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THE CHALLENGE
When a 30,000-square-foot wing was added to the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in North Carolina, the U.S.A., in the fall of 2005, Matthew C. St. John, director of security, recognized several unique and complex challenges in providing protection for the museum¡¯s assets. A new system would be needed to cover the exhibit hall, lobby, museum store, classrooms, auditorium, and office space. |
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THE SOLUTION
St. John found a solution to meet the museum¡¯s needs for a security system that is easy to install and reconfigure in a unique track lighting security camera system developed by the Smartvue Corporation that takes full advantage of their IP wireless capabilities and Pixim-enabled cameras. |
An innovative and visually appealing wireless track-lighting security camera solution developed for the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in North Carolina, the U.S.A. by Smartvue Corporation and enabled by Pixim Incorporated¡¯s Orca chipset, known for delivering excellent image quality in any lighting conditions 24/7, meets the museum¡¯s needs for a security system that is easy to install and reconfigure.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, the centerpiece of the Reynolda Historic District, is the restored 1917 mansion of Katharine and R.J. Reynolds, founder of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Since 1965 it has also served as a museum featuring a premier American art collection.
When a 30,000-square-foot wing was added to the museum in the fall of 2005, Matthew C. St. John, director of security, recognized several unique and complex challenges in providing protection for the museum¡¯s assets. A new system would be needed to cover the exhibit hall, lobby, museum store, classrooms, auditorium, and office space. St. John found that solution in a unique track lighting security camera system developed by the Smartvue Corporation for the museum that takes full advantage of their IP wireless capabilities and Pixim-enabled cameras.
A MOVING ENVIRONMENT
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Photo by Pixim, Inc. |
Researching a surveillance solution, St. John realized some security camera products with fixed wiring would not provide the amount of coverage and flexibility required for the new exhibit hall where walls would be moved, deleted or expanded to meet an exhibit¡¯s needs. The changing layouts of exhibits would require security camera repositioning accompanied by frequent drilling to rewire electrical, coaxial or optical cables. Additionally, lighting conditions would vary greatly depending on exhibit design, camera position, and time of day. He needed a plan that offered superior quality, reduced the complexity of deployment, and supported camera mobility.
With St. John¡¯s specifications, Smartvue developed a solution which worked on the museum¡¯s existing track lighting system and provided flexibility for relocation and repositioning of the security cameras as floor plans, walls and lighting conditions changed with new exhibits.
¡±We developed the patent pending TrackVue solution to meet the needs of organizations, who like the Reynolda House museum, wanted the opportunity to mount Pixim-enabled Smartvue
cameras on their own track lighting systems,¡± recalls Martin Alan Renkis, Smartvue founder & CEO. ¡±Our 802.11N1 MIMO wireless cameras integrated with Pixim imaging with H.264 video
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"A big advantage of the wireless IP video security solution that we installed is that I can relocate the cameras based on any change to our threats.¡± - Matthew C. St. John, Security Director, Reynolda House Museum of American Art |
compression are the perfect combination to deliver excellent picture quality coupled with the benefits of our Smartvue plug and play IP video surveillance technologies. The museum staff can now reposition cameras with ease and at the same time not have to worry about challenging lighting conditions.¡±
The Pixim Orca chipset provides the Smartvue surveillance camera family with the ability to reposition cameras without having to worry about challenging lighting conditions rendering important security images useless. Time of day, backlight, glare, bright spots from track or exhibit lights, or complicated contours do not affect the image captured from the cameras.
STATE-OF-THE-ART SECURITY
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Photo by Pixim, Inc. |
The hallmark of Pixim chipsets is their patented Digital Pixel System technology that converts light to a digital signal directly at the point of capture in the image sensor, enabling each pixel to have independent, optimized exposure times to deliver the highest image quality.
¡±Lighting conditions have always been a challenge for our surveillance cameras in a museum exhibit setting,¡± recalls St. John. ¡±For instance, one exhibit was based on LCDs and very brightly lit; other exhibits require us to open our sky lights. Some are very low lit depending on the type of artwork and the aesthetic requirements.
The Smartvue system based on Pixim? technology has performed exceptionally well in all these exhibit environments.¡±
In addition to crisp, clear, perfectly focused DVD resolution video, the Smartvue S2 delivers a secure, reliable, long-range wireless IP surveillance solution with MIMO wireless providing 10 times the range of existing systems. Its Smartvue S2¡¯s 1-Click SurveillanceTM also offers the industry¡¯s first self-configuring IP video surveillance system which enables staff without IT or surveillance experience to install professional grade IP video surveillance solutions with ease. Smartvue S2 is protected by the industry¡¯s leading IP security, including AES and WPA security as well as the only 128 bit encrypted USB IP surveillance key. SecureVueTM puts an iron curtain between valuable video and prying eyes. Smartvue S2 is Linux-based and offers a closed system for high security and ZERO network load to keep IT managers satisfied and networks clear.
¡±I am very impressed with the performance of the Smartvue cameras,¡± reports St. John. ¡±We repositioned a camera filming our entire south-facing lobby with a two-story glass window space. Prior to using the Pixim-enabled Smartvue S2 camera, we would often record white out at this location. Now we capture images accurately, 24/7.¡±
He has also had great results with repositioning the Smartvue camera¡¯s to the track lighting system in the museum store. ¡±A big advantage of the Smartvue S2 Wireless IP Video Security Solution is that I can relocate the cameras based on any change to our threats. For example, I may have construction workers changing one of our gallery spaces or have an increase in shoplifting during the holiday season. In response, I can quickly and easily reposition the Smartvue system to monitor the activity or investigate an incident. I believe this camera system would be excellent in any retail environment.¡±
Security system installers also appreciate Smartvue systems. ¡±Smartvue enables our firm to reduce the cost, complexity and time to install professional IP video surveillance,¡± explains Dan Cottam of Interactive Solutions in Nashville, Tennessee, the U.S.A. ¡±We can quickly and easily demonstrate the solution onsite, offer the products to more customers, and install more systems in less time. The bottom line is that Smartvue delivers an increased bottom line for us.¡±
For more information, please send your e-mails to swm@infothe.com.
¨Ï2007 www.SecurityWorldMag.com. All rights reserved.
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