SOW-S Series

Network Video Management Software – Standard Edition

Overview

Simple, easy-to-use, network video management software for monitoring systems with up to 288 cameras

This simple, easy-to-use video management software supports monitoring systems with up to 288 cameras, which is ideal for common applications such as retails and banks.

The SOW-S Series is the first 4K-ready VMS application from Sony with 4K recording and playback capability. It’s ideal for use with Sony 4K cameras, supporting unique image output functions like Intelligent Cropping. Recording 4K image data with four times the resolution of Full HD, the SOW-S Series supports more effective, efficient video monitoring by providing excellent situational awareness plus the ability to recognise fine details in a scene and quick, accurate searches.

Multiple users can simultaneously and securely access live or recorded video via their smartphone or tablet from any location. In addition remote PC clients can securely access system functions via a web browser, with no need to install application software.

Multi-vendor support allows easy expansion through the addition of a growing choice of third party cameras and other devices to create a powerful, versatile monitoring system. Regular software updates give monitoring professionals the reassurance of top-flight performance and the addition of new features to expand system capabilities even further.

Monitoring workflow is enhanced with support for a wide range of smart analytical and automation functions. This software-based solution gives system designers and integrators the freedom to select server hardware from the marketplace with CPU and operational specifications to meet their customers’ precise needs.

Note
The SOW-S and SOW-E Series network video management software and HAW-S and HAW-E Series network video recorders are not compatible with each other and cannot be used in the same system.

Features

  • Compatible with Sony 4K cameras

    Sony 4K cameras provide powerful new ways to get the whole picture, allowing detailed analysis of specific areas in a scene, together with a wide-area situational overview. They offer a range of video output functions, including Intelligent Cropping and Multi Tracking, plus Evidence Shot, high resolution still image capture that’s ideal for evidence. The SOW-S Series supports the video output functions unique to Sony 4K cameras, including a single real-time 4K/30 fps video stream and Intelligent Cropping that provides a Full HD overview video plus up to four VGA close-up video streams at the same time.

  • Multi-client access via smartphone or PC

    Multiple users can simultaneously and securely access live or recorded video via their smartphone or tablet from any location. In addition remote PC clients can securely access system functions via a web browser*, with no need to install application software. Live images captured with a smartphone or tablet by on-site staff can be transferred to the system, shared among users in the operations room and recorded to the central server. This supports timely monitoring of events, even in extreme environments where installing cameras is difficult.

    * Web browser supports limited functions, while client application software installed on a PC supports full system functions.

  • See the complete picture

    Multiple monitors can be easily controlled by a single operator. The monitors are allocated to different tasks – such as viewing cameras images, a site map or alarm list – giving a single operator a complete overview and status of the entire system.

  • All-round awareness

    Interactive, multi-layered maps offer a situational overview plus control of cameras and other integrated systems. Icons are displayed in a map image showing the location of each camera: operators can instantly view live video by clicking on an icon. When an alarm event occurs, the associated camera icon is displayed prominently, helping the operator understand the situation and take appropriate action.

Technical Specification

System components (software modules)

Recording Server Yes
Number of connected cameras per system 288
Maximum number of cameras per recording server 32
Recording Server manager Yes
Management Application (local management) Yes
Event Server (for handling of events and alarms) Yes
NVMS Mobile Client Yes
Network Video Management System Smart Client Yes
Network Video Management System Web Client Yes
Network Video Management System Smart Client – Player (local playback/export) Yes

Device support

Support for ONVIF™ compliant devices Yes
Generic device support via universal driver Yes
Number of IP device brands supported via dedicated device integration 149
Number of supported IP camera models 4738
Number of supported video encoder models 319
Number of dedicated IP input/output models 14
Number of supported DVRs 74
Number of supported IP audio devices 8
Number of supported perimeter detectors 18
Secure HTTPS camera connectivity (on supported devices) Yes

Video processing

MJPEG, MPEG-4, MPEG-4 ASP and MxPEG support Yes
H.264 support Yes
Dual stream (live and recording) per camera Yes
Client video stream down sampling (resolution and FPS) option Yes
Send camera pre-alarm images (pre-recording buffer) to recording server Yes
Video recording speed up on motion, event or time schedule Yes
Built-in Video Motion Detection (VMD) Yes
Auto adjustable VMD sensitivity Yes
Motion metadata generated during VMD analysis Yes
VMD exclusion zones Yes
Video motion detections per server All connected cameras

Audio

One-way audio support Yes (Smart Client)
Two-way audio support Yes (Smart Client)
One-way audio recording Yes
Maximum number of supported audio channels 32

Pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ)

Preset positions per camera 25
Go-to preset on event Yes
Preset patrolling Yes
Combine patrolling and go-to preset on event Yes
Number of PTZ priority levels for prioritized PTZ control 1

I/O and events

Hardware configurable events (such as I/O input,motion,tampering,temperature,communication failure) Yes
Motion detection events (VMD in Recording Server) Yes
System error events (for example disk full) Yes
Manual / User defined events Yes
Event-based notification Yes
Event-based output control Yes
Event-based device start/stop Yes

Alarm Manager

View triggered alarms Yes
Number of alarm priority levels 32000
Redundancy option for high availability Yes
Alarm logging Yes
Alarm handling reporting Yes
Customizable alarm categories Yes
Customizable alarm priority levels Yes

Storage and archiving

Video retention time Unlimited
Recording capacity per device/day >1 TB
Archiving schedules Hourly
Archiving of recordings Yes
Archiving to network drives Yes
Dynamic archiving (disk spanning) Yes
Online access to archives Yes
Automatic storage distribution Yes
Storage definition and retention time per device Yes

Support for Add-on products

Supports Screen Recorder Yes

Management

Automatic initial configuration wizard Yes
Configuration wizards for aided system setup Yes
Automatic camera discovery Yes
Device scanning with device model detection Yes
On-the-fly configuration changes Yes
Run servers as Windows Services Yes
Scheduled start/stop of devices Yes
System configuration restore points Yes
Export and import of configuration data Yes
Offline license activation Yes

Viewing clients

Maximum number of clients 20
Customizable access port with NAT support Yes
Basic User (Network Video Management System application accounts) Yes
Windows User (local Windows accounts) Yes
Single step installer (installs Smart Client together with server) Yes

System Alarms and notification

Email notification Yes
SMS notification Yes

Logging

System logging Yes
Event logging Yes
Audit logging Yes

Languages (Management Interface)

English Yes
French Yes
German Yes
Spanish Yes

General view handling (Client)

Number of view layouts 2 (Mobile/Web Client), 41 (Smart Client)
Maximum view Items per view 100 (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Optimized view layouts for 4:3 and 16:9 display ratios Yes (Smart Client)
Corridor optimized view layouts Yes (Smart Client)
Optimized view layouts for landscape and portrait displays Yes (Smart/Mobile Client)
Cameras from multiple servers Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Support for Shared Views and Private Views Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Images in views Yes (Smart Client)
Active HTML pages in views Yes (Smart Client)
Hotspot in views Yes (Smart Client)
Carousel in views (controllable) Yes (Smart Client)
Full screen mode Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Display views as floating window Yes (Smart Client)
Display views on multiple monitors Yes (Smart Client)
Advanced multi window support with synchronized or independent operation Yes (Smart Client)
Switch to view by number Yes (Smart Client)
Initial default view Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Camera search Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Automatic restore views and windows at login Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)

Live view (Client)

Update on motion only Yes (Smart Client)
Share video image Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Start recording in view Yes (Smart Client)
Independent playback in live mode Yes (Smart Client)
Replace cameras in view without changing view setup Yes (Smart Client)
Switch to camera by number Yes (Smart Client)

PTZ support (Client)

Define presets in the client application Yes (Smart Client)
View who have PTZ control and time to automatic release Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Go to preset position Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Pause patrolling at manual operation Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Auxiliary commands (wash and wipe) Yes (Smart Client)
Assign commands to keyboard shortcuts and joystick buttons Yes (Smart Client)
Joystick support Yes (Smart Client)
Immervision Enables® panomorph lens support Yes (Smart Client)
Grandeye 360° Quad View Yes (Smart Client)

I/O and events control (Client)

Camera overlay buttons Yes (Smart Client)
Manually activate events and trigger outputs Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)

Playback (Client)

Maximum view items per view 1 (Mobile/Web Client), 100 (Smart Client)
Playback mode Multi Camera(Smart/Web Client), Single Camera(Mobile Client)
Recording search Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Recent history of recording sequences per camera Yes (Mobile Client)
Time/date search Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Independent playback in playback mode Yes (Smart Client)
Event/alert list in recording Yes (Smart Client)
Graphical timeline Yes (Smart Client)
Adjust playback speed Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Single frame step (forward/backward) Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Digital zoom Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Print report with comments Yes (Smart Client)
Privacy masking Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)

Smart Search (Client)

Smart Search based on VMD analysis Yes (Smart Client)

Sequence Explorer (Client)

Listing of sequences Yes (Smart Client)
Listing of time intervals Yes (Smart Client)
Dedicated Sequence Explorer tab that can be displayed as floating window Yes (Smart Client)

Alarm Manager (Client)

Alarm list and alarm preview view items in normal camera views Yes (Smart Client)
Sort and filtering functions Yes (Smart Client)
Instant preview of primary and related cameras Yes (Smart Client)

Map function (Client)

Standard graphical file formats supported for maps Yes (Smart Client)
Number of linked map layers supported 64 (Smart Client)
Video preview Yes (Smart Client)
Integrated control of speakers, microphones and I/O devices Yes (Smart Client)
Drag-and-drop and point-and-click definition of map elements Yes (Smart Client)
Integrated PTZ control Yes (Smart Client)
Real-time system integrity overview and system performance Yes (Smart Client)

Export (Client)

Export in still image format (JPEG) Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Export in media player format (AVI) Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Export with audio in media player format (AVI) Yes (Smart Client)
Export with audio in media player format (MKV) Yes (Smart Client)
Export in Network Video Management System format Yes (Smart Client)
Server side export Yes (Smart Client)
Encrypted export with password Yes (Smart Client)
Digital signing of exported video Yes (Smart Client)
Re-export prevention Yes (Smart Client)
Auto-export of Smart Client – Player Yes (Smart Client)
Preserve system defined privacy masks Yes (Smart Client)
Additional export specific privacy masks Yes (Smart Client)
Direct export to optical media Yes (Smart Client)
Flexible camera selection for export Yes (Smart Client)
Bulk export to multiple media formats Yes (Smart Client)
General and camera specific export comments Yes (Smart Client)
Pre/post comment slides (media player format only) Yes (Smart Client)
Verification of digital video signatures in Smart Client – Player Yes (Smart Client)

Video Push (Client)

Video Push Yes (Mobile Client)

Installation (Client)

Run without installation Yes (Web Client)
Optional browser plug-ins for enhance viewing performance Yes (Web Client)
Single step installer (installs client together with server) Yes (Smart Client)
Initial and update installations from Management Server Yes (Smart Client)

System access (Client)

Auto-login Yes (Smart/Mobile Client)
Dynamic bandwidth adaptation Yes (Mobile/Web Client)
Bandwidth threshold Yes (Mobile/Web Client)

Authorization (Client)

Restrict user access by devices (cameras, microphones, I/O devices, etc.) Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Restrict access to live view Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Restrict access to PTZ Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Restrict access to playback Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Restrict access to export Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Restrict access to setup Yes (Smart Client)

Personalization (Client)

Centralized management of application options Yes (Smart/Web Client)
Application theme support Yes (Smart Client)

System (Client)

Hardware accelerated video decoding (Intel Quick Sync video) Yes (Smart Client)

Languages (Installation, UI and help function) (Client)

Arabic Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
English Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
French Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
German Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Japanese Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Spanish Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)
Turkish Yes (Smart/Web/Mobile Client)

Computer running Standard Edition Products (System Requirements)

CPU Intel® Pentium® 4, 2.4 GHz
RAM Minimum 4 GB
Network Ethernet 100 Mbit
Graphics adapter AGP or PCI-Express, minimum 1024 x 768, 16-bit colors
Hard disk space Minimum 10 GB free hard disk space available, excluding space needed for recordings
Operating system Microsoft® Windows® 10 Pro (64 bit)*

Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise (64 bit)*

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows 8 Pro (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (64-bit): Standard and Datacenter

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (64 bit): Standard and Datacenter

Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 (64-bit): Standard, Web, High Performance Computing (HPC), Enterprise and Datacenter

Software Microsoft .NET 4.5.1 Framework

DirectX 9.0 or newer

Windows Installer 4.5

Computer running Mobile Server (System Requirements)

CPU Intel® Pentium® 4, 2.4 GHz
RAM Minimum 4 GB
Network Ethernet 100 Mbit
Graphics Adapter Onboard GFX, AGP, or PCI-Express, minimum 1024 x 768, 16-bit color
Hard Disk Space Minimum 10 GB free hard disk space available (When using server-side export additional storage space is needed)
Operating system Microsoft® Windows® 10 Pro (64 bit)*

Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise (64 bit)*

Microsoft Windows 8 Pro (64 bit)

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise (64 bit)

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (64 bit)

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit)

Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise (64 bit)

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (64 bit): Standard and Datacenter

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (64 bit): Standard and Datacenter

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (64 bit): Standard, Web, High Performance Computing (HPC), Enterprise, and Datacenter

Software Microsoft® .NET 4.5.1 Framework

Computer running Smart Client, Smart Client - Player and Smart Wall - Using Software Decoding

CPU Intel® Core™2 Duo
RAM Minimum 1 GB
Network Ethernet 100 Mbit
Graphics Adapter Onboard GFX, AGP or PCI-Express, minimum 1280 x 1024, 16-bit colors, DirectX 9.0 or newer
Hard Disk Space 1 GB free
Operating system Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional SP1 (32-bit or 64-bit) *

Microsoft® Windows® 7 Enterprise SP1 (32-bit or 64-bit) *

Microsoft® Windows® 7 Ultimate SP1 (32-bit or 64-bit) *

Microsoft® Windows® 8 Pro (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® 8 Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® 8.1 Pro (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® 8.1 Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® 10 Pro (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® 10 Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit)

Operating system (contd) Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008 R2 (32-bit or 64-bit): Standard, Web, High Performance Computing (HPC), Enterprise, and Datacenter

Microsoft® Windows® Server 2012 (32-bit or 64-bit): Standard and Datacenter

Microsoft® Windows® Server 2012 R2 (32-bit or 64-bit): Standard and Datacenter

Microsoft® Windows® 7 and Server 2008 R2 are only supported on physical PC’s not on virtual machines

Software Microsoft® .Net 4.5.1 Framework

Requires Operating System and Graphic Adaptor support for DirectX 9.0 or newer

Computer running Smart Client, Smart Client - Player and Smart Wall - Using Hardware

CPU Intel CPU supporting Intel QuickSync, Intel GPU enabled in BIOS
RAM Minimum 1 GB
Network Ethernet 100 Mbit
Graphics Adapter AGP or PCI-Express, minimum 1280 x 1024, 32-bit colors, DirectX 11.0 or newer
Hard Disk Space 1 GB free
Operating system Microsoft® Windows® 8.1 Pro (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® 8.1 Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® 10 Pro (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® 10 Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit)

Microsoft® Windows® Server 2012 (32-bit or 64-bit): Standard and Datacenter

Microsoft® Windows® Server 2012 R2 (32-bit or 64-bit): Standard and Datacenter

Software Microsoft® .Net 4.5.1 Framework

Requires Operating System and Graphic Adaptor support for DirectX 11.0 or newer

Computer running Web Client (System Requirements)

CPU Intel Core2 Duo, 2.0 GHz

Intel Core i3-5010U 2.1 Ghz*

RAM 1 GB

4 GB*

Network Ethernet 100Mbit / WiFi 2Mbit
Graphics Adapter AGP or PCI-Express, minimum 1280 x 1024, 16 bit colors
Hard Disk Space 500 MB free
Operating System Any capable of running the below browsers
Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer® 9 or later**

Safari® 5 or later**

Google Chrome™ 16 or later

Google Chrome™ 48 or later (recommended)*

Mozilla® Firefox® 11 or later

Mozilla® Firefox® 43 or later (recommended)*

Device running Mobile Client (System Requirements)

RAM 2GB*
Operating System Android 4.0 or higher

iOS 9.2 or higher

Network 2G/3G

(4G or WiFi)*

Notes

* Required for using Direct Streaming
** Not supported when using Direct Streaming

Resource

Specification Document

SOW-S Series Specification Document