About Video Quality in Public Safety
For emergency responders using incident video services, a clear picture can mean the difference between life and death. Video applications are quickly emerging as an essential component in the effort to create seamless communications among emergency responders. As video technology has evolved, the array of options for public safety practitioners has grown and the interoperability challenges have become increasingly complex. Communication between practitioners and manufacturers is often unclear, making it even more difficult for public safety agencies to get the best equipment for their particular requirements.
Background
In 2005, researchers at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) began conducting subjective testing of individual public safety applications and convened panels of recorded video experts to study the outcomes of those tests. ITS also researched various video quality and interoperability efforts and found that several organizations and agencies were developing their own guidelines aimed at improving the quality and interoperability of video in public safety. Federal partners saw the value in bringing the leaders of these projects together with other public safety practitioners and manufacturers to discuss common challenges and lay the groundwork for the development of solutions.
Video Quality in Public Safety Conference
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Interoperability and Compatibility, in partnership with the Public Safety Communications Research program, hosted the first Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS) conference in early February 2009.
The conference provided stakeholders with the opportunity to discuss their successes and the challenges related to video quality and interoperability. During the conference, attendees from each public safety discipline—law, fire, and emergency medical services—volunteered to participate in the VQiPS Working Group.
Video Quality in Public Safety Working Group
The VQiPS Working Group provides a forum in which stakeholders can educate each other on their work, and collaborate on next steps and future solutions, thereby reducing the duplication of efforts. The VQiPS Working Group consists of public safety practitioners at the local and state levels; Federal partners; representatives from academia and non-profit entities; and manufacturers.
The initiatives that the Group is undertaking include developing a user requirements guide that will educate end users on the appropriate video systems for their needs, creating a collective glossary of video terms, forming use cases for requirement needs, researching and documenting gaps in existing standards, and recommending video specifications. Each initiative will be addressed through separate Task Groups under the larger Working Group. The Working Group’s efforts will educate users so they can make the technology investments and practical decisions necessary to keep the Nation’s communities safe and protected.
Links
VQiPS Web Site