360 PREDATOR Round up…..

As readers of this blog will know we have followed the journey of the Predator cameras from new kid on the block to seasoned professional. Our first post all the way back in 2010, we talked about its new patented technology and our most recent where we caught up with Mark Rees from 360 for an interview.

Below are just a few of our articles.

Inside Story Read More

Jack of all trade, Master of all Read More

Success of the Predator Read More

360 Launch Enhanced Patented White Light Predator Read More

Predator gets thermal Read More

Mickey versus Predator Read More

Bosch clear on IP video solutions.

A series of road-shows across the the UK are grabbing the attention of  installers and giving Bosch the chance to demonstrate how they are using content based imaging in order to help detect and then track movement within a scene. During the demonstration Bosch are able to show just how far their products have advanced as they concentrate on HD and intelligent video analysis software to give installers extra features to temp their user base to upgrade to IP based products and HD camera technology.

 

The Dinion range of cameras has always been at the forefront of the Bosch marketing campaigns but now they have a new “star” . They actually call it the starlight camera and the light levels it can work down to are astonishing. With HD needing to overcome lighting issues this is a big step forward.  Add to this new camera the Divar IP range of network video recorders and they could be onto something. The cost is  and it offers a solution definatly competitive that will appeal to large and smaller installers alike. As the fear factor subsides over IP and more and more HD cctv solutions start to come on line Bosch seem to have found  a combination of cameras and recording solutions alike that could help change the way CCTV is viewed by the general public.

Analytics are at the forefront of the new way to make the most of meta data and use this as a powerful way to upsell CCTV to a doubtful potential customer.

Avigilon and Redcloud a perfect solution?

Avigilon continue to take the security industry by storm and surprisingly or maybe not to some,  they have decided to buy into an integrated access control solution. By buying Redcloud they have shown their hand and the desire to step up their potential as a supplier of all security solutions not just IP CCTV. So who are Redcloud?  What do they do and why were Avigilon attracted to buy them?

here is what Avigilon had to say:

“We are excited to announce that Avigilon has acquired RedCloud Security, Inc., an innovative provider of access control technology. This acquisition gives us a new product line that naturally complements our existing range of end-to-end high-definition surveillance solutions and will provide our global partner network with another tool for expanding revenue opportunities in the growing security market.

This acquisition is a natural fit for Avigilon due to parallel philosophies in providing innovative solutions for end-users and partners. “RedCloud has redefined physical access control with their unique approach to converging IT and physical security,” said Alexander Fernandes, president and CEO of Avigilon. RedCloud is a revolutionary access control solution that was built from the ground up by IT and security veterans to deliver a new industry standard in performance and ease of use, while integrating seamlessly with identity management and video surveillance for maximum scalability.

So who are RedCloud ?

RedCloud’s executive team is led by IT and security veterans from Lenel and Honeywell Access Systems, who have more than a combined 50 years of experience in the physical security industry. After years of experience developing industry-leading access control software and custom software development for numerous tier-1 airports in the US, President and CTO, Terry Neely, founded RedCloud to address the lack of innovation from traditional physical access control systems (PACS) vendors by designing an access control solution that delivered unsurpassed system reliability, performance and scalability.

The RedCloud Convergence Platform™ (US Patent no. 8,122,497) enables organizations to unify their physical and logical access control for 360-degree visibility into the security of their facilities, people and assets. By correlating authentication, authorization and security event information across PACS and traditional IT applications, RedCloud provides organizations with the necessary contextual authorization, operational intelligence and convergence to effectively automate and improve overall security – at a significantly reduced cost.

Today, RedCloud delivers a powerful, web-based, physical and virtual appliance platform that leverages an open architecture, integrates identity management and video surveillance and achieves the highest level of scalability with the lowest cost of ownership, making RedCloud the logical choice in access control.”

It seems the synergy with Avigilon is just about perfect but can the two products integrate seamlessly over the coming months and what advantages can they give their installers.

We wait with anticipation but Avigilon have yet to put foot wrong so we would be very surprised if they have made the wrong move here.

Can you mix and match IP manufacturers equipment?

Mix and Match IP.

A recent interview in this months PSI magazine  with Peter Ford the managing director of Pro-Vision made a fleeting but very interesting observation about the future of IP cameras and their associated software. Provision are a very well respected and successful CCTV equipment distributor so what they say should be paid attention to.

In the interview Peter made mention of how since the early seventies analogue CCTV had in effect been a mix and match of different manufacturers equipment and how well this had worked for the industry. However when it comes to IPCCTV Peter recommended that all IP kit for networked systems should come from one manufacturer.

He actually said “Historically the way CCTV has been over the 42 years that I have been working within security you would sell a Panasonic camera with a Fujinon lens, Dennard housing and a Hitachi monitor-a complete hybrid. However when it comes to an IP installation it makes sense to buy all of the equipment from the same manufacturer” Peter goes on to explain that by doing this it ” does away with any compatibility issues”

What then is the point of ONVIF?

Brickcom IP cameraACTI IP cameras

An interesting point to say the least and one that should be opened to debate especially as this fundamental issue could prove to be crucial as to how IP CCTV develops and sells in the coming years. Indeed as Peter points out analogue has effectively been a series of hybrid systems since the early seventies a way of putting together different technologies has been the corner stone of the industry. The reason is simple. If a manufacturer goes bust or discontinues a product your security system does not suddenly become completely useless overnight.

With IP systems generally running off servers or PC’s we all know how quickly these require firmware/software/downloads just to keep them running. If the manufacturer of your single make IP system is not on the ball with regard to software or you upgrade your server and the system does not work , where are you left? In the lurch I would suggest.

The great thing about IP is the fact that it can provide HD CCTV images, this is the driving force behind the sale, but if a leading supplier of IP products does not trust a mix and match approach relying on ONVIF as the glue that stitches different manufacturers products together we either end up with just a few dominant companies and little competition or a technology that maybe backing itself into a corner.

Is the CCTV industry recession proof? If not can HD make the difference?

Over the years we have been through a number of downturns in the UK economy and one industry that has ridden this better than most is the electronic security market place. It has long been the belief that as money gets tight and unemployment rises this can be a catalyst for crime to increase and for manned guarding to be cut back in preference to electronic security, mainly CCTV. This recession though has had a slightly different tilt on it. The influx of cheaper electronic security from the far east has badly hit the traditional suppliers and installers especially here in the UK. We have seen the demise and re-birth of Norbain, big players such as Pelco and March networks disappear almost without trace and analogue CCTV that had in reality reached the end of its natural reign suddenly have a renaissance in terms of sales.

HD CCTV UK
CCTV cameras

This though has come at a price to many involved in the business of CCTV. Margins are now small to non existent standards are dropping and quality is suffering. IP CCTV that many thought would be the making of the industry has really struggled to secure a foothold even with the added benefits of HD.

Is this a local problem though by which we mean one that is mainly UK based? It does seem to be. This does make sense though . The UK was a saturated market long before the rest of the world started to catch up. The hope was IP and HD CCTV solutions would drive the market forward. Consumers however are just making do. Service contracts are as hotly contested as ever but there are plenty of  opportunity for service based companies to make hay while upgrades are on hold.

There is some good news though. Security systems have a life on them and many old analogue DVRs out there are getting tired….very tired. Sooner now rather than later many companies are going to have to make a choice. To upgrade or to abandon their CCTV systems. Although a few may decide they can do without CCTV for the foreseeable future most will be thinking they have to start spending on infrastructure at some point and this decision cant be too far away.

So do they go IP or analogue or do they opt for HDcctv? This has been the perennial question now for sometime. The thinking has to be that some form of HD solution is the way forward. With some of the big IP CCTV players seemingly abandoning the UK market place in favour of big projects abroad perhaps an HDcctv upgrade using existing coax would be something that installer would be trying to pitch to end users. To do this however they need choice of both HDcctv cameras and DVRs and HDcctv equipment that is certified alliance kit seems to be reasonably hard to come by here in the UK.

HD SDI over coax

So the jury is out but HD cameras in one form or another will prove the way forward for the industry. All we need though is for someone to be able to tell us when ? Any thoughts?