Tag Archives: CCTV systems

CCTV software

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CCTV software.

Over the next few years we will begin to see hardware recording solutions in the CCTV security industry slowly disappear and be replaced almost exclusively by CCTV software.

Cost of CCTV hardware.

The high production costs of hardware have in the past always been able to be offset because most end users networks struggled to cope with the high amount of bandwidth taken by HD and Megapixel IP cameras. Recently however, there is a marked change. Recording solutions are beginning to be biased towards CCTV software platforms recording onto dedicated servers. The servers are getting cheaper and developers have taken all the best features from their hardware recorders and integrated this into CCTV software solutions.

CCTV software.

The software of course can vary enormously. Some manufacturers such as Sanyo are happy to give away software in order to sell their IP cameras in volume. Other big players such as March networks have spent lots of time money and effort on developing their Videosphere VMS software into a fantastic package that includes analytics and extremely advanced search facilities not seen in cheap or free CCTV software packages.

Who decides.

Of course the decision will always come down to end user and their requirements. Anyone trying to integrate CCTV systems that already exist on site will not be able to use off the shelf packages. They will have to choose a CCTV software solution that can integrate a multitude of cameras and codec’s especially when using a combination of analogue and IP cameras of different makes and model. The older analogue cameras will need some kind of multiple recording platform and then conversion to IP video streams.

The future.

CCTV software can and will get better and better. Software gives flexibility that older hardware DVRs lack. It will eventually get less expensive and remote support for the product is easier than returning a DVR back to its country of origin just simply to be repaired. The benefits and advantages of using CCTV are slowly but surely meaning that DVRs are soon to go the same way as the VCR.. Ie it become a very breed indeed.

CCTV kit

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CCTV kit.

Is there an argument that as an end user it is better to buy a CCTV kit from a wholesaler and then install the system either by yourself or get an electrician to carry out the work? Well it would save on costs there is no doubt about that. But CCTV kits available on the Internet tend to be imported from the Far East and tend to be of a lower spec than a CCTV installer would use.

Home CCTV.

For home CCTV it is defiantly a market that is growing, the average domestic customer is simply looking to install a CCTV system to enable them to see who is there without leaving the safety of the home. To this end the CCTV systems that are available in Kit form will suffice. Commercial users though often have CCTV cameras installed for more reasons than just observation purposes and this is where good recording and quality cameras will make a difference.

CCTV kits

Most companies have little or no resources to just have someone watching CCTV images, so inevitably all the information that the CCTV system gathers will need to be reviewed from a recording. This is where the main difference between CCTV kits and a professionally installed CCTV system will tell.

CCTV system.

A CCTV System in kit form will have little or no flexibility on the number of frames per second it can handle or the image quality unlike a more expensive DVR solution. Lets be honest though some high end spec DVRs can cost upwards of £6000 they will have many features and some of these would be over the top for many small or domestic installations.

Buy CCTV.

At the end of the day when buying CCTV kits you really need to think hard about why you really want it, to observe or to actually produce usable images after an event has occurred. Review what is out there and take advice. It could save you spending hard earned cash on something that at the end of the day turns out to be a white elephant.

International Security Exhibitions

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We may be based in the UK, but we always like to follow some of the up and coming International Exhibitions!

Volcano ash permitting, we are looking to bring good information on emerging technologies from the following exhibitions in 2010

ESSEN – Essen, Germany 5th to 8th October

ASIS – Texas, USA 12th to 15th October

ISC EAST – New York, USA 3rd and 4th November

more to follow!

Black Hawk IR dome from 360 Vision

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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……

Navtech Radar

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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!