DIGITAL JACKPOT

Feb 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By CORRINA STELLITANO

The security market abounds with digital solutions for casino surveillance applications. The scope of these solutions range from stand-alone digital recorders with varying numbers of inputs to complete enterprise systems operating on a network. Is this digital technology ready for the highly regulated casino surveillance industry?

According to top industry players, some digital technology is ready for casinos — even the highly regulated casinos of Las Vegas and Atlantic City — but various factors are keeping the casinos from going digital.

Recording speed and cost are two major inhibitions to the widespread use of digital surveillance equipment says Frank Abram, general manager of Panasonic Security Systems Group, Secaucus, N.J.

Today's casinos can be divided into two camps, each at a different stage of digital conversion. While the majority of Atlantic City and Las Vegas casinos remain attached to their analog roots, Native American gaming casinos have opened their doors to digital technology.

The main reason for this division, Abram says, is that the major gaming commissions require surveillance departments for the gaming portion of the casinos to record in real-time — at a minimum of 30 images per second.

“Unless you go to an enterprise system, the industry looks at digital recorders and compares them to a VCR, which records at 30 images per second. Therefore they cannot be put into the gaming end of the casino,” Abram says.

“There aren't enough manufacturers out there who are providing a high frame rate and a high resolution to suit the industry,” says Richard Mellott, product marketing manager of Bosch Security Systems. “There are some, but not enough.”

Digital systems on the market today vary largely among manufacturers. The majority of surveillance cameras in the casino industry, while operating with digital components, still output in analog format. Most casinos continue to operate an analog infrastructure, using a network of co-axial cable to carry an analog signal to their matrix switches and banks of television monitors. When a technology company describes its installation of a digital system in a casino, most would mean that the casino is now recording its surveillance data on a digital recorder, rather than an analog VCR, and storing that data on a hard drive, rather than on video tapes.

High-end enterprise systems allow the recorders (often with more than 40 camera inputs) and the hard drives to be operated within a network. They often include support staff to help maintain that network. At the opposite end of the spectrum are digital recorders with one input, which simply mimic a VHS recorder but allow storage on a hard drive.

The benefits of digital surveillance to the casinos are clear: ease of use, convenience, the ability to network, the ability to quickly search data and improved picture quality. Digital recorders can eliminate hundreds or thousands of recorders, and allow almost instantaneous location and playback of recorded data. In the gaming surveillance area, where space is highly valued, larger digital recorders with more than 48 inputs are now only twice the size of a single VHS recorder. With the elimination of VHS recorders comes the elimination of VHS tapes and their high-service requirements.

With so many advantages, why aren't more casinos converting?

According to Abram and Mellott, cost remains a crucial obstacle to widespread conversion.

“From a recording standpoint, I don't believe the technology is ready — based on a cost-benefit ratio at this particular point,” Abram says. “The costs are rapidly coming down. I think the technology on a broad scale will be acceptable to the gaming industry shortly. But right now I believe the cost-benefit ratio is too high to be applicable.”

Cost becomes very important, Abram says, if you consider the price of VHS devices the casinos currently use to record. Most casinos use VCRs that cost around $200; some even use consumer VCRs which have plummeted to $50 per unit. Compare this to digital recording devices which can cost $800 to $1,800 per input (and each camera equals an input), and the digital solution seems less attractive.

The Bally's and Paris casinos in Las Vegas are slated to convert to Bosch digital recorders in 2004. With 400 surveillance VCRs at Bally's and 550 surveillance VCRs at Paris, the cost of conversion is considerable, says Kim Sweeten, electronic manager for the two casinos. “It's very difficult for existing properties to switch to digital because there's so many VCRs involved,” he says.

Proponents of digital, however, say the long-term cost benefits make up for the hefty initial investment.

“The cost of man-hours required for investigations, the maintenance costs for VCR's, the purchase of new VCR's, the purchase of tapes, the additional personnel required for management of tapes and tape changes all outweigh the costs of the digital solution,” says Dave Dalleske, product manager, Integrated Systems, Pelco.

As the debate continues, only time will tell whether digital is the right solution, Abram says.

“There is absolutely no doubt the technology is ready for the gaming industry,” Abrams says. “It is simply a matter of waiting several months for the cost to come down. I think you will see a sufficient cost decrease within the next 12 months that more and more casinos will be willing to do a cost-justification study on the product.”

Mellott also foresees price drops in the future: “Within the next year or two years we will see projects moving seriously toward digital, and in the next three years we will see widespread use in the industry,” he says. “This is all based on hard drive technology. A year ago we were pushing for an 80 GB hard drive. Now we can put 320 GB in the same footprint as that 80 GB. Overall, that's going to lower the long-term cost.”

Technology suppliers also speculate the more traditional casinos are awaiting a blessing from the gaming commissions that govern them, or waiting for a pioneer to forge the new territory.

“The traditional casinos in Atlantic City and Vegas have not made up their mind. The few who have gone over to digital have kept their old analog system in place, almost as a back-up,” says Aaron Chesler, North American director of sales in the video division of NICE Systems, Ra'anana, Israel.

“The common complaint (over the last few years) was that it's a new technology, and they don't want to take a chance,” he continues. “The gaming area is high-security and they could literally have to close down the area if they cannot record.”

According to Mike Cassell, supervisor of the enforcement division of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the gaming commissions have not denounced or restricted use of digital technology specifically.

“We tell the casinos that we know it's the going thing and they can use it, but it must meet our minimum requirements, which have been in place for a long time,” he says. The minimum requirements specify which areas must be covered by cameras and how long recorded material must be stored. As with all surveillance media, the casinos must be able to provide recorded proof in court.

One Las Vegas casino, the Sahara, converted to digital two years ago, but operates multiple digital recorders with single inputs, rather than an extensive enterprise system. Tom Shellabarger, director of surveillance for the Sahara, says he prefers the single input recorders because he is concerned about image degradation with multiple inputs. Digital security measures also create confidence, he says.

“That's the biggest question — what are you going to do when you go to court,” he explains. “Our system, (manufactured by Colby Systems) has a digital signature on each recorder so you cannot manipulate the image once it is recorded, and that was a big issue with the gaming board.”

Still, Shellabarger hesitates to upgrade to a larger, more extensive system.

Similar reluctance characterizes the casino industry at this point, industry observers say. Shellabarger has isolated a key virtue of digital — the ability to record to hard drive and access that information quickly and conveniently at a PC workstation. But he hesitates to trade the potential value of added workstations on a network for the potential inconvenience of such a transition.

The challenge of creating a completely digital system, with the ability to view data on multiple workstations, is the final barrier to widespread conversion, says Dalleske. “The major technical challenge is offering a complete system with one or more workstations where any operator can control video from any camera across the network,” he says. “There are a number of digital recorders that can handle the recording speed requirements for a casino, but most are limited by a lack of system continuity.”

In the foreseeable future, however, most companies will bridge this hurdle and at a cost casinos can more easily afford. Then the casinos will be faced with a decision.

Bosch's Mellott echoes this sentiment: “Over the past five years, digital has come around as a more advantageous product because of technological advances. Yes, digital is ready for the gaming industry. The question is really: ‘Is the gaming industry ready to take the appropriate steps?’”

For the Record

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Corrina Stellitano is a Fairhope, Ala.-based writer and regular contributor to Access Control & Security Systems.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

For information, circle the Reader Service number (listed below) or visit securitysolutions.com

American Dynamics	9
Bosch	10
Colby Systems	11
NICE Systems	12
Panasonic	13
Pelco	14
PI Vision	15
Loronix/Verint Systems	16

Security Depends On Digital Surveillance Under The Mohegan Sun

Casino security is a game of cat and mouse. Security managers must always stay one step ahead of con artists, thieves and professional criminals.

Hundreds and even thousands of VCRs — requiring large amounts of rack space — are needed to adequately record day-to-day activities in the casino environment. Due to these large quantities of tape, long search times are usually required to investigate incidents. Because casinos record activity in continuous real-time, there are no time-lapse or other shortcuts available for video storage.

At Connecticut's Mohegan Sun, officials estimate it would cost more than $88,000 in employee salaries to manage a tape-based video archive on a daily basis. This figure may seem lofty, but considering the time it takes to switch out and store more than 100,000 tapes every eight hours, the figure makes sense. These factors helped Mohegan Sun decide to go with a digital video solution. Problems commonly associated with analog recording are easily dismissed.

Companies like Loronix Video Solutions from Verint Systems Inc. use modern digital technology to reduce the time, space and manpower needed for video surveillance.

Created by the Mohegan Tribe of Indians in 1996, Mohegan Sun is a gaming, entertainment, meeting, dining and shopping resort located in Uncasville, Conn., that expects to attract 14 million visitors this year.

In September 2001, the addition of the 115,000-square-foot Casino of the Sky made Mohegan Sun one of the largest gaming complexes in the world, with a total of 315,000 square feet of gaming space. Its show-stopping design elements include an environment that pays tribute to the Mohegan past, as well as the world's largest, fully-functional planetarium dome. Mohegan Sun also boasts a large digital surveillance system.

There are critical decisions to be made to ensure successful operation of often complex games and facilities at casinos. Video intelligence tools provide more than just security and surveillance to casino, hotel and resort management; they also provide some of the intelligence as well as due diligence necessary for making business decisions about how the facilities are run. Historically in a casino environment, surveillance was typically a reactive endeavor. Changing from a reactive to a proactive system — analog to digital — allows security to be alarmed upon an event, and gives them access to video data in real-time. One of the best advances with a digital solution is the quality. With a Loronix networked DVR, video has no degradation after capture and can be reviewed an unlimited number of times without change. Regular video cassettes begin to degrade significantly after a few reviews, which was one reason the Mohegan Sun moved toward digital technology. Adjustable frame rate and resolution are further benefits of a digital video solution.

In a casino environment, these tools can help to deter criminal activity such as card counting, track “high-roller” guests throughout the facility and monitor all areas of the casino. Wireless distribution of video data can maximize efficiencies of staff, improve customer service and allow for immediate incident response.

A preview of the system at another location, a test phase and a trial period were all part of the decision-making process. The first Loronix System (Phase 1) containing 1,000 camera inputs was installed in 1999. The second phase, which included 800 camera inputs, was completed in 2001. There are plans in place to expand the system even further.

William Letson, director of technical operations surveillance/security at Mohegan Sun, was part of the decision-making group that chose the Loronix solution. “The fact that the system is scalable and therefore able to deal with the demands of an establishment of this size, as well as its ability to easily integrate with other systems, was key to its selection,” Letson says. “This product has increased the productivity of our surveillance room. It also allows our personnel to do a better job.”

Native American Casinos Are Blazing The Trail

The Native American tribes that operate the nation's gaming casinos are firmly rooted in tradition, but tradition doesn't prevent them from sampling the latest technologies. In comparison to Atlantic City and Las Vegas casinos, the Indian gaming casinos have welcomed digital surveillance technology more quickly — either by equipping their newly constructed resorts or by converting their existing facilities.

Although cost is still cited as a major obstacle for widespread casino conversion to digital, tribal officials at several casinos say the benefits are worth the investment.

The Foxwoods Resort and Casino, operated in Mashantucket, Conn., by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, will complete the second phase of its conversion to digital surveillance for its 3,200 table games and 6,800 slot machines over the next year. Foxwoods is replacing more than 600 VCRs (and 22,000 VCR tapes) with the Intellex Digital Video Management System manufactured by San Diego-based American Dynamics.

“We feel the system will probably pay for itself in five to seven years,” says Timothy Bohr, surveillance director for Foxwoods. “We wanted to get in on the ground floor as far as developing what we needed for Foxwoods.

“They want more for less,” says Tim Chuppe, eastern regional sales manager for American Dynamics. “There are casinos who are taking the plunge, and with the price coming down significantly, I think you'll see more and more.”

The Yakama Nation Legends Casino in Toppenish, Wash., began a full-scale conversion last winter which will culminate in the replacement of all of its analog recording equipment. Output from more than 350 cameras will soon lead to the NiceVision Pro digital video recording system, produced by NICE Systems, Ra'anana, Israel.

“Instead of employees needing to locate and then search through VCR tapes, all video is readily available on our existing network,” says Caleb Carter, project manager and lead surveillance technician for the Yakama Nation Gaming Commission.

With so many digital companies competing for the attentions of casinos, buyers have the responsibility of fully understanding the product, says Kevin Burleson-Webb, vice-president of sales and marketing for PI Vision, Orlando, Fla. PI Vision completed installation of its digital recording system in The Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Redwing, Minn., in July 2002.

“Any casino considering this change has to be extremely diligent about testing these systems,” he says. “The people making the purchasing decision must know how to test them. There are factors that can cause digital video recorders to fail or perform badly, and many of these factors, like long cable runs creating noisy video, can be prevalent in casinos. If people assume every DVR is going to perform the same way, there are going to be some disappointed purchasers.”

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Opening Up About Door Closers
• An Enterprise Approach
• The Framework For Open Systems
• On A Higher Plane
• More from April's issue