Tag Archives: CCTV

DVR CCTV recording v CCTV software recording solutions

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 Digital recorders are they a thing of the past?

 Digital recorders have been a huge step forward for the CCTV industry. When they first appeared to the mass market seven years or so ago they were hailed as the ultimate recording solution. To some degree this is true however they do have limitations and the black box is slowly but surely about to give way to VMS CCTV software as the primary way of recording CCTV images.

In the beginning.

At first the DVR’s that hit the market place were small 4 or 9 way boxes with what would now be considered  ludicrously small hard drives around 40 – 80 gig. They tended to be unstable and fail with relative frequency something that gave Security installers quite a headache in the early days. Things however moved fast. Soon remote connectivity became a must have feature as broadband begun to become more wide spread and IT managers got less and less concerned about streaming the data across their internal networks.

Front end CCTV software.

 CCTV software for DVR’s began to look and behave in a more user friendly way and once the central stations moved to remotely monitor some of the DVRs out there, it seemed that this technology would be here to stay.

Things change so fast.

Things however have suddenly shifted to a different level . This is being driven by IP camera solutions especially HD CCTV and Megapixel IP cameras. CCTV software in the form of VMS is quietly becoming the preferred way forward for those who appreciate the benefits of IP cameras and know how IP solutions are shortly going to dominate the market place. The flexibility and the way that software becomes cheaper the more cameras a system has is going to drive sales but most importantly the picture quality that is quite simply stunning will persuade customers to invest in the IP way forward.

Is it the end for DVR CCTV recording solutions?

So is it shortly going to be the end for the black box DVR , well quite simply no. The DVR is still a relatively cheap purchase and many smaller installations simply do not require the sophistication and larger costs of Megapixel IP security cameras and the accompanying CCTV software. So we are are a long way from seeing the discontinuation of the DVR CCTV solution but the amount of investment and development from manufacturers will start to fall away in favour of  various CCTV software products.

IFSEC will encourage integrated CCTV solutions

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IFSEC

IFSEC is going to be very interesting this year as it will prove to be the year that suddenly propels IP CCTV into the market place as the dominant CCTV player over a traditional analogue solutions. Integration between Access control, intruder alarms and IP CCTV will be the main theme that people will take away with from the exhibition. Many of the big Security suppliers will try to promote IP CCTV as the way forward and begin to discontinue analogue cameras and recording solutions.

Image Quality.

IP cameras have now begun to prove their worth and better image quality and the way this can be manipulated by VMS CCTV software can only help installers pursued customers to upgrade from older less flexible camera systems. The ease of installation will be used together with the high definition that IP cameras can produce and in addition to this the CCTV software is becoming far more popular over a standalone DVR.

More powerful camera solutions.

The reasons for this is that as the IP cameras become more powerful and software more advanced it makes sense for business to install a system that can be upgraded through a simple remote download rather than be saddled with a black box solution that is severely restricted in terms of the number of cameras that can be recorded at any time.

IP camera licence.

Licences seem at first sight to be expensive when an IP solution is first presented to an end user but because with most software the number of cameras is unrestricted it means customers only need buy what they need at the time . It is then very  easy to add more for a minimal cost once the need arises.

Conclusion.

Flexibility, picture quality, FPS is so much easier to achieve with an IP CCTV solution that after IFSEC this year very few punters will walk away with the view that analogue is the future and as a result we believe that a huge expansion within the security market place is now just around the corner.

CCTV footage will be good enough to secure convictions with IP CCTV

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IP CCTV cameras supply the solution.

The police and courts are being encouraged by the picture and recording quality that is now available from both HD CCTV and Megapixel IP cameras. For too long now we have had recorded images that simply are not good enough to secure convictions.

Highlighted in recent report.

This was recently highlighted in an internal report from the Metropolitan police who have compiled figures to prove that for every 1000 CCTV cameras that are positioned across the capital just one crime is solved. Add to this the comments made by a representative of Scyron the company who help the police analyse footage, as he said, as many as half of all of the CCTV cameras across the UK are of no use whatsoever.

Analytics.

Police are also encouraging the use of analytics on existing analogue cameras to ensure that only images are recorded when required ie. when loitering is taking place in known drug dealing areas or fighting outside drinking establishments. This encourages the public that they are not being watched constantly by the Big brother state.

Things must improve.

All the above will help improve every aspect of  CCTV and surveillance in the UK customers will finally get the picture and recording quality they deserve and criminals will find themselves faced with indisputable CCTV evidence to convict them in court. Once people realize the clarity and usability of the pictures then ultimately crime will be reduced . A benefit to us all.

Why appoint a CCTV regulator?

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New IP solutions encourages new appointment.

Why has the UK government decided to appoint an interim CCTV regulator? Well Andy Rennison certainly has a big task ahead of him. To be fair it seems on the surface just another public servant being appointed just for the sake of it. We already have regulation within the industry in the form of the NSI and this is effectively controlled by the government already through the implementation of European standards for intruder alarms, access control and CCTV.

The challenges ahead.

There are however some challenges ahead within our industry that to the credit of government officials have actually been foreseen at a relatively early stage. Integration between CCTV, access control and intruder alarms mean that the boundaries are becoming blurred between the security technologies . Of even more relevance is that CCTV evidence produced by camera systems has always been contentious but now with the advent of IP CCTV and integrated CCTV systems mean that the police and the courts are desperately seeking guidelines and regulation to ensure that evidence that is forth coming from the new IP surveillance systems can be used in the courts  and this is very much in the public interest.

Government interference?

Government intervention can only be justified if it is profoundly in the public interest and with CCTV software being used more and more, guidelines are are must to ensure forensic integrity is maintained and all evidence is 100% acceptable however it may need to be used.

Complaints procedure for CCTV systems defined by the CCTV regulator.

The right for the public to be able to complain is only a step forward if there is a real understanding in the public domain as to how IP CCTV works . So if education is part of Andy Rennison’s  remit then this cannot be viewed as bad thing.

Conclusion.

Within the industry we have to look at this in a positive way. No publicity is bad publicity and if it means that high standards are enforced then only the most professional companies will be able to take on the new challenges set out by the new CCTV regulator. We look forward to the way this develops with interest . Your thoughts are welcomed. Do we need this kind of regulation or can the industry be relied upon to govern itself ?

Data centre CCTV

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CCTV in data centres.

We have recently been asked to look at IP CCTV solutions within Data centres. This is one of the fastest areas of expansion for security solutions within the country at the moment. The reasons behind this expansion are simple. Paranoia when it comes to the protection of company data and information. In addition demands from users when it comes to accessing this information are unparalleled they do not accept down time.Therefore there is always a  requirement for off site storage and redundancy.

IP camera solution.

Quite simply IP cameras are the only real option. The network is always going to be in place and most data centres understand the benefits that HD IP cameras can offer.When dealing with playback it is essential that the pictures give both quality and a frame rate that will mean anything that goes on inside the data centres does not get missed. The ability to record using a VMS solution is also now being viewed as crucial , storage on a server is what data centres do anyway and with VMS CCTV software you have the ability to zoom in without losing image quality and suffering from the age old issue of pixelation.

Remote access.

The ability to remotely access any recordings is also crucial because we find that most managers are off site and data centers tend to be lightly manned.

Conclusion.

In conclusion Data centers are growing at an incredible rate in the UK and IP CCTV is going to be used more and more for the protection of the building and storage infrastructure. If you require more information please click here.