ONVIF held a public demonstration of IP-based device interoperability with more than two dozen network video terminal (NVTs) and network video clients (NVC) gathered together in a ballroom at the Sands Convention Center during the ISC West 2011 trade show. According to Jonas Andersson, chairman of ONVIF’s steering committee and director of business development and global sales at Axis Communications, “We wanted to show that it’s working,” he said in an interview during the event. ONVIF is the leading global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products. Anderson said there are currently more than 700 products available in the market that conform to the ONVIF specification. “As of the end of March, there are more than 700 and we’ve been adding almost 100 per month” in the last few months, said Andersson.
ONVIF membership has grown to more than 280 companies, according to the organization. The recently-expanded specification now includes video storage, analytics and a pending addition of physical access control, with the release of the ONVIF Core Specification 2.0 to encompass video storage, display devices, video analytics and other areas, ONVIF said it is getting closer to its goal of providing a global open network interface standard for physical security equipment. The expansion of the scope to include physical access control systems is slated for release in 2011, it said.
The event was ONVIF’s fourth interoperability showcase and continues the group’s tradition of providing an open forum during major security industry events to foster communication with companies actively involved in the development and implementation of the ONVIF specification and provide education about standards, it said. Companies taking part in the demonstration include network video firms such as CNB Technology, Hikvision, Bosch Security Systems, GVI Security, LG Electronics, Siemens, Axis Communications, Sony and several others. “The rapid adoption rate of the ONVIF specification in the security industry has proved that ONVIF is becoming the de facto standard in the market,” said Andersson. “End users, integrators and consultants are beginning to embrace the ONVIF specification as a critical tool in the design of today’s network video surveillance systems.”
One of the demonstration participants, thermal imaging systems maker FLIR, demonstrated it could connect its systems with a number of NVCs in the demonstration room. A FLIR spokesman said the process of conforming to the ONVIF standards allows the company to validate the interoperability of its products more quickly, resulting in faster incorporation by systems integrators.
