12:57pm Wednesday 4th December 2013
Police have issued this blown up still of a CCTV image captured by an analogue camera following the theft of a bike from a train station in Trowbridge in Wiltshire. Frankly its embarrassing . It makes the industry look ridiculous . This is why we must push HD CCTV solutions for all new installations.
HD CCTV has been around now for at least 7 years but how has it developed and who can be considered the market leader in the field of HD CCTV today?
In the beginning there were two main contenders of note. This was Arecont and Avigilon. Both these manufacturers used the development of IP technology to advance their products. Of course early attempts at HD CCTV were thwarted by lack of bandwidth, it meant that no matter how good the cameras were the systems were only as good as the available bandwidth. IT departments were a constant barrier to HD CCTV. This did not stop our friends at Arecont and Avigilon from developing ever more powerful cameras though. Arecont came up with their 10MP version only to be out done when Avigilon produced a 16 megapixel camera that blew the socks off those who saw the images. There was no doubt the cameras and the software on offer were incredibly impressive but was there a real market place for it at the price these cameras were coming in at?
Much thought was being given to this conundrum by all involved and the consensus seemed to be that HD did not have to reach the heights of 16 MP, even 10mp was considered over the top when to most a 2MP camera satisfied the needs of most applications in the market place. This was where the likes of Brickcom and March networks felt they needed be. So the market seemed to know what it wanted but how were the end user going to decide what to buy ? would it be price driven or product driven?
All and sundry put their efforts into developing user friendly software and the market split somewhat. There began to develop a distinction between enterprise level equipment and cameras and software that were just HD. Hikivison and Brickcom decided to compete on price whereas the likes of Panasonic ,Bosch and Avigilon went for high end enterprise level equipment.
Just as this competition reached a peak, on to the scene came HDcctv over coax. An HD product that worked over coax. The idea being that coaxial infrastructure was in place in many installations so why not use it. Everfocus pioneered this approach and to this day in the field of HDcctv over coax they are the current market leaders.
So back to HD over IP and the race goes on. If you had to choose the market leader right now you would have to pick Avigilon. Overall the cameras are the best value for money and the software is second to none and the variety of cameras covers from 1 MP to 29MP, by far the greatest range of any manufacturer. Many are hard on the heels of Avigilon but right now for enterprise projects it would be wise to go Avigilon, for anything else, value for money is served best with Hikivison.
For many years now CCTV has always been about security. This is the main pitch any sales person will make and his boast will be just how much crime CCTV will help to reduce and this means that its installation is crucial to stop a business being hit. Of course the reality is very different. Many companies have reluctantly accepted that by the time they have paid for the CCTV installation and ongoing service this requires that CCTV may in fact be costing them more than it is saving them. After all the odd lost item from the yard or out the stores is almost incidental and easily absorbed. Of course it is always hard to quantify how much CCTV cameras do save but many companies are now making do with their old kit or simply deciding not to have CCTV installed at all.
Now though CCTV is about more than security and reducing crime, still an important aspect but one that can be dwarfed by other benefits. The reduction of false claims against a company that may cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds , improvements in productivity, enforcement of health and safety. All the of these events needs an almost forensic level of detail and this cannot be supplied by analogue CCTV. Now though HD CCTV is making a huge difference. Evidence that could not be gleaned by older cameras is now clearly visible in HD. The ability to zoom in on events without losing clarity is helping prove fraudulent transactions and “slips” that never happened. Improved productivity is helping companies grow out of recession and this is all thanks to HD cameras. Many are seeing this as a time to invest in their business and gain the information they need to make it work efficiently giving them the edge over competitors.
HD has to be seen to be appreciated but just like your TV once you have HD CCTV you will wonder how you ever did without it.
Clarius illuminators are the main competitor to Raytec in the world of security and lighting. The two product ranges dominate the professional illuminator market place. Based upon this GJD a world renowned distributor of lighting and security products decided buy into Clarius led lighting and take it forward to challenge Raytec as the market leader.
led lighting technology has many benefits over traditional lighting such as sodium or Halogen. The growth seen as a result means this is a market place worth dominating. Sales are expected to increase exponentially in the coming years and for good reason.
Why use a Clarius IR illuminator?
Clarius infra-red LED illuminators are designed to provide class leading performance, long life and ultra-low maintenance. Incorporating the latest surface mount LED’s with enhanced optical output and outstanding reliability, they deliver excellent night-time images. Each unit is fitted with integrated control circuitry to carefully control LED output, delivering consistent illumination and projected working life in excess of 10 years. Installation is quick and easy, requiring only a 12-32V DC /24V AC input.
New installations and replacement of old tired looking lighting is becoming a practice that will continue going forward and Clarius/GJD are very well placed to benefit from this change in lighting preferences. POE has added to the benefits we can list and this enables installations to be completed by people from a non-electrical background.
HD CCTV has added to the need for good lighting. As CCTV installations worldwide change to meet the needs of end users and the desire for HD images increases so the lighting will become ever more important.
GJD are currently developing more advanced products still to meet this need
The world of security is currently buzzing with talk of HD CCTV and how it will be the making of the CCTV industry over the next 10 years. A word of caution though, we must be careful that we do not repeat the mistakes that have been made with analogue CCTV over the last 20 years.
The crux of the point we are making here is that customers want to pay the least money possible for a CCTV system. As a result, hard pressed salesmen oblige by consistently under specifying what the customer needs. Up against a host of competition it is all too easy to hope camera coverage and light levels will be enough for the price the customer wants to pay. Of course as soon as the first real incident occurs and the customer reviews their footage, desperate disappointment ensues and grainy staccato like images that are of little use to anyone are the disappointing result.
Let’s remember the company who actually specified the system correctly were dismissed from the tendering process because their price was too high , so in this whole sorry process everyone loses out.
So to my initial point regarding HD CCTV and whether our expectations are too high. Well in truth the fact is that the same rules apply. We must specify what is actually required to meet the customers’ needs and most importantly, his expectations.
Too often we see system set ups that lack the four basic requirements.
1) The correct number of pixels per meter to ensure facial or number plate recognition at the specified distance.
2) The correct lighting level at night.
3) The correct amount of storage capacity for the required number of days.
4) The correct network architecture, bandwidth and equipment such as quality switches and cable/transmission path.
All the above must be correct or the system as a whole will fall down and the customer, full of hope, will find once more the CCTV system he has purchased has let him down.
So how can we be sure we get this right? Well firstly we must put our trust in a provider who has a proven track record. His price may not be the cheapest but this is a sure sign that he is not taking short cuts and should be reassuring rather than an excuse to put the quote to one side. If he has paid attention, his sales pitch will pay due attention to the 4 points above, this should mean that he is doing his job properly. Finally don’t try to get too much out of a camera. The laws of physics will decide what can be achieved. Ultimately of course a quality brand using all the best components and installers will work out the better option but there is only so much a 5 megapixel camera can do, especially if it is deprived of light at night.
Light plays a huge part in the final image quality, don’t try to buy cheaply here either. A good quality IR illuminator makes all the difference and these are not the cheapest items to produce. However a good brand will ensure low maintenance levels and excellent reliability as well as actually producing the light levels a megapixel camera will need to operate properly at night.
So are our expectations of HD CCTV too high? The simple answer is no, quite frankly it’s the best thing for security, monitoring industrial processes and keeping track of health and safety issues that we have seen for a long time, however this is only true if the job is sold correctly. Short cuts and under funding will mean we will all be cast back to the disappointments of the past.