Security Cameras 2016 Review
Author: John Honovich, Published on Dec 23, 2015Login to read this IPVM report.
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Comments (8)
John Honovich
I tried to balance the post keeping it high level enough to help more casual industry followers understand big picture issues with enough critical details as evidence / references.
If there are important topics you feel have been omitted, feel free to mention them in the comments below. Thanks!
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Undisclosed Manufacturer #1
What is the outlook / acceptability of 5MP cameras? Bosch seems to have skipped 3MP / 4MP and moved from 2MP to 5MP.
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Jeff Sandine
What about software and the end user experience? While Hikvision and the other low cost Asian mfgs are dominating the camera game, cameras are only 1 component of a complete system. An end users opinion of the entire system is often based on how well (or not) the video management software works for them on their desktop or mobile device. Can the low cost business model companies beat Milestone, Exacq and other video management software companies at their game? Do end users really want the cheapest software that includes an inferior user experience, or is it that they do not know any better? I suspect that if end users (and integrators) were educated about the importance that software plays in their camera system, many would recognize the value in spending more on better software vs cheapest software.
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Horace Lasell
Interesting perspective, but instead, what if it's the industry illuminati who "do not know any better?"
One of the most expensive vendors appeared to offer an even more inferior user experience. The best the industry has to offer, in mitigation, was:
-Open the Registry Editor (Start -> Run -> regedit)
-Export the entire Registry for backup purposes
-Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINES\SOFTWARE\Milestone\Installation
-Locate one or more keys with a name in GUID format like "D9C6E690-XXXX-YYYY...". Look inside each one and find the one which does NOT have a key named "InstallLocation"
-Now, either add an InstallLocation key (Multi-String Value / REG_EXPAND_SZ) with the install path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance\", or delete the entire key found above
-Re-run the installer
So, what's your take ? ? ? Thank goodness for the innovation, friendly interface, and ease of use provided by the high end? Count me among those who "do not know any better."
Industry apologists might imply, "It's free software! What do you expect?"
Others might suggest, "Get an installer!"
Perhaps someday, this industry will catch up with the IT industry, which offers a tiered mix of capabilities from amateur-accessible home/SMB offerings, to the high end requiring a host of very specialized knowledge and support. Until then, Hikvsion, bring it on! The outcome will likely be natural tiers which make sense to the rest of us, not just to the the high priestesses who wish to maintain their control of the masses with artificial barriers to entry.
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Undisclosed #2
Personally, I'd like to see more women in positions of authority.
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Horace Lasell
Maybe a little more context is in order.
Although IT is not my field, I've been learning about and supporting IT at the SMB level for many years. I've procured (through open channels <gasp!>) and installed a wide array of equipment, and have had very limited adverse experiences -- a KVM switch not working properly, and a NAS that couldn't recover a RAID drive failure because of a design issue.
I've had an overabundance of adverse experiences with IP surveillance.
In 2009, I purchased 4 Arecont Vision IP cameras to support a professional installation. The advertisement indicated they were PTZ cameras, so I chose a lens with appropriate magnification. They arrive with only manual PTZ adjustments and digital zoom. This were completely inappropriate for the task, because the lens I had chosen for PTZ detail was inappropriate to a fixed camera. The vendor demanded a 25% restocking fee, notwithstanding that only one box had been opened. That was a $1,000 premium for the privilege of learning that their online characterization could not be trusted. Strike one.
For education, I joined IPVM (a good experience), but stayed out of the video surveillance world for several years.
More recently, I purchased one Hikvision IP camera as a test case before purchasing a total of 8 for an SMB installation. While the picture was great (much better than Arecont's), it had partially functional Chenglish firmware. Strike two.
I tested Milestone XProtect Go, with results as referenced in the previous message. Strike three.
What did I learn?
Well, probably I'm not suited to IP video because of personal shortcomings. It's me, right?
My personal take-away is a persistent bad impression of the IP video surveillance industry. My impression is that it's like the wild west out there -- it's not really a mature industry. The sooner that changes, the better. For everyone.
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