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Surveillance in the palm of your hand

Digital video recorders' (DVRs) superior functionality has firmly caught the attention of the security market. The technology's greater storage capacity and faster search and retrieval functionality puts it streets ahead of older analog video recorders. This has impelled Johnson Controls, a facility management and control company, to introduce the Digital Vision Network (DVN) 5000 Series to local market.

This new DVR combines digital video recording with sophisticated software to enhance video surveillance systems and targets the security market with innovative features that differentiate it from its predecessors and competitors. The DVN 5000 Series 4-, 8- or 16-channel recording and management system delivers high-quality video and audio over low-bandwidth conditions, allowing even a wireless network connected PDA for the first time to be used as a realistic video surveillance solution for the security industry. The DVN software suites also enable users to remotely manage complex digital video architectures, either LAN, WAN or Internet, through intuitive interfaces and powerful tools. It even allows users to employ wireless PDAs to serve as a video surveillance solution.

Explains Neil Cameron of Johnson Controls: "Johnson Controls' conditional refresh wavelet-based transmission algorithm, DeltaWavelet, makes high quality video over low bandwidth a reality. DeltaWavelet is based on Enpacta and MPEG4 algorithms and provides high levels of visual quality in relation to the available bandwidth. It is available on demand, per connection and can be enabled with a single mouse click at any time. The algorithm significantly reduces the lag time, or latency, from image capture to user presentation."

DeltaWavelet does not rely on specialised hardware decoding and uses high performance MultiMedia Extensions (MMX and SSE) decompression routines. Images can be stored on local HDDs, RAID 5, external RAID arrays and SANs, allowing customers to maximise their existing investment. Delta audio transmission is based on the Enhanced GSM algorithm standard for optimum voice quality over low bandwidth.

A critical benefit of the DVN is that it allows each channel to use a variety of individual algorithms and formats, not one. The DVR can convert an analog signal into a variety of digital signals including MPEG4, H263, Wavelet or JPEG. It features superior quality at an affordable price - ie, realtime 25 frames per second (FPS) at 4CIF, which means that FPS is not degraded when more channels are used. Adds Cameron: "Every DVN 5000 Series also has a built-in web server, VisionWeb. This allows viewing of live or recorded images (with audio) as well as control of pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) cameras over any TCP/IP connection within Internet Explorer Web browser - no special software is required. Intelligent bandwidth/picture content sensing and variable transmission quality make smooth streaming of video and audio a reality even over low bandwidth communication lines."

The configuration settings include system settings, user passwords and access rights, camera schedules and video recording quality settings, motion detection settings, split-screen configurations, alarm setup, output setup, analog monitor output sequence setup, holiday zones and more.

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