Three years after negotiating a single source supply relationship which resulted in all of its luxury hotels having Samsung-branded video surveillance products, Edwardian Hotels London has confirmed that it intends to continue. Hanwha Techwin Europe will fulfil the hotel chain’s requirements for IP network cameras and video recording devices.
Edwardian Hotels London includes 11 Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels ranging in style from bijou boutique, to large-scale five star luxury. The company also owns The May Fair hotel. In London’s West End its 400 bedrooms, including 12 suites, a spa and a 201-seat screening room. A new 350 bedroom hotel in Leicester Square in central London, is being built.
Pictured is Mohamed Elsebahy, Group CCTV Manager for Edwardian Hotels London. He said: “The safety of guests and staff is always on the top of the list of our priorities and so we are constantly reviewing the effectiveness of the video surveillance systems in operation at each of our hotels. As and when it has been appropriate to do so, we have not hesitated to invest in the latest camera and video recording technologies.”
Research
As featured in the July 2013 print issue of Professional Security, Mohamed Elsebahy built an R&D facility at the company’s Heathrow hotel, where with the help of technology consultant, Nick Kalsi, he tested cameras from Hanwha Techwin Europe and other manufacturers. Mohamed Elsebahy said: “We have been very pleased with both the performance of the products and the quality of the support we have received from Hanwha Techwin Europe over the last three years. The video surveillance system at our Heathrow hotel has even been complimented by local police officers. They have told us that they regard the system as the most reliable of all that are installed at the many hotels on the A4 strip and that they always have confidence in the system’s ability to provide them with high quality video evidence.
“I nevertheless have to be certain that Edwardian Hotels London achieves maximum ROI [return on investment] from their investment in video surveillance systems. The R&D facility has given us the opportunity to evaluate the price-performance ratio of the latest generation of high definition Wisenet cameras from Hanwha Techwin Europe, alongside cameras manufactured by some of their competitors. Our evaluation criteria was not though just about the features and functions of the cameras and recorders. It was important to also take into account the total cost of ownership and so reliability, warranties and the level of technical support provided by the manufacturer, were also important factors that we took into consideration.”
The evaluations resulted in Mohamed Elsebahy and Nick Kalsi establishing that they could achieve evidence grade, high definition images 24-7 in all hotels, with three types of Wisenet IP network-based 2 Megapixel Full HD cameras. These were the WisenetIII SNV-6084 vandal-resistant dome, Wisenet Lite SND-L6013R IR dome and Wisenet Lite SNO-L6083R weatherproof network IR bullet camera, which comes with a varifocal lens.
Nick Kalsi said: “The lighting conditions in public areas of the hotels such as the bars and reception can vary considerably depending on the time of day. The Wisenet cameras’ ability to generate high quality images even when the Lux levels are low and in the case of two of the models that have built-in IR LED illumination even in total darkness, makes them ideal for many different types of environments within the hotels.”
The Edwardian Hotels London estate has about 1100 cameras installed. Most are older generation cameras, being replaced with SNV-6084, SND-L6013R and SNO-L6083R models, when various areas of the hotels are upgraded. The compact SND-L6013R dome is proving particularly popular with Edwardian Hotels London’s design team from an aesthetic point of view.
Recording
Images from the IP network cameras are being recorded on SRN-1673S 16-camera channel NVRs which come with a built-in PoE+ (Power over Ethernet) switch. That recorder allows a user to reduce installation costs by negating the need for the provision of separate power supplies and switches, the product company says. PoE+ means that the recorder provides sufficient power for any ONVIF-compliant PoE+ camera, including speed domes and domes with heaters.
Remote access
Nick Kalsi is overseeing the install of Cat 6 cabling at all the hotels, to make the most of the high definition IP cameras. Kalsi said: “Migrating to an IP network based system will allow Mohamed Elsebahy and other authorised colleagues to be able to access live or recorded images captured by any of the cameras from any location on the network.
“If they wish to, they also have the ability to remotely view activity on their smartphones or tablets via the iPOLiS Mobile app. The good news is that we have been able to continue to use SmartViewer video management software which our control room operators are familiar with and find easy to use. It is a significant benefit that SmartViewer supports our older generation cameras, as well as the new Wisenet models.
Mohamed Elsebahy said: “Our decision to continue to work closely with a single manufacturer has many benefits which include receiving expert, objective advice on the correct camera model for every location. We will shortly be seeking further advice from Hanwha Techwin Europe on how we can best take advantage of the Open Platform technology built into WisenetIII cameras. Having access to data captured by a people counting App running on a WisenetIII camera could, for example, provide valuable information on when and how many people have entered the bar areas of our hotels.”
