Fundamentals of IP Video IP Video Deployment for Security. Revised 2/2011

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1 Fundamentals of IP Video IP Video Deployment for Security Revised 2/2011 New things to consider: H.264 bit rates High Definition Storage options Faster networks

2 NOTES: 1

3 The objective of this document is to provide the reader with the information and knowledge necessary to understand basic concepts of IP video technology. This is a basic starting point in the IP video and information technology education process. Be sure to seek out classes on networking and IP video concepts. Seek product training from the manufacturer to become proficient in the implementation of the technology. IP Network Video The Current Generation of CCTV Changes in CCTV technology have been driven by five key forces: 1. Increased bandwidth capability and widespread use of networks; 2. Reduce the cost of recording and storing video for long periods; 3. Need to reduce the amount of space required by these systems; 4. Need for wide accessibility; 5. Availability of high definition image capture. VCRs were the first and for many years, only CCTV option. Affordable and reliable, VCRs are also labor-intensive; requiring someone to switch tapes, clean recording heads and perform scheduled maintenance. And the thousands of videotapes generated not only caused storage problems, but were a security risk as well. Anyone could view or alter them, there was no existing backup, there was poor or limited video quality, and no capability for digital forensic analysis. Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) revolutionized the industry by eliminating bulky videotapes and placing archives of video at your fingertips. No more costly maintenance or tedious tape switching. Searching became instant and reliable. And while DVRs still require a switcher to funnel video into the operations station, as technology improves, so do video size and storage devices. IP Video is the current generation Hybrid and Pure IP Solutions for systems of all sizes Advantages of IP Network Video IP network video systems offer a number of advantages over traditional analog systems. Convenience, cost effectiveness and overall efficiency of the CCTV system all play a part in the decision to make the change to IP. Simplified installation at lower costs: Rather than requiring extensive coax cabling from each camera back to once central head-end, IP network video systems can potentially connect through wired networks or wireless communication systems that already exist in many buildings. While the raw cost 2

4 of IP hardware may be higher, this may in many cases be outweighed by the installations costs associated with analog video systems. Accessibility: As the market strives to reduce the amount of staff needed to operate security systems, IP networks allow further centralization or decentralization as required by the application. A single operator can monitor remote and wireless cameras from anywhere on the network and the video can be stored remotely as well. A network infrastructure can range from a simple one-switch topology to a multi-device network topology within a local area network (LAN) or distributed across several IP platforms through routers in a wide area network (WAN). Reduced storage costs: When CCTV video moves into the networked world, it allows you to take advantage of IT technologies like iscsi network attached storage and storage area networks, which can hold huge amounts of data. The system is using dedicated high- density storage servers rather than relying on a single hard drive. If permitted, the video on that storage device can then be shared with anyone anywhere on the network. Video quality: Modern IP systems use compression algorithms such as H.264, which make more efficient use of the network than MPEG-4 or M-JPEG. For times when lower quality would be sufficient and would help control the amount of storage used, IP gives you the ability to customize the quality of the video output based on your viewing needs and storage capacity. Reliability: IP uses the benefits of Internet technology to create a more reliable security system. It can automatically redirect video traffic to a backup storage system in the event of a power failure or network outage. Network switches can be deployed such that if one switch fails, traffic will redirect around the failed switch or wiring. Scalability: IP networks offer improved flexibility for enlarging a CCTV system. It is easy to add cameras and storage space, and distribute it across the network and build in redundancy of services and storage. Plus, IP networks are uniquely able to support multiple viewers. In the same way that an server can send the same data to multiple people at the same time, the appropriately selected network switch has the ability to clone the video and use the same data multiple times, a protocol known as multicasting. Cost of Ownership: When budgeting for a video solution, some costs cannot be easily placed onto a bill of materials. Some concepts listed above such as wiring costs and conduit costs can be estimated, other short and long term costs such as loss of connectivity or loss of data are harder to pinpoint. As fewer devices are powered, consider the savings associated with lower power consumption and cooler equipment rooms. With less equipment comes less floor space for equipment racks and smaller operator consoles. IP video isn t just plug and play, so don t focus on the many advantages without considering who is going to own and manage the system. IP video systems can be service intensive, so be sure to consider how the system is going to managed once installed. You might just be able to tap into IT department resources with their buy-in. 3

5 Network video recorders (NVR) are the third generation yesterday s step in this evolution of more cost-effective and space-efficient solutions for viewing and storing video. An NVR is a server PC which has licensed software running on it and has either internal or external storage attached for archiving of video. IP-based digital encoders push encoded video onto the network for storage anywhere. This has opened the door to the process of converting analog video to digital, storing it in one place, and viewing it from anywhere the network is accessible. A downside to Server with Direct Attached SCSI Disk Array NVR is the need to add a new NVR server with every cameras. This is due to either processor capability of the server, also known as throughput, or licensing. With an NVR solution, direct attached SCSI is physically connected to the server. Each server can have one or two SCSI connection cards and is limited to three daisy-chained SCSI storage arrays per card. Thus scalability is very limited and equipment location may be less than desireable. Hybrid Network Recorders - As with any technology advancement, some users will be ready to make the jump to IP immediately and completely, while others will prefer to transition over time due to budget or infrastructure constraints. The transition can be effected gradually, by implementing hybrid DVRs, allowing you to take advantage of the benefits of IP video while continuing to make profitable use of your analog investment. Hybrid DVRS can accept both composite video connections directly on the back of the recorder as well as receive IP video streams from across a network. A technical gotcha to watch out for with hardware decoding of IP streams is that you must watch live and recorded video at the same frame rate. For example, if you record at 5ips, expect to see live video at 5ips. Note the presence of BNC Composite Video connections. This network recorder records both analog video inputs as well as IP video streams. The Network-Only DVR (Digital Network Recorder) Some DVRs have actually become a NVR-in-a-box solution as a means by which to reduce cost and bring IP video to a more affordable cost for smaller IP video systems. You can even get the capability of RAID protection with nearly double-digit TB of storage onboard. These devices generally are capable of recording up to approximately 32 IP video streams. Be careful, this is where manufacturer and model compatibility verification is critical. Embedded systems eliminate Windows OS based issues, a source of potential complication for a small system user who lacks the support of a dedicated IT department. 4 Note the absence of BNC Composite Video connections. This Network recorder records only IP video streams.

6 iscsi, pronounced eye-skuzzy, is the fifth generation and is nothing more than a protocol, a standardized way to talk to IP-based storage across an IP network. The target is iscsi RAID storage, and the initiator could be an IP camera or an encoder. An iscsi Disk Array connects with an Ethernet cable directly into a network switch with no PC or licensed software required. When iscsi is integrated with a Video Recording Manager a system can grow by camera count or storage device count easily. RAID Array Front view of iscsi Disk Array Rear View of iscsi Disk Array. Note the Ethernet ports. iscsi combines the latest and greatest from the storage and communications worlds SCSI storage (which uses the SCSI protocol) and the IP network (which uses the TCP/IP protocol). iscsi is simply SCSI over IP. iscsi stands for IP SCSI. It is storage attached directly to the network via an Ethernet cable. Manufacturers who provide iscsi solutions have a variety of data protection options available. Some of these features provide a higher level of reliability for more critical applications. Until the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) invented iscsi back in 2002, the main storage protocol was SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface). SCSI is still the most widespread method of communicating with RAID disk arrays. SCSI RAIDs are also commonly used to attach massive storage directly to DVRs or NVRs. Although iscsi is a standard it has been implemented differently by different iscsi RAID manufacturers. iscsi initiators, usually a small number of very large application servers, are Microsoft Windows or Linux-based and they talk to an iscsi SAN iscsi Advantages Flexibility Because iscsi is IP network-based, the storage device can be located anywhere on the high-speed network. This includes being shared storage on the network (Network-Attached Storage) and dedicated storage independent of the network (Direct-Attached Storage). Local Network iscsi Disk Array IP Camera with iscsi Initiator Wide Area Network iscsi Disk Array Local Network 5 IP PTZ Camera with iscsi Initiator

7 Economy Because the IP cameras and encoders communicate directly with the iscsi RAID there is no need for multiple powerful NVR servers, the Windows 2003 Server OS or the many licensed copies of NVR management software. The solution eliminates these components and is consequently highly cost-effective for low-count camera systems. Local Network iscsi Disk Array IP Camera with iscsi Initiator Reliability There are no NVR server or PC reliability issues, which can include internal hard drives, power supplies, fans and software. Also, just like a DVR with a SCSI RAID, the encoder can use an Ethernet cable to connect to an iscsi RAID and use it as direct attached storage. This means that video is recorded regardless of the health of the network or the amount of available bandwidth. Network Encoder Analog Camera iscsi Disk Array Maintainability Since there are no NVR servers there are no Windows OS patches or updates, VIDOS-NVR updates or virus updates to maintain. Also because everything is IP-based and all support Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), off-the-shelf IT, applications can continuously monitor and alert in case of problems. Scalability Add more storage to the system by plugging more iscsi RAID devices anywhere onto your network. Device Security All Hardware has dedicated firmware that is not susceptible to attacks from inside or outside of the network since it doesn t have an operating system. Hardware is esily upgradeable via firmware flashes from across the network. VRM and iscsi The introduction of Video Recording Manager software (VRM) enables IP cameras and encoders to stream directly to disk. VRM pools all iscsi RAIDs in a system and, after dividing the total capacity into small storage blocks, allocates storage on demand to IP cameras and encoders. The software acts as a traffic cop by helping to distribute video evenly across the various iscsi disk arrays on the customer s network. 6

8 This design simplifies installation by eliminating the need to calculate and estimate the storage requirements for individual or groups of cameras. With load-balancing, cameras with large storage requirements are automatically allocated more disk space, which ensures the desired retention time is achieved across all cameras. Customers also gain added flexibility and improve their return on investment, as they can transparently add storage to the pool as the video surveillance system grows. ANR still has its place with the widespread adoption of iscsi. ANR (Automatic Network Replenishment, i.e. network fault tolerance) is possible with the implementation of local recording on specific encoders combined with an iscsi system. While network connectivity between the encoder and the iscsi server is lost, the video continues to be recorded on the local storage. When the network connectivity is re-established, the iscsi automatically replenishes the gap in its recording from the IP camera or encoder s local storage. Analog Cameras VRM Server Network Encoders with Onboard Storage ISCSI Storage Common Parts and Pieces of an IP Video System An easy way to understand the parts and pieces concept is to relate it to food. In the days of VCRs and DVRs we were all eating off of a fixed menu. We had to buy a black box with a certain, pre-determined feature set. Now, with the advent of IP video we can tailor systems to the exact needs that a customer has, much like eating from a buffet. Don t like carrots? You no longer have to look at them on your plate! IP Cameras and Encoders An encoder is a device which takes analog video and converts it to IP. Most people are aware of the term IP camera. An IP camera is simply a camera with an encoder built into it. A conventional analog camera connected to an external encoder provides the same functionality as an IP camera. The ability to choose between these configurations allows for a wide variety of deployment requirements with regard to infrastructure and hardware costs. IP cameras and encoders are available in many different configurations with many different feature sets 7

9 Decoders are the exact opposite of an encoder. A decoder can be used in many applications. It takes an IP video stream and converts it back into an analog signal. This device can be used for alarm call-up monitors in a true IP system or can even be used in an analog system to connect two locations that only share an Ethernet connection. HD cameras require specific decoding capabilities that are not yet currently available in a hardware decoder. Monitor Wall is easiest understood as a beefed up decoder. Simply take the decoder brain out of the small package and put it on a PC with more processing horsepower and now you can display more images on one or two video screens, controlled by a graphical user interface software package. VMS / GUI Many different video management software platforms are available depending on the requirements of the end user. The Graphical User Interface allows the system user to easily show live images or perform playback operations. Most GUIs utilize a graphical map system to allow for easy location of cameras over widespread geographic areas within a building, across a campus, or across many states or countries. Storage can be in the form of local recording inside of an encoder, centrally on an NVR or directly to iscsi anywhere on the network that is best suited for the application. IVA can be deployed camera by camera or can be deployed on a PC with special software. The analytic software can be used to retrieve information from previously recorded video or can be used to live to activate alarms as events occur. Analytics software available today allows you to recognize direction of travel, loitering, color recognition, object left behind and much more. Advanced analytic software embedded inside of the encoder or IP camera or can be located on a dedicated PC which can be activated to trigger alarms based on object color, direction of travel, loitering, object left behind or object removed when applied appropriately. LAN/WAN Decoder Conventional joystick controllers can be deployed by attaching them to a workstation PC or to a decoder. This is helpful for situations where security officers are familiar with the simple joystick operation they have enjoyed for years. This provides great flexibility by allowing an observation area to be set up without a PC. Controller LCD Monitor 8

10 Time synchronization is critical to all security systems. Be certain to synchronize all of the devices on a system to one source. This can be accomplished by connecting to the IT department s common Time Server or by synchronizing to the VRM server. Inaccurate time synchronization causes many problems and is an easily avoidable situation. Take a look at CIMonitor as one affordable solution for IP security health monitoring and time synchronization. IP Health Monitoring is known as SNMP within the IT profession. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) allows the end user to know when IP devices have gone offline or are showing signs of failure. SNMP can be implemented and manage various systems on the network simultaneiously. Alternatively, companies like CIMonitor provide security industry specific IP health check appliances that can be implemented by security or IT. Software Development Kit (SDK) makes integration with other manufacturers possible. SDKs are available for those key applications. These software tool kits are used by software development companies for applications such as having video images appear in a third party access control GUI. SDK tools are used by software development engineers for applications to integrate IP video into third party systems such as VMS head ends or access control. Over the past several years, two consortiums have formed to develop standards for the IP security industry. These standards are intended to provide a common platform for video, data, and other information so that the information may be shared between manufacturers. So, for example, if you have a Brand B IP camera and a Brand C NVR, if they are both using the same standard such as ONVIF or PSIA, the video would be able to be viewed, stored, and played back by the Brand C NVR without any special coordination between the engineers at both companies. Bandwidth, Bit rates, and the IT Department The ideal IP network video system would offer the highest quality video and audio sent from cameras located at every conceivable point, viewable from anywhere in the world with an unlimited amount of long-term storage. The reality is that two finite resources limit every system: network bandwidth and disk storage. Several factors affect bandwidth and storage costs; storage location, compression type, contrast of camera s field of view, resolution, frame rate, and motion based recording. By storing video on different parts of the network, bandwidth can be reduced. iscsi allows this flexibility more than any other major storage option such as DVR or NVR. Dedicated Security Network or Common Corporate Network? This is a decision that must be reached by IT personnel who are involved in the decisions about network infrastructure. Generally speaking it is recommended to deploy a dedicated security network with a link to the corporate network that can be managed by IT. IP video requires significant bandwidth and most corporations or agencies prefer separation of security data from operational data. Compression is a factor as well. Most IP systems today utilize H.264 compression. Many systems still use MPEG-4 or MJPEG which require more bandwidth and storage 9

11 space on the hard drive(s) of the recording device. To meet the variety of compression requirements, many manufacturers produce cameras that make MJPEG, MPEG-4, and H.264 video available for viewing and recording. MPEG-2 was a format most commonly used in commercial television applications and is not an ideal compression format for security applications due to the large data rates. Resolution tends to be one of the most recognized factors to the cost of a system. Not too long ago we used terms like low, medium or high resolution; no longer can we talk about resolution in these terms. Analog cameras have specific resolution capabilities that are measured in TVL, IP encoders and IP cameras measure resolution in CIF. A quick look at Wikipedia defines CIF as Common Intermediate Format, also known as FCIF (Full Common Intermediate Format). CIF was designed to be easy to convert to PAL or NTSC standards. CIF defines a video sequence with a resolution of pixels. Other resolutions such as SQCIF, QCIF, 2CIF, 2/3 D1, 4CIF, HD (high definition), and MP (megapixel) are also commonly used. Measurement of bandwidth is usually done in Kbps (kilobits per second) or Mbps (megabits per second). Storage of this data is in terms of KB, MB, GB, or TB; kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes respectively. Video over IP consumes a large amount of bandwidth. As a rough guide, one standard definition camera might consume between 100 kbps and 2 Mbps whereas a High Definition camera might consume between 3Mbps and 10Mbps. Think of available bandwidth as the amount of room available in a garden hose for water to flow. The more bandwidth available the more data can flow. If you run out of bandwidth on your network, you will start to experience the following: Video artifacts (e.g., blocks in MPEG and M-JPEG) Frames may get dropped, making the video appear choppy The video resolution may drop from 4CIF to 2 CIF or even CIF, making the picture less clear The video may freeze entirely and lose the connection temporarily Key features you should be looking for in a switch: It should be managed It should support cut-through or fragment-free switching Spanning Tree or Fast Spanning Tree Protocol SNMP support If you have decided to implement Multicast now or in the future: Your Layer 3 switch should have a physical ASIC chip The switch should include a query chip Bit Rate / Bandwidth Limiting provides configuration to conform to constraints which may be imposed by the IT department. Even dedicated CCTV networks can get crowded periodically. Users can choose how to adjust to accommodate temporary traffic surges. The frame rate can drop temporarily while the sharpness of each image is maintained, or, conversely, the same number of frames can be recorded but at a lower resolution. Each encoder can also be programmed so that the bandwidth it uses is allowed to rise and fall as necessary to preserve both the frame rate and resolution. Or the user can fix 10

12 a maximum threshold to ensure that even if every encoder on the network became active, the system would still not exceed the total bandwidth allocation. Bit Rates can be dramatically affected by visible light levels. Some think of a quiet scene as a scene containing or subject to little object motion. This is generally a good rule of thumb with good visible light levels. When lights are low or turned off or the sun has set, another issue must be considered: AGC noise. As AGC turns on, the camera works to create a usable image in low light. When this happens you may see noticeable distortion in the image. This distortion is perceived as a busy scene due to the amount of pixel change, thus causing the bit rate to go up. Yes, up. And even sometimes higher than what we have in the past thought of as a busy scene. By adjusting visible light levels or by adding infrared lighting, the AGC noise can be decreased or even eliminated depending on camera quality. Take a look at the following images for example bit rates for a 4CIF image in different lighting conditions. 11

13 Video Resolution Imager Resolution Definition Format Average bitrate Storage for 16 cameras for 30 days at 30ips, estimated CCD QCIF SD 4:3 100kbps 0.5TB CCD CIF SD 4:3 500kbps 2.7TB 704 x 240 CCD 2CIF SD 4:3 1Mbps 5.3TB 464 x 480 CCD 2/3 D1 SD 4:3 2Mbps 10.6TB CCD 4CIF SD 4:3 2.5Mbps 13.3TB 1280 x 720 CCD 720p HD 16:9 5Mbps 26.6TB 1920 x 1080 CMOS 1080p HD 16:9 6 20Mbps 31.9TB 106.2TB 12

14 Aspect Ratio Note the location and presence of black bars located to the top and bottom or left and right of the images above depending on the monitor aspect ratio as compared to the camera image aspect ratio. 13

15 Pros and Cons of HD and SD Storage While HD can deliver amazing images, SD can deliver a suitable image at a lower storage cost. Low Light Imaging and Wide Dynamic Range SD cameras generally use a CCD imager which provides optimal imaging of bright and dark areas in the same scene (wide dynamic range) and low light imaging. CMOS sensors are implemented in 1080p HD and Megapixel cameras which require higher illumination levels of visible or IR lighting. Video Analytics with more pixel density more exact analysis can be performed on a scene. Digital Zoom If you wish to zoom in on part of an image after it is recorded, HD allows you to do so with less image degradation. Consider the DCRI chart below for camera placement considerations that can reduce or eliminate the need for digital zoom. 14

16 Motion Artifacts More pixels decrease the amount of motion artifacts. Color Reproduction HD delivers outstanding color reproduction. Head-end The decision to implement HD requires a head-end GUI consideration. While your system may be able to receive and decode SD H.264 video streams, it may not be able to receive and decode HD H.264 streams due to decoding firmware processor bit rate limitations. Be sure to work together with your manufacturer s representative to ensure compatibility. Workstation Hardware Display of multiple HD video streams onto a graphical user interface requires significant PC horsepower, particularly in the video card. Be sure to specify the appropriate PC hardware with consideration given to how many video streams will be viewed simultaneously. More Helpful Terminology 720p HD 720p is the shorthand name for a category of HDTV video modes having a resolution of (for a total of 0.92 megapixels or 921,600 pixels) and a progressive scan. The number 720 stands for the 720 horizontal scan lines of display resolution (also known as 720 pixels of vertical resolution), while the letter p stands for progressive scan or non-interlaced. When broadcast at 60 frames per second, 720p features the highest temporal (motion) resolution possible under the ATSC and DVB standards. 1080p HD 1080p is the shorthand identification for a set of HDTV video modes that are characterized by 1,080 lines of vertical resolution (1,080 horizontal scan lines) and progressive scan (meaning the image is not interlaced, unlike the 1080i display standard). The term usually assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a horizontal resolution of 1920 pixels. This resolution is similar to that of 2K digital cinema technology. The frame rate can be either implied by the context or specified after the letter 'p', such as 1080p30, meaning 30 progressive frames per second. 1080p, sometimes referred to in marketing materials as "Full HD", typically refers to the capability to accept 1080p signal and display it with native resolution of at least 1080 lines, as well as the capability to upscale lower-resolution material to 1080p. 16:9 Aspect Ratio 16:9 (generally named as "Sixteen-Nine", "Sixteen-by-Nine" and "Sixteen-to-Nine") is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. It is the international standard format of HDTV, non-hd digital television and analog widescreen television (EDTV) PALplus. 16:9 is the aspect ratio of Full HD ( ), and Standard HDTV ( ). A rectangular image. 4:3 Aspect Ratio - universal for standard-definition video formats. An almost square image. 15

17 2-D Analytics Video analytics without consideration for depth of field. A lower cost means by which to eliminate nuisance alarms while using alarm based notifications or recording. ActiveX or Video SDK - An ActiveX control is a component that does not amount to an entire software application, rather they provide a small building-block that can be shared by different software. Cat5 or Cat5e or Cat6 cables - Category 5 cable includes four twisted pairs in a single cable jacket. Cat5 cable is limited to use on 100Mb networks. Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5. The tighter specifications associated with Cat 5e cable and connectors make it an excellent choice for use with 1000Mb or Gig networks. Cat 5e cable does not enable longer cable distances for Ethernet networks: cables are still limited to a maximum of 328 ft (100 m) in length. Cat-6 is suitable for 10BASE-T / 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet). It is expected to suit the 10GBASE-T (10Gigabit Ethernet) standard. CCD Imager A CCD is an imaging device. When light strikes the chip it is held as a small electrical charge in each photo sensor. The charges are converted to voltage one pixel at a time as they are read from the chip. Additional circuitry in the camera converts the voltage into digital information. CMOS Imager - A CMOS chip is a type of active pixel sensor made using the CMOS semiconductor process. Extra circuitry next to each photo sensor converts the light energy to a voltage. Additional circuitry on the chip may be included to convert the voltage to digital data. CMOS sensors are less expensive to manufacture than CCD sensors. CMOS generally requires more light to be available on the scene and for more images per second to be transmitted in order to avoid image smear. DirectX - Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. DOTNET Framework - The Microsoft.NET Framework is a software component that is a part of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It has a large library of pre-coded solutions to common program requirements, and manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. The.NET Framework is a key Microsoft offering, and is intended to be used by most new applications created for the Windows platform. Dual Streaming Most IP cameras today will dual stream at a minimum. This allows live view to be set to one specific frame rate and resolution while a second stream can be set to a completely different frame rate and resolution. For example, one stream may be used for live view and the second stream may be used for recording. Frame Rate Number of frames or images that are displayed per second. Geospatial Analytics Also referred to as 3-D analytics. 3-D allows the consideration of depth of field when determining activation of an alarm condition. H.264 Compression - The intent of the H.264/AVC project was to create a standard capable of providing good video quality at substantially lower bit rates than previous 16

18 standards (e.g. half or less the bit rate of MPEG-2, H.263, or MPEG-4 Part 2), without increasing the complexity of design so much that it would be impractical or excessively expensive to implement. An additional goal was to provide enough flexibility to allow the standard to be applied to a wide variety of applications on a wide variety of networks and systems, including low and high bit rates, low and high resolution video, broadcast, DVD storage, RTP/IP packet networks, and ITU-T multimedia telephony systems. HD (High Definition) - High-definition video or HD Video is a standard defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), and the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB). HD Video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition (SD) video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1, pixels (720p) or 1,920 1,080 pixels (1080i/1080p). Hybrid IP - A combination of technologies that allow the seamless integration of older, analog-based CCTV, and modern, digital IP-based CCTV. Interlaced Video - Interlace is a technique of doubling the perceived frame rate of a video signal without consuming extra bandwidth. Since the interlaced signal contains the two fields of a video frame shot at two different times, it enhances motion perception to the viewer and reduces flicker by taking advantage of the persistence of vision effect. This results in an effective doubling of time resolution as compared with non-interlaced footage (for frame rates equal to field rates). However, interlaced signal requires a display that is natively capable to show the individual fields in a sequential order, and only traditional CRT-based TV sets are capable of displaying interlaced signal, due to the electronic scanning and lack of apparent fixed resolution. IP - Internet Protocol, often referred to as TCP/IP for Transport Control Protocol and Internet Protocol. Because of the popularity of the Internet, this packet structure became the most popular way of transporting all information across carriers. Because it was designed for data and not for video and voice, many special protocol tricks have to be employed to carry IP over optical systems, or even for carrying voice and video in electronic networks that utilize IP. JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is also an ISO/IEC working group, but works to build standards for continuous tone image coding. JPEG is a lossy compression technique used for full-color or gray-scale images by exploiting the fact that the human eye will not notice small color changes. While JPEG is a standard, MJPEG is completely proprietary implemented by different manufacturers in various incompatible ways. 17

19 LAN A Local Area Network is a smaller portion of a larger network. LDAP - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an application protocol for querying and modifying directory services running over a network. This is used by IT professionals to simplify the process of managing many users of many applications. Map Graphical representation of a facility or geographic area that allows an easy interface for a security professional. This feature becomes more valuable as more cameras are added to a system. MDF Closet - The Main Distribution Frame closet is a physical termination point within a network where network cables are connected to switches. MDF is usually a term used in the telephony industry which has been adopted by IT departments when discussing physical switch locations. MegaPixel Camera - These innovative IP cameras provide high quality image processing that produce sharp images with high detail and outstanding color accuracy. Watch out for low light level scenes, high speed motion distortion, and frame rates well below 30ips that HD or SD can deliver. MPEG - Moving Picture Experts Group. MPEG is an ISO/IEC working group, established in 1988 to develop standards for digital audio and video formats. There are five MPEG standards being used or in development. Each compression standard was designed with a specific application and bit rate in mind, although MPEG compression scales well with increased bit rates. MPEG-4 - MPEG-4 is based on object-based compression, similar in nature to the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. Individual objects within a scene are tracked separately and compressed together to create an MPEG-4 file. This results in very efficient compression that is very scalable; from low bit rates to very high bit rates. ONVIF - is a global and open industry forum that is committed to standardize communication between network devices and ensure interoperability between network products for the security market. ONVIF s mission is to facilitate the integration of network security and safety devices using a global open standard. ONVIF membership is open to manufacturers, software developers, consultants, system integrators, end-users and other interest groups that wish to participate in the activities of ONVIF. PoE Power over Ethernet allows for cameras to be powered over the same cable as the data travels. This removes power bricks or multi-channel power supplies from the system design. IEEE 802.3af can provide up to 15.4watts from the switch and 12.95watts at the IP device. PoE+ - IEEE 802.3at can provide up to 30watts at the switch and 25.5watts at the IP device. Progressive Scan - Progressive or non-interlaced scanning is a way of displaying, storing or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence. This is in contrast to the interlacing used in traditional television systems 18

20 where only the odd lines, then the even lines of each frame (each image now called a field) are drawn alternately. PSIA The Physical Security Interoperability Alliance is a global consortium focused on promoting interoperability of IP-enabled security devices across all segments of the security industry. Quiet Time - The fraction of time where there is no movement or pixel change in the field of view of the camera (important for temporal compression algorithms like H.264 because negligible bandwidth is consumed during quiet time). RTSP - Real Time Streaming Protocol is a protocol which allows a client to remotely view a video stream on a handheld PDA or web page for example. SD Standard Definition: 704 x 480 resolution; 4CIF Server a special high powered PC dedicated to running an application. SFP - The small form-factor pluggable (SFP) or Mini-GBIC is a compact, hot-pluggable transceiver used for both telecommunication and data communications applications. It interfaces a network device mother board (for a switch, router, media converter or similar device) to a fiber optic or copper networking cable. It is a popular industry format supported by many network component vendors. SFP transceivers are designed to support SONET, Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and other communications standards. SNMP - is a software protocol used to monitor network-attached devices for conditions that warrant administrative attention. VLAN Virtual Local Area Networks are created to provide the segmentation within a physical network traditionally provided by routers in LAN configurations. VLANs address issues such as scalability, security, and network management. WAN A Wide Area Network is usually comprised of two or more Local Area Networks. These may be connected to each other directly or across the internet for example. Workstation A PC with a high powered graphics card(s) used by an end user to view live or playback video. Cost of Ownership Considerations While the initial cost of most parts of the IP video hardware is more expensive than conventional analog devices, larger systems must take into account many known and unknown factors. These factors can include: * The long term maintenance required to manage PC servers or DVRs. * The cost to replace these PC servers or PC based DVRs every few years. These are two key points for the implementation of iscsi technology. iscsi with VRM allows the system design to include minimal PC servers to managing thousands of cameras. 19

21 As stated prior, when budgeting for a video solution, some costs cannot be easily placed onto a bill of materials. Some concepts listed above such as wiring costs and conduit costs can be estimated, other short and long term costs such as loss of connectivity or loss of data are harder to pinpoint. As fewer devices are powered, consider the savings associated with lower power consumption and cooler equipment rooms. With less equipment comes less floor space for equipment racks and smaller operator consoles. IP video isn t just plug and play, so don t focus on the many advantages without considering who is going to own and manage the system. IP video systems can be service intensive, so be sure to consider how the system is going to managed once installed. You might just be able to tap into IT department resources with their buy-in. CSI Syndrome We must become educated and become educators ourselves. Prime time television has given end users unreasonable expectations for their security system of today. There are unreasonable expectations with regard to bandwidth and storage thirsty MegaPixel cameras, digital zoom, video analytics, storage retention time, resolution, system costs, and more. For example, many specifications are written to a 4CIF standard at 30 images per second. This would be great to have but is it realistic for the application and the budget? The information in the prior pages of this document MUST get out to the masses! There is no reason to write a 4CIF, 30 IPS specification when that requirement will never meet the budget. Granted, there are some applications involving casinos or government agencies that have these lofty requirements but the majority of the industrial and commercial applications do not. Also, many end users will expect double duty out of a camera. A wide angle view of a scene is selected and there is an expectation of facial recognition capability from across a room. Obtainable goals with real life expectations must be set. Feasibility of Successful Implementation This is the million dollar question. Today we are in the valley of implementation complexity. Not too long ago we put a bunch of DVRs in an equipment rack, ran some simple cable all over the place to the cameras, took a one or two day class on the DVR software interface and we were up and running. Ok, it was a bit harder than that. Tomorrow we will be able to do this IT stuff with our eyes closed actually it will be our kids doing it. Today we must be prepared to weather the storm and sometimes learn in a painful way. While IP video is the smorgasbord compared to the limited dinner menu, all of these devices and software applications must reside on a very complicated network and computer based infrastructure. The table we want to sit our dinner plate on just got complicated. Today we must rely heavily on our internal IT department or partner with a strong, experienced third party to provide these services for us. Manufacturers can vary in reputation but hopefully you have truly partnered with one or two that can provide solid advice. Selection of a manufacturer and its representative is critical to your success and reputation. Ask yourself who will be there when I need help with system design, future proofing, and keeping my system healthy. Successful Demonstrations 20

22 The days when we could hook a camera or two to a DVR with a monitor and show off the capabilities of these systems are long gone. An IP video demonstration can be as simple as a PC hooked to an IP camera or it can be as complex as many cameras hooked to encoders or directly to the network with recording devices and PC workstations involved. Be careful what you ask for! There are many levels of demonstrations and many factors need to be considered. Location of the demo could be critical. Will this be held on site or will it be presented at the manufacturer s facility or the representative s facility? Advantages of on site are that the end user need not travel and potentially more people involved in the decision making process can be present. Both are key components to satisfying the customer. The downside is that usually there needs to be a scaled down demonstration in most cases. Also if the conversation sways too far off course the equipment might not be present to properly demonstrate. Facilities already set up for complex demonstrations are the perfect stage. A demo can start out very basic and end up more complicated without difficulty if there is a breadth of additional or alternative equipment at the ready. Oh, and don t forget the golden rule: the IT department needs to be involved as early as possible in the decision making process! While the security department may be using the system, the IT department will be the backbone. Much time can be spent designing a system perfect for the user that turns out to be a potential disaster for the IT department. Plus, many times the IT department will need to set aside funding to provide a more resilient network infrastructure for the video to flow across. Engage the IT Department Early If you skipped the last paragraph above, don t forget the golden rule: the IT department needs to be involved as early as possible in the decision making process! While the security department will be using the system, the IT department will be the backbone. Much time can be spent designing a system perfect for the user that turns out to be a potential disaster for the IT department. Plus, many times the IT department will need to set aside funding to provide a more resilient network infrastructure for the video to flow across. The IT department will likely be your key to success. Not Ready for 100% IP Today There are many avenues available to get future-proofed. How about purchasing a hybrid DVR? A hybrid DVR allows the connection of conventional analog cameras with BNC connections as well as the ability to receive IP video streams by applying an IP camera license. Now you have a stepping stone into the future without full IP implementation today. 21

23 Now You re Dangerous REALLY Dangerous! Now that you have mastered the basic concepts you will still need help, and lots of it. You will need help with a demonstration, either from internal resources or from the manufacturer or rep firm. You will need help with system design. You will need help with storage calculations which, if wrong, could sink your plan and pocketbook. You will need help with implementation of the system. A few key partners will cover your needs; a globally recognized manufacturer that is a proven leader in the industry, a manufacturer s representative firm that can fill in the gaps where the manufacturer can t, and you will need a strong IT support structure. Key to success today is the combination of all of these. Recently a poster was spotted on a wall that read Fast. Cheap. Accurate. Pick two. This concept doesn t hold true for the dangerous state you are in today. You must have a strong manufacturer, a strong manufacturer s rep and a strong IT department backing you up. You need all three strengths for success in the IP video marketplace of today! NOTES: 22

24 Portions of this document were provided by Bosch Security Systems, Chesapeake Marketing, and Midlantic Marketing. Additional information was obtained from Wikipedia. Midlantic Marketing 118 Commons Court Chadds Ford, PA Chesapeake Marketing 1401 Abingdon Road Abingdon, MD