For one of the world’s most famous married couples, keeping the paparazzi at bay is a constant challenge. David and Victoria Beckham have CCTV to protect their Hertfordshire home and enjoy a family life without photographers intruding on their privacy.
Rowneybury House, often referred to as "Beckingham Palace", was bought by David and Victoria Beckham in 1999. Previously an orphanage, they have developed the property into a 1930s Georgian style mansion which incorporates an indoor swimming pool, cinema and a snooker room.
CMOR domes from Videoswitch, the UK CCTV manufacturer, are part of the recently upgraded CCTV system. Tony Adams who oversees the security arrangements at all of the Beckhams’ properties around the world said: "Although we have been one of the first to use the CMOR domes, I was convinced from the results of the on-site trials that they could help us take security to a higher level."
The fully functional CMOR domes offer a solution to providing nonโobtrusive lighting for CCTV cameras by night. They have built-in long range infra-red lighting which achieves levels of illumination far higher than that generated by conventional fixed IR lighting, it is claimed.
With C-MOR’s targeted IR lighting, incidents of up to 100m from the dome can be observed and tracked with full 360 degree pan and tilt coverage. Normally, invisible light for external cameras has to be provided by way of stand-alone infra-red lighting units, which adds to the capital cost of a project as well as extra time on site for an installer. "Now that we have the CMOR domes it seems quite archaic that we previously relied on conventional infra-red lighting units, the bulbs of which needed to be replaced on a regular basis," said Tony Adams.
For security reasons the exact number of CMOR domes deployed around Rowneybury House is not reported but according to Tony Adams there are more than enough to ensure that any unwanted visitors can be observed by operators in the estateโs 24/7 control room. The images captured by the domes are recorded onto Videoswitch DVRs. Tony added: "Our on-site security personnel are finding the PTZ function of the domes very easy to operate and they are impressed with the high quality of the images."
This CCTV upgrade at Rowneybury House has led to Videoswitch being awarded the contract to provide CMOR domes and DVRs for David and Victoria Beckhamโs 250 acre estate in the south of France.
