Category: CCTV

HD CCTV, maintenance and deterrent

Maintenance has always been a critical part of ensuring that a HD CCTV system operates correctly and gives the optimum picture quality at all times. It is easy to forget that a CCTV is a 24 hour seven day a week 356 day of the year operating system. Not many other products are asked to perform such a task so it is no surprise that it needs looking after. CCTV monitors are often at the forefront of problems. Too many companies simply sell monitors that are not fit for purpose and quickly burn out as a result. The same can be said for the cameras. It is so easy to go on line and buy Chinese manufactured products at a fraction of the price of some of the bigger more proven makes on the market. It is as always the same story though . You will get what you pay for . So either you have a system that has constant blank images on the split screens where cameras have gone down or you pay a lot of money calling out engineers to mend what you have.

Alternatively of course you can buy quality goods. A good example of this is when we talk about HD products is one of the best products on the market right now for both quality and reliability. It  is the HD Predator by 360 vision.

This camera is unique to the market place and has some fantastic features. You can have IR ,white light as well as HD and what is more you get multiple views from this camera . The camera concentrates on deterrent and crime prevention as its main selling point and below is an excerpt from the 360 website describing the benefits. Prevention is always better than cure . Any act of theft or vandalism that is prevented and this ultimately pays of the capital cost of the CCTV system. So what can the Predator do for you?

In the words of 360 themselves “The Patented Combined IR/White Light Technology on the 360 Vision “Predator” Rugged Camera range is widely recognised to be off a massive financial benefit in relation to its deterrent nature.

Security Managers have spent hours and hours trawling through pre-recorded video footage after an incident has occurred trying to locate relevant small sections to the respective incidents.

However, it is widely established that combined IR/White Light Technology deters many breaches of security occurring in the first place, there by eradicating the need for expensive, labour intensive post event video searches.

An aspect most prudent Senior Security Managers in Local Authorities, Blue Chip Companies and Public Utilities readily recognise the benefit, especially during the current tough economic climate.”

So going back to the subject of maintenance we know that buying a quality product will reduce costs in the long run. Buying HD will increase the value of the system to the end user and produce results worthy of the initial cost of the system. Combining the two and adding deterrent features will give you the best value in the long run.

 

 

AVIGILON HD PRO camera range.

HD Pro Cameras

 

Avigilon are about to Introduce their new line of HD Pro cameras. Avigilon claim that these cameras are the industry’s most powerful and they also claim these are the most innovative line of high-definition cameras that the have been manufactured to date.

 

The new HD Pro cameras are available in three different versions. This is the 8 MP, 12 MP and 16 MP resolutions. Each camera has been completely re-engineered on Avigilon’s next generation H4 platform and designed to deliver the ultimate combination of performance, processing power and bandwidth economy.

Avigilon have achieved this through the seamless integration with Avigilon Control Center by using Avigilon’s proprietary HDSM 2.0 technology. Avigilon’s HD Pro cameras also come with onboard storage capabilities, allowing for the storage of footage directly on the device using a standard SD card. This is another step forward in edge recording.

Avigilon have deployed their technology in many different places from stadiums and airports to large-scale critical infrastructure projects and Avigilon’s new HD Pro cameras continue to provide vast coverage with unparalleled image detail.

KEY FEATURES BENEFITS OF  THE NEW AVIGILON RANGE INCLUDE

8 MP, 12 MP and 16 MP resolutions.

Capture high-quality, detailed images over vast areas, while providing maximum coverage options.

H.264 Compression H.264 compression allows for maximum image quality while minimizing impact on bandwidth and network performance.

Focus and Iris Control of SLR Lenses.

Remote focus for ease of installation and operation.

Plug-and-Play No external power required.

Flexible lens options Compatible with both EF and EF-S mount lenses for the best possible optical quality.

Onboard storage SDHC and SDXC card compatability for storage of video footage directly on the device.

LightCatcher TM Technology Collects significantly more detail from a low light scene, to deliver higher quality colour images with far less noise than other low light cameras.

 

The H4 platform and HDSM 2.0 Engineered using H.264 compression technologies, Avigilon’s next-generation H4 platform allows for improved overall camera performance, including faster processing power, more efficient bandwidth management and superior image detail.

So how is this achieved?

Its quite simple, by harnessing the strength of Avigilon Control Center and the second generation of our patented High Definition Stream

Management technology (HDSM 2.0), our H4 platform intelligently and efficiently manages your HD data, letting you view and search through high-definition video easier than ever before, with fewer strains on network resources. The combination of these two revolutionary technologies results in Avigilon’s most powerful cameras yet, which means your system can maintain optimal performance while still getting unparalleled image detail.

Vast coverage. Superior detail.

The HD PRO series is built to accomodate the coverage of  large areas such as Stadiums, carparks and airports, Avigilon’s HD Pro camera series are the ultimate camera for providing full situational awareness combined with crystal clear detail when zoomed in. Monitor a full stadium and capture fan disruptions to comply with mandatory government regulations. Cover a full parking lot and identify number plates. Or cover the entire tarmac of an airport while still being able to distinguish plane numbers. Regardless of your coverage needs, Avigilon’s HD Pro cameras provide the power and detail you need to keep your environment safe and secure. If you need security, need to monitor public spaces, reduce false injury claims, control crowds and prevent theft then look no further than the Avigilon HD PRO camera range for unimaginable detail.

 

Avigilon acquire VideoIQ

Well the big news this week in the world of CCTV is Avigilon’s announcement that they are buying out HD analytics experts VideoIQ. In a statement released yesterday a spokesman for Avigilon said:

“We are excited to announce that today we have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the video analytics company, VideoIQ, Inc.  Founded in 2006, VideoIQ has grown to become a leader in real-time intelligent video analytics solutions for security and business intelligence applications. This new acquisition complements Avigilon’s line of high-definition surveillance solutions and provides us with sophisticated and proven analytics technology supported by one of the leading development teams in the industry”.

Avigilon ACC-4.6 Range

Back in March 2011 we reported a synergy between the two companies now it seems they are one.

 

So why would Avigilon purchase videoIQ and what advantages does it bring to the installers and end users? Well firstly it brings powerful analytics into the Avigilon range. This will help installers deliver security solutions that now includes an intelligent method of detecting changes in the images that are needed for a proactive approach to security. Alarms generate a measured response and will prevent crime rather than just have the ability to watch it being played back after the event. A spokesman for Avigilon continued:

” Adding this technology to our HD video surveillance solution enables end-users to prevent crime proactively and to more effectively analyze large amounts of data for both security and business intelligence purposes. By adding VideoIQ’s advanced technology to the Avigilon solution, our customers will have the benefits of automated real time detection, real time alerts and post-incident analysis and forensic search capabilities, along with all of the other benefits that Avigilon’s end-to-end solutions deliver”

There is one other benefit that Avigilon may chose to exploit. Video IQ are well known for being pioneers of EDGE recording. It remains to be seen if this will be developed further by Avigilon but its always been a unique selling point for VideoIQ and something that should not be overlooked for the future.

So is this the end of VideoIQ ? For the moment we are led to understand that Video IQ will continue in its own right. It has a global user base and support will continue to be provided as before. Eventually though of course VideoIQ will be integrated fully into Avigilon’s products and eventually the two companies will be one.

It is certainly an exciting development that Avigilon should chose to take this step, an already powerful product will become an almost complete solution and this will give end users a huge choice as to how they are able to process and act upon activity taking place within their company. Avigilon will still be providing solutions to health and safety issues as well as monitoring production and increasing security but now with the benefit of high quality analytics on board.

Automated realtime detection in HD is now here and underpinned by technology developed by two of the most successful companies within the industry.

Are smart phones killing off CCTV monitoring stations?

As broadband was rolled out across the UK some 10 years or so ago, Central monitoring stations were rubbing their hands at the prospect of a surge of CCTV monitoring connections that looked to be coming their way. Broadband also signalled a rush of new start remote CCTV monitoring stations looking to get in on the action and why not? Each connection was worth a small fortune.

 

Until broadband took off ISDN was the only effective way of monitoring and one product led the way. This was ADPRO. Pretty much every central station ran the video central gold software and it seemed that there was little or no alternative. Many new products tried and failed to break the hold on the market but with limited success.

Honeywell IMMIX

Just when things were looking good for all involved in the CCTV industry along came the recession . This by its very nature cut the number of new connections and depleted those that already existed. In an effort to cut costs customers looked elsewhere,  they were also prepared to take the inconvenience of monitoring systems themselves on their home PC,s rather than pay for monitoring. This habit persisted throughout the recession but as smart phone technology took off so it became easier for an end user to monitor his own CCTV from anywhere.

 

Now this form of monitoring is not safe. It also does not have an audit trail associated with it, you can’t monitor it when you are asleep. To be fair from a security perspective it’s a pretty ineffective way to monitor CCTV and protect your premises. The problem for genuine CCTV monitoring stations is that there is nothing driving end users to use their services. Not insurance companies nor CCTV installers either. Yes bigger organizations will still insist on “proper monitoring  but they are rare and the market is getting fragmented. So are the smart phones winning?

 

Most in the industry will probably tell you that for the time being yes! They are a big part of the sizzle at the point of sale and what salesman is going to push remote monitoring when he can tell the end user he can connect for nothing.

 

A short sighted approach all round though. It means there is no ongoing revenue and a customer that has in effect been left with a system that in reality will just show him what happened yesterday night and not prevent a crime taking place as it is happening.

 

Remote CCTV monitoring is proactive but smart phone monitoring is inevitably reactive. New advances in CCTV mean big companies such as AVIGILON are now talking to software development companies such as IMMIX as they try to bring HD CCTV monitoring to the world. This is exciting for the future. Powerful Avigilon software and HD images mean that remote CCTV monitoring will go to a new level.We anticipate this happening once the economy gets back to normal meaning remote CCTV monitoring will recover its place in the market where it truly belongs. Until then it seems everyone is just happy to fly by the seat of their pants!