Blogs for all you need to know about CCTV

Below are some popular CCTV blogs from integrated CCTV, we cover all aspects of security from IPCCTV and video surveillance systems search the site for more but if you are interested in VCL dome repairs of the latest analytic technology its all here.

Arecont or Avigilon? CCTV engineer? We pose many questions so if you want to find out more check out the site or contact us for more information.

TCO of an IP surveillance system the burning question

Car dealer is spending 70k on security guards

Is the CCTV industry lazy!

CCTV to go iPhone crazy

Metal Mickey v Predator

Seagate or Western Digital

Sure you will agree plenty to discuss please contact us for more information should you have any questions you wish to pose


MEL Secure Systems have launched an innovative new PTZ Thermal Rapid Deployment unit called the ThunderHawk Thermal…..

Incorporating the previously blogged 360 Vision Predator Thermal IR PTZ camera unit, MEL have added their incredible RF and battery capabilities to launch the World’s first, dual camera, IR and Thermal Rapid Deployable.

Inside is the tried and tested FLIR technology, offering lens choices to 35mm, which in turn delivers up to 750m of movement detection in zero light!

According to their MD, Peter  Druzyc, Domehawk IR Thermal employs a continuous rotation, ruggedised PTZ security camera in combination with a thermal imaging module from FLIR and IR and Sony WDR Day/Night camera modules. It offers exceptional quality and reliability and it has virtually silent operation. Equipped with a Sony WDR 36:1 optical zoom and a 35mm Germanium lens for the thermal, Domehawk can deliver high quality thermal pictures with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels alongside high performance IR LEDs which give night vision to the Sony module at ranges of up to 90 metres.

Peter Druzyc, Managing Director of MEL Secure Systems: “Domehawk IR Thermal is a powerful camera system that integrates all the technologies needed to deliver total protection around the clock in a wide range of high security applications.”

The optically flat glass windows of the Domehawk are distortion free, which give brighter and clearer images at higher zoom ranges, detecting human movement at over 750m when in thermal mode, and allowing greater installation flexibility. The camera also has  fitted wiper and washer options, to clear any atmospheric dirt and water enabling effective operation in even the most adverse weather conditions.

Mel Secure Systems’ new camera has very low power consumption and can even operate from a 12 volt battery giving an operational life in excess of 200 hours before needing to replace or recharge the battery. It can be operated from within a control room environment, separate control case or even a hand held unit allowing for easy on-site setup and operation. With full multi-protocol integration, it is compatible with most leading DVR’s, Matrices and IP Systems. Transmission is via a MEL COFDM Video and UHF Telemetry system, enabling high quality, interference-free images to be received at distances of up to 4km without the need for line of sight. This also ensures low end-to-end latency making it faster than IP-based systems and easier for operators to follow specific events with a PTZ joystick.

The use of ultra-narrowband also provides exceptional range and video quality in high multipath environments regardless of line of sight as well as enabling users to co-locate more channels in the increasingly crowded RF spectrum. The MEL Dual Thermal Domehawk camera is currently available in a wide range of frequencies including 1.0 MHz ultra-narrowband, 1.3, 2.4 and 5.8 GHz as well as 300-400 MHz UHF. It can also be used with IP based networks and has a 3G/GPRS HSDPA/HSUPA option enabling the camera to be monitored or images downloaded from any computer with Internet access or mobile phone.

Domehawk IR Thermal is IP67 compliant with a housing cast from hard anodised aluminium and epoxy powder coated to provide protection from damage such as scratching, oxidation or attack from solvents making it vandal resistant and suitable for use in most environments.

Looks like an extremely interesting take on an established quality product from 360 Vision, well done MEL……. We like to see clever companies join forces and produce exciting and unique products!

CCTV engineers are you listening?

CCTV engineers,  luddites! Harsh perhaps, but in our experience it is the CCTV engineers within the security industry who least like change. Over the years they have seen little change to how their basic job works. Yes regulation means they have had to embrace a few tweaks to the standards and to be fair most engineers are happy to take these on board, but new technology presents a different problem. Up until the last few years the only serious technology introduced into their job spec has been the DVR. Most engineers did come to terms quite quickly with the new menus and the general installation of the now common DVR. Rarely however did this require the use of a laptop to set up and any networking tended to be done by a commissioning engineer who swept up after them. Now however things are about to change in a big way and those who don’t make the effort to embrace new ideas will be left behind.

IP video systems.

IP video systems are here and this requires a whole new approach by CCTV engineers who to all intensive purposes will see many parts of their job disappear over the next 5 years. Basic IT skills are an essential and probably much more than just the basics will need to be instilled into the CCTV engineers job specs  to enable them to install and understand IP video in the new era.

IP CCTV Training courses.

To be fair to IP camera manufacturers, they are very keen to get training to everyone they can. Rarely does a day go by without an email landing into the inbox advertising a free training course for engineers to help them brush up on the skills they need . However in this climate of recession CCTV installers have cut back on all training and even if this training is free they still have to consider the cost implications of taking their engineers off the road for the duration of the course. So are CCTV engineers going to be left to hang out to dry and simply be replaced by IT network technicians? Well we will have to wait and see but a wake up call has been sent out …..is anyone listening?

We have been keeping an eye recently on an up and coming, home grown, good old UK based DVR and Hybrid/IP manufacturer…… Vigilant Systems, based in Somerset……

Unlike so many of the far eastern in-flux of DVR and NVR solutions, Vigilant Systems offer something quite unique!

Sure, their ‘engine’ is based on a Far Eastern software development – but we understand they have had considerable input to the ongoing development of the software, in a relationship they have had for a considerable period of time…..

But, their USP is that they assemble all the hardware here in the UK……that means the quality and reliability of the components are completely within their control….. they have their own assembly line and in-house Technical Support engineers and this UK time zone and UK language approach to the NVR/DVR market is refreshing……how many DVR suppliers can boast that they ACTUALLY make the units here, in the UK ??

Products ranging from small 4 & 8 channel right up to huge, scalable systems are available, backed by great software and very clever add-ons (keyboards, monitor walls, analytics, EPOS and analytics)…….. they’ve even worked hard to get their CCTV software into Central Stations of note to offer a complete Remote Managed solution too.

With HD and Megapixel cameras and a range of IP Encoders, Vigilant are another company that can offer a complete ‘system solution’

We think we will see more of Vigilant Systems in the near future…….

Analogue CCTV v IP camera solutions

An acquaintance  of mine is responsible for building very large hotels from the ground up to the handing over the finished building. Nice work if you can get it! Being a very astute kind of fellow he phoned me up for some advice regarding the security aspect of his newest project. The question he asked was one that is being put to many specifiers at the moment and is one that we believe is the burning question about IP surveillance systems today. That is the TCO or total cost of ownership of IP video systems v analogue CCTV.

Why do IP cameras cost more?

What was confusing my friend and quite rightly, was this. Why was his ME contractor charging him £500 per camera for a 68 way IP camera system? He saw this as costly and the first thing he did, as many would, is check this out on the Internet. He quite simply could not justify this cost when he saw that he could buy what seemed like a perfectly adequate analogue CCTV camera for not much more than £100. So armed with some prices he rang me to know what I thought and find out if he was about to get ripped off.

NVT

Firstly we explored how far the hotel build had advanced and how the cabling had been structured. It seemed that from day one the designers of the networking infrastructure were always intending to go down the IP camera route. I explained that if we wanted to use analogue cameras there was a little more we needed to cost in before we could make a fair comparison. Firstly there was a possibility that we may be able to use the CAT5 cable and by using an NVT solution we could encode and decode the analogue video at each camera and termination point. This however involved a cost and quite a bit more labour to make each end off. I also explained that cable distances were important to decide whether he would need active or passive transmitters and receivers. In addition I asked him if the analogue cameras he had sourced also came with lenses because other wise we need to add £50 per camera straight away, the answer to this was no.

PoE is so much quicker!

I then explained that each camera would need a power supply as the  IP cameras would be PoE, so perhaps another £30 for each PSU once installed needed to be added. In addition for each power supply we would need a fused spur, that would also need to be certificated, so add another £100 per camera. We were not finished yet as each camera would take longer to install and set up, perhaps another £25 or so per unit.

Is it still cheaper?

My friend could see that now costs were beginning to add up but still the analogue CCTV system still seemed a cheaper solution …just.

DVR  v NVR

I then asked him about what recording solution was going to be put in place. Although he was not exactly sure of the make , what he seemed to describe was Milestone software or something similar together with a server to record all his images, I asked if this needed to be accessed remotely and it seemed it did.

High quality DVR.

I then explained that to get a similar picture quality together with the 28 days recording he was asking for would mean he was going to need some high end spec DVRs and what was worse he was going to need 5 of them. I suggested that he check out the cost of these but said in reality this could potentially add at least another couple of thousand pounds to his cost of going analogue.

Clear crisp images

We then went onto picture quality and features that Megapixel IP cameras would be able to provide over an analogue CCTV solution. PoE , auto-focus and better flexibility with recorded images all added to the benefits of the IP option.

The decision.

In summary he was left to make some difficult decisions but in the end I believe that it was the future proofing that an IP surveillance system could give him,  just about made his mind up!