Camera Inventory
For each in-scope camera, provide its make, model, location and whether it offers ONVIF or RTSP. Include the codec and current primary-stream resolution, frame rate and bit rate where available.
Will IREX work with our cameras?
Usually yes and reusing the existing fleet is the standard deployment model rather than an exception. Here is the actual baseline and the two honest qualifications.
The Baseline
What a Camera Has to Do
Any camera that supports ONVIF (Profile S) or streams RTP or RTSP over TCP or UDP with H.264 or H.265, at a valid RTSP URL on a static IP address, can be connected. Connection is not the bar for analytics: facial recognition, weapon detection and StreamVLM™ need higher-resolution imagery of the scene than a bare stream and each module sets its own resolution requirement below.
The recommended configuration is a primary stream of 1920 × 1080 or 1920 × 1440 at variable bit rate up to 5 Mbps, with an optional 740 × 480 secondary stream for video-wall playback. A citywide deployment is built around connecting up to 10,000 existing ONVIF and RTSP cameras without replacing camera hardware.
Individual analytics modules add their own mount position, height, angle of view and resolution requirements, documented per module in the platform user guide. Correct time matters too: cameras need NTP configured, because archiving depends on it.
Prepare the First Review
What to Include in a Camera-Estate Intake
Intended Analytics
State the operational use case or analytics module for each view. Resolution, mounting position, height and angle of view are checked against the module, not against connection alone.
Network and Time
Identify the network path from each site, available bandwidth and whether cameras have static IP addresses, reachable RTSP URLs and NTP time synchronization. Constrained or unreliable links may call for an edge design.
Site Constraints
Flag physical and environmental constraints that affect delivery, including power, cooling, rack space, network topology, identity services and physical security. The site survey verifies these before IREX commits to an architecture.
Two Honest Qualifications
Where "Yes" Needs a Caveat
- There is no plug-and-play connection. For compatibility and security reasons a qualified network engineer must configure each camera and router: network settings, NTP, firmware, strong passwords and stream parameters. Budget for that work.
- Some cameras will need replacing or supplementing. Cameras that do not meet the ONVIF and RTSP baseline and analytics with stricter optics requirements such as traffic-violation enforcement, may require additions. That is excluded from standard proposal scope and is settled in the site survey rather than discovered during build.
- Traffic enforcement also defines field-of-view rules per violation type. Entry LPR cameras must capture the stop line in the second third of the frame; pedestrian cameras must cover the crossing plus 8 to 10 meters before and after it.
- Network bandwidth from camera sites has to meet the camera requirements. Remediation of the network itself is normally excluded from scope and an edge server is often the cheaper answer than a fiber run.
- No architecture commitment is made before a site survey and no hardware ships until site readiness is attested. That is a gate, not a formality.
Enforcement
Traffic Violations Are Stricter
- Resolution and Frame Rate
- Primary stream 1920 × 1080 up to 2560 × 1920, at 12 to 25 fps.
- Encoding
- H.264 and/or H.265 at 1 to 6 Mbps, constant bit rate preferred.
- Interfaces and Power
- ONVIF Profile S and G compatibility, PoE to 802.3af or 802.3at.
- Environment
- IP66 protection and a −30 °C to +40 °C operating range.
FAQ
Which camera brands are supported?
IREX publishes a capability baseline rather than a vendor list, deliberately: any camera that supports ONVIF or streams RTSP with H.264 or H.265 on a static IP can be connected and the resolution each module needs is published per module. That covers the major brands and does not go stale when a vendor changes a firmware.
Do the cameras have to be NDAA Section 889 compliant?
That is the buyer’s procurement decision and IREX makes it easy to keep: IREX supplies no cameras, servers or network equipment, the end user owns and procures them and the platform itself uses no equipment or services covered by Section 889 (Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, Dahua and their affiliates). Any camera that meets the capability baseline connects, so a Section 889-compliant fleet is simply a fleet of compliant cameras that stream RTSP or speak ONVIF. Where IREX proposes hardware in a bid, it proposes only compliant models and never the covered brands.
Which codecs do you support?
H.264 and H.265 over RTSP, or any ONVIF Profile S camera. Full codec detail, including audio and the per-module stream settings, is in the camera requirements documentation.
Can we mix old and new cameras?
Yes and most estates do. The connectivity model is chosen per site, so a fiber-connected new installation and an edge-served legacy site sit in the same deployment with one management interface and one audit trail.
What happens if a camera does not qualify?
The site survey says so before the statement of work is signed and the options are replacement, supplementing with an additional camera, or accepting reduced analytics on that view. What we will not do is let it surface during build.
Send Us Your Camera List
A spreadsheet of makes, models and locations is enough for a first read. Add the stream details, intended analytics and site constraints above when available and we can make that review more useful before the site survey.