The University of Brighton is placing its CCTV security requirements in the hands of security integration expert, ATEC. The popular south coast university awarded ATEC the contract to replace its existing analogue CCTV system with the latest in digital surveillance technology following a ten-way tendering process. The new IP CCTV network is expected to be fully installed and operational by the end of July this year, recording over 75,000 images every day.

In total, 146 static and PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) cameras will be upgraded across the university’s campuses at Eastbourne, Moulsecoomb, Grand Parade and Falmer. The aim of the £200,000 project is to replace the analogue CCTV system with a high performance IP CCTV network and give all CCTV monitoring stations the ability to view footage from any camera on the network. This will mean that when evidential footage is required for an incident from one particular site, it can be accessed from any networked CCTV computer, significantly reducing the incident response time.

The upgrade will also see ATEC replace existing VCR and DVR (Digital Video Recorder) storage with the latest NVRs (Network Video Recorders). These can be placed anywhere on the network and can record and replay simultaneously. The NVRs record an impressive amount of footage. In total, ATEC will install NVRs to provide the university with more than 39 terabytes of redundant storage. This ensures the university can store video footage for the minimum required period of 31 days.

Gavin Ford, Assistant Director of Estate & Facilities Management, University of Brighton, explains, “We want complete visibility across the entire network, 24/7, from any CCTV review station. As an expert in integration, ATEC has a great track record with installations of this nature and as we would like to integrate other university elements such as ID access cards in the future, this is a perfect fit for our needs.”

Simon Adcock, Managing Director, ATEC Security, explains, “Universities typically have facilities distributed over a campus, metropolitan, or perhaps a regional geography. These buildings are often linked with a high bandwidth network that means universities are ideally placed to realise the full benefits of IP CCTV. Implementing CCTV on a shared network, however, requires specific skills, not least of which is the ability to tightly constrain the use of bandwidth. ATEC’s specialist expertise in this area will ensure the project’s success. With the University of Brighton’s IP CCTV network, it can potentially use real-time applications such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition and integrate other systems such as ID access cards.”