ONVIF Newsletter April 2024

 

Greetings from Leo Levit,

One of the best ways to take the pulse of an industry is to talk with attendees at a major industry event. For the ONVIF team who traveled to the ISC West show earlier this month in Las Vegas (along with many of you), no doubt the energy and enthusiasm in the security market were readily apparent. Record-setting attendance and continued buzz around advancements in AI and new possibilities enabled by cloud technologies are becoming less “hype” and more tangible as these technologies mature and the use cases become clearer.

The momentum that has been building within the industry is also building within ONVIF, as evidenced by the activities you can read below in this newsletter: a host of new working groups tasked with such topics as cloud connectivity, and audio capabilities, among other items; and the release of our first add-on, marking a new area in which ONVIF conformance can solve more use cases than with profiles alone.

As these technology areas continue to advance and mature, we are grateful to be part of this momentum, both as a beneficiary of this forward trajectory as well as an organization moving the industry forward through interoperability. This enthusiasm and energy are the forces that continue to spur ONVIF member companies to contribute to the work of our organization, and to the users of our specifications that embrace interoperability and standardization. We’re excited to continue to work with our stakeholders to maintain this momentum for the future.

Kind regards,

Leo Levit
Chairman, ONVIF Steering Committee

News 

High Interest at ISC West 2024

At ISC West 2024, ONVIF kicked off with a panel discussion, “Defining the Cloud: Are Standards the Answer?”, featuring ONVIF Chairman Leo Levit as a panelist. Other speakers who provided their expertise on the industry’s transition to cloud technologies included Joshua Anderson, Director of Surveillance and Technology, Cherokee Nation Entertainment; Mike Dunn, Strategic Innovation and Business Development, Wachter; Josh Woodhouse, lead analyst and founder of Novaira Insights and Brian Karas, President of Pelican Zero. Click here to view a recording of the panel discussion.

Visitors to the ONVIF booth were able to learn more about ONVIF profiles, TLS Configuration Add-on, membership information, the conformance process, as well as some of the current initiatives that ONVIF is working on in our committees and working groups. Attendees tested their ONVIF knowledge in the interactive ONVIF Trivia Competition, with questions on ONVIF profiles, how products become conformant, membership information, and other fun facts about ONVIF. The top scorers walked away with prizes such as an Apple iPad and Apple gift cards.

Spring Face-to-face Meetings Result in New Working Groups

The recent All Committee Meetings for ONVIF committees was held in March in San Juan, Puerto Rico, one of the most well-attended meetings since before the pandemic. A record five working groups met during the three-day event, tasked with developing work in the new areas of cloud, audio/IP speakers, and semantic metadata, alongside the existing working groups that continually develop test tools and video specifications. Steering, Technical, Technical Services, and Communication committees also held joint meetings during the event.

New TLS Configuration Add-on Released

The first add-on to be released, the TLS add-on is designed to increase the security of communications between devices and software clients within a physical security system. The add-on supports the configuration for Transport Layer Security encryption, enabling a conformant video management system to initially configure or update TLS settings in a conformant device, such as a camera, to support encrypted communications between the device and client. The add-on concept involves supporting a feature (or features) that addresses a specific use case or end-user need not already covered under an ONVIF profile. Read more in our press release.

ONVIF Webinar:  Add-on Concept & TLS Configuration Add-on Recording

Did you miss our most recent webinar on the new TLS Configuration Add-on and the Add-on concept? You can catch a replay of the webinar with host Michael Adam, chair, of the TLS Configuration Add-on Working Group for ONVIF. In the session, Michael provides an overview of the ONVIF add-on concept, the benefits of add-ons, and how they differ from ONVIF profiles. In addition, he explains how the TLS Configuration Add-on works, the need in the market for such a feature, and how ONVIF members can obtain conformance for an add-on.

If you were unable to attend the webinar, the recording and slides are available.

ONVIF Core Specifications are on GitHub, which means any developer or software engineer can chime in with their thoughts, ideas, and contributions. (All you need is a GitHub account.) See the specs here: https://github.com/onvif

ONVIF Member Spotlight: Qumulex

With Josh Bowman, Director of Product Management, Qumulex

What does your company do? What services, or products, do you provide?

Qumulex has created QxControl, a cloud-based video & access control solution that offers an open platform, a single pane of glass to manage security. QxControl is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that is available via subscription or a perpetual license. QxControl provides open compatibility for video by focusing on ONVIF conformance to communicate with and manage cameras. We are also an OEM partner of HID Mercury and are compatible with Axis door controllers, ASSA ABLOY Aperio wireless locks, and more. Our goal is to enable the cloud for the traditional integrator channel by providing a traditional channel business relationship while providing the latest in cloud technology.

Read the full interview with Qumulex here.