Video Monitoring Systems for Advanced Surveillance Requirements

February 28, 2022/0 Comments/in Blog /by Steve Barton

One of the most challenging elements of video surveillance is the daily monitoring of several devices over a multi-site system. Large and distributed Video Monitoring Systems can have numerous security cameras, network video recorders and encoders spread over geographically dispersed locations.

Video Monitoring Systems can undoubtedly assist and utilize devices with event status alerts to bring important incident footage to light. However, sometimes there isn’t time to monitor those notifications, and devices may still be vulnerable to connection problems, hard drive failures or different issues that could affect recording.

What is a proper Video Monitoring System?

Video Monitoring Systems involve far more than just streaming from cameras and recording videos with NVRs and DVRs; it’s about both storage and the maintenance and management of the entire Video Monitoring System. In addition, a proper Video Monitoring System solution increases efficiency by ensuring all monitoring devices are running at peak condition, around the clock, to prevent lost data.

If you are evaluating Video Monitoring Systems solutions for a large, geographically dispersed organization, there are some important features that can ease the workload and save money for the long term. Understanding these features can help make an informed choice.

What are the essential features of Video Monitoring Systems?

Centralized Management

Centralized system management is a standard feature of an enterprise Video Monitoring System. If your organization has locations across the world, there’s a need to be able to monitor videos from any site location and manage all of their respective cameras and recorders.
With Centralized management, it’s easy to push device settings and configuration to all cameras and video recorders. This can dramatically increase the speed of system administration, especially during the initial configuration phase. Fast application of firmware updates on multiple devices simultaneously will save a lot of downtime for maintenance.

Smooth Scalability

A critical Video Monitoring System must run efficiently no matter the size of your organization. Fast start-up times and lag-free workflows are essential. In addition, a trustworthy enterprise Video Monitoring System should be able to support large numbers of recording devices. When opening new building sections or new site locations or adding several more IP cameras and recorders, the system should scale to support this.

Event Monitoring and Alerts

During an investigation of an incident, there is nothing worse than finding out that the camera needed wasn’t recording!. A high-quality enterprise Video Monitoring System will offer a robust health-checking feature that can ensure all recorders and cameras are in proper working condition. This immediately alerts issues like failing hard drives or camera disconnections, giving early notification to correct a problem.
Some enterprise Video Monitoring System solutions will also allow control when alerts are triggered and customized health thresholds. For example, the system enables the receipt of alerts about the length or frequency of connection issues.

User Management

The ability to control system access is important. Managers and Administrators of large video systems are responsible for a lot of sensitive information. A good enterprise Video Monitoring System solution enables system managers and administrators to control access to the system, what those users can see and how frequently.
A good enterprise Video Monitoring System solution allows administrators to create custom access based on user permission level, so a security officer can only view video feeds from his station. At the same time, a more senior investigator can have access to all video footage in his assigned territory.
Managers and Administrators can also track user activity with detailed reports on each user’s operations, the resources they accessed and any updates they performed.

Third-party Support

Video Monitoring System will need to evolve over time. This means they might include a mix of IP cameras and analogue cameras from several different manufacturers and control equipment from several companies.

A good enterprise Video Monitoring System solution must be able to support all of these devices and provide a path forward by supporting and integrating the third-party products—this provides flexibility to choose the systems and devices with the best fit.

Bandwidth Management

The use of high-definition IP cameras on a large scale can consume significant bandwidth, and this may slow down systems or incur costly fees. Instead, look for an enterprise Video Monitoring System solution that enables control of the amount of bandwidth used to upload to and from your recorders or servers. This allows you to minimize bandwidth congestion and regulate network traffic.
Additionally, it may help to consider a Video Monitoring System solution that enables flexibility around recording, set maximum retention periods, selectively record on motion, or only record high-definition video on specific alarms to save on storage and bandwidth.

ARCO Video Proxy Server

Controls like these and the other features mentioned can dramatically simplify system administration in an enterprise video deployment. A proper enterprise Video Monitoring System solution will do the heavy lifting for the end-user.

The ARCO Platform features a built-in Video Service API enabling integration to third-party video cameras.

For advanced video surveillance requirements, ARCO Video Proxy Server is a stand-alone software solution designed to install within a closed network. The Video Proxy Server enables the integration with any third-party video system which are ONVIF compliant or support RTSP streaming.
Configurable Dashboard enables the full control of video displays within the ARCO Platform.

AXIS Camera Integration

SPG S1000 Smart Controllers enable integration to all models of Axis cameras that support TCP event notification and VAPIX API. Any Axis Camera can be mapped to an SPG Smart Controller Virtual Input to trigger S1000 events. In addition, the S1000 can send output activations to the Axis camera mapped to the Axis virtual input to trigger local camera actions such as a move to a preset position.

The S1000 Axis integration also supports the Vaxtor ALPR and the Axis People Counter application. These can be purchased and loaded into the Axis cameras supporting these apps and configured to work with the S1000 Smart Controller.

To know more about how SPG’s ARCO Platform and how it can help secure your assets, click here.

Monitoring Your System Anytime Anywhere

November 10, 2020/0 Comments/in Blog /by SPG Controls

24/7 Monitoring for Security Systems

Your Corporation’s security system should be something that can be easily monitored anytime and anywhere. Thanks to a lot of improvements in technology, it finally can!

What Are Security Systems?

Security systems help protect your place of business. They permit access, preserving privacy and establishing audit trails, they provide video recording and transmission of events, provide out of hours intruder detection and can be extended to include any number of environmental sensors enabled to control light, heat, humidity, flood, fire, power consumption and lone working. Depending on budget or demand for security, the system can be configured to suit all business types, from a single premise to a multi-location, multinational business.

Deciding what security system and security devices to purchase can be an intimidating responsibility. However, there are several sources of information from third party consultants, local expert providers and recommendations from Police Crime Prevention Units. SPG Controls would advocate the appointment of experienced and accredited companies as an installation and support partner, In addition, the enablement of remote control of your security solution is essential in today’s unique environment, where individual and remote working is an everyday occurrence.

There are some factors to consider when selecting a security system. For instance, what would best serve your Company, controlling access through the use of locking devices and readers, providing intruder detection during overnight and weekend closures, protecting remote and lone workers, protecting valuable assets from flood, fire, heat and humidity or misuse? Monitoring and recording CCTV or audio to enable verification of any event? Typically, an intruder alarm is connected to a third-party monitoring company who follow your instructions depending on the type and time of an alarm event. In today’s market, SPG Controls would recommend taking a further step forwards by enabling the control of your Company’s security systems through a mobile application, providing immediate data on your premise’s security system. Having the ability to check, verify and manage all aspects of your security solution as an authenticated user from your mobile device is essential.

Advantages of Security Systems

Security systems today have many benefits, thanks to advancements in technology. Many are now connected to IoT devices (Internet of Things) which makes them ideal for automating aspects of your Company’s security. For instance, by permitting both local and remote locking and unlocking of doors and gates.

Permitting the monitoring of your Company’s security system anytime and from anywhere. Additionally providing CCTV and audio content to enable remote verification. It’s much easier to decide on a course of action if management can see and hear what’s happening.

SPG Controls’ ARCO Enterprise Platform allows users to monitor data from thousands of remote sites. It is built with the latest web technologies for a faster and more secure experience. Support for unlimited connections also means that there is a huge potential for horizontal scalability. Every function supported is also accessible thanks to an open API. A dynamic server environment also ensures that there are unlimited redundancy and scalability

Product Specifics

SPG Controls’ S1000 Smart Controller manages access control, intruder alarms and any other applicable building management functions that can be remotely accessed by authorized users. It allows the monitoring and access of your security system whilst maintaining a secure remote connection. As an option, it can be equipped with a 4G connection as well as with Bluetooth Low Energy for setup and control. Other S1000 controllers can also be connected as slaves to expand the network in a building, compound, campus or over globally dispersed locations.

The SPG Sensor Remote Expansion Device provides analogue sensing information. These can be connected to the S1000 controller, which processes information in real-time in order to decide the course of action based on the pre-programmed rules. The interface also has sensors for humidity and temperature, which can also be useful for facilities that have intensive cooling or warming systems.

Contact us today to find out how an SPG Controls security system can help you protect your assets.

Consolidated Video Integration for IDIS Ltd DVR and Camera Systems

January 15, 2021/0 Comments/in Technical Bulletin /by Steve Barton

SPG Controls is pleased to announce the completion of an integration with IDIS Ltd. DVR and Camera Systems.

IDIS is a global security company that designs, develops, manufactures and delivers surveillance solutions for a wide range of commercial and public sector markets. Headquartered in Korea and operating across 35 countries and strategic partners, IDIS is a world-leading digital surveillance solution provider with an annual turnover of $400 million, across all holdings, and more than 2.4 million installations worldwide.

The SPG Arco platform is a Management platform for IoT that can run on both cloud and/or dedicated servers. Its supports any OS and database and is fully web-based.

The ARCO Platform features a built-in Video Service API enabling integration with ONVIF video cameras or any camera that has RTSP capability. ARCO supports both H264 and H265 video formats. Video can be placed on the internet or within a protected network, and by using a proxy gateway, video can be externally accessed without opening any inbound ports.

Configurable Dashboard enables the full control of video displays within the ARCO Platform.

The first deployment has already been successfully implemented in a corporate headquarters in Chile.

Live and recorded video from DVR and Camera
DVR Events Monitoring
- Camera Connection Status
- Hard Disk Monitoring
- Video Loss Confirmation
Camera Events Monitoring
- Motion Detection
- Line Crossing
- Tampering
Commands to tag video with an alarm and Camera preset

All events from IDIS cameras and DVRs can be mapped to Alarm Events in ARCO. These events can be actioned by operators, sent via SMA or Email or Push notification to the ARCO Managers App.

For more information about IDIS Ltd., please refer to their website: https://www.idisglobal.com/

For more information for ARCO Video integration, please refer to our datasheet.

Seamless Video Integration with TSD International NVR and Camera Systems

December 4, 2020/0 Comments/in Technical Bulletin /by Steve Barton

SPG Controls is pleased to announce the completion of an integration with TSD International NVR and Camera systems through their Video API.

The ARCO Platform features a built-in Video Service API enabling integration with ONVIF video cameras.

Configurable Dashboard enables the full control of video displays within the ARCO Platform.

The first deployment has already been successfully implemented in a corporate headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand. User benefits include the presentation of pre-alarm and live video in SPG’s ARCO platform for alarm and access control event verification.

For more information about TSD International, please refer to their website: https://www.tsdsecurity.com/