Tag Archives: CCTV System

Black Hawk IR dome from 360 Vision

Posted on by

Answering the age old problem of how to illuminate PTZ dome pictures at night time, 360 Vision have announced the availability of their Black Hawk IR Dome range

Drawing on over 20 years of CCTV Manufacturing,  the 360 Vision Technology Black Hawk IR Dome with twin LED IR illuminators is available in a choice of either Cool Grey, White or Black.

Options include:-

  • Dual 830nM wide angle IR Lamps providing 100m of illumination
  • Sony Ex-View WDR Camera options in 18x, 26x and 36x zoom
  • Multi Protocol Integration
  • OSD
  • Motor Motion Design
  • High Quality Components
  • Intelligent Alarms
  • Creative Privacy Zones
  • True Day/Night performance
  • Picture Freeze and Fast Shutter

we certainly think this is a great addition to their range – domes have always suffered from a lack of travelling illumination as found on the older overt PTZ units.

we think that the Black Hawk is a great ‘in between’ product, sitting perfectly between their VisionDome and Predator range !

we hope to bring a review shortly of the claimed 100m IR range……

Emerging Video Technologies – Pt5 Storage on-board IP Cameras

Posted on by

Today, we take a look at On Board storage for IP cameras

Potential Benefits:-

Some camera locations have limited or unreliable bandwidth. In those lcoations, ensuring that video can be streamed and recorded remotely can be expensive (or simply not possible). Putting storage inside of an IP camera can eliminate this problem. Of course, some network connections will be needed to remotely view/download record video. However, this will only need to be done periodically.

Cost: While storgae costs drop continuously, today the cost of on-board storage is far higher than centrally storing video in hard drives. Moreover, for most video surveillance applications, it is simply not possible to solely store video on-board IP cameras as it is not technically possible (with the exception of  suppliers supporting hard drives inside or attached to their cameras)

  • End User Risks
    Using on board storage may force compromises in the length of storage or the quality of storage (because of limitations on how much video can be stored inside the camera). Additionally, most VMS systems do not support remote playback of video recorded on an IP camera. This could make it difficult to access and use this video.
  • Installer Risks
    If the on-board storage cannot be remotely accessed using the existing VMS playback, the installer may be called for additional service calls. Some systems will require a technician physically remove the on-board storage while others will require downloading raw video files.

Taken from the ‘Emerging Video Surveillance Guide 2010’ from http://ipvideomarket.info/

we at IntegratedCCTV agree in part with the report – however, we still think that a camera recording in a continuous loop, just enough to cover a 3 9’s network (99.9% allowable down time, 43 minutes per month) and then using technology such as March Networks’ Shadow Archive feature, means that the system can synchronise video lost during the network downtime, with little effect on the overall system…………this is new and probably not known at the time of the report, but it is worth noting when discussing the above!!!

Have you any opinions on this? leave a comment for us!

Navtech Radar

Posted on by

An interesting twist on Perimeter protection!

We became aware recently of a new, emerging technology in the Security Industry……….Radar

It’s not a new technology, but certainly new in our industry.

Is it expensive?

Well, yes…….but, you need to look beyond the capital outlay and see what it replaces…

historically, protecting a huge perimeter, such as that of an airport, would involve 10’s or even 100’s of sensors, whether beams or detectors, alarm or dedicated CCTV beams such as those from companies like Optex etc…..

but, one single Navtech Radar unit, placed centrally, can monitor movement in an 800m 360 degree zone………and link various zones to multiple cameras……controlling PTZ cameras such as MIC-400 from Bosch or the new and excellent 360 Vision Predator product, moving them automatically to moving objects and dynamically tracking as the object moves within the detection zone………

Offering a complete revolution of the mentioned 800m 360 degree view in ONE SECOND this represents a very different way to think of sensor detection.

We think this is a very exciting new product, there is defintely a cost increase, but we are prepared to bet that if installation costs and labour are factored in, there is very little in it!

Navtech’s website can be found here – let us know what you think!

IPCCTV over WIFI

Posted on by

The scenario.

Picture the scene (pardon the CCTV pun!)

Building A is 500 metres from building B

There are 4 cameras on building A, one on each corner (don’t you just love perfect worlds!) and they need to be viewed, recorded and controlled (did I mention they were PTZ?) all from building B

THE PROBLEM

The two buildings are separated by a river – a very nice river, big boats coming up and down, delivering stuff to dockside delivery points.

No chance of cabling then….. Until recently, the answer was to use free range wireless transmission solutions, such as RF, Microwave, Laser etc……… but, history shows that each has it’s positives and negatives but they all share one common negative….. expense.

ANOTHER WAY?

With the upsurge in IP, there is another way………..Wifi…………ok, professional wireless is what all the proper ‘wifi’ consultants will call it, but wifi nonetheless.

You see, Wifi does not have to be a one to one transmission solution…………. with typical bandwidth of 54Mbps, even if we halve it (because clever network guys will tell you that there is always a drop over distance etc), we can expect a 27Mbps bandwidth allowance……

So, take our building A and B scenario…. cable all the 4 cameras to a central point (it is a perfect world after all !) and either convert to IP from analogue using encoders (or, if we are to get this industry into the 21st century let’s push the boat out and go true IP cameras!) and connect to a regular 4 port network switch…

Take the output of that switch and insert into something like the Silvernet product range….. 1Km line of sight, pre-configured to create a point to point connection…..go to building B, position the receiving unit line of sight to building A and either decode back to analogue or bring one, neat, simple CAT5/6 cable out and introduce to the network for full control and view of the system ! simples !

THE THEORY AND THE PRACTICE

Ok, we don’t always have a perfect world, clearly, however, using the above solution, we have sent 4 cameras over the one link….saving a LOT of money:-

RF/Microwave/Laser = at least £2000+ for EACH camera

WIFI = under £1000 for a 1Km link with the ability to run a good few cameras – typically a PTZ IP camera would be around 5Mbs and a static at around 2Mbs

But, just like RF/Microwave/Laser, if the Wifi states ‘Line of Sight’ or LoS, then it REALLY means that…..so much as a leaf on a overhanging tree, or, in the case of our River separating the two buildings, boats that might momentarily ‘interrupt’ the signal, it is imperative to ensure that the TX and RX units are positioned so as to enjoy clear and uninterrupted transmission!

The cost savings are impressive and just might give this industry the excuse to use IP !!

CCTV security systems. Great expectations?

Posted on by

Expectations from CCTV systems.

CCTV installers can experience a number of problems after an installation has been finished and the first and most important of these is customers expectations. If the customer has not had a demonstration, then how are they to know what the picture quality will be when the engineer first switches the system on? The multitude of reactions we have experienced range from,…. .”wow that is fantastic” …to “but I cant even see their face”…or “thought the picture would be clearer than that”!  Bear in mind that to the supplier all those reactions are to a CCTV system that is exactly the same specification as they always install and the systems are the same and are of equal quality. The thing that must be established with the customer from the start is, what do they expect from the system?

Sales staff.

Many sales staff desperate for a sale will over sell. Then to maximise profits as they have been forced to discount and sell well below list price, they will then be forced to install the very cheapest kit to maximise profits. The reason for this ? Many sales have frustratingly been lost on price alone. The problem is end users tend to buy from” people who give them the right price that they want to hear, rather than pay a little more for the right product”. Instead they should take considered advice that ultimately could save them both disappointment and money.

Megapixel IP solutions.

So what about new IP and Megapixel solutions.? Well it is even more important to ensure that the product is exactly right for the application. Do megapixel cameras see well in the dark? Well some do but most don’t. When looking from inside out towards sunlight can a megapixel camera cope under those conditions? Again some better than others. A customer could spend thousands of pounds only to be disappointed in the end.

The future.

However Megapixel cameras are the future and end users should be keen to migrate existing analogue CCTV and embrace IP CCTV solutions whenever they decide to upgrade. Remember however don’t always opt for the cheapest option after all doesn’t the saying go ” buy cheap, buy twice”.