Month: May 2012

Cobra Alpha HD SDI DVR

CCTV direct has announced that it is is launching a new range of  HD SDI CCTV equipment at IFSEC 2012. The HD-SDI CCTV range is priced to be almost as cheap as analogue CCTV equipment bring HD to many rather than the few.

The range will include a world first, an HD SDI PTZ dome camera. This will be complimented by a smart IR bullet camera and two HD SDI dome cameras and of course as the Cobra Alpha HD SDI DVR.

The new  Cobra Alpha HD SDI recorder offers HD clarity over coax and is targeted at installers who want to give HD to their end users without some of the complication involved in IP HD systems.

The Cobra Alpha  HD SDI CCTV range is priced to sell against analogue rather than IP and is looking to take a market share of camera systems that are in need of upgrade here in the UK and primarily run over coax.

The Cobra Alpha range offers crystal clear 1080P images and exceptional recording quality. HD SDI CCTV is simple to install and can use both new and existing coax. It is not an IP system so no expert IP training is required. It is an HD definition system for CCTV installers and is quite simply plug and play. This is what CCTV installers have been waiting for, a simple HD CCTV solution without the complication that can come with IP CCTV installations and what’s more at an affordable price.

So the Cobra Alpha HD SDI DVR will prove a big hit with installers looking for a simple solution but with 3 times the definition of analogue.


 

Benefits of HD CCTV over coax

The benefits of HD CCTV over coax are many. The introduction of HD-SDI cameras and recorders has seen a change in the way many companies are now influencing their customers to buy HD CCTV. IP is no longer the only option and in many cases now no longer the prefered option . We list below some of the benefits of HD SDi CCTV and see why some installers think HD SDI could change the industry as a whole.

Higher resolution is the primary benefit that is gained from HD SDI CCTV. HD-SDI cameras output full HD resolution images (1080p) but unlike IP this is done in real time. This means that HD SDI cameras  can give the end user as much five times the resolution of standard analogue cameras. HD-SDI DVRs are also capable of recording full HD. This means up to (1080p) Full HD resolution images. The primary benefit of this is that the end user will get real-time recording. HD CCTV has now already filled one one of the fundamental requirements of a CCTV system. Quality images that the end user can rely on.

Of course one of the main drawbacks of analogue CCTV is the amount of data that is sub standard. HD-SDI is an HD CCTV solution that provides video signals that are not compressed before transmission. This means that unlike IP there are no distortions within the captured image or frame rate interruptions. Zero latency can be achieved  because HD-SDI transmits a digitized video signal meaning no reduction in quality of the images which often occurs with analogue.

Perhaps the best news for the CCTV industry with the introduction of HD-SDI DVR s and HD CCTV cameras is that they can use an analogue infrastructure. In other words HD CCTV over coax.This makes them suitable for users looking to increase the quality of their current security systems. Why re-cable when HD CCTV can be achieved with little effort and lower costs that installing a new IP CCTV system?
HD CCTV cameras and DVRs are similar to standard definition cameras and DVRs in the way they need to be installed and do not require any additional specialist knowledge or skill. Re-training that has added a heavy burden on the CCTV industry is no longer required. HD-SDI is not prone to issues associated with IP network based video surveillance systems. The installer is no longer dependent on third party IT companies to install or allow access to IT networks. One of the biggest benefits being seen is that no IT or IP network knowledge is required and bandwidth requirements are a problem of the past. We are back to a simple CCTV installation.

 

Avigilon financial figures q1 2012 shows HD CCTV growth is accelerating

Avigilon have released financial figures that prove the shift to HD CCTV is accelerating and at quite some rate! With revenue up 77% the results are encouraging for everyone who is trying to promote HD into the world of CCTV and Avigilon’s approach and easy upgrade path from analogue to HD is proving highly successful.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/avigilon-corporation-announces-first-quarter-200000580.html

Check the full set of financial results through the link above.

Avigilon encoder
Avigilon encoder

Dallmeier DVR range goes end of life. Software from here on in!!!!

Dallmeier  have announced the end of the Leonardo product range’ and h.264 DLS series recorders.

As from the 14th May 2012* the following h.264 recorder models will be discontinued:

DMS ‚In memory of Leonardo‘ recorders and h.264 DLS Series recorders.

 

With this change Dallmeier will from this point onwards be promoting only SMAVIA software. The new products are completely forwards and backwards compatible and Dallmeier offer full support in order that new products may be integrated into older systems.

 

Dallmeier state that “SMAVIA is a recording technology which is based on 25 years of experience and competence in professional video security technology, thus ensuring maximum reliability. SMAVIA enables the recording of video images and streams in a large variety of image compression and transmission codecs (H.264, MPEG-4, MJPEG). In addition to standard definitions, SMAVIA also supports Full HD (1080p) and up to 8 megapixel”.

“The SMAVIA Recording Server Software can be used on a wide range of different hardware platforms; either on special video recording servers made by Dallmeier or as stand-alone software on standard servers or PCs. SMAVIA is compatible with both Linux and Windows. The corresponding management software SMAVIA Viewing Client offers the perfect interface for the comfortable processing of live and recorded pictures”.

 

Dallmeier have always been a company who evolve through good ideas which in turn become quality CCTV equipment, which helps them stay at the forefront of the industry. With this commitment to software Dallmeier have committed themselves fully into IP CCTV and it will be interesting to see how they compete.

The questions we challenge Dallmeier to answer is why? Are they just following the trend or do they see this as the future. Was it a result of a loss in sales? Or an effort to keep up with others in the IP CCTV market place? Were their DVRs too expensive to sell and to maintain and was their returns policy one that put off prospective buyers of their hardware?

Lets hear from you Dallmeier!

 

Who is looking beyond IP surveillance?

PSI magazine, a very well respected monthly security publication has recently ran an excellent article with the very clever headline “Know IP or no IP” . Essentially the article centred on how the security industry is embracing (or in many cases not embracing) IP technology in order to drive sales and move the industry forward to another level. Several commentators take a view on whether the CCTV industry as whole has the technical knowledge to advise, sell, install and service IP CCTV in a way that will bring improvements, reliability and satisfaction to the end user.

What all the commentators seem to agree on is that IP is inevitable, analogue CCTV as a technology is finished and it is now just a matter of time before those who have invested in IP surveillance training, ICT staff and IP CCTV products will prevail. In market that before IP CCTV came along, was dominated by installers who generally operate with 5 or 6 hard working staff and have little or no time to invest in a discipline that is far more demanding than installing simple closed circuit analogue systems, this news is quite daunting!

Now it has to be noted that IP CCTV brings many benefits but the most obvious is HD quality. This is the driving force for IP CCTV to really take off and this is what will cause forward thinking end users to upgrade. It was noted that  in a later article on P40 there is a quote that suggests” if you want a high resolution system you have to go IP”, ironic then that the advert directly following the “Know IP or no IP” article is for the new HD SDI CCTV range from Videcon.

Now that is forward thinking!!!  HD SDI CCTV offers high definition images over coax. It is widely acknowledged that coax makes up over 70% of all CCTV systems here in the UK at present. Many of those systems consist of less than 16 cameras and many of those systems need upgrading. Many of those systems are installed and maintained by CCTV installers who have little desire to go over to IP CCTV technology.

It would therefore be fair to ask then who is looking beyond IP surveillance? Is HD SDI CCTV a technology that can allow smaller traditional CCTV companies to compete against the tide of IP CCTV products flooding the market place? We certainly think it is!