Hybrid CCTV

Legacy equipment.

Where legacy CCTV equipment cannot be removed due to cost implications manufacturers are now coming up with some ingenious solutions in order to accommodate both the past the present and the future.

These are called hybrid network surveillance servers and combine analogue and IP cameras into a single box solution.

This is of course a huge market place and one many facility managers and security managers are looking into with much enthusiasm.

So this is where the hybrid recorder fits in and can cleverly be incorporated into the IT budget or security budget depending on which is the healthier at the time.

So how does it work?

Existing coaxial camera’s are simply reconnected in the usual way to the new recorder, nothing clever here, but by using existing networks within or outside the facility new IP cameras can also be hung off the same unit. This opens up possibilities of connecting IP cameras from remote sites or from areas previously inaccessible or financially un-viable to a normal coaxial cable run. Areas served by wireless IP networks are also now easily connected where surveillance would have been considered impossible before.

Web browsers.

Remote access via web browsers gives huge flexibility to view and control systems from anywhere and means dedicated on site staff may not be required, initiating big cost savings.

These units are becoming very flexible to meet a rapidly changing market place. They need to record, transmit, trip outputs and need to be extremely reliable. If you want to ensure you buy a good unit make sure it is not the cheapest and make sure it offers a five year warranty.

Help.

Our aim is to help and advise you through this exciting new field of CCTVsurveillance, but don’t hesitate to contact us for further more detailed information

CCTV Analytics

Why will analytics be such a huge step forward for CCTV?

Analytics is an advanced form of video motion detection that uses
Software algorithms in order to generate alarms when certain
conditions and scenarios occur within the field of view of the camera.
For example if a person is seen to be loitering in area for a length
of time that has been deemed inappropriate then the software can
recognise this fact and trip an alarm to notify an operator. It can
also notify when an area is violated by a person but is adaptable
enough to realize the difference between a human and a cat for instance.
How does this help the operator?

In the case where a guard is looking at multiple views over a
prolonged period of time he will inevitably need help. Analytics is
able to provide reliable alarms to notify him of a situation that is
occurring that he needs to know about, so when we have a manned system
the benefits are obvious.
Analytic alarm systems.

However more importantly we can use the analytics to generate alarms
to trip automated alarm sounders and warning voices and also notify a
remote guard that he may need to attend site.
This removes the need for a man on site and this means cost savings can be huge, sometimes tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. This has driven the market and now some very big organizations are now involved in the development and promotion of this technology.
So effective are analytics going to be in the future that external alarm sensors and fixed beams could soon be a thing of the past.

Applications also include perimeter protection, object abandonment,
person or object tracking. Colour recogniton, people counting, speeding
vehicles.
What about old camera systems?

Analytics can easily be fitted to existing CCTV systems and the
advantage of fitting analytics to old camera systems is we can then
make ineffective old technology suddenly intelligent .The experts see
that fitting analytics retrospectively is a massive market place and an
alternative to a complete upgrade of some older systems out there.It
is important however to point out that the analytics can only be as
good as the picture they are trying to analyse so people must be
realistic with their expectations. Lighting at night is also another
crucial factor to consider, remember analytics can’t work in the dark
so duel chip cameras and IR lighting are important things to bring
into the equation.
So next time you consider upgrading , reducing costs or generally
making more of your CCTV systems ask us here for advice on how we can
help you.

What is integrated

What is integrated ?

Why do we use the word and what does it mean when applied to the security industry?

Well the official definition from our on line friends at wikipedia says INTEGRATED:” combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole”.

When you read it like this it is obvious it means joining together the three main security sectors, Intruder alarms, CCTV, and Access control.

Up until recently all these 3 disciplines were kept very separate even to the point where there were CCTV companies that would not touch intruders or access control, and access companies who had never thought to install a camera above the door they were securing and so on. This has all changed now of course and now as an industry we are kind of at the half way stage.

What do we mean by this ?

Well we have billions of pounds worth of old technology out there that could best be described as analogue equipment. Separate control panels and recorders doing separate jobs. Some of this equipment has been integrated in sometimes crude ways to get systems to talk to each other but cost generally dictates that legacy equipment must be used wherever possible during an upgrade. This means as systems get partially upgraded they are never truly integrated by original design. That’s what we mean by half way there.

The time however, is fast approaching were IP security equipment is now becoming cheap enough to consider the removal of legacy equipment and installing a fully integrated IP solution that can be designed and future proofed, giving the end user a perfect security solution, that although has been possible for years, has now become affordable.

Who would want a fully integrated system ?

Well any facility manager will tell you the nightmares that are involved when you have multiple installers of different security disciplines across many different sites. Sometimes just knowing who to call out when a bleeping sound is coming from somewhere in the building can create no end of problems and most major blue chips and many larger companies crave to bring all their security under the control of one supplier.

Single supplier solutions

One point of contact and one point of invoice to deal with. This creates enormous savings, however you still have the issue with multiple sites and who administers them all.

By integrating all UK or even Worldwide sites together under one IP security solution, you get one installer with one administrator and one servicing cost and this really is utopia for any hard pressed facility manager. Further more it is infinitely cheaper, AS LONG AS YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT COMPANY AND THE RIGHT PRODUCT FIRST TIME of course.

This is where larger companies need proper advice and tried and tested security solutions that have already established themselves as rock solid in the market place.

Is IP for everyone ?

But is an integrated security system just for the blue chips? Fortunately not. There are lots of IP solutions for the one man band and small to medium sizes organizations. Quite simply put, once your old system has reached the end of its natural life, IP is the only way forward. Eventually analogue security solutions will become a thing of the past and probably in the not to distant future.