Tag Archives: Bosch

CCTV analytics perimeter security solution. It WORKS!

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CCTV video analytics.

Video analytics has been a technology that has been talked about for a long time but at last it has  now finally arrived in a format that works reliably and achieves the results that will make customers keen to upgrade their legacy CCTV systems.

CCTV Alarms.

Used to alert the end user of an unusual event or an intrusion into a protected area it helps to give security managers a better insight to events and alarms occurring on their site. There are many types of events that can be raised to his attention and these include.

People counting

Speed monitoring

Facial detection

Loitering

Perimeter protection

Fall detection

Queue length monitoring

Panic alarm

Object abandonment.

And more to boot.

Advanced CCTV software.

Video analytics works by using advanced software to detect in real time changes within the view of the camera, far more advanced than motion detection, all analogue cameras currently in use in the UK can be converted to use this technology. It’s a simple process just install a unit called a codec. The codec is attached to the camera and behind the scenes converts all the video into a format that analyses events and through a set of clean contacts an alarm can be raised in a variety of different ways.

IP CCTV codec.

The codec is an IP device and is programmed through a laptop or if connected to a network it can be remotely administered. Xtralis, Bosch and March Networks all produce units that excel in video analytics.

CCTV Airport!

Examples of where analytics can be used to great effect include ports and airports combating threats of terrorism especially identifying abandoned objects, Protecting classic art using analytics means museums can also benefit from this feature.

CCTV perimeter protection.

Perimeter protection is another area that has seen far better security thanks to trip wire features and the ability to detect movement in a certain direction. Integrating analytics with FLIR thermal imaging cameras is an excellent example of how a sensitive area during hours of total darkness can suddenly be secured where before this would have been impossible.

Codecs.

Setting up the codec’s is a relatively simple task. Perspective is important to ensure only the objects or human movements are detected and things such as wildlife are totally ignored. A great advance for the industry analytics are now being incorporated directly into the heads of cameras and the Predator camera from 360 vision is the first 360 dome camera that can deal with analytics while on a tour something of a dream for security guards who are tasked with monitoring large establishments or estates.

CCTV investment.

As the investment goes heavily into this technology from the big manufactures we see the number of applications increasing and soon analytics will be commonplace in many businesses across the UK

Metal Mickey CCTV Camera

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MIC external security camera.

A  new on-line product selector is a tool has recently been released to assist customers and specifiers who wish to purchase the MIC camera manufactured by Bosch. The selector tool is to aid quick and accurate selections of the exact camera that is required. This has been driven forward because of confusion when ordering MIC parts and cameras in the past.

Production moved to Portugal.

Since manufacturing has been moved to a new purposely designed manufacturing facility in Ovar, Portugal, Bosch have decided to take this action in order to rationalise product codes and aid manufacturing and quality. As the product range has increased this has led to over 750 different part codes and at times some confusion when customers try to order. The implementation of the selector tool has enabled Bosch to drastically reduce delivery times from an unacceptable 6 weeks to an impressive 4 days for more popular models. Even more specialist versions can be delivered within14-18 days. In addition The new selector tool has helped to reduce the number of models now down to just 125.

Big improvements

This has been a long term plan that is now beginning to pay dividends. The ability to build an order using the selector tool will mean the right model can be ordered correctly every time. Whether it be white, explosion prove,the right bracketry or software the new system means the correct selection of associated parts can be assured. It will be effectively be like creating your own shopping list for those who are about to place an order. For those who need to make an order the product selection tool can now be found at the MIC website.

Over 1000 per month.

The new facility in Portugal has helped to make some big improvements. Bosch now have the ability to produce more than 1000 cameras per month and new testing procedures mean failure rates have been improved. The Metal Mickey (MIC) camera was the first of its kind and continues to find itself a popular choice for external security cameras. These improvements will undoubtedly help this success continue.


IP camera 200 series from Bosch

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Bosch 200 series.

Bosch have recently brought onto the market the new IP 200 series IP camera range. The camera is an IP unit that comes in two versions, the IP camera 225 and the IP camera 255. Essentially the 225 is a fixed lens and the 255 is varifocal . The beauty of the 200 series is that you need no DVR. The camera is a networked solution and has recording ability on board within the camera using a 16 GB  SD card.

Clear crisp images.

The camera produces clear crisp images and all video can also be reviewed over the network using CCTV software that is supplied with the camera. The images are compressed using H.264 and this allows an additional 30% storage capacity over MPEG-4 . Both IP cameras are colour units and are ideally suited to reception areas or tills where they could be used in multi- site applications and accessed by 1 individual responsible for all sites such as car hire franchises or late night stores.

More benefits.

The IP camera 200 series has even more benefits, it is a single box solution and easy to set up. Simply remove the unit from the box, fix in the required position and connect to the network via an IP point. It has built in motion detection and also audio detection. As mentioned before with both on-site or remote viewing via PC and power over Ethernet this is a fantastic solution for those who have a problem on a single area of their site and need a quick easy security answer.

Conclusion.

Very competitively priced and simple, the IP 200 range can fit into many situations and will find many takers, especially for monitoring and recording sensitive areas where a full scale CCTV camera system quite simply is not required.

Perimeter Security CCTV Cameras

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Perimeter security camera.

Perimeter security has long been open to debate. Whats the best security solution to spend your money on? Lets face it for an intruder to get onto most sites they tend to pick the weakest  point . Often this is an area that is dark and difficult to patrol. Many methods exist to protect your boundaries . PIR sensors, often long range ones or maybe fixed beams? Vibration detectors buried under the ground have been used in the past to, also  Dome cameras driven by sensors are a popular solution. NOW however the most effective method to protect a perimeter is probably using a fixed camera complete with IR lighting and we have an additional tool to help us. This is analytics.

ZX55

The Bosch ZX 55 has been especially designed for this purpose. A well built piece of kit with a range of up to 300m. It comes together With a powerful integrated IR lighting system and is equipped with a 9-90mm lens. It certainly has all the tools requied for detection. However there is also an IP version vital to integrate into future CCTV software recording solutions. It is also the IP solution that gives the added benefit of analytics to help with the detection element that is so important  to ensure that the intruder is intecepted.

Costly?

It must be remembered that perimeter protection always comes with a price , not so much because of the equipment , but civil works, CCTV towers and the large amount of cable being required can put the price up. It is therefore crucial that the right solution is  well thought through and correctly specified because many companies rue the day when they thought that a cheap option would do!

Conclusion.

Think long and hard about external security, it can be a minefield if the design at the first stage is poorly concieved. Expert advice is very important and we have over 20 years in this particular field. So if you need feedback or advice on this subject we will be happy to help.

Why buy IP CCTV Cameras?

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IP CCTV.

IP CCTV has suddenly come to the fore in the last couple of years . It was particularly noticeable at IFSEC this year where analogue cameras seemed to be no more than an after thought . However what are the reasons that a CCTV camera format that has served the industry for so long should now so suddenly become a technology that will soon be confined to museums or very short sighted end users?

Life in the old dog?

Well perhaps that last statement was a little unfair. It will still take a while before we see analogue cameras disappear completely off the scene, perhaps long as 10 years, but in the meantime megapixel IP cameras will start to produce results that many organisations will find hard to resist. What results you may ask? Well for so many years every CCTV administrator has just wanted to zoom in on captured images and blow them up to prove an event has occurred. Up to now there has rarely been enough definition to achieve this goal . Any blown up or artificially enhanced images have been blurred or pixelated to the point where they are useless.

Why HD CCTV or Megapixel cameras.

Mega pixel especially does not however suffer this problem. The images remain clear and crisp as they are zoomed into on the played back recordings . Add to this stunning live images and you will understand why analogue is effectively dead. Examples of camera manufactures who have taken this technology and produced some excellent camera solutions include Avigilon, Arecont, 360 vision technology, Bosch to name but a few.

What is the catch?

So as the camera technology improves are there any drawbacks? Well of course there are . Due to bandwidth and processing limitations some of the 10 mp cameras can only deliver images at 3 frames per second. Slow to say the least but with such crystal clear images it is still better than 12 fps on an analogue alternative. Of course the camera technology may be slighty ahead of the networks that they need to deliver them to their recording solution ie CCTV software. However as CCTV software gets better and the speed and flexibility of networks increase as well as the processing power of the camera chips, we will eventually see the utopia in terms of megapixel technology and this can bring to the end user the ultimate CCTV solution.

Conclusion.

Are you an end user who is considering an upgrade? Perhaps you have upgraded already and are either impressed or disappointed in what you have purchased? Let us know your thoughts and we will be happy to publish them in order to help other organisations to make that important decision, to upgrade or not to upgrade?