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Recent posts by Nathan on IP Camera Supply

iPhone App for ACTi
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For Apple’s triple threat ACTi is now providing a surveillance app for use on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod:

ACTi MobileGo! allows you to view and control cameras on iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It provides easy access to live video and playback of recorded video for remote and real-ACTi MobileGO!time surveillance applications.

ACTi MobileGO! is available on iTunes and features:

  • Access to your ACTi IP cameras anytime, anywhere.
  • Pan, Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) control for ACTi PTZ cameras, including presets.
  • Live viewing with pre-defined layouts. 
  • Configurable Settings with optional resolutions of 640×480 to 320×240.
  • Save camera image to iPhone of iPad.
  • Search and Playback video with time and event-based search functions.


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Surveillance Robot Granted FCC Waiver for Video Transmissions
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There’s a small two-wheeled surveillance robot that’s been used by the military in combat zones called the Throwbot made by Recon Robotics.

The name implies that you can physically hurl this device wherever it’s needed and that’s true. Check out the video for a demonstration.

Matthew Lasar’s article Army sruveillance bot approved for use by police, fireman at Ars Technica explains that while military tools are often just as useful to local law enforcement and fire departments, the problem Recon Robotics had with putting the Throwbot into domestic use was getting permission from the FCC to allow live video feed transmission from the device.

Emergency responders urged the FCC to allow them use of the Throwbot as a “life saving tool” that would help …

Parking Lot Surveillance
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Recognizing that parking lots are areas of high traffic, accidents and crimes IP Video Market Info has put together a Parking Lot Shootout testing IP camera surveillance kits from leading manufacturers like Axis, Bosch, IQinVision, and Sony.

Monitoring a wide area to simulate everyday activity, they then analyzed 12 different scenes from midday to nighttime to twilight hours with several variables.

Click here for the full report.

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Go Green – Self-Powered Surveillance Solutions
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By now I’m sure you’ve noticed solar powered parking ticket machines, lights, and signs on the side of the road or on highways.  Solar powered ticket machineSeems like a great way to save on energy costs and place a display anwhere it’s needed without the constraint of running wires.

What about doing the same for IP cameras that are needed in remote areas or in places where running lines for power just isn’t an economical option?

SentryView Systems provides a remote IP surveillance solution that can utilize both solar and wind power with SentryPost™

The system is designed to operate with solar & wind power generation as either the primary power supply for off-grid installations, or as a backup to mains power to keep the surveillance system operational …

Designing an Intrusion Detection System
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There’s a detailed tutorial by John Honovich at IP Security Market Info titled “Designing Intrusion Detection / Alarm Monitoring” where he answers fundamental questions and shares understanding of the options and tradeoffs when designing this system such as:

  • Cost
  • Designing intrustion detection in layers
  • Control panel selection
  • Control / Input / Output devices needed
  • Use of wireless devices
  • System monitoring options

If you’re considering using alarm monitoring devices as described in the tutorial and wondering how to integrate them into your IP camera or video server systems, read this post for more details:

IP Video Management – Input / Ouput Ports


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Electronic Surveillance Occurs Off the Books
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Requests by law enforcement agencies for traditional types of surveillance such as wiretaps are reported to U.S. Congress as mandated by U.S. federal law.  Modern types of surveillance (electronic surveillance methods) like accessing stored data from email, IM’s, and cell phone locations require no such reporting.

A paper published by Christopher Soghoian, Indiana University Bloomington – Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, titled “The Law Enforcement Surveillance Reporting Gap” explores the issues:

“Third party facilitated surveillance has become a routine tool for law enforcement agencies. There are likely hundreds of thousands of such requests per year. Unfortunately there are few detailed statistics documenting the use of many modern surveillance methods. As such, the true scale of law enforcement surveillance, although widespread, remains largely shielded …

New App Turns Mac into Video Motion Detector
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Via The Next Web, there’s a new app developed by Orbicule called Witness that “turns your Mac into a home alarm system, using its iSight camera as a motion sensor. If motion is detected, Witness sends mugshots and video to your iPhone or iPad.”

TNW explains that whether you’re trying to capture your evidence of your roommate’s sticky fingers or using the app as a simple home surveillance solution, Orbicule has designed Witness to:

“…eliminate recording hours of uneventful footage and it also saves you from wasting precious bandwidth. While operating Witness remotely from an iOS device, users can activate or turn off the alarm in addition to receiving a notification that something has triggered the camera.

When the alarm is activated, Witness …

Axis Unveils Dual-Lens IP Camera with Panoramic View
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Available in July, Axis has just introduced the P5544 PTZ dual-lens IP camera.  Similar to the Mobotix DualDome D12 series this Axis camera has two different lenses for two different functions.  Unlike the Mobotix DualDome D12 series which offers 180° recording,  the Axis P5544 offers a complete 360° field of view.

One lens is for panoramic views and the other provides mechanical pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ) functionality.  This camera is advertised as ideal for wide surveillance overviews and detailed zoomed-in views for identification in applications such as:Axis P5544 provides 360 degree panoramic view and fast PTZ controls with 18x zoom in HDTV 720p

  • Airports
  • Train stations
  • Logistics centers
  • Shopping centers

The Axis P5544 supports 720p HDTV with 1280 x 720 resolution with H.264 compression to limit bandwidth and storage loads.  With an IP51 rated casing for water and dust protection, this …

Mobotix Highlights Hemispheric Technology
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With Mobotix announcing a 50% year-over-year revenue growth in the America’s, it wants to continue that growth by focusing on their hemispheric technology.

Specifically, in addition to their full line that offers high-resolution capabilities, Mobotix is looking to Mobotix Q24expand their market with unique offereings such as:

Mobotix expects a strong year and has stated that these cameras are “in high demand due Mobotix T24to the products’ superior image quality, decentralized infrastructure, low upfront cost and long-term return-on-investment.”

With their decentralized approach Mobotix IP Cameras also utilize the following advantages:

  • High-speed computer and internal flash memory card (SD/MicroSD card) to enable all recording and storage to occur within the camera.
  • Reduced need for a
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Industry’s First HD WDR Video Surveillance Chipset
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Altera Corporation, a semiconductor device manufacturer, has announced the development of the industry’s first HD WDR video surveillance chipset:

Government, municipalities, financial institutions, and businesses are driving new uses for video surveillance technologies beyond crime prevention or security into applications such as asset management, risk mitigation, and safety.

The challenge for camera manufacturers, however, is developing “smarter” cameras at lower price points. More and more, digital high-definition (HD) Internet protocol surveillance cameras are replacing analog cameras because of lower installation costs, scalability, and the ability to add intelligence.

Recognizing camera manufacturer challenges and surveillance market demands Altera has enlisted CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensors into their design to help power the next generation of IP cameras.  And for good reason because CMOS …