Turn the Holiday Frown Upside Down with Security Cameras

Well believe it or not the fall and winter Holidays are just around the corner and for most people, this reminds them of Family, Friends, Great Food and Gifts Galore. But for others this reminds them of the best opportunity to steal from those overcrowded stores. With some many Holiday Specials and traffic increasing tenfold, the opportunity for theft most certainly increases.

This especially within the retail business, has them ramping up holiday hires in hopes of maintaining the traffic and minimizing the lost inventory. But eyes on the ground can only do so much and many times with the amount of traffic that increase around these holidays it’s not even enough.

So it only makes sense to get ahead of the Black Fridays and Christmas Eve Savings and invest in a security system that will provide the eyes in the air and allow your associates to focus on all the Holiday Shoppers at hand. Many retail stores lose a ton of money on stolen merchandise especially during these holidays, so having Cameras can also work as deterrent and keep those pesky shop lifters at bay.

The Value of Wide Dynamic Range Security Cameras

Wide Dynamic Range is a technology utilized by security cameras in order to balance out images that have a large dynamic range.  An example of this situation would be if an indoor security camera were pointing towards a window or building entrance.  During daytime, the image produced by the camera would be extremely washed out due to the high brightness of the incoming light.  This effect is commonly seen in restaurants, stores, offices, and other buildings that have large windows or entrances.

In order to solve this problem, many security cameras have been using back light compensation, or (BLC), to help compensate for high brightness.  However, Wide Dynamic Range technology has recently become the most popular solution to washed out images.  WDR cameras are fitted with two Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD), one high speed and the other low speed, which are designed to take multiple scans of the same image.  The image processor will then process and combine the two images to provide one clear and balanced image which shows both the indoor and outdoor image clearly.

The prices of WDR security cameras have recently dropped to affordable levels. Several government facilities, banks, and progressive businesses are so convinced about the value of wide dynamic range technology they have incorporated WDR cameras in all of their recent security installations.

Like the early adopters, I’m sold on WDR cameras and they rise to the top of my recommendation list for customers looking to get the best insurance should crime occur.

Call Virtual Surveillance for Security Cameras for sale in Florida at 866-424-9070

New York beefs up World Trade Center site security for September 11th anniversary

“Without question it is a target, because it has tremendous symbolism,” said James Kallstrom, a former top FBI official who headed the New York City office in the 1990s. “Going back and attacking a landmark that was already attacked once is the ultimate challenge.”

The site isn’t the target of a current known plot, but it “remains squarely in the terrorists’ crosshairs,” says Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Fears of a repeated plot against the site years ago resulted in its signature skyscraper being redesigned.

An original plan putting 1 World Trade Center 25 feet off a state highway near the Hudson River raised concerns by the NYPD that it could be vulnerable to car or truck bombs. A redesign moved it farther off the street and incorporated a windowless 200-foot base.

Developers and law enforcement also have grappled with how to best police the anticipated steady flow of tourists, workers and commerce at the site without turning it into an inhospitable, armed camp.

Kallstrom, while the top counterterrorism adviser to former Gov. Gov. George Pataki in the mid-2000s, was an architect of an ambitious security plan for 1 World Trade Center – scheduled to open in 2013 – the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and other office towers and transit at the site.

The measures – combining architectural innovation, hi-tech gadgetry and good old-fashioned manpower provided by the NYPD, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police and private security firms – will make it “a very, very secure site,” Kallstrom said.

Police plan to use a vehicle security centre to screen tour buses, trucks and cars before they enter the site and park or makes deliveries using an underground roadway. Pedestrian traffic, including visitors to the museum, also will be screened before they can enter the central plaza.

Ticketed visitors to the memorial will be funnelled into a security screening room with airport-style metal detectors and X-ray machines. Employees and frequent visitors will be pre-screened so they can bypass regular checkpoints.

The security plan also calls for 400 closed-circuit surveillance cameras in and around the trade centre site. Live feeds will be monitored around the clock at an NYPD command centre located in a private office building near Wall Street.

A computer security camera system in New York uses “video analytic” computer software designed to detect potential threats like unattended bags, and retrieve stored images based on descriptions of terror or other criminal suspects.

Final touches are also being put on another ambitious piece of the plan: Screening every car, truck and other vehicle for radioactive materials – evidence of a possible dirty bomb – and other potential threats as they enter lower Manhattan. To achieve that, police are installing cameras, radiation detectors and license-plate readers at the 16 bridges and four tunnels going in and out of Manhattan.

In addition to NY police, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officers are also on the site; the agency wouldn’t disclose how many for security reasons.

Originally posted on telegraph.co.uk

Halos Are Not Always Good and Holy

When you look at some of Michelangelo’s paintings, some of the people in them have halos above their heads.  We all know that this means that those people are considered holy and good.  But, this is not the case with surveillance.  Sometimes, when viewing video from a night vision camera, halo rings will appear in the video.  If you see these halo rings, it is definitely not a sign of perfection.  It’s also not a ghost, or a UFO, or anything like that.  It’s simply the infrared light from the infrared LEDs reflecting off an object nearby the cameras.  It could be a nearby window or mirror.  The way to fix this is to adjust the cameras where the LEDs are not reflecting off of anything.  This is an important factor to keep in mind when installing infrared cameras.  You want to ensure that you are recording quality videos at all times, especially at night.  God forbid an unfortunate incident happen in front of the cameras at night, and you were not able to see it clearly because of IR reflection.

Dimly Lit or Pitch Black?

Choosing the right camera for your application is critical in terms of video quality and getting the most bang for your buck.  This is especially true when deciding whether to purchase a night vision infrared camera or a camera with a low lux level.

Sometimes an IR camera is not always necessary for a dimly lit environment.  If you find a camera with the right lux level for your lighting conditions, then that could very well be sufficient.  Choosing a low lux camera could save you a lot of money in the long run.

This is especially true if you are looking to install a multiple camera system.   The IR cameras can be much more costly, especially when you include the price of the power supplies that are necessary to power the cameras and its infrared LED’s.

Low lux cameras are also a better option if you do not want the cameras to be totally visible.  At night, the red LED’s can reveal the camera’s existence and location.

Although, night vision cameras may be a little more costly, they are sometimes absolutely necessary.  You have to go with IR illumination if you are installing the cameras in a totally pitch black environment.  Most IR cameras record video at a pretty high resolution, even though the video is in black and white.  As technology advances, the video resolution of IR cameras will increase.

Choosing either a low lux camera or an IR camera is totally at the discretion of the consumer.  Lighting environment and budget are the two key factors in choosing which camera type to install.

Intelligent Video: Analytics

Defining Intelligent Video is rather simple. The reality of intelligent video isn’t so much the intelligence but rather the software used to push higher levels of technology to the edge. A more appropriate term for this would be Analytics. Analyzing the video is actually what the software does.

Video analytics use computers to recognize or identify things of interest without the use of a person to “man the helm.” This software alerts an operator when change occurs and deems to be a more accurate way of observing. A human tends to only be able to effectively observe 8 – 12 cameras for approximately 15 minutes. Analytics never need a break, only power… This makes constant monitoring more accurate and cost effective.

Although computers can be fallible the chance of something being missed is less likely by a CPU than human. The computer still needs human verification to make definitive assessments so eliminating human observation completely is out of the question. That being said, many opinions are that computer monitoring for your surveillance is the best method for continuous surveillance monitoring. Analytics software is what gives the computer the power to do this function.

Every Thing Is Greater In HD

Do you recall the old box set televisions? The picture was in black and white and always seemed very distorted and scratchy. Those days are behind us and we’ve gone from analog signals to completely digital high resolution video with millions of pixels of color.

In the world of surveillance the same kind of transfer is being made between lines of resolution into megapixels. Imagine being able to read a name tag of an employee taking money from the drawer or a license plate from a hundred feet away. Megapixel security cameras are becoming well respected in the security community. However, in certain applications megapixel resolution could be over kill. For example, infrared cameras do not megapixel resolution for standard black and white coverage at night.

A large misconception is that the picture resolution from the camera is going to show its immediate effect on your screen. The problem most people are running into is that they are not matching up their high dollar cameras with the correct monitor. It would be like taking the eyes away from a hawk. Yes, it can still fly, but it won’t be able to hunt accurately. It is always smart to pick a monitor designed with the highest resolution available to match your cameras in order to see the productivity of your megapixel cameras.

Nevertheless it is still the responsibility of the integrator to know the market and technology. When integrators and salesmen ask the right questions, they are able to pair the customer with the right equipment. As discussed, megapixel cameras aren’t beneficial to every situation, but in many cases the sharp detail and high resolution these cameras provide makes megapixel technology perfect for protecting your investments.

Securing the Perimeter

Surveillance begins on the outside. The perimeter of any application is always the key focal point to any solution. The idea is to catch the assailant before he commits the crime. Often time deterrents such as fences, guard dogs, barbed wire and even mine fields are used to keep out unwanted visitors.

Every perimeter solution can be easily monitored. Often times a key factor becomes distance and lighting. It is important to know what lens size to use and which lux level camera will provide the best picture. You may want to use a vari-focal camera that’s a true day night. These cameras have the ability to record at night with the use of built-in infrared LEDs. The advantage of vari-focal lenses with IR is the enhanced ability to adjust the camera to the right distance and view at night.

What often gets overlooked is the need for exterior cameras behind your first line of cameras. An example would be adding cameras that point to the exterior of a building rather than away. One way to achieve this is with a wireless solution. If you are having cameras pointed at different areas towards one another you will gain optimal coverage. In this type solution it’s best that the cameras in the same line of sight allowing the transmitters to transfer data with minimum interference.

Although the goal in securing a perimeter is to stop an intrusion before it happens, this isn’t always possible. Security cameras not only act as a deterrent but also as a witness. In the event that a criminal intends to ignore all reason, you can rest assured that the evidence will be caught by your security camera system.

Why Infrared?

In today’s security market mass demands have increased the use of IR (infrared). Businesses and homes need 24/7 surveillance and infrared is essential to capturing security footage during evening hours. Many security cameras boast low lux ratings, some as low as 0.1 lux. These specifications would suggest that the camera will function in low light conditions or total darkness, however despite the implications some cameras still produce poor quality images. Many manufacturers have included AGC to enable these cameras to better capture images in low-light.

What is AGC? Automatic gain control (AGC) is the function which actually increases the strength in the cameras when placed in low light conditions. AGC actually amplifies the image, increasing the video signal. As AGC is activated image static or noise increases. Eventually AGC will over compensate for the lack of light and result in a grainy or static-covered image. Another unfortunately result of AGC is increased bit rate. These rates can often use more bandwidth than the same image during daytime capture.

The solution, disable the AGC. Although this would reduce the bandwidth used, be aware that without the proper IR illumination, this feature will result in an even lower quality image. In most applications, frame rates and resolution are altered to suit the application requirements. When a security system has limited storage space, often the frame rate is reduced to allow more footage to be recorded. Modifications like these enable the user to get the most out of their equipment and by adding additional IR illuminators you can make your low-light cameras go the extra mile.

IR is a field proven answer for night time surveillance. Even though the requirements for bandwidth and resolution standards may be surprising it’s always smart to carry sufficient space in your network and drive space. This encourages risk managers to consider IR as an effective strategy for reducing storage demands.