By Miki Manjal
We recently discussed how casinos and gaming facilities are realizing the benefits of IP video to secure their facilities and meet gaming compliance regulations. Yet, there’s another reason why the migration from analog to IP video is taking place at such a rapid pace. As gaming facilities continue transitioning to full IP video systems to capitalize on the high-quality imaging they provide, they are also realizing other benefits that include the ability to centralize and manage surveillance operations more efficiently.
Gaming facilities have many areas that require surveillance, ranging from pit areas, to the gaming floor, cash handling areas, entrances and exits, the perimeter and more.
With analog systems, surveillance has to be housed as separate systems that need their own primary server, workstations and recording solutions, all housed in separate locations and requiring separate teams for operations and maintenance. Gaming regulations typically require high-quality real-time and recorded video, which takes a toll on conventional DVRs, and requires a significant investment in maintenance and equipment replacement on a recurring basis.
With Video Management System (VMS) driven networked solutions, surveillance and security operations can be centralized—all security cameras can be integrated into one system, run on the same servers via one VMS, and managed through a central location with multiple monitoring sub-sites as needed. This reduces the need for multiple servers, recorder workstations and other equipment redundancies.
VMS driven networked systems also enhance video storage capabilities. With analog systems – especially those with a multitude of recording sites that cannot communicate with each other – it’s difficult (if not near impossible) to meet compliance guidelines for image quality and retention. By deploying networked megapixel cameras with extreme resolution capabilities recorded on VMS solutions with advanced compression, gaming facilities benefit from both superior quality imaging and highly cost-efficient recording.
The ability to better identify persons of interest or watch lists also improves with advanced VMS solutions. Persons of interest are often displayed in casino surveillance rooms on the wall, or in stored folders that require specific physical access. As casino security will likely focus on gaming areas, they could miss persons of interest that might not be in their immediate view. With advanced VMS solutions employing facial recognition analytics, high priority persons of interest can more easily be detected as soon as they enter a surveillance area.
VMS technology also provides additional functionality that goes well beyond the capabilities of analog systems. This includes meta-tagging to create easily searchable and storable data that can be used for predictive analysis to actually help prevent
incidents before they occur, as well as providing a valuable source of data for enterprise level applications.
With the functionality available via today’s advanced VMS solutions, it’s easy to see why casinos and gaming facilities are increasingly switching from analog technology to advanced VMS driven networked surveillance solutions.
About The Author
Miki Manjal
Global Vertical Market Manager, Casinos & Gaming
Pelco by Schneider Electric