In pursuit of Lifelike sound

So far, I have not had the pleasure of owning a Bose sound system but have friends who do, or in the case of one, did  -  before it was stolen from his car. And although I write about pitch, frequency, and sound waves here, it’s in connection with IP network attached paging  and intercom systems and portable PAs, I knew little else about Bose other than its iconic stature; Bose, one of those brands where just the name says it all - like Rolex or Apple.

Bose. I never realized it was the name of a gentleman whose dissatisfaction with existing stereo equipment gave spark to a quest for equipment that could deliver the quality of sound he was looking for. He passed away on July 12, 2013.

Amar G. Bose was born in Philadelphia to an Indian father and an American mother. His father had left India after being imprisoned for opposing British rule. At age 13, he organized his friends into a team to help him in his radio repair business so it appears that from early on, young Bose was destined to  connect entrepreneurship with delivering music.

His passage to founding Bose Sound Systems followed a winding path. After four years at MIT, for which his father borrowed $10,000, he journeyed to New Delhi on a Fulbright Scholarship, then back to MIT for a doctorate in electrical engineering. Had he arrived at the  Bose Systems point in his life? Not quite. A two year stint teaching at MIT turned into a professorship that lasted forty-five years.

However in 1956, frustrated at not being able to find any stereo systems that could replicate the sound of a live performance, he set out to design his own. He knew from his college courses that 80% of what we hear in an indoor concert setting is indirect sound; meaning it bounces off the ceiling and surrounding walls rather than directly travelling to our ears. He dug deep into psychoacoustics, the scientific study of how we perceive sound, and applied it to speaker technology, intent on coming up with a sound system that would deliver what he called “lifelike sound”. His research bore fruit with the 901 Directly/Reflecting speaker system, one of the first to utilize the space in the room. It remained the unparalleled standard for 25 years.

 The Bose Corporation recycles most of its profits into research in the area of acoustic engineering, and Amar G. Bose held  more than two dozen patents. But ironically, although Bose acoustical products are responsible for the crystal clear sound in such places as Olympic stadiums, Broadway theaters, and the Sistine Chapel, the company has also engineered products for the purpose of reducing sound:

• ·         a noise cancellation system to protect their hearing while travelling in space shuttles,
• ·         noise cancelling headphones for pilots and the military
• ·         non-linear control theory research that  contributed to an electromagnetic active control suspension for automobiles that provides sound control when driving on bumpy roads.

While Kintronics does not offer Bose Products, they do carry several different types of sound systems.

·         Portable PA and sound systems from Anchor Audio and Califone

Beacon by Anchor Audio

·        IP Network Attached Paging Systems and IP intercoms from DigitalAcoustics.

All are easily configured and feature excellent clarity of sound. So if you are part of a school system in need of a new portable PA for the new school year, or a hospital, corporation, or educational institution, looking for a scalable intercom system that attaches easily to your Ethernet network, a Kintronics sales engineer is available to answer your questions at 914-944-3425. Alternately, if you fill out an information request form, someone will respond to you. 

Edge Storage

Edge Storage

Over the course of our last couple of posts we took a look at Video Management Software (VMS) and how it provides efficient, comprehensive video recording and storage. In this post we will explore a way to complement it: edge storage. Comparable terms you may be familiar with include onboard recording and local storage.

Many of the latest IP cameras from Axis , IQinVision, and Sony offer edge storage which allows a network video device such as a camera or video encoder to create, control and manage recordings either locally to an SD/SDHC card or to network  shares like Network Attached Storage (NAS) . Edge Storage can be add value to an IP camera system in a few ways

Redundancy

Edge storage can serve as a partner to central storage, either recoding in tandem or as a back-up.  If the central system happens to be down due to a network disruption,  hardware malfunction, or  central system maintenance, a camera equipped with edge storage will continue to store its video (fail over recording).  And if used in conjunction with VMS, the missing video clip can be merged to the central system once the network is back up.

But the security of fail over recording isn’t the only advantage of adding Edge Storage equipped cameras to your IP camera system:

Remote Locations

In remote locations such as fire outposts or ATM kiosks, where network connectivity is not available, cameras with edge storage can be used to manage recordings and save them to an SD/SDHC card. The video on the card can be transferred to a central system periodically. It can also be of use on trains and other rail bound vehicles where video can be recorded to edge storage and transferred to the central system when the train stops at a depot.

Compensation for Low Bandwidth

In situations where the network’s bandwidth is low, streamed video can suffer in terms of clarity and definition. Using edge storage can compensate by supplying high quality video of incidents recorded locally that can be imported should the need for forensic use arise.

Cost Effectiveness

IP Cameras equipped with edge storage, depending on your purpose, can eliminate the need for a DVR, NVR, PC, or an onsite server.

If you’d like to find out if edge storage is right for you, our sales engineers can answer all your questions. Call us at 914-944-3425 or visit our website http://www.kintronics.com/neteye/neteye.html   Or if you prefer, fill out this information request form, http://www.kintronics.com/RequestInfo.htm and we will respond promptly.

Ocularis VMS - Something for Everyone

In our last post we provided an overview of Video Management Software (VMS) and promised to return for a closer look. For that we turn to Ocularis from ONSSI.  ONSSI stands for On-Net Surveillance Systems Inc., and they provide a range of software solutions to support IP camera systems ranging from the entry level Occularis PS to the enterprise version, Ocularis ES.

What is Ocularis VMS?

As a comprehensive video management system, Ocularis combines powerful network video recorders (NVR) with physical security information management (PSIM) functionality. As a video and event management platform, it allows streaming, recording, and managing cameras at multiple sites.   It is totally scalable since an unlimited number of cameras may be added at any time.

Ocularis distinguishes itself by providing a collaborative environment in which video and alerts from across the network can be consolidated into meaningful events that to be shared across the IP network and used to build a case file of video evidence.  Once any Ocularis Video Management software is installed it can be viewed from any workstation, as well as over the internet, either using Ocularis client software or a web browser (with optional Ocularis X)

What Can Ocularis VMS Do for You?

Before examining the different Ocularis versions, let’s look at the common features shared across the board.:

·         User-friendly touch screen interface with multi-screen support

·         Map-based integration of cameras and  camera-views  with preview windows

·         Unlimited number of viewing panes for individual cameras, carousel views, hot spots, web image (html) and alerts

·         Pane menu control for  changing cameras on the fly, clearing panes, clipboard copying, and manual push video alert

·         Interactive overlay controls (IOC) for instant investigation allowing playback, optical and digital PTZ as well as 360 degree lens parsing.

·         IOC for instant investigation during live monitoring

·         Auto detection of cameras

·         Support for MPEG4, MJPEG, H.263, H.264 as well as ONVIF and PSIA standards

Which Ocularis VMS is Right For You?

Ocularis PS is a small system solution that delivers high quality, dependable video.  It supports up to 25 cameras per server, but by adding additional servers, can provide unlimited  scalability. Security personnel can monitor the premises live or view recorded video.

Ocularis PS is an ideal application for

·         Standalone schools

·         Hospital campuses

·         Chain franchises

·         Residential buildings

Ocularis IS combines all the features of PS with an efficient event management platform. IS supports up to 64 cameras per server.  It offers multiple video recording servers at multiple sites with the option of either local or network storage; map navigation with active camera previews; and shared event handling among multiple operators.

Ocularis IS can be readily integrated with third party vendors’systems for access control, license plate recognition, and content video analytics. When used with these, IS can be used to detect and analyze events and send pro-active alerts to security personnel across the organization thereby providing better security and quicker responses.

Ocularis IS is an ideal application for

·         Municipal or public safety organizations

·         School districts

·         College campuses

·         Retail operations with centralized headquarters

·         Chains with franchised locations

Ocularis CS is scalable for an unlimited amount of cameras.  It offers all the previously described features plus optional access to video and alerts from multiple Ocularis systems and wall video-equipped central command centers. Likewise police command centers can use its easy-to-use map-based interface to access video from multiple Ocularis systems in the same locality.

Applications for Ocularis CS include

·         Transportation authorities

·         Clusters of police precincts

·         Municipalities with access to hospitals and schools

Ocularis ES is designed with IT-oriented organizations in mind. It includes all the functions of the Ocularis suite of VMS plus a central video recording management utility. Much of the complexity of managing hundreds, even thousands of cameras at multiple sites is simplified by CS’ provision of a single access point to the entire recording server array. This single access point makes possible batch operations and easy configuration of system-wide storage, cameras, and recording .

To prevent video data loss, Ocularis ES allows the set-up of multiple failover recording servers that begin recording instantly should a hardware failure occur.

Ocularis ES is perfect for

·         Complex city-wide or public-safety environments with a large number of simultaneously viewing clients.

If you’d like more information about any of the Ocularis Video Management Software versions detailed here, or about compatible IP cameras, Kintronics sales engineers will be glad to answer any of your questions . You can contact them at 914-944-3425 or visit http://www.kintronics.com/neteye/Softsite32.html. Or if you prefer, just fill out http://www.kintronics.com/RequestInfo.htm and a Kintronics engineer will contact you with the specified information.

What Video Management Software Can Do

 In today's world of tight security, everyone is aware of the presence of surveillance cameras but not everyone knows that Video Management Software(VMS) is a critical part of any IP camera system.  Let's take a look at how carefully chosen software expands the presence of any security department. With VMS, security personnel can



· View multiple IP cameras in real time
· Record and retrieve video, and
· Be automatically notified with a visual or auditory alarm should any pre-specified alert condition arise.

Real Time Viewing

VMS allows security to monitor several cameras at a time by stepping through  several different camera views. Called carousel view this feature allows security personnel to record certain feed manually if required.

A downside to real time viewing is the monotony and the danger that an event will occur on one camera while the security guard’s attention is focused on another.

Recording Video

There are two types of systems used to record video VMS and a Network Video Recorder (NVR) which is

sometimes confused with VMS.
 NVR is a special standalone computer that runs recording software whereas VMS runs on a Windows computer. The NVR is a simpler device just used to record and display video.
The Windows computer running VMS has more capability and allows more flexibility. For example it provides motion detection at the computer rather than using the camera's motion detector.

Automatic Alarm Notification

The more sophisticated VMS can send alerts and push video to a guard's workstation when an alarm condition occurs. It can also control a  PTZ camera to step through an automated guard tour where it moves the camera until it detects motion, and them records the video until the motion stops. The recorded video can be viewed from multiple cameras all at the same time, allowing tracking a person through areas of the facility. 

Video Analytics
Video analytics can be added to the Video Management Software. This software can be programmed to alert security to suspicious activity such as a car circling the same area repeatedly,  or should an abandoned backpack or package suddenly appear somewhere on  the premises.

Compatibility

 Keep in mind that not all software is compatible with every camera,  so when purchasing an IP camera, it is advisable to select Video Management Software first so you can then choose a camera it is known to support.  

With that in mind, in our next post, we will look at the Ocularis suite of VMS offered by ONSSI, Ocularis PS, Ocularis IS,  Ocularis CS, and Ocularis ES, and highlight the key features of each.

If you're looking for information about video management software of IP cameras you can find it at www.kintronics.com or  fill out a request info form. Our phone number is 914-944-3425

Defying the Darkness - Thermal Imaging Cameras

Thermal Imaging Cameras - Defying the Darkness

IP cameras, like the majority of cameras, need visible light in order to capture an image. Thermal Imaging cameras do not. They are able to function not only in total darkness, but under hostile conditions such as sand or dust storms as well

Although we tend to think of light in terms of what you see is what you get, visible light is but a fraction of the energy radiating in waves of varying lengths from the sun.  Since all light is energy traveling  at the same speed 186,000 miles per second, longer wavelengths occur at  lower frequencies, and conversely, shorter wavelengths occur at  higher frequencies. 

Visible light is that part of the electro-magnetic spectrum with wavelengths ranging from 400 to 700 nanometers. 

Infra-red light travels on longer wavelengths and lies just beyond visible light’s parameters

Since Thermal Imaging cameras utilize infra-red light, let’s examine it.

The Infra-red Portion of the Electro-Magnetic Spectrum

The prefix infra means below and is in the case of infra-red light means it occurs at a lower frequency than red light in the visible portion of the spectrum. Infra-red (IR) light can be divided into three categories:

1.       Near-infra-red.

The near in near-IR  signifies that it is the portion of the I-R spectrum closest to visible light with low

frequency wavelengths measuring from 700 – 1300 nanometers.

2.       Mid-infra-red

Mid-IR has lower frequency wavelengths of 1300 to 3,000 nanometers.

(Mid-IR and Near-IR near IR are used with a variety of electronic devices including remote controls.)

3.    Far infra-red (thermal) 

Far -IR occupies the largest part of the IR portion of the spectrum with wavelengths ranging from 3,000 Nano-meters to as long as 30,000 nanometers.  

The main difference between far IR and the other two is that near- and mid-IR are reflected off of objects while far-IR is emitted by them. Far-IR is also known as thermal-IR because this radiated energy gives off heat generated by activity at the atomic level of the object. This heat is key to thermal imaging technology.

How Thermal Imaging Works

All objects and beings give off some level of I-R radiation in the form of heat, or to put it another way, anything above the temperature of absolute zero (0 degrees Kelvin, or -469 degrees F) gives off measurable

I-R energy. While the amount of radiation emitted by you, me, a cat, dog, or a stone will differ, nothing radiates 100% of its temperature as I-R radiation.

Thermal imaging sensors work with emissivity, which is defined as the specific percentage of thermal radiation, to calculate an object’s true temperature in order to map out an image of the object within its environment.  At no time in the process is visible light required for thermal imaging.

How a Thermal Imaging Camera Works

Thermal imaging cameras contain a special lens that focuses the infra-red light emitted by everything in the field of view. Since there was be several thousands of points in the camera’s field of view, thermal cameras need special image sensors with a phased array of infra-red detector elements to gather them all together. Once the elements have captured the information they create a detailed temperature pattern known as a thermogram.

The thermogram is then translated into electric impulses that are sent to a signal-processing unit, then on to a

display where it appears as various colors depending on the intensity of the infra-red emission of each object. Taken together, these impulses create an image of the subject against its background.

Thermal Imaging to the Rescue

Thermal imaging technology is finding its way into the news more and more. Unfortunately, the news was not cheerful news. Responders made use of it during two very different tragedies.

 In Boston, the police used thermal imaging sensors to zero in on the surviving bomber in a residential neighborhood who was hiding in a covered boat dry-docked in a dark back yard.

Then in May, a two mile wide tornado cleared a twenty two mile swatch of Moore, Oklahoma, upending the majority of structures and leaving in their place teetering piles of rubble. Responders included the Oklahoma National Guard’s 146^th Airborne Support who used thermal imaging detectors to seek body heat under the five and six foot mounds of debris in an effort to locate possible trapped survivors.

Our sales engineers are known as the experts in IP cameras but Kintronics also has experience in designing thermal imaging cameras, numbering the U.S. Armed Forces among our customers. If you’d like to know more about thermal imaging or IP cameras www.kintronics.com or give us a call at 914-944-3425. You can also fill out an information request form and a sales engineer will respond promptly.

InfraRed and Thermal Cameras, the Solution for Low Light Challenges

Our previous entry, Light - What It Is, and Isn’t, explored the electro-magnetic spectrum and noted what a small portion visible light occupied. While visible light may be small in the big scheme of things, it is the only

type our eyes can utilize for vision.

Cameras also need visible light to capture an image, and they process it in pretty much the same way. There are some species of animals, though, that can function in a minimum of light. The same can be said of certain types of IP cameras, which is a good thing since there are times when it is necessary to capture an event in less than optimal lighting,or even harder, no light at all. As available light decreases, there is a range of surveillance cameras we can turn to.

Low Light IP Cameras  

Owls and cats are both thought of as being nocturnal; a word Merriam Webster defines as active at night. And just what allows these two creatures of the night to carry on life as usual long after the sun has set?  They both have proportionately large eyes; eyes that contain more light receptors than do the eyes of the rest of us, creatures who require a well-lighted situation. Nonetheless, even nocturnal animals need a low level of light. They cannot function in total darkness. The same holds true for low light cameras. They need some light 

A low light camera depends on large image processors to collect as much of the scant light as possible and the CMOS and CCD chips available today are especially good at picking up light. Some low-light color cameras amplify whatever light is available by switching to monochrome mode in order to increase light sensitivity.   

Another way to increase light sensitivity is to choose a lens with a low f number of 1.4 or less. The lower the f number the more light the lens will admit.

IR cameras

When the available light is below the threshold at which low-light cameras operate, we turn to what are also known as day/night cameras. Day/night cameras have infrared or IR sensitivity, meaning they are able to function under infrared illumination.

 The infra in infrared light means below and refers to the fact that infrared light radiates at wavelengths of 700 – 1400 m, a lower frequency than the red portion of light visible to our eyes. Like the rest of the electro-magnetic spectrum, infrared light is always present.

Because infra-red light affects the color capability of  image sensors, day/night cameras are equipped with removable filters to control IR sensitivity. The filters are kept in place during the day but removed at night and the camera switches to mono-chrome mode in which it can utilize infrared light.

Since an I-R camera needs more infra-red light than what occurs naturally, we need to supplement it  Some day/night cameras, like the Vivotek FD-6112V, come with special bulbs or built-in LED IR illumination,

allowing it to function without any other illumination for a distance just over 30 feet. Other I-R cameras require add-on IR illumination. More powerful illuminators are needed for greater distances, and the narrower the beam the better. Some of the more powerful provide a 6 degree beam, lighting as much as 1300 feet. When using IR illumination, we also need to use a lens rated for IR use.

Since infrared light is not visible to the human eye, IR cameras are popular in covert operations when it is necessary that people not know they are being filmed. In extremely covert operations carried out totally dark or conditions impenetrable by light, we can turn to a particular type of IR cameras, those with thermal imaging capability.

Thermal Imaging Cameras

Thermal imaging cameras, technically known as thermo graphic imaging cameras are able to function when there is absolutely no visible light. Thermal refers to the fact that the sensor incorporated into this type of IR camera is sensitive to temperatures higher than the surrounding environment. Thus it can sense the heat radiating from a person

or animal, and can detect this heat energy through conditions such as smoke, fog or blowing sand that would render a  conventional light-dependent camera useless.

Thermal imagine IR cameras are able to function in these conditions because, if you recall from Light - What It Is, and Isn’t, infra-red light radiates at a lower frequency but its wavelengths are longer. The added length allows it to pass through light obstructing particles, off of which,due to its shorter wavelengths, visible light would bounce. The infra-red light penetrates these obscurants, making it possible for the camera’s thermal imager to detect the found object's radiated heat energy.

Thermal imaging cameras are sometimes referred to as FLIR, for Forward Loading Looking Infra –Red

cameras. The name stems from military operations in which planes are outfitted with this type of camera facing forward.

Thermal imaging applications are also used in police forensic work. In fact it was a thermal imaging device that put an end to the search for the surviving Boston Marathon bomber this month. When the owner of a house discovered fresh blood on a tarp covering the winter-stored boat in his backyard, he alerted police. Using a thermal imager, a specially trained officer detected the outline of a cowering figure, and Boston was able to breathe again.

Since thermal imaging promises to play a vital role in our security, our next entry will look at it in more detail, and explore areas and applications that can benefit from its use.

If you would like more information on any of the cameras discussed here, visit www.kintronics.com or fill out out a request for information form and one of  our sales engineers will respond. Or if you'd prefer, call 914-944-3425 

Light - What it Is, What it Isn't

We have devoted several blogs to exploring the interaction between light and image sensors in IP camera technology.It can be boiled down to four words -  light is a necessity. But what are we to do when light is low or practically non-existent? We turn to Infra-red (I-R) cameras.  As the name suggests, I-R cameras make use of infra-red light which lies just beyond visible light in the electro-magnetic spectrum.

In this post, the first in a series that will cover infra-red and thermal cameras, we will start with an examination of the electromagnetic spectrum, the major portion of which does not register with the human eye.

 Let’s start with the portion we are capable of seeing - visible light.

Like an IP camera’s image sensor, our eyes depend on light. They collect this light from the world around us. Everything we see, we see because it is giving off light waves in one of two ways: direct or indirect. Direct sources of light waves include the sun, lamps, and fire. Light waves get to our eyes indirectly when they bounce off an object such as a mirror, a flower, or a human or non-human animal.

 But just because we’re seeing light waves doesn't mean we’re always seeing them in the same color.

Color depends on the interplay of reflected light with the objects it hits, and our eyes’ response to it. The

visible range of light consists of wavelengths measuring from 400 nano-meters to about 700 nano-meters  The wavelengths at the lower end are perceived as purple, while at the upper ends we see red, and in the middle, all the other colors of the rainbow – orange, yellow, green, and blue.  Remember Roy G. BV - the acronym we learned in school to remember the color spectrum?

  But what explains this variety? Remember, light is a form of radiation and can absorbed or scattered, or reflected, refracted or diffracted. What colors we see depend on how objects interfere with the light. And this, in turn, is dependent on the object’s particular physical make-up.  

A green leaf takes on its color because it absorbs five of the six wavelengths of the visible light spectrum except the one occurring at the 500 nano-meters (green), and reflects only that one so that when we look at it, we see

The same process takes place when we see something red,orange, yellow, blue or violet. But what about white and black?  A white object reflects all wavelengths back, absorbing none, while a black object does just the opposite, absorbing all and reflecting none.

This visible light wave spectrum is but a fraction of the electro-magnetic spectrum. The entire spectrum is composed of gamma rays, x-rays, ultra-violet, visible light, infra-red, microwave, and radio waves. Since all are forms of light, whether they are seen or not, they travel at the same speed – 186,000 miles per second.

They differ from each other in their wavelengths and frequency. If we start at Gamma waves on one end and proceed to radio waves on the other we find that the wavelength increases and the frequency decreases.

But how was infra-red light discovered.?

Back in 1799, William Herschel, the German-born British astronomer responsible for the discovery of Uranus and two of Saturn’s moons, was interested in observing sun spots. To this end, he experimented with light filters.  When using a red filter, he found that a lot of heat was being produced. His curiosity whetted, he used a prism and a thermometer to investigate; the prism to break up the sunlight, and the thermometer to measure the temperature of each color of the refracted light.

He found the temperatures were not uniform. Violet had the coolest temperature, and red, the warmest. But

what surprised him most, was finding it was even warmer beyond the red, in an area he could not see.Further experimentation led him to the conclusion that there must be invisible light beyond the visible spectrum. He came up with the name infra-red for this warm portion just beyond red.

Next entry, we’ll look at Infra-red cameras. how they work, and who needs them.

Until then, here’s a question. You may have a device in your living room that sends out infra-red  light. Do you know what it is?


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If you'd like more information on IP cameras visit www.kintronics.com to fill out this information request form.  Sales engineers are also available at 914-944-3425 to answer your questions.