ISC West 2012 Show Best / Worst

Published Mar 30, 2012 04:00 AM
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We spent the week on the ISC West show floor checking out what is interesting and have come away with a series of observations and images.

Here are the topics/companies covered:

  • Show Floor Traffic
  • Ingram Micro
  • Samsung
  • Interlogix
  • Mobotix
  • Vicon
  • Milestone
  • OnSSI
  • Pelco
  • Tyco
  • Bosch
  • Arecont Vision
  • CSST

Overall

The show floor looked filled with vendor boothes, with no empty boothes visible in any main area. This is a bullish sign for vendor spending, at the very least.

Traffic too is quite strong across the board from side to side.

On the other hand, new product releases continue to be fairly weak and limited in total number. This is a negative surprise and seems worse than last year.

Traffic, as normal, slowed each day. However, even on Friday, the last day of the show, traffic was decent whereas often that day is a ghost town.

New Product Releases

This post covers what is happening on the floor. For detailed reviews, see our 35+ New Product Review Directory.

Interlogix

For ISC West, Interlogix released a cake. Even worse, it looks like a competitor's camera (Arecont SurroundView) with multiple imagers inside a dome bubble:

[link no longer available]

In a show filled with packed exhibits, Mobotix's big booth stood out for an alarming lack of traffic:

[link no longer available] [link no longer available]

No significant new surveillance cameras in a few years looks to be a major issue here (p.s. - the door station is neither major nor surveillance).

Ingram Micro

While Mobotix traffic was low, the 'award' for worst traffic in show has to go to the folks at Ingram Micro. Their 'Convergence Pavilion' was a dud:

[link no longer available]

Samsung

Samsung is promoting IP VGA cameras as 'game changing technology' in 2004 2012:

[link no longer available]

While the technology is obviously not 'game changing', the real value proposition is that the line is real inexpensive, not that much more than an equivalent analog camera.

Vicon

When you do not have strong product, do parlor tricks - literally in Vicon's case:

Milestone

Milestone printed out cards explaining their support policies:

More on this next week. Stay tuned.

OnSSI

OnSSI has a huge booth:

Plus, OnSSI has an unclear, buzzword filled banner at the entrance to the show:

Here is our review of what the OnSSI offering actually is.

Pelco

Pelco has increased its use of the Pelco brand. Remember at ASIS, we debated how minimally the Pelco logo was displayed. This show it is clearly larger and more prominent:

However, Pelco does not seem to be showcasing many (or any) major new product innovations. Indeed, the marketing campaign is centered on 'integration':

Integration is typically a poor excuse of a large company who turns to marketing complete packages rather than best of breed products. On the other hand, it is better than announcing a cake.

Tyco

This Tyco ad is simply befuddling:

[link no longer available]

"I am an RMR junkie The community fuels my passion." Tyco is as confusing now as they are irrelevant.

Here's another bizarre Tyco ad - "I am an IP Warrior":

[link no longer available]

What is the IP warrior doing in the playground?

Bosch

Bosch is building a 50 foot tower of camera and recorder boxes, promoting their entry level line. It's one of the more eye catching things on the show floor:

[link no longer available]

Arecont vs ipConfigure

One of the most striking juxtapositions on the floor is Arecont marketing multi-megapixel right next to VMS developer ipConfigure marketing gigapixel. Of course, Arecont is well known for their high resolution offerings so it is quite ironic that a VMS manufacturer is next to them marketing 50x the resolution. 

[link no longer available]

ipConfigure has quite a large booth dedicated to demonstrating gigapixel. The only downside is that it is recorded video, not live. Real time gigapixel might not be practical on a show floor but it would be useful to get a sense of how it really operated. Take a look at recorded demo of ipConfigure's Gigapixel camera.

Arecont

The big news from Arecont is their upcoming low cost WDR cameras. In addition, new cameras are going to have an upgraded, modern web interface, as shown below:

[link no longer available]

The existing one is clunky and limited. This one would looks to be a significant step up that gets them in line with most other IP camera vendors.

CSST

China mega supplier CSST has a fairly large booth at ISC West. They market themselves as an "Integrated Smart City Solution Provider" which is understandable in China where they have deep connections but not likely in the US:

[link no longer available]

I suppose they are here selling to OEMs in North America. While the company might be huge in China, they continue to be a non factor in the US.

Object Video

As a number of manufacturers laughed to us, "Object Video has to have balls to exhibit at this show." Nonetheless, Object Video is here, albeit buried in a tiny booth in the last row across from Siberian Arsenal:

Remember, manufacturers you have only a 60 day amnesty to turn yourself in. Just make the long walk to the far edge of the show floor.