Government agency turns to IP surveillance

The 100+ camera system was designed and installed by the Security Services Group (SSG), the UK Government's own high-security installation team. SSG recommended IndigoVision to the DVLA, having worked successfully with the company's IP Video system on other Government projects.

"The new IndigoVision system has transformed the CCTV network coverage of our sites," commented Roy Evans, technical advisor at the DVLA. "The ease of use for the operators, expandability and the seamless integration of other security systems, such as IDS, has all benefited our operation."

IndigoVision's unique distributed architecture means that the DVLA's CCTV system is highly flexible and scalable and has provided the ideal monitoring solution for the Agency's vast complex, which consists of multiple-buildings covering an area of 23 acres and housing over 4000 staff. The system can even be operated from a remote location if the main control room is out of action. IndigoVision's equipment was used in the DVLA's new sustainable print plant as well as to replace ageing analogue/DVR CCTV systems in existing buildings.

"Upgrade of old CCTV equipment was driven by the need for life-cycle replacement of existing legacy systems," explained Evans. "Distributed IP Video delivers improved integration with a raft of site-wide systems and a secure platform for future expansion."

As with any major Government site a high-quality CCTV system is required for staff safety, crime prevention, counter terrorism, access control, traffic management and incident response. Operators using 'Control Center', IndigoVision's enterprise Security Management Software, can view live and recorded video from any of the cameras. A number of rugged standalone Network Video Recorders (NVRs) provide 31 days of continuous recording from all cameras. The distributed nature of IndigoVision's system means 'Control Center' workstations, NVRs and cameras can be located anywhere on the site - all that is required is a network connection.

"The fast retrieval of recorded footage using 'Control Center' is a major improvement over the original CCTV systems, aiding the security team in more efficient incident management," added Evans. "The software also produces an audit log that enables managers to quickly identify who carried out the tasks on the system. This was an important requirement for the new monitoring solution."

All of the existing analogue cameras are connected to IndigoVision 8000 transmitter/receiver modules. The 8000 converts the analogue feed into DVD-quality digital video for transmission across the network, using advanced MPEG-4 compression. The network and 'Control Center' software acts as a virtual matrix, where any camera feed can be routed to any workstation or NVR, no matter where they are located on the network. This replaces the traditional centralised hardware switching matrix of analogue/DVR CCTV systems and eliminates the associated single point of failure.