IndigoVision’s complete end-to-end IP Video technology is at the heart of a new integrated public safety system on Penang Island. The most populated of Malaysia’s islands, Penang has often been called the Pearl of the Orient. Its capital Georgetown attracts many tourists and as with other city centers around the world it faces a complex security environment, including criminal activity and traffic issues.
The new CCTV surveillance project was designed and installed by IndigoVision’s local Approved Partner CyberGuard Systems Sdn Bhd for the Municipal Council of Penang Island. The system consists of 31 PTZ dome cameras connected via a wireless IP network monitoring the whole of the Georgetown area. The cameras are focused on crime and traffic hot spots such as tourist areas, banks, petrol stations, traffic intersections and commercial centers.
"IndigoVision was chosen following a competitive analysis by the client. Excellent video-quality and low-bandwidth transmission over the wireless network were two reasons IndigoVision won over the competition," explains Jee Yong Keong, Product Development Manager at CyberGuard Systems. "The Penang authorities are very pleased with the system and it has already recorded a number of incidents that have helped the police with their investigations."
The distributed nature of IndigoVision’s IP Video system meant that three separate control rooms could be deployed, one used by the City Council and the other two by the police. Operators use ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s IP Video and alarm management software, to view live and recorded video from any of the cameras in the system, no matter which control room they are located in. Powerful search and analysis tools allow the operators to quickly identify the relevant video clip in the event of an incident. These high-quality video clips can be exported for evidential purposes. Each control room has a similar configuration with 4 ‘Control Center’ workstations driving a video wall consisting of 32 LCD monitors.
The flexibility and powerful integration features of IndigoVision’s solution allowed a number of Emergency Kiosk’s to be installed in tourist areas. Using IndigoVision’s 8000 transmitter/receiver module, which can transmit high-quality video and audio as well as digital I/O, CyberGuard Systems developed a standalone video intercom solution for the kiosks. When a member of the public activates the emergency button, two-way communication is opened up with one of the control room operators via a hidden microphone and camera in the kiosk. The intercom video from the kiosk automatically displays on a ‘Control Center’ workstation and the nearest PTZ is panned and zoomed to the kiosk area. This is all achieved over the wireless network. The only cabling required is power to each of the kiosks. The PTZ domes are also connected to 8000 modules and the audio capability is used to provide public announcement facilities through speakers mounted with each camera.
Thirty days of recording is achieved using 2 servers running IndigoVision Windows Network Video Recorder (NVR) software, located in two of the control rooms. Each camera is recorded at 25fps at 4SIF. The overall bandwidth and storage requirement is reduced by using Activity Controlled Framerate (ACF). Built into the 8000 modules ACF controls the amount of video that is transmitted on to the network. When the scene is inactive, the framerate is reduced, as soon as any motion is detected in the scene the framerate is automatically set to maximum.
