CCTV industry- the life of a CCTV Manufacturer

Within the CCTV industry sometimes things do not go to plan………. Manufacturers make great kit with all the best intentions but when it gets into the field something goes wrong…..

The kit falls over or doesn’t perform as it should. End user understandably are annoyed that their expensive system is failing – often right after being installed. Installers are annoyed because not only is there the cost to revisit site but also the delay of other orders/installations as they try to fix the faulty systems.

Some from within the CCTV industry simply deny the fault, some simply issue more of the same kit and the problem simply snowballs as we see from the image CCTV cameras can be incredibly difficult to access.

But sometimes, just sometimes, a supplier will be straight, candid and honest – detailing the fault, when it is likely to happen, what can be done to fix it (even temporarily) and more importantly, work with the installer and end user to resolve it from happening again……….sometimes, we even hear of suppliers funding the cost of hire equipment and man power to support the installer…..

So, perhaps honesty really is the best policy – it breeds loyalty that remains long after the initial annoyance at the problem.

We welcome that in the CCTV industry

Panasonic IP video

Panasonic i-Pro smart HD.

Panasonic have recently unveiled a new division within its organization called PSNE or if you prefer the full version, Panasonic System Networks Europe. The new division formed in January of this year (2010) and is seen by many forward thinking in the CCTV industry as a very clever move.

Quite simply Panasonic have realized that CCTV as we know it today will look very different in the future. By recognising that the convergence of telecommunications, security and imaging products all needing to come under one portfolio, they have sent a message to the market place. They see  IP video systems integrating with various different edge devices including epos point of sale, industrial and medical cameras as well as home networking products as the way foward.

With this new focus on IP based technology they have produced some excellent network video cameras that are designed to suit just about every application. This has been named the i-Pro smartHD. This range of  IP cameras and monitoring systems means they can easily integrate older analogue products seamlessly with the new IP video based systems.

NVR’s within the new portfolio include the WJ-ND400, WJ-ND300A and the WJ-ND200 all the new equipment is of course ONVIF compliant.

Panasonic trail Axis now a very close second in the sale of IP Camera and ip video systems and see that although the market is still split 80% 20% heavily in favour of analogue camera solutions the trend towards network video systems is an irresistible force. This is now driving many CCTV camera manufacturers to look very closely at what Panasonic are able to achieve in this next year or two, especially as the CCTV market place is thought to be worth anything upwards of 350 million pounds this year.

With IT mangers now taking ownership of newly installed Network video systems the design of any IP video system needs to ensure that the ITC department is kept happy. Getting the IT manager on board as we all know is going to be half the battle when specifying IP surveillance systems however this is becoming easier, especially with Panasonic giving heavy behind the scenes support for its network of dealers.

To ensure Panasonic are able to get their message across to the general public they have invested heavily in the London 2012 Olympics so their famous catchphrase “ideas for life” will soon be ingrained in the thoughts of many installers and new customers who will inevitably start to migrate from analogue to IP camera solutions. Probably an awful lot sooner than they think!

Is the CCTV industry lazy?!

We got talking to a reputable Manufacturer recently…..one who was pulling his hair out over the increased amount of Technical calls his Support team were taking

There was nothing wrong with the product – it was just new and the installing engineer had simply not seen it before.

This happens….an installer will have an enthusiastic team of sales/marketing/commercial guys all choosing products because of price, bells, whistles, days out (did we say that?!) but the first the installation team see it is when they have 1 day to fit it !! And train the end user

We have sympathy with the engineers……. particularly as it falls on them to sort the ‘problems’ that perhaps the over enthusiastic sales guy has, er, um ‘created’ !!! (Yes, we really did hear once that a camera down a shopping aisle, with a mirror at the end, could see around the corner!!)

But….in this age of instant email and mobile phones, is it REALLY easier to just call the manufacturer rather than take a look at the enclosed instructions? Sure, a life on the road is a lonely one and the engineer must miss the interaction of the office…….but if the supplier/manufacturer has only a handful of Support staff, employed to answer REAL technical problems, then it is understandable they can sometimes be tied up answering OTHER engineers questions……

‘How do I turn it on?’
‘How do I program presets?’
‘What’s the code to get into the menu?’
‘How do I set up the record schedule?’

Engineers – these manufacturers will not leave you in the dark…….they will always help you with difficulties…….they will always try to assist….but help them to help you, take a look at the Manual before ringing !!

We think Technical Support response will increase no end if the calls are valid !

What do you think?

IP CCTV

IP CCTV.

It’s the buzz word currently in the CCTV industry. Everyone is talking about it but why?

It’s getting cheaper.

Yes the main thing is it is becoming affordable now and can certainly be considered for most applications involving integrated security.

Integrated CCTV.

Again a new buzz word. This is because most systems installed within the next 2-5 years will effectively be a mixture of analogue and IP cameras the reason behind this is because most customers out there will want to upgrade to IP but still have to include their legacy equipment wherever practical to give them a cost effective security solution.

What is better IP or analogue?

That actually does not matter . The move is slowly but surely moving to IP camera solutions because everything else out their is using IP and needs Internet connectivity to function in today’s market place.

Conclusion.

So we wont stop the march towards IP cameras and integrated CCTV systems very soon all security including access control and intruder alarms will cease to function using the old traditional ways. The future is here today!