Page 30 - Security Today, March 2018

The Best Bet The gaming industry looks at HD over coax
BTy Jennifer Hackenburg
he casino and hospitality industry includes hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues as well as gaming elements to entertain visitors and guests. The casino industry generates high revenues: in 2016, global land-based casinos had a gross win of around $450
billion from gamblers. The industry also possesses substantial amounts of cash and other high-ticket items and goods, in addition to large crowds and high-profile guests that must be safe and secure at all times.
The casino and gaming industry is governed by strict rules and regulations to preserve the integrity of gaming activities. For ex- ample, according to the Nevada Gaming Commission Regulation, remote viewing must be delivered in real time and at a minimum of 30 frames per second. The laws, which are established by state agencies, dictate stringent specifications for video surveillance of gambling businesses and the dependable and solid performance of a casino’s surveillance function.
Defending against security threats using video surveillance in casinos and gaming facilities can be expensive and complicated. Adopting the latest security video solutions such as IP video cameras usually comes at a high price. In addition to the cost of new video surveillance products, it often requires a new investment in casino in- frastructure — such as running new cabling and purchasing back-end equipment — which can quickly erode a casino or gaming facility’s Return on Investment and increase Total Cost of Ownership.
Many casino surveillance systems that are in use today were built on coax infrastructure that remains in good condition, but were de- signed for lower resolution and functionality than current IP video camera systems.
When casino security is looking to upgrade its surveillance sys-
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tem, one option is to upgrade to an IP platform based on Ethernet ca- bling, but ripping and replacing the entire system infrastructure can be a disruptive and costly project. Gaming regulations require that all casino gaming activities be monitored at all times, so completely shutting down operations to overhaul a surveillance system is not a viable option.
One pragmatic solution for a casino security director is to lever- age its legacy infrastructure by replacing older analog cameras with new devices that deliver the higher levels of resolution that a casino requires.
New HD Over Coax cameras offer higher resolutions than what was previously available for the original crop of analog cameras. High definition over coax technologies available are: Analog High Definition (AHD), Composite Video Interface (HDCVI), Serial Dig- ital Interface (HD-SDI), and Transport Video Interface (HD-TVI).
Most HD over Coax cameras offer video at 30 frames per second, the industry standard for casinos, and seamlessly integrates tradition- al analog surveillance systems with the latest High Definition cameras over a casino’s existing coax network by simultaneously transmitting video, power, audio and data signals over a single coaxial cable. These cameras are changing the landscape of video surveillance, allowing casino security to upgrade to higher resolution at a lower cost.
It is a true plug-and-play approach that enables HD video surveil- lance without the hassle and expense of ripping and replacing legacy coax cabling, without any sacrifice in performance, and without cost- ly downtime.
In addition to leveraging existing investments in legacy system in- frastructure, HD analog cameras allow for long-distance HD video transmission up to 1,200 meters without repeaters for strong cost and performance benefits. This is important in a casino environment,
CASINO SECURITY
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