Security and Cameras

Detailed reviews of surveillance products, articles designed for the surveillance professional and news on the latest name brand products from companies such as Samsung GVI and ICRealtime

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Update from Susan Marlowe CPA

3/26/2012

In Corpus Christi, TX, an apparent hoarder abandoned a pack of chihuahuas. The dogs have been roaming the neighborhood chasing cars and killing other pets. The local animal control has captured some of the chihuahuas but the dogs will likely be euthanize if the owner is not found.

So, these dogs will either be returned to a possible hoarder or they will be put down. This is just another example of the tragedy of animal hoarding. In the end, it is always the animal that pays.

Here is the original story

Please report all suspected hoarders to the proper authorities. Thanks to my helpers Charles & Kimi Peck for aiding me in putting together this site. Thanks from Susan Marlowe CPA!

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Security and Cameras is an online magazine for security and surveillance professionals. We are dedicated to offering the best information on the latest developements in the world of surveillance. Our articles and reviews are written by surveillance professionals.

Top security dealers, who focus on surveillance and integration, have never had a good website that covers topics important to them and their requirements. If we look at most publications in the security and camera world the average user will find either large print magazines filled with abundant ads with little content, or reams of industry noise about executive hires and fires. Perhaps these security magazines will throw in a single case study about some insanely large project with a stratospheric budget. Our new website is an attempt to change the current deficiencies and give security dealers and integrators a place to find out about relevant real-world products and information.

The staff is made up of seasoned industry veterans that have worked in the trenches and know that you don't have time to wade through loads of text. No matter what your focus, IP cameras, analog cameras, HD-SDI, or digital video recorders, our goal is to bring you relevant well updated stories covering helpful and need-to-know information.

We are looking for feedback from our readership. If you have an idea or want to write a story, we look forward to helping you get the word out. We know you have a passion about cameras and security and so do we. Email me editor at securityandcameras.com and let me know if there is a topic or product that interest you.

We look forward to enriching the security industry and serving top security doers. Let's kick this new year off with some great content and talk about the amazing products coming out each day.

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A review of three types of hidden cameras from IC Realtime

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Beware: Not all Video Surveillance is Created Equal

It seems like an easy concept to understand, but no matter where my customers live they all seem to struggle a bit with the notion that all video surveillance is not created equal.

They ask me, "isn't a camera a camera?"

This questions reminds me of when was explaining to a customer why various security dealers and installer sell a huge array sub-standard equipment. I explained that buying video surveillance is a lot like buying a diamond, unless you are a professional or an expert it's hard to understand the subtleties of each item and the level of performance it is capable of delivering.

Unfortunately, from cameras to computers a lot of companies who sell surveillance equipment are pushing outdated technologies to their customers. After all, you would not willingly buy a three year old Windows computer from Dell if you can buy a brand new one for the same price? It is sad to say but many surveillance dealers push outdated technologies because they pick them up on close out cheaply and turn around and sell them to you. In contrast, dealers like me only sell the latest technologies even though I end up making less money.Not all surveillance equipment is created equal.

Statistics show that 80% of surveillance video is useless. Wow, that seems like a high percentage, but it is true. Most cameras and recorders are bought on the cheap and installed by non-professionals. It is no wonder then that most video is useless as far as the police are concerned and end up serving no purpose.

I would also recommend staying away from trying to turn a PC into a surveillance recorder device. It is similar to turning a Toyota Camry into Tractor. It will end up neither being a very good car or a very good tractor. PCs require a ton of maintenance and expertise to keep running properly and vulnerable to viruses, spyware, and trojans.

If you need a specialized machine to do a specific job, get the right machine from the start. Swiss Army knives are useful tools, but I wouldn’t want to gut and skin a deer with it.

Brian Levy

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Planning a Surveillance System: Ensuring Maximum Prosecution

The British organization, the Association of Police Officers (ACPO), estimates that 80% of supplies surveillance footage is not usable by law enforcement. Why? Poor Cameras are certainly part of the problem but another important issue is lack of a good surveillance plan and the inability to record and export high quality surveillance footage.

Let’s start with the first problem. We have already written articles about the importance of using professional-grade cameras and why camera/DVR kits from big box retailers are not the great deal that they seem to be. There is another problem with do-it-yourself surveillance: lack of exert advice on camera placement.

When a professional surveillance company is called in by a client, they analyze the client’s needs and carefully plan the placement of each camera. This is especially important in the client is working with a tight budget and can only afford a few cameras. Camera placement is as important as camera selection but it is something that comes from experience and technical skill; it doesn’t come packed in a box from a superstore.

The next issue with footage is the inability to record quality footage. A client’s cameras are only as good as the DVR recording the footage. The cameras can be high-end and catch every second of an event but this is useless if there isn’t a DVR capable of recording the footage at that same high quality.A surveillance professional can tell where the cameras should be placed, if hidden cameras should be used and will advise the client on how to get the most out of their new surveillance system.

This is another aspect where the surveillance professional comes to the rescue. A professional surveillance consultant can match up cameras to DVR, as well as training the client so that they are able to call back important footage and export it in a portable format, such as CD-ROM or DVD.

Check out our other articles on how much a surveillance system should cost and whether fake cameras will save the client money.

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How good should your surveillance footage be? Just what do we mean by “Prosecutable Imagery”? Will discount surveillance systems work for you?

If you have been a regular reader of this website, you will see the phrase “prosecutable imagery” crop up again and again. Just what does this phrase mean? Isn’t any surveillance footage a good thing? Brand X cameras may not be perfect but they get the job done, right?

Wrong! You see, quality security camera footage is a key component is finding the bad guys and making sure that they are prosecuted for their crimes.

Let’s say that you have a retail store and are using a camera and DVR set from a big box retailer. The worst case scenario occurs and the store is robbed after closing hours. In this case, surveillance footage is the best evidence you have to find and prosecute the robbers.

I think we are all familiar with the cliched surveillance crime footage. The jerky images, those grey blobs that are supposed to be the prime suspect... And this, in a nutshell, is the problem with choosing the cheapest cameras on the market: The footage that you get is so poor there is almost no point in having cameras at all.

Now let's compare the footage from a higher quality camera. In this article, we will be showing the IC Realtime Super Night Vision Outdoor AF 22X Zoom Camera. This is a nighttime shot.

In the end, this is what we mean when we write about prosecutable imagery. Footage that is good enough for the identification of suspects and their vehicles.Now, compare that to jittery footage that we see on the evening news. I think it's pretty obvious which surveillance footage will nab the suspects.

In order to ensure high quality surveillance footage, it is important to remember that the cameras must have at least 500 lines of resolution. Also, the surveillance system DVR must be able to record at that quality level. It won't do your client any good to have high quality cameras if the DVR is unable to record the footage at the highest quality as well.

In order to ensure the best image quality possible, it is essential to make sure that you select the right camera for your client's needs.

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Everything You Wanted to Know about Installing Surveillance Cameras that Get Results PART TWO

In Part One of this series, we discussed camera selection and resolution.

At this point it might make sense to start talking about the different type of sensors, how CCD sensors and are most prominent imaging sensors found in most security cameras and how they are different from CMOS sensors, but wait, this discussion might just start putting you to sleep and that is not my goal.

So we are going to move on to some more core factors relating to video quality which will greatly help you identify the right camera for the job. Perhaps at some later time we will talk about how CCD sensors are better for night vision than CMOS, and why CMOS is the most prominent sensor in Internet Protocol based cameras a topic we will get into shortly.

Considering our current predicament of living on a planet that rotates once every twenty four hours, we need to talk about night time imaging via security cameras since we spend a good portion of lives in the dark. The ability to see in low light (or no light) is an important factor to consider when looking at both indoor and outdoor cameras. Actually, now that I have brought up indoor vs. outdoor cameras I could venture into a discussion of the difference, but that will have to wait a bit because we need to first talk about night viewing.

Each camera’s sensor has a lot to do with its ability to see in low light. If the sensor is not sensitive enough, you just can’t see very well at night. As you probably know, the camera sensor is a lot like the rods and cones in the back of your eye which give you the ability to see at night. Not all camera sensors are equal, and many sensors are terrible at night vision.

The ability to see in low light (or no light) is an important factor to consider when looking at both indoor and outdoor cameras.

This brings to mind those retail outlet style cameras with their poor night vision quality and a story about a silly conversation I had once with a customer. It turns out that contrary to my polite and unselfish explanation as to why she ought to stay away from retail style cameras, she went out and bought a retail surveillance system for her store. One day when she had me over to do some networking work on her Internet router (this had to do with getting her DVR on the Internet) she sheepishly complained about the night vision quality of her inexpensive retail cameras and how little she could see with them at night. I turned to her and said in the nicest way possible,” you need to spend more money for good night vision.” She responded,” I would never spend over $200 on a camera!”

The facts are that I never brought up the amount she needed to spend, because it would certainly be a bit more for good night vision. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that an effective night vision camera can run around $300-$500 per camera. I didn’t have the heart to tell her she was cheap and short sighted and that her store was an easy target for some neighborhood criminal looking for a quick score. So I kept my information to myself, since her ears were obviously filled with some kind of thick and oozing wax. I came to this conclusion since she didn’t hear me originally when I told her retail store camera systems were a waste of money and would never give her quality or prosecutable imagery.

I’m going to now get slightly technical on you and talk about light sensitivity measurements, but don’t worry, just pay attention to the next few sentences and you’ll be able to know what kind of numbers will give you effective night vision even if you don’t follow me completely. I’m not trying to hurt you, but we need to address some numeric values and it will be helpful enough and necessary. Take a deep breath and steel yourself.

When we look at night vision sensitivity it is measured in numbers like .0002 or .1 or .001 lux. The more zeros before the number and after the decimal the better. So if you have to choose between a camera with a light rating of .2 lux or a camera with .0002 lux, which one is better? That’s right, the .0002 lux rating. Actually, it’s much better. Now that wasn’t too hard was it? Just remember, the more sensitive the camera, the more zeros will appear after the decimal.

Be sure to check back for Part Three of this continuing series.

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Everything You Wanted to Know about Installing Surveillance Cameras that Get Results PART ONE

There are so many security camera manufactures putting out a dizzying array of products that its hard even for experts to understand when to use the right camera for the correct application. This is the reason I have decided to start this guide and which can help anyone from an old analog camera pro up to a seasoned Internet camera jockey. We will talk about the difference between domes and bullets, and cover the total spectrum of add-ons and features with fancy names like WDR, OSD, Infrared, and even the word subnet.

When I get called into a new client and they take me into an old closet or a new data center and show me their security camera setup, I look in wonder at the sloppiness and lack of professionalism of the installation. Usually I find large messes of wires entangled in bundles, cheap BNC connectors coming apart with their coax braids peeping out, and the wrong cameras strung up with what only seems to be lack of enthusiasm for what they were doing.

When we talk about “results” I am referring to the ability to record detail, color, distinguishing characteristics that can lead to the prosecution of said criminals crossing by the CCD (or CMOS) sensor of your security camera and give law enforcement the ability to get their man or woman depending on the location. Crime is an equal opportunity business that does not always favor the sex or race of a person. It doesn’t matter if you work for retail outlets or wind farms, there are always vandals, thieves, and troublemakers about looking to hone in on an angle and get what’s not coming to them.I’m not going to get into a discussion on large consumer chain camera products sold to worried home owners who have a false sense of security buying a “package” DVR and camera bundle. I’m not going to explain how these packaged products are made with only the cheapest of components and are engineered to show the owner only that there may be a human being in the area of their camera, and that it cannot display any level of picture detail due to poor resolution. This guide is not for homeowners or consumers; it is for integrators and dealers. If there is a homeowner out there in the audience who would like to learn something substantial about security video technologies and they have the muster to continue reading, I guess there is no harm in it as long as they realize that this article is those individuals that are looking to put together an effective surveillance systems that can get results.

Please do not be fooled into thinking your employees are angels sent from heaven without temptation or guile. A recent University of Florida study found that 59% of business crime is done by employees of the firm. It’s trouble from the inside that is more likely to bite you. So let’s open our eyes, take off our rose colored glasses and get down to facts.

Camera resolution is a really important factor in selecting a camera. It’s hardly the whole picture, and there are a lot of other factors to consider, but it is a good place to start. Camera resolution refers to the number of pixels (dots) that make up the camera image and the more pixels the better the picture is going to be on the screen. It’s a basic rule when it comes to cameras, the more dots the more detail your image is going to have. If you open a security product catalog and look at the large array of cameras offered, you will see camera resolutions running the gamut from 300 TVL to 600 TVL or more. Most retail store outlets sell cameras in the 300 or 400 line arena due to their low cost and their ability to bet that most consumers will never know the difference between a low quality picture and a good quality picture. Most professionals, of course depending on their customer base, will use 500 TVL and up since it can deliver clear and detailed images that can be used effectively in a court of law. I know, this is a complex topic and resolution is hardly the end all be all of camera features, but it is a darn good starting point. At the time of the writing of this article in January 2012, most cameras being sold professionally are in the 600 TVL range. I am not going to get into the details of TVL yet, or maybe ever, since I need to get in as much information as possible and I am not trying to make you an engineer, just a good security video integrator.

In part two of this series, we will discuss video quality in surveillance footage.

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Do Fake Surveillance Cameras Work? Are they for you?

Let's start with the facts: Quality surveillance systems can be quite an investment for a small business or home owner. However, there is a tempting way for potential clients to save money. Fake cameras are cheap, easy to install and they can look impressive to the untrained eye. Are they a viable option for your client? No, and let me explain why.

One of the main arguments in favor of fake cameras is that surveillance cameras are mainly there for prevention of crime. In theory, fake cameras should be just as effective as the real ones.

A real surveillance system means that the client is able to determine if something untoward has taken place, offer prosecutable images to law enforcement and have a real record of any criminal activity in their home or business.

The first major flaw with this argument is that a surveillance system is not just about prevention. It is about prosecution if a crime does occur. Prevention is great but when push comes to shove, the fake cameras are not going to be there for your client. I like to compare it to buying car insurance. Sure, buying cheap, barebones insurance will save money in the short term but what if there is an accident? Too bad. Installing fake cameras means that the client is betting on no crime ever occuring in their home or business.

The second flaw in the prevention argument is that fake cameras can look, well, fake. To the home owner or business owner they may look pretty good. To the trained eye of a security professional and, sadly, some criminals, the dummy cameras are painfully obvious.

In many cases, fake cameras are really nothing more than a placebo for the business owner. I am reminded of an acquaintance who was the owner of a small retail business. Inventory shrink was a problem since she sold many small, expensive items. To prevent shoplifting, she installed some dummy cameras and put the more expensive items in a locked display case. The expensive items in the case were safe but the rest of the items in the store continued to be stolen at the same rate as before. However, the business owner bragged about how effective her dummy cameras were because her most expensive items were untouched. The locked display case, by the way, was given no credit at all.

Of course, I realize that cameras from name brand companies like IC Realtime cost a bit more than their ersatz cousins. However, a real surveillance system also means that the client is able to determine if something untoward has taken place, offer prosecutable images to law enforcement and have a real record of any criminal activity in their home or business.

I wish I could say that there was a bargain basement answer to surveillance systems. The simple fact is you get what you pay for. Check out our article on how much a surveillance system should cost. And always remember that the real thing is always the best choice.

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Many security camera installers fear having to mount cameras which face a window or door. Doors and windows present a special problem because they allow large amounts of light into rooms which overpower camera sensors. Every time I speak to a new client they tell me that "they were told" cameras cannot face doors or windows.

Now we security people know the value inherent in having a camera facing a main entry door or an important window for a department or jewelry store. If we have to keep each camera facing in the "wrong direction" so to speak it is extremely limiting in regards to a security system's efficacy. I know I want to see who is entering a room or building, and getting the back of their head just won't cut the professional mustard.

As a matter of practice I no longer use any indoor dome or box camera unless it is a WDR based camera system since I cannot afford to suffer from poor image quality in my projects. I have used the ICRealtime EL-411 Pixim extensively on my projects and they have performed beyond my initial expectations. Imagine the ability to grab faces no matter the existing or changing lighting and not having to worry about someone opening a shade on a sunny day and your camera images going to hell in a hand basket.In answer to this frustrating problem is a sophisticated and effective new technology known as Wide Dynamic Range or WDR. Wide Dynamic Range technology allows camera sensors to take a high shutter speed image of a very well lit area like a doorway, and a regular or slow shutter speed image of a shaded or dark area and combine them together for an amazingly well constructed image made up of the two shots. In fact, you end up seeing both the light and dark area as if they were taken at the same shutter speed.

The EL-411 Pixim Camera incorporates an Intelligent CDS sensor and mechanical day/night dual filter system for sensitivity to Infrared light when night vision is essential to your job. The filter accurately switches on and off changing images from colour to black and white at light illumination of 5 lux. and has an external IR illumination switch for the addition of extra IR illumination. The camera comes in a 540 TVL model, but can be purchased in a number of configurations which include an indoor dome version called the EL-400 and vandal proof dome called the EL-420.

With CCTV technology moving as fast as it is, don't get left behind thinking you need to keep your cameras in steady lighting. With WDR sensors, a new world of imaging is opening up and your possibilities are greatly increased. In the end, this technology will lead to more effective security, happier customers, and amazing picture quality.

Brian Levy

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Security and Cameras Reviews the ICRealtime EL411PIXIM

Many security camera installers fear having to mount cameras which face a window or door. Doors and windows present a special problem because they allow large amounts of light into rooms which overpower camera sensors. Every time I speak to a new client they tell me that "they were told" cameras cannot face doors or windows.

Now we security people know the value inherent in having a camera facing a main entry door or an important window for a department or jewelry store. If we have to keep each camera facing in the "wrong direction" so to speak it is extremely limiting in regards to a security system's efficacy. I know I want to see who is entering a room or building, and getting the back of their head just won't cut the professional mustard.

In answer to this frustrating problem is a sophisticated and effective new technology known as Wide Dynamic Range or WDR. Wide Dynamic Range technology allows camera sensors to take a high shutter speed image of a very well lit area like a doorway, and a regular or slow shutter speed image of a shaded or dark area and combine them together for an amazingly well constructed image made up of the two shots. In fact, you end up seeing both the light and dark area as if they were taken at the same shutter speed.

As a matter of practice I no longer use any indoor dome or box camera unless it is a WDR based camera system since I cannot afford to suffer from poor image quality in my projects. I have used the ICRealtime EL-411 Pixim extensively on my projects and they have performed beyond my initial expectations. Imagine the ability to grab faces no matter the existing or changing lighting and not having to worry about someone opening a shade on a sunny day and your camera images going to hell in a hand basket.

The EL-411 Pixim Camera incorporates an Intelligent CDS sensor and mechanical day/night dual filter system for sensitivity to Infrared light when night vision is essential to your job. The filter accurately switches on and off changing images from colour to black and white at light illumination of 5 lux. and has an external IR illumination switch for the addition of extra IR illumination. The camera comes in a 540 TVL model, but can be purchased in a number of configurations which include an indoor dome version called the EL-400 and vandal proof dome called the EL-420.

With CCTV technology moving as fast as it is, don't get left behind thinking you need to keep your cameras in steady lighting. With WDR sensors, a new world of imaging is opening up and your possibilities are greatly increased. In the end, this technology will lead to more effective security, happier customers, and amazing picture quality.

Brian Levy

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