From the camera and dome supplement with the July print edition of Professional Security. First question to ask Dave Stanfield, Marketing Sales Manager at CCTV manufacturer Pelco: why Pelco?
Dave said: โI think we are able to offer some things that are unique in the dome market. It really is to do with what Pelco is as a manufacturer. Basically all we do is traditional CCTV; but CCTV has broadened into IP. So itโs really no longer CCTV. We almost donโt refer to it any more; we talk about video security. So on video security and specifically with domes, one of the things we are able to offer – besides the fact that itโs all we do – is offer a very broad product range. In many companies, dome offerings are limited to – you have a pendant dome, you have an in-ceiling unit, and you may have an outdoor unit. Very few manufacturers are able to offer the broad range of enclosures that we are able to offer.โ Such as: three in-ceiling versions; and a heavy duty version for areas where you have high traffic. And pendant domes, from a standard for indoors to outdoor to a heavy-duty model to a nitrogen-pressurised dome. Pelco is not a one size fits all, and make it work sort of manufacturer.
Choice
โOn top of that, we have a broad choice in camera optics packages, a range of high resolution, low-light capable. We are able to offer different software sets, based again on the needs of the application and the end user, rather than โall we have is this model and itโs got to fit everywhereโ. Just being able to offer a range of software sets or software features that allow the product to be used in lost of applications, thatโs the key.โ And then there is the Pelco reputation for customer service, that Dave reports is beginning to take hold in the UK: a reputation for quality of product that once installed will have a good life-cycle.
What to look for
What kind of things should the installer and end user look for in a camera? Appreciating that the installer is the person who first gets his hands on the product – the one who takes it out of the box – Dave said: โSo what we are trying to do is make a system that is very easy to install; and the way we do this is basically make the installation across the product range virtually the same on all the domes; so that if an installer installs one dome, he is going to have a very similar experience across the entire product range.โ We are really trying to offer, because we sell to a global market-place, a product that is easy to install, easy to operate, and has a broad enough feature set, enclosure, software and those kind of things that can apply to a very wide range of applications.
Lighting
What of lighting? Pelco have created a product CD to take the pain out of a demo of how a demo will work at night at a car park, for example. The customer can see on a laptop how a camera, how different optics packages, might be expected to perform under different lighting conditions: at sun-down; 30 minutes later, when the car park lighting is beginning to take effect; after dark, when the car park light is in effect at about 1 lux; or under ambient light only from the surrounds. In other words, no need to put the dome on the roof to see how itโll work: you can see on a PC how different lenses will perform, or a camera with or without wide dynamic range.
Trends
And what of trends in cameras? Dave Stanfield points to a trend towards higher optical zoom; manufacturers are offering 27x zoom, some up to 30x. In outdoor applications, users are looking for higher zoom and for image stabilisation – some way to mitigate vibration. Dave added: โWe donโt see any really good solution out there for image stabilisation, but thatโs one of the areas that systems are moving. I think we can expect megapixel to start having an effect on the dome market – I think we are already starting to see megapixel cameras being used in dome applications. I think itโs still in its infancy, it isnโt well defined yet, the best way to use it; but we are seeing it.โ And integration, he went on, is a gigantic concern in CCTV, or rather video security. CCTV systems have been integrated with access control for some time: โBut we are starting to see more of a demand for integration with the building management systems, being able to tie the video to a card reader, different areas that are outside of the traditional security role, like managing processes, watching areas where you might not want to send a person. So we are seeing really a broader use of video than the traditional security use.โ
Trends
And Internet Protocol? The most dramatic effect on video security in the last several years, Dave replies. You can now view video differently; over an internet connection. โI think most people still donโt understand the challenge that video creates when you put it on a network. Video is basically a band-width hog. So a one or two camera installation where you allow somebody to view over the web can be done with relative success today. More of a traditional security system, where you have 100 to 300 cameras on a network becomes a whole different story. The algorithms for compressing the bandwidth are only now getting to a point where we are seeing some resolution of putting many cameras on to a network rand not having it crash.โ But he adds: โI think IP will continued to drive the change in the market; it is here to stay.โ
