Vista, Europe's premier brand of CCTV equipment, has had its eclipse camera and DVR selected for use in the making of "Inside a Perfect Bank Robbery", a Sky One television program.
The documentary examines how individuals could pull off a daring and flawless heist, exploring the methods employed by raiders in the £53million Tonbridge theft.
The show looks at all aspects of a bank robbery from how the criminals take on such a task to the terrible effect it has it on its victims. The programme not only outlines the methods that police use to catch the criminals, but also shows how banks and vulnerable locations can protect themselves.
Granada Television approached Vista for advice on CCTV solutions and to ask if they could borrow equipment for filming the robbery that was staged for the show. "We initially came to look at more traditional security solutions, but once Vista demonstrated the eclipse we knew it would be perfect for the show," says Ed Sayer, director of ‘Inside a Perfect Bank Robbery'. "We wanted to use the most technologically advanced equipment available, and the Vista eclipse certainly fitted the bill."
The Vista eclipse represents a breakthrough in 360º camera technology that will transform surveillance operations wherever full situational awareness is essential to a successful surveillance operation. The camera captures a single fisheye image that generates two completely independent analogue outputs. Each of these can then display any combination of image view from full 180º panoramic view to up to four virtual cameras (VCAMs), each with independently controllable ‘electronic' Pan Tilt Zoom (ePTZ) functionality.
According to Andrew Pigram, Vista Brand Director: "The eclipse is perfect for environments such as banks where a permanent unrestricted field of view is essential. It is a very discreet installs which is clearly advantageous too. But its advantages extend well beyond panoramic vision. Because of the way the unit is designed and operates, installation and maintenance savings can be made by employing the Vista eclipse's multiple ‘virtual cameras' to replace several conventional fixed and high speed dome cameras. So Vista eclipse should be considered an alternative to some traditional multi-camera installs as well as being an addition to the 360º camera market."