Tag Archives: CCTV

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.

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.

IP CCTV leads the way at IFSEC but did you read the small print?

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Reviews all week.

As we go through the week we will be looking at the manufacturers and suppliers that caught our eye at IFSEC this year. Today however we focus on IFSEC itself and how our day went.

Getting there.

It was a bit of an early start, the traffic on the way down to the NEC was  light and we made easy going of it. We arrived full of enthusiasm about what we might see at the exhibition this year and had mentally planned our route round some of the stands we wanted to visit.

Getting in.

The automated check in went like a dream.  We walked into the main hall looked around , got our bearings and then checked the exhibitors map we had been provided with. Here though we had a problem!! I had a bit of a laugh as my colleague struggled to read the stand numbers on the map, no matter what distance from his eyes he tried to hold  the floor plan, he said  it was illegible. He then challenged me to try to read the “small Print” and very quickly I had the smile wiped off my face as I realized that I could not read it either. Were we both getting short sited?? Feedback to the organizers published here .

Arecont IP camera.

Not to be deterred by the fact that we had no idea where we were going we made our way into the show. We chose Arecont as our first stop. The main reason for this is we were looking for a megapixel camera that performed well in challenging light conditions. Arecont have just such a camera. The Av10005 1o megapixel 1080p. They use very clever ways of  getting it to perform at night, this is known as binning. When the camera senses low light it changes mode to allow it to use 4 pixels instead of 1,  to increase the amount of light onto the camera chip. We left very impressed. More on this soon.

Dallmeier.

We then moved on to the Dallmeier stand to take a look at their new video Netbox. Dallmeier have always produced quality goods and the build quality of the Netbox was certainly robust. This one box solution is a hybrid unit aimed to bridge the analogue IP gap and is very flexible. It would be very suited to temporary installations or construction sites. We were also eager to learn that Dallmeier has released Pview 7. This is their main software integration package full of new features. Again we left the stand impressed.

Avigilon.

Avigilon was next. Their range of high definition surveillance systems had attracted our attention. Lots to look at here but the most impressive part for us was the build quality of their Megapixel cameras. No plastic here, the cameras were solid, heavy and extremely well put together. The picture quality was equally impressive especially from the 16 megapixel version.

360 vision technology.

We had heard that 360 vision technology had released a new dome for the show and we were not to be disappointed. A very enthusiastic member of the team demonstrated their new IR dome. It has all the features you would expect and night time vision of up to 100m is very impressive. Light being generated from the strategically mounted IR leds ensures nothing is missed by this brilliantly designed camera. This dome is a different animal though from the 360 dome we have been used to. It is heavier and much more robust. Something we look forward to testing.

March Networks.

March networks were demonstrating the Predator camera or is it the Shield? However it is branded this camera stands out from just about everything else at the show. The auto tracking had been set up brilliantly and you could view the meta data as it followed people around the show .The accuracy was stunning . This camera has just about everything you could wish for and the Predator will be coming out in lots of different versions in the near future. We will be doing a special feature on it later in the month, keep watching.

The best of the rest.

Time was moving on and we still had plenty to see. We paid various visits to Samsung, Redvision, ACTi, Emizon and Paxton. All very interesting and each will be reviewed later in the month.

Home.

Well it was time to go , the overall feeling was one of enthusiastic excitement. All the people we saw had something new to offer and it is blatantly apparent that analogue CCTV is very shortly about to become condemned to the history books.  Standard IP cameras  are starting to look dated with all the emphasis at the show on HD and Megapixel. As the number of pixels and picture quality increase in the cameras the frame rates they can deliver decreases dramatically. In addition the storage required can be prohibitive. Neither of these problems though are insurmountable and in a very short space of time the quality we will see from IP CCTV is going to leave the end user in a position where hopefully they are left with little choice but to upgrade. The future looks bright.

IFSEC 2010 Integrated CCTV wish list.

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What’s new in 2010?

What are we at Integrated CCTV looking for this week at IFSEC 2010? We have set this out in our wish list below.

Megapixel camera.

Well we would be very interested to find a megapixel camera with wide dynamic or back light compensation. We know that megapixel cameras do struggle at times in challenging light conditions. We believe Panasonic are about to release their new i-pro range of IP megapixel/HD cameras and these boast this particular feature. March Networks have the Videosphere 1080p that has been recently tested by us and the pictures were simply stunning. In addition we would also like to find a megapixel solution that properly supports IR.

Analytics.

As we know analytics are currently only available in standard IP cameras or with an analogue camera that has been converted to IP via a codec. So we are interested to see the progress any manufacturers have made with megapixel cameras that support or are capable of processing analytics and generating alarms.

IP delivered externally over 100m.

With more external IP cameras being specified, we realize the limitations of trying to deliver IP over distances of more than 100m. Of course we can use fibre but this is expensive, so, a cost effective way other than powered switches would be interesting to us.

Thermal camera solutions.

Thermal cameras are a brilliant solution for external detection especially when combined with analytics. Are they however priced competitively enough to sell?  Several companies are now looking to bring this type of security solution to the commercial market place and we will be looking hard for the most cost effective solution out there. FLIR as we know are the market leaders.

Storage solutions.

Megapixel cameras means massive storage issues , before this type of technology can be used to its full potential storage prices need to drop. As we know many Terabytes of storage are needed and so any company that can supply this at a competitive price could find business taking off this year.

Dome camera.

Auto tracking domes have been about for a while but has anyone been able to integrate this technology into a Megapixel version of their dome? We know March Networks have an excellent version of a megapixel dome surely they are close to being able to give us this feature? Can anyone else?

Dome camera with IR.

Dome cameras with integrated IR solutions are growing in popularity. We did a feature on the predator dome and we know the IR version is out shortly. This is something we have wanted to be able to Spec for some time and has many applications externally. We will be checking out all the dome suppliers to see if they are able to provide this feature at the best possible price of course.

Case study.

Features and benefits of all the products that we think you need to know about will be following on this site after IFSEC. So, if you would like us to write an article on your product or carry out a case study especially if you think it fits into our wish list then please contact us here at Integrated CCTV and we will be happy to help.

External security perimeter protection IFSEC 2010.

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External security solutions.

What solutions will we see at IFSEC this year with regard to external security protection? Integrated CCTV have lots of experience in both the advantages and the pitfalls of the different detection solutions. Below we list some of the options and when and where they should be used.

Perimeter protection.

External security  has been around now for many years now. Originally of course there was CCTV. At the time a fantastic deterrent. However as the criminal fraternity have become used to cameras and less fearful of the consequences of  CCTV evidence, the industry has had to concentrate on more effective ways of keeping criminals away from vulnerable sites.

Fixed beams or PIR sensors?

Both have their place, Pirs can of course be vulnerable to environmental problems such as flapping plastic , sunlight issues and wildlife. They can however be used in any position on the site and for blanket coverage are the best way to protect most external stock. Fixed beams are more reliable and stable but they rely on line of site between the transmitter and receiver and on many sites this just is not possible. Even where it is it tends to mean that the customer looses storage space and this rarely fits into line with his operational needs. Fixed beams are also overtly obvious and can be over-come on rare occasions because of this.

CCTV Analytics.

So are analytics the answer? This is a means where by using advanced video motion algorithms in conjunction with static CCTV cameras, security systems are able to generate an alarm condition . Human intrusion onto a premises can be detected with relative certainty. The drawbacks of this are generally related to lighting issues and of course the quality of the camera that has been installed. Most important is  the view we can get from that camera often we need lots of cameras if the premises is large or has lots of nooks and crannies, we then have the issue that too many cameras and the costs rise, too few and we leave vulnerable areas on the site. In addition if we have dynamic stock movements this means scenes can change and the  alarm point becomes irrelevant.

Flir thermal imaging cameras.

Thermal imaging cameras are definitely a brilliant way of confirming an intrusion. They can even detect heat behind walls or in sheds. they are the best way to be  100%  sure that there is human activity within a restricted area. The only real drawback is the cost but Flir the main player in the marketplace have some convincing arguments as why they should be used more and more for commercial security applications. Definitely worth looking into.

Deterrent.

Of course it is all very well detecting an intruder but what is the best way to encourage them to leave site and leave property untouched? Some use lighting or a verbal warning and activate local alarm sounders. This works very well at moving criminals on, no one wants to be caught, so drawing attention to an intrusion though noise is highly effective. Other methods include a central station response to a fixed beam activation , that is we send the signal through like we would on an intruder alarm alerting the central station that the perimeter has been breached.

Off site response.

CCTV monitoring by remote central stations is the main way that most businesses choose to protect their external stock. Once an on site alarm is generated this sent together with the CCTV image to the central station. The image is presented to an operator and if a person is seen a key-holder is called and mobilized to site , In addition the central station can tannoy the site and warn the intruder that they are being watched.

Monitored CCTV broadband connection.

In the past the CCTV images were always sent by PSTN or ISDN phone lines. Now with these being phased out under the BT21CN upgrades most companies now rely on broadband to transmit these images. This is where without serious thought remote monitoring can become unstuck. What if the broadband line goes down? Well Emizon21 IP have the solution to that problem .They are one of the few who can monitor broadband lines properly for failure and transmit an alert via a secondary signalling path to the central station to warn them of  any problems with the line.

IFSEC 2010

So external security has come a long way in the last 20 years and we look forward to what IFSEC 2010 has to offer us this year. We think IP cameras able to generate alarms with on board recording and switched relay contacts to activate sounders will be playing a part but can they replace traditional methods. We will have to wait and see.