While the odds at table games and chances of winning at a slot
machine are frequent topics for debate in the gaming industry, one
thing is certain: Casinos around the world, both corporate and Native
American, are in the midst of performing the biggest upgrade since
one-way glass was replaced with CCTV cameras. That upgrade is the move
to digital recording.
At the center of this upgrade lies another debate. While it is
clear
that VHS tape is going away and DVRs are its replacement, many
manufacturers (often without analog product lines) see the industry as
a digital-only solution. “Virtual matrix switch” is
a
frequently used phrase, and their prospective customers are urged to go
100-percent digital.
Casino surveillance directors, however, are pushing back. They
like
the idea of digital and are buying into all of the advantages. They are
frequently heavily invested in, or are in the process of, converting
their recording side to digital, but most are not sold on replacing
their analog cameras. This article will explore whether the replacement
of analog makes sense, where analog can clearly outshine digital with
today’s available technology and how
“hybrid” systems
are frequently the appropriate choice for gaming venues.
Necessary Building Blocks
for Any Video System
In order to better compare the various options,
it’s
important to understand the building blocks of a digital video system
— whether it be analog, digital or somewhere in between. This
is
easier than ever, since the various types of systems have more in
common than they have differences. In fact, the basic system
architecture is identical regardless of the type of system you select
— once you’ve made the decision to eliminate VHS
and
incorporate digital recording as part of your system. (If you’re still
considering VHS as an alternative, see the sidebar “5 Myths
of VHS Debunked” below.)
There are five functional areas to any video system. For the
purpose
of illustration, we’ll compare these five areas to
Lego®
building blocks. You first must acquire a video image, usually with a
camera. The image must then be encoded into a digital format and stored
on a hard drive. There must be a means to retrieve the video image for
playback or live viewing, and finally a means to display, or view, the
image on a monitor. These functions are universal regardless of the
type of system used; the only difference, believe it or not, is in the
packaging.
Systems that incorporate IP-based cameras package the first
two
Legos in the camera, using it to acquire and encode the image. A server
connected to the camera via an Ethernet network provides the storage,
while a client computer allows retrieval and viewing of a video image.
These systems often incorporate an additional “black
box”
that can be sent a video stream through a controller and display it on
a monitor, completing the picture.
When all of the pieces are assembled, this type of system is a
complete recording solution that is also called a “virtual
matrix.” It is called this because it incorporates the
functionality of an analog matrix switch but does not require the
cabling or hardware that is usually associated with such
systems.
While this type of system generates the most
“buzz” on
the market, most gaming professionals who have carefully examined such
systems agree they are totally inappropriate for gaming. The video
switching from camera to camera is slow, often as long as a second or
two, while analog systems switch between cameras in a few thousandths
of a second. Likewise, the control of cameras is difficult because
there is a lag, called latency, between when the operator moves the
joystick and when the camera moves. All systems have some latency
— it takes time for a signal to get from your joystick to a
camera that can be thousands of feet away — but, again, it is
much greater with IP-based systems.
It is unlikely to find an analog system with more than 40
milliseconds (thousandths of a second) of latency, while the best
IP-based system is around 150 milliseconds. This translates to
overshooting your target when panning a camera around the casino or
across a gaming table, and a surveillance operator is unlikely to be
comfortable with that amount of lag time.
This is, for the most part, a casino industry-specific
problem.
Clients in other industries are perfectly happy with IP-based systems
and virtual matrixes. The delay is a function of the processing
required to convert digital data into “packets,”
transport
it across an Ethernet network and reassemble it at the other
end.
Other side effects can include dropped frames, stuttering
image and
an inexplicable loss of quality because of network traffic. Virtual
matrixes may have the functionality of real analog matrix switches, but
they do not currently enjoy the level of performance inherent in their
real-world counterparts.
The Hybrid Solution: Splitting Video Between 2 Systems
Many gaming clients are finding the answer to the
performance
issues inherent with pure IP-based systems by utilizing a mix of analog
and digital technologies, in essence creating a hybrid system. While
this essentially involves splitting the video signal between two
systems, there are inherent advantages to doing this and few (if any)
disadvantages.
First, let’s look at the signal flow.
We’ll still use
the same Lego blocks, only now the camera will be a standalone unit
that outputs analog video. That signal can be run back to a central
point or sent to several “nodes” around a facility,
but it
will remain analog until it reaches its destination. Before we move to
the next link in the signal chain, let’s look at the
advantages
to doing this.
An IP camera with a built-in encoder outputs an Ethernet
signal that
can only be run 100 meters, or about 340 feet. Distances greater than
this require a network switch or other means of regenerating the
signal, or a fiber-optic connection. Coupled with the higher cost of IP
cameras (they cost more because of the built-in encoder), you are
starting out with a tremendous cost disadvantage. There must be closets
or junction points throughout a facility, and there is a lot more
equipment to break, degrade the signal, or add noise or latency between
the camera and the control room.
An analog camera is less expensive, smaller and available in a
wider
variety of configurations. You can mix and match brands without
worrying about software problems, and you can still use inexpensive and
ubiquitous Cat-5e cable to connect the camera to the control room. With
analog cameras and unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) adaptors, you can run
the signal as far as 6,000 feet, or roughly 20 times the distance of an
IP camera, without passing it through any additional boxes.
Once the camera reaches its destination, it is fed to both an
encoder and an analog matrix switch. While the signal may go to one
system and loop out to the second system, an appealing design option,
for reasons described a little later, is to split it using a video
distribution amplifier. This distribution amplifier can be either a
standalone unit or a part of the UTP hub that converts the signal back
from twisted pair to coaxial cable.
Each camera now feeds two systems, one for high performance
viewing
and the other that provides recording and lower performance viewing,
due to the latency described earlier. Since the high performance
viewing is only required on a small number of monitors, it is
relatively inexpensive. Those familiar with analog matrix switches know
that inputs are relatively inexpensive, while outputs are costly in
terms of price and physical rack space.
A large casino with a half-dozen operators can often get by
with a
16-output matrix switch, while the largest casinos may only require 32
outputs — more if some of the fail-safe redundancies that are
described in the next section are required. Either way, this less
expensive matrix is not significant in overall system cost, and the
savings promised by a virtual matrix simply aren’t there
unless
you are talking about eliminating a giant matrix switch used to control
banks of monitors in a video wall.
What about those banks of monitors? We’ve all seen
casino
control rooms and we know that keeping an eye on a number of areas is
critical. Here’s where the system truly becomes a hybrid.
That digital virtual matrix system we just finished tearing
apart is
perfect for video walls, offices and other areas that do not perform
critical, time-intensive camera control or switching. Workstations or
decoders can be used to drive projection screens, LCD displays or other
video walls, and can do so far more cost effectively than a matrix
switch. This design is appropriate for projects other than casinos.