Clothing retailer Oasis has installed digital video recorders at 60 of its stores.
The retail chain reports that instead of security officers patrolling the stores, the managers capitalise on a combination of trained staff and CCTV to detect and deter crime such as shoplifting. As most of the stores don’t have security staff on-site, Oasis wanted a digital CCTV recording system which store managers would find easy to use. Mitch Haynes is head of security at Mosaic Fashions which besides Oasis includes the Coast, Karen Millen, and Whistles brands. He says: “I am hugely impressed with the Videoswitch DVR. It’s very easy for operators to use. The controls are on the front of the machine and just three key presses allows you to transfer video evidence onto a CD and hand it over to the police." The retailer is also installing the product in Coast and Karen Millen branches; and Oasis is rolling out the system to many other branches in the UK and Ireland.
The manufacturer reports that no special software is needed to replay footage from the DVR, which makes life easier, it is claimed, for police reviewing footage from a store as part of an investigation. Video footage from the system can be replayed on a standard PC running Window XP or any other recent Windows operating system.
The DVR includes a CD writer which provides Oasis with a built-in means of getting evidence out of the unit.
About the firm
Videoswitch is a trading division of Ocean Systems Ltd. The company has been manufacturing video products since 1984. The product range includes digital video recorders, multiplexers, quads and splitters, video switchers and cameras and monitors.
