A London sporting venue has new DVRs to record video of crowd activity during match days. The Kia Oval in Kennington, south London regularly hosts international cricket matches, as well as being the home of Surrey County Cricket Club.
James Wagg of OCS Group UK Ltd, who are contracted to provide 24-7 security at the ground, said: “It is essential we have a reliable and robust CCTV system operating at the Kia Oval in order to ensure that we comply with the rules and regulations specified by the Local Authority and that a match day licence can be issued. The video surveillance system is at the heart of our security operation. It is an invaluable tool which allows our control room operators and the police, who are present on match days, to proactively use live or recorded images to identify potential problems and deal with them quickly and efficiently.”
Four Samsung SRD-1670DC DVR’s have been installed to record the video from 54 cameras, a mix of PTZ and fixed dome cameras in and around the ground. “The Kia Oval has never hesitated to invest in the latest technology when necessary and in this respect, the recently installed Samsung DVRs replaced recorders which had become outdated,” said James Wagg who as Facilities Manager oversees the in-house maintenance and outsourced cleaning services which are also provided by OCS Group UK Ltd.
Two of the recorders are installed in the ground’s control room and the other two in the Hobbs Gate security office. Each can simultaneously record real time 4CIF images across from up to 16 of the cameras. They use Virtual Progressive Scan (VPS) technology which, the makers say, eliminates blurred edges on moving objects, and with an HDMI output, offer the option to upscale images to 1080P. An intuitive graphical on-screen display let operators set up each channel to record at different frames rates or resolutions. James Wagg added: “Following the introduction of the Samsung DVRs, our control room operators are confident that we now have a highly effective video surveillance system which we and the police can use to its full potential. Outside of match days it continues to play a major role in helping security personnel deter and detect anyone tempted to carry out any criminal activity at the cricket ground.”
