Subscriber Discussion

Brickcom? Are They Any Good?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Aug 23, 2013

Can anyone give me a heads up about Brickcom? i haven't used their solution yet but some end users are requesting for their solution. what are your experiences with their cameras and vms.

JH
John Honovich
Aug 23, 2013
IPVM

I have heard mixed reviews about Brickcom - some said there were reliability problems though a number of integrators reported being happy with them.

The challenge I have is that I am not sure where they fit - they seem to be more expensive than budget providers like ACTi, Vivotek, Dahua and Hikvision but not as good as the premium offerings like Axis, Bosch, Sony, Panasonic. In other words, Brickcom strikes me as being the IQinVision of Asia.

I am curious what people have to see. Thanks for bringing this up.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Aug 23, 2013

thanks John. what strikes me here is the end users asked to get either a brickcom or avigilon solution. i am not quite sure they understand the huge price difference between the two as well as quality of images.

Avatar
Robert Tabbara
Aug 23, 2013

They are good and reliable.. We have about 5000 cameras in the field now with low RMA. They are similar in quality and preformance to ACTI. I have about 1000 in stock..I will sell you :)

JH
John Honovich
Aug 23, 2013
IPVM

Robert, how about the price of Brickcom compared to ACTi? Especially ACTi's new generation is quite inexpensive.

Avatar
Robert Tabbara
Aug 23, 2013

We used to sell ACTI... I think we have about 5000 ACTI cameras in the field. We have had a high RMA percentage with ACTI but I only moved away becuase of pricing. As they got bigger, it was harder to negogiate volume discounts. Brickcom is just like any other Tiawanese company, If you can do a large PO they will get dirty. I like them becuase they are owned by a network company so they are not new to the game.

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
Aug 23, 2013

What controls does Brickcom place on their product sales? Do they only sell or suppport products bought through authorized dealers/distributers? Or can you find them all over the Internet for the same or few points more than what the dealers get them for?

Avatar
Robert Tabbara
Aug 23, 2013

Honestly they are better than ACTI on the internet but only becuase they are newer..sooner or later they will grow and it will be the same story.

They sell through ADI, Tried and few other distributors.

Avatar
Richard Brady
Aug 24, 2013

I have only installed 11 Cube Cameras in 2 restaurants. 6 of them were these HDTV WiFi Cube Camera the other 5 were 3 MP WiFi Cube camera

I think they (cube camera) are well priced and best suited for retail, restaurants and-the-like, as the device when mounted looks similar to standard motion sensors and therefore doesn't give the clientele the feeling they are being 'watched' as motion sensors seem to be generally acceptable to the public at large!!

Picture quality, setup, VMS all good. The VMS is easy to follow, offers multiple streams, bitrates etc, etc. and the GUI is relatively easy for a first-time user with experience in the field. 2-way audio on the LAN is excellent with remote and local volumn control for the camera. Oboard SD for Edge. I like the wifi option as setup is easy and range is similar to higher end wifi residential products. I used the Brickcom Router on one job but frankly this offered no additional benefits over routers in the same category.

Brickcom also offer a free DNS sevice which is another little perk! I have had no RMAs.

A little over 2 years ago on one of the jobs, the restaurant in question had estimated monthly pilferage to be at $4500 and the majority of this by one staff member. The staff member was Union backed and could not simply be fired, or have his hours reduced to force him to quit. It required the whole system to be covert in order to gain the appropriate evidence to prosecute.

Due to the restaurants' design and it being located in the same building, in the financial district in San Francisco since 1867 there were many challeges. Megapixel was the only choice to keep the camera count down, considering installation could only take place on Sundays during an 8 hour window.

I broke down the 5 Brickcom Cubes out of their enclosures and custom housed them in (exit signs, electrical boxes and fake outlets.) It was actually very easy to customize these cams as there is not a lot inside the cube enclosure. (I used Aercont 3MP with 50mm lens for the long shots (120' to clearly view items on servers tray and transactions etc.)

Yes, I will use Brickcom again.

BTW...the staff member at the restaurant was fired at the end of the first month the system was in operation. Appearently, he had three freezers at his house: Beef, Pork and Seafood....lol

UD
Undisclosed Distributor #3
Aug 26, 2013

I have used BRICKCOM last year and was very disapointed.

1/The image quality was worst than any other camera manufacturer with similar price I was benchmarking such as Vivotek and Dahua.

2/The free VMS interface was confusing and had many bugs

3/The sales strategy was a mess by bypassing their distribuitors

Therefore, I am not likely to consider to work with BRICKCOM anytime soon.

OF
Osborne Fang
Aug 27, 2013

I am Brickcom Employee and its sad to hear your experience but much has changed in the last two years:

1. Image quality has improved hugely. For instance our N series is quite impressive and we have a few contest prizes, awards, and reviews from third party to also support this. Product from today and 2 years ago

2. The free VMS is not as good as it have to be. It is on the improvement roadmap. And yes, we need to make it even more customer friendly. Functionality wise it has eveyrthing that a free software needs to have and it is quite stable compared to other free VMS out there.

3. Sales strategy: we never bypass distributors. we work closely with our exsiting partners. before we had distributors we gain interest from integrators first. That was why we sold to a handful of integrators directly earlier on. But now being slightly more popular, we sell through distribution and work with distributors closely on exhibitions, expos, promotional programs and so on.

And additionally we have a strict iMAP policy regarding internet pricing which states that prices shown over the internet cannot be lower than MSRP (we tolerate about 5% discounts to be shown regularly on internet). Any company violating such policy means that the Brickcom products bought through their website will have the warranty is void, and the supply of products is cut eventually.

And again much has changed in North America for Brickcom in the last two years. I invite you to get a free testing demo equipment to check on the price / performance of it.

DS
Dan Stricklin
Aug 27, 2013

I worked for and represented Brickcom for two years as both an employee and then a Manufacturers Representative. Brickcom has a strong, reliable wireless line of IP Cameras and offers higher end features such as Auto Focus/Remote Zoom/Built in SD Card/WDR for what most would consider a good value for their dollar.

Where they stand out is their ability to tackle any type of project that requires a 1,3 or 5 MP wired/wireless camera and extensive VMS integration. They are available through large distributors such as Tri-Ed, ADI and Ingram Micro.

JH
John Honovich
Aug 27, 2013
IPVM

What VMSes support the built in SD card? What type of WDR do they have? True multi-exposure WDR across their line or?

DS
Dan Stricklin
Aug 27, 2013

Supporting the SD Card would fall on the VMS manufacturer, the free software that Brickcom offers and the NVR solutions they sell support this feature. Their WDR is relatively standard across their line of cameras yet specific models have better sensors than others, Aptina Vs. Sony Exmor and so on.

JH
John Honovich
Aug 27, 2013
IPVM

What does 'standard' WDR mean? It's either electric/digital or it's multi-exposure (WDR tutorial).

While supporting 'falls' on the VMS manufacturer, unless I am going to use the camera manufacturer's VMS, it's pretty critical that the VMS supports it.

OF
Osborne Fang
Aug 27, 2013

Thanks for opening this discussion

Regarding Brickcom being higher priced. I think this is not the case. it only seems so because BRickcom has a better enforcement on the online pricing policy with a strict and detailed iMAP. Violators are tracked and warned and eventually cut off of Brickcom supply. The prices are similar on the range of Vivotek, ACTi, etc in most cases and even more competitive on the 3 and 5 megapixel lines.

For instance there is a on going ADI august promotion priced at $199 to integrators for a vandal proof IP66 5 Megapixle camera, with SD card, analog output, etc....

Another example: the fisheye- panomorph 3 and 5 megapixel vandal mini dome with IMMERVISION LENS are priced for integrators at less than $400 dollars. And again it is vandal proof, IP67, SD card, etc.. full feature camera with a quite high end 360 lens.

I think when we discuss regarding the pricings, we have to make a difference between the online prices and the actual distributor and SI buying price. Otherwise companies controlling well the online Prices might get punished.

bg
breck gabler
Aug 29, 2013

bg
breck gabler
Aug 29, 2013

I like using the Brickcoms , the image is from a 3 mega variety recording in my vehicle

much better than acti in my opinion, and some of the others mentions

hey you can get a 2 MP outdoor/ indoor dome with effective IR for 329. they perform well and have exceptional FOV for the lens that comes with cam

AK
Alex K
Aug 29, 2013

For pix u posted

what was Brickom camera model number ?

Thanks

bg
breck gabler
Aug 29, 2013

The cam is a mb 300-ap 3 mp cam with a nice built in IR

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