SP&T:  Everybody is talking IP but why are most systems still analogue?
CAPULLI:  First and foremost, there are many, many analogue video systems installed that run on coax and, in many cases, their users are simply upgrading components.  In some other instances, security managers are leery of moving beyond what they already understand and works for them.  This “if the wheel isn’t broken, let’s not fix it” attitude is prevalent among casinos, for instance, — one of the largest users of video surveillance, albeit predominantly analogue.

SP&T:  Are resellers pitching IP video?
CAPULLI:  Many resellers, including dealers and integrators, are also uncomfortable with IP/digital surveillance.  “If I don’t understand it, I’m not going to propose it” is a very strong motivator for keeping present systems intact, even if newer technologies might provide a better solution.  Video manufacturers must do a better job of preparing traditional security providers to enter the IP/digital market.

SP&T:  Is the IT department scaring away IP video users?
CAPULLI:  Good question.  One key advantage of IP-based video is its ability to use present network infrastructure rather than coaxial cabling. However, running bandwidth-intensive surveillance video over corporate data networks is a point of organizational contention, with its potential impact on network performance.  Too often, it is easier to go the security department’s traditional way than to fight new battles.

SP&T:  With all these problems, why is everyone talking about IP video?
CAPULLI:  With all this said, IP/digital video is the direction that the industry is heading.  Many have embraced IP/digital video.  More and more network-certified are integrators entering the industry, and younger video-game-generation channel providers that grew up with IP are coming on board at integrators.  They are showing their customers how IP/digital systems utilize video management tools not previously available with analogue systems to help identify and prevent potential incidents.  As a result, digital systems will be increasingly replacing analogue system over the next couple of years.

SP&T:  Are there any types of customers preferring IP video yet?
CAPULLI:  Yes, there are specific markets — education, law enforcement, transportation, water treatment and new construction — that will specify nothing but an IP/digital video solution.  The basic reason they do so is they desire better identification, although for different reasons.  With IP/digital video solutions, they can better validate whom they are seeing with an increased clarity of image.  IP/digital video also provides easier monitoring to prevent incidents and enhanced recording tools to identify perpetrators after an incident.

SP&T:  Why education?
CAPULLI:  Both K-12 and higher education environs, with rare exceptions, demand IP/digital video.  First of all, the network infrastructure is typically already in place and K-12, especially, has less restrictions on bandwidth use than corporate accounts have.  Education users are especially appreciative of the clearer images IP/digital video provides, letting campus and/or local police more easily identify those that need to be apprehended.  With IP/digital video, administrators find it much easier to zoom in on images, track particular scenes and enhance features.  Plus, they can easily cover an entire campus from one or more locations.  With remote viewing capabilities, they can have affordable portable networking with the central command centre, giving them the ability to respond quickly.

SP&T:  What about law enforcement and other government regulated locales?
CAPULLI:  For the same reasons law enforcement, especially corrections, insist on using IP/digital video.  With it, guards can go live over the Internet or a closed network for surveillance and obtain clearer, crisper images that can be tracked and transmitted easily.  IP/digital video gives guards better tools to allow them to intervene and stop incidents before they get out of control.
Likewise, almost all airports and seaports install IP/digital video surveillance systems because they are easy to install and provide enhanced remote viewing access — especially important when needing to monitor multiple sites spread across large areas.  The flexibility and scalability of the IP/digital system lets ports add additional components, such as cameras, DVRs and NVRs easily.  With IP/video, ports can deploy the latest in video analytics, providing solutions such as searching for lost luggage to looking for discrepancies in terminal traffic.  With the higher resolution and image quality of IP/digital video, ports can more easily identify incidents and their participants.  Often relying on federal or some type of government funding, they need to be able to show that they are installing a system that will be future-proofed.

SP&T:  Of course, with new construction sites, the right cabling is ready to be used from the get-go.  Correct?
CAPULLI:  That’s right.  Almost all new construction projects include the laying of Cat 5E cabling, the infrastructure wanted for IP/digital systems of any and all types, including video.  True IP-based digital surveillance uses cameras that use signal processing to send video streams over the LAN through a Cat 5E cable rather than a coax cable network, utilizing greater bandwidth and standard TCP/IP communication.  With IP/digital-based video surveillance on Cat 5E, a user can connect surveillance cameras to any network or wireless adapter, being extremely flexible in their placement of the camera itself.  Once Cat 5E cable is available the rest becomes easy. Digital surveillance can be done over a LAN network, of course, but TCP/IP transmittal of surveillance makes sense for remote monitoring of multiple locations and for remote recording of data onto back-up servers and hard disks for long-term storage.