News Desk

Optex Europe, leader in detection technology, has launched the FIT series of compact outdoor detectors, suitable for any outdoor area in the home, following a successful preview at IFSEC. Designed with residential properties in mind, Paul Nicholas, Divisional Manager for Optex Europe believes there is scope for such a discreet detector: ³The FIT series is unlike any other detector on the market, designed solely for outdoor spaces around the home that could be vulnerable to break-ins or vandalism,² he says. ³It is unobtrusive and would fit in with the décor of any outdoor space – the design of the detector has been carefully considered so not to interfere with the aesthetics of the house or flat.² IFSEC 2010 saw the UK preview of the FIT series, developed to suit all external environments including balconies, alleyways, doors and windows in daylight and low level light. The battery powered FTN-R/RAM includes SMDA (Super Multi Dimension Analysis) where every motion is analysed before signalling an alarm to reduce false or nuisance alarms. The 190-degree built-in bracket enables horizontal radiation allowing areas or objects to be blanked out with ease, and the wire free capability saves on installation time and cost. The FTN-R/RAM also includes a pet immunity feature so dogs or cats that break the beam will not create a false alarm, and Digital Anti-masking so it will alarm when covered or tampered with. The FIT series is one of the most versatile and easy to adapt detectors on the market: ³The FTN-R/RAM can be stacked side by side or on top of each other to increase area detection and range. For the installer, the quick connectors enable battery changing and installation easier and faster than with any other detector,² Paul concludes.

RM50-AI-30 units have been chosen by the Technical Center of Estonian Roads RAYMAX IR illuminators are playing a crucial part in the remote CCTV monitoring of winter road conditions and highway maintenance in Estonia. The RM50-AI-30 units have been chosen by the Technical Center of Estonian Roads because of their excellent night time performance and ability to function in extreme environmental conditions. “It’s not just the cold that the RAYMAX illuminators have to withstand”, explains project manager Stan Metlitski. “Estonia is one of the most north-easterly Baltic states so its highway infrastructure has to cope with winter ice, moisture and snow, vibration and turbulence. In this environment, maintaining reliable CCTV surveillance over key transport routes is vital so the decision was taken to upgrade key road cameras with IR capability, to guarantee effective image capture during hours of darkness”. “The IR illumination has to be sufficient to cover at least 30m from the point of installation,” says Mr Metlitski. In fact the RAYMAX units, which feature Raytec’s Adaptive Illumination™ system, offer a wide choice of illumination coverage patterns, from 10 degrees to over 180 degrees, and ranges up to 370m. Their surface-mount LED design also ensures they have a much longer working life than traditional lamps, delivering even illumination with zero maintenance and no risk of bulb failure. With low power consumption they also cost much less to run, and as Infra-Red units they do not cause any unnecessary light pollution. “We are delighted that our RAYMAX technology has been chosen for this important application,” says Shaun Cutler, MD of Raytec. “The Technical Center of Estonian Roads is a highly regarded engineering and technical consultancy which tests materials and products for some of the world’s toughest conditions. Their seal of approval for the RM50 is a real testimony to the performance and quality of our products.”  

Vancouver Island’s leading fashion focused shopping destination has invested in an IndigoVision integrated IP Video security system, in what is believed to be the first mall in Canada to deploy a surveillance solution with 100% IP cameras. The 93-camera system, which covers the public areas inside the mall as well as the car parks and surrounding areas, was designed and installed by IndigoVision’s Approved Partner Laser Star Systems Ltd in partnership with Hoffman & Company Security Management Consultants Inc. “One of the benefits of the new surveillance system is that it has helped us create an excellent partnership with local law enforcement,” explains Barry Greening, the centre’s Operations Manager. “Due to the exceptional quality and easy accessibility of the video, the local police force has shown an increasing interest in recorded footage from the system. They often analyse the system to see if ‘known individuals’ have been in an around the mall and have used exported evidential video in a number of investigations.” When planning for the new surveillance system the shopping centre realised that an IP networked solution was the future of video security and ensured budget was made available for IT projects that would support the required network infrastructure. This forward thinking in combination with IndigoVision’s low-bandwidth technology allows the IP Video system to share network resources with access control, HVAC, Voice-over-IP and general IT traffic. One workstation with four monitors running ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s Security Management Software, is used in the central control room to monitor and analyse live and recorded video. Commenting on its use Greening said, “It is remarkably good and inherently intuitive. The site plan is amazingly simple and easy to use and you can just drag and drop cameras into view. The ability to synchronise cameras and quickly access historical video is invaluable to us and the local police. IndigoVision also took on board our ideas for new features and included them in a future release of the software free-of-charge!” All cameras are continuously recorded for a minimum of 30 days using IndigoVision’s Windows Network Video Recorder (NVR) software running on a custom built iSCSI server with 26TB of Raid 6 storage. IndigoVision’s class-leading compression technology in combination with a unique feature called Activity Controlled Framerate (ACF) helps reduce the overall storage requirement. ACF, which is built into IndigoVision’s IP cameras, has been deployed on a number of cameras located in hallways and storage areas. When the scene is inactive the camera streams video at a lower framerate and instantaneously ramps to maximum configured framerate when motion is detected. This feature is also enabled on many cameras based on time of day, e.g. when the centre is closed. A combination of 26 PTZ and 67 fixed IndigoVision IP cameras were installed inside and outside the mall. The fixed cameras are Power-over-Internet (PoE) compliant allowing them to be powered from the network. This helped reduce the overall installation costs as only a single CAT-6 cable was required to connect the camera to the network. Mayfair is now considering using the surveillance system for more than just security. Retailers are increasingly harnessing the power of high-quality video for marketing purposes. This can be an invaluable tool for analysing merchandising and promotions and monitoring the total number and movement of customers visiting the centre and individual stores.

Vicon’s 35x SurveyorVFT domes, which have been a highly popular choice among installers and system integrators since they were first introduced in 2004, have been upgraded to deliver even higher quality video. All 35x SurveyorVFT domes, including standard indoor and outdoor, impact-resistant and pressurised housing versions, now utilise Progressive Scan technology which offers a higher quality video image than interlaced video with better vertical resolution and no visible flicker. Two modes are offered, “normal” for average to high-motion video and “high sensitive,” for low-motion video. Additional new features include Digital Noise Reduction to improve picture quality in low light environments by digitally sampling the video image and removing excessive noise that interferes with image clarity. When adjusting for white balance within the camera’s set-up menu, there is a new Special Mode which allows for further adjustment based on the lighting source. As fluorescent and conventional lighting affect video differently, this special mode allows the users to capture video with the most visually pleasing white balance. In addition to manual focus, the new cameras offer two auto-focus settings. Fast auto-focus is preferable under most conditions but a slow auto-focus option is offered to better accommodate high-motion video. Vicon’s SurveyorVFT camera domes continue to offer four on-board transmission options i.e. IP/network, fibre and twisted pair as well as conventional coaxial cable providing real flexibility when designing a CCTV system design using domes. The TCP/IP network module offers direct-to-network, high quality digital video for recording and viewing on any ViconNet workstation or Kollector recording platform.