North Korea Uses Arecont Camera???

JH
John Honovich
Mar 18, 2016
IPVM

The entire North Korean American criminal episode is bizarre but, even wilder, it looks like the DPR uses Arecont cameras.

Here is the released video of the crime:

Blue tint? Check. Out of focus? Check. Arecont. Check?

[Note: this a joke, much like Arecont's commitment to quality].

Evidently that video is being used as evidence to convict the US college student of stealing a propaganda poster.

His confession video is one of the most surreal demonstrations I have ever seen:

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U
Undisclosed #1
Mar 19, 2016
IPVMU Certified

He must have been practicing that speech for the last two months, including the impromptu rehearsed questions at the end.

He doesn't refer to his notes and replies with names, dates and addresses like a human Wikipedia. Still, even if practiced, it is quite an impressive performance; he says "um", hardly if ever.

IMHO, the Z society-CIA connection is just something he came up with because of how ridiculous it is. Also, he is purposefully parroting back statements he was given including grammatical errors, verbatim. This is to show that they are not his.

Take for instance his constant improper use of "connive". Or claiming the U.S. Government has deep ties to a church because it has 42 million dollars. Seemingly sincere...

Reminds of the Pueblo incident, note the middle fingers.

U
Undisclosed #1
Mar 19, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Blue tint? Check. Out of focus? Check. Arecont. Check?

I can't tell... Are you 100% kidding or is there any additional evidence for Arecontness of this camera. It's blue tint may be a result of the "Analog hole" export. Either that or there was some small seismic activity at the time.

Other things against Arecont ownership, the Regime's similarly named but distinct "Die America" and "Die American" Acts would have made the purchase tricky, esp. in view of Arecont's weakened manufacturers rep situation.

Also the picture is not upside-down. ;)

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U
Undisclosed #1
Mar 19, 2016
IPVMU Certified

The "Analog Hole" video export on NBC News. Sorry couldn't embed. But here is a screenshot:

This guy is in some serious trouble. If Otto got 15 years hard labor for the deed, whats this guy gonna get for the export?

Related: The Most Dangerous (and Easiest) Way To Export Surveillance Video

MM
Michael Miller
Mar 20, 2016

UD1 that looks like the Hikvision on screen overlay.

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U
Undisclosed #1
Mar 20, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Go figure! Chinese cameras in North Korea. :)

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RN
Roy Nilsen
Mar 20, 2016

[Poster is an Arecont Vision rep.]

I have to say, this is the weakest post I have ever seen from IPVM. To make a lose accusation that this camera is from an Arecont Vision megapixel camera based on blue tint and the fact that the camera is out of focus is juvenile at best and to try and associate Arecont Vision with North Korea makes me question everything I have read on IPVM. Objectivity and integrity has gone out the window with this post and should be retracted.

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JH
John Honovich
Mar 20, 2016
IPVM

Roy,

I added to the opening discussion:

[Note: this a joke, much like Arecont's commitment to quality].

As you know, Arecont has problems with blue tint, focus issues, cut filters sticking, upside down images, and many more - far more so than any other manufacturer we have tested or covered - and that is objective fact.

As an American, that Arecont has been so terrible makes me sad. Arecont represents the worst qualities of America. The desire for a quick buck, the failure to take responsibility, the ongoing excuses. Arecont could have been at top tier player, they started early but the blew it.

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RN
Roy Nilsen
Mar 20, 2016

A joke? To whom? I can clearly see that IPVM is no longer objective but now has to lower itself to use sarcasm (or a “Joke” as you call it) and irresponsible headlines to stoke interest. Our firm is proud to represent Arecont Vision despite IPVM’s constant attempts to attack and discredit them. I find this post to be completely contradictory of your own stated standard to be “Independent and dedicated to objective information…” and should be retracted.

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JH
John Honovich
Mar 20, 2016
IPVM

IPVM’s constant attempts to attack and discredit them

If integrators would stop reporting problems with Arecont and we would stop finding problems with them in our tests, we would report positively on Arecont.

Look at Avigilon, we are critical of them but do not makes jokes of their quality, because, unlike Arecont, they do not have quality problems.

It's a discussion, with sarcasm, it reflects the objective problems that Arecont does have. I wish Kaplinsky et al. would do more to better support and help firms like yours.

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RN
Roy Nilsen
Mar 20, 2016

How would you know how much they do to support and help our firm? Do you think I would say I am proud to represent them if they didn’t go above and beyond in supporting our firm in whatever we need? They consistently have made significant investments in making sure we have EVERYTHING we need to be successful - more so than I have ever seen in over 20 years as a representative so quit pretending you know so much about their inner workings.

You know this post is BS and only serves you and your interests and has zero value as a discussion. Don’t turn IPVM into a tabloid as it will disappoint me and many other readers who have come to rely on IPVM’s objectivity. Remove the post John, do the right thing.

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JH
John Honovich
Mar 20, 2016
IPVM

Roy, I am talking about their overall product offering, business positioning, quality, etc. If you are happy with Arecont, that's fine. It's strange but fine.

In my nearly 8 years in covering the industry, no company has so thoroughly disappointed, frustrated and taken advantage of its customers as Arecont.

You can use this discussion as an excuse to blame IPVM for being biased against your top revenue source but the fact remains that Arecont blew a great opportunity to become a long term IP camera leader by failing to take quality and customer problems seriously.

RN
Roy Nilsen
Mar 21, 2016

You mad or something? You sound like you’re angry. The great thing about this free market of ours is that if a “company has so thoroughly disappointed, frustrated and taken advantage of its customers” the market will respond accordingly. It sounds like they might have done something to you personally or are you speaking out for all the disenfranchised Arecont customers that don’t have a voice? Oh I’m sure you can dazzle us all with wonderful statistics to support your biases but why don’t you just try and be truly honest for once and disclose that you have something personal against Arecont. It’s ok – we all know.

So I will go back to my original comment that I have to say, this is the weakest post I have ever seen from IPVM. To make a lose accusation that this camera is from an Arecont Vision megapixel camera based on blue tint and the fact that the camera is out of focus is juvenile at best and to try and associate Arecont Vision with North Korea makes me question everything I have read on IPVM. Objectivity and integrity has gone out the window with this post and should be retracted.

I’m sure you will let the post remain so I guess it’s IPVM that has blown an opportunity…

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JH
John Honovich
Mar 21, 2016
IPVM

Roy,

The market has done something accordingly. It has relegated Arecont to being a third rate player in the market.

It's just facts. 5 years ago, Arecont was one of the top sellers of megapixel IP cameras, and now they are not even close, and it is Arecont's own fault.

And, yes, I am speaking out on behalf of integrators, who over and over again vote Arecont as being the worst.

I get you. You will feel better thinking "John hates us" but you know, deep down inside, that if Arecont really took the quality problems seriously and was better managed, Arecont and you would be doing far far better now.

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RN
Roy Nilsen
Mar 21, 2016

Look at you trolling your own posts. If Arecont Vision is such a third rate player than why use them for your headlines? Nobody should care, right? Unless maybe there is something else going on here?

The fact is, Arecont Vision was the only manufacturer selling megapixel cameras 5 years ago. Other manufacturers that could have sold them decided to wait for an innovator to develop the market for higher resolution cameras. They didn’t want to make the significant investment of evangelizing the benefits and work with the different VMS providers to change their architecture to handle higher resolution cameras. It was a huge gamble that paid off but didn’t come without growing pains.

Because Arecont Vision is American made and their architecture allowed them for parallel production they were able to produce products in smaller quantities that larger, incumbent manufacturers could never do. Did they make mistakes along the way? Of course they did. Do they keep making mistakes? Of course they do. We all do (except for you of course).

Now again, you want to portray that you know something of the inner workings of Arecont Vision. You don’t. You don’t know how seriously problems are taken or how they are managed. But I do. You even make the assumption that you “get me” and that I would be doing far better than I am now if they better managed their company – you even imply that you know what I am feeling.

So what else is going on here John? We can clearly see that you have something personal for them (long before this post) but now you have crossed a line – A line that redefines IPVM’s objectivity as being suspect. You’ve turned a good thing into nothing more than a tabloid – how can we trust your objectivity? Before this post, I had to take any comparison you made on any product with a grain of salt because how could you know every setting in every camera (VMS etc)? But now it raises the question that you let your own personal feelings into your objectivity which effectively means you don’t have objectivity.

It’s a shame that you let your ego and personal feelings into your “reporting” and have to resort to such a deceptive post (to sell subscriptions, entertain or get even). The funny thing is you will never admit that you are wrong and that this post is no different than the misleading ads you have called out others on which is contradictory to your “Rebellious approach: to call out, debunk and stop misleading marketing practices”.

Now IPVM is nothing more than an online version of the National Enquirer – void of integrity and objectivity because of one man who can’t admit when he is wrong.

Now that would be a headline worth reading.

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JH
John Honovich
Mar 21, 2016
IPVM

"The fact is, Arecont Vision was the only manufacturer selling megapixel cameras 5 years ago."

Roy, this is wrong. You seriously are not aware that other manufacturers were selling megapixel cameras 5 years ago?

Here are some IPVM tests of megapixel cameras from more than 5 years ago:

RN
Roy Nilsen
Mar 21, 2016

I may have exaggerated "only" but meant not selling much of any significance because of the issues I mentioned above.

U
Undisclosed #1
Mar 21, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Substituting multi-imager for megapixel works better.

JH
John Honovich
Mar 21, 2016
IPVM

Roy, to wrap this up, I do take our reputation as being independent and unbiased seriously. And, to that end, this joke was inappropriate. There are, and you won't like to hear this, far more real Arecont problems to cover without making jokes about this.

I am not removing the post because it is important to let the record stand, good or bad. And I have already included a disclaimer that this was a joke lest anyone not see the satire.

Everything else I have said in our exchange about Arecont stands.

RN
Roy Nilsen
Mar 21, 2016

Ok - fair enough but everything else I have said stands as well.

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