Located in London’s spacious Hyde Park, the Winter Wonderland offers attractions like an observation wheel, an ice rink, circus shows and over 100 shops and food stalls spread across the area. Securing such a high-profile event is not an easy task, as any surveillance system must be designed and employed as prescribed by strict regulations. For example, security personnel must be able to track any suspicious or potentially dangerous behaviour and react immediately to ensure the safety of all visitors.

Organisers required a complete surveillance system to be located on-site to cover the whole area and, if need be, to deliver close-ups of any wrongdoers for instant identification. Therefore, high quality imaging and smooth preview as well as instant playback capabilities were key requirements for this challenging project. In addition, multiple users should be able to access live video simultaneously and freely customise their preview layout. Last but not least, as cameras from several different manufacturers were employed, full interoperability between all components of the surveillance system was essential for effective surveillance.

After thorough analysis, experts from CBA Spindlewood recommended a solution consisting of Aver NVRs, Aver IP cameras, Aver central management software (CMS) and PTZ cameras from two major vendors. A total of 5 powerful NVRs were installed in the main control room for live preview, recording and playback of 80 individual IP camera channels. While the original plan called for PTZ cameras to be installed at all locations, experts with CBA Spindlewood realised the wide angle of view and 2M resolution of Aver’s SF2012H-D and SF2012H-DV dome type cameras could effectively secure the event’s token booths at a fraction of the cost of PTZ cameras. PTZ cameras were still utilised at other locations throughout the grounds, including near the event’s various attractions.

To fully supervise the event area, Aver CM3000 central management software was installed at three separate locations: the main control room, the manager’s office and the security room. The main control room was equipped with a 4-monitor TV wall allowing security personnel to preview all the channels at once and track suspicious people and/or objects whenever the need arose. CM3000 and Aver Imatrix were used in the manager’s office to display customised preview streams from the most important camera feeds, and the third CM3000 was installed in the security room to give the staff securing the grounds a second set of eyes.

Over two million guests visited Winter Wonderland during the two-week period, and the installed Aver solution provided the security personnel with everything they needed to ensure visitors safety. The NVRs were praised for their excellent performance and full compatibility with third-party equipment, while the CM3000 central management software allowed for high customisation of preview layouts and smooth IP PTZ control. The benefits of using Aver NVRs with Aver IP cameras did not go unnoticed either, as security staff complimented Aver’s intelligent streaming technology for its ability to significantly enhance image smoothness in multi-camera split display.