Standards initiative ONVIF recently surpassed the 2,000 mark for the number of products that conform to its IP-based physical security products interoperability standards.

In addition to being a milestone for the ONVIF standard, the 2,000 products represent a two-fold increase in conformant products over the last 12 months. Overall ONVIF membership has also grown to include more than 400 individual companies from a cross-section of manufacturers and other security technology companies of varying sizes and scopes from around the world.

“Achieving this milestone of more than 2,000 conformant products, more than half of those within the last year, is an important marker in the movement to adopt interoperability standards on an industry-wide basis,” said Jonas Andersson, chairman of ONVIF’s steering committee. “By continuing to make investments in test tools to streamline ONVIF conformance, we can maintain this healthy momentum as our organization continues to expand.”

ONVIF has also launched an online training webinar to help end users, systems integrators and consultant learn more about ONVIF, including the recent launch of Profile S, which addresses common functionalities between devices within an IP video surveillance system. The free webinar provides a basic overview of current security industry standards, details about the mission and objectives of ONVIF, and the core specification and conformance process.

"The myriad of networking products available in the marketplace today presents our industry with a real paradox," said Paul Tennent, director of the webinar’s developer, Tavcom Training. “The enormous choices we are now offered have never been more exciting but without effective global standards to ensure smooth and easy interoperability, that same benefit can quickly become a nightmare."

Additionally, Profile S and a test tool have been added to the ONVIF conformance process to further simplify ONVIF implementation. Profile S describes common functionalities shared by ONVIF conformant video management systems and IP cameras, encoders and other devices that send, configure, request or control the streaming of video over a network. The test tool is available in the Documents section of ONVIF’s website, along with guidelines on Profile S and the ONVIF Profile Policy.

For more information, visit www.onvif.org.