The Megalab is a dedicated testing facility and knowledge centre located at Arecont Vision’s headquarters, development centre, and manufacturing facilities in Glendale, California that is used by Arecont Vision and by many manufacturers of video management software (VMS) platforms, network video recorders (NVRs), storage, servers, cyber security solutions, utilities, lighting, and network infrastructure. The facility is used to test new products, features, and capabilities with the latest products from a wide range of Technology Partner Program members to ensure the best possible integration.

The Megalab is now closely integrated with the Arecont Vision Quality Assurance (QA) labs as part of the most recent facility expansion. This allows the Quality team to leverage the Megalab and the wide range of partner hardware and software systems prior to the release of Arecont Vision products. It also provides a vehicle for the Technical Assistance Center (TAC) team to simulate, identify, and resolve post-installation support issues.

“The Megalab was initially created for Arecont Vision engineers to verify the integration of industry leading VMS platforms with our pioneering megapixel cameras,” said Jason Schimpf, Director of Marketing Programs at Arecont Vision, and the creator of the Megalab. “The Megalab has grown dramatically in scope, and today is used by a growing range of VMS and Infrastructure Partners to test their products with Arecont Vision cameras onsite or remotely. The Megalab provides a physical environment with professional security cameras and typical network infrastructure, far superior to using software to simulate real world conditions.” This testing capability is a free service available to the hardware and software manufacturers that are participants in the Arecont Vision Technology Partner Program.

The original Arecont Vision certification programme launched in 2008 with 64 of the company’s megapixel cameras and a basic network infrastructure setup. Eight years later the Megalab has evolved into a dedicated workspace located in the centre of the Engineering, Quality, and Technical Assistance Center departments, and has been used by many manufacturers. The Megalab is now a 24 hour a day, 365 day a year proving ground, troubleshooting testbed, certification lab, remote load test environment, and a customer design verification centre. The facility features over 120 cameras permanently installed, along with capability to expand to well over 500 cameras when needed.

“ONVIF integration is important, and fully endorsed by Arecont Vision,” commented Schimpf. “Through the Megalab, we are able to move beyond ONVIF and integrate the features and capabilities so that we are often the first in the industry to deploy with the latest products of our Technology Partners. This brings outstanding customer solutions to the market that are well integrated even before the standards groups catch up.”

The MegaLab features dedicated servers for VMS and other software solutions in physical and virtualised environments, as well as NVR appliances. A robust network backbone with network switch hardware from several manufacturers is available for dedicated testing and troubleshooting. This type of flexibility allows Technology Partners and Arecont Vision’s TAC, QA, and Engineering staff to test to precisely what needs to be checked, verified, or corrected.

“Access to the Megalab has greatly enhanced our quality assurance testing. We are able to test every new firmware update and each camera with the industry’s leading VMS, storage, network, and analytics platforms before release for sale,” said George Feldman, Director of Quality at Arecont Vision. “Since our cameras have maintained a unified API since 2008, the new cameras and firmware versions are plug and play with many of our partners. This allows us to verify that our new features and cameras are designed properly, and ensures a deep level of integration when new products are released.”