survtech

I agree that DVRs with analog cameras are on their way out (sort of like VCRs in the mid-nineties). That said, my investigations into IP for casino use ran into major snags - low frame rates at >640x480 (Axis IP cameras for one), huge storage requirements (compare your 600TB for 1000 cameras vs. our 250TB for 1024 cameras; all at 30fps). Storage is still a major cost factor. A major problem is incorporating existing legacy systems. It's might make sense to build a full IP-based system from scratch, but at many casinos you'll have to accomodate a changeover from analog to IP in an existing system. Replacing 1000(+) cameras simultaneously would be a major pain and very disruptive in a working 7/24 casino environment. Just installing the infrastructure would be a nightmare. Many casinos don't have IDF closets in suitable locations for the distribution and power networks. Our MIS Department has had nightmares staying within the 100 meter maximum for ethernet for the slot machines. Surveillance would have the same problem and then some. Also, how would you accomodate a casino with an existing DVR system? Our system will only record certain manufacturers' IP cameras and many are too physically big to fit inside existing dome enclosures (Axis again). That means replacing most in-ceiling back boxes with 14" monstrosities. In all, I think that casinos should be aware of, but wary of IP-based systems for now. We all know it is coming but us old-timers have learned from bitter experience that cutting edge technology can come with a very high price.

What cameras did you use for table games? What is the latency? How does that affect PTZ control? What is the frame rate? Did you have to meet MICS specs?

Component will do 1080i but not 1080p in its present spec.

That's my point. Read the post above mine.

Note: I checked the manual at Everfocus and found that it cuts a custom file type (arv) that probably requires their proprietary viewer "DVRViewer" to view. Also note the following quote from the manual: Note: If you are unable to play “AVIâ€

I would guess that the file size you are trying to generate is too large. Try cutting multiple smaller clips, say 8 hours apiece.

RG-62 cable is 93 ohms. It is not suitable for CCTV unless the impedance is matched with baluns at both ends. The absolute maximum distance figures for 75 ohm cable are: RG-59 - 750 ft. RG-6 - 1,000 ft. RG-11 - 1,500 ft. These distances can be extended with cable compensation. With cable compensation (like the Pelco CM9760-MDA has), you can theoretically double those distances.

That's a tough one. I was looking for something similar and never found exactly what I want. I wanted to mount a PTZ on a water tank to look at a large parking lot. And that was a maximum distance of 1/2 to 3/4 mile. I did find lenses that would zoom in at that distance but they are huge. To get a horizontal field of view of 50 ft. at 8000 ft. you would need a 768 mm lens with a 1/3 inch image sensor or a 500 mm lens with a 1/4 inch image sensor. For a 20 ft. horizontal FOV, you would need a 2,000 mm lens with a 1/3 inch image sensor. The biggest problem was, I couldn't find a useable pan/tilt mechanism that would provide the fine control neccessary to make the system useable, yet still pan and tilt at a fast enough speed when zoomed all the way out. If you want to pan or tilt in no larger that 10 ft. increments with that 50 ft. horizontal FOV, that would be 0.07 degrees per step. I can't remember all the details because this was several years ago, but it seems to me that I did find a system that would do that but it was expensive - something like $10,000 - and used its own special controller. It wouldn't interface with our Pelco matrix's control.

If you want to see something interesting, compare the design of the Arecont cameras to the Ganz IP cameras from cbcamerica.

The requirements for digital recording in a casino are far beyond the capabilities of some of the DVRs suggested. Most casinos wouldn't care what codec is used as long as the system can record in at least 4CIF or D1 resolution. Also, casinos can have as many as 2000(+) cameras. That's a lot of inputs compared to other applications. The bit rate and frame rate must be adjustable on each input so that critical cameras (table games, WAP slot machines and cash counting operations) can be recorded at very high quality while less important cameras don't take up too much disk space. Motion JPEG is rarely used due to its storage requirements. Observers must be able to access any camera's recordings quickly and easily with little or no latency to be able to instantaneously review the data. Retention times vary from casino to casino. The minimum retention time of live recordings is usually 7 to 30 days. This requires a lot of hard disk space. It is not uncommon for larger casinos to have 250 to 500 TB (terrabytes) or more storage of camera recordings. There needs to be a simple method to cut and save clips for evidence. The best systems utilize a file server and attached RAID storage for long-term evidence storage with tape, WORM or CD/DVD for off-site backup. After a few years there may be many TB of evidence stored that needs to be easily accessible but secure. The system must be simple to learn and use due to employee turnover. The GUI must be simple and uncluttered for the same reason. Configuration settings should be transparent to users because a casino can't afford to have non-technical people messing with them. Operators should not be able to stop recording of any camera for obvious reasons. I can't picture any casino using computers with capture cards. Most casino CCTV technicians don't have the knowledge to build, maintain and operate a system with that complexity and those types of systems are not usually stable enough for 7/24/365 operation. Latency is a major problem with some systems, including the Sanyo DSR-M series. Although Sanyo has improved their software, it still has far more latency than many Enterprise systems. The Sanyos may be a good choice for smaller casinos but their limitations are somewhat crippling. They still take a long time buffering inputs and switching from DVR to DVR and the 4-DVR limitation for simultaneous playback is a nuisance.

I use an older version of "The Professional's Guide to CCTV Manual" to train technicians. It's very comprehensive but very long.

Here are a couple of sites to check out: Security CEU - online training and certification (securityceu) LTC - a good source for books and training (ltctrainingcntr) - Charlie Pierce of LTC is an acknowledged expert in the field and an excellent speaker and trainer. Sorry but I'm too new to post websites. Add the appropriate web suffix and com to the parentheses. I'll post these and other links here when my 10 days are up.

Use a "Gel Cell" type battery. It is a lead-acid battery that uses a gelled acid rather than a liquid. You can get these at many electronics supply houses, including MCM Electronics and Parts Express.

The plenum is the area above suspended ceilings and sometimes the area below raised floors that is used as the return for air conditioning and heating. Plenum-rated cable is required when cables are run in those areas. It is a fire and smoke rating that minimizes flames and toxic fumes from being spread by the HVAC system. In most cases, if the area above suspended ceilings is not used to return air to the HVAC system (say if there are separate return ducts), plenum-rated cable may not be required. You can tell by looking at the registers. If both the supply and return registers have ducts, the area is usually (but not always) not considered to be a plenum. If the return registers are just open into the area above the ceiling, you are required to use plenum-rated cable in most places. As always, check your local building and/or fire codes to make sure. When in doubt, it is safer to use plenum-rated cable. This can protect the building's occupants in a fire and you from a lawsuit. You can use silicon dielectric grease inside connectors and coax seal (a putty-like substance) on the outside of connectors to help prevent corrosion. Compression connectors are also good for outside use and if you use them you can dispense with the coax seal. For outdoor use, either run the cable in conduit (metal emt preferred), or buy "direct burial cable", darned expensive but well worth the cost if you want something that will stand up to the elements.

The Pelco CM9760-MDA has cable compensation for RG-59 up to 1,500 ft. A little pricey and maybe overkill, but it is 16 in by 4 out. I believe it needs to be at the end termination, though, not in the middle. You could splice the cables and put the MDA at the new server location.

Wasn't that in The Green Berets?

At 36-49 images per screen, let's do the math: Let's say 48 images and an 82" screen for the sake of simplicity. Assume a screen size of 82" (72"w x 40.5" h) in 16:9 aspect ratio. You could fit 8w(x)6h 4:3 aspect ratio (standard CCTV) images on the screen. Each image would be 9"w x 6-3/4"h. which is about 11" diagonal. Since the maximum resolution available on any set today is 1920x1080, each image would have a resolution of 240h x 180v. A decent 12" monitor should be able to see at least 640x480 resolution so a projector would have only slightly better than 1/3 the resolution of 12" monitors. And increasing the size of the screen to 150" would only make each image larger, the resolution would not improve. With that resolution, there's absolutely no way you could identify the value of cards on a table, let alone the suit. Also, if you want the absolute best resolution for casino use with analog cameras, a 20" to 21" CRT is still your best bet. LCD displays don't reproduce images quite as well as CRTs (although they have improved tremendously) and even the best LCDs have problems de-interlacing NTSC video. As far as I know, all LCD monitors are progressive scan. Plasmas can be subject to burn-in so I wouldn't use them for monitors that would be looking at quad images or static scenes. They do have near-CRT quality resolution, though.

For DVRs, the Honeywell Enterprise system and the Dallmeier are two good choices for larger casinos. Synectics Systems and AD also sell decent enterprise DVRs. For smaller casinos, the Sanyo Casino DVRs are an inexpensive option but they have a few drawbacks, including latency. IMO Pelco makes the best matrix. Their cameras are also OK, as are Ganz fixed domes (ZCD 3000 series), and Ikegami, especially in low light.

Check out the Dallmeier NVR system. 1-for-1 recording in an enterprise-level system. It uses blade chassis and each blade records one camera. All the basic advantages of the Sanyo system. CCTVQueen, by the way, SSI is a Dallmeier vendor.

While projectors are impressive, their resolution is not any better than a good LCD or plasma. If you put a lot of cameras on them, each will be at very low resolution.

Not in a casino. Typically you will have far more cameras per operator because they don't watch all cameras simultaneously. They watch critical cameras and record the rest. The casino where I work has 3 operators and over 800 cameras.

Why not just use the VGA output?

Is this for home or CCTV use? The Sanyo Casino DVR's use MPEG-2 and are virtually bullet-proof, but they are a bit pricey.

The Honeywell Enterprise system has frame-by-frame forward and reverse playback and multi-speed slow motion to 128x fast playback via either a jog/shuttle on the interface or via their UltraKey keyboard.

I have never used any of those cameras. They are all too big to fit into Pelco DF5 domes. I have used Pelco CCC1300/1370/1380, Ikegami ICD505, Ganz ZCD mini-domes, Sanyo, Dallmeier and a few others. I wonder why they didn't test any of those brands since they are very popular.