Category Archives: CCTV

WCCTV – Wireless, Rapid Deployable CCTV

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One of the interesting finds of IFSEC 2012 was WCCTV

Standing for Wireless CCTV, this UK based company has established a major foothold into the Rapid Deployable CCTV Sector with its range of superb Wireless solutions.

Offering different solutions for differing applications, WCCTV have brought together leading technology from partner manufacturers to provide very unique and individual solutions

One of the VERY neat solutions was the METHANOL powered ‘Tower’ Systems – a liquid fuel powered self contained CCTV Tower, with audio and intruder detection, that can run on silent fuel for upto 6 weeks !!

Utilising the ever popular 360 Vision Predator and transmission from the Xtralis ‘Heitel’ unit, details as follows

WCCTV Standard Tower

Standard Tower

The WCCTV Tower is a complete all in one surveillance solution. The system contains 3G mobile phone technology to allow the transmission of video alarms. It also includes a heavy duty infrared 360 degree pan tilt and 36x zoom camera to allow a remote operator to capture images of any potential intruder and audio speakers to enable a remote challenge to occur. The Tower also comes with a fall back battery in case the power supply is interrupted. Within the system there is a removable hard disc drive which provides evidential quality images for up to 60 days at 25 frames per second. The Tower can also be used in conjunction with external motion and heat detectors. And can easily be linked, if required, to other legacy on site alarming systems

Methods of Power

WCCTV Towers can be powered via mains or generator. Alternatively fuel cell technology can be used, which can power the systems autonomously for up to 8 weeks. When this supply is near depletion, an alarm is triggered to notify the user that there is a requirement to replace the fuel cell cartridge. WCCTV also provides towers which can be totally relliant on wind and solar energy.

Additional Benefits

In addition to providing site security the WCCTV Tower can also be used as a project management and Health and Safety tool. It is possible for office based personnel to access the cameras during working hours and review the recorded images to solve on site problems and/or check regulations are being followed by personnel and sub contractors.

Secure Networks

WCCTV work in partnership with the mobile phone operators provides its own bespoke privately secure networks. These relationships ensure continuity of supply and also provide cell site upgrade and fault information. Working closely with the mobile phone operators enables WCCTV to ensure its equipment is future proofed.

Another of their great offerings is their ‘Site Dome’ based again on the 360 Vision Black Hawk range

WCCTV 3G Site Dome

Site dome

The new WCCTV 3G Site Dome is an all-in-one mobile site solution containing a camera, 3G & Wifi transmission, detection, a tannoy system and evidential video recording. It is a unique product which, coupled with alarm based monitoring and response, ensures that your site is protected. The portable site dome can be moved around your site to meet your changing needs. It is rapidly deployable and has a universal bracket to allow swift installation to any pole, column or building. The Site Dome can be powered using 110-240 volts AC from the mains supply or 12 volts DC with a 2 hour internal battery pack.

Methods of Transmission

Every WCCTV product contains 3G HSUPA mobile technology , plus an additional transmission medium to maximise flexibility and portability. This unique approach provides the ability to transmit fluid, high-resolution images wirelessly without geographical restrictions, making it truly redeployable.

Each WCCTV system has an IP address allowing it to utilise broadband technology, which offers high-speed, fixed-cost transmission networks for live 24/7 monitoring. Broadband technology is ideal for remote surveillance operations where there is access to a telephone line with broadband connection.

The WCCTV 3G Site Dome can alternatively also be operated on private networks as a LAN-only option.

The Wireless Dome system has Wi-Fi technology built in as standard, which enables cost-free, high speed downloads up to 100m away from a Wi-Fi enabled laptop. As an optional extra it is possible to request long range Wi- Fi, which enables cost-free live monitoring up to 2km (line-of-sight) away from a broadband access point.

Features & Benefits

  • Primarly designed for use in protecting and monitoring construction sites
  • Equipped with a radio receiver enabling up to 8 wireless detectors to be connected to provide an invisible perimeter
  • Backup battery system is charging whilst the site dome is powered and is activated if power is disconnected
  • Alarm is raised on power disconnectionRemote access to live and recorded digital footage
  • 3G HSUPA, WiFi and IP connectivity
  • Unlicensed software, unlimited users at no additional cost

Its worth taking a look over at their Website as we believe Rapid Deployment, particularly in temporary applications such as construction, festivals, demonstrations and also street concerns as seen last year in the riots, will involve more and more of this type of innovative tech !

take a look !!

IFSEC 2012 exhibition review

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Over for another year!

IFSEC 2012 shut its doors after yet another excellently attended show.

But how excellent was it really?

Well, we visited each day, dodging the rain showers wherever possible!

On arriving at the superbly located Birmingham NEC, it seemed that each day, despite the arrival time, East car park 4 was our destination!

Excellent and frequent shuttle buses (saved getting wet!) swept us to the entrance in under 10mins – on the one occasion where the queue was more than 2 shuttle buses long, the entrepreneurial local Taxi drivers pulled up and offered rides for £1 per person !!

On arriving at the Halls, swift entrance was gained using the pre-registration number allocated if you were efficient in booking ahead – scan the bar code or enter the number and one of the lovely ladies called out your name and handed the printed pass – valid for the 4 days of the show.

Entrance was only a zap away and then into the huge and almost intimidating Halls – we started each day in Hall 5.

First job, fire up the IFSEC 2012 iPhone APP to get at the list of exhibitors that we had made beforehand

And there was problem number 1 !

We had seen the App before do it’s usual (and time wasting) thing of updating this and that, downloading this and that etc, but we were in the confines of office wifi – standby on a severely stretched 3G signal that was being shared by half the population of the world and the app took a good 20-30 seconds to get to the stage of being useable ! bearing in mind that this process was the same EVERY time the app was needed, even if already running!!

Note to IFSEC App developers – ensure that the APP only updates ONCE and only perhaps on wifi ???? PLUS……use the Push feature of iOS devices instead of pulling everytime the app runs!!!

Once passed the splendour of HUGE stands such as Tyco and Norbain (and a BIG shout out to Samsung for the hugest video wall ever!) the usual Asian section provided an in sight into this years talked about Tech……..namely HD-SDI / HDcctv recorders, cameras and transmission widgets.

Nearly all stands (compared to VERY FEW last year) were extolling the virtues of HD-SDI / HDcctv as the new method for High Def CCTV images………. many interesting conversations took place on compatibility – all centring on the Genum chipset that seems to ensure compatibility amongst various manufacturers – SEEMS ??? well, at one point, we asked a camera supplier to borrow a camera to take next door to his Korean neighbour making DVRs…….sure enough, it worked, we could not however advise this will always be the case so HDcctv compatible seems to be the way forward here.

But, HD-SDI is definitely now more prominent – we expect to see major UK distributors push this retro-fittable tech out to their customers during 2012-2013

Another area of concern was meeting areas – ok, I guess if you are a big corporate exhibitor, hiring a meeting room is de facto, but if you are looking for a quick conversation with a new supplier, where do you go? We were planning a discussion with a leading Korean manufacturer……we thought combining with some refreshment would be relaxing……no seats in the heavily busy internal cafe/rest areas so headed out to the lobby area. EVERY cafe/eating area packed………. options included sitting side by side around the outside walls !!!

Surely some meeting areas with refreshments makes sense?

So, Hall 5 was where the main action was but to be honest, we were strangely warming to the exhibitors in Hall 4 !! Seemed to be more of the IP based guys (Axis, Milestone, IndigoVision) were up there and somehow, it kind of felt more ‘techy’ up there, like a club that announced “downstairs for cable, upstairs for IP!’

Milestone and Axis were showing various new technology – Axis with a HUGE PTZ camera and their Thermal offerings……..Thermal seemed to feature very well throughout the show, mainly because of its superb analytical capabilities. We saw several companies such as Flir and 360 Vision demonstrating their products on various partner stands to good reception.

Milestone had an interesting ‘wall’ of affiliated partners – companies such as IFSEC award winners Ipsotek showed their excellent analytics and Milestone integration to good effect!

The usual bevy of beauties lined the stands – obviously employed for their amazing product knowledge. So, what was the thought on this years IFSEC?

Well, apart from the troublesome app and the lack of meeting areas, really rather good – the new tech appearing is refreshing, the layout over 2 Halls was spot on and the show had enough to fill 4 days of interest easily.

Roll on IFSEC 2013!

Cheap security means no security.Know when to walk away!

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Cheap security , worthless service contracts. Where is the industry heading?

Its the worse feeling for any business but sometimes security companies need to learn when the time is right to simply walk away from a potential client. There are times in the security business when we as installers need to know when we are being squeezed too hard. It is very tempting to keep cutting costs to keep a “big name” but if a client is looking for the lowest cost of service in order to fulfil their remit and your organization has built a reputation over the years as highly qualified and trained security professionals, giving a service that is second to none, then you need to have the balls to tell your potential client they need to look elsewhere.

Quite simply put, a company/client prepared to compromise service in favour of cost are not looking for an organization who provides your level of service and commitment. It’s always a fine line of course and we are all out there to make our business a success but some buyers are starting to take advantage of  too much good will as companies fight for the ever decreasing contracts on offer.

Most businesses will know when they are being taken for a ride but can’t they help themselves still trying to deliver even if it is at their own expense but they must realize they are just undermining the entire business for a valueless contract. Over the last 3 years or so there have been too many organizations out there prepared to buy business  and they will always bid lower then everyone else.

poor customer service

This results in awful service for end users and everyone is a loser, the good suppliers miss out , the customer gets disillusioned and the company  that wins the tender makes no profit, sometimes they even make a loss. Minimum wages result for engineers and this drives the good guys out of the industry. The problem is when the dust settles and all involved in the tender process realize the mistakes that have been made …its too late……… for everyone.

If this rings true with your organization then give this blog a retweet and lets put a stop to this practice once and for all.

Dallmeier DVR range goes end of life. Software from here on in!!!!

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Dallmeier  have announced the end of the Leonardo product range’ and h.264 DLS series recorders.

As from the 14th May 2012* the following h.264 recorder models will be discontinued:

DMS ‚In memory of Leonardo‘ recorders and h.264 DLS Series recorders.

 

With this change Dallmeier will from this point onwards be promoting only SMAVIA software. The new products are completely forwards and backwards compatible and Dallmeier offer full support in order that new products may be integrated into older systems.

 

Dallmeier state that “SMAVIA is a recording technology which is based on 25 years of experience and competence in professional video security technology, thus ensuring maximum reliability. SMAVIA enables the recording of video images and streams in a large variety of image compression and transmission codecs (H.264, MPEG-4, MJPEG). In addition to standard definitions, SMAVIA also supports Full HD (1080p) and up to 8 megapixel”.

“The SMAVIA Recording Server Software can be used on a wide range of different hardware platforms; either on special video recording servers made by Dallmeier or as stand-alone software on standard servers or PCs. SMAVIA is compatible with both Linux and Windows. The corresponding management software SMAVIA Viewing Client offers the perfect interface for the comfortable processing of live and recorded pictures”.

 

Dallmeier have always been a company who evolve through good ideas which in turn become quality CCTV equipment, which helps them stay at the forefront of the industry. With this commitment to software Dallmeier have committed themselves fully into IP CCTV and it will be interesting to see how they compete.

The questions we challenge Dallmeier to answer is why? Are they just following the trend or do they see this as the future. Was it a result of a loss in sales? Or an effort to keep up with others in the IP CCTV market place? Were their DVRs too expensive to sell and to maintain and was their returns policy one that put off prospective buyers of their hardware?

Lets hear from you Dallmeier!

 

Thermal CCTV sales increase

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How can companies cut costs on external remote monitoring but still maintain a high or even higher level of security than they already have? The answer it seems may be to install thermal CCTV cameras. The increasing reduction in the price of thermal security equipment is meaning that installers and end-users are increasingly more  interested in protecting sites with thermal imaging cameras instead of deploying traditional CCTV cameras.

Thermal CCTV

The reasoning behind this shift is relatively simple. Thermal CCTV can cover far greater areas without the need for expensive lighting. The combination of the cost of installing this lighting together with the running costs associated with it over the lifetime of the security system means forward thinking installers can justify the cost of installing a more expensive thermal camera solution in the first instance.

Add to this the benefits that thermal cameras will operate in any weather conditions and in total darkness and will operate over far greater distance. Suddenly end users are starting to sit up and take notice.

With thermal security systems, false alarms are more or less a thing of the past. Objects become incredibly easy to identify on screen, either with the naked eye or with the use of advanced analytics.

The thermal solution is not of course of benefit for evidential purposes , however not many analogue CCTV systems are either. HD CCTV is the only way to tackle  the issue of identification.

So thermal CCTV is making in-roads into all areas of security now and as customers become ever more aware of the way thermal can help them, the price continues to fall. This is good news for all those involved with thermal CCTV.

Predator thermal security camera