Regardless of the business type, more and more business owners and contractors are wanting to install security cameras as part of a larger security system. Employees feel much safer, owners keep an eye on not only their assets but also relay heavily on camera footage for possibly employee infractions and any legal action that may come of such action, and residents of buildings that have security cameras installed feel much safer and consider it a big plus.

For Omrinet, we choose to move forward with new technologies in all avenues. Once we know the benefits are substantial and that we can demonstrate the ROI and value to the customer, we basically move away from older technologies or methods and build on the proven, newer tech. This is extremely true for IP cameras and DVR installations.

IP camera and DVR solutions provide several benefits:

• Fewer parts associated with the entire system
• Easier to implement over existing structured cabling
• Lower cost of installation in new and existing structures
• Easier to set up for viewing your system over the internet
• HIgher quality video for less money'
• Fewer cables and a better looking installation
• Can use standard computer hardware without expensive video converters

Omrinet has installed several security camera installations and we have chosen to use a highly reliable, very cost effective and easy to use software. As usual, we go with an Apple computer device (mac mini, iMac, or Mac Pro) that has the necessary processing power for the given number of cameras. That all depends not only on the camera but also the type of compression that you choose to use for video recording. For instance, you can use motion JPEG and use very little CPU but you will not be able to record as much to your hard drive because of the file size. Run a Mac Pro and you can record using H.264 with a high load not the CPU but with excellent data compression. These aren't the only compression options available, but they are extremes to show the difference.

Back to the software. Bensoftware, software written by a person named Ben, no surprise, has developed an excellent IP DVR software called Security Spy. Omrinet is a reseller and sell not only the software to users doing it themselves but also in our security camera packages at a reduced cost. Security Spy runs natively on Intel Macs and works with most of the industry standard IP cameras such as Vivotek and Panasonic. You can theoretically connect as many cameras as you want as long as the available processing power matches the need. Rather than masses of coax and power cable ran from cameras to a central closet, which usually looks like a massive pile of black wires, IP cameras all run off of Cat5 ethernet cable. Best of all, most can also be power of ethernet (PoE) if plugged into a switch that provides the power. This greatly reduces the mess, but also reduces the cost associated with multi-camera power supplies, the time to install it, as well as the management of so many devices.

Our most recent install was an excellent example of an Apple based DVR using IP Cameras and Bensoftware's Security Spy. We installed 17 Vivotek bullet and dome IP cameras. All were connected to ethernet cable which ran to various PoE network switches in the various parts of the building. Each switch was connected back to the main switch where the Mac XServe, in this case, was mounted in a rack. Security Spy was set up to pull the feed from each camera, motioned detection was set up using the software, and the cameras' footage are recorded to the internal drives of the Xserve. Using MPEG4 compression, we see about 4 months of footage on 3 TB of HDD space. That's pretty good, and means the client has quite a log to look back on.

Another great thing about Security Spy is it's built web page which provides a web interface for your DVR. Once your router is setup, which is very minimal, you will be able to login and choose which camera or cameras you want to view live, at what resolution, or choose from previous recording based on various filters. Its incredibly simply for users to watch video live or on-demand from the security footage available.

If you would like to see an example of an Omrinet Security Spy installation, please contact us. We are commercially licensed in Arkansas but can also provide consulting for the do-it-yourselfers. And with the advancement of IP Cameras and DVRs, DIY is definitely doable.

Tags: apple, small business, security camera, security spy, bensoftware, vivotek, xserve, install, commercial, ip