Specialist IP Camera Store - Supply & Solutions
Public Sector & Education • Business & Enterprise • Home Security
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Government announces thermal cameras are unsuitable for coronavirus screening
In a blog post in April we raised a concern about the risks of the emerging perception that thermal cameras are a necessary, effective method for coronavirus screening, whilst when used as the main tool, they are not. We were and are concerned that a false sense of security may be created in the places where this type of equipment is being deployed.
Axiscam.net – a DDNS service for Axis IP cameras – being phased-out
We learned recently of the phase-out of the highly reliable DDNS service for Axis IP cameras called axiscam.net (or Axis Internet Dynamic DNS Service). New registrations to the service were turned off in early April 2020 and all existing usage will be closed by the end of 2020.
As the announcement of the free service closure came somewhat out of the blue, our Technical Director, Kevin Bowyer, spoke with one of Axis’s technical managers to understand the motivations for ending the service.
Coming soon: Milestone XProtect on AWS
Milestone will soon have a cloud capability to make deployment and scalability issues a thing of the past, via Milestone XProtect on AWS. The launch date is set for 9th June 2020.
Milestone XProtect is one the world’s leading video management suite of products for business, of this we have no doubt. Our earlier blog on why XProtect is our go-to VMS explains why. We have been deploying Milestone in virtualised environments for many years and the move to Amazon Web Services (AWS) is an extension of this. Read more >>
Payment service directive 2 – how it impacts online payments
The EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) comes into effect in September 2019. It requires that all ecommerce transactions are processed using an industry standard protocol like 3D secure.
As the legislation affects all electronic payments in European Economic Area, this may change how you purchase online.
Vivotek, Mobotix & Axis make strides in cyber security
Three separate companies have recently made strides to make their IP cameras more secure. Vivotek have announced a collaboration with a cyber security company. Mobotix have passed a penetration test on their hardware and software. Finally, Axis offer free email alerts if new vulnerabilities are discovered.
Vivotek partners with Trend Micro
In October Vivotek announced a collaboration with Trend Micro, a cyber security company, to reduce vulnerabilities in their products. What this means for Vivotek customers is they now have and extra layer of security with Trend Micro’s anti-intrusion technology to be embedded into Vivotek cameras.
New Sony SNC-VB770 high sensitivity 4K network camera
Sony have recently introduced the SNC-VB770 – dubbed the industry’s highest sensitivity 4K network camera. That’s quite an accolade and the datasheet certainly details some impressive specifications – the most pertinent of which is a minimum illumination level of less than 0.004 lux.
If you’re thinking “that’s almost pitch-black light conditions”, you’d be right and that means capturing clear 4K images in colour – even in extremely low light conditions. To put these light levels into perspective, it’s the darkness that you’d encounter on a starry night with no other light source or indoors with such poor lighting that it’s even a challenge for the human eye to see the object.
The camera uses a highly-sensitive 35mm full-frame Exmor sensor and optimised E-mount lenses to maximise the performance of both the sensor and its signal processing engine.
Flexible cameras that let you see more – new additions to the Axis F-series
Back in October last year, the Axis F-series cameras were launched, comprising a main unit and separate ultra-compact sensor modules; a concept never seen before from the leading IP video manufacturer. Not only did this enables discreet sensors to be placed up to 12m away from the main unit, but also provided a cost-effective and covert solution for small space monitoring such as ATMs and for mobile applications such as transport. With the recent release of the new F44 main unit and F1025 and F1035-E sensors, we take a look at the complete Axis F-series and what it offers…
Unique feature – Sony’s new Dual Light System
The latest edition to the Sony outdoor camera range is the innovative SNC-VB632D infrared bullet network camera. Not only is the new model capable of HD 1080p at 60 frames per second it also incorporates Sony’s newly adopted Dual-Light system for ultimate night-time surveillance. Using both infrared and white light LEDs, the SNC-VB632D delivers high performance illumination during night-time, even providing a visual deterrent to intruders.
Axis Q35 cameras are first to feature HD 1080p and Lightfinder combined
Not only do the new Axis Q35 cameras offer 60 fps video capture, wide dynamic range and edge recording amongst plenty of other features, the particularly interesting thing about these recently launched cameras is that they are the first Axis network cameras to offer both HD 1080p / 2 megapixel and Lightfinder technology. In the past we have only seen HD 720p /1 megapixel cameras with Axis Lightfinder. However advances in technology are enabling even higher quality low light image capture.
Does the Shellshock bug affect IP cameras?
You may be aware of the ‘Shellshock’ bug or ‘Bashbug’ which was recently discovered in Linux operating systems. Many of the web servers on the Internet use Linux to host websites or web applications. By the same token, most IP cameras use the same technologies as part of their on-board operating systems and therefore may pose a hacking risk to your organisation.
