Given that there is an increasing need for security, digital video surveillance systems (DVS) are becoming more complex. However, these systems meet the limits with regard to size, scalability, reliability and easy management. IBM Cell/B.E. Blades, efficient H.264 codecs and optimized image processing components from Matrix Vision offer the base for very compact DVS solutions, which cope the named challenges even in larger installations. The Cell/ B.E. processors, which drive the Roadrunner in Los Alamos to be the fastest computer of the world, features one core as a Manager (PPE) and eight cores (SPEs) each with 3.2 GHz which are optimized for fast parallel processing. Over 1,000 cores are available in a fully mounted 19“ rack. The high-optimized H.264 software codec guarantees a much better compression rate compared to other compression standards and implementations.