Tag: blackhawk dome

iPhone sells CCTV

40K CCTV system.

I Recently spoke to sales guy who had a fantastic result in selling a £40 k CCTV system to one of his existing clients based up in London. He retold me the storey of how he had managed to upgrade a customer who’s system was actually less than 3 years old! Quite an achievement in this day of austerity and generally making do when it comes to CCTV and security.

A unique selling point.

His main objective of course was to offer the customer something new, something he had not seen before and try to convince him to part with his money. He had two major aces up his sleeve. He knew his customer was a gadget man. He also knew that his customer was extremely intelligent and was nobody’s fool when he was purchasing any kind of product. He started by talking about the benefits of IR dome cameras specifically Black hawk domes. If you have ever done a dem with this unit at night you will know that the product sells itself. This is down to the picture quality and the stunning difference between a grainy integrated colour picture and the clarity of a mono picture enhanced with IR. To say he was impressed was an understatement. He wanted them and was now only interested in how much this was going to cost him. Well this is where my acquaintance found himself up against it.

Benefits.

Although the benefits were obvious , justifying ripping out cameras that were less than 3 years old was difficult. It was now he played his trump card. He offered the customer the ability to connect to these new cameras using just his iPhone and App he would let him have if he agreed to the upgrade. He knew the DVR was capable of this and the app had just become available. Well the guy could not sign up quick enough, this was the clincher, the deal sealer and my friend could not have been happier.

iPhone sells CCTV.

So what does this tell us about the iPhone  and the remote connection app. It would seem to us that if you buy a DVR you would be well advised to ensure it is iPhone compatible but more than this, it tells us that gadgets sell CCTV and we see this happening more and more. Searches on this site are often looking for CCTV iPhone apps as this form of remote connection goes from a popular feature to what some may now consider essential. We love the iPhone!

iPhone, iPad and CCTV

We blogged some time back now about iPhone/iPad requests for CCTV accessibility…………….

Just recently, a new app ‘app’eared (like what I did there!) in the Apple App Store that gives access to the 360 Vision OpenVision range of DVRs and NVRs



Called iDVR-Vue, it draws on the fluidity of the iPhone/iPad interface to offer a really intuitive way to view cameras on your installed H or T DVR, or even your Hybrid/NVR system.

Connection setup is as easy as selecting the model, entering the static IP address (this is normally provided by your ADSL or ISP provider), and putting in the Username and Password and clicking connect

First connection presents a Quad display………..if you have more than 4 cameras, a simple swipe across the screen moves the display onto cameras 5-8, a swipe again onto 9-12 and finally 13-16…………. and if any of the cameras are PTZ domes such as the Predator or Black Hawk range, then tapping on that quad image brings the camera to full screen where the fun really begins!

Anyone that has used the iPhone/iPad will know that the screen is great for touch control……….. a swipe in any direction sends the camera moving in the same direction…..the further you move across the screen, the quicker the dome will move………….Zoom is very much like viewing pictures, pinch to zoom in and out and the dome camera will respond by zooming in and out!

We’d like to see preset and tour initiation and also maybe some playback/search controls, but we are told that will be in the next release in the App Store

The real beauty to this? IT’S FREE !

We like free, it shows a manufacturers commitment to offer additional services to what is often considered a grudge purchase

And let’s face it, who these days does not have an iPhone or iPad!!!

Also available for the Blackberry range

CCTV lighting

CCTV lighting.

Often overlooked but a crucial part of any CCTV system, lighting is key to good pictures when you really need them. CCTV cameras have improved dramatically over the last few years and dual chip technology has meant that night vision from CCTV cameras is now acceptable most of the time, but in many cases it is only when images are really needed that end-users realize that lighting on their site is not sufficient to see exactly what they need.

lighting audit.

Most installers will put a caveat in there terms and conditions stating that lighting will be assessed after an installation and that it is the customer’s responsibility to ensure lighting levels are sufficient.. However how often is this really done? This is especially true on installations carried out during summer months when no one ever sees the night time images until it’s a little late? Central stations also refuse to monitor poorly lit installations and will not be held responsible for poor quality nigh time pictures.

Lighting solutions.

It is a little publicised fact but colour cameras need white light to work at night, IR lamps only work with mono images and in the past you either chose to install mono from scratch, sacrificing colour daytime images for night time clarity. Bulky IR lamps were installed and these were expensive and unreliable. Dual chip cameras were the compromise and these allowed colour during the day and mono at night but this did not solve the fact that IR bulbs would blow for a pastime.

Raytec.

Raytec are a progressive company who have addressed this problem using advanced LED technology to give an IR output that is long range and reliable it is something that anyone who demands night time pictures of good quality must insist on.

halogen lighting.

Alternatively you can fit halogen lighting that will work on a sensor to bring lights on automatically when someone enters an area protected by the CCTV camera, again however these bulbs blow easily and cost a lot to run.

Blackhawk and Predator domes.

360 vision have developed the ultimate solution to good night time images. They have both the Blackhawk and Predator cameras that have IR lighting built in that follows the tracking of the camera and ensures that a good nighttime image is always available.

Designing a CCTV system.

So when you think about a CCTV system, think about when it is most likely to be used and think about how you will design your lighting it is crucial this side of things is not overlooked.