Panasonic IP CCTV cameras score at the Open Golf Championship

Three Panasonic WV-NW960 series fully functional dome cameras were used for the competition

Often described by players and fans as golf's greatest prize, Turnberry golf course in Scotland's Firth of Clyde was the location for the 09' Open Golf Championship. It is not the first time that the area has witnessed golf history in the making as the weathered terrains of Scotland's Ayrshire coastline have welcomed some of the most celebrated players in history and their devoted fans in a variety of tournaments which culminated in the hosting of The Open for the first time in the late 1970's. Some of the most fascinating Opens have been played at Turnberry; the 106th in 1977, the 115th in 1986 and the 123rd in 1994.

The Turnberry facility was selected once again to host the 138^th Open under the venues esteemed management of Leisurecorp, a visionary developer of premium lifestyle destinations that specialises in the golf sector and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, one of the world's leading hotel and leisure companies with interests in more than 900 properties in 100 plus countries. With the heritage of fantastic Opens and excellent reputation for safety and security to uphold, it came as little surprise that Panasonic System Networks and Arthur McKay Building Services were identified to assist with security solutions.

Panasonic System Networks were asked to provide a specialist security solution for use during the event and Arthur McKay Building Services, a company that has diversified from Electrical Contracting and Data Networking into IP CCTV system design and installation particularly in Scotland, were appointed as the system installer. Arthur McKay's IP CCTV Consultant, Mark Doyle, said: "After the initial inspection of the site, selection of the equipment and locations had been planned we had a small time window within which to install, setup and test the equipment. It was far simpler to install Panasonic's IP based cameras than any we have previously installed because of less cable runs through PoE (power over Ethernet) and greater compatibility of Panasonic systems with the hotel's Milestone servers and other equipment."

"...It was far simpler to install Panasonic's IP based cameras than any we have previously installed..."

Cameras controlled by Strathclyde's police during the Open were positioned in several strategically important locations. Three Panasonic WV-NW960 series fully functional dome cameras were used on the leader board for the competition, the tented village and 14th tee entrance gate; they provided an outstanding view of the putting green and surrounding area plus the excitable crowds beneath the scoreboard itself.

The WV-NW960s are at the high end of the Panasonic System Networks external range of dome cameras and with full network capability they seamlessly integrated with Milestone servers based back in the Turnberry hotel and other networked security equipment. The 960's weather resistant design, IP66 ingress protection rating, robust body and wide operating temperature range mean that not only they endured The Open's variable weather but had they have been subjected to it, powerful jets of water or dust. Mind you, with acts of tampering as serious as these, Strathclyde officers would have been alerted via the camera's scene change detection system which sends a popup alarm back to the user allowing on the ground security staff to attend and take quick action quickly.

Turnberry security also benefited from the WV-NW960s Super Dynamic III, a feature which means a 128x wider dynamic range compared to conventional cameras for good image quality throughout the cameras 30x zoom range. Two further WV-NW960s were installed in the Turnberry Hotel where the cameras auto tracking function can be used alongside a CU950 system controller to follow the movement of hotel visitors, friend or foe, at the touch of a button.

Further features of the Turnberry CCTV system that made for a safe and secure Open included the WV-NW960's pan and tilt operation and the new "drag and zoom" feature where the camera will move to and zoom in on specific areas selected by the user. Coupled with finer control through smooth gearing, operators can capture subjects more vividly helping security personnel to tackle criminals ranging from fraudulent betting cartel organisers down to the simplest thief. When darkness falls, Turnberry's camera automatically switches to black and white mode for greater sensitivity. In daylight, it automatically switches to colour mode. With a minimum illumination of 0.04lux in B/W mode and 0.5lux in colour, a clear surveillance image can be captured in poorly lit, dim conditions.

Another Panasonic System Networks camera, an iPro WV-NP304 network static camera covered Turnberry's main entrance, a much more conventional looking camera than the WV-NW960 but criminals shouldn't be fooled by its looks as it packs some extremely advanced crime fighting features. Through power over Ethernet (PoE) the camera can be positioned anywhere where there is no immediate power supply. This opens up the range of options for placement to monitor spectator hotspots where crime and antisocial behaviour might take place as a result of excessive alcohol combined with a disappointing result. The other advantage of running the power supply through the data cable is that

The CCTV system's WV-NW960's pan and tilt operation and the new "drag and zoom" feature made for a safe and secure Open

installation is simpler as less cable is used. 

With the WV-NP304's 1.3 mega pixel CCD sensor for superior high resolution images, Turnberry's entrance was never overlooked and 1,280x960 pixel images, enhanced for identification of offending individuals, were captured on the server for review after any incident took place. With progressive scan, clear images with no motion blur and no tearing can be achieved, even when subjects are moving. Mark Doyle commented: "The police using the equipment were very impressed with the clarity and stability of pictures even in wet and windy conditions during the event."

i-Pro network cameras such as the WV-NP304 are also equipped with an SD memory card slot, so that if the network experiences a problem during the data transfer to a server or i-Pro network recorder, images can automatically be backed up into an SD memory card, an excellent failsafe preventing more advanced criminals who may try to tamper with networks whilst more serious crime is taking place.

Philip Pitt, Constable at Strathclyde Police Open Golf Planning Team summarised the role of CCTV in making the event a policing success: "...the 138^th Open Championship was a complete success both in terms of overall security and public safety. The CCTV system provided by Arthur McKay played an important part in contributing to this outcome. Both Police CCTV operators were complimentary of the system... The ease of use, functionality, stability, clarity and quality of images were no doubt down to the quality of Panasonic equipment..."

Future Sporting Events

Panasonic has some very special relationships with major sporting events around the globe and its proven security solutions are always on hand to make them safer and more fun places to be. Of course it's the security that you don't see that counts and although most of Panasonic's installations, particularly at high profile events are designed to be highly visible to prevent and deter crime, clever IP and imaging technology tirelessly works in the background to make the roles and responsibilities of police and security staff that much easier to execute. For these reasons and more we expect Panasonic System Networks to be a brand of choice at the some of the most important football and sporting events in the future.