Voice over IP - transmitting phone calls over your company data network and the Internet - is a hot topic, but if a picture is worth a thousand words then IP Video should be a thousand times more interesting.
CCTV has been around in manufacturing for decades, but, as the name implies, it is about video on a closed circuit. This implies both that the distribution of the video is strictly limited, and that dedicated cabling is required, leading to high installation costs. Also, CCTV mostly uses specialised recorders and control systems, often with "lumpy" upgrade paths: adding one more camera could mean having to add another 4- or 8-port interface card.
IP Video is very different: the video signal is carried over the data network (LAN), and can be transmitted anywhere in the world, across the planet or to your home, and viewed on any PC or even a hand-held PDA or 3G cell phone. Access is controlled by encryption and passwords, not by physical cabling. The infrastructure needed for storing, analysing and displaying images is industry standard computers and hard disks, and upgrading and extending the system is smooth regardless of the number of cameras deployed. IP Video cameras are typically more expensive than CCTV cameras, as they have very much more local intelligence and storage, but system costs are usually lower, both through vastly reduced installation costs and through using standard PC and server hardware.
The openness of IP video is changing perceptions of what surveillance systems can do. For example, an operations manager can monitor in real time production facilities anywhere in the world; or security personnel can get alerts and camera feeds from remote sites, and monitor an alarm-triggered camera on a handheld device while they are responding; or smart cameras triggered by motion detection or a switch input can transmit pre- and post-event data to a remote storage site, rendering the system immune to defeat by stealing the recording device.
With IP Video, it`s a case of watch this space . . . . from anywhere in the world!
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Axis increases the value of network solutions. The company is an innovative market leader in network video and print servers. Axis` products and solutions are focused on applications such as security surveillance, remote monitoring and document management. The products are based on in-house developed chip technology, which is also sold to third parties.
Axis was founded in 1984 and is listed on the O-list (Attract 40) of Stockholmsb"orsen (XSSE: AXIS). Axis operates globally with offices in 16 countries and in cooperation with distributors, system integrators and OEM partners in 70 countries. Markets outside Sweden account for more than 95% of sales.
Information about Axis can be found at www.axis.com
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