Reynolda House Museum of American Art enjoys ease of installation and reconfiguration with a new wireless IP video security solution
Reynolda House Museum of American Art enjoys ease of installation and reconfiguration with a new wireless IP video security solution
April 11, 2007
From: SecurityWorldMag.com
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.
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
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 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
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."
