This book has been a long time in the making. The computerization activi ties described in these pages began in 1977 at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), but we devoted most of our focus and efforts to building and then implementing the extensive hospital information system known as the Decentralized Hospital Computer System (DHCP) throughout VA. Deliv ering the product has been our primary goal. We spent relatively little time documenting or describing our experiences or lessons learned. Except for some presentations at national meetings and a relatively few publications, almost none of which were in the standard trade journals read by Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and equivalent top managers in the private and nonprofit sectors, VA's accomplishments remained a well-kept secret. In 1988, Helly Orthner encouraged VA staff to consider writing a book, but the press of day-to-day activities always seemed to take precedence, and the book languished on the back burner.

The third edition traces the trajectory of video surveillance technology from its roots to its current state and into its potential future role in security and beyond. For the reader, it is an opportunity to explore what the latest technology has to offer, as well as to gain some insight into the direction that surveillance will take us in the years ahead. The revised edition of Intelligent Network Video is more comprehensive in every area than the first and second editions, printed in over 25,000 copies. There is also a new chapter on cybersecurity, as well as thoroughly revised chapters on cloud and analytics. The book takes the reader on a tour through the building blocks of intelligent network video – from imaging to network cameras and video encoders, through the IT technologies of network and storage and into video management, analytics, and system design.