an innovative and impressive surveillance
system here at Eden. From the beginning we
were excited with the image quality and our
local police force has found the improvements
invaluable, often requesting to share video
evidence.
All camera video feeds terminate in the
centres control room, which is manned 24/7.
Maddox comments, moving from an analogue system to a digital system has had a
positive reaction from the controllers using
the equipment and also a very positive line of
feedback from the local police that come to
view footage for various reasons. The easyto-use client software has allowed the centre
to easily hand over high-quality evidence to
the police force in just a few clicks, which is
exceptional.
For more information contact FLIR Systems,
+44 780 151 4810, theresa.turner@flir.uk.com,
www.flir.com.
97
CASE STUDY
Four cameras watch 7000 cars

Panomera cameras offer airport an impressive surveillance system.
It is frustrating, at the end of a tiring day of travelling to finally get to your car in the airport car
park, only to discover that someone has vandalised or even broken into your vehicle. In one fell
swoop, all memories of a successful business trip
or a relaxing holiday are swept away in the flood
of insurance questions, making arrangements for
repairs and filing a police report.
Fortunately, at Billund airport the chances that
travellers will experience such unpleasantness
are practically zero. The main reason for this is
effective surveillance of the parking areas. Before
we took over as operators of the parking areas
in 1997, patrons were filing over 500 reports per
year. These days, it is just a few isolated incidents
in fact, in 2014 not a single report was filed
regarding a car being broken into while it was
parked here, declares Thomas Holm, technical
director for APCOA Parkering, the company that
now runs the parking areas at the airport.
The company, formerly called Europark,
raised the level of security significantly by
introducing enclosures, security guards, barrier
systems and systematic video surveillance.
In cooperation with Dallmeier and its Danish
partner, Fredericia-based Scanview A/S, which
has been working with APCOA Parkering on
video surveillance since 2002, a new era was
begun last year.
As part of a major expansion and reconfiguration of the parking areas, we wanted to
set up a surveillance capability for zones P6,
P7, P8 and P9. After thorough deliberations,
and having taken advice from Scanview, we
decided to go with the Panomera system from
Dallmeier. And we have not regretted it, says
Holm.
The Panomera cameras enable surveillance
of very large expanses. All cameras are fitted
with several lenses (the models used at Billund
have 14), each of which covers a section of
the area of interest. These picture squares
are joined together seamlessly by software
to form one large picture that can be viewed
comfortably by the watchman in the control
room.
The system delivers detailed images of
the entire coverage area, taken at a rate of 25
pictures per second. Up to about 175 metres,
the image is so sharp that, for example, a
car number plate can be read with ease. This
means that one multifocal sensor system
Panomera camera can replace several
conventional HD cameras.
98
Substantial savings
In our case, all we needed to cover a vast
expanse for almost 7000 parking spaces was
one mast with four Panomera cameras trained
in different directions. According to our calculations, with a conventional solution we would
have needed a total of seven masts and about
30 cameras. So it goes without saying that we
have realised substantial savings with regard to
excavation and embedding work, cable laying,
camera maintenance and so on, Holm continues.
This also represents a great improvement
for the watchman sitting in the APCOA control
room in one of the car park buildings.
We can track a vehicle or an individual
without having to change cameras, and we
can zoom in on an incident without losing the
general view of things that are happening elsewhere. With the conventional, controllable cameras, there was always the risk that we would
be concentrating on one location and would
have no pictures when something happened
somewhere else. Now, we always have pictures
of the entire area, which is a major advantage
this makes us much less vulnerable.
The police have already used video material
from APCOA several times, and in one case
even the staff of Billund airport looked at
material relating one incident (although this
turned out to be a false alarm), and both said

how impressed they were with the quality of
the surveillance.
Integration with other cameras

Of course, the new cameras can be used in
conjunction with existing Dallmeier products.
We still have a large number of older cameras
in operation, the oldest date back to 2002.
We have cameras at every barrier installation,
for example, in case someone forgets to pay,
and at the ticket dispensing machines in case
anyone needs help. And we also have more
than 1200 spaces inside the car park buildings,
and these have to be watched too, says Holm.
In yet another innovation, APCOA has
installed a Panomera that takes in the frontage of the entire garage complex opposite the
terminal building. We would have had to set
up four cameras at different locations to do the
same job as this one Panomera. Consequently,
installation and setup were much simpler here
too; we only have to watch one picture, which
also happens to be of much better quality.
For more information contact Dallmeier
Southern Africa Office, +27 (0)11 510 0505,
dallmeiersa@dallmeier.com,
www.dallmeier.com.
CASE STUDY
Long-term upgrade to AHD

AHD technology allows for the integration of older analogue technology
and the newer IP cameras into an AHD solution.
Alt-AV, a company that handles audio visual and
CCTV installations for a range of industries, was
recently called in to upgrade an old analogue
installation to Analogue High Definition (AHD).
Alt AVs Lawrence Hill explains that the
client had an older analogue system consisting
of 40 cameras, but the DVR capacity was only
for 32 channels. They also had a generic NVR
servicing five IP cameras.
The solution previously installed had served
a purpose when it was first installed, however,
as time progressed, the client realised the value
of high quality images and began installing IP
cameras at key areas. The result was a mishmash of products and technologies that the
client could not manage effectively.
The biggest problem with the job, according
to Hill, was that we were upgrading a previously
(and rather badly) installed system with no
record of cable scheduling or labelling, meaning
that it was very time consuming to first establish
a suitable starting point for the upgrades.
This meant that a large part of the installation involved tracing cables from point to point,
repairing any faults found along the lines, putting us in a position to begin the upgrades from
a suitable base, says Hill. This involved a lot of
wasted time that could have been avoided if the
job had been done right the first time around.
Additionally, the team found other problems
as the job progressed, including cables badly
terminated, in some cases not terminated but
sellotaped to the connector, and multiple CAT5
cables terminated into single RJ45 connectors
to assumedly try to save on Balun costs. Poor
cable running meant that some cables had
become caught in roller doors and the cable
was unusable, while some cables were glued
under roof tiles, meaning they could not be
accessed to repair. The result being that all
these cables needed to be replaced.
An equipment specification was agreed upon
with the client and then a timeline put in place, as
the upgrade process will continue over a longer
time to allow the client to budget appropriately.
This meant that going forward the infrastructure
for all future works could be laid at the beginning,
and new equipment fitted quickly and without
unplanned issues as the project progresses.
Hybrid solution
Using the ProvisionISR hybrid AHD DVR meant
that Alt-AV could reduce the clients system
from three DVR/NVRs to two, saving space

and organising the cameras more suitably.
Opting for AHD technology also allowed the
client to upgrade their image quality without
having to re-cable their whole premises. The
ProvisionISR equipment used was supplied by
HiTek Security.
A hybrid AHD system would allow the
client to amalgamate existing and new
equipment into one system. The ProvisionISR
hardware is ideal for this as it supports both
the older, unbranded analogue cameras
that were not going to be upgraded in the
first phase, and the new Provision AHD Pro
cameras, the new Provision IP cameras and
also the older ONVIF compatible IP cameras
already in use. This also allowed the client to
free up desk space by removing one DVR and
one monitor, which they were happy about.
A future phase planned is where both
the remaining monitors will be put through
a video matrix to display side by side on one
large wall-mounted TV screen, which will
further free up desk space. The aim of the
upgrades is to give the client a number of
new, higher resolution cameras in key areas
with an easy plan to upgrade further cameras
as and when the budget allows.
Planning
Detailed planning involving AutoCAD wiring
diagrams for both the new hybrid DVRs as well
as the system as a whole meant that when the
team went in to start the re-cabling process
there was a clear blue print for what needed
to be achieved. A full equipment register
was compiled, which involved calculating
power requirements for running both the old
and new equipment combined and forward
planning for changes as the equipment was
upgraded.
A review of the storage facility was also
done to ensure there would be sufficient hard
disk space to allow for satisfactory footage
retention taking into account the new, larger
file sizes of the HD footage.
The first phase of the installation delivered
the benefit of combining the old and new
technology to provide a more user-friendly
CCTV system which was easier to control,
view and review. It also gave the client new
high-definition images using the ProvisionISR
Pro AHD range, delivering full 1080p HD
footage in the key areas of the business

(till points, goods receiving areas, car parks,
etc.).
The future phases will allow us to easily
upgrade the old analogue cameras to new AHD
cameras using the existing cabling in the most
part, until the project is complete, says Hill.
The client will then have a full HD system comprising of 32 AHD cameras and a planned 8 IP
cameras (although they are currently planning
more), split across 2 Provision 16 channel AHD
Hybrid DVRs and viewed on one large screen.
Hill concludes, Having a lot of experience
with the Provision product line from HiTek, I
knew that the products I had chosen could be
relied on to deliver as expected. It is also very
useful that all the DVRs are ONVIF compatible,
meaning they immediately recognised and
displayed the existing IP cameras.
Alt-AV, +27 (0)60 494 7296,
lawrence@alt-av.co.za.
HiTek Security Distributors, +27 (0)21 946 3344,
sales@hiteksecurity.net, www.hiteksecurity.net.
Key facts
System Design: Lawrence Hill, Alt-AV.
CCTV equipment: ProvisionISR (provided
by HiTek Security).
Installation and commissioning: Alt-AV.
99
CASE STUDY
Protecting history at Petra

VIVOTEK protects one of the Wonders of the World, the ancient city of Petra.
An ancient historical and archaeological city in
southern Jordan, Petra is famous for its rockcut architecture and complex water management system. Established as early as 312 BC,
its residents advanced ability to control flash
floods with an array of dams, cisterns and
water conduits led to a city that thrived at
the centre of a trading network connecting
Petra with Gaza in the west, with Bosra and
Damascus in the north, with Aqaba on the Red
Sea, and across to the Persian Gulf.
Today, as one of the New Seven Wonders
of the World, and as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site, Petra has thrived again as a tourist destination described by Smithsonian magazine as
one of the 28 Places to See Before You Die.
2300-year-old city is under threat

Despite its ability to withstand more than two
millennia of floods, earthquakes and invasions,
Petra is now more under threat than ever
before. This beautiful historical city, known
as the Rose City for the alluring colour of the
stone from which it is carved, is now visited by
such a large number of tourists that its ancient
structures and rock-cut architecture are in
danger of being damaged a threat both to
the cultural heritage of the region, and to the
tourism and economy of the state of Jordan.
Acting against these threats, the Petra
National Trust was founded in 1989, and has
worked together with international organisations to protect this valuable site. Recently,
it was decided that the entire site must be
monitored in a way that ensured the protection of the ancient city, while blending in with
the natural beauty of the surroundings.
100
Luminus Technology, Jordan, was brought in

to investigate how such a system could be
established. Under the leadership of managing director Hamzeh Labadi, Luminus set
about looking for surveillance systems that
were powerful enough to provide protection
across the great site, durable enough to withstand the elements, and discrete enough to
blend into the beautiful ancient city of Petra.
Blending coverage with durability

Luminus Technology was searching for a
surveillance system that offered advanced
surveillance, reliability and discreteness.
VIVOTEKs wide range of multi-purpose and
specialist IP cameras, combined with its
advanced network video recorders (NVR)
and self-developed network video management software, VAST, offered it a way to bring
technological advancement back Petras
natural environment for the first time since the
ancient city thrived two millennia ago.
550 VIVOTEK IP network cameras were
installed strategically around Petras majestic
ancient structures and natural valleys. Key
among these were the SD8364E for its ability
to provide broad coverage at high resolutions
while withstanding extreme environments
and the FE8180 for its high performance wideangle views and low-profile design.
To provide the most complete and
highest-resolution coverage of Petras unique
ancient cityscape, Luminus specially selected
VIVOTEKs SD8364E Speed Dome Network
Camera. The SD8364Es 1080p Full HD resolution
and 30x optical zoom lens empowers those
who keep watch over Petra to see both a
broader picture and finer details. To protect

the SD8364E against Petras desert like conditions and any incidents of attempted vandalism, IP67- and NEMA 4X-rated housing guards
the camera body against even the harshest
environmental hazards and allows for a wide
operating temperature range of between
-40C to 55C. Boasting WDR Pro technology,
the SD8364E can also cope with challenging
lighting conditions, an especially useful feature when operating in the highly contrasting
network of narrow valleys and caverns that is
the ancient city of Petra.
Complementing the SD8364E is the
FE8180 Fisheye Network Camera. The FE8180,
the worlds smallest fisheye camera with a
diameter of only 90 mm, and able to blend
into the surroundings of even majestic sites
such as Petra, can nonetheless cover broad
spaces in detail, acting as an invisible, but
powerful eye to keep watch over Petra. A
single FE8180 can easily do the job of three to
four standard CCTV cameras.
Uniting both types of cameras were the
ND8422P and ND8322P NVRs and VIVOTEKs
VAST video management software. These
NVRs and VAST enabled the team monitoring
and protecting Petra to seamlessly operate
and maintain the fleet of cameras. Like the
advanced water management system of Petra,
surveillance imagery would now flow harmoniously around the great Rose City, protecting
and serving its natural beauty for generations.
For more information contact VIVOTEK,
+886 282 455 282, pr@vivotek.com,
www.vivotek.com.
CASE STUDY
Luxury virtual service

Camsecure and Axis customise a solution for
Jaguar Land Rover.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) approached Axis Gold
Partner Camsecure to find a cost-effective
solution to solve high-level technical concerns
remotely. The headquarters technical team
devoted a significant amount of time out of
office travelling to any one of the 44 dealerships
across SA and sub-Saharan Africa, identifying
atypical challenges onsite.
JLR commissioned Camsecure to provide an
innovative solution to increase its technical teams
ability to offer the same level of assistance from a
central office, while improving the customers experience by expediting the service turnaround time.
Only four technical engineers at the JLR
African headquarters are on hand to support
the dealerships across the continent; thats
36 in South Africa and eight in sub-Sahara.
Typically dealer technicians call on the headquarter team to assist with complex service
problems on vehicles, however in some
instances they need detailed support, making
it difficult to explain and resolve without
seeing the problem area in live view.
In that case, the technician then travels
through to the dealer, which could result in
extended periods of time out of office especially
when its located outside of SA. This, in turn, not
only leads to a backlog in the workload, but also
a delayed turnaround time for customers.
Camsecure partnered with Axis to develop
a unique and affordable solution. The collaboration led to the customisation of the AXIS
M1034-W Network Camera to serve as a third
eye. The M1034-W was identified as the most

suitable based on the fact that it features all the
elements to custom-make a unique solution for
JLR. The small, smart and wireless HDTV camera
includes a white LED to illuminate the focus
point. It also offers two-way audio communication with integrated microphone and speaker,
allowing remote listening in on an area, as well
as communication with individuals directly or
using recorded audio clips.
The lightweight camera was attached to a
headband to free up technicians hands, and
has a stand and clamp for mounting too. It also
boasts easy to use functionality.
This Axis network camera kit is the first of its
kind in the automotive industry and its success
could see it rolling out to other geographically
challenged regions. This device cancels out
any dealer guesswork when facing rare/unique
complications, while having an expert observe
the problem area means that cars are repaired
quicker. Furthermore, the fast turnaround time
positively impacts on customer experience, plus
time and travel costs will decrease significantly.
The creative customisation of this simple
Axis network camera has helped Jaguar Land
Rover South Africa and sub-Sahara Africa
reprioritise customer service, improve the
experience with our brand and better manage
our operating efficiencies and resources. And,
as a first in the industry, this unique device has
given us the competitive advantage to further
differentiate our offering, says Steve Coxley,
technical services manager, Jaguar Land Rover

South Africa and sub-Sahara Africa
Although the device is fairly rudimentary it
meets the brief and is already improving
efficiencies, reuniting customers with their
vehicles a lot quicker. Plus, theres potential to
streamline the operating solution and further
develop its capabilities.
Given that this is a first in the automotive
industry, Coxley firmly believes that this innovative
design affords the brand a competitive edge that
has potential to go beyond the African borders
and rollout to similarly geographically challenged
regions.
For more information contact Axis
Communications, +27 (0)11 548 6780,
sasha.bonheim@axis.com, www.axis.com.
CASE STUDY
Indian Railway opts for Mirasys

Indian Railway has over 4000 VMS and 1400 VCA channels in use.
When thinking of updating gradually the
security systems in different zones, the biggest
concern of Indian Railway was the platform
security. It wanted to have measures to tighten
security, improve the crowd management,
apply central monitoring and identify persons
and activities. It needed to have an integrated
security and surveillance system in every zone
and an intelligent system, overall.
An independent body RDSO (Research,
Design & Standards Organisation) acts as the
Product Approving Authority. They formed the
technical specifications which included several
items like:
The software shall be an open architecture
based solution, highly scalable enterprise
level software with end user friendly (unrestricted) licensing policy.
The software should allow time-synchronised playback of different cameras together
in the same video pane. This should enable
the operator to watch playback of an event
from different angles as the event happens in
an area covered by multiple cameras.
Integration with other security equipment
like X-ray baggage scanner, under vehicle
scanner etc.
Video analytics like intrusion detection, left
object detection, overcrowding and camera
tampering.
102
In addition to the RDSO Technical

Specification, Mumbais Central Railway
Station set more demands for the project
because of the Heritage station building. It
had for example the followed special feature
requirements:
The software shall support audio analytics to
provide alarm with pop up of live video and
audio stream in the control room on sound
of breaking glass or gunshot.
Identify and locate various resources like
cameras, specialised units and sensors
around the station areas on 2D / 3D GIS map.
All the mobile points and vehicles which
have GPS capabilities should be displayed
on the GIS map as a layer.
Incidents management, including preliminary planning and plan activation to better
respond to any event and identify all the
needed activities required to resolve the
incident.
As the Mirasys team has shown dedicated
field support and readiness to customise solutions for Tata Nelcos customers already when
delivering video management solutions to
Southern, South Central, North Western and
Central Railway Zones, we want to continue
to work with Mirasys in large scale command and control solutions, says Nelcos top
management.
According to Tata Nelco, Mirasys other

strong points are:
The general user interface of the Mirasys
system is very easy to use (The Railway Police
Force point of view).
The solution is flexible Mirasys is willing to
customise according to the client needs.
Mirasys open platform and easy integration handling meet the needs of many
integrations.
So far, the Mirasys Solution is in four major
zones out of eight which Indian Railway has
procured until now. On Pan-India level, Mirasys
has helped to procure 29 main junction stations out of 75. Over 4000 VMS and 1400 VCA
channels are in use now and the number is
increasing. RPF and railway authority use the
Mirasys system for day-to-day monitoring. The
solution also includes centralised command
and control rooms for monitoring and running
the operations. The use of advanced analytics
helps to reduce criminal incidents. Mirasys
automated intelligent solution has acted as a
deterrent and has already proved to be useful
for the railway authorities.
For more information contact Security &
Communication Warehouse, +27 (0)12 653
1005, marketing@securitywarehouse.co.za,
www.securitywarehouse.co.za.
CASE STUDY
Suburb gets ANPR

Northern Gauteng suburb improves security with ANPR from Hikvision.
Chubb Fire & Security, local system integrators
and remote monitoring services provider was
tasked with securing a residential suburb with
a manned control room, as well as offsite monitoring. Using strategically placed cameras, the
company was able to monitor vehicles entering
and exiting the suburb. However, the challenge
was to do more than monitor vehicles.
Regal Distributors SAs Quintin van den
Berg explains that the existing Hikvision 9600
series NVR (Network video recorder) solution
along with 1.3 and 3 MP varifocal infrared
bullet cameras offered exceptional image quality both during day, and at night time, which
made identification of vehicles and pedestrians
in the suburb a reality. Similarly, the 9600 series
NVR along with IVM-4200 VMS software offered
great ease of use in the sites control centre.
However, there was initially no way of notifying
the control centre when a blacklisted vehicle
entered the area, or to do a search for a specific
vehicle via the number plate.
Chubb and Regal addressed the problem,
with the goal of improving the quality of
service and security using innovative technology. Specifically, they wanted to achieve
an accuracy rate of above 90% in capturing
vehicle licence plate numbers for notifications,
real-time reporting and data mining.
Our biggest challenges were real-time
reporting and notification of vehicles entering

the suburb that have been flagged by shared
databases, or the control room operators.
Even if a vehicle was blacklisted, registration
number filtering would be a slow and labourintensive exercise.
Given the existing technology on the site,
the Hikvision entrance management system
with the ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) technology was the obvious choice,
offering advanced management features
such as: Auto comparison, Blacklist filtering,
Alarm triggering, Result query, Result export
of picture/record, Remote configuration ANPR,
Linkage action.
The parties decided to opt for the Hikvison
DS-2CD4A86FWD-IZS 2.8 12 mm motorised
zoom ANPR cameras, again supplied by
Regal Distributors. The cameras were put to
the test in a proof of concept project, after
which it was decided that the existing headend equipment would be used, by upgrading the firmware and field cameras to the
DS-2CD4A86FWD-IZS ANPR cameras and
calibrating the system to function at optimum
performance.
Regal has been involved in this project
with the systems integrator since inception
and therefore has a vested interest in ensuring
the systems work, as required. Van den Berg
Quintin van den Berg.

says the company is constantly measuring the
progress, as the system expands. In addition,
with the remote configuration ANPR function,
Regal can remotely assist with software and
firmware upgrades and monitor the performance of the solution.
The result is a fully functioning ANPR
system communicating wirelessly to the
control room in a well-known suburb in the
northern part of Gauteng.
For more information contact Regal
Distributors, +27 (0)11 553 3300, info@
regalsecurity.co.za, www.regalsecurity.co.za.
Wild connectivity on safari

Radwins Wireless Mobility Network deployed in an American safari park.
Radwins mobility solutions have been selected
by The Wilds Safari Park & Conservation Centre
in Cumberland, Ohio, USA, home to rare and
endangered species from around the globe.
The Wilds required a mobility solution to be
deployed across the 9 000-acre safari park to
provide wireless connectivity to its operational
vehicles and tour buses.
The Wilds selected Radwin Point-to-Point D+
radios and Radwin FiberinMotion as best meeting their specific requirements for broadband
connectivity within the game park, which was
integrated by Radwin partner, Agile Networks.
Dr Jan Ramer, director of Conservation
Medicine, The Wilds said, There was almost
non-existent coverage in the park before we
deployed Radwin, so we had to rely on two-way
radios and a plodding Internet connection in
the offices. If staff treating animals in the field

wanted to consult with offsite experts, they
would have to take a picture, download the
picture, make it smaller, email it and then wait
for something to come back. An ineffective,
time-consuming process.
Following the launch of the Radwin-based
wireless mobility network we can send real-time
video of the animals in the field to off-site
consultants who can give us their expert advice.

Weve also managed to enhance the visitors
experience; now that theres high-speed
connectivity on the open tour buses, visitors can
share their experiences in real-time and post
updates on their social media accounts.
Kyle Quillen, CTO, Agile Networks said,
With Radwin we were able to establish a
robust wireless network providing 150 Mbps
capacity to cover such a wide area. Radwins
FiberinMotion mobility solution essentially
light-ups an entire area with connectivity for
mobile and Wi-Fi devices as well as mobile
payment systems and really enhances a lot of
the different operations at The Wilds.
For more information contact Radwin,
+27 (0)74 114 2805, nick_ehrke@radwin.com.
103
COMPANY LISTINGS
Directory of CCTV product, solution

and service providers
4C Technology
ANV Holdings
Installer/System integrator
Distributor/supplier
4C Technology is an electronic security

technology integration company wholly
dedicated to the security needs of medium to large enterprises.
It designs, supplies, installs and maintains electronic security systems for customers on a capital and rental basis with contracted
service level agreements in place for maintaining systems.
ANV Holdings is a premier supplier of IP and analogue CCTV solutions, in addition to licence plate recognition and video analytics.
Infrastructure design and planning, accompanied by professional
project management, ensure customer satisfaction and
system stability.
14 High Street, Modderfontein

Tel: 0861 42 8324
sales@4c-technology.com
www.4c-technology.com
Contact: Paul Frewen
16 Hudson Avenue, Edenvale, Johannesburg

Tel: 0861 000 228
brad@anvholdings.co.za
www.anvholdings.co.za
Contact: Bradley Cabral
Branches: Johannesburg, Cape Town, KZN
ADI Global Distribution
Axis Communications SA
Manufacturer
ADI Global Distributions portfolio offers an

unparalleled product choice for intrusion,
fire, CCTV, networking solutions, access control, building management, as well as a comprehensive complementary range of
accessories.
Axis is a market leader in network video,

having invented the worlds first network camera back in 1996 and
continued to innovate in video surveillance ever since, increasing the
security of millions of people worldwide and helping to meet the growing need for a smarter, safer world.
5 Platinum Drive, Longmeadow Business Estate, Modderfontein,

Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)11 574 2500
sales.za@adiglobal.com
www.adiglobal.com
Contact: Sales
Branches: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Port
Elizabeth, East London, George
Microsoft Office Park, 3012 William Nicol Drive, Bryanston,

Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)11 548 6780
vanessa.tyne@axis.com
www.axis.com/za/en/industries-and-applications
Contact: Vanessa Tyne
Branches: Cape Town, Durban
Distributors: ADI Global Distribution, Pinnsec, Duxbury Networking,
Interdist Alliances
Anco Technologies
Bitz Technologies
CCTV system specialists for industrial, commercial and medical environments. The company
supplies, installs and maintains systems for
CCTV cameras and video surveillance, CCTV Internet and mobile
configuration, IP surveillance, digital video recorders and network video recorders.
140A Kelvin Drive, Morningside Manor, Sandton, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 064 1624
admin@ancotechnologies.com
Contact: Anthony Mansour
104
The core offering of Bitz Technologies encompasses CCTV installations, design and building of control rooms, system
integration, offsite monitoring, and analogue and IP installations.
1095 Ben Swart Street, Villieria, Pretoria, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)12 333 3749
andre@bitz.co.za
www.bitz.co.za
Contact: Andre Meintjes
Branches: Cape Town, Polokwane, Nelspruit
COMPANY LISTINGS
Bosch Security Systems
Canon
Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Bosch Security Systems is a leading global supplier of security,

safety and communications products and systems. Its focus is
developing intelligent IP video solutions that deliver the highest
quality images, achieve the most efficient bitrate, leading to lower storage requirements and capturing the full potential of the
Internet of Things.
Canons range of innovative security cameras are designed to deliver robust,

high-end video surveillance and exceptional image quality in all light conditions. Investing heavily in R&D and harnessing over 70 years experience as a
high-quality lens manufacturer, Canon continues to deliver new and technologically advanced products.
Robert Bosch, 96 Fifteenth Road, Randjiespark, Midrand, Gauteng

Tel: +27 (0)11 651 9600
jason.mcgregor@za.bosch.com
www.boschsecurity.com/hdsecurity
Contact: Jason McGregor
Branches: Nine sales offices throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean
Islands.
Distributors: Kindly contact Bosch Security Systems on +27 (0)11
651 9600 or security.systems@za.bosch.com for a list of accredited
distributors/re-sellers
BT-SA
BT-SAs offering spans standard PIN-code
up to state-of-the-art IP-based systems. The company provides access
control hardware; HD CCTV technology with video content analytics;
building protection via thermal, ultrasonic, microwave, photo-electric,
gas and vibration sensors, control panels, keypads and alerting; as well
as perimeter security.
Corporate Park South, 59 Lechwe Street, Midrand, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 314 0601
wfrylinck@bt-sa.co.za
www.bt-sa.co.za
Contact: Wouter Frylinck
Branches: Cape Town, East London, Rustenburg, Witbank
C3 Shared Services
C3 Shared Services specialises in the design and
implementation of intelligent video,
fire and perimeter security solutions.
Unit 16 & 17, Hambleton Park, 98 Richards Drive, Midrand, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 312 2041
candice@c3ss.com
www.c3ss.com
Branches: Gauteng
Camsecure
Camsecure is a world class integrator of
network based surveillance cameras, access
control and event driven systems. The company specialises in connecting devices and systems, and offers integration and software development aimed at getting greater value from a security system.
65 Conrad Drive, Blairgowrie, Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)11 781 1341
solutions@camsecure.co.za
www.camsecure.co.za
Contact: Francois Malan
22 Karee Street, 1st floor, Block C, Southdowns Office Park, Centurion, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)12 675 4900
braam.steyn@canon.co.za
www.canon.co.za
Contact: Braam Steyn
Distributors: Security & Communication Warehouse

Card Control Systems has years of experience providing security to many
organisations and knows what works well and what does not. Installing a
camera is easy making sure it secures your business requires experts. You can
rely on the companys expert technology and advice to find the service you
need.
11 Helston Street, New Redruth, Alberton
Tel: +27 (0)11 907 3192
info@cardcon.co.za
www.cardcontrolsystems.co.za
Contact: Sakkie Coetzee
Branches: Johannesburg, Pretoria
Cathexis Africa
Manufacturer
CathexisVision is a powerful IP Video Management Software suite that
provides an extensive range of sophisticated surveillance options, tools and
functionality to satisfy all security and infrastructure management requirements across a broad range of market sectors.
259 Montpelier Road, Morningside, Durban, KZN
Tel: +27 (0)31 240 0800
rossj@catafrica.co.za
www.cathexisvideo.com
Contact: Ross Joughin
Branches: Durban, Centurion
Distributors: Elvey, Compass
Resellers: RRESS, Protea Coin, SCS Africa, SVS, Netwize, Enforce, DCS
ComNet
Manufacturer
PoE, PoE+/++, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, DIN rail, rackmount switch,
legacy fibre variations and hybrid solutions from ComNet are available with
various configurations to meet different requirements in commercial and
industrial CCTV/security applications.
8 Turnberry Park, Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS27 7LE, UK
Tel: +44 1133 076 400
info-europe@comnet.net
www.comnet.net
Contact: Yunus Mamoniat
Branches: Durban
Distributors: C-Video Concepts
105
COMPANY LISTINGS
Crown Hyper World
Datavision
Installer/System integrator | Distributor/supplier
Distributors of DVRs, CCTV cameras,

biometric access control.
Datavision offers supply, installation, networking

and maintenance of IP CCTV surveillance solutions utilising state-of-the-art technology deployments to complement its remote monitoring infrastructure. As a specialised systems integrator, the companys aim is to protect industrial, commercial and
private property by designing, customising, installing, maintaining and monitoring
sophisticated electronic security systems.
7 Crownwood Road, Crown Mines, Johannesburg

Tel: +27 (0)11 830 1452 or +27 (0)82 876 2373
info@crownhyper.co.za
www.crownhyper.co.za
Contact: Muhammed
C-Video Concepts
Manufacturer
C-Video Concepts sells analogue, IP, HD-SDI,
HD-TVI, thermal, fibre optic and Ethernet products. It also assists with
system design, specification, commissioning and training, in
addition to servicing and repairing all security related equipment.
Suite 102 Wheeler House, 112-116 Mathews Meyiwa Road, Greyville,
KwaZulu-Natal
Tel: +27 (0)31 309 1048
clint@cvideoconcepts.co.za
www.cvideoconcepts.co.za
Contact: Clinton Holloway
Branches: Western Cape, Gauteng
Dahua Technology
South Africa
Manufacturer
Dahua Technology South Africa, a subsidiary of the Chinese firm,
offers complete video surveillance solutions as well as alarm, access
control, video intercom and more. Its range covers full HD solutions for
the likes of smart transportation, banking, mining, public security,
farming, electric industry, telecom, intelligent governance and
safe cities.
No. 1199, Binan Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou
Tel: +86 571 8768 8883
www.dahuasecurity.com
Contact: Dahua
Distributors: Elvey Security Technologies, IDS, Reditron
Dallmeier Southern
Africa Office
3-5 Dalcrest Centre, Corner Roer and Tiller Streets, Dalpark Ext 1, Brakpan, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 915 6350
datavision@global.co.za
www.datavisionglobal.com
Contact: Sharon Newton
Branches: Gauteng, Maputo
Distributors: Datavision Retail Facility

Elvey is one of the leading distributors of electronic
security equipment in Africa. Since its inception in
1946, it has continued to drive the highest possible industry standards, while continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of its customers. Its product range
provides both IP as well as analogue solutions.
27 Greenstone Place, Greenstone Hill, Edenvale, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 401 6700
info@elvey.co.za
www.elvey.co.za
Branches: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein,
Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Nelspruit, Rustenburg, Polokwane, Vanderbijlpark,
George, East London, Windhoek, Gaborone
EOH Security & Building Technology

EOH SBT offers a full range of CCTV surveillance offerings
including IP and analogue solutions for small and medium enterprises as well as
large enterprise solutions. By incorporating analytics, HD, video management and
remote off-site monitoring as well as a technology lease offering, EOH SBT can
ensure the solution is designed, implemented and maintained to best fit the client
requirements.
6 Trinity Close, Paulshof, Sandton
Tel: +27 (0)11 844 3200
sbtinfo@eoh.co.za
www.eohii.co.za
Contact: Wayne Schneeberger
Branches: Gauteng, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban
Manufacturer
Dallmeier is one of the world-leading providers of network-based video
surveillance solutions, with more than 30 years of experience in the
development and manufacture of high-quality components for the
CCTV/IP sector. With Panomera, cameras, recorders, intelligent video
analysis and video management, Dallmeier offers complete systems
from a single source.
PO Box 59, 2086 Fourways North
Tel: +27 (0)11 510 0505
dallmeiersa@dallmeier.com
www.dallmeier.com
Contact: EP Smit
Distributors: ESS Engineered Systems Solutions, MASS, Modular
Communications SA
106
Eurobyte Technology
Eurobyte Technology is a distributor of leading international surveillance and
network brands Geovision, Sunell, Longse, Qihan, Planet Networking and Cattex, as
well as related accessories, cabling and enclosures.
Unit 7, Cambridge Commercial Park, 22 Witkoppen Road, Paulshof, Sandton
Tel: +27 (0)11 234 0142
roberto@eurobyte.co.za
www.eurobyte.co.za
Contact: Roberto Vizcarra
Branches: Cape Town
COMPANY LISTINGS
Frank Street
Trading
Graphic Image Technologies

Frank Street is an importer and distributor of CCTV equipment in South Africa. It stocks a complete range specialising
in intelligent surveillance solutions for IP, analogue HD, digital
video recording, access control, system integration and
design. Frank Street not only provides security solutions, but
also client support and training.
53 Crownwood Road, Ormonde, Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)11 496 2300
sales@frankstreet.co.za
www.frankstreet.co.za
Contact: Abie Ali
Branches: Lusaka, Zambia
GIT (level 2 BBEEE), founded in 1991, specialises in broadcast and CCTV solutions. Its security solutions include SerVisions remote surveillance DVRs for
fixed and mobile (vehicle) platforms, GITs tactical CCTV vests, Flir/Dvtels IP
based NVRs, IP cameras (including 4K), thermal cameras and image analytics
as well as control room technologies.
44 The Avenue, The Gardens, Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)11 483 0333
laurence@git.co.za
www.git.co.za
Contact: Laurence Smith
Branches: Johannesburg
Hikvision South Africa
GeoVision SA
Manufacturer
Hikvision is a leading global supplier of video surveillance solutions. Boasting

one of the industrys strongest R&D workforces, the company uses its state-ofthe-art manufacturing facilities to design and develop innovative CCTV and
video surveillance products for any security need.
GeoVision is at the forefront of state-of-the-art

surveillance software, video/audio compression
techniques, intelligent video analysis and hardware
enhancements. Its award-winning GV series
surveillance products provide total security
solutions for point-of-sale, licence plate
recognition and central monitoring systems.
257 Jean Ave, Unit 10 Central Office Park, Lyttelton, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)12 664 0411
sales@geovisionsa.co.za
www.geovisionsa.co.za
Contact: Jacques Taylor
Branches: KZN. Representatives in major cities.
GES Africa
The scope of GES Africas offering covers risk
management, security official services,
field ranger services and CCTV.
3 Bauhinia Street, Oxford Office Park, Unit 20, Highveld
Techno Park, Centurion
Tel: +27 (0)82 805 8447
kelly@neahgesafrica.com
www.neahgesafrica.com
Contact: Kelly Mclintock
Branches: Hoedspruit, Klerksdorp, Germiston,
Rustenburg, Shambala
Upper Grayston Block F Cnr Linden and Ann Crescent Sandton, Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)10 035 1172
liulianggj@hikvision.com
www.hikvision.com
Contact: Evan Liu
Distributors: ADI Global Distribution, Regal Distributors, Pinnacle Africa,
Hi Tech Laboratory
CCTV system specialists for industrial, commercial
and medical environments. The company supplies, installs and maintains
systems for CCTV cameras and video surveillance, CCTV Internet and mobile
configuration, IP surveillance, digital video recorders and network video
recorders.
140A Kelvin Drive, Morningside Manor, Morningside, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 064 1624
antman@hitechlab.net
Contact: Anthony Mansour
HiTek Security
Distributors
GIS-SA
Manufacturer
GIS-SA specialises in IR
(infrared) LED lighting, LED security lighting, perimeter
lighting and IR illuminators.
46 Wellington Road, Irene, Centurion
Tel: +27 (0)71 560 4151
roston@gis-sa.net
www.gis-sa.net
Contact: Roston Sadie
Importer and distributor of CCTV products covering high-quality analogue,

AHD and IP models accompanied by a 3 year warranty; and intrusion detection brands offering an array of panels, PIRs and accessories. The company
provides excellent after sales service, technical support and a swap out policy.
Kiewiet Close, 4 Eagle Street, Okavango Park, Brackenfell, Western Cape
Tel: +27 (0)21 946 3344
sales@hiteksecurity.net
www.hiteksecurity.net
Contact: Clyde Elhadad
Branches: Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Roodepoort, Randburg,
Centurion, Edenvale, Witbank
Distributors: For a list of distributors and resellers contact HiTek Security
Distributors
107
COMPANY LISTINGS
Honeywell Building Solutions
Jablotron
A leading provider of full-lifecycle integrated building management solutions that promote innovative ways of working and delivering real business
outcomes. All solutions developed, installed and maintained promote safer,
more secure, comfortable and cost-efficient facilities. Proven global and local
track record across diverse market segments.
Jablotron offers a sophisticated hybrid alarm system with an innovative built-in camera that has a flash in the passive. The company also
offers a free cloud service to the end user, and an outdoor camera
compatible with the Jablotron system is now available in South
Africa.
Honeywell House Treur Close, Waterfall Business Park, Midrand

Tel: +27 (0)11 695 8000
honeywellbuildingsolutionsssa@honeywell.com
www.honeywell.co.za
Contact: Richard Creighton
Branches: Midrand
38 Boshoff Street, Southcrest, Alberton, Gauteng

Tel: +27 (0)11 615 3675
bruce@jablotronsa.co.za
www.jablonet.net
Contact: Bruce Lang
Branches: Gauteng, KZN, Cape Town
Distributors: Pyro-Tech Security Suppliers
IAC - Industrial Automation

and Control
IAC is a Level 1 BBBEE leading distributor of a comprehensive range of
state-of-the-art IP camera and surveillance systems including Mobotix decentralised IP & thermal surveillance cameras, network storage, professional
visual displays, high-quality control room systems, biometric and RFID access
control, perimeter intrusion detection systems, and ruggedised industrial
networking equipment.
53 Landmarks Avenue, Samrand, Centurion, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)12 657 3600
sales@iacontrol.co.za
www.iacontrol.co.za/mobotix.html
Contact: Cliff Nel
Branches: Centurion
IDS - Inhep Digital Security
JCM Technologies
JCM Technologies designs, installs and maintains comprehensive
CCTV systems, with a number of successful installations for various
industries under its belt, from retail shopping centres to offices. Its
dedicated and experienced installation and maintenance team is on
hand to satisfy every security need.
Unit A13, Pinelands Business Park, New Mill Road, Pinelands,
Cape Town
Tel: +27 (0)21 531 1918
peter@jcmtech.co.za
www.jcmtech.co.za
Contact: Peter Reed
Branches: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban
Leaderware
Service provider
Manufacturer
IDS provides robust video surveillance systems, using high performance
HDCVI and high-resolution digital IP cameras to help customers maximise
the effectiveness of their security system. The company offers products for
everything from low-cost, small systems to high-end IP surveillance solutions
with intelligent analytics.
91 Escom Road, New Germany, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Tel: +27 (0)31 705 1373
info@idsprotect.com
www.idsprotect.com
Contact: Mark Naicker
Branches: Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nelspruit, Port Elizabeth, East
London, Bloemfontein, Polokwane
Distributors: Regal
76 First Street, Linden, Johannesburg

Tel: +27 (0)11 787 7811
sales@leaderware.com
www.leaderware.com
Contact: Craig Donald
MASS
ISDS
ISDS brings specialised video analysis and
integration technologies to the African surveillance market.
312 Kent Avenue, Randburg, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)71 642 1478
riaan.vdw@isds.co.za
http://isds.co.za/
Contact: Riaan van der Walt
108
Human factors specialists in CCTV and X-rays, including selection,

training, control room design and human factor audits of security
systems. Provision of internationally presented training in CCTV
surveillance skills, behaviour analysis, and incident recognition,
management and supervisory control room management training,
and full body X-ray training.
Renowned for its work on large

projects, MASS is the exclusive
distributor for Indigo Vision in southern
Africa. It also distributes Dallmeier and Surveon, and imports,
distributes and supports a comprehensive thermal camera range
from the UK.
27 B Philirene Road, Raslouw, Centurion, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)82 552 4339
ettiene@mass-solutions.co.za
www.mass-solutions.co.za
Contact: Ettiene Swanepoel
COMPANY LISTINGS
Mimic Components
PinnSec
Manufacturer | Distributor/supplier
A complete range of custom CCTV control room furniture manufactured from

its Alutech Console System. It also undertakes the turnkey design and supply
of finished control rooms. Other products include audible and visual alarms,
security switches, All types of mimics plus Eithernet and USB to RS-485/232 data
interface equipment.
PinnSec is a distributor of security and life safety systems. The company also offers a range of certified training within the security and life
safety parameters.
5 Ramsay Street, Booysens

Tel: +27 (0)11 689 5700, +27 (0)87 751 5000
sales@mimic.co.za
www.mimic.co.za
Contact: Sales
Branches: Cape Town
MiRO
704 16th Road, Midrand, Gauteng

Tel: +27 (0)11 041 4300
sales@pinnsec.co.za
www.pinnsec.co.za
Contact: Tim Timmins
Branches: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Namibia
Progroup Manufacturing
Manufacturer
MiRO provides expert advice and assistance
in planning a surveillance solution, and offers a
selection of IP cameras, viewing and recording solutions from Vivotek, Uniview,
NUUO and Milestone. MiRO provides a range of wired and wireless networking solutions to build IP networks, delivering cost-effective, fast and stable
networks.
9 Landmarks Avenue, Samrand, Pretoria, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)12 657 0960
sales@miro.co.za
www.miro.co.za
Contact: MiRO Sales
Branches: Gauteng, Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit
Mobeni Integrated Systems

Mobeni Integrated Systems is a mature company that has been in existence for
14 years. Well established in aviation security, the company also offers smart
retail solutions, CCTV solutions, queue management systems, facial recognition,
IT data storage solutions and access control.
Unit 30 Villa Valencia Properties, Corner Anemoon and Monument Road, Glen
Marais, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 396 2616/7
krish.d@mobeniis.co.za
www.mobeniis.co.za
Contact: Krish Deokali
Branches: Durban
Panasonic South Africa
Custom-designed control and security room consoles, specialised

desks and interior fittings.
11 Broad Street, Park Central, Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)11 493 1545
angelique@progroup.co.za
www.progroup.co.za
Contact: Angelique Roos
RADWIN
Manufacturer
Provider of point-to-multipoint and point-to-point
sub-6GHz broadband wireless solutions. Radwin offers
solutions specifically geared for NLOS small cell backhaul
and incorporates advanced technologies like beam-forming
antennas and innovative air interface. Its solutions power
applications include backhaul, broadband access, private
network connectivity, video surveillance transmission and
broadband for trains and metros.
P. O. Box 3554, Rivonia, Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)74 114 2805
nick_ehrke@radwin.com
www.radwin.com
Contact: Nick Ehrke
Distributors: MiRO
Reditron
Manufacturer
Panasonic provides industry-leading solutions to capture, record, manage and
analyse surveillance video. Its comprehensive lineup comprises video surveillance products and solutions that offer high picture quality, mission-critical
reliability and low total cost of ownership. Its motto is When it counts, you can
count on Panasonic video surveillance products.
Block L North, Central Park, 400 16th Road, Randjiespark, Midrand, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 312 7015
j.david@za.panasonic.com
www.panasonic.com/za/business.html
Contact: John David
Branches: Midrand
Distributors: Pentagon, Pansmart
Reditron provides reliable IP security solutions expertise and

offers quality products from suppliers such as Dahua, Samsung,
Pelco and NUUO. Its services extend to system design, sales and
after-sales technical support including a training academy at its
branches.
18A, 5th Street, Wynberg, Sandton, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)87 802 2288
sales@reditron.co.za
www.reditron.co.za
Contact: Lisa Bowles
Branches: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit, Port
Elizabeth
Distributors: Regal Exports
109
COMPANY LISTINGS
Regal Distributors SA
Secure
Regal Distributors is a leading value added distributor of quality branded IP, high definition
analogue (HDTVI) CCTV products and technology driven solutions for all market verticals.
Its extended services, accessible at 25 branches conveniently located nationwide, include
system design, quality technical support, repairs and ongoing product training.
Secure is a CCTV and access control specialist company with 14 years of

experience in retail, estate and warehouse installations. Based in Centurion
with branches in Cape Town and Durban, it can advise on any security related
needs and can be contacted for a free site audit.
9 Electron Street, Linbro Business Park, Marlboro Drive, Sandton

Tel: +27 (0)11 553 3300
info@regalsecurity.co.za
www.regalsecurity.co.za
Branches: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Bellville, East London, Port Elizabeth,
Durban, Pinetown, Vanderbijlpark, Nelspruit, Witbank, Polokwane, Bloemfontein
WBH Centre, 176 Sonja Street, Centurion, Gauteng

Tel: +27 (0)12 667 1011
sales@secure.co.za
www.secure.co.za
Contact: Vincent Blasl
Branches: Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal
Ringmaster Security
Security & Communication

Warehouse
Ringmaster Security offers a quality, turnkey security service to the commercial, industrial,
retail, residential estate, educational, hospitality and allied industries. The company specialises in integrated security systems utilising fibre optic technology and the latest IP security
equipment available. All installations are handled in-house by highly trained, competent
staff.
1st Floor Zotos House, 183 Smit Street, Fairlands, Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)11 476 3381
sales@ringmastersecurity.com
www.ringmastersecurity.com
Contact: Vincent Botha
RR Electronic Security Solutions

Manufacturer | Installer/System integrator
RR Electronic Security Solutions was established to provide a complete custom-made electronic solution in the security and surveillance industry. It is able to advise and implement
any sized project, professionally and with as little disruption to business as possible, made
up of highly qualified and experienced teams. The company is also the sole manufacturers of a 16-way, rack mountable, individually-fused AC/DC power supplies used for CCTV
installations.
Unit 12 Cycad, Savannah Office Park, Cnr of 9th Avenue and Rugby Road
Tel: +27 (0)11 021 1071
info@rress.co.za
www.rress.co.za
Contact: Rivash Raghubir
Branches: Gauteng, Western Cape
Distributors: Mobeni Integrated Systems, AR Surveillance Projects Gauteng, Condo Pro
Security
Security & Communication Warehouse is a distributor of CCTV equipment as well as IP CCTV, access control, gate automation,
electrical fencing, and alarm and fire solutions, across South Africa and Africa.
118 Theuns Street, Hennopspark, Centurion, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)12 653 1005
info@securitywarehouse.co.za
www.securitywarehouse.co.za
Contact: Marius Stoop
Branches: Pretoria, Johannesburg

Established in 2001, Sensor Security Systems is a leading importer and
distributor of electronic security equipment in southern Africa. As one of the
last privately owned distributors in the region, this family-driven company
is fuelled by a deep sense of professional pride and strives to set industry
standards.
93 Tsessebe Crescent, Building 3 Platinum Close, Corporate Park South,
Midrand, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 314 9419
henry@sensorsecurity.co.za
www.sensorsecurity.co.za
Contact: Henry Brown
Branches: Midrand, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Durbanville
Space Television
Seagate Technology
Seagates surveillance drives and video-optimised HDDs are focused on improving surveillance system reliability and drive lifespan, reducing security system costs and supporting
video analytics. They are suited to high-write surveillance workloads operating 24x7, with
capacities up to 8 TB, supporting 64 cameras per drive and 8+ drives per system.
Space Television is a leading provider of integrated satellite, interactive television and CCTV services, focusing on
providing affordable and seamless solutions to developers, project managers and end users. Space Television
specialises in the wholesale distribution of a wide range of products suitable
for both commercial and retail market segments within southern Africa,
together with exports to the rest of the African continent including the Indian
Ocean Islands.
South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)76 360 2850
martin.kruger@seagate.com
www.seagatesurveillance.com
Contact: Martin Kruger
Distributors: Pinnacle Africa, Rectron
78 Republic Road, Ferndale, Randburg

+27 (0)11 781 9900/1/2
sales@spacetv.co.za
www.spacetv.co.za
Branches: Randburg, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East
London, Cape Town, Brackenfell
Manufacturer
110 110
CCTV Handbook
CCTV Handbook
2016 www.securitysa.com
2016 www.securitysa.com
COMPANY LISTINGS
Sunell Security
Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Sunell provides high-quality solutions for

video monitoring, including front-end camera technology and
back-end storage equipment.
Aerospace Micromotor Building, Langshan 2nd Road, Hi-Tech
Industrial Park, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Peoples Republic of
China
Tel: +86 755 2675 4336
sales@sunellsecurity.com
www.sunellsecurity.com
Contact: Nicky Gao
Distributors: MiRO, Pentagon, TPA Secequip, Eurobyte, VCAM
Synapse
UTC Fire and Security offers a full range of commercial and enterprise video
surveillance solutions: local, distributed and centralised digital recording,
indoor and outdoor PTZ, dome and fixed cameras as well as all other accessories needed to build analogue, hybrid or full IP video solutions.
29 Angus Crescent, Longmeadow Business Park East, Edenvale, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)11 579 7300
randhir.seodutt@fs.utc.com
www.utcfssecurityproducts.eu
Contact: Randhir Seodutt
Branches: Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town
Distributors: Available on request
Verifier Offsite CCTV

Monitoring Services
Synapse provides consultation on custom

electronic security and facilities management; bespoke R&D and
product development; and solutions based on machine intelligence and operational analytics. It is an expert in PSIM, mobile
technology, facilities management, machine vision, software
development, risk management, asset management, system
integration and collaboration, and the Internet of Things.
Service provider
Berkley Office Park, Unit 11, 8 Bauhinia Street, Centurion,

Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0)12 665 1152
gerhard@infinitbis.co.za
Contact: Gerhard Furter
8 Coniston Way, Constantia, Cape Town, Western Cape

Tel: 086 111 6023
simonb@verifier.co.za
www.verifier.co.za
Contact: Simon Becker
Syntech
VIVOTEK
Manufacturer
Syntech delivers a complete range

of CCTV products including analogue and IP solutions as well
as cabling, accessories, storage and tools. Brands include IDIS,
Smanos, Chuango, Folksafe, Nihon and Raysharp. Syntech
believes in enriching peoples lives in Africa with exceptional
CCTV surveillance products.
VIVOTEK, established in 2000, has quickly taken its place as a leading brand
in the security industry. With innovative R&D teams adopting groundbreaking codec technologies, the company provides a wide range of products, including network cameras, video servers, video receivers, network
video recorders, central management software and PoE solutions.
10 Gold Street, Northgate Estate, Brooklyn, Western Cape

Tel: +27 (0)21 514 5346
christopher@syntech.co.za
www.syntech.co.za
Contact: Christopher Roussouw
Tyco Security Products

Manufacturer
Tyco Security Products is a unified group of world-leading access
control, video and intrusion brands. Its video brands American
Dynamics, Exacq and Illustra have security integration platforms, built by its developers, allowing customers to see more,
do more and save more.
Unit 3, Thandanani Office Park, Invictor Lane, Halfway Gardens,
Midrand
Tel: +27 (0)82 566 5274
emallett@tycoint.com
www.tycosecurityproducts.com
Contact: Ernest Mallett
Independent black-screen offsite CCTV monitoring and related services.

Multi-platform monitoring of estates, business parks, shopping malls, residential and commercial buildings, incorporating integrated systems, video
analytics and alarms. Leaders and specialists in ANPR monitoring via cloud
based database technologies.
6F, No. 192, Lien-Cheng Road, Chung-Ho Dist., New Taipei City,
Taiwan
Tel: +886 8245 5282
jackie.wu@vivotek.com
www.vivotek.com
Contact: Jackie Wu
Distributors: MiRO, Rectron
Disclaimer: The information in this publication is furnished for

the exclusive use of subscribers and is based on the most reliable
data available to Technews Publishing. However, the information
was obtained from sources which Technews Publishing does not
control and, although every effort has been made to verify it, the
data is volatile. In furnishing this information, Technews Publishing
in no way assumes any part of the users or suppliers risks, does not
guarantee its completeness, timeliness or accuracy and shall not
be liable for any loss or injury whatever resulting from the use of or
reliance on the information, or from negligence.
111
Index to advertisers
ADI Global Distribution............................................................................................ 33
Leaderware................................................................................................................... 23
Axis Communications............................................................................................... 21
MASS............................................................................................................................... 41
Bosch Security Systems...............................................................................................5
Mimic Components................................................................................................... 75
Card Control Systems................................................................................................ 39
MiRO............................................................................................................................... 11
ComNet.......................................................................................................................... 80
Panasonic South Africa................................................................................................9
Crown Hyper World................................................................................................... 67
PinnSec........................................................................................................................... 61
C-Video Concepts....................................................................................................... 31
Progroup Manufacturing......................................................................................... 37
Dahua Technology....................................................................................................IFC
RADWIN.......................................................................................................................101
Elvey Security Technologies................................................................................... 35
Reditron......................................................................................................................... 19
GIS-SA............................................................................................................................. 43
Regal Distributors SA................................................................................................ 29
Hikvision South Africa.............................................................................................. 69
Seagate Technology.................................................................................................. 17
HiTech Security Solutions................................................................................. 1, 112
Security & Communication Warehouse............................................................. 27
HiTek Security Distributors..................................................................................... 95
Specialised Exhibitions............................................................................................IBC
Honeywell Building Solutions............................................................................... 81
Sunell Security..........................................................................................................OBC
IAC.................................................................................................................................... 45
UTC Fire and Security................................................................................................ 71
Jablotron....................................................................................................................... 73
VIVOTEK......................................................................................................................... 15
112

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CAMERA SELECTION GUIDE

www.securitysa.com CCTV Handbook 2016

CAMERA SELECTION GUIDE

From the editors desk ...........................4

iLegal 2016 gets rave reviews ............................................................................... 13

The control room of the future............................................................................. 14

Seven video surveillance trends you cant afford to overlook ................. 30

Megapixels in focus .................................................................................................. 16

City surveillance ................................................................................... 32

City surveillance: 20 years later ............................................................................ 32

Securing your security infrastructure ................................................................ 20

Visual alarm verication ........................................................... 37

SLA considerations ................................................................................................... 22

Camera within an alarm .......................................................................................... 37

Securing your security systems ............................................................................ 23

Smart buildings ...................................................................................... 38

Focus on mobile surveillance ............................................................................... 24

Video management integral to building management .............................. 38

A risk management and intelligence platform............................................... 25

High denition analogue ......................................................... 42