Alhua security cameras

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Alhua.

 

Alhua Technology Co LTD.manufactures cameras and digital recorders for the CCTV industry. For 15 years they have concentrated on innovative design and research. Their equipment is future proofed and well designed to fit into the market place as it starts to move towards IP technology

Where did it start?

Alhua first launched an 8 channel real time embedded DVR in 2002 since then they have expanded their product base with the aim to becoming the No 1 security brand in china. They have produced ground breaking products in the past and with the introduction of IP cameras into their range, they continue grow rapidly.

ONVIF.

By embracing ONVIF, Alhua have made their products easier to integrate with other manufactures cameras and CCTV software, a clever move to help encourage world wide sales. In addition they have ISO 9001 accreditation that helps give them credibility in the international CCTV marketplace.

Markets.

Alhua have targeted European, American and Japanese markets especially the banking, public security and energy resources sectors.

Investment.

As with all good companies Alhua re-invest a large proportion of their turnover back into research and development, they claim as much as 10%. With this level of investment innovation and quality will thrive.

Overseas.

Clever marketing and overseas partnerships have helped Alhua develop a good reputation this can only continue and expansion of their market share is inevitable.

Product range.

An insight into some of their product range

stand alone DVRs LE -S series

4/8/16 way

LE-A series new entry level 4/8/16 standalone

DVR 1604 HE-u

a 20 channel 720p and full d1 recording hybrid standalone dvr

NVR DS-L series

4/8/16

network video recording solutions

IP and megapixel camera range

IPC-F725 series 1.3 megapixel Ip camera

IPC F725 series 2.0 megapixel

Conclusion.

Alhua is a name we are beginning to hear about more and more, proof that good quality products at a realistic price is the way to take your products to the world wide market.

CCTV and Electronic Security repair.

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CCTV repairs.

This week is being dominated by IFSEC and and all the new product releases. This creates much excitement within the security industry especially for manufacturers and installers. End users certainly take an interest but these tend to be from large organisations , those that can afford to upgrade their equipment on a regular basis.

The forgotten majority.

What about those end users who find themselves in a position whereby they have a desperate need for their security arrangements especially CCTV cameras but due to current economic conditions cannot afford to upgrade or renew kit?

CCTV Repair.

In the CCTV and security industry, repairs seem to be a forgotten option. Sales push new equipment all the time and sometimes forget that end users need to believe they are getting a good service as well as advice about new equipment that may be available. Repairing kit must be part of the service we supply.

Who does it?

From experience we find manufacturers seem to charge a fixed rate, often far more than they should and this often leaves installers with little option but to say to their customers that they are better off buying new. A double edged sword . Firstly there is a chance of an upgrade when kit goes wrong but more likely the customer feels let down and is likely to seek an alternative supplier as a result.

Is there a solution?

There are several repair centres popping up around the country looking for a share of an ever increasing repair market. The increase is mainly due to to the reasons i have listed above and of course the huge volume of  CCTV equipment out there .

Maxey Moverley.

Maxey Moverley are one of these centres that currently offer a CCTV and security repair service . They claim to be the largest repair facility in the country and offer a one stop shop for all security equipment repairs.

Domes.

Their repair service covers most makes of PTZ dome cameras and DVRs they offer a rapid turn around and live tracking so the customer can be assured that the repair is in their system and progressing.

Sony.

They are able to repair Sony blocks to component level, have state of the art test equipment and soak test to ensure all repairs have been effective.

Conclusion.

In an industry that seems to have forgotten the importance of being able to repair equipment rather than just replace it,  we see this as a welcome option for installers and end users alike.

Paxton Net 10.

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Paxton Access control solutions.

Paxton have come a long way in a few short years. Their Net2 products have fitted very nicely into the small to medium sized business security needs. It is worth remembering though that Net2 systems are perfectly capable of handling even the largest installations if required.

Moving forward.

As Paxton try to pack more and more functionality into their products software changes are beginning to get more difficult to achieve. When this happens it takes far longer to release new ideas. The restriction for the software developers is that Paxton Net 2 relies on old technology.

RS485.

RS 485 has been the workhorse of many systems and forms the backbone of the communication path between controllers. Now however IP technology is the only way to to take Paxton forward . Paxton realize this and have started to  develop a completely new software platform. The word is that this will be called Net 10 .

Paxton net 10.

All new Paxton equipment will probably be designed to work on this IP based platform and this is expected to be rolled out in the not too distant future. This will help software designers and help Paxton integrate easily into other manufacturers products.

Conclusion

Credit to Paxton here , they could be about to take a bold step but one that will likely see them continue to dominate their target audience for many years to come.


Arecont AV10005 10 megapixel camera

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Arecont megapixel camera solutions

Arecont are an American company and pride themselves on their innovative range of ip megapixel cameras. At IFSEC this year they were able to demonstrate their first H.264 dual mode 10megapixel 1080 p camera. The Av 10005 series is a colour, day night camera with auto iris and it is its performance at night that sets it apart from other megapixel cameras on show this year.

Now the clever bit!

The clever part about the Av10005 series is it has combined the functionality of two cameras into one housing .The field of view can be cropped to your preferred resolution to suit the application and by using the binning technique that combines and averages pixels, the camera performs brilliantly under low light conditions. When operating in 10 megapixel mode the camera provides 3648 x 2752  (picture resolution) at 6 FPS (frames per second)

CCTV software.

Combined with clever CCTV software the camera can be panned digitally and has multiple zoom windows. This can all be done while still recording the full field of view in 10 megapixel mode. The camera also has the ability to detect motion using 64 motion zones, all this in real time. Programmable shutter speeds control motion blur.

Cost effective.

This camera is being marketed as a very cost effective solution for night time megapixel images but has many other flexible features built in. The most important thing though having viewed the images was the quality we were able to see. At the end of the day this is ultimately what the customer will be most concerned about and the AV10005 will certainly meet the end users needs.

360 Vision Technology tell us how IP CCTV will develop in the future.

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360 Vision Technology Review.

One the things we were hoping to achieve at IFSEC this year was to get some feedback from the exhibitors and leading manufacturers on the future of IP CCTV and what it holds for installers and end users alike.

Mark Rees is the regional sales director of 360 vision technology. He has been associated with the security industry for over 20 years. So Integrated CCTV took the opportunity to ask Mark some questions about how he sees the CCTV industry developing over the next 5 years , what we all have have in store and what IP cameras and megapixel camera solutions will mean for all of us in the future.

The interview.


Mark, what do you see as the most important product to have effected our industry in the last 10years?

“Probably the DVR……….it allowed high quality images to be stored in a way that did not degrade over time (as with tape) but fundamentally, it allowed individual scheduling of cameras based on priority….this is important when the application requires a mixture of static and PTZ/Dome cameras because additional ips may be required for the moving cameras in order to produce meaningful recorded data………plus, we are seeing the importance of DVR/NVR capabilities in other areas of the system such as PTZ control, remote diagnostics/maintenance and also video intelligence through analytics, all of which benefit and enhance the products we make”.

When it comes to product development do 360 vision lead or do they prefer to follow the market trends?

“Probably a bit of both!!! We developed the worlds first truly serviceable product (Clip2Fit) with our dome products…….this completely changed the perception of customers and end users alike in that we wanted to empower the installer with the ability to repair or maintain PTZ dome products right out there in the field……something that previously (even for us) meant a return to factory scenario………… we have followed that philosophy even through to 2010 where our dome remains still the only truly installer repairable product in the industry……. but in other areas, I guess we monitor the market, spot the trends and with us having our own in-house Design, Software, Production and Technical staff, we can very quickly bring a ‘trend’ product to market, often with the ‘360 twist’ !!! an example is our newly launched Vision IRDome……. answering the common problem of IR requirements on PTZ Domes, we haven’t launched the first IR Dome, but we have put over 20+ years of Dome manufacturing experience and knowledge into manufacturing a great product that is backed with our quality and reliability standards”.

How has the downturn focused your strategy over the last two years?

“We have taken our core strategy, Customer Service, and really pushed that through our customer base………..when times are tough, it is not always about the cheapest price but bottom line profit and customers enjoy the ‘extras’ we can provide that effectively add the few extra digits on the bottom line…………we actually took on additional Technical Staff to answer the need for commissioning and training that we offer, as well as providing future assistance for the new products we are launching……… we are lucky in that, as a privately owned UK based manufacturer, everything was under our own control and we have emerged probably stronger and more efficient than when we entered the recession.”

What sort of growth do you expect to see as we emerge from these difficult times  ?

“Believe it or not, we still saw double digit growth through 2009/10 which I think is testament to the strength and quality of our products and services…………with new products launching (and they are the best products we have ever produced!) then we have high hopes of replicating that feat for 2010/11”

Is the inevitable move to  IP camera solutions  good for our industry or is it just playing into the hands of the big IT integrators?

“I think that is a question for the installation industry really…………..we see smart, switched on independent installers either re-training in IT or employing IT specialists and these installers will always be favourable to win Security Projects than an IT organisation that is entering into the Security Industry………… I also think that Manufacturers and Suppliers need to take responsibility to ensure that training and support is paramount in the transition to IP…..which is inevitable” !

The predator camera has taken off in a big way …you must be very proud and pleased…..? did you have personnel input into the development of the product?

“I wish I could take some credit on this one, because it is simply the best product we have ever made! However, no, our MD, Phil Burton, locked himself away for around 6 months and brought this product to life……….we launched the product back in January and so far we have had wonderful success with it……….helped by very low lead times to supply and also UK support and back up” !!

Megapixel or HD or is it going to be both?

“My personal opinion is that HD would be the best way to gain volume acceptance because people ‘get’ the concept of HD through the domestic market i.e. Sky HD, HD Ready TV’s etc…….. mention megapixel and most people mist over as they comprehend the myriad of megapixel digits and options………… plain and simple, high quality images sell systems and if we can produce HD images that are affordable, installable and understandable then I think the transition will happen quicker……… I heard recently about an emerging technology called HDCCTV where HD images are sent over existing coax cable……this is exciting because it means little disruption to existing infrastructure but beneficial enhancements to the system…..end users appreciate upgrades at minimal cost & disruption”!!!

These cameras and the associated storage is still quite expensive do you see prices coming down in the near future?

“Of course…..look at HDD prices alone……problem is, there is a phase out period for manufacturers on current technology before the transition to the new technology……both in terms of support and also stocks….. so, mass production in volume reduces prices once the demand has been created”…….

Will there be any analogue cameras around in 5 years time?

“That question was asked 5 years ago as well!!! I think there will be an analogue presence in part, even if only for service supply, but I really do anticipate ip doing to analogue what dvrs did to vcr’s” !

DVRs have been a big part of 360 vision sales do you see them being replaced by CCTV software solutions in the near future?

“Take a look at most new IP based cameras and you will see some form of on board storage – whether it is an IP camera or encoder, typically support for Compact Flash or SD cards is becoming more and more prevalent……we are embarking on a very exciting project with one of our Technology Partners, March Networks, whereby we are fitting a full hard drive into the camera head ! the camera then becomes both camera and NVR all in one and with mirror/shadow archiving, then the concerns over network failure is taken away, because the camera is the intelligence…………add in analytics and really, all you need is a software front end to draw everything together to view and control”…………

How did your association with March Networks come about will it help you increase sales both here and abroad?

“Some years back, I met with their UK Sales guy who wanted to integrate one of our domes into their analogue DVR………we spent some time with their Technical guys and vice versa and it was quickly apparent that both companies could benefit from each others strengths and products…..we are both customer and supplier to each other! It has meant that new exciting products can be developed that utilise both companies skills and that offers the installer some major unique products to go to market with (such as the HD Predator seen at IFSEC)”

Analytics….your thoughts on generating alarms to central stations using this technology?

“Analytics are becoming more powerful and accurate – the autotracking analytic that March Networks have developed for our Predator and Dome products is amazing and really shows where the benefit is to the end user operator…….for central stations, to be presented with the live footage of a camera automatically tracking something or someone is very powerful, it leaves the central station operative with a pair of hands to engage audio challenges, telephone assistance and any other activity that would normally be paused whilst he/she moves the remote PTZ camera around……… I still think analytics should be complementary though in an alarmed environment……..utilising analytics and physical alarms can allow for ‘double knock’ safety and reliability”.

Where do you want 360 vision to be in 5 years time?

“Looking back at the last 5 years probably gives an insight into the direction we are heading……….with a great in-house team combined with great Technology partners, then I would like to think that we would be enhancing existing technologies and continually developing technologies for the future………..and still having fun”!

Conclusion.

Integrated CCTV would like to thank Mark for his time and insight, a very interesting look into the future and how the IP CCTV market place will develop. From what we have just heard it is very apparent 360 vision technology will be at the forefront of IP CCTV and innovation for many years to come.