One of France’s newest Casino and Entertainment centers in Toulouse has deployed IP video for its demanding security surveillance requirements. The Casino Théâtre Barrière de Toulouse is an approximately 150,000 square foot venue, which includes a 1,200 seat theatre, three restaurants, three bars, 14 gaming tables and 250 slot machines.
     

“We are pleased to have chosen IndigoVision for the first IP-based surveillance solution in a French casino,” said Steve Dupoizat, the Casino’s director of security. “The operation of the system has been very impressive.”
     

Dupoizat realized early on that a distributed IP video solution was fundamental in providing the casino complex and its security team with a reliable, fault-tolerant and scalable surveillance solution.
     

“We commissioned a trial of competing IP video vendors led by an independent consultant,” continued Dupoizat. “We chose IP video by IndigoVision because of its superior compression technology, excellent video quality and the ease of use of their video management software for both the operators and supervisors.”
     

Systems integrator SPIE Sud-Ouest installed the 350 camera system, which is controlled using security management software. The software allows operators to view live and recorded video, manage alarms and quickly search and analyze recorded video for a selected incident.
     

Compression technology ensures video can be streamed across the network with a guarantee of no dropped frames, no matter the level of motion and activity in the camera scene. This was a fundamental requirement for Groupe Lucien Barrière when choosing the IP video technology. Any dropped frames within a video clip could hide fraudulent or criminal activity and make any customer disputes more difficult to resolve.
     

Redundancy and reliability were another key factor for choosing the IP video solution. Should a camera or recorder fail, the associated gaming tables or slot machines may see their operation compromised. The reliability of IP video technology has been field-proven in 27 casinos around the world and incorporates one of the most advanced fault-tolerant recording solutions available. Video from all of the cameras is recorded directly from the network onto 28 primary standalone network video recorders (NVRs). The same video is simultaneously recorded onto 14 secondary windows-based NVR servers as a mirror backup. Three additional standalone NVR units are configured for automatic fail-over, taking over recording from a primary NVR if needed. Video is recorded at full frame rate continuously for 28 days on 80 key cameras and for seven days on the rest.
     

“Having quick access to recorded video allows operators to deal efficiently with incidents and disputes,” added Dupoizat. “Responsiveness is fundamental to the Casino, as we need to respond rapidly to ensure smooth operation of the games.”