Deeply Integrated - Cooperation between Eizo and Milestone

GIT SECURITY: Mr. Nachtigal, Eizo has been working with Milestone recently, and that means that your monitors are now compatible with the video management software from Milestone?

Oliver Nachtigal: Yes, correct. Both our FDF2711W-IP decoding monitor and our DX0211-IP decoding box are now integrated into the Milestone VMS thanks to a newly-developed Eizo Video Wall Plugin.

What new features have become available for your customers as a result of this?

Oliver Nachtigal: The integration provides a very convenient way to directly operate and remotely control our IP decoding solutions via the client of the Milestone VMS. They are now very easy to manage, particularly in large installations where lots of monitors are in use, for example at airports or security agency environments.

Are there any particular new markets and business sectors that you want to address through this cooperation with Milestone?

Oliver Nachtigal: We want to become more active, particularly in the transport and energy sectors as well as in government projects. Especially in these markets, solutions are required that fulfill very high security standards, are very reliable and durable. Further, they should also be easy to operate.

Could you remind us of the general characteristics of Eizo decoding monitors?

Oliver Nachtigal: The specialty of our IP decoding solutions is the direct connection of IP cameras without a computer or other hardware in between. On the one hand this makes the installation drastically simpler, and on the other hand you save a great deal of maintenance and administration effort. Potential sources of defects and security risks are thereby also removed. In addition, they are intended for 24/7 usage just like almost all the other monitors in our Duravision product line, which is particularly important for critical infrastructure.

In principle, the monitors – at least for smaller applications – would work without a VMS?

Oliver Nachtigal: Yes, that is right. The required decoding function is already integrated into the monitor or in the box. So there is no further PC hardware needed to display video streams. You can therefore use them as a PC-less standalone solution, but of course also in larger projects in conjunction with video management software such as Milestone XProtect­. The subject of integration is becoming more important in today’s projects and as our products can be easily integrated via an API into other systems, we see this as an ideal complement to video management systems.

Data protection is also an important aspect, particularly for video surveillance solutions – speaking of video data storage?

Oliver Nachtigal: Many projects require that no video data may be stored or exported. Our systems fundamentally have no export function, neither for streams nor for individual images. We can therefore fulfill such data protection requirements very easily with our solutions.

Could you give us an example of a security application – in conjunction with the Milestone VMS?

Oliver Nachtigal: Let us stick with the airport example. There is a central security point from where everything must be monitored and coordinated. In such installations, there are also many remote monitors used, for example on the passenger loading ramps but also in so-called ‘anxious areas’ that passengers would not normally see, such as access tunnels. With the help of these monitors that are placed at the entrance to such areas, anyone can see before they enter if there is anyone lurking around and may be a threat. Client PCs that can display the streams from the cameras would normally be needed here. When using our decoding solutions however, control of the display is possible centrally from the Milestone VMS Smart Client.

Mr. Band, let us talk a little bit about your view as Milestone – how interesting is this partnership for you, especially with Eizo?

Roy Band: It is an interesting partnership for us because together with Eizo we can offer an even more competitive solution for our end-users and system integrators. Until now we could only achieve that with our advanced products. Add to that the energy costs that our customers can save because less hardware is required.

For which projects and in which markets do you see the most potential through this cooperation?

Roy Band: The solution is very versatile and can therefore be deployed in many environments. We see perhaps the most potential in organizations that want to set up a central security point that needs a monitor wall. But our solution is interesting generally for organizations that have to manage information centrally via monitors – as in the retail and transport industries.