subject: Onvif the new IP camera protocol [print this page] Onvif the new IP camera protocol Onvif the new IP camera protocol
The acronym stands for the "Open Network Video Interface Forum." It's an open industry, which committees to accelerate the adoption of network video in the security market through a global open interface standard. It was founded on November 25th, 2008 by Axis Communications, Bosch Security Systems, and Sony.
The base elements of ONVIF are:
Standardization of communication between network video devices.
Interoperability among network video products, regardless manufacturer.
Open to all companies and organizations.
The goal of the ONVIF forum is to facilitate the development and the usage of a global open standard for the interface of network video products. The ONVIF specification ensures interoperability between network video products regardless manufacturer. It becomes even easier for end-users, integrators, consultants and manufacturers to take advantage of the possibilities offered by network video, resulting in more cost-effective and flexible solutions, expanded market opportunities and reduced risk.
ONVIF has released several specifications such as:
ONVIF Schema [ONVIF Schema].
ONVIF Analytics Service WSDL [ONVIF Analytics WSDL].
ONVIF Device Service WSDL [ONVIF DM WSDL].
ONVIF Event Service WSDL [ONVIF Event WSDL].
ONVIF Imaging Service WSDL [ONVIF Imaging WSDL].
ONVIF Media Service WSDL [ONVIF Media WSDL]
ONVIF PTZ Service WSDL [ONVIF PTZ WSDL]
ONVIF Remote Discovery WSDL [ONVIF DP WSDL]
ONVIF Topic Namespace XML [ONVIF Topic Namespace]
Such specifications define standardized procedures for communication between network video clients and video transmitter devices. This new set of specifications makes it possible to build network video systems with video transmitters from different manufacturers using common and well defined interfaces. These interfaces cover functions are device-management, real-time streaming of audio and video, event handling, Pan, Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) control and video analytics.
The specification is not limited to discovery, configuration and control functions, but defines precise formats for media and metadata streaming in IP networks using suitable profiling of IETF standards. Furthermore, an appropriate protocol extension has been introduced in order to make it possible for network video manufacturers to offer a fully standardized network video transfer solution to its customers and integrators. The ONVIF core specifications are based on network video use cases covering both local and wide area network scenarios.
The ONVIF specification framework covers procedures from the network video transmitter deployment and the configuration phase to the real time streaming phase for these different network scenarios. The framework starts from a core set of interface functions, and it shall be easy to extend and enhance the specifications as future versions are released.
The main focus of the specification is the interface between a Network Video Transmitter (NVT) and a Network Video Client (NVC). The specification covers device discovery, device configuration, events, PTZ control, video analytics and real time streaming functions.
The core specification defines the ONVIF framework, commands and requirements. All services share a common XML schema and all data types are defined in [ONVIF Schema]. The different services are defined in the respective service WSDL document.
Having standards for things related to technology make things much easier for researchers or even users, no disagreements or objections of any kind. And this is what ONVIF all about.
