Category Archives: CCTV

Metal Mickey vs Predator

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Metal Mickey vs Predator

Sounds like some kind of  film title. Today we look at the new Predator dome recently released by 360 vision and see how it compares with the market leader , the Metal Mickey.

Metal Mickey

We have all seen the Metal Mickey camera on Big Brother. It watches imperiously over the contestants and definitely lets them know that they are under surveillance. This is the beauty of the Metal Mickey,  it has a “presence” and this is undoubtedly behind its  success over the last few years. It now however has a competitor. It ‘s called the PREDATOR.

Predator.

This fantastic new camera developed by the innovative team at 360 Vision has covered every aspect of what customers are looking for in this high profile type of camera. The name Predator is brilliant because the camera seems to mimic its famous namesake from the film. It is intimidating, rugged but strangely graceful in the way it moves, somewhat different from the more robotic Metal Mickey.

What sets the Predator apart from the rest?

So what benefits does it claim to have over competitor products?  Well certainly its aesthetic mechanical design. It also boasts a 3 phase motor for quiet smooth and totally accurate control. It has back to back bearings on the pan motion to ensure wobble free operation. Predator comes as both an analogue camera and an IP camera to ensure it is suitable to integrate into any security solution. The Predator is also very simple to use . It is set up via a PC or laptop and features extensive on-screen menus. It also comes with multiple protocols to fit into any existing CCTV system.

Quality.

360 vision really have come up with a gem here. It will fit in to any environment and is essentially “rugged but with style”. As this type of  security solution becomes ever more popular this well priced camera can only go from strength to strength in the Integrated CCTV market place.

Insurance claim against security providers. Should you pay up?

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You provide the security, there has been a loss . Who is to blame?

So the scenario is as follows. You are a CCTV installer and you provide images and alarms to a central station. The security system and CCTV camera have worked very well as part of an integrated system over the last few years but then there is a massive loss on site and all of a sudden the customer is screaming at you and wanting you, the CCTV supplier to pay up for his losses. A situation that could cause a lot of friction and bad feeling, but worse of all, the loss of a major contract and a very important customer.

A familiar story

It happens frequently and the blame more than often lies somewhere in the middle between the suppliers of the CCTV monitoring, the customer and the installer.

As installers the main protection when we have integrated systems against the accusations thrown at us are; the specification, the evidence held at the monitoring station and the CCTV camera footage.

Was the CCTV system set?

This may sound obvious but it is always the first question that must be asked. So many times during a post robbery investigation it turns out that the system is left unset, if this is established then the security providers need worry no further.

Was the coverage compromised by the customer?

This may again sound obvious but so often the customer may block coverage of the sensors  or CCTV cameras and so the system cannot possibly work properly. Generally reviewing the CCTV camera footage on the DVR will soon clear the installer if the customer is at fault.

Third party issues

What happens then if everything is on site but the receiving centre has not got the pictures?. Well is it the remote connection I.E telephone or broadband that has let the system down? The logs in the DVR should be able to prove if this is the case and will tell the installer again if any blame can be placed on him.

The central station

Finally of course we have central station operator error, This to needs to be eliminated because generally remote monitoring is sub-contracted to the central station by the installers. Ultimately the installer is still responsible for the central station’s actions. Once again proof will come from the recorded images held by the Central station, any voice recording they may keep and the central station log that will record all activity received.

Insurance

But really the whole thing is an insurance issue. CCTV companies cannot possibly factor in losses to the price they are able to charge for an installation. Surely this is why insurance companies are in business. Of course if the CCTV company is proven to have been negligent then this is something for the insurance companies to sort out through the loss adjusters at a later date.

In summary

So for customers and installers alike hopefully this bit of advice will raise enough questions at the point of sale and through out the company /customer relationship to realize that all parties have a part to play in ensuring that a CCTV system works effectively, every time.

Staff Watch

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Are your staff safe at work ?

As an employer you have a duty of care to ensure your staff are always safe. This is about to become more simple with the use of networked CCTV using  IP cameras.

Man down alarm

Important changes are happening within the work place that mean loan workers have a right to protection, up until now this involved expensive solutions that made protecting staff difficult and in some cases two people just to do one job was often the only solution.

Monitor Staff

Now however we can use modified legacy CCTV cameras or new IP cameras to to literally constantly watch your staff in lone worker situations. A simple network point in the lone worker area can now be used to connect an IP camera onto a company network to observe a working situation and with specialised intervention from companies such as Sitexorbis using mobile phone technology a solution is now available.

Staff monitoring , How does it work ?

If you have a man down , It’s a double barrelled solution.We can use the camera analytics to monitor both a fall and a motionless person and raise an alarm. We can use two way audio to speak to him if he is conscious and organise an appropriate response. If we are unable to rouse him then obviously an emergency response is required.

Allow the employee to raise the alarm

We also need to give the employee himself the ability to raise an alarm and this can be done by using his mobile phone. By using a  pre-programmed key on his mobile phone keypad he will be patched directly to a central station who can listen in and the co-ordinate a response dependent on what they can hear, ultimately someone will almost certainly be able to use the IP camera to remotely access the pictures from the scene this gives your lone worker a much better chance of survival in the case of an accident.

Summary

Health and safety is always a primary concern for all responsible employers.We can make it easy   to fulfill your responsibilities and in some cases even reduce overall costs by allowing lone working rather than having to put two men on every job.

Hybrid CCTV

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Legacy equipment.

Where legacy CCTV equipment cannot be removed due to cost implications manufacturers are now coming up with some ingenious solutions in order to accommodate both the past the present and the future.

These are called hybrid network surveillance servers and combine analogue and IP cameras into a single box solution.

This is of course a huge market place and one many facility managers and security managers are looking into with much enthusiasm.

So this is where the hybrid recorder fits in and can cleverly be incorporated into the IT budget or security budget depending on which is the healthier at the time.

So how does it work?

Existing coaxial camera’s are simply reconnected in the usual way to the new recorder, nothing clever here, but by using existing networks within or outside the facility new IP cameras can also be hung off the same unit. This opens up possibilities of connecting IP cameras from remote sites or from areas previously inaccessible or financially un-viable to a normal coaxial cable run. Areas served by wireless IP networks are also now easily connected where surveillance would have been considered impossible before.

Web browsers.

Remote access via web browsers gives huge flexibility to view and control systems from anywhere and means dedicated on site staff may not be required, initiating big cost savings.

These units are becoming very flexible to meet a rapidly changing market place. They need to record, transmit, trip outputs and need to be extremely reliable. If you want to ensure you buy a good unit make sure it is not the cheapest and make sure it offers a five year warranty.

Help.

Our aim is to help and advise you through this exciting new field of CCTVsurveillance, but don’t hesitate to contact us for further more detailed information

CCTV Analytics

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Why will analytics be such a huge step forward for CCTV?

Analytics is an advanced form of video motion detection that uses
Software algorithms in order to generate alarms when certain
conditions and scenarios occur within the field of view of the camera.
For example if a person is seen to be loitering in area for a length
of time that has been deemed inappropriate then the software can
recognise this fact and trip an alarm to notify an operator. It can
also notify when an area is violated by a person but is adaptable
enough to realize the difference between a human and a cat for instance.
How does this help the operator?

In the case where a guard is looking at multiple views over a
prolonged period of time he will inevitably need help. Analytics is
able to provide reliable alarms to notify him of a situation that is
occurring that he needs to know about, so when we have a manned system
the benefits are obvious.
Analytic alarm systems.

However more importantly we can use the analytics to generate alarms
to trip automated alarm sounders and warning voices and also notify a
remote guard that he may need to attend site.
This removes the need for a man on site and this means cost savings can be huge, sometimes tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. This has driven the market and now some very big organizations are now involved in the development and promotion of this technology.
So effective are analytics going to be in the future that external alarm sensors and fixed beams could soon be a thing of the past.

Applications also include perimeter protection, object abandonment,
person or object tracking. Colour recogniton, people counting, speeding
vehicles.
What about old camera systems?

Analytics can easily be fitted to existing CCTV systems and the
advantage of fitting analytics to old camera systems is we can then
make ineffective old technology suddenly intelligent .The experts see
that fitting analytics retrospectively is a massive market place and an
alternative to a complete upgrade of some older systems out there.It
is important however to point out that the analytics can only be as
good as the picture they are trying to analyse so people must be
realistic with their expectations. Lighting at night is also another
crucial factor to consider, remember analytics can’t work in the dark
so duel chip cameras and IR lighting are important things to bring
into the equation.
So next time you consider upgrading , reducing costs or generally
making more of your CCTV systems ask us here for advice on how we can
help you.