Video Quality in Public Safety Conference

Yesterday the DHS Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC), in partnership with the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program within the U.S Department of Commerce posted a notice in the Federal Register that they would be holding the second Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS) conference on September 1st in Boulder, CO. The conference will provide stakeholders with the opportunity to discuss their successes and the challenges related to video quality and interoperability. With emergency services increasingly utilizing video systems to provide detailed information to guide their response it is becoming more important that they have a voice in the establishment of video standards, especially in regards to the issue of interoperability. This is why last year the DHS OIC and DOC PSCR formed the VQiPS Working Group, which is composed of volunteers from each public safety discipline. According to yesterday’s notice the conference will also review the work of the VQiPS Working Group. The Working Group coordinates efforts among organizations and agencies that are developing video standards for their own use. Future outputs of the Working Group will include a glossary of shared terminology related to video quality, video equipment, and specifications to aid public safety agencies in becoming more effective. There is no cost to attend this conference and you can register on-line. Additional conference details can be found at http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/psvq/vqips/. Or you can contact Cuong Luu, DHS OIC by email (VOIP_Working_Group@sra.com).