The biggest risk to your surveillance systems can be from the smallest threats. Cabling that connects and powers cameras is quite vulnerable, but often nothing is done to protect it from being damaged by insects and rodents. In this note, we exami...
By Brian Rhodes - almost 8 years ago
A new cable testset delivers advanced features at a fractional cost of competitive offerings. However, while the set offers over 15 different tests, how many are useful to the average video installer? Does the tool deliver value, or is it another ...
By Brian Rhodes - almost 8 years ago
Not many think shooting a gun can reduce labor costs. However, that is exactly the claim made by LaserLine, a tool for shooting pull lines over long distances. The company claims to make quick and easy work of a difficult and labor-intensive task,...
By Brian Rhodes - almost 8 years ago
Just like IP cameras, IP intercoms are getting more sophisticated. In the olds days, it might have been little more than a microphone and speaker in a box but increasingly they are becoming powerful computing appliances. Pushing this trend, Stento...
By Brian Rhodes - almost 8 years ago
Protecting perimeters is a key component of effective security yet can be difficult because they are often poorly lit. Bad lighting not only helps adversaries hide, it also compromises the effecitiveness of surveillance systems. One can add street...
By Brian Rhodes - about 8 years ago
HID's VertX [link no longer available] door access control system is the more powerful but lesser known sibling of HID's Edge product line. Unlike Edge, this system accomodates more doors and is built with enterprise management in mind. Why then, ...
By Brian Rhodes - about 8 years ago
Migrating existing systems from analog to IP is important to many retailers. At the recent NRF-LP show, a well attended breakout session titled "Transitioning from Analog to IP CCTV" gathered ~200 attendees for an all-retailer panel. In this note,...
By Brian Rhodes - about 8 years ago
Should you continue to use traditional centralized, panel-based access control or does it make sense to use IP readers? Let's overview the 2 key options: Control panels: Traditional access control systems have used control panels, typically co...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
A fundamental question often asked is: "How can I tell whether I am looking at an IP Video system or an Analog CCTV system?" Understanding which type of equipment you are looking at is critical when determining how to address the issue at hand. Wh...
By Brian Rhodes - over 8 years ago
Designing an intercom system can be maddeningly complex. Every manufacturer requires specifying a handful of pieces to bring everything together. Forgetting just one part of the system can be a huge mistake that erases any profit. Are better optio...
By Brian Rhodes - over 8 years ago
Aiphone is one of the biggest names in the intercom industry, used often by integrators on projects of all sizes. However, due to the breadth of their line, not much clear guidance is available to users to help in choosing between their various li...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
Camera installation is fundamental to the security industry, but in many cases, little thought is given to planning and installation, leading to system which perform poorly and look unprofessional. As an example, see this photo: Not only does t...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
Showing that video surveillance is in use can be a powerful crime deterrent as criminals seek out environments where their illegal activity cannot be observed. A common method of doing this is with Public View Monitors. These monitors show the pub...
By Brian Rhodes - over 8 years ago
Integrators who fail to take prebid meetings and walkthroughs seriously can lose the job or lose their shirt when responding to RFPs. While prebid meetings and walkthru meeting are common elements of many RFPs, some integrators may not fully under...
By Brian Rhodes - over 8 years ago
Whether or not to subcontract all or part of a security deployment is often a polarizing subject. Some integrators refuse to subcontract work, preferring to have their staff do all work and maintain complete control of a project. Others say they c...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
Rather than run new cabling for IP cameras, if an analog camera is being replaced it is possible to reuse coax cabling with an Ethernet over coax (EoC) converter. These have been commercially available for years but how many actually use them and ...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
Reusing analog camera cabling is a common topic in the surveillance industry, as recabling is a significant expense and disruption. This discussion normally centers on Ethernet over coax (EoC), however, as the vast majority of analog cameras are i...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
The coaxial cables which transmit most analog CCTV video can be reused when migrating to IP cameras. The technology to do so, most often referred to as Ethernet over Coax (or EoC), is mature and available from a variety of vendors. The challenge i...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
What cabling should you use for IP cameras? Cat 5e or Cat6? Spend any time talking to cabling professionals these days, and they'll tell you that Category 6 cabling is the only way to go in any new application. However, Cat 6's increased performan...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
Cabling is a fundamental, yet often overlooked, component of any surveillance project. Indeed, often estimating cabling costs can be more difficult than camera pricing as cabling frequently faces difficult to detect challenges. In this report, we ...
By Ethan Ace - over 8 years ago
Often surveillance monitors are located quite some distance from VMS workstations. Since most video signals have relatively modest default distance limitations, care must be taken to ensure against video degradation or signal loss. In these cases,...
By Ethan Ace - about 9 years ago
A common question in IP surveillance is: What are the best ways to extend power and Ethernet past the typical 100 Meter limitation of UTP cable? Indeed, this is often cited as a weakness of IP relative to analog cameras. This is a controversial cr...
By Ethan Ace - about 9 years ago
In this note, we examine the security sales results and growth of Anixter for Q1 2011. While Anixter is traditionally a large scale distributor in the cabling and electronics market, their security presence has increased significantly in the last ...
By John Honovich - over 9 years ago
For small businesses, deploying the right surveillance can be challenging. Usually, they do not have a lot of money available nor do they benefit from government grants. Plus, they do not have the scale to justify becoming experts in surveillance....
By Marty Major - over 9 years ago
In this note, we contrast the cost of powering cameras via Power over Ethernet vs a non-powered switch plus a low-voltage power supply. Conventional wisdom tells us that powering cameras via UTP cable also carrying data provides great cost saving...
By John Honovich - over 9 years ago
