IP CCTV leads the way at IFSEC but did you read the small print?

Reviews all week.

As we go through the week we will be looking at the manufacturers and suppliers that caught our eye at IFSEC this year. Today however we focus on IFSEC itself and how our day went.

Getting there.

It was a bit of an early start, the traffic on the way down to the NEC was  light and we made easy going of it. We arrived full of enthusiasm about what we might see at the exhibition this year and had mentally planned our route round some of the stands we wanted to visit.

Getting in.

The automated check in went like a dream.  We walked into the main hall looked around , got our bearings and then checked the exhibitors map we had been provided with. Here though we had a problem!! I had a bit of a laugh as my colleague struggled to read the stand numbers on the map, no matter what distance from his eyes he tried to hold  the floor plan, he said  it was illegible. He then challenged me to try to read the “small Print” and very quickly I had the smile wiped off my face as I realized that I could not read it either. Were we both getting short sited?? Feedback to the organizers published here .

Arecont IP camera.

Not to be deterred by the fact that we had no idea where we were going we made our way into the show. We chose Arecont as our first stop. The main reason for this is we were looking for a megapixel camera that performed well in challenging light conditions. Arecont have just such a camera. The Av10005 1o megapixel 1080p. They use very clever ways of  getting it to perform at night, this is known as binning. When the camera senses low light it changes mode to allow it to use 4 pixels instead of 1,  to increase the amount of light onto the camera chip. We left very impressed. More on this soon.

Dallmeier.

We then moved on to the Dallmeier stand to take a look at their new video Netbox. Dallmeier have always produced quality goods and the build quality of the Netbox was certainly robust. This one box solution is a hybrid unit aimed to bridge the analogue IP gap and is very flexible. It would be very suited to temporary installations or construction sites. We were also eager to learn that Dallmeier has released Pview 7. This is their main software integration package full of new features. Again we left the stand impressed.

Avigilon.

Avigilon was next. Their range of high definition surveillance systems had attracted our attention. Lots to look at here but the most impressive part for us was the build quality of their Megapixel cameras. No plastic here, the cameras were solid, heavy and extremely well put together. The picture quality was equally impressive especially from the 16 megapixel version.

360 vision technology.

We had heard that 360 vision technology had released a new dome for the show and we were not to be disappointed. A very enthusiastic member of the team demonstrated their new IR dome. It has all the features you would expect and night time vision of up to 100m is very impressive. Light being generated from the strategically mounted IR leds ensures nothing is missed by this brilliantly designed camera. This dome is a different animal though from the 360 dome we have been used to. It is heavier and much more robust. Something we look forward to testing.

March Networks.

March networks were demonstrating the Predator camera or is it the Shield? However it is branded this camera stands out from just about everything else at the show. The auto tracking had been set up brilliantly and you could view the meta data as it followed people around the show .The accuracy was stunning . This camera has just about everything you could wish for and the Predator will be coming out in lots of different versions in the near future. We will be doing a special feature on it later in the month, keep watching.

The best of the rest.

Time was moving on and we still had plenty to see. We paid various visits to Samsung, Redvision, ACTi, Emizon and Paxton. All very interesting and each will be reviewed later in the month.

Home.

Well it was time to go , the overall feeling was one of enthusiastic excitement. All the people we saw had something new to offer and it is blatantly apparent that analogue CCTV is very shortly about to become condemned to the history books.  Standard IP cameras  are starting to look dated with all the emphasis at the show on HD and Megapixel. As the number of pixels and picture quality increase in the cameras the frame rates they can deliver decreases dramatically. In addition the storage required can be prohibitive. Neither of these problems though are insurmountable and in a very short space of time the quality we will see from IP CCTV is going to leave the end user in a position where hopefully they are left with little choice but to upgrade. The future looks bright.

Blogging site for security products

Got something to say about security?

This site is the ultimate forum to share and answer all your questions, fears, experiences and new ideas about the latest security issues.

This is the place to be.

Whether you have a project you would like to discuss, asks others about particular experiences they have had with certain security products. Find out about CCTV installers, the best and worst companies or simply to find out about new innovations or ideas. This is the place to be.

Blogging.

This is the best way to let people know about things you want them to hear about with reference to the security market place.

Examples

1) The IP security market is estimated to increase by nearly 200% next year.

2) IP cameras will reach parity with regard to price with their equivalent analogue models within 18 months.

3) IP integrators could put traditional analogue installers in the shade within 5 years.

Predictions.

Some great predictions there but will they actually prove to be true, lets here the views of buyers, installers manufacturers and find out which way the market will really develop in the next few years

Please enter your thoughts.

Will IP solutions mean security equipment distributors have to move online?

Moving to on-line sales.

The introduction of IP equipment into the Integrated CCTV and access control arena is being hailed as the next step forward in the security industry. This does however pose some serious questions about how this new equipment is brought to the market. So far there is a set pattern. A manufacturer approaches a distributor and gives him the exclusive right to sell his product. The distributor in turn will fix a price and only allow this product to be sold to security installers. The public have no access via the distributor. If they wish to have the product installed they must go to an installing company. So far quite simple.

Who are the main players?

The main players in the distribution market (UK) are Norbain , ADI and  Gardners Security however there are probably over 100 in the UK and they control who they will deal with, what price the equipment will be sold at and so on. Over the last 20 years or so all these companies have expanded enormously and each year gather at IFSEC to demonstrate what is new on the market.

So what will change?

The main thing that the big distributors need to consider is ,who will actually be installing the new products?  As we have said, up to now it has been installing companies. Most of the big installers are giants who will struggle to adapt to the new market place quickly. So if they are not installing large volumes of IP security products who will?

IP integrators.

Well the school of thought says that at the moment the balance could tip towards IP integrators. Most companies of any reasonable size have their own IT department or outsource to a local IT company. These people in reality will be very well placed to start installing IP security solutions for their employers and very much cheaper than a security installer.

So where does the smart manufacturer sell his products?

Well it does not take much to imagine where an IT integrator is going to look for his security solution. On line of course and at the moment he can buy some fairly good stuff that will satisfy a need. But that is about it! some of the products have questionable quality and origins. IT integrators will however demand quality and back up . So could it happen that the smart manufacturer actually begins to bypass the big CCTV distribution companies and sell through an on line company?

Cut out the middle man?

Not inconceivable when you think about it. By putting a search on google for “IP cameras”  Norbain is nowhere to be seen nor are any of the big distributors or manufacturers. They should all be worried about this

The future.

So how will this be addressed?  Well they are going to have to think who will be doing the installation of the security systems, be it CCTV or even access control. There are still things that need to be fixed to walls and doors but the technical aspect of the way it is going may mean that your friendly CCTV installation engineer is going to struggle with the technology . If this proves to be true and installers fail to move fast enough with training and recruitment, the security industry could be a very different place in just a few short years.