Video Surveillance Guide

Video Surveillance is one of the fastest growing segments in technology, but new research is saying the market for cameras and their equipment isn’t immune from the slumping economy.

According to market-research firm In-Stat, some segments within the video surveillance market will be hit harder than others. IP cameras, due to their high cost, will see a reduction on shipments this year as well Networked Video Recorders (NVRs) since they are normally bought in tandem.

The research also says that not all segments are down. For example, hybrid DVRs that can connect to both IP Video sources as well as analog cameras are seeing an increase in sales.

If you don’t want to pony up the $3,495 for In-Stat’s complete research study, here are the high-points:

• After a decline in 2009, revenue from analog cameras, IP cameras, DVR/NVR, and IP encoders will grow to US$19 billion in 2011.

• Video encoding for DVRs, IP cameras, and IP encoders is moving to H.264 from MPEG-4 part 2. This is enabled by more powerful ICs able to encode multiple streams of H.264 on a single IC.

• As pricing comes down, the attach rate for video analytics in video surveillance equipment will increase at a fast pace.

• Semiconductor revenue for the video surveillance equipment will be stable through 2013, with lower average selling prices offsetting shipment growth.

Some police statistics are showing that home burglaries are up 22 percent over last year, causing many homeowners to invest in security cameras for their homes. However video systems aren’t only becoming popular in homes, they’re also showing up in more unlikely places like soda-pop vending machines.

Police in Oklahoma City are searching for one man who was caught stealing the cash box from a soda-machine by a small hidden camera inside.

“It should serve as a warning,” the Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Gary Knight said, who added that no matter where a robbery takes place, it’s becoming increasingly common for it to be caught on tape

Source: News9.com

The City Council in Sacramento will decide today whether to approve funds to add video surveillance cameras to city streets and other public areas. The local ACLU chapter has been fighting the initiative for some time.

The money is coming from a federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security and would help purchase and install 32 security cameras, four mobile surveillance trailers, and other related technology.

Sacramento’s Mayor is in favor for the appropriation, saying “I fought for the money and got it…Public safety is a top priority for my administration, and I will use every tool to help reduce crime in our city.”

The ACLU says the proposed camera system is an “intrusive invasion of privacy,” but is not expected to file suit against the city.

Source: Sacramento Press

The deeply troubled organization ACORN announced today that they were bringing a lawsuit against the two filmmakers that used hidden cameras to videotape ACORN workers without their consent.

The two posed as a pimp and a prostitute, claimed they were smuggling in underage girls for prostitution, and were looking for ways to cheat the IRS. ACORN workers in several states helped the young couple figure ways to avoid paying taxes on their illegal activities. Now, the ACORN and its workers are suing under a Maryland statute that claims both parties must have consent to audiotape private conversations.

So it isn’t so the actual video images, but rather that the video has an audio component to go with it.

The ACORN crew is also claiming ‘emotional distress’ over everything, and adding punitive damages on top, for a total of around $7 million.

Unfortunately for James O’Keefe, 25, and Hannah Giles, 20, the audio-taping law appears to be on the side of ACORN – but would any jury convict the two?

Cisco and Pelco are joining forces to develop the technology behind new HD IP video surveillance cameras, based on Pelco’s current Sarix platform.

The HD video cameras are expected to be available later this year, and will be distributed by “Cisco Authorized Technology Providers.”

The VP of Physical Security at Cisco had this to say:

After conducting an extensive evaluation of current technologies, we found that Pelco has developed one of the most advanced IP HD imaging systems in the global security marketplace.”

The co-branded cameras will feature Sarix functions, such as full frame-rate video, H.264 compression, low-light performance, embedded analytics, and auto focus.

When most robbers take things from banks – they go for cash and try and hide their identity from the cameras. However, the creepiest man alive decided he was going to go after a bank’s video surveillance cameras in the town of St. Albans, West Virginia.

The perpetrators creepy mug was caught since the feed was being recorded remotely (go figure). That screenshot helped local authorities track down Dennis Lottig and the four missing cameras valued at $1900 apiece.

Lottig was arraigned and placed in jail on a $75,000 bond.

When Yale University graduate student Annie Le went missing on last Tuesday, investigators started searching for clues. In the end, it was surveillance video that helped them locate her body five days later.

While surveillance cameras on college campuses are becoming more and more common, few universities have such blanketed coverage. Yale University was ahead of the curve, and 75 cameras were rolling on campus the day Le went missing. One camera outside of the building where she worked captured her going in and never coming out. With this in mind, authorities concentrated their search within the building, and on Sunday discovered her body stuffed in a wall.

Without the video authorities wouldn’t have conducted such a concentrated search for the 24-year-old, and the discovery of her body most likely would have been delayed. Any delay in such a situation can greatly reduce the amount of physical evidence that may help identify the perpetrator, and lesson the likelihood of a conviction.

The high-tech lab was also equipped with swipe-card technology, though this only controlled access in, and wouldn’t necessarily log a person out – especially with the common ‘tailgating’ technique, where one individual recognizes another and grants them access without having them swipe their own card. In this case, video was the only way to know for sure.

Authorities have yet to officially name any suspects, but are saying that evidence suggests it was an isolated incident. According to Foxnews, two Conneticut media outlets are reporting that a lab worker is a prime suspect (though not currently in custody), who reportedly had defensive wounds on his chest, failed an FBI polygraph, and requested a lawyer.

We think that video surveillance systems used by local police and municipalities are a good thing. While cameras in pubic areas may not be as effective as an officer on the street, they do provide a certain sense of security and no doubt have deterred crime in some areas. However, the authorities may have gone too far in Baltimore, where they required one bar owner to install a video surveillance camera within the bar with a live feed to the police station.

The owner of Shirley’s Honey Hole, a small neighborhood bar in Baltimore, was in deep trouble after her bar had been deemed a nuisance property after repeated calls to police about drug deals and loud patrons. Sounds like a typical shady neighborhood bar, right?

Well in order to keep her doors open, Shirley accepted a plea deal to hire a security guard and install a camera with a live feed to Baltimore’s City Watch control center, where the city’s other 450 public cameras are monitored.

While the move is considered legal since the bar owner agreed to it, it’s questionable whether she really had a choice, since the other option would be closing down the bar and losing her livelihood.

Unfortunately for Shirley, the large signs warning patrons that the city is watching them order a round for their friends may have the same effect.

The Sports Museum of Los Angeles holds a ton of priceless memorabilia – including Babe Ruth’s record-breaking home run bat. A surveillance system designed by D-link has been selected to secure the museum’s 10,000 articles.

88 D-link two-way audio Internet cameras and eighty-eight power over Ethernet adapters have been installed in the museum.

“We shopped around and saw demonstrations of different cameras from other manufacturers,” says the museum’s IT Manager. “From an implementation and cost perspective, D-Link had the upper edge.”

General Electric is looking to sell its Security Division, which makes video surveillance equipment and alarms. The liquidation could net GE around $2 Billion, according to Bloomberg.

Possible buyers for the division could include Tyco International, and United Technologies, two companies who also produce security equipment.

Earlier this year GE sold an 81% stake in its Homeland Protection unit, which makes surveillance for airports and is part of the Security Division, to Safron SA for $580 million.