HD cameras for the future... make.believe in Sony

Our PES Manager, Izak, discusses his thoughts on HD cameras:

"As with all new technology there are always some sceptics who don’t accept pioneering technology.

I heard about the new HD cameras, but with good IP cameras available at the time, I was not really interested, as proven cameras (like the Sony SNC RX570) had a brilliant zoom and were already outperforming the Coax cameras which currently saturate the market.

As a company, Heston Apex Europe LTD, was chosen to carry out a trial installation of a number of RH-124 Cameras on a stadium.

From the commencement of the installation, it was glaringly clear that this is the new technology for the future of the industry.

On the opening day, with a crowded stadium, it was possible to zoom in and identify people on the opposite side of the field. This enabled the security controllers to monitor any disturbances with ease and be sure that proper identification of the people involved was available.

So why choose the next generation of Sony HD cameras?

1.       Fewer Cameras. With full HD cameras better coverage is provided, with the advantage that identification of individual suspects is still possible. With previous generations of cameras you would need both a static camera and a PTZ camera to zoom in to the specific point of interest to get identifiable images or as alternative a multitude of static cameras zoomed in, which would therefore cover a lot less.

2.       Fewer Monitoring personnel. Fewer cameras also means fewer people are needed to monitor the same area and in tandem with the implementation of DEPA technology found on Sony cameras, intelligent functionality can be utilised on a PC

3.       H264 encoding. With H264 encoding it gives the best use of the bandwidth possible.

4.       High frame rates. With up to 30FPS, a smooth picture is ensured, therefore assuring the consistent capture of movement. This will increase with the newer generation cameras as demonstrated by Sony at IFSEC.

5.       Monitoring in all conditions. The Sony camera ranges have some of the best low light performance around. This includes PTZ cameras and the ER550, as well as the static cameras with additional IR as the DH280 and CH280.  Even in incredibly low levels of light in a server room, I observed a DH140 displaying a clear picture.

Even the best cameras is useless if not correctly set up. The SNC-Toolbox ensures ease of setup with all the cameras and settings available in one place. The cameras now have an easy setup and focus feature that enable the installer to tweak the focus and zoom without the need to sit on ladders with a spot monitor to adjust it."

Why Use a Fully Encrypted Card Access Solution – FeliCa - Sony Make.believe

Cards such as Mifare and FeliCa, have an unique manufactures code (CSN) which until recently was adequate for normal level of access control. The CSN number is part of the manufacturing process and it used to requires a high skill level and very expensive equipment to clone chips with a specific number.

It has been possible for a while to read the card data and retransmit this, but this was again limited to a small number of experts with very specific knowledge about the card technologies.  For those applications where the security level had to be higher, encrypted cards have normally been specified.

With the success of the Internet, information sharing has totally changed. Protocols and details are available on line to any one, which already makes it easier for hackers to access.  

There are a few hacker organisations we are aware of and they publish details on how to hack the HID IClass, Mifare and many other types. This was still more of a development community and not easy to do for non experts. 

This has changed and now you can buy ready made equipment which can read the CSN of Mifare, FeliCa, HID and others. The data can then be easily retransmitted. This equipment can be bought ready made on line by anyone.

With the equipment you can easily read someone's card unnoticed (for example, in a lift) and then walk over to any door and retransmit to gain access.

An example of this equipment is available at: 

http://www.proxmark.org/

The trend in using just the CSN can cause big embarrassment for large corporate companies, if security was breached this way and was released in the public domain.

Security levels of cards and readers are becoming increasingly important because of the above statement.

An example of an encrypted Mifare card hacked is on YouTube. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8VVKnUdECgThere are a few examples on the Internet of this.

“FeliCa” has not been known to have been hacked and would be outside the scope of most people ability, if this was ever achievable due to the high levels of encryption."

Robert De'Antiquis

“Stop the Press” Sony FeliCa.. make.believe in Evolis

The latest in our Sony FeliCa growth can be attributed to the full integration into the Evolis 'Pebble printer' which allows the full encoding of FeliCa cards. This solution moves FeliCa one step closer towards becoming a true end to end solution and here at HAE has been greeted with much excitement.

This was achievable through using the free SDK tool provided by Evolis alongside their 'Pebble Printers'!

The Evolis 'Pebble' printer allows the printing of colour badges with photo resolution. Easily installable with aesthetically pleasing lines the Pebble 4 printer has a Magnetic Stripe encoder, Smart contact station encoding unit and Contactless encoding unit. These features are all superbly designed and flawlessly integrated making it the printer of the moment.

Watch this space for more developments and check out Evolis' website at: http://www.evolis.com/

Sony ....make.believe

Sony have a superb range of Network HD Cameras with Panomorph Lens, which here at HAE we are excited about championing.

Whilst other brands of cameras such as mobotix are effective, we prefer the sublime lines and aesthetically pleasing Sony products. Not only are they attractive, the cameras provide unparalleled performance, encompassing key aspects such as the easy focus function (a must for a simple installation), the ability to switch between day and night mode smoothly and successfully and Sony's very own View - DR technology. The cameras have no distortion and in the SNC-CH120/SNC-CH140/SNC-CH220/ SNC-CH240 camera range, the ability to view 360 degrees with the enablement of the Panomorph lens is incomparable. The SNC-CH120 and SNC-CH140 have a 1.3 Megapixel maximum resolution and the SNC-CH220 and SNC-CH240 provide the option of the 2.8 Megapixel resolution. The cameras all have different types of visibility enhancers, varying from BLC to Sony's Visibility Enhancer View DR. These four cameras provide varying options for both the clients and the installation teams, however, the key point as always is that the technology is well made by Sony.
The light weight of the cameras makes them easier to install, with the heaviest of the quartet coming in at just under 1 lb 7. All of the cameras can be covered by Prime Support and have a working temperature of -10 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius.

In the case of all the cameras described above the Sony tag line of make.believe, shines true and creates a perfect summary of a brand which is all encompassing.

  

If you want to have a further look at these cameras in more detail please make sure you check out Sony's website at http://www.pro.sony.eu/biz/lang/en/eu/product/video-security

Sony FeliCa - will you Make.believe in Sony FeliCa?

HAE have now launched the second generation FeliCa card reader to the market place. The development of this reader has been borne with the close collaboration between both HAE and the Sony FeliCa division.

A Directors View

This continued  development has enabled  this second generation reader to now support, as standard, the 125Khz module with the following card types; Felica European and Japanese encryption,  Mifare CSN, HID ™ 125 KHz 35 bit corporate encoded cards (26 and 36 bit are also supported) , EM Marin and Temic T5567. In this ever changing world of card technology it pays to be ahead of the game.

The Sony SNC RH164 make.believe

HAE have recently installed three SNC RH164 cameras at a prestigious maintenance site in South West London, just in time for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The cameras were installed on Swan neck brackets, mounted on a pole and required dexterous high level handling from our hardworking installation team.

With the quick release mechanism, this camera was deemed to be the perfect camera for this install. Our client used the cameras to film the Diamond Jubilee, with the visibility enhancer and 16.9 aspect ratio making the footage as good as filming from a professional film maker's camera. The camera has a high image CMOS image sensor and is a PTZ dome with a 210 degree tilt and a 360 degree high speed pan. The camera also features a sunshine ventilation system and a triple codec network operation with a 10 x quality optical zoom. The XD NR noise reduction and impact resistant dome camera makes this one of the most interesting cameras that HAE have installed in recent times, with the tamper alarm trip making it one of the safest.

After the Jubilee, the footage was reviewed and it was of superb quality, to the point where it will now feature in a PR film for the site. A good HAE job well done!