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

BEST OF CES AWARDS - the winners can be sure of making profits.

The world's largest consumer electronics trade fair - Consumer Electronics Show (CES) - was held in Las Vegas between January 6 and 11. The reputation of the largest exhibition event in this field has been confirmed many times - it was the place of the introduction of video cassette recorder (VCR) in 1970, camcorder and CD player in 1981, DVD in 1996, HDTV in 1998, Xbox in 2001, Blu-ray player in 2004. Last year's fair was dominated by tablets and 3D technology.
Were there any surprises this year?
A particular interest of the public was the Microsoft's presentation. For this corporation, CES is the most important marketing event. Microsoft President Steve Ballmer in his nearly one hour speech focused on three topics: the development of the Xbox 360, Windows 7 Phone, and availability of Windows systems for processors with architecture other than x86.

Big success has been Kinect sensor to control the Xbox 360 console using gestures and body movements. Steve Ballmer revealed that Kinect sales reached a staggering 8 million units within just 60 days of its launch. The technology is of great interest and can significantly stimulate the gaming market. A similar solution, PlayStation Move, was presented by Sony.

Windows 7 Phone is the latest mobile platform from Microsoft. It is a response to the increasing market share of Android. The exponential growth of the smartphone market has motivated the corporation to take a stronger position in this regard.
Implementation of Windows systems for processors with architecture other than x86 is an attempt to enter the tablet market, dominated by ARM processors. Underestimation of the mobile device market is putting Microsoft in a position of the company which must adapt to the rules of the game forced by the market.
The president of the company from Redmond left no doubt that the main objective of the company's strategy is to develop products related to home entertainment center.

Kinect - a revolution in home entertainment?

Important signs of the potential of competing companies are 2011 Innovations Honorees.
The awards show that the giants have failed to gain complete control over the consumer electronics market. Relatively small companies were able to bring innovative products to market, threatening the leaders.
Among the winners, only Samsung managed to get two awards, for 3D Blu-ray player and glasses for 3D television. Blu-ray players from Samsung allow real-time conversion of still images and movies to 3D form.
Greater insight into the potential of companies gives the list of nominations for these awards - Samsung received 37, LG - 12. These numbers indicate very strong position of these Korean corporations. The nominated products from Samsung include TVs, 3D Blu-ray players, digital camera and lens, mobile phones, SSD, 3D monitors and projector, portable computers.

The winners of BEST OF CES AWARDS can be sure of making profits - promotion at the fair in Las Vegas is the best marketing. Careful selection of nominations and professionalism of the jury give consumers practical advice which products are worth their money.

Surveillance cameras at the best guarded square in the world.

Cameras mounted on stylish lampposts monitor the best guarded and the biggest city square in the world. Where is it? - The answer at the end of this issue.

Where is this lamppost? - The answer at the end of this issue.

AOS function in the new version of SatNet software makes the designing process even easier.

TERRA company has published new version of SatNet software for designing SMATV systems based on multiswitches.
The 2.3 version introduces an innovative feature relieving the designer from careful selection of passive components of the system - it will be performed by the program.

AOS means Adjustment with Optimizing Structure and allows for optimum selection of passive components of multiswitch systems such as splitters (SS-504 R70515, SSQ-508 R70520), taps (SS-510 R70516, SS-515 R7051, SS-520 R70518) and their equivalents used in installations for two satellites.

An example of the use of Adjustment with Optimizing Structure (AOS) function. Application of SS-520 taps on each floor results in the fact that signal levels at the subscriber outlets range from very low (blue) to extremely high (red). In the improved diagram on the right the program automatically adjusted the installation by using the appropriate taps. As a result, the signal levels at all floors have been balanced and optimized (green).

With this innovation, the designer/installer does not have to worry about selection of the components.
The only thing that they have to do is appropriate selection of distribution equipment in terms of system topology. Suitable selection of passive components in terms of attenuation, and calculation of proper settings for the potentiometers in multiswitches and amplifiers, will be done automatically by the software.

SatNet software from TERRA

How to connect a Quatro LNB to TERRA multiswitch?

Descriptions of the satellite LNB outputs and the multiswitch inputs depend on their manufacturers. To avoid confusion, our movie illustrates the differences and clarifies the issue.

AverMedia hybrid DVRs in a luxury office building.

Built in the late twentieth century, Rahimtulla Tower is one of the tallest buildings in Upper Hill, a business district of Nairobi, Kenya. It is the home of many multinational corporations, with 22 floors and two parking levels, every day visited by thousands of employees and customers.

Rahimtulla Tower, Nairobi, Kenya

The challenge for the company installing the CCTV system was to provide an adequate level of security, suitable for protection against a variety of hazards. The major selection criteria for the components of the system included long-term stability and high quality of the footage that should be suitable as evidence.

The system based on AverMedia hybrid DVRs M75216

The system has been based on hybrid DVRs AverMedia EH5216H+ M75216. They integrate over 45 cameras deployed in corridors, rooms, in the stairwell, and at entrances and exits, including the gateway to the building.
CM3000, advanced IP network video surveillance software, links all the DVRs located on different floors into a uniform, centralized system.
With support for alarms, exceptions, e-mail notifications, and e-map function, the management over so large CCTV system is quite simple, making the work of the operators and security more efficient.

Hybrid AverMedia DVR/NVR is a professional multi-purpose server allowing, among other things, integration of several such servers into one system. The device is capable of recording digital video with resolution up 5 Mpx, supports advanced functions of local and remote management, allows to connect sensors and relay output devices.

AverMedia has been chosen from among many competitors by renowned companies which put safety first.

AverMedia DVRs/NVRs

Surveillance of a remote location, 2 km away.

Owner of a building materials yard decided to install a video surveillance system there, located 2 km away from his home office. He required access to the images from the cameras on site and at his home.
In the yard there have been installed analog cameras n-cam 690 M11275 and u-cam 595 BOX M11190. The video from the cameras is transmitted via coaxial cables to 8-channel DVR TREND M72508. The DVR connects via UTP cable (using RJ-45 interface) with the wireless access point ULTIAIR 423KC N2301. This AP cooperates with identical device installed in the home located 2 km away, both configured to establish a point-to-point wireless link.

The AP located in the home place connects via UTP cable with the NIC of the home PC.
This layout provides both the opportunity to fully configure the DVR and view live and recorded video on site and remotely from the home of the owner.

CCTV system with remote monitoring

The solution works very well, the investor is satisfied with the picture quality provided by the cameras and reliability of the wireless link.

How do they build a 5-star hotel?

Turkish investor, the owner of Caprice Thermal Palace Hotel in Didim, has started a new undertaking - erection of Caprice Gold Hotel.

Caprice Thermal Palace Hotel

The construction of the new hotel can be viewed over the Internet thanks to ACTi cameras which monitor the building site.

Installation diagram

Is it possible to share a 3G Internet connection via LAN/WLAN?

Yes, with the use of 3G wireless router.

TP-Link TL-MR3420 3G/3.75G N2957 enables quick creation of a wireless/wired network allowing access to the Internet via a 3G connection. The device allows wireless transmission speed up to 300 Mbps (802.11n) and LAN connectivity (Ethernet) up to 100 Mbps. Communication with the Internet via 3G network is done through the USB interface, which has to be connected with a suitable 3G modem (the list of compatible devices is available here).

3G wireless router TP-Link TL-MR3420 N2957 can provide Internet via a 3G network

In addition, the device can be used to create a backup link. If the main Internet connection is provided through a DSL line and a temporary link failure occurs, the failover function of the TP-Link wireless router can automatically switch it to the 3G network connected via an external USB modem. Such a solution is ideal for offices and businesses, where a loss of Internet connection would mean problems for normal business activity. After repairing the DSL failure, the device will automatically switch to the original state (access to the Internet via DSL line).

An example application of TP-Link TL-MR3420 N2957

Tian'anmen square in Beijing.

Tian'anmen Square (literally Square of Heavenly Peace), with dimensions of 800 x 300 meters, is situated in front of the Forbidden City, separated by the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
The only structures on the square are the 38-meter high Monument to the People's Heroes and Mausoleum of Mao Zedong.
The Tian'anmen Gate was built in 1417, during the reign of Emperor Yongle. During the reign of Ming and Qing dynasties Tian'anmen was not a town square, but the place for religious ceremonies, military parades, and for announcements of imperial decrees and results of state examinations.

We have written about:

GSM repeaters - adjustment of the input signal. A serious problem during the installation of a GSM repeater is to ensure adequate signal level at the input of the amplifier. In the case of too weak or too strong signal, the system will not function properly...

Video transmission over longer distances using twisted pair cable. Video signal transmission via twisted-pair cable is justified not only economically (UTP cable is much cheaper than coaxial cable and has four twisted pairs), but also technically, due to elimination of interferences and possibility of using very long transmission lines, up to 2400 m. The general name of the device that matches (transforms) the 75 ohm impedance of an unbalanced source to the impedance of a balanced line...

4-ch passive video balun
M16662

Remote monitoring of construction site - TREND DVRs and cellular phones. A customer of a Slovak company dealing with the implementation of CCTV systems asked for installation of video surveillance system on one of its construction sites. The requirements included remote access to the images via cellular phones...

Online preview of images from a CCTV camera on cellular phone

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