Mike Newton, CEO of NetVu looks at the key components needed to maintain a healthy and secure surveillance system. 

As the demands on video surveillance continue to evolve, NetVu is innovating to push the boundaries of what is possible.

With more than 40 years’ experience in surveillance, we have developed a suite of market leading solutions that address the specific requirements of end-users operating in different environments and industry sectors.  

Dedicated Micros offers cyber-secure IP video systems, TransVu, provides future-proofed vehicle surveillance and FireVu, provides early warning fire detection in challenging environments where every second counts. 

Advanced video processing for surveillance 

Over the years, developments in surveillance capabilities have resulted in systems that are capable of so much more than simply capturing images.

The UK market for integrated data, alarms and video solutions has evolved significantly since I established my first CCTV business in the early 1980s.  

Even back then, it was firmly our belief that CCTV should serve as both a business management and a surveillance tool.

This has always guided our product development which now embeds metadata as a critical principle, enabling easy and effective data management.  

As a result, our systems offer outstanding benefits compared to standard streaming protocols and storage files. 

Having pioneered the very first fully digital video surveillance transmission system in the early 1990s – the DVST (Digital Video Storage and Transmission) – our vendor-agnostic solutions have come a long way.

Now all our devices are capable of utilising data from different sources, integrating with different systems and supporting advanced scripting for customisation. 

AI is revolutionising IP surveillance systems by enhancing their capabilities to deliver deeper analytics. Cameras have become powerful computing devices in their own right and able to process data ‘at the edge’.  

Correction in real time 

While traditional real-time streaming protocol (RTSP) is commonly used in many surveillance systems, this ‘fire and forget’ approach isn’t capable of correcting errors in stream which results in poor quality video, such as image trails behind moving objects, until the next index frame corrects it.  

Our proprietary NetVu Connected streaming technology, which incorporates error correction, delivers clean, accurate images even when the network is heavily congested and bandwidth is limited.  

Evolution of video file containers 

File containers including AVI, ASF and MP4, designed to deliver media in a format that the operator can view and use, are only capable of supporting a single resolution and frame rate for the entire duration.  

This compromises the flexibility, efficiency and the ability to deliver a high-quality viewing experience across diverse devices and conditions.

This is an area that we have invested heavily in and NetVu Connected PAR video file containers have overcome these shortcomings in a number of ways: 

• Multiple channels in the same container deliver a single evidential file with context around all the relevant scenes 

• Highly configurable data provided to the viewing software allows the UI to be adapted to suit the available capabilities  

• Dynamic polymorphic recording allows for on-the-fly changes to the resolution, frame rate and video codec format in response to specific events. For example, in a scenario where a company car park is being monitored, time parameters can be set so that the system can maintain lower quality recording when it is less likely for events to happen.  

• Real-time metadata inclusion can be unit or channel-specific, such as EPOS data for retail environments, or a GPS location for transportation applications 

• Multiple audio channels are available, either recording per channel, or on a generic basis, including audio transmissions sent to speakers on a site/location 

• System diagnostic data allows intermittent faults, including network connectivity issues, to be easily analysed, ensuring that any anomalies are promptly identified and rectified 

Efficient event processing and indexing 

The introduction of video storage and streaming technology was seismic to our industry and changed the way that surveillance systems operate.  

No longer ‘just’ a CCTV system, it has been a catalyst for far wider purpose.

However, many of the advances since have centred around image quality, increasing frame rates and resolutions, but with increased data collection, finding the right data and quickly, is critical. 

The answer is Metadata. It has transformed the user’s ability to find what they are looking for, particularly post incident. It also provides a more accurate view in real-time monitoring.  

Processing of events is vital, for example, being able to quickly index ANPR data to video scenes and recordings, or being able to create alerts that prevent incidents from happening in the first place.

And with IoT interfacing, metadata also gives users the toolkit to be able to manage operational parameters such as temperature and humidity. 

Maintaining a healthy and secure surveillance system 

Like anything, it’s important to look after and maintain systems to ensure that the best results are achieved.

Built-in health checks and fault monitoring are vital, as on too many occasions failure is discovered at the point that images need to be retrieved after a critical incident. 

From a manufacturer’s perspective, adaptability and customisation must be achieved in such a way that the core product can still be regularly upgraded with new features, security updates and patches. 

Like any kit that is connected to a network, it is a potential weak chink in the cybersecurity armour.  

In addition to being compliant with PTSI cyber and NDAA requirements, a closed IP hardened management layer provides automated security, combined with automatic discovery of all NetVu Connected products on the network. 

Ease of integration to IoT peripherals and other systems using scripting allows for unlimited interaction with these devices, with additional logic and scripting to achieve the desired response under changing situations, 

Daring to be different has paid off for end-users of our solutions, delivering advanced surveillance capabilities that secure, protect, manage and offer business intelligence helping to make, better, more informed decisions.  

In an era where the importance of reliable and advanced surveillance systems cannot be overstated, NetVu continues to set new standards. 

This article was originally published in the September Edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.