ONVIF

ONVIF (the Open Network Video Interface Forum) is a global and open industry forum with the goal of facilitating the development and use of a global open standard for the interface of physical IP-based security products. ONVIF creates a standard for how IP products within video surveillance and other physical security areas can communicate with each other. ONVIF is an organization started in 2008 by Axis Communications, Bosch Security Systems and Sony.[1]

Open Network Video Interface Forum
Year started25 November 2008 (2008-11-25)
DomainInterface of physical IP-based security products
AbbreviationONVIF
Websitewww.onvif.org

It was officially incorporated as a non-profit, 501(c)6 Delaware corporation on November 25, 2008. ONVIF membership is open to manufacturers, software developers, consultants, system integrators, end users and other interest groups that wish to participate in the activities of ONVIF. The ONVIF specification aims to achieve interoperability between network video products regardless of manufacturer.

The cornerstones of ONVIF are:

  • Standardization of communication between IP-based physical security products
  • Interoperability regardless of the brand
  • Open to all companies and organizations

Members

To accommodate individual choices of participation, ONVIF offers four levels of membership: user, contributing, observer and full member. Full or contributing members can actively influence the development of the standard by participating in the work of the forum. The user and observer member levels are open to organizations that wish to use the network interface specification and have access to specification proposals but do not want to participate in any work of the forum. Technology and test tools are available to all ONVIF members to facilitate the development of conformant products.

In December 2009, the ONVIF member base had grown to 103 members. This comprised 12 full members, 13 contributing members and 78 user members.[2] In December 2010, the forum had more than 240 members and more than 440 conformant products on the market.[3] By January 2015, this had grown to more than 3,700 ONVIF conformant products and 500 members.[4] By August 2016, this had grown to more than 6,900 conformant products on the market but shrunk to 461 members.[5] In February 2020, ONVIF reached more than 14,000 conformant products.[6]

Name

ONVIF originally was an acronym for Open Network Video Interface Forum. The longer name was dropped as the scope of the standard expanded beyond video applications.[7]

Benefit of an open standard

ONVIF states the benefits of an open standards include:[8]

  • Interoperability – products from various manufacturers can be used in the same systems and “speak the same language”.
  • Flexibility – end-users and integrators are not locked within proprietary solutions based on technology choices of individual manufacturers.
  • Future-proof – standards ensure that there are interoperable products on the market, no matter what happens to individual companies.
  • Quality – when a product conforms to a standard, the market knows what to expect from that product.

Specification

The ONVIF Core Specification aims to standardize the network interface (on the network layer) of network video products.[9] It defines a network video communication framework based on relevant IETF and Web Services standards including security and IP configuration requirements. The following areas are covered by the Core Specification version 1.0:

  • IP configuration
  • Device discovery
  • Device management
  • Media configuration
  • Real time viewing
  • Event handling
  • PTZ camera control
  • Video analytics
  • Security

ONVIF utilizes IT industry technologies including SOAP, RTP, and Motion JPEG, MPEG-4, and H.264 video codecs. Later releases of the ONVIF specification (version 2.0) also covers storage and additional aspects of analytics.

Profiles

Building on the ONVIF Core Specification, ONVIF profiles are subset specifications that ensure the interoperability of specific sets of features between conformant devices.

Profile S
Addresses common functionalities of IP video systems, such as video and audio streaming, PTZ controls, and relay activation.[10]
Profile C
Addresses common functionalities of IP access control systems, such as door state and control, credential management, and event handling.[11]
Profile G
Addresses video storage, recording, search, and retrieval.
Profile Q
Addresses device discovery and configuration, as well as the management of TLS certificates.[12]
Profile A
Functionality to retrieve information, status and events and to configure the Physical Access Control System (PACS) related entities such as access rules, credentials and schedules.[13]
Profile T
Support for video streaming features such as the use of H.264 and H.265 encoding formats, imaging settings, and alarm events such as motion and tampering detection.[14]

Milestones
  • November 25, 2008: Incorporated as Open Network Video Interface Forum
  • November 2008: Release of Core Specification version 1.0[15]
  • December 2008: Release of Test Specification version 1.0
  • December 2008: First member meeting in Washington, DC
  • March 2009: Set up of several working groups to work on the further development of the forum
  • May 2009: Release of test tool and conformance process
  • July 2009: Release of the world's first ONVIF conformant products by Merit Lilin
  • September 2009: Show plug fest in Los Angeles, USA
  • October 2009: ONVIF reaches 100 members
  • April 2010: ONVIF extends scope to cover access control in addition to video
  • July 2010: ONVIF reaches 200 members
  • November 2010: Release of Core specification version 2.0
  • December 2010: Release of Test Specification version 1.02.2
  • January 2011: 600 ONVIF-conformant products on the market
  • December 2011: Test Specification version 11.12 released
  • January 2012: Profile S specification released to clarify interoperability[16]
  • June 2012: Test Specification version 12.06 released
  • December 2012: Test Specification version 12.12 released
  • June 2013: Test Specification version 13.06 released
  • August 2013: Release of Core specification version 2.4
  • December 2013: Test Specification version 13.12 released
  • December 2013: Profile C Specification released[17]
  • March 2014: Final release of Profile C[18]
  • June 2014: Test Specification version 14.06 released
  • June 2014: Profile G Specification released[19]
  • December 2014: Profile Q Specification released
  • December 2014: Release of Core specification version 2.5
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See also

References
  1. "A brief history of ONVIF: How the global industry standard has grown".
  2. PSIA and ONVIF: Measuring Video Standards
  3. ONVIF Chairman, Jonas Andersson, On The Importance Of Open Protocol In IP Video And Access Control
  4. 7 FAQs about the ONVIF Standard
  5. "Conformant Products". Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  6. "Conformant Products". ONVIF. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  7. Per Björkdahl (2016-05-13). "ONVIF: The Evolution of a Standard". Memoori.
  8. Standardization FAQ
  9. Ted Knutson (December 4, 2008). "First cameras to meet new ONVIF interoperability standards due in a year". Security Systems News. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  10. "Profile S: For streaming video".
  11. "Profile C: For IP-based basic access control".
  12. "Profile Q: For quick installation". Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  13. "Profile A: For broader access control configuration". Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  14. "Profile T: For advanced video streaming". Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  15. "Open Network Video Interface Forum Core Specification, Version 1.0 November, 2008" (PDF).
  16. "ONVIF Profile S Specification" (PDF).
  17. "ONVIF Profile C Specification" (PDF).
  18. "ONVIF Opens Doors With Profile C, New Membership Level". www.sdmmag.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  19. "ONVIF Profile G Specification" (PDF).
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