Vy Hoang, i3DVR’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, writes a list of ideas from forum attendees  about what future video surveillance products should offer.

Jack Hoang, i3DVR’s CEO, demonstrates replacement of a hard drive in one of the company’s hardware offerings.

A movement into access control products and the latest in IP video surveillance equipment were previewed by i3DVR at a user group forum with security dealers, systems integrators and end users February 21 in Dallas.

“We need feedback from integrators and end users,” said Vy Hoang, i3DVR’s executive vice president of sales and marketing.

Shawn Murphy, vice president of sales, echoed that sentiment. He had all the attendees introduce themselves to break the ice.

Attendees brainstormed with i3DVR executives by breaking into groups and writing on a poster sheet what they thought the future of video surveillance and security would offer. Many new ideas and customer suggestions for improvements have been gathered through these techniques.

Suggestions included storing metadata with video, offering free analytics in the camera, using solid-state storage, making recording standard in a 16-by-9 aspect ratio (the HDTV standard), and lowering the cost of IP cameras and storage.

Vy and Jack Hoang, CEO, presented details on many of the company’s new products, which include the Portal card access system and the iP-PRO network video recorder.

Also presented were new video capture cards and a DVR with a removable hard drive that can be replaced by non-technical personnel. This was demonstrated by a person who admitted to not being the most skilled technician, but rather a supervisor of an educational institution.

Other products explained during the forum included SRX PRO, ProLite and UltraLite digital video management systems, the Annexxus 204, 301 and 304 IP modules, CMS central monitoring software, VideoLogix analytics, dome cameras and a flat-panel monitor.