July 2010 - Integrated CCTV

Navtech Radar

An interesting twist on Perimeter protection!

We became aware recently of a new, emerging technology in the Security Industry……….Radar

It’s not a new technology, but certainly new in our industry.

Is it expensive?

Well, yes…….but, you need to look beyond the capital outlay and see what it replaces…

historically, protecting a huge perimeter, such as that of an airport, would involve 10’s or even 100’s of sensors, whether beams or detectors, alarm or dedicated CCTV beams such as those from companies like Optex etc…..

but, one single Navtech Radar unit, placed centrally, can monitor movement in an 800m 360 degree zone………and link various zones to multiple cameras……controlling PTZ cameras such as MIC-400 from Bosch or the new and excellent 360 Vision Predator product, moving them automatically to moving objects and dynamically tracking as the object moves within the detection zone………

Offering a complete revolution of the mentioned 800m 360 degree view in ONE SECOND this represents a very different way to think of sensor detection.

We think this is a very exciting new product, there is defintely a cost increase, but we are prepared to bet that if installation costs and labour are factored in, there is very little in it!

Navtech’s website can be found here – let us know what you think!

Integrated CCTV

CCTV reviews.

Over the past few months we have reviewed many products. Below we link to some of the most popular posts and look for comments from yourselves as to your views.

Engineers and sales alike, join in the debate and let us know what your experiences of IP CCTV really are. Too expensive ? too difficult to install or just too hard to sell at the moment . We want to know what you think.

Are your sales down this year?

What do your customers think about you …find out

Metal Mickey v Predator

PIXC v wide dynamic

Alhua

Just a few of the posts that have created a bit of debate and interest so far register today and feel free to comment and blog giving your views and comments about your products and company or just some interesting views you think that we should all know about.

Panasonic CCTV

Panasonic -WV-NW5025.

A great new IP camera solution from Panasonic is now available. The Panasonic super dynamic Mega SD is a 3 megapixel camera and is a vandal resistant dome camera.

Complete with H.264 technology the WV-NW5025 is a perfect solution for an IP/ analogue hybrid system.

A long history of quality.

For many years Panasonic have provided top range cameras to the CCTV market and were one of the first to start developing IP solutions for the industry. Panasonic recording solutions are now also highly advanced and this is apparent with the release of their WJ-ND200. This unit is of a revolutionary space saving design and can accommodate up to 16 cameras from 4 simultaneous clients. The NVR supports disk mirroring and provides unrivalled flexibility when it comes to recording solutions.

Website.

Check out both the above IP solutions at the Panasonic website.

CCTV and Emizon

Dual path broadband monitoring for CCTV.

CCTV monitoring using a DVR as the main recording device and transmitting medium is becoming ever more popular. It seems like the ideal solution and it is in many ways but one thing is often omitted from the spec and installers neglect the most important security feature . This is the broadband connection to the central station.

Emizon , the broadband monitoring solution.

Emizon have found a niche that caters for this weakness. Monitoring a CCTV communication path is part of BS8148 but many installers steer away from these regs and leave the line unmonitored. Often the customer will only find out about the weakness if his broadband line fails and they suffer a break in. That is why an IP CCTV communicator for monitoring the line is so crucial.

Other features.

In addition Emizon can also talk back to the unit to carry out resets on the DVR remotely, a great facility to help installers reduce site visits. Broadband lines are now pretty much standard across the UK and we will not be moving onto any other technology any time soon. Most other companies who provide monitoring solutions are modifying their products to suit broadband unlike Emizon which has been specifically designed FOR broadband and so has an obvious edge.

Software.

Because the Emizon has been designed around a software platform rather than hardware it is easily adaptable to any subtle changes in communications of the future. Firmware upgrades are easily uploaded to the TCD at the touch of a button.

Dual path broadband monitoring investment.

Emizon expect as their customer base grows to be able to increase investment in order to remain at no 1 in the IP monitoring market place. This means improvements get passed back to the end user. Keeping more competitive enables Emizon to invest in the latest technology and keeps the product totally in line with the latest changes that effect an ever expanding broadband market.

Legacy equipment.

One thing that we all take for granted but have failed to mention is that Broadband is a very fast transmission medium it means pictures reach the central station faster. There is a great deal of equipment out there that currently uses old ISDN technology the upgrades to broadband will be thick and fast but these lines must be monitored . With this in mind there is a large marketplace for Emizon to fill and based on the professionalism of the staff and the feature rich product they have. The future is looking very bright

Emerging Video Technologies – Megapixel Cameras Pt3

Taken from the ‘Emerging Video Surveillance Guide 2010’ from http://ipvideomarket.info/

Megapixel cameras

Potential Benefits: The 2 most fundamental benefits are (1) reducing the number of cameras deployed and (2) increasing the quality of the video, leading to greater identification of suspects / incidents.

Both benefits derive from the significantly higher resolution of megapixel cameras (compared to all analogue cameras and standard definition IP cameras)

Beyond the increased resolution, as megapixel is a subset of IP cameras, the benefits and risks of megapixel cameras inherits those from IP Cameras.

End User Risks:
The 2 biggest risks are (1) over-hyped claims to increased video quality and (2) storage utilisation.
Often, resellers/distributors will claim that megapixel cameras provide 4, 16 or even 81 times greater resolution.
While this is ‘technically’ correct when comparing specified pixel count, this is generally not achievable because of 3 practical factors:

(1) Multiple cameras can be placed in different locations while the megapixel camera’s greater resolution only covers a single area (since it is still a single physical camera!)

(2) Looking at pixel counts (e.g. 0.3MP for standard definition vs. 5MP) is fundamentally misleading. Most megapixel camera provide only modest increases in visible quality – especially over 1MP

(3) In low light conditions, the effective visible resolution drops dramatically – to the point where a megapixel image usually provides no greater visible details than a standard definition camera. Additionally, megapixel cameras generally require significantly more storage. At some level, this is simply a matter of paying the additional cost of storage. However, the additional storage needed may be so great that a dedicated storage cluster may need to be used
Installer Risks:
Over-selling the quality of megapixel cameras is the most signicant risk. It is likely that the sale of megapixel cameras will be based on either reducing the total number of camerasor one capturing specific details (e.g. people’s faces or car licence plates). Installers should be careful about testing actual camera performance including low light abilities, as applicable

What do you think??!