May 2011
Features
The inventor of the network camera discusses the secret sauce
By Martin Gren
In today’s innovative surveillance camera market, dealers might be overwhelmed by the many choices. It may be confusing to determine which product is best for a specific installation with all the options available from different manufacturers -- many of which have seemingly similar data sheet specs. Because of this, manufacturer research and development departments need to ask themselves, “What are dealers and integrators really looking for?”
School district blends security system to protect students and staff
By Beverly Vigue
With many school buildings that are veterans of the suburban expansion of the 1950s and 1960s, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) needed to consolidate its access control solutions to improve security. Today, electronic locks control access through exterior doors while restricted patented keyways improve key control and prevent unauthorized key duplication on interior door locks.
Technology upgrades heighten security on L.A.'s Skid Row
By David Darling
Los Angeles Mission, a nonprofit organization, serves the homeless living on the streets of downtown’s Hope Central (known as Skid Row). It is benefiting from a new IP video network that is centrally controlled by a video management system that encodes and integrates existing analog cameras. Installed by security integration specialists at ISO Integration, the new video surveillance system is designed for greater scalability, higher operational efficiency and excellent ease of use while also leveraging prior-installed analog video cameras to preserve the mission’s long-term security investment.
Terrorism, crime fuel growth of CCTV surveillance market
By Pat Lathouris
Basic CCTV monitoring consists of video cameras transmitting a signal to a specific place -- though not as openly as with broadcast television signals -- where the images appear on a set of monitors. With fears of terrorism and crime growing in the 1990s and 2000s, private and business use of CCTV surveillance has rapidly taken off and evolved.
Were the ‘good old days’ really as good as we remember them?
By Al Lizza
When most people refer to the “good old days” they’re usually trying to fondly recall a period when things were far simpler, worries were not as rampant and daily life went on virtually unimpeded. So that begs the question: Was there ever really such a thing as the good old days in the home security products industry?
Access control, video management solution helps church achieve higher security
By Kim Rahfaldt
In general, churches have an open-door policy. They welcome all people, regardless of age, religion or economic background. So when Changing a Generation, a large Baptist church in Atlanta, decided to install a security management system with access control, video and intrusion detection, maintaining an open environment for its congregation and employees was imperative.
Musical Instrument Museum enjoys full symphony of benefits from its surveillance system
By Laura Williams
The Musical Instrument Museum opened in April of 2010 in a brandnew, 190,000-square-foot building in the north part of Phoenix. The space houses more than 10,000 artifacts from around the globe, making good on the museum’s mission of inviting the public “to explore and experience the rich diversity of the world’s music and musical instruments.”
Reducing false alarms saves time, resources for all involved in the alarm industry
We wanted to know more about a central station, what people who work there do and how a central station fulfills its role with alarms and incident response times. We visited Greg Hurst at Monitronics’ Dallas location to learn more.
Networked security systems enhance facility coverage
By Aaron Saks
Networked video surveillance systems have greatly expanded the industry’s ability to provide coverage of multi-campus facilities. Today more than ever before, video surveillance systems are likely to be spread across multiple locations and integrated using IT infrastructure. The inherent operational and economic benefits of network technology continue to drive this trend, but the reliability of these systems varies greatly depending on the products that compose them.
How today’s security integrators help bridge the gap
By Rob Hile
A security systems integrator’s role is evolving to include more than just putting all the components together to make the magic happen. The faltering economy, coupled with the continued rapid advance in IT-enabled security technologies, has created some challenge for end users trying to fill the void between growing threats and the latest technology platforms designed to mitigate these threats.
Departments
Video cameras are better than ever, and the newer surveillance systems have vastly improved functionality. One of the suppliers leading product improvements in the video arena is Panasonic, which offers IP addressable, analog and hybrid video systems for the surveillance industry. We spoke with Bill Taylor, president, Panasonic System Networks Company of America, about changes and enhancements users and integrators are seeing in the latest video cameras.
Affordable thermal security cameras bring new opportunities to light
By David Lee
There’s no denying it: Bad stuff happens at night. Whether we’re talking about terrorists crossing borders or burglars jumping the fence into your back yard, nighttime is the right time for bad things to happen.
The mobile Internet does not have to be a risky environment, but….
By Ronnie Rittenberry
It probably goes without saying that being a smart person is not a prerequisite for owning a smartphone. Just take a look around you.