ONVIF, the US-based standards body for IP-based physical security products, has announced the Release Candidate for Profile T. That’s a draft specification for advanced streaming that includes support for H.265 video compression and an expanded feature set that extends the capabilities of ONVIF video Profiles for installers and end users.
ONVIF Profile T employs a new media service that enables the support of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), based on the international H.265 video compression standard that specifies how to decode data into displayable video. Profile T-conformant clients support both H.264 and H.265 video compression, while Profile T-conformant devices support at least one of these formats. The new Profile also encompasses Transport Layer Security (TLS) enabled communications and new functionalities such as bi-directional audio streaming, standardisation of events, imaging configuration, and on screen display configuration.
Fredrik Svensson, ONVIF Profile T Working Group Chair, said: “Profile T broadens the scope of the ONVIF video profile to include both the H.264 video compression standard that is widely used in video surveillance solutions today and H.265 video compression, which is set to become the defacto video compression standard in the very near future. In addition to support for multiple video compression types, Profile T establishes conformance regarding motion detection, metadata streaming, analytics and other important features that ultimately offer an expanded, standardised feature set to system integrators and end users, in addition to interoperability between manufacturers’ solutions.”
Profile T supports transport over Websockets, which lets end users stream video to a browser instead of a VMS client. Profile T also features bi-directional audio as used in city surveillance, transportation and parking, and for other security applications that require two-way audio. Support for the TLS protocol adds another level of security to communications between Profile T-conformant clients and devices.
Standardisation of events such as motion detection and tampering is included. Digital input and relay output events are covered, as is their configuration through the device I/O service, which can expedite installation. Profile T allows motion region detector configuration through the analytics service, which means a specific area of an image can be selected for analysis. Streaming of metadata, such as events and analytics data, is covered by Profile T as well.
ONVIF circulates a new profile first as a Release Candidate for at least six months, allowing members and stakeholders a final implementation review. After that process, the final profile is published and product companies will be able to test their products for conformance to the final version. This process is intended to allow members to more quickly introduce conformant products when the final version of Profile T is released in 2018.
About ONVIF
Founded in 2008, the forum covers interoperability for IP-based physical security products. Its members are camera, video management system and access control companies that have produced nearly 8,000 Profile conformant products. Profile S covers streaming video; Profile G for recording and storage; Profile C for physical access control; Profile Q for out-of-the-box functionality, Profile A for broader access control configuration and the new Profile T. Visit: www.onvif.org.
