Video, access control vendors ease expansion, offer flexibility

Once the design parameters were fleshed out, it became important to select a manufacturer. Doing so would simplify the bidding process by allowing us to work with a manufacturer to fine-tune the system design, and make it easier to compare bids since all integrators would be bidding the same functionality and essentially the same equipment. LTBB chose to go with a single manufacturer for as much of the CCTV system as possible. This would allow the tribe to focus on integration with other systems without worrying about integration between the various CCTV sub-systems.

After careful consideration of a number of full-line suppliers, Clovis Calif.-based Pelco was awarded the contract. The tribe’s experiences with Pelco equipment had been extremely positive. The decision offered the advantage to reuse some of the Pelco equipment (such as matrix switch cages, keyboards and p/t/z domes) for expansion of the system at Odawa when the Victories Casino closed. Other equipment, including fixed cameras and the NiceVision recording system, was broken up into a series of smaller systems and utilized in other tribal properties where compatibility with the Odawa Casino system would not be a requirement.

The selection of an access control system was given careful consideration as well. That it had to integrate well with the Pelco system was a given, but there were other opportunities or blended operation. Access to other databases such as time and attendance, and even cafeteria meal purchases, were added to the specification wish list, as were hybrid cards with both proximity functionality and printed bar codes to support legacy systems. Ultimately, Rochester, N.Y.-based Lenel was chosen as the access control manufacturer because of its flexibility and willingness to support all levels of integration.

Integrators Selected on Familiarity With Equipment, Customer Service
Two separate integrators were selected for the project, in part because of the timing of the system purchases. First up was the CCTV integrator, American Video and Security (AVS). Based in Black Creek, Wis., AVS focuses on gaming and has done a lot of work with other Native American casinos. The company is very familiar with Pelco systems and had recently finished a gaming project for the Northern Lights Casino in Carter, Wis.

One aspect that impressed LTBB about AVS was its long-term plan for customer satisfaction. As part of its proposal, AVS agreed to hire and train a local technician who would work on the project through the installation and remain on duty at AVS expense for a full year. “We’re a small company with big customers, and we feel that going the extra mile on service and support makes us stand out in a competitive bid situation,” comments Rick Verbsky, president of AVS.

Access control was to be handled by Grand Rapids, Mich.-based SecurAlarm Systems Inc. Gloria Lubben, executive vice president of SecurAlarm, worked closely with us through the design process and provided many enhancements to the system design based on their past experiences. “We are used to customers who require a great deal of flexibility,” Lubben says. “This project allowed us to present a variety of different options and truly customize the system around the specific project requirements.”

One requirement of the system design was the recognition of the fact that expansion was a given. While the headend was appropriately sized for growth, we felt it important to allow for the addition of more field devices without the need to constantly pull more cable. Casinos typically use analog video for live camera call-up to avoid latency, with an integrated encoder/server-based digital recording system for storage and retrieval of events. Since this required point-to-point wiring of cameras (instead of a networked configuration), we designed a UTP-based system utilizing equipment provided by Nitek of Rolling Meadows, Ill.

This was one of a few exceptions to the “one manufacturer” rule, and was largely due to the DIP switch-based distance compensation design used on the Nitek hubs. With DIP switches, a failed hub or module can be quickly swapped out for another one by simply matching up the switches. Units that use potentiometers tend to require more extensive setup and drift over time, while self-calibrating units never stop calibrating and can degrade the image as they compensate for changes in the image that fool them into thinking the cable distance has changed. We also selected hubs with dual outputs, allowing us to route the video signal to both the matrix switch and the digital video encoder without the use of a separate distribution amplifier.

While a point-to-point system requires more cable than a networked system, it has other advantages that, in some applications, make it more cost-effective and flexible. For one, we did not have to worry about the cable distance limits inherent in Internet protocol (IP)-based video systems, and the use of 4-pair Cat-5e cable to each camera location allows three additional cameras to be added per cable (two if the camera is a p/t/z model, which use a pair of wire for data).

Cameras were routed to one of two rack rooms on the casino level or directly back to the rack room, whichever was closer. An extensive patching system based on “66 block” style interconnection terminals and 25-pair Cat-5 cables allows for reconfiguration of cameras in much the same manner a telephone system uses.

Separate power cables were used instead of conductors on the Cat-5e cables to preserve the spare pairs for video expansion and allow the possibility that future cameras might draw more current than the Cat-5e cable could support. While this flies in the face of convention — electronics equipment tends to get more efficient, not less — we had some concerns that future cameras might incorporate features such as higher resolution imagers, internal hard drives and video analytics. Therefore, we wanted to be prepared.

Camera selection is also a challenge in casinos. We were helped somewhat by the fact that Pelco carries essentially two different lines of p/t/z dome cameras. The Spectra IV Series is well suited to lower light areas of the casino floor, where the wide dynamic range feature compensates for huge differences in lighting, be it flashing slot machine to shadows around the base of each machine. The wide range of optical magnification (35x) allows cameras to track people throughout the casino and image stabilization is a big help in certain areas as well.

At the other end of the spectrum was the Spectra Mini. These cameras are not much bigger than fixed domes and feature 10x zoom lenses. Our firm had used them successfully in the close quarters of a cruise ship casino and we specified them here in areas with lower ceilings where high magnification and low light response were not a factor. This allowed us to minimize the aesthetic impact of the domes in certain areas without compromising performance.

Robert Grossman is president of R. Grossman and Associates in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.
This column was originally published in the September 2007 issue of Security Sales and Integration magazine. Material copyrighted and the property of Security Sales & Integration and Bobit Business Media, with all rights reserved.