Case Study: Smarter Transportation with Network Video Appliances

Another state DOT that has deployed a streaming digital traffic monitoring system powered by VBrick Systems’ networked video appliances is the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). The system enables the UDOT to view MPEG-2 video from remote surveillance cameras linked to VBrick’s Security, Surveillance, and Monitoring (VBSSM) appliance across its EASI IP data platform to its Traffic Operations Center, over its existing network infrastructure.

The VBrick solution brings simplicity and industry standards to the crucial end-points of the UDOT’s EASI IP MPEG-2 video, audio, and data networking platform. VBrick appliances are deployed at each remote camera site and linked to the high-capacity IP network. The encoded video stream is then multicast throughout the network to any desktop and viewed as high-quality, 30fps, full-screen video.

According to VBrick founder and chief technology officer Rich Mavrogeanes, VBrick appliances are ideal for ITS because they are so tough and reliable. "Environmental factors and unstable operating systems prevent PC-based video products from meeting this market need," he says.

Mavrogeanes also insists that "the television streams broadcast from the VBSSM match the quality of DVD video when viewed from any PC desktop or television connected to a set-top box on the network." These streams look as good as DVD because both Florida and Utah DOTs use high-quality MPEG-2. But as everyone knows, MPEG-2 streams take up a lot more bandwidth and storage space than MPEG-4, for example. Many people would argue that because MPEG-4 provides near-MPEG-2 quality with much lower bandwidth and storage requirements, MPEG-4 is a better bang for the buck (and bit).

"However, quality is not the only issue," says Michael Van Orman, a staffer at the UDOT Traffic Operations Center. "It is true that MPEG-4 can very closely approach the quality of MPEG-2. However, latency is much higher for MPEG-4. Since it requires greater compression, it takes more time to compress and decompress. Accurate control of camera motion becomes more difficult as the latency increases," says Van Orman. "In areas where bandwidth (and storage) can be dealt with, MPEG-2 provides a better operational experience for CCTV."

But while VBrick has gained some ground in the surveillance and monitoring market, Mavrogeanes doesn’t want his product to be stereotyped as a security appliance. He points out that unlike the popular "DVR" surveillance systems that currently dominate the security and surveillance market, a VBrick is a general video networking product that can be used for things other than surveillance, including videoconferencing, training, and corporate communications. Once you’ve got digital video going around your network, it can be used in many ways, he says.