What is Preventive Surveillance System (PSS)?

PSS will be most easily explained by breaking down into the following three portions.

Stopping break-ins is one of the main reasons why I wanted to develop and install NuTACT SmartCCTV system at home. Let’s watch the Break-in Prevention video to see what break-in prevention means with NuTACT SmartCCTV :

Basically, I want to be notified when somebody is in front of my grille so I can determine the current situation with the live view app on my smart phone, and take the necessary actions.  All IP cameras have this feature called Motion Detect, and basically what it means is the little CPU inside the IP camera will compare the changes in pixels from one frame to the next.  If I want to be alerted with the slightest motion or pixels change, then I would set the Motion Sensitivity level to the highest.  However, I wouldn’t want that as it would give too many unwanted information such as my neighbor walking pass the common area (Figure 1.)

However, I will want to know if somebody is loitering in front of my doorstep (Figure 2).

When motion is detected, the NuTACT IP camera will take a series of snapshots and transfer to NuTACT’s Cloud-based Central Management System (CMS), which we call Cloud Surveillance Management Center (CSMC). Based on the Motion Email Alert schedule (Figure 3.) that I set below, I would receive Motion Email Alerts 7/24 all day long.

At the CCTV Setup of the CSMC portal, I have also entered all the emergency contacts and my unit address if I wanted to, so that all these information will show up in my Motion Email Alert. Notice that the Model I have selected is a NuTACT Indoor IP camera with Panic Siren (Figure 5.) so my system actually get to connect to a siren which I can remotely activate with a Panic Siren Button which will be sent to me along the Motion Email Alert.

 

The Motion Email Alert is customized with the preset emergency contacts and the Panic Siren Buttons. This is how it looks like on my smart phone:

 

The Motion Alerts will give you a few minutes advantage over the intruders. Therefore it is essential that you have all your plans laid out on your customized email alert such as all the Panic Number of who to call or security policy to follow for business users. When it happens, you will not have time to think, especially during a panicking situation, you just have to take action.

The emergency contacts will come in handy if I need to do a speed dial during a potentially panicking situation. Just one click on the contact link and I get to speed dial the number. I can call the security guard house to get them to send the team to my unit if I want the intruder to be captured (provided that I am convinced they will reach my unit in time).

Or I might just scare them away before they get to break into my apartments by pressing the Panic Siren ‘ON’ button. At least, now I have a plan or two when it comes to break-in prevention. How about yourself?

The conventional CCTV system can be easily sabotaged by breaking the HDD or taking the DVR away. There goes on the video footages and the evidence you need to know what has happened.

With NuTACT SmartCCTV, the evidence is being stored remotely at a secure datacenter where all snapshot images are tamperproof. As mentioned when motion is detected by the IP camera, a series of snapshots will be taken and transferred to NuTACT Cloud System – the CSMC. These snapshots will stay there for 30 days by default, and they are tamperproof. No intruders, burglars, insiders can take away the evidence anymore.

My home surveillance is basically a DVR-less one although I do have an old PC sitting idly that I can install the NuTACT VMS software for video recording. The CSMC Time-Line Snapshots are just too easy and informative enough for my own purpose.

Figure 10. Time-Line Motion-Detect (TLMD) Snapshots View

 

Clicking into one of the thumbnails will bring up the full-size snapshot as shown below. Click on ‘Next’ link shows the following full-size snapshot. Basically, the TLMD Snapshots View gives me a rather complete but summarized daily events that I need to know and I really don’t want to spend time going over the whole recorded video if I had installed the VMS in my PC.

 

Figure 11. Viewing the Full-size Snapshots

Of course, I can also easily choose to view the snapshots from different dates as the CSMC keeps 30 days of unlimited motion-detect snapshots.

 

Figure 12. View Snapshots of Different dates.

I mentioned earlier that one of the reasons I didn’t even think about using a traditional CCTV system before is because I would never know if the DVR was working or not until I needed to do a remote viewing or video playback. It would be too late to find out only when I needed it, wouldn’t it? Therefore CSMC has been design to keep tight monitoring on the IP cameras. Anytime when the camera is down, CSMC will send me a device down email alert.

I have 3 IP cameras in my apartment. If I got a device down alert from one of the cameras, it could be the network connection (wireless or wired) of the IP camera, or the power failure, or the IP camera itself has failed. In any case, I know which IP camera is down instantly and I can take actions to rectify the issue as soon as possible. If I got all 3 device down alerts at the same time, most likely my broadband connection or my router or modem is down.

How is it a hybrid? NuTACT SmartCCTV System does come with a Video Management Software (VMS) for commercial package and optional for home. Coupled with NuTACT CSMC, it basically becomes a hybrid system. When the VMS failed, I still get the snapshots on CSMC. When the Internet failed, I still get to have video recording in my PC (of course in my case I am having too much faith on my broadband connection).

Essentially, if I have installed the VMS in my PC, I would have a highly available IP surveillance system, and the chances of both VMS and CSMC fail at the same time is close to zero. This has been proven by some of my customers too.

Figure 10a.
IP Surveillance System with VMS
IP Surveillance System with CSMC

With this setup, I don’t need a local PC or NVR (DVR for conventional CCTV system) for video recording as I am alright with just the motion-detect Time-Line Snapshots.

Remote Control Station:   On Mobile Phone

The Mobile Control Station can be your smart phones whether they are Android, IPhone, Blackberry or Windows Mobile. Since it is mobile, I can actually use it locally via my WIFI at home or remotely when I am outside via my 3G or 4G data line.

Figure 10b. is a Live View App on my Android Note 2. Yes, I have 20 cameras I check on anytime anywhere. This App can actually allow unlimited cameras but I doubt the screen or my eye sights can handle more. So I just keep them at 20.


Figure 10b. Mobile Live Viewing with Android/IPhon/Blackberry/Windows App
SmartCCTV VGA IP Camera
  • Figure 10b-1. Mobile Live View for SmartCCTV VGA IP camera.
SmartCCTV 2MP IP Camera
  • Figure 10b-2. Mobile Live View for SmartCCTV 2 Megapixel (MP) IP camera.

Needless my explanation, I believe most of us can tell the difference between the VGA and 2MP SmartCCTV IP cameras in the width of viewing angle, vibrance in color, and of course the sharpness of the resolution. However, let us do a bit more comparison in terms of the resolution, so we can really see and realize how big a difference there is.

Digital Zoom Comparison

We shall digitally zoom into the sign board at the back that says ‘AfterOffice’ in both cameras. Bear in mind I am doing this on my Android Note 2. Here are the results:

  • Figure 10b-3. Digitally zoom into the ‘AfterOffice’ sign board with NuTACT VGA IP camera.
  • Figure 10b-3. Digitally zoom into the ‘AfterOffice’ sign board with NuTACT 2MP IP camera.

Now we can really see the difference in the resolution of the 2 IP cameras. As I mentioned before, because this is running on the smart phone, it is actually streaming at a lower resolution than 2MP. Therefore you can expect the recorded video in the VMS or NVR to be much higher. Much higher in the sense that you can tell the difference with your eyes.

Remote Control Station:   On Notebook PC

Any web browser for CSMC Live View

I can login to my own portal (ie myname.nutact.com) and be able to view all the cameras at different sites, outlets, offices, or my home.

Figure 10d-1. Live Viewing on CSMC portal via any Web Browser.

PTZ and Panic Siren Activation

Clicking on the specific camera view and I get to expand to the full-size at 640x480. The SmartCCTV VGA Indoor IP camera allows me to pan and tilt. I can also control panning left right as far as 270 degree and tilting up and down as much as 90 degree.

Pan Tilt

All NuTACT VGA indoor IP cameras allow the user to pan and tilt, and self patrolling.

Figure 10d-2. Expanded View on CSMC with PTZ control

Panic Siren Activation

Selecting the model of “NuTACT Indoor with Panic Siren” will allow the user to have the Panic Siren on the user interface. Coupled with the Panic Siren installed along with the camera, the user can now remotely activate the panic siren by clicking the “on” button and turning if off with the “off” button.

Figure 10d-3. Expanded View with Panic Siren Button

Pan, Tilt, and Zoom Optically

This interface is only available for outdoor speed dome which the user can zoom in and out from 5mm to 15mm.

Figure 10d-3. Expanded and Zoomed-in View On SmartCCTV PTZ3x IP Camera

Local Control Station

Record and Playback
Motion Time Line
Easy and Quick Playback Clips
Remote Playback from the VMS

Figure 10e. The NuTACT Professional Video Management System (VMS)

Figure 10f. The NutACT VMS Console and User Interace.

Play-Back Videos for VGA, 1MP, 2MP (lower grade), 2MP Full HD on NuTACT VMS.

Figure 10g. NuTACT VMS remote playback via any Web Browser.