New Cisco PoE and wireless cameras

25 June 2009

With crime progressively taking its toll on the South African SMB sector, business owners are starting to consider more sophisticated and intelligent ways of safeguarding their assets and stock items.

“The perfect example of this in practice shines through in the launch of Cisco’s range of Power of Ethernet (POE) and wireless video cameras," says Marius Vermeulen, Cisco technical specialist at Tarsus Technologies.

Vermeulen says that customers are looking for devices that are simple to install and easy to set up and integrate with their existing infrastructure – and that is exactly what Cisco has to offer with this new range.

“The first device in the range is the PVC2300 Internet video camera, which gives users the convenience of using a single POE-enabled cable for both communication and power, substantially easing installation on ceilings, rooftops or other areas where access to a power outlet is an issue," Vermeulen explains.

The simplicity of installation does not mean this camera is limited in its functionality, however. Cisco’s use of removable CS-mount lenses means that the camera can be customised with optional zoom, wide-angle, vari-focal, auto-iris, or other options. The PVC2300 also has two input and two output ports, which can be used to connect the camera to an alarm panel, siren, passive infrared (PIR) sensor, smoke detector, lighting switch (on/off), door sensor and more.

Vermeulen says Cisco also has wireless solutions on offer.

Wireless solutions start with the WVC2300, which is identical in functionality to the PVC2300, however, instead of using POE, it operates over 802.11G wireless networks and requires access to a conventional power outlet. Extending this functionality even further, the two other wireless models in the line-up, namely the WVC200 and WVC have a number of additional features to offer.

“Like its counterparts, the WVC200 can send live video through the Internet to a web browser, regardless of where the user might be located. The advanced MPEG-4 video compression used by these units produces a high-quality, high-frame-rate (up to 640 x 480) video stream, which facilitates good video quality in varying-bandwidth environments. The cameras can also take scheduled snapshots of the images (in JPEG format) and save them to an FTP server for reference purposes."

When viewing footage live, Vermeulen says that users can control the camera’s orientation and zoom level remotely. Additionally, recording can be set up to start when motion is detected, making for a valuable way of catching wrongdoers and providing proof-of-loss for insurance purposes.

“Users can also enable security mode, which allows the camera to send a message with a short attached video to up to three email addresses whenever it detects motion in its field of view. Recipients can then react as they see fit."

The only difference between the WVC200 and the WVC210 is audio. Where the 200 supports one-way audio, the 210 supports two-way audio.