Monthly Archives: October 2010

Arecont v Avigilon Battle of the HD Camera Giants!

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Arecont vs Avigilon.

Both HD camera experts….both American….both high quality product offerings….both begin with ‘A’…….!

So which one?

Well, like most system selection questions, it is pretty much always down to a question of taste…

But, we think there may be enough differences to perhaps make the selection easier

Arecont….

Out and out IP camera manufacturers…..take a look at the extensive list of different products, almost to the point of exhaustion! But, there is no doubting that their products are awesome…. we tested their 2megapixel AV2110 Megapixel IP camera….and quite simply, it was stunning……sure, there are higher megapixel PIXC offerings out there, but put simply, when a camera produces a high quality image, is there a limit reached that does not need to be extended??

On an earlier post, we discussed the trade off between high quality vs bandwidth and really, with pictures as pin sharp and easy to set up as the Arecont AV2110, then it is a struggle to look elsewhere……

But…..

Avigilon….

Same selection of camera offerings……and boy, some beauties in that range – we checked out at IFSEC 2010 the 16megapixel 16-PRO-HD-C unit, looking at a section of crowd at a football match (ok, ‘soccer’ for our Atlantic friends!)……..

The thing that perhaps starts to separate these guys is that Avigilon are perhaps a little more ’rounded’ in the complete system solution offering…..they offer the software, NVR, encoders etc etc to enable a complete end to end solution….and lets face it, most installers appreciate the ease of dealing with one supplier – March Networks springs to mind……

Don’t get us wrong, Arecont have worked VERY hard to get themselves integrated into pretty much everyone – and that gives credence to their mentality that they want to concentrate on simply making brilliant cameras…….. on the other hand, Avigilon are showing that they can offer complete systems that rival other CCTV software, NVR and encoder manufacturers, taking away the need to have to shop around or re-train….

Interesting choice…….more will be heard from these 2 great companies no doubt.

IP CCTV from EyeSpy 247

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Eye Spy247 has just released their new external IP network camera. Aimed at the domestic and small business sectors, this camera is IP65 rated and is small and compact in design.
The camera can be used to watch pets , children or your vehicle on your drive and of course, your home. If you are in business you would be able to keep you eye on events as they take place in your absence giving you back control while you are away.
Several benefits include the ability to connect to the camera images via BT home hub and many other common routers on the market, auto registration makes this process simple.
IR, means the camera can see up to 10meters in total darkness and in addition to this alarms can be raised through on board PIR detection and sound trigger sensors.
At a price that will appeal to the mass market so far excluded from the benefits of IP CCTV, this camera, with recording options and simple installation, will appeal to many and is looking to be a good buy.

alhua cctv DVR

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We know Alhua CCTV based in Bejing are one of the leading manufacturers of CCTV equipment in China. However, their marketing strategy seems a little strange. Difficult to contact, we have tried to help customers in the past by publishing what we know of them. We can however now give you some contact details or if you wish to leave details with us we will pass these on. however below are a couple of their products and prices.

HE-T  4 way D1 DVR   £159

DVR1604HE 20 channel HE-U Full d1 recording hybrid standalone recording £259

Good value and ONVIF compliant.

Contact details below.

Zhejiang Alhua Technology Co., Ltd.

ADD:   No.1233, Bin’an Road, Binjiang alhua,
P.C: 310053
TEL: +86-571-87655883
FAX: +86-571-87688874
E-mail:[email protected]

Panasonic IP video

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Panasonic i-Pro smart HD.

Panasonic have recently unveiled a new division within its organization called PSNE or if you prefer the full version, Panasonic System Networks Europe. The new division formed in January of this year (2010) and is seen by many forward thinking in the CCTV industry as a very clever move.

Quite simply Panasonic have realized that CCTV as we know it today will look very different in the future. By recognising that the convergence of telecommunications, security and imaging products all needing to come under one portfolio, they have sent a message to the market place. They see  IP video systems integrating with various different edge devices including epos point of sale, industrial and medical cameras as well as home networking products as the way foward.

With this new focus on IP based technology they have produced some excellent network video cameras that are designed to suit just about every application. This has been named the i-Pro smartHD. This range of  IP cameras and monitoring systems means they can easily integrate older analogue products seamlessly with the new IP video based systems.

NVR’s within the new portfolio include the WJ-ND400, WJ-ND300A and the WJ-ND200 all the new equipment is of course ONVIF compliant.

Panasonic trail Axis now a very close second in the sale of IP Camera and ip video systems and see that although the market is still split 80% 20% heavily in favour of analogue camera solutions the trend towards network video systems is an irresistible force. This is now driving many CCTV camera manufacturers to look very closely at what Panasonic are able to achieve in this next year or two, especially as the CCTV market place is thought to be worth anything upwards of 350 million pounds this year.

With IT mangers now taking ownership of newly installed Network video systems the design of any IP video system needs to ensure that the ITC department is kept happy. Getting the IT manager on board as we all know is going to be half the battle when specifying IP surveillance systems however this is becoming easier, especially with Panasonic giving heavy behind the scenes support for its network of dealers.

To ensure Panasonic are able to get their message across to the general public they have invested heavily in the London 2012 Olympics so their famous catchphrase “ideas for life” will soon be ingrained in the thoughts of many installers and new customers who will inevitably start to migrate from analogue to IP camera solutions. Probably an awful lot sooner than they think!