It?s a new year and with it comes the obligatory news media scare story regarding privacy and licence plate recognition (LPR or ANPR) technologies. If you haven?t seen it already, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (January 26, 2015) on a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) license-plate tracking program and database designed to trace the movements of drug traffickers in the United States. Is this sensationalism or true concerned journalism?

NUUO Corporation, a professional, trusted video surveillance management solution partner, has announced its filing for an initial public offering. NUUO shared this news with customers that have collaborated with them over the past 10 years.

D-Link expanded its line of Home Automation solutions in a big way by introducing the Connected Home Hub and a range of Sensors and Sirens designed to keep DIY homeowners more in tune with what?s happening, whether home or away. The Connected Home Hub (DCH-G020) plugs into an existing home network router to act as a centralized control for D-Link® Connected Home devices by integrating Wi-Fi and Z-Wave wireless technologies and using the mydlink® Home app for iOS® and Android® devices.

WavestoreUSA, a world class innovator in open platform digital video storage and management systems, announces the promotion of Randy Miller to National Sales Manager. WavestoreUSA is also pleased to announce the addition of Legacy Marketing as the newest manufacturer?s representative company supporting the WavestoreUSA product line throughout the Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Western PA, and Western NY regions.

Avigilon announced recently that it has acquired 96 more patents for video content analysis software. This comes around a month after it acquired all of Objectvideo?s patents and licensing agreements. Avigilon is a major supplier of video surveillance equipment. Objectvideo supplied patents and licensing agreements for video content analysis software. What does market research firm IHS think this means for the rest of the industry?

It simply works. And in this day and age when so much hype is used to sell products, it is quite refreshing to work with a product that does indeed work straight out of the box. The new SpotCam Monitoring Camera (as it is described on the box) is an ideal home-use Wi-Fi security camera. Weighing in at less than 7-ounces, the best feature of this camera has to be how simple it was to go from box to viewing video on your smartphone. In our case, that was less than 12 minutes.

Continuing its pursuit of the highest possible image quality, VIVOTEK has launched four new 5-Megapixel network cameras: the professional outdoor bullet network cameras IB8381and IB8381-E; the outdoor dome network camera FD8381-EV; and the indoor dome network camera FD8181. Equipped with enhanced image processing technology, these four new cameras provide excellent image quality and finer detail than ever before.

VidSys, a leading global provider of enterprise Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software, announced that the Board of Directors has named company Founder and Chief Technology Officer James I. Chong as the new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Chong replaces Michael P. Jackson whom served as Chairman and CEO of VidSys
since Jan 2012.

Software House, part of the Security Products business unit of Tyco, the world?s largest pure-play fire protection and security company, announces the certification of its iSTAR Edge and iSTAR Ultra door controllers under the government?s Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPS) 140-2 program, the most stringent standard for cryptographic products. With the certification of iSTAR Edge and iSTAR Ultra, Software House becomes the first company to offer a full lineup of FIPS 140-2 approved controllers covering a wide range of access control scenarios.

icomply has recently partnered with TIS, one of the UK?s leading independent fire, security, and communications specialists on overhauling the security system of Boots UK – one of the largest commercial brands currently operating in the country. The central security control center at Boots had long since been in need of an update, with many of the current analog hardware becoming unfit for purpose and difficult from which to gather data.

The House Committee on Homeland Security has approved a $10 billion border security bill that demands the full implementation of a biometric entry/exit system for the United States and received support from the Airport Entry and Exit Working Group, International Biometrics and Identification Association (IBIA) and the Security Industry Association (SIA).

A proposed Colorado bill would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before using a drone, as well as ban drones from using facial recognition or other biometric technology on individuals unspecified in the warrant, according to a blog post by the Tenth Amendment Center.

Vicon Industries, Inc., a leading manufacturer of video surveillance equipment, announced that as part of their new strategic direction towards establishing a two-tier sales distribution model, Jennifer Hones has joined the company as National Distribution Program Manager.

With Siveillance VMS (Video Management Software), Siemens has introduced a video management solution that enhances the company’s existing security portfolio. The strategic partner for this software is Danish IP video management specialist Milestone Systems, on whose technology Siveillance VMS is based.

RADWIN, the global provider of sub-6 GHz broadband wireless solutions, announced that the Aeroports de Montreal (Montreal Airports, ADM) has deployed RADWIN?s FiberinMotion™ wireless mobility solution in the 4.9 GHz public safety frequency band to boost safety and operational efficiency across its airfield. RADWIN?s partner TBL Telecom, in partnership with Bell Canada, was in charge of project design and implementation.

Galaxy Control Systems, a leading provider of integrated access control, video and security solutions, is highlighting myriad new features available on the company?s popular System Galaxy Software here at Intersec 2015. The new release, System Galaxy Software v.10.4, adds installation and user conveniences, as well as support for more third-party devices. Also on display is a new fully integrated TCP/IP appliance embedded with System Galaxy Software v.10.4.

Pelco by Schneider Electric today announced the release of its new, powerful and cost-effective Pelco? Spectra? Professional Range high speed PTZ dome camera. The new Spectra Professional series integrates a variety of valuable features, including a high resolution camera, built-in analytics, durable construction and a powerful zoom lens. With this addition to the Spectra family of cameras, Pelco provides users with high-end hardware and software at an affordable price point, building on the company?s commitment to being IP-driven, customer-focused.

Galaxy Control Systems, a leading provider of integrated access control, video and security solutions, is featuring its new RS485 Remote Readers with Turbo485 polling speed here at Intersec 2015. Unlike conventional RS485 access control readers, the new solution from Galaxy with Turbo485 delivers data polling speeds up to 10X greater than conventional 485 readers.