Working with school systems to help them ensure safety and accuracy is one of our focuses . Here is a great example of how we were able to tailor a solution specific to the Hardee county school system. You can read the full article on page 32/33 in this issue of Campus Safety. We have taken a small excerpt below and copied it here if you don’t want to read the whole thing.
SCHOOLS TRANSITION FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL
Recognizing that these outdated analog systems were not meeting their security needs, the Hardee County School District began the process of upgrading to an IP video platform in 2008.
Several core objectives were identified for the new system design. First, it would need to provide high-quality video, multi-site coverage across the school district, and centralized remote video access and management. The VMS would need to enable users to quickly and easily search and view video of specific incidents from multiple sites using a single interface. The district worked with integrator Redd Ash Technologies of Apopka, Fla., to upgrade the systems at the junior and senior high schools. The original scope of work involved installing 84 IP megapixel cameras, on-site servers and OnSSI’s Ocularis VMS. Budgetary restraints didn’t allow for all the analog cameras and DVRs to be replaced, so a number remained in place. However, not long after the deployment, the DVR drives began to fail. Consequently, Redd Ash developed and presented the school district with a cost effective plan for incorporating analog cameras through video encoders from the junior and senior high schools into Ocularis using the schools’ existing servers.
CENTRALIZED PLATFORM MANAGES ALL VIDEO
As a result of the project, two disparate video systems have been unified into one centralized platform for viewing and management, significantly reducing the time and complexity required to access separate systems to conduct investigations. is has also enabled the district to convert its analog cameras to digital in a more budget-friendly, phased approach as funding becomes available.
“ The ability to use a single software platform across all of its schools and implement megapixel technology into their systems as it became affordable were big eye-openers for the school district,” says Rommel Roberts, Chief Technical Officer for Redd Ash. “ They’ve been able to leverage their existing analog cameras while progressively swapping out 12 to 15 cameras per year to take advantage of greater pixel depth and higher quality video.”