A network of approximately 200 cameras watches over the Anaheim Convention Center in California, providing images for an IP video management system driven by software from On-Network Surveillance Systems Inc. (OnSSI). The video system includes a combination of cameras ranging from legacy analog cameras tied into the IP network using digital encoders; to network cameras including megapixel network cameras from various suppliers. The cameras are focused on everything from the parking lots to the cash booths, public areas and service corridors, exhibit halls and meeting rooms.
Providing 815,000 square feet of exhibit space, the Anaheim Convention Center is one of the largest exhibition facilities on the West Coast and the highly visible nerve center of a 1,100-acre resort area that includes two Walt Disney theme parks and nearby convention hotels. It was the site of 2009’s ASIS International 55th Annual Seminar and Exhibits.
OnSSI’s NetDVMS 6.5 system, the heart of the IP-based video management system, unifies the various cameras to provide management personnel with access to video to enable recording, archiving and event management from anywhere on the network. “From the very beginning, the system has been an indispensable tool to help us monitor the facility from a security, public safety and operational standpoint,” says Tim Gillilan, Tenant Services Manager of the Anaheim Convention Center, who oversees crowd control, first aid and building security as part of his job. “We have come to rely on it.”
Video recording is triggered by motion detection, making the system more efficient and limiting bandwidth usage by recording video only when needed. From an operational perspective, the video images can provide a remote view of the progress of a meeting room setup, for example, or the stages of a construction or teardown project. The system also enables managers and security personnel to estimate the size of a gathering crowd by looking at video images.
The Convention Center recently upgraded with OnSSI’s newest Ocularis client software, which is compatible with the system and will enable a smooth upgrade to the full Ocularis video-centric physical security information management (PSIM) platform in phases over coming months. Ocularis DS is a large-scale IP video management platform designed for multi-site/multi-server VMS, NVR and camera management applications, and to facilitate integration with other physical security and related applications.
At the Anaheim Convention Center, the software is installed on a dedicated server. Cameras record video based on motion detection, which makes the system more efficient and avoids recording footage of empty hallways, for example. The software also limits use of bandwidth by supplying video only when needed. The system records through a fiber-optic link to a storage area network (SAN) supplying 62 Terabytes (raw; 45 TB usable) of storage — enough to save more than three weeks worth of video.
