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

Internet of Things (IoT) – from vision to product.

At this year's IFA, Samsung definitely continued the direction laid out a year earlier, i.e. active cooperation of household electronics. The focus has been placed on mutual communication, through which the devices can exercise prearranged scenarios or inform users about such things like the need to supplement certain products in the refrigerator, to buy washing powder etc. The purpose is to make the life of the users easier. IoT was the main subject of the Samsung's exhibition at the fair. According to the company's promise, by 2020 each product of the brand will operate on the IoT basis.

The Samsung's concept is based on three pillars. The first is the compatibility of all devices - the company focuses on open architecture, also available for other manufacturers. The second is the communication between the devices, independently from the kind of the appliance. The communication should provide sufficient information to take actions to satisfy human needs. The key issue is to maintain a high level of data encryption in the network. And the third, all the IoT systems have to be intuitive and easy to operate.

During the fair, Samsung showed the first generation of such systems for the home. The most important element is SmartThings Hub - a device that wirelessly communicates with other devices and appliances in the home, and can be connected to the Internet and controlled via smartphone applications. The devices include various kinds of sensors, actuators, cameras, etc. So, the core of the concept is similar to almost every modern intelligent home/building system. What distinguishes the Samsung's approach, is a range of unique devices that form an "ecosystem". One of the most interesting new devices is Samsung SleepSense.

View of the SleepSense sleep monitor

SleepSense is a sleep monitor the size of a CD, which should be placed by the user under the pillow or somewhere close to his/her head before going to bed. It monitors sleep parameters, such as body movement, breathing and pulse. On this basis, it generates a report enabling evaluation of the quality, length and depth of sleep. After the user falls asleep, the device, through SmartThings Hub, can turn off the TV and light, and when it detects awakening symptoms in the morning, it may raise the shutters, set the desired room temperature, turn on the coffee maker etc.

The Samsung's concept looks very promising. Openness to other manufacturers guarantees lower prices and adaptation to various requirements of customers. Over the next five years nearly all products of the company (a very wide range) are to be compatible with SmartHub. Samsung is not the first large company that believes in the future of IoT. The activity in this field is also conducted by Apple (HomeKit - a voice-controlled device) and Google (Nest products and Brillo project).

SMATV system in a multifamily building.

Multiswitch installations in multifamily buildings must be carefully designed. In the calculations, the input parameters are: network topology, type and number of the multiswitches, the type of cable used (attenuation) and the lengths of its sections. The designer has to select the system components so that signal levels in all antenna outlets are within the recommended range.

Below we present the design of such a system created with the use of SatNet software. The system in a residential building in Krakow, with 96 apartments situated on five floors in 4 staircases, has been based on TERRA multiswitches of MV-5XX series. The signal lines are split for the subnetwork in each staircase with the use of 5-path SAT/TV splitters and SAT/TV taps with appropriate attenuation levels.

Configuration tool for RACK cabinets.

When choosing accessories for rack cabinets, the user should pay attention to their compatibility with the specific models of the cabinets. Some components may be dedicated to other models, e.g. with greater depth or with a different way of mounting the accessory (e.g. a fan).

DIPOL e-Store offers a simple mechanism that provides a list of compatible accessories for the selected RACK cabinet. The user should simply open the site with the required RACK, e.g. R912018, and then click on the "Add accessories" button in the right section (in the picture below the button is surrounded by a red line).

The "Add accessories" button on the product page

The new window shows the list of compatible accessories:

The simple configuration tool for RACK cabinets

The list contains the available accessories compatible with the chosen RACK cabinet. The user can add any item to the Cart, to the wish list (Favorites), or just see its catalog card.

Transmission of video from HD-TVI cameras via optical fibers.

Video surveillance systems based on HD-TVI cameras have become very popular nowadays. HD resolutions of the images for a competitive price and simple configuration of the cameras are the main reasons for the growing number of users.

In the case of extensive video monitoring systems, the optimum transmission medium is optical fiber. Due to a much broader bandwidth needed for the transmission of HD-TVI signals (50 MHz) in comparison with the baseband video generated by standard CVBS cameras, typical video converters designed for these "older" analog cameras cannot be used.

The problem can be solved by the application of Ultimode TVI-FO video converters. Depending on the model, the converters can transmit via a single-mode optical fiber one, two, four, or eight video signals from HD-TVI cameras, over distances up to 20 km.

Transmission of signals from HD-TVI cameras via optical fiber

The diagram above shows the application of the ULTIMODE HDTVI-202 L2030 TVI-FO video converter for the transmission of video signals from two HD-TVI M7478 cameras located several hundred meters from the building with the M75208 DVR. The optical link uses one fiber of the L76004 universal cable (ULTIMODE UNI-4SM-A, 4xG.652.D).

View of the ULTIMODE HDTVI-202 L2030 set

Setting disk limits in Hikvision NVRs.

Hikvision NVRs enable users to set a disk space limit for each connected camera. This way, the size of the recorded video data cannot exceed the assigned values. If the user does not wish to set a disk space limit, the value should be "0" - in this case the recordings can take up the entire capacity of the disk. To limit the space, the user should follow the following steps:

Hikvision - the view of the HDD menu with option of setting disk space limit for a camera

"Black Glass" in Hikvision cameras.

New Hikvision cameras are equipped with panes made in Black Glass technology. The advantage of the panes is better transmission of light in the infrared range (90% instead of typical 80%), which increases the range of IR illuminators. Additionally, the dark panes mask the IR LEDs in the light of the day.

HD-TVI TURBO HD camera Hikvision DS-2CE16D5T-AVFIT3 M7576 with "Black Glass"

Fiber optic transmission of HD video from HDMI. In the case of extensive video monitoring systems, the monitoring centers are often located at a distance from the recording equipment. In the example illustrated below, a factory hall has been equipped with IP CCTV system with eight IP cameras and NVR placed in a secure server room ensuring data storage security... >>>more

Conversion of HDMI to IP signal transmitted via multimode fiber