IR illuminators, HD CCTV and why they need to go together

If you decide your CCTV system is in need of an upgrade most forward thinking people will decide to use HD CCTV cameras. The reason is fairly simple, better live images and better recorded images. The improvements over analogue cameras are dramatic. Facial recognition becomes possible where before it was almost impossible. Registration plates can be recorded where before this was very much hit and miss and a as a management tool HD CCTV is second to none, in addition as a security deterrent HD CCTV wins every time. Well almost every time !!! The big exception is at night. The reason is simple, they are light hungry.

Clarius IR illuminator

Dual chip HD cameras require IR illuminators to ensure image quality does not drop as the light fades. Either Clarius white lights or the Clarius IR illuminator range will ensure your system functions at it’s peak as the dark nights approach.

The Clarius range is built to a high specification. One benefit is a self cleaning lens which means the IR illuminator can be installed in even the most hostile environment. The main places where IR lluminators will be found is airports, quarries and heavy industry the self cleaning lens is so important here and this USP will help to keep images crystal clear.

Clarius IR illuminator

This one feature alone leads to low maintenance costs. The Clarius IR illuminator has and a ten year life span and a built in photocell to keep running costs down and as a result this means return on investment can be achieved in months rather than years.

The Clarius IR illuminator has a consistent light spread and as the light is invisible there is no light pollution associated with halogens, it also means of course that a more covert security operation can be achieved.

So in summary HD CCTV and Clarius IR illuminators go hand in hand, if you have one you need the other.

 

Will new CCTV regulations make any difference? Is HD CCTV the catalyst

It has been muted that HD CCTV is at the heart of the reason that new regulation on privacy has been introduced across England and Wales yesterday. The fact that HD CCTV is capable of producing images far superior to that which has been achievable by analogue cameras previously has got some members of the public concerned over civil liberties and their privacy in general.

It is true that HD CCTV can now be purchased on line by anyone who feels they are capable of installing it. There has been a huge rise in domestic systems and its true again that some cameras are positioned in such a way that they do intrude into others premises. However the new regulation covers local authorities and government organizations only, industry and private domestic installations are unaffected. Add to this the fact that the CCTV commissioner has no powers of enforcement or powers of investigation and it seems that this legislation is just a meaningless piece of paper.

Do we need HD CCTV to protect the public?

CCTV working to catch criminals

Also do the new regulations supercede the data protection act as the legislation seems very similar with regard to the CCTV aspect? No one has really come forward to the industry to consult or explain.

The new code of practice for the use of surveillance cameras in England and Wales that has been introduced by the Home Office and  state that CCTV cameras should be used to protect and support people, not to spy on them.

The code also states that: “The purpose … will be to ensure that individuals and wider communities have confidence that surveillance cameras are deployed to protect and support them, rather than spy on them.

“The Government considers that wherever overt surveillance in public places is in pursuit of a legitimate aim and meets a pressing need, any such surveillance should be characterised as surveillance by consent.”

It seems a sensible approach but is it overkill?

There are more than  1.85 million CCTV cameras are in operation across the UK and few are complying with current regulation. No one has ever stepped forward to enforce the data protection act or even champion it.

Of course most CCTV cameras are operated by private companies, businesses and individuals and the rush to install HD  CCTV equipment has perhaps prompted the move to introduce the new regulation.

With regard to publicly operated systems it is estimated that some 51,600 CCTV cameras are operated by local authorities, while 2,107 schools have a further 47,806 cameras. In addition over 100,000 cameras are used on transport systems to help protect the travelling public, most who are questioned welcome this protection and few complain each year about the “big brother issue”.

So what do civil liberty campaigners say? well they seem to complain that the code does not go far enough.

Emma Carr, from civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, said “CCTV remains a vital issue”.

“We’re getting an increasing amount of phone calls and letters from people who are concerned about their neighbours putting up CCTV cameras in their gardens, which cover their own private areas and sometimes look into their houses,”.

“And then there’s also the technological development in terms of CCTV. Facial recognition and HD CCTV cameras. These are all available online to pretty much anybody.”

|This is of course true but many want more rather than less cameras especially now HD CCTV can provide conclusive proof of identity where previously analogue cameras failed.

So will the regulation make any difference? The answer we feel is a resounding NO.

 

Faces? you tell me your CCTV system can identify faces?

If you were buying a CCTV system today and we asked you what you would like to see on your recorded images  my bet is you would answer the following:

Faces

Number plates

What they took

How the accident happened

How much they put/took from the till

This is just 5 of the main things people expect to see from their CCTV systems and yet probably 90% of current CCTV systems can’t give you this information…….. But why?

 

For far too long now, businesses have put up with grainy CCTV images that just do not provide clear and useable images of events that can aid the customer in a way he could reasonably expect. When zoomed into, they often provide blurred, pixulated images with no identifiable detail and therefore these are completley useless.

 

Now though we have HD CCTV, this opens up a world of opportunity for those who require effective surveillance. HD cctv that can give you crystal clear images that can be zoomed into without losing clarity. This provides images that gave important identifiable information that will capture clear definable images as the happen and provide useful images that could be handed to the police and other agencies.

 

The influx of these HD cctv Cameras allows for an easier than ever way of capturing surveillance footage and storing it. Images can be stored and reviewd far more effectively than analogue footage stored on a DVR, with footage even available live streamed from remote wireless devices.

 

This ease in access has a variety of uses, such as monitoring employee productivity and fraud, time and motion studies, round the clock surveillance for your security personel.

 

Clever software that comes with HDcctv systems makes video searched more efficient, with thumbnail searches giving the end user the ability to quickly find what they are looking for, no more hours of searching through your DVR. With HD CCTV showing us the way why get left behind ensure you install HD next time you upgrade and avoid the analogue.

 

Trium HD SDI DVR from win4net FD02

Win4net have finally made their entrance into the HD SDI DVR arena with their new 2 way HD-SDI recorder. This compact unit is the first 2 way unit in the market place and is looking to pick up on the upgrade business of HD CCTV over coax. Win4net have added the FD02 to their Trium range and this unit is designed to work on the NVMS software platform that has done so well for them with their traditional analogue DVR. In fact the plan for this little 2 way HD- SDI unit is to use two analogue outputs to link it up with existing systems currently running the software. This means the end user gets local HD quality recordings but still has the ability to have the cameras monitored remotely in an analogue format, meaning images stream easily to the central station not restricted by huge data bundles.

The Trium FD02 2 way HD SDI DVR has space for two 3 TB hard drives giving it capacity for over 20 days recording space for both cameras at full def and 30FPS. The playback quality is quite simply stunning. Detail is crisp and clear and objects, number plates and faces can be clearly picked out in playback mode. The FD02 has the ability to be able to zoom in at up to 8x and lose minimal definition.

The best part of the HD CCTV solution is the price. HD CCTV at budget prices. Win4net have taken a risk with this unit in terms of the fact that its only going to be able to record 2 HD SDI cameras. Is this enough? Well if you are just looking to record a gateway and an entrance doorway this is the DVR you want. More cameras just means the units get stacked and a staged upgrade is the best way to improve your existing analogue CCTV system and control costs and target key areas to deploy HD CCTV.

So Wn4net have made their commitment to HD-SDI CCTV and judging by the feedback its a very good product.

Trium FD02 HD SDI DVR

Norbain’s loss but who’s gain?

The shocking news that Norbain have found themselves in such a difficult situation over the last few days is lesson to all in the industry. The reasons given for the the demise of old Norbain were clear and unequivocal. Quite simply the industry has taken a downturn. New projects are on hold and new sales are just not materializing from any other source.

Some time ago now Norbain chose to take the route away from analogue products and “focus” on IP security equipment. This was based on industry predictions that all CCTV and security would be IP based in the very near future , tipping point has been predicted by Norbain as 2013. This has simply not happened and the evidence is clear that for the CCTV industry to cope with both a downturn in demand and new competition from IT integrators it has to learn lessons and change very very quickly.

Products need to be cutting edge, sales techniques changed with more online sales and support being a move forward but one that must be mixed with a good old fashioned voice on the end of a phone when its needed. More than this though the public have been let down too many times by poor results when video evidence is required. The frustration felt by small business as well as the public in high profile cases is immense when they are seeing poor images with the chance of any type of  identification laughable. That’s the weakness of course of analogue and why Norbain were keen to move to IP and with IP comes HD video.

This is the way forward, HD CCTV solutions must be sold in future if the industry is regain the faith of the UK public. Cheap analogue solutions are killing the industry. IP and HD was Norbain’s vision and with true integration achievable between all IP security products such as CCTV, access control and intruder alarms the idea was definitely a good plan. The problem is the adoption of IP by the CCTV industry itself has been slow to non-existent.

We advocate that HD is the way forward to. HD however over coax is a simpler and cheaper solution in many cases than IP. Using existing coax and still achieving HD images is highly beneficial to the end user where a new IP infrastructure is not practical.

So the lesson that needs to be learnt is to give the end users crisp clear images, give them evidence they can use. Make CCTV a desirable purchase once more, after all everyone agrees the concept is a good one. This goal can be achieved but it can only be achieved with the deployment of  HD in as many applications as possible.