At this week's ASIS 2012 show in Philadelphia, PA (Sept. 10-13), Panasonic is showcasing its new 360-degree panoramic 3.0 megapixel dome cameras that the company claims " set a new benchmark for wide area surveillance."
Available in both indoor (WV-SF438) and outdoor IP66 rated weather and vandal resistant (WV-SW458) configurations, the new cameras feature a 360-degree low-profile design and virtual pan/tilt/zoom operation that does not require a motor, enabling the camera to be placed in spaces where conventional PTZ cameras won’t fit. Highlighted features include full 1080p resolution at 30fps with Panasonic’s exclusive Mega Super Dynamic processing, distortion correction to minimize optical distortion and ensure highly accurate images, and multiple transmission modes for versatile monitoring of wide areas. Additional intelligent features include face detection, privacy zone masking and the ability to be controlled directly from a Smartphone.
“Our new 360° panoramic megapixel cameras provide lower total cost of ownership (TCO) with higher return on investment (ROI) as a result of their outstanding coverage capabilities, performance and functionality,” comments Greg Peratt, Panasonic's Director of Sales, Video Solutions Integration. “Panasonic’s new i-PRO SmartHD 360° panoramic 3.0 megapixel dome cameras set a new benchmark for megapixel imaging by combining 1080p HD resolution with a combination of unique Panasonic imaging technologies to deliver unparalleled versatility at an attractive price point.”
Panasonic says its i-PRO SmartHD 360° panoramic 3.0 megapixel dome cameras incorporate H.264 high profile compression technology to minimize transmission and recording bandwidth requirements. Up to a 50 percent maximum reduction in network bandwidth is further achieved via the company's UniPhier proprietary System LSI platform. H.264 maximum bit rate/client and total bit rate control provides flexible network management, and Frame Rate Priority mode adjusts bit rate and compression ratio to ensure a specified frame rate. Multiple H.264 (high profile) streams and JPEG streams ensure simultaneous real-time monitoring and high-resolution recording.
For added application versatility, the new i-PRO SmartHD 360° panoramic 3.0 megapixel dome cameras offer five transmission modes including: Wall Panorama, Double Panorama, Quad PTZ, Single PTZ and Quad Streams (H.264/VGA). Two areas of VIQS (Variable Image Quality on Specified Area) enable areas in an image to be encoded at a lower resolution to save bandwidth while maintaining maximum detail in critical areas.
Additional performance features include Panasonic's Mega Super Dynamic and Adaptive Black Stretch (ABS) technologies which delivers 128x wider dynamic range compared to conventional cameras; 3D-DNR digital noise reduction; Day/Night operation; Video Motion Detection (VMD) with four programmable detection areas, 15-step sensitivity levels and 10-step detection sizes; fish-eye lens control to intuitively realizes intelligible screen operation; a SDXC/SDHC/SD memory card slot for H.264/JPEG manual recording, alarm recording and/or backup upon network failure (JPEG); plus full duplex bi-directional audio which allows interactive communication between camera site and monitoring site.
Adding to its installation flexibility, i-PRO SmartHD 360° panoramic 3.0 megapixel dome indoor (WV-SF438) and outdoor IP66 rated (WV-SW458) cameras are also available with an M12 connector instead of a standard RJ-45.