HD cameras help schools with security needs

It was fairly obvious but a recent event in a school in the north of England highlighted the need for educational facilities to think about upgrading their CCTV systems to much higher quality HDcctv. The event was a common one but when a fight broke out between two year 11 boys the consequences were very serious. One of the boys was left seriously hurt and this is where CCTV could and should have been able to provide evidence to ensure those responsible were punished properly.

The problem was that as the two boys exchanged blows several others tried to intervene. When the boy was hit with the blow that caused him to fall and strike his head on the playground tarmac there were several individuals in the footage. On review the images were poor. The recorded frame rate was only 3 images per second and this led to in-conclusive evidence as to who out of the individuals who were involved in the fracas actually landed the blow.

On interrogation all the boys denied they had landed a punch. The images were reviewed by the staff who concluded they were fairly useless as evidence. What therefore is the point of CCTV that simply will not do the job required? When the school reviewed why they had chosen the CCTV system they had, it was discovered that it had been decided on cost. They were able to review the specifications that had been offered and found that the system chosen had been 49% cheaper than the most expensive system on offer. This system had included HD cameras that were properly specified to record at a higher frame rate and give much higher quality images.

CCTV is a deterrent  but it must also work when it is needed. If you are a school or college, insist that your CCTV system is of an acceptable standard. Either that or don’t install one at all. People are learning the hard way that buying cheap is quite simply a complete waste of money, whereas those who spend wisely and insist on high quality HD cameras and recorders will reap the benefits over time.

A simple lesson but one that should be heeded.

HD SDI cameras for the future

Much has been said about HD SDI and how it is going to compete with IP HD CCTV solutions. This is a bit  of a red herring really as the two technologies really are not competing for the same market place at all. IP tends to be installed in new buildings and larger installations where there is a requirement to expand in the future. HD SDI CCTV is much more suited to upgrade smaller analogue systems where there are no plans for expansion but picture quality is an important factor.

Each situation needs to be judged on its merits and things of course may change in time as each technology develops further especially if  HDcctv is able to work at some point over CAT5. HD SDI cameras are now slowly beginning to reduce in price as well. This has opened many doors over the last year as HD slowly but surely is becoming the choice of end users keen to try to improve their CCTV. systems.

What is the best way to decide which route to take for your upgrade? There are many choices out there. We have mentioned above how every site is different and each company will have their own specific requirements. Start with a simple question.

Is the site a single building and unlikely to change or is the system going to be deployed in several sites across multiple locations?

If the answer is just one site then look to HD SDI also see if you can use any existing coax on site. If you wish to view the CCTV from anywhere and across several different sites you must consider designing the CCTV system with IP as your first consideration.

If we have have a site that has good existing analogue cameras in place the route to explore could well be a Hybrid HD SDI DVR.  This means we can put HD SDI cameras on existing coax and leave any existing analogue cameras that we wish to maintain in place. Our other alternative is to put  IP encoders in place that will convert existing analogue cameras to IP. Fit some VMS software and then add HD IP cameras in any new positions.

There are many different ways to achieve the same goal. ie an HD upgrade. It takes lots of consideration and plenty of questions to the end user to decide exactly the best way to go.

 

The CCTV regulation debate

So the debate goes on. Is CCTV out of control is a question asked in the recent security briefing from IFSEC. References to government legislation that seem to be pointing to far greater control over CCTV in public places is a highly contentious issue. We already have the data protection act and this has served us well over a number of years. Do we really need more CCTV regulation?

CCTV images of riots
Can we get a conviction from this kind of quality image?

CCTV by its very nature is always going to rile certain individuals and human rights groups. It has always been a mystery to us why but the fact that you can be caught committing a crime and taken to court as result of cameras seems to offend certain types. It seems that those going about their business in a normal way and actively steering away from anti-social activity, vandalism and theft are not those who seem to complain. Perhaps the reason is that CCTV is perceived as poor quality and on many occasions useless. It fails far too often to pick up vital clues such as facial recognition and number plates, simple things that would make all the difference to convictions as a result of CCTV images.

We believe the reason that their is a fuss building now and more CCTV regulation being demanded is the quality of pictures are about to get a whole lot better. HDcctv and HD IP cameras are of such good quality that images captured are now irrefutable . Faces are easily recognized and number plates are captured. As a result more convictions are beginning to follow.

We have no issue with proper CCTV regulation. It favours good installers who invest in training, accreditation and sell quality equipment. It helps our industry and it only hinders those who seek to take short cuts. We do though feel very strongly that if a camera is in place it should be fit for purpose and now the technology is available all cameras should be upgraded to an HDcctv standard image of at least HD quality. This will help the industry , reduce crime , increase convictions and lead to a safer environment for us all.

Avigilon HD CCTV solutions

Avigilon is an HD cctv solution that has really captured the imagination of the security industry and customers alike. The organization who are Canadian based have seen the growth of their company accelerate beyond anything that could have been expected just 3 years ago. The reason is quite clear to those in the know. Their cameras are well built, competitively priced and their software is the best in the business.

Avigilon enterprise software has some very creative features. The goal of any investigator interrogating post recorded images is the ability to zoom in without pixelation gaining additional detail that can be used in court . With Avigilon HD CCTV cameras this is finally possible. We can now read number plates and get quality facial recognition something that would have proved impossible with old analogue technology. The search features within the Avigilon software save hours of time trawling through video, the ability to bookmark and export information easily adds to the attraction of the product.

Avigilon have priced their goods to sell by using a scaled approach to upgrades it means the end user can retain some of his analogue infrastructure but equally he can upgrade that to HD at any time with the minimum of both cost and fuss. He can now decide exactly how much he wishes to invest into his security system.

Remote viewing is achieved through the use of a licence and you can view images remotely through your smart phone. It is now important the end user can now see everything from everywhere and not just live images, recorded images can be viewed to.

So a brief overview of Avigilon HD CCTV solutions. An IP based product that uses CAt5 not coax but like HD SDI we can use existing infrastructure. This is a very important approach to the overall solution and another reason why Avigilon HD seems to be taking the CCTV world by storm.

 

ANPR cameras help protect your premises

ANPR or automatic number plate recognition is starting to attract some serious interest from business across the UK right now. It has always been a hit with car parking management companies . They have effectively deployed and used ANPR cameras and software to generate some handsome revenues for themselves and their clients in recent years. Car parks and private parking areas that for years have been abused by motorists are now very effectively policed using cameras and software to mean that stays of two hours or over are generally punished with fines automatically generated and distributed to drivers by integrating ANPR software in conjunction with with the DVLA database. Parking in your local B&Q while you watch your local team playing football is now effectively a thing of the past. ANPR has exposed several scams where local security guards would take cash in return for allowing parking. We have heard of one guard who effectively lost his £40,000 worth of cash income per annum the minute an ANPR system was deployed at the company he was guarding.

ANPR camera

It’s not just parking though that ANPR is being deployed for now. Hotels can welcome customers and automatically open barriers for them , the channel tunnel has become effectively automated by the use of ANPR systems reducing the need for staff and many trading estates and businesses now use the technology to ensure access is effectively restricted to any unwelcome guests.

Mobile ANPR is also a growing business now. Debt collectors use this technology to “fish” for plates of cars that are  in need of recovery and this business will grow and grow. Finally of course the police can use mobile ANPR to help them enforce the law and ensure all vehicles on the road are legal. Again this possible by integrating their mobile ANPR systems to the DVLA database.

 

So how does ANPR work ? Well clever software is able to turn a captured CCTV image into text, This is then easily used to integrate into software that can then be used for a number of different purposes, many listed above. With accuracy levels in the order of 96-99 % an ANPR system needs little human intervention. With pulsed infra-red illumination the number plate becomes highly reflective and the camera can easily read that plate day and night , even when headlights are shining directly into the camera. The cameras can also be fitted with instruments capable of measuring speed adding to the control the system gives for site management or safety on public roads.

 

So if you need to control access to your site or vehicles while on your site, open barriers ,operate welcome signs ,control speed or generate revenue through parking fines an ANPR system is the way forward.