DIPOL Weekly Review - TV and SAT TV, CCTV, WLAN

Compatibility and intelligence - IFSEC 2010.

This year's International Fire and Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) in Birmingham was held between May 10 and 13. It is the world's leading global annual security event, together with ISC in Las Vegas and Secutech in Taipei.

There were a lot of visitors

CCTV industry is just one of areas of the security market, but due to its popularity, efficiency, and prospects of development - it is a major determinant of progress in this field.
The inevitable transition in video surveillance is the application of IP technology with H.264 compression and use of megapixel cameras. At the same time it is known that analog solutions will remain the basis for small and less responsible systems for a long time, because of their two main advantages: lower price and ease of installation.
This diagnosis is not a new one, it has been well known for several years now.
So, the question remains whether this year's IFSEC exhibition has resulted in some new trends in the field of video monitoring.
The answer is - yes. These new and promising directions of development are the emphasis on the compatibility/interoperability of the equipment and software, and on the development of "intelligent" algorithms in the field of image analysis.
After years of chaotic development, in which the manufacturers were introducing their own standards for recording and transmitting video in IP CCTV systems, in spring of 2008 Axis, Bosch and Sony companies took the initiative called Open Network Video Interface Forum (ONVIF), aimed at coordinating efforts to set common standards in this field.
Throughout the last year, the idea gained widespread acceptance. This year we are witnessing a kind of a race - who will be the first to supply the whole range of ONVIF-compliant equipment.
The example of a company that is very advanced in the implementation of ONVIF is Sony, but other manufacturers declare completion of their compatible devices for autumn this year. It will provide the opportunity to use mutually compatible equipment supported by software developed according to the ONVIF rules. For customers, this will translate into easier selection of the equipment (wider range and lower prices) and access to better and cheaper software. It is worth pointing out that equipment which does not satisfy the requirements of ONVIF will be outside the mainstream and thus more and more difficult to integrate with modern installations.

The increasing popularity of CCTV systems poses challenges for the operators to watch and react to the threats appearing in the transmitted images. The respond to these problems is the rapid development of CCTV software supporting the work of people and automatically performing appropriate procedures. It is worth noting that images convey a lot of information about the state of objects, so the analysis and use of the data is a big challenge for IT professionals.

The evidence of the interest of customers in intelligent solutions is the CCTV System of the year award (excluding cameras and lens) for BriefCam VS Online software (from BriefCam company). The software can browse and process many hours of video footage just in seconds, providing as a result of the analysis a one-minute or so movie summarizing all important events. Another product in the CCTV System area recognized by the jury was the solution for building video surveillance on the basis of existing electrical wiring - Duevi EzyDriveCAM.

More on IFSEC 2010 in our report

A haven for sellers of satellite dishes.

Not all Arab countries allow to install satellite dishes without special permissions. But those of them that do, experience a true satellite boom - the market is very wide due to the fact that nearly everyone wants to have satellite TV. On one hand, it is often the only way of TV reception (terrestrial TV is unavailable in small villages far away from the transmitters), on the other hand satellite dishes provide access to dozens of broadcasts, instead of several local TV programs.
We invite you to take part in the "Engagingly about antennas" contest. The works for the 9th edition can be submitted from June 1st, however the pictures can be taken anytime - just look for an interesting topic!

Fullband LNB - what's inside?

Due to operation in multi-GHz range, special methods of RF circuit designing and manufacturing are applied, suitable for so high frequencies. Within this range, the conductor tracks on PCB or other base are in fact long lines. These are made as microstrip lines, and all filters consist of elements in the form of distributed constant circuits, realizing smooth change of impedance. It prevents reflection of signals and distortion of waveforms.
Change of polarization is performed by connecting to the mixer one of two sets of RF amplifiers, each receiving opposite polarization. The received band is changed by switching the heterodyne. From the outside, the choice of polarization is executed by change of supplying voltage. The range of 11-14 V is assigned for V polarization, whereas 16-18 V - for H polarization. Next, without 22 kHz signal the converter receives 10.7-11.7 GHz band, and with the 22 kHz signal - the upper, 11.7-12.7 GHz band. The effect of LNB's operation is amplification and shift of the original signals from 10.7-12.75 GHz range to the SAT IF band (950-2150 MHz).

Satellite LNBs

Block diagram of a fullband LNB

TERRA MMH-3000 headend in Hotel Copernicus in Krakow.

Hotel Copernicus stands on Kanonicza Street, Krakow's oldest street near Wawel Royal Castle, the historic seat of Polish kings. It is one of the most exclusive, and at the same time calm and traditional hotels in this historic city.
The hotel is famous for combining traditional building with a bold, modern design. Medieval cellars accommodate a swimming pool and a sauna. It is the only hotel in Poland affiliated to Relais et Chateaux - the exclusive French hotel alliance.

Hotel Copernicus in Krakow

Perhaps this is why Copernicus welcomed many prominent guests, including His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales, U.S. president George W. Bush with his wife Laura, Saudi Princess Reem Al-Faisal, Condoleezza Rice and cardinals from Pope John Paul II's retinue, to name a few.

Deciding to upgrade the existing TV system, the hotel owner had to choose the appropriate headend. Because of the proven reliability and flexible configuration options, it was the TERRA MMH-3000.

The whole SMATV system comprises 3 base units UC-380 R81700 that contain twenty three RDC-313 R81710 QPSK CI receivers and DM-313 R81712 MPEG-2 TS decoders/VSB modulators. It allows to receive and distribute 23 programs from Hotbird 13E and Astra 19.2E, selected by the owner according to the preferences of the hotel guests.

Digital modular headend TERRA MMH-3000 is a compact headend solution for the reception of DVB-S and DVB-T programs for analog redistribution in SMATV and small CATV networks, e.g. in hotels, boarding houses, multi-family houses, housing developments. Thanks to vestigial side band modulators it allows to utilize adjacent channels. The base unit can be installed into a standard 19" rack or standalone wall, fixed by reversing the mounting brackets. The unit incorporates power supply, RF amplifier, and intelligent data bus. It may hold up to 8 individual modules - digital satellite or terrestrial receivers and RF modulators.

Main features of the headend:

Night video surveillance of private property.

The owner of the property, after a burglary attempt, has invested in an alarm and monitoring system.
In the case of CCTV system, the optimum choice has proved to be 2.0 megapixel IP camera ULTICAM DS-852MF-E K1441 equipped with Tokina lens M2302. The owner mainly demanded good image at night, that's why it was necessary to employ the powerful IR illuminator Redbeam IR40 M1640. The spot illuminator, installed next to the camera, allows to get perfect night vision over distance of 30 m.
Free IVMS4000 software supplied with ULTICAM cameras enables the user to monitor and record the video. The software has been installed by the investor on the home media server which is also used to store photos, videos and backup data from the home computers.

Sketch of the monitoring system

Redbeam illuminators awarded Gold Medal at Securex 2010. The advantage of the Redbeam series is application of specially designed LED array (instead of a conventional set of diodes) which, together with optical lens/es, ensures desired operational angle and distance. Redbeam ceiling illuminators effectively illuminate the whole room, while the radiation angles of spot illuminators are shaped by sets of optical lenses.

Remote monitoring of dispersed grocery stores.

The owner of a network of small grocery stores in Belchatow, Poland, wanted to have at his office a video preview of all the stores. The office was located outside the city. In addition, the investor wanted to get high quality images for a very competitive price.
The best solution available on the market was to install in each store ULTIMAX 204 M72040 DVR and use the included IVMS 4000 software for remote monitoring. The software allows to manage up to 50 DVRs, each with up to 16 channels, and can simultaneously display up to 64 channels.
Each store has been equipped with three CAM 508 M10738 cameras based on SONY Super HAD CCD II sensors, with varifocal lenses (2.8 mm to 12 mm) - very suitable for setting optimum field of view. Outside each store there is the outdoor camera VF-515 M11279 with SONY Super HAD sensor and 4 mm to 9 mm varifocal lens.

Block diagram of the distributed monitoring system

The solution based on ULTIMAX DVRs and IVMS 4000 client software has fully satisfied the investor. The software is compatible with all ULTIMAX/HIKVISION DVRs, allowing further expansion of the video surveillance system.

Video compression in CCTV systems.

The development of compression methods allows to get satisfactory results (detailed images) with considerably lower data rates. The most common types of compression in IP cameras are MJPEG and MPEG-4. MJPEG connects the compressed JPEG frames - is used to record/transmit quality images at comparatively low frame rates and with standard or megapixel resolutions. The second popular standard is MPEG-4, implemented in several versions: SP (Simple Profile), SH (Short Header), ASP (Advanced Simple Profile). It is an interframe compression where most of the output data represents differences among consecutive frames - suitable for dynamic environments.

The most effective codec is H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC). The main feature of the codec is division of the image into areas (blocks) of different sizes and use of algorithms predicting the changes within these blocks. The compression based on H.264 codec ensures highest resolution for a given bandwidth or amount of memory occupied by the compressed video. H.264 is the part of the MPEG-4 standard described in ISO 14496-10.

A comparison of compression methods (bandwidth vs. frame rate)

Accessories for Mikrotik devices.

We have recently introduced new indoor housings for RouterBoard 411 N934112 and RouterBoard 433 (433AH) N93434. The enclosures allow to install the motherboards and protect them mechanically.
The distinguishing feature of the housings is the possibility of installing indoor antennas equipped with SMA (SMA R/P) connectors. This facility allows to avoid drilling holes for antennas equipped with SMA connectors (it would be necessary in the case of the N93411 and N93433 housings - suitable only for N connectors).
Another advantage of the new aluminum enclosures is the possibility of wall mounting.

View of the aluminum housing N93412
(inside: RouterBoard 411 N24113 )

RouterBoard 450g
(MikroTik license level 5)
N24505

Versatile Outdoor Housing
(for WLAN devices)
N93400

PoE Adapter
(230VAC / 24VDC, 0.75A)
N93310

We have written about:

Two ways of using TP-LINK TL-WR543G. TP-LINK TL-WR543G N2955 can be used both for wired and wireless access to the Internet.
The TL-WR543G Wireless AP Client Router (N2955) integrates broadband router (for xDSL service or cable modem), 4-port FastEthernet switch, and Access Point. It has built-in NAT and DHCP server supporting static IP address distributing. It also supports Virtual Server and DMZ host for port triggering needs, remote management and log - so that network administrator can manage and monitor the network in real time.

Applications of TP-Link TL-WR543G

ULTIAIR - the means for wireless IP CCTV. ULTIAIR family allows to build both the backbones of the systems and wireless access networks. The unique versatility of the devices is based on the implemented Linux software that allows different applications, from simple point-to-point links, indispensable in extensive IP video surveillance systems, to very sophisticated systems of data transmission. ULTIAIR devices are perfect for creating effective city surveillance systems...

ULTIMAX DVRs in intelligent buildings. Thanks to built-in alarm inputs and relay outputs, ULTIMAX DVRs can be a part of intelligent building system...

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