Frequently Asked Questions About Boundless' Ultra Low Bandwidth, Wireless Digital Video Surveillance Systems

Summary of Questions

Q0: Why do Boundless' e-mail addresses use '(at)' instead of '@'?

Q1: What do you mean by ultra low bandwidth?

Q2: What makes the Boundless Security System™ a new generation of video surveillance systems?

Q3: What kinds of cameras does the Boundless Security System™ support?

Q4: How does the Boundless Security System™ capture better video images?

Q5: What makes the Boundless Security System™ more reliable?

Q6: What is Boundless' Storage Operating System™?

Q7: Is Boundless' Storage Operating System™ a storage area network (SAN)?

Q8: Does the Boundless Security System™ provide motion detection?

Q9: Does the Boundless Security System™ support image understanding?

Q10: Does the Boundless Security System™ provide video files according to the MPEG-4 specification?

Q11: What is MPEG-4 VBR?

Q12: How does the Boundless Security System™ compare to digital video recorders and PC-based digital video surveillance systems?

Q13: How does the Boundless Security System™ compare to IP-based digital video surveillance systems?

Q14: Is the Boundless Security System™ useful to someone who wants a digital video recorder DVR?

Q15: How many cameras can the Boundless Security System™ handle?

Q16: How much online disk storage can the Boundless Security System™ handle?

Q17: What is live-forwarding?

Q18: Why does the Boundless Security System™ capture video from each camera with multiple resolutions and frame rates simultaneously?

Q19: Can the Boundless Security System™ be used with CCTV cameras?

Q20: What is TVL?

Q21: What makes the Boundless Security System™ easier to install?

Q22: How is video in the Boundless Security System™ accessed?

Q23: With what resolution does the Boundless Security System™ capture and compress video?

Q24: Does the Boundless Security System™ require a dedicated LAN for video?

Q25: Can the Boundless Security System™ be used without a LAN?

Q26: Does the Boundless Security System™ use video streaming / multi-casting protocols?

Q27: How many users can access live and recorded video from the Boundless Security System™ simultaneously?

Q28: Does the Boundless Security System™ handle audio?

Q29: Does the Boundless Security System™ handle event data?

Q30: Does the Boundless Security System™ handle transaction data?

Q31: Does the Boundless Security System™ handle PTZ?

Q32: Does Boundless sell hardware or license its proprietary software?

Q33: What are the recommendations for antivirus software for use on a PC with Boundless' Control Panel?

Q34: What causes gray video windows in Boundless' Control Panel?

Questions and Answers

Q: Why do e-mail addresses use '(at)' instead of '@'?

To fight spam. Many programs search the Internet for e-mail addresses and send spam to them.

Anyone who sends e-mail to us must manually replace '(at)' by '@' (without the quotes) when they click on an e-mail link on our web site or copy an e-mail address from one of our documents.

Q: Why do you mean by ultra low bandwidth?

About 1% (one percent) of what other vendors call low bandwidth, generally in the 10's of kilobits per second instead of megabits per second.

Q: What makes the Boundless Security System™ a new generation of video surveillance systems?

It is controlled differently than other digital video surveillance systems. It is a distributed system that is fully controlled from its 'edge' or perimeter by our Storage Operating System™. The control is provided by Boundless' multi-function, ultra low bandwidth, Multi-Stream Video Servers, which are on the perimeter of the system, where the cameras are. As a result, the system is much more reliable, manages storage better, provides better images, and has much lower communications bandwidth.

Q: What kinds of cameras does the Boundless Security System™ support?

It supports any kind of analog video cameras, including CCTV cameras, that produce a composite video signal using NTSC / PAL. Since the video signal is not sensitive to the type of image sensor used, cameras with visual or non-visual image sensors can be used, including daylight-sensitive cameras, near-IR cameras, far-IR cameras, x-ray cameras, and image-intensified cameras.

In addition, it optionally supports standard definition (SDTV) cameras and high definition (HDTV+), multi-mega pixel, digital cameras using the Universal Serial Bus (USB). We have selected a USB interface over an IP interface because IP cameras send images that have already been compressed and embedded in Internet protocols, whereas USB cameras send raw digital video, which does not have the compression artifacts or complex protocols of IP cameras. USB extenders can be used to increase the distance between USB cameras and Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Server up to 150 feet.

Q: How does the Boundless Security System™ capture better video images?

The Boundless Security System™ captures more of the information from each CCTV camera than most systems. Most systems discard more than 90% of the information available from high quality CCTV cameras (cameras with 450+ TVL of resolution).

Many digital video surveillance systems still capture only 25% of the resolution of each standard definition frame, and quantize it heavily to reduce file size, reducing sharpness, and capture only a small fraction of the frames, reducing the chances the subject is looking at the camera and missing any rapid movements. The 'CIF' resolution images captured by most systems are the same low resolution used by a child's toy digital camera, and the same low resolution (230 TVL) provided by consumer VCR's. Such low resolution images can be scaled to any size, but this does not create any additional information. Such scaled images become very blocky when enlarged unless additional pixels are interpolated from nearby pixels to smooth the transitions from real pixels to computed pixels.

The Boundless Security System™ is typically configured to capture video images with full camera resolution, low quantization at a medium frame rate for forensic use.

It is essential to quantify the resolution used in any system. Many systems state that they have 'high resolution frames' or 'high definition frames' (the latter being a complete misnomer) when in fact the resolution is only CIF, which is only about 25% of the resolution available from most CCTV cameras. Common use of the term 'CIF' covers a small range of resolutions, so it is best to get a statement in terms of pixels, such as 352x240 or 320x240 (also known as QVGA) for NTSC. (Different values are used for PAL.)

In addition, the amount of compression applied to an image of a given resolution affects the sharpness of the image and the number of artifacts. However, it is hard to quantify the sharpness of an image whereas it is easy to count the number of pixels in a frame, or the number of frames per second. The Boundless Security System™ enables one to select the quantization, Q, for each and every digital video stream, since it affects the file size and the image sharpness. We use MPEG-4 compression, which is highly efficient and enables us to have reasonable file sizes while maintaining high sharpness of each frame. We recommend the use of lower quantization, and thus higher image quality, for 4CIF images, which are used primarily for forensics / investigations, than for 1CIF images, which are used primarily for live viewing onsite for CCTV-system replacement.

Q: What makes the Boundless Security System™ more reliable?

It is controlled differently than other digital video surveillance systems. It is fully controlled from its 'edge' or perimeter by Boundless' unique Storage Operating System™.

Many CCTV cameras are wired to a single digital video recorder. If that recorder fails, use of all of the cameras connected to it is lost. If the LAN connection to that recorder fails, access to all of the live and recorded videofrom that recorder is lost. If the storage within that unit is filled, no more information can be recorded unless previously recorded information is deleted.

Boundless' system, like other IP-based systems, separates the video digitization and compression subsystems from the recording and forwarding subsystems that store the information on hard drives and provide live and recorded video to users. But we go several steps further.

First, for no network traffic except upon demand of remote users, both the video digitization and MPEG-4 compression subsystem, and the recording and forwarding subsystem can be in the same Boundless ultra low bandwidth, multi-function, Multi-Stream Video Server. Alternatively, those two subsystems can be in different Boundless Multi-Stream Video Servers. There is a parameter for each video stream for each camera for each Multi-Stream Video Server that selects where the recording and forwarding are to be done.

Each one of Boundless' video digitizing, scaling, MPEG-4 compression, recording, forwarding and searching devices, which we call Multi-Stream Video Servers, implements Boundless' Storage Operating System™. As a result, each video digitizing and compression device in our system is responsible for all details of recording, including continuously verifying that the recording is successful.

When separate Multi-Stream Video Servers are used for those two subsystems, if there is a transient fault in the network or recording, Boundless' video digitizing and compression devices corrects it. However, if any one of them determines that there is a hard fault in the network or recording, then it switches its activity to another server for recording and live-forwarding. Faults can be detected and corrected within 10 seconds. This provides fault-tolerant operation since problems with servers and network segments can be avoided.

In addition, Boundless' system records the video from each camera with multiple resolutions and frame rates simultaneously, and can stores the different streams on different Multi-Stream Video Servers, if available. We call this Physical Diversity Recording™ since it avoids a single point of failure for recording and live-access.

Furthermore, Boundless' Storage Operating System™ enables the video from each camera to be stored in Multi-Stream Video Servers throughout the network or Internet, increasing storage capacity up to a limit far beyond one petabyte (1,000 terabytes). This avoids the storage limitations of a single server. Additional Multi-Stream Video Servers can be added over time and all storage is virtualized into a single uniform storage pool. Our Control Panel / Video Player software uses our Storage Operating System™ and provides seamless access to all live and recorded video, regardless of where a particular video segment is stored, and which Multi-Stream Video Server is providing live-forwarding for a given video stream at a given time.

Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Servers run Red Hat Linux, which is known for high reliability operation.

Q: What is Boundless' Storage Operating System™?

It is Boundless' software foundation, or platform, that manages the Boundless Security System™ on a fully distributed basis. It enables functions, including but not limited to storage and retrieval, to be performed by a distributed storage system with embedded Linux servers. It is a form of 'intelligent' Network Attached Storage (NAS) that is optimized for use in enterprise-class, digital video surveillance systems.

It promotes interoperability by providing an abstraction layer so that live and recorded multi-media (audio, video, and event) streams, each with multiple resolutions and frame rates, and control streams, and whose destinations change over time, can be accessed and managed quickly and easily throughout a large network and by multiple local and remote, diverse applications.

It enables every video digitizing and compression device to control all aspects of recording via the network. This improves reliability and enables us to handle a vast amount of online storage in a single, seamless fashion, even as more storage is added over time. All storage provided by Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Servers is virtualized into a single seamless pool of storage, beyond a maximum of 1 petabyte (1,000 terabytes) per LAN. No special hardware is required.

It is implemented in software that runs within Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Server. It is implemented in software that is built into our Linux-based Multi-Stream Video Servers and Microsoft Windows-based Control Panel / Video Player.

Q: Is Boundless' Storage Operating System™ a storage area network (SAN)?

No. A storage area network (SAN) is a special kind of LAN that combines the storage from multiple hard drives into a single server, or point of contact on a network. If access to that server is lost, then none of the storage can be accessed. If there are multiple such servers, then each one of them presents an independent block of storage.

In contrast, Boundless' Storage Operating System™ is software that runs on Linux x86 computers and Boundless' Control Panel / Video Player software and Multi-Stream Video Servers. All storage that is spread across all of the Linux servers is combined into a single pool regardless of how it is distributed across the LAN or Internet. The loss of one or more of these Linux servers, or their network segments, is automatically detected and 'repaired' within a few seconds.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ provide motion detection?

Yes. Two forms are provided simultaneously. Both forms enable video that has already been recorded to be searched using new parameters. One form measures changes in the entire frame from frame to frame. The other divides each frame into 128 zones. Both are implemented in software in our video input and compression devices, Multi-Stream Video Servers. We do not gate recording using motion detection; instead, we embed meta data in the video stream to assist in searching for video with activity.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ support image understanding?

Yes, it is supported but not provided. It is an optional feature. The Storage Operating System™ used in our Boundless Security System™ is a platform for third-party audio and video forensic, processing, understanding and interpretation software. Such functions are often limited to raw, uncompressed digital video in other systems, but can be applied to all of the high-quality, live and recorded, MPEG-4 video streams in our system.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ provide video files according to the MPEG-4 specification?

Yes. Our files are substantially standard M4V-compliant video files. They are named MP4 files.

In contrast, some systems use another compression method, such as H.263, and merely encapsulate that data in an MPEG-4 envelope, and give it an MP4 file name. Other systems use MJPEG (motion JPEG) and wavelets, which do not have standardized video file formats, making information interchange difficult.

Q: What is MPEG-4 VBR?

It is MPEG-4 video compression using Variable Bit Rate. Video streams can be produced using 'variable bit rate' (VBR), which allows the data rate to vary depending on the content, and constant bit rate (CBR), which attempts to hold a fixed data rate regardless of content.

Constant bit rate sacrifices video quality, limiting data rate, to try to maintain a particular bit rate, and forces the production of data, increasing data rate, when there is little change in the scene. CBR is best when one tries to maintain a network connection with a slow speed modem.

Variable bit rate, also known as constant quality, gives priority to image quality. The data rate increases when there are changes in the scenes. Inversely, very small amounts of data are produced when the scene is constant. There can be a 10:1 or greater difference between data rates depending upon the amount of 'motion' or change in the scene.

Boundless uses a form of MPEG-4 VBR because high quality images are important for surveillance. We provide multiple digital video streams from the same camera, with multiple resoltions, frame rates, compression parameters and data rates to provide several choices of data rate to optimize video display formatting, storage requirements and remote access. Recorded video can be accessed remotely with our Control Panel / Video Player, which buffers the flow of video over the network and Internet. We typically set a maximum nominal data rate for each video stream so that communications channels can be engineered knowing the worst-case data rates.

Q: How does the Boundless Security System™ compare to digital video recorders and PC-based digital video surveillance systems?

Digital video recorders and PC-based digital video surveillance systems are intended for local viewing of video. They provide little or no ability is provided to view recorded video, and especially live video, remotely via the Internet. In contrast, the Boundless Security System™ is intended for remote viewing of live and recorded video over bandwidth-limited Internet connections. For example, the Boundless Security System™ can enable one to remotely view 27 live video streams simultaneously on a single laptop with a total uplink as low as 400 Kbps.

In addition, the Boundless Security System™ is a fully distributed system whereas DVR's and PC-based systems are centralized systems.

For more details see: White Papers and Tutorials >> Competitive Analysis of Boundless Security System™ and Generations of Video Surveillance Systems.

Q: How does the Boundless Security System™ compare to IP-based digital video surveillance systems?

The Boundless Security System™ typically records video within the same devices (Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Servers) that digitize and compress the video. This produces far lower network bandwidth rather then flooding the network with video as the compressed video moves from a video acquisition device (often called a server) to a storage server. In addition, Boundless' system is more reliable because it is controlled differently.

It is important to note that Boundless' ultra low bandwidth, Multi-Stream Video Server is an all-in-one device, providing many functions, rather than just video digitizing, compression and encapsulation in Internet protocols as most IP-based video servers do. Boundless's Multi-Stream Video Server provides video digitizing, scaling (forming multiple streams per camera), embedding of event, transaction and other meta data, MPEG-4 compression, encapsulation in Boundless' Storage Operating System™ protocols, embedding in Internet protocols, recording, live-forwarding, access to recorded video, and multiple forms of searching recorded video. Boundless also provides a platform for running third-party audio and video understanding software in real time at the point of capture on the raw, uncompressed multi-media data.

For more details see: Brochures >> Case Studies: Comparison of wireless, ultra low bandwidth, IP-based, Boundless Security System™ digital video surveillance system with wireless IP camera system

For more details see: White Papers and Tutorials >> Third Generation of IP-Based Digital Video Surveillance Systems Provides Reliable, Enterprise-Class Security and Generations of Video Surveillance Systems.

Q: Is the Boundless Security System™ useful to someone who wants a digital video recorder?

Yes. The Boundless Security System™ provides better reliability and better video quality. In addition, it improves expandability. Cameras can be added in increments of 4, and storage can be added on-the-fly, while the system is in full operation.

If the site does not have a LAN, the video cables from the CCTV cameras can be connected to a number of Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Servers just as one would connect the cables to a DVR. A small, inexpensive ethernet switch connects Boundless' ultra low bandwidth, multi-purpose, Multi-Stream Video Servers to users and the Internet.

If there is a large number of cameras, we recommend that the system be installed in several locations in the facility rather than in a single location. This reduces installation costs because it is not necessary to wire all CCTV cameras to a single location. This also increases system reliability since parts of it would keep operating even if portions of it were destroyed, or lost power or network access.

Q: How many cameras can the Boundless Security System™ handle?

Systems can be built with anywhere from one camera to 1,000's of cameras. Boundless' IP-based system totally avoids any viewing limitations based upon which equipment or site a camera is connected to.

Q: How much online disk storage can the Boundless Security System™ handle?

The upper limit is beyond one petabyte (1,000 terabytes). A single Multi-Stream Video Server typically has 100's of gigabytes to several terabytes of internal storage. Our Storage Operating System™ virtualizes all storage in our Multi-Stream Video Servers on a given network, providing a single, seamless pool of storage regardless of how it is implemented.

In addition, powerful Linux servers that run the recording, forwarding and searching subsystem of Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Server can be used with very large mass-storage systems. Our Storage Operating System™ virtualizes ALL storage, including across multiple such huge mass-storage systems, on the same LAN and across the Internet.

Q: What is live-forwarding?

It is a function provided by one of the subsystems of Boundless' multi-purpose, Multi-Stream Video Servers. Users access live and recorded video using Boundless' Control Panel / Video Player software. When the video acquisition subsystem of one of Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Servers sends video to another Multi-Stream Video Server for recording, that second Multi-Stream Video Server can forward the live video in real time to any Control Panel / Video Players that request it.

Q: Why does the Boundless Security System™ capture video from each camera with multiple resolutions and frame rates simultaneously?

It enables the Boundless Security System™ to simultaneously satisfy three diverse requirements. Other systems try to meet these diverse requirements with a single, highly compromised, digital video stream.

The Boundless Security System™ provides the following resolutions and frame rates simultaneously, for all cameras all the time, for both live and recorded video:

1) Investigations: full camera resolution with maximum sharpness and medium frame rate for investigating incidents, where the highest possible quality (limited by the camera and cabling) images of people, vehicles/license plates and merchandise are required

2) Monitoring: live local video monitoring with standard resolution, medium sharpness and high frame rate, replacing analog CCTV video matrix switches, analog CCTV video multiplexers and analog CCTV video quad processors

3) Situation Assessment: reduced resolution, sharpness and frame rate for wireless (PDA and cell phone) video access, as well as remote access via the Internet at limited bandwidth

Note: Three or more digital video streams are typically produced for each camera all the time. All of the parameters for each one of the streams for each camera can be set independently. A total of six or more digital video streams, three or more recorded and three or more live, is available from Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Servers for every camera all the time.

This capability also enables the user to format video displays easily, and to use Boundless' Physical Diversity Recording™, which provides fault-tolerance by storing different digital video streams in different Boundless Multi-Stream Video Servers in different physical locations.

Q: Can the Boundless Security System™ be used with CCTV cameras?

Yes. Multiple CCTV cameras can be connected to each Boundless Multi-Stream Video Server. Existing CCTV cameras and video cables can be used with theBoundless Security System™. Image quality is limited by the CCTV camera and video cable.

Q: What is TVL?

TV Lines of resolution. It is the number of black/white lines that can be distinguished in an image. At most, it is equal to the number of horizontal lines of pixels in an image. Thus the best possible CIF-resolution image, which has 240 lines of pixels, each with 352 pixels, could resolve 240 TVL. In contrast, the resolution of a consumer grade analog VCR is about 230 TVL, even though the video is displayed on a TV with 480 visible horizontal lines.

The number of vertical lines of resolution for a standard TV, which has a 4:3 aspect ratio, is assumed to be 4/3 the number of horizontal lines of resolution.

A high quality CCTV camera may be limited in its horizontal resolution due to many factors including long analog cables, which reduce the bandwidth of the video transmission.

Q: What makes the Boundless Security System™ easier to install?

New and expanded installations can benefit from reduced cable runs by locating Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Server near CCTV cameras, rather than wiring all CCTV cameras to a central location. In addition, Multi-Stream Video Servers can be connected to a wired or wireless LAN, where the only video traffic is upon demand of remote users if recording is within the Multi-Stream Video Server that digitizes the video.

Furthermore, it is no longer necessary to use expensive, proprietary, fiberoptic video transceivers when CCTV cameras are distant from a monitoring point. Boundless' indoor or outdoor Multi-Stream Video Servers can be located close to the cameras, and then inexpensive, wired, wireless, or fiberoptic ethernet LAN connections can be used to connect those servers to the Internet or the main LAN.

Q: How is video in the Boundless Security System™ accessed?

Users access all live and recorded audio, video and event data in the system by our Control Panel / Video Player software. This software runs on the user's PC pr PDA using Microsoft Windows 2000 Pro or XP (Home or Pro).

Third-party applications can access audio, video and event data directly from our Storage Operating System™.

Q: With what resolution does the Boundless Security System™ capture and compress video?

Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Servers are individually configurable for number of cameras, and for each stream for each camera, for resolution, frame rate, compression parameters, data rate and IP-destination. Multiple MPEG-4, digital video streams can be produced for each camera simultaneously, with different digital streams having different resolutions, frame rates, compression parameters and data rates. Full-, medium- and low-resolution compressed digital video streams are produced simultaneously and continuously. This enables one to view multiple medium resolution streams or many low resolution stream on a screen simultaneously, then switch to full resolution recorded images investigations and to provide photos of subjects.

In contrast, the vast majority of digital video security systems use 'CIF' as their highest resolution even though it is only 25% of the resolution of the images produced by high quality CCTV cameras.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ require a dedicated LAN for video?

No. All video is recorded internally by default so there's no network traffic except upon demand of remote users. Congested, intermittent and throttled, wired and wireless network links can be used.

Note: Boundless uses Internet protocols that ensure reliable system performance during transient network and server overloads. In contrast, other IP-based systems use streaming protocols (UDP/IP and RTP/IP) and multi-casting to move video from video digitizing and compression devices to storage servers, and crucial information may be lost and must be concealed. If such systems were to embed meta data in such video streams, the meta data could be lost.

Q: Can the Boundless Security System™ be used without a LAN?

Yes. If the site does not have a LAN, or the platform is mobile, the video cables from the CCTV cameras can be connected one or more Boundless' Multi-Stream Video Servers just as one would connect the video cables to a DVR. The Multi-Stream Video Servers can be connected, either continuously or when convenient, to a wireless network and the Internet for remote access to live and recorded video, and searching.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ use video streaming / multi-casting protocols?

No. We use bandwidth-saving, video on demand, not bandwidth-hogging, video streaming. In addition, the streaming protocols, which are analogous to video broadcasting, cannot guarantee reliable video recording. We, too, use Internet protocols, but we build other, more reliable protocols within them.

Note: Boundless uses the team "video stream" differently than other vendors. Vendors of conventional IP-based systems use "video stream" to mean a continuous flow of video data using a streaming protocol, usually UDP/IP. This protocol is subject to packet loss, which requires error concealment in the video. In contrast, Boundless uses "video stream" to mean a continuous flow of video with a particular resolution, frame rate, compression parameter and data rate independent of the transmission protocol used. Quite often, Boundless' video streams are recorded entirely within the Multi-Stream Video Server producing them, in which case there's no network traffic except when the live or recorded video stream is requested remotely (video on demand).

Q: How many users can access live and recorded video from the Boundless Security System™ simultaneously?

Hundreds, if there is a sufficient number of Multi-Stream Video Servers, they are placed on a network backbone with sufficient speed, and the access is handled by a number of them.

In general, many users can access live and recorded video from a single Multi-Stream Video Server simultaneously. Some systems severely limit the number, or give many users access to live video but only one or a few users access to recorded video. In contrast, all information in our system is much easier to access.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ handle audio?

Yes. It is an optional feature. Many statutes, due to privacy concerns, specifically limit the capture of audio. Boundless limits the sale of audio recording capability to law enforcement agencies.

Boundless' system can also optionally be programmed to interpret the audio it receives, rather than to record it, and to signal an alarm when an audible event is detected.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ handle event data?

Yes. It is embedded in the MPEG-4 video stream as 'meta data' so it will not become separated from the video and so it can be searched.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ handle transaction data?

Yes. It is an optional feature. POS and ATM data is embedded in the MPEG-4 stream as 'meta data' so it will not be separated from the video and so it can be searched.

Q: Does the Boundless Security System™ handle PTZ?

Yes. It is an optional feature in our Multi-Stream Video Servers. A graphical user interface is built into the Control Panel / Video Player client viewing and searching software that handles PTZ control of both CCTV cameras and IP-based PTZ cameras via a web browser. IP-based PTZ cameras, such as the Sony SNC-RZ30N, must have an analog video output connected to our equipment. Dynamic IP addresses are supported.

We use a generalized IP-based interface to control PTZ cameras. We currently support the Pelco-D protocol on CCTV cameras. Systems integrators can support additional PTZ protocols simply by developing some HTML code and perl scripts. No change to Boundless' excutables are required to support additional PTZ protocols.

Q: Does Boundless sell hardware or license its proprietary software?

Both. Boundless has two business models.

1. Boundless sells turn-key Multi-Stream Video Servers and licenses its Control Panel / Video Player client viewing and searching software to systems integrators and resellers.

2. Boundless licenses its core software and procedures to large OEM's for sale under their own label on hardware they provide according to Boundless' specifications.

Q: What are the recommendations for antivirus software for use on a PC with Boundless' Control Panel?

Users should have the latest Microsoft Service Pack on PC's used with Boundless' Control Panel client viewing and searching software. The first time that Boundless' Control Panel is run, the antivirus software should ask if it's ok to allow Boundless' CP.exe to run. The user should select OK for both now and in the future. When a session file is opened in Control Panel the first time, the antivirus software should ask if it's ok to allow Boundless' VP.exe to run. The user should select OK for both now and in the future.

Some third-party antivirus programs are not able to obtain the list of approved applications from Microsoft's Windows Security Center, which is accessible via Microsoft's Windows Control Panel. This lack of sharing may result in incorrect operation of Boundless' Control Panel, in the form of round-robin display of multiple video streams in a given session. Verify that only one instance of Boundless' Control Panel is running and close any additional instances. The round-robin problem can generally be corrected by uninstalling the third-party antivirus software, verifying in Microsoft's Windows Security Center that no other antivirus software is installed, rebooting the computer, verifying the correct operation of Boundless' Control Panel, then re-installing the latest version of the third-party antivirus software. Make sure that Windows Security Center reports that virus protection is on and that it names the antivirus software that is active.

As stated by the antivirus software vendors, it is essential that you do not have more than one antivirus program active. If you change your antivirus software, you must uninstall the antivirus software you are replacing before installing the new software.

We recommend that automatic updates be enabled, but that the user be prompted to ok their installation, rather than being installed without the user's intervention.

Boundless has tested the following antivirus software on a laptop with Windows XP Home SP2:

1. Computer Associates eTrust EZ Antivirus: Operation is ok.

2. Grisoft AVG Antivirus: Operation is ok.

3. Kaspersky Labs Antivirus 6.0: Operation is ok.

4. McAfee Antivirus 2006: Caused problems until it was uninstalled then reinstalled. Then was ok.

5. Microsoft Antivirus: Operation is ok.

6. Panda Titanium 2006 Antivirus: Operation is ok.

7. Symantec Antivirus 2006: Operation is ok.

8. Trend PC-cillin 2006 Internet Security: It failed to detect that another antivirus program, Kaspersky Labs, was already installed during its installation. Once that problem was fixed, operation was ok. It requires the user to approve applications, such as CP.exe and VP.exe, it doesn't recognize.

9. ZoneAlarm Antivirus 2006: It requires the user to approve applications it doesn't recognize, such as CP.exe and VP.exe, but otherwise operation is ok. We prefer this software because it has particularly extensive detection and reporting of security events by default. However, it has a virus scanner called vsmon.exe that can take a large amount of memory and cpu power, taking computer resources needed by Boundless' Control Panel client viewing and searching software.

Q: What causes gray windows in Boundless' Control Panel?

The graphics card or graphics chip is too old, or the version of Microsoft DirectX is too old, in the PC running Boundless' Control Panel. Microsoft Windows 2000 Pro or higher (up to Microsoft XP Pro), and DirectX 8.1 or higher are required. If the graphics hardware supports it, free updates to DirectX can be obtained from Microsoft's Download Center.