BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--When ECS added video monitoring to its service line-up in January, the central navigated a technology that would help decrease false dispatches, work with jurisdictions that have gone to a verified response policy and improve monthly revenue services for dealers. Although video associated with some kind of sensing triggering is not a new technology, it is one that more and more centrals are adding.

Video associated with events, such as pre- and post-alarm offerings enables the operator to understand the condition prior to the alarm going off. "If the door opening is the trigger, then you get to see several frames before, during and after the trigger," said Ed Mallen, chief executive officer of OzVision.

Mallen said the technology of using the alarm panel as the predominant arming and disarming device has made centrals even more effective. "Everybody who is in the business of intrusion at any level, one of the objectives is to reduce false alarms, when you see how high false alarm rates are. As more jurisdictions go to some form of non-response, it pushes the responsibility from the police force to show up when an alarm goes off to the alarm dealer and to the home and business owners."

Even though centrals have various time frames to incorporate video as a service, Mallen said it is a technology that will be more common in the future. IP is going to fuel the transition into video monitoring: "The benefit to the home and business owner is that you can layer services on top of anything that has IP. The same will hold true with alarm panels. Cameras will be highly secure with IP browsable capability. "