NEW INNOVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

FIRM CASHES OUT WITH DVRs... Choosing steadfast reliability and high performance capability, NYC-based David's Financial Corporation recently equipped its 20 high-volume check cashing centers with Mitsubishi DX-TL910U and DX-TL2 500U digital video recorders, providing valuable surveillance support

in the financial centers located throughout the New York area. Seventeen store locations have each installed a Mitsubishi DXTL910U DVR, a nine-video input DVR with built-in network. In addition, two larger stores as well as the main office location have each been installed with a Mitsubishi DX-TL2 500U DVR, providing a total of 16 camera inputs at these store locations requiring extra surveillance support.

IMAGE PHOTOGRAPH1

Surveillance support.

Greg Pagan, owner of New Jersey-based Digital Video Distributor, worked with David's Financial Corporation CFO Ira Krell to find the right security solution for the company. Krell knew his stores would benefit greatly by having a networked solution and was encouraged by the capabilities of Mitsubishi's line of DVRs. One feature of special importance was the multi-site feature that allows the viewing of all networked locations in any grouped preset. For example, David's Financial Corporation can define a preset such as "Lobbies" and with the touch of a button all 20 lobby camera views can be brought up on screen. The office could view suspicious activity and monitor traffic flow in each location.

Mitsubishi DVR technology is specifically designed to be user-friendly for installations like that of David's Financial Corporation. "We haven't had any problems with the systems in any of the 20 store locations," says Greg Pagan of Digital Video Distributor. "The easyto-program user software is so intuitive, there is little to no training required for these units. That ease-of-use is important to an end user like David's because it allows them to focus on their business of financial services, as opposed to becoming quasi-security experts having to know the ins and outs of DVR technology."

The compact, yet durable DX-TL910U ninechannel DVR features a 2 5OGB - 500GB built-in hard disk drive and a 60 picture-per-second record speed. Important for companies with several store locations, the DX-TL910U network port allows remote access to live and recorded images using a PC, saving time and resources. Also networkable, the 16-channelDX-TL2500UDVR features a built-in hard drive with up to 900GB of storage and flexible recording settings, allowing various recording speeds and camera settings for maximum recording performance.

David's Financial Corporation facilities have already seen the benefits of digital video recording first hand. Since the installation of the Mitsubishi DVRs, several incidents have been caught on camera, providing valuable video information to the police investigation, according to the company.

Circle 106

SECURITY ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...The City of Brockton has redeveloped a former manufactured gas plant site (or brownfield) into a brightfield - a solar energy generating station that converts sunlight to clean electricity. MAC Systems, a leading systems integrator covering New England, was chosen to provide a security system to protect the site.

IMAGE PHOTOGRAPH2

A solar generating station.

Brockton's Brightfield consists of 1,395 SCHOTT Solar photovoltaic modules covering a 3.7-acre site. Providing 526,612 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, it is the largest solar array in New England and the largest brightfield nationwide.

Unlike most photovoltaic 4 installations, Brockton's is groundmounted, not roof-mounted. This makes it a more visible symbol of renewable energy, as well as a more attractive target for potential vandals. Because the brightfield is installed in an urban setting and is financed using public funds, Brockton's City Council insisted that security considerations be taken seriously to prevent vandalism. Further, because it is a high voltage electricity generating station, the project developers included fencing and security surveillance as an integral part of their plan to prevent harm to the general public.

"Brockton's Brightueld is an environmental, aesthetic, educational and economic asset to the community", says Lori Ribeiro, City of Brockton Brightfields project director. "Partnering with MAC Systems, we were able to design and install a security system that protects our investment. In keeping with the focus on project aesthetics, we were also quite pleased that the security system was integrated into the site by mounting mini-domes onto attractive lighting fixtures."

"Pelco's digital video recording security system was the winning feature of our proposal, " says Conor McDavitt, MAC Systems' account executive.

Instead of deploying sensor equipment throughout the extensive unmanned site, the decision was made to use the motion detection capabilities of Pelco's DVR5100. Capable of detecting movement from any one of the perimeter cameras' field of view, the 5100 can trigger a relay causing the alarm panel to send a signal to the central monitoring station.

"It's not only exciting to assist the City of Brockton with their security requirements, but it's rewarding to be a part of their innovative redevelopment as well," says McDavitt.

Circle 107

A HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU LENS...The IMV1-1/3 from ImmerVision is a 360? panoramic lens that works with most standard analog and new IP video surveillance systems - requiring no conversion, no additional expense and the benefit of immediate access. Developed from ImmerVision's "panomorph" optical technology and with easy-to-install software, the IMVI-1/3 offers a logical next generation choice for total surveillance requirements.

IMAGE ILLUSTRATION3

A view of the next generation.

Panomorph. as it is referred to by optical scientists internationally, is "a patented wide-angle anamorphic lens that generates and controls distortion, covering at least a 180? X 360? iield of view and producing an image footprint larger than a circle, with increased sensor coverage and amplified resolution in the zone of interest." This means a larger coverage zone with the image more efficiently distributed on the sensor, increasing resolution where needed with "smart" precision.

ImmerVision's IMV1-1/3 panomorph lens is unique in that it enables 360? panoramic video surveillance with a standard CS-mount CCTV video camera on traditional security networks or with a new IP video camera on broadband networks, from 480 TVL to 1.2 megapixels, according to Alessandro Gasparini, ImmerVision's chief commercial officer. "A fisheye lens on a standard NTSC camera, for example, requires up to six times more pixels on its sensors to produce the same resolution," he comments.

Dr. Thibault, ImmerVision's chief optical engineer and head of the company's optical division, says, "Historically, army, border security agencies and transportation security planners have recognized the advantages of panoramic imaging systems that have fields of view in their coverage area of up to 180?. However, existing lenses like fisheye or mirror are disadvantaged due to blind zones and circular or annular light areas, commonly called footprints. These older optical technologies can only provide a 'good enough' resolution for security applications with 3 megapixels and higher IP cameras. The IMV1-1/3 panomorph lens changes all that."

For more information, visit www.immervision. com/security.

Circle 108

ON THE CASE OF A CRIMINAL...Sanyo's Case Information Media Management (CIMM) is a software application and hardware platform for law enforcement, retail, and health and safety investigations. The hardware platform is based on the DSR-M810 DVR for real-time, high resolution recording, while the software was developed for Sanyo by CAMACC Systems Inc.. a privately held software development company with unique engineering and management experience.

IMAGE ILLUSTRATION4

An end to end security solution.

"The development of CIMM software is another affirmation of Sanyo's commitment to providing complete integrated end-to-end security solutions for specialized market segments," says Frank Abram, vice president/general manager, security products division, Sanyo Fisher Company. "By partnering with a market leading systems solution provider like CAMACC in the development of vertical market software, we can enhance the range of applications for proven technologies and for products like Sanyo's DSR-M810 series DVR. Our partnership with CAMACC, and the resulting software product, will augment Sanyo's technological offerings and enhance the integration capabilities of our dealers."

With CIMM, users can build comprehensive case files consisting of video, audio, digital photos, and digital documents. Video clips can be imported directly from any DSR-M810 DVR connected to the investigation network, while audio files can be imported from handheld digital recording devices. Digital photos in any standard format including .jpeg, .bmp, .tiff and .raw can also be imported, along with a variety of documents in formats including Microsoft Word, Excel, scans, faxes and emails. Video can be recorded directly from the DSR-M810 for later retrieval or from the CIMM software application for direct association to a particular case, with easy network access using the play, search and download functions.

Information is easy to organize and control, with user definition of unique case file number, offense type, investigator, suspect information, interview type, interview location, audience in attendance plus customized notes. Imported video can be associated automatically to the case file if initiated from the CIMM application or imported and associated to the case after the fact with a simple time/date definition. Once associated to the case, the video clip can be selected and played back directly from the PC. For more information, visit www.sanyocctv.com.

Circle 109

SIDEBAR

"Pelco's digital video recording security system was the winning feature of our proposal."

Conor McDavitt

SIDEBAR

"The development of CIMM software is another affirmation of Sanyo's commitment to providing complete integrated end-to-end security solutions for specialized market segments."

Frank Abram