Tying video to access control

Unified platform benefits, door–camera association, cardholder photo verification, alarms with video, and investigations.

Unified vs integrated

Many sites run separate access control and video systems linked by an integration plugin. A unified platform runs both in one system: in Genetec Security Center, Synergis (access control) and Omnicast (video) share one Directory, one user and permission model, one alarm system, one set of reports and one operator client (Security Desk).

Door–camera association

In Security Center, you assign cameras to a door entity (local or federated cameras), and you can assign them to each side of the door. Operators then see the door's video automatically in the Monitoring task when access events occur, such as Access granted, Access denied or Door forced open. When several cameras are associated, the tile shows a composite entity that can be unpacked into separate tiles.

1. Place the camera for the doorFace height, shallow angle, enough pixel density to identify (see Pixel density), WDR if backlit. Often one camera per door side.
2. Associate cameras with the doorIn Config Tool, add the cameras to the door entity (inside and/or outside).
3. Record what mattersMake sure the cameras record continuously or on the door events, with pre-event recording.
4. Use it in Security DeskMonitor doors; investigate with the Door activities report, which links each event to its video.

Cardholder photo verification

When an access event appears in a Security Desk tile, it can show the cardholder's name and picture next to the live or recorded video from the door camera. The operator compares the badge photo with the person at the door to spot borrowed or stolen credentials. Good badge photos (recent, well-lit, consistent) make this work; enrol them in the cardholder record or sync them from the identity source.

Alarms with video

• An alarm entity defines which entities (usually cameras and doors) describe the situation, who is notified and how it is displayed.
• Attach cameras to alarms and enable automatic video recording on the alarm so attached cameras record for a set duration when it triggers; configure pre-alarm recording in the Archiver's camera defaults.
• Typical door alarms: door forced open, door held open, access denied repeatedly, antipassback violation, duress/panic input.
• Use event-to-actions to trigger alarms, bookmarks, PTZ presets, outputs or emails from access events.
• Include maps so operators see where the door and cameras are.

Investigations and reporting

• Door activities report: filter by door, cardholder, event type or time and open the associated video for each event.
• Cardholder activities: follow one person's badge history and the video at each door.
• Use bookmarks and video export with the event data for evidence; protect video from being overwritten by retention.
• Tailgating: compare one access grant with the number of people seen on video (or use analytics/sensors) to measure and reduce it.

Threat levels across video and access

Threat levels (see the Access Control track) can change both door behaviour and camera behaviour at once, for example locking down perimeter doors while starting recording and bringing door cameras up on the video wall.

How an SE positions it

Lead with operator workflows, not features: "When a door is forced at 2 a.m., what happens, who sees it, and how long until they see the video?" Walk through the current process, then demonstrate the unified alarm with video and the cardholder photo side by side. Quantify the time saved per investigation and per alarm.