ONVIF has introduced the Release Candidate for ONVIF Profile V, a draft standard for cloud-based video surveillance. Profile V extends the ONVIF brand-independent approach to the cloud, giving system integrators, consultants and end users a way to build cloud video systems that are not tied to a single vendor.
Most cloud video surveillance systems today are proprietary, tying a customer’s cameras, video management software and recordings to a single provider. Profile V delivers those cloud benefits without the lock-in: conformant products from different manufacturers work together, and any one of them can be replaced without redesigning the whole system.
“Standardising cloud video surveillance is a natural next step for ONVIF,” said Leo Levit, chairman, ONVIF Board of Directors. “As more security systems move to the cloud, we want that shift to give customers more choice, not less. When the fundamentals are standardised, companies can build on top of them, and customers can trust that what they invest in today will still work with what they choose tomorrow.”
Profile V enables a conformant cloud-based video management system (VMS) to reach cameras behind a local firewall, typically without port forwarding or VPN configuration. The conformant device makes a secure outbound connection to the cloud VMS, then streams live video and, if applicable, audio over WebRTC to an ONVIF client or an authorised standard web client. The device can also send event notifications to the cloud VMS to take action. Video and audio are encrypted before they are pushed to cloud storage. Profile V can be combined with other ONVIF video and access control profiles for integrated or hybrid systems.
