Interview with Steve Ma, Vivotek: Creating More Value for Customers

Vivotek will be exhibiting at IFSEC and, amongst other products, will demonstrate its cameras with Supreme Night Visibility and WDR technology. Steve Ma answers a few pertinent questions for us on his view of the market and what his company‘s focus will be at the Excel Center.

GIT SECURITY: What do you consider to be the most significant technological trend in the security surveillance market?

Steve Ma: Low light technologies and wide dynamic range (WDR) are two key technological trends in the market. Cameras with a high resolution cannot usually guarantee image quality and usability. With the increasing demand for effective security and further intelligent utilization of video footage, the precise and clear identification of an object under challenging lighting conditions is becoming a basic criteria in the market.

Therefore technologies such as low light operation and WDR are needed to ensure image quality and usability. Vivotek has designed cameras with SNV (Supreme Night Visibility) technology to improve night visibility under low light conditions. Our SNV-label products incorporate carefully selected quality optical components and sophisticated image signal processing algorithms to deliver a high quality image, even if the lighting level is normally insufficient.

For clearly capturing detailed features when an object of interest appears in locations where there is intense backlight, we have developed three types of WDR solutions in our cameras; these are the WDR Enhanced, WDR Pro (100-120dB) and WDR Pro II (140dB). The most recently launched IP8355EH professional outdoor bullet network camera with low light technology and WDR Pro II will be exhibited at IFSEC.

Would you tell us about the key focus that Vivotek will have at IFSEC?

Steve Ma: Besides our image process technologies mentioned above, vertical applications and intelligent applications will be the key focus at our booth. In the retail industry, theft and shoplifting, fraudulent employees, suppliers' fraud and pricing, process or accounting mistakes caused by internal and administrative errors are all taken as the key factors that cause revenue and inventory shrinkage among retail stores. We believe that an integrated, effective and comprehensive surveillance system can prevent those crime activities and minimize the shrinkages and risks while ensuring the safety of staff and customers at the same time.

With this in mind, we have been dedicated to developing integrated IP surveillance systems that deliver high quality video, centralized management, real-time information, cost-saving solutions, remote accessibility and mobile surveillance, enhancing the efficiency and productivity of retail staff and ensuring a safer shopping environment for customers. We will demonstrate the self-developed ‚Convenient Retail Solution‘, which comprises the ND8321 plug-and-play network video recorder, ultra-mini bullet network cameras and ultra mini dome network cameras. Public transportation plays a significant role in supporting a city's social and commercial activities.

The safety and security of trains and buses is exceptionally important since it may directly impact the safety of the citizens and the prosperity of a city. Vivotek's IP8371E outdoor bullet network camera for clear license plate recognition, the MD8531H mobile dome network camera with video rotation for corridors and the SD8364E extreme weather-proof speed dome network camera with 30x optical zoom lens will all be showcased at our booth.

Vivotek has designed cameras with an open platform to integrate video analytics functionality within the cameras to create more added-value for customers and to supporting customers' business operation efficiency. Intelligent features, such as object counting, line detection, field detection, face detection and heat map can be directly installed in our cameras, we believe making a significant contribution to security and business efficiency.

How do you see the IP security industry in the following years?

Steve Ma: The security industry has seen significant growth through rising security concerns due to theft, burglary and terrorist attacks. In addition, advances in technologies like improved network communications, high standard video quality and business intelligence applications are also driving the growth.

All industry research reports project that the IP surveillance industry will continue with a strong annual growth rate in the coming years. Looking forward, Vivotek will be creating more added value and increasing the return on investment for our customers to sustain their corporate development and competitiveness.

Many thanks for your views Mr. Ma and we look forward to seeing you in London.