ONVIF-Conformant Products Reach 600

The number of ONVIF-conformant IP devices and platforms has reached over 600, which means that the number of ONVIF-compatible products has doubled in the last three months.

ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) is an open industry forum engaged in developing and advancing an international interface standard for video surveillance systems. Founded in 2008, ONVIF is dedicated to facilitating the widespread deployment of IP video equipment in the security market by developing an open standard data transfer protocol which ensures interoperability of devices regardless of manufacturer. The protocol being developed supports automatic searching for connected devices and management of video streams and metadata. And with the recently released ONVIF Core Specification 2.0, ONVIF is now extending the reach of its specifications to video storage, display devices, video analytics and several other areas.

The importance of an open standard data transfer protocol which ensures the interoperability of devices regardless of manufacturer is difficult to overestimate. After all, it will significantly simplify the process of integrating video surveillance software platforms and new IP devices, as well as simplifying support for new IP equipment functionality in software platforms.

"Three months ago, the number of ONVIF-conformant products was about 300. Since then the number has doubled, which is an astounding increase. This clearly shows that the industry has chosen ONVIF as the preferred interface," says Jonas Andersson, Axis Communications, Chairman of ONVIF’s Steering Committee.

AxxonSoft is a Contributing Member of ONVIF, which enables the company to participate actively in the forum’s work and influence the development of the standard. AxxonSoft attaches great importance to the widespread adoption of ONVIF. The company first implemented support of the protocol in its package of drivers for IP devices, Drivers Pack 3.1.3 (now version 3.1.10 is available). Thus, in the AxxonSoft product line, ONVIF is supported both by the Axxon Smart PRO video surveillance platform for small and medium-sized sites and by the Axxon PSIM platform for creation of integrated security systems of any size.

As part of the international Security Essen 2010 exhibition, which took place in the beginning of October 2010 in Germany, AxxonSoft took part in the ONVIF Public Plugfest, a conference for producers of equipment and software for video surveillance and security systems which are members of the ONVIF forum. The company’s products demonstrated a high level of use of the ONVIF standard: without additional configuration it was possible to receive high-quality images from the IP cameras of such manufacturers as Axis, Bosch, Panasonic, Dallmeier, and Stream Labs. As a result of the conference, the simultaneous operation of the Intellect package with 19 cameras from various vendors using the ONVIF protocol was tested.

"I see the huge possibilities of ONVIF. Only a few years ago, the unification of IP devices with such various specifications and capabilities seemed implausible. But now we see that ONVIF did it in such a short period. Imagine that in a year or two, installers and integrators will have no problem taking any camera, server or recorder and uniting them in a single video surveillance system based on any software that meets the needs of the client. And ONVIF is going even further, developing a standard for fire and security alarm and access control systems.
This forum has united not only technologies, but also developers from around the world. We are happy to be able to make our contribution to the protocol’s development and share ideas with the best developers in the security market," commented Juliana Bantrankova, AxxonSoft’s IP integration development manager.