Technology & Trends - Telemetry transmitters and controllers

If you’re responsible for a medium or large-sized office, it’s more important than ever that you have access to a means of ensuring people’s safety, managing risks and fraud, and protecting property. Any security system that you employ must therefore meet the most demanding commercial requirements of today’s offices, and tomorrow’s. This means thinking beyond a basic intrusion system and specifying a comprehensive solution that integrates smart features like access...

The term “smart city” gets thrown around a lot nowadays, but as different technologies that strive to be defined in this way are adopted by different countries globally, the meaning of this phrase gets lost in translation. The simplest way to define a “smart city” is that it is an urban area that uses different types of data collecting sensors to manage assets and resources efficiently. One of the most obvious types of “data collecting sensor” is the video ca...

The use of drones has increased dramatically in the last few years. Indeed, by 2021, the FAA says the number of small hobbyist drones in the U.S. will triple to about 3.55 million. With that growth, drone capabilities have increased while costs have decreased. For example, the DJI Phantom 4 can deliver a 2-pound payload to a target with 1.5m accuracy from 20 miles away for the less than $1000.00. This is an unprecedented capability accessible to anyone. This new technology has created an entirel...

Security control rooms should be functional and durable, and their aesthetics should incorporate matching colours that are conducive to a 24/7 operating environment—not too much contrast and easy on the eyes. Another factor driving aesthetics is an enterprise’s desire to create a ‘showpiece’ to demonstrate a commitment to security for shareholders and other stakeholders. “Everyone wants to have a good-looking control room and a cost-effective design,” says Ma...

Today, almost every employee carries with them a smart device that can send messages, capture, and record images and increasingly live-stream video and audio, all appended with accurate location and time stamping data. Provide a way for staff to easily feed data from these devices directly to the control room to report an incident and you have created a new and extremely powerful ‘sensor’, capable of providing accurate, verified, real-time multi-media incident information. You need...

Technology is changing the look and function of today’s security control rooms. Old-school CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitors are giving way to the thinner, flat screen monitors in the control room environment, but the transition is gradual. Randy Smith of Winsted still sees many control rooms that need to make the conversion, which is a boon to his company’s business. Furniture today is designed differently to accommodate the thinner monitors, often with larger screens. Need for inte...

Some end users and integrators are daunted by the idea of designing control rooms, but they shouldn’t be. “It’s not difficult to design because we will help,” says Randy Smith, President of Winsted. “We will walk you through the entire process.” Some control rooms still need storage areas for consoles underneath the workspace; however, when hardware is relocated to a server room, Winsted has modern, streamlined and simplified designs with no doors or storage...

The security market in 2016 saw an uptick in the economy, the introduction of new technologies, increased compliance requirements in key verticals, and rising concerns over the need for greater security. Users interested in upgrading or deploying new systems consistently chose networked system platforms. This trend further drove the demand for adaptive transmission solutions as a means of repurposing existing analogue infrastructure to accommodate IP devices on a networked platform. As this mi...

The use of multiple wires has advantages for network transmission Network connection to a remote device begins by considering the type of cable. In some cases, installed cable may already be present and available for reuse, or you may have the option to install a new cable. Let’s review the major types of cable used for most security applications, their advantages and disadvantages. Types of cables In general, there are four major types of cable. First is coaxial cab...

Just as with network switches, there are no real standards for midspans In general terms, a midspan is a power over Ethernet (PoE) power source that is placed between a network switch and the device being powered, hence the term midspan. The real question is, with almost all network switches providing PoE power, why do we need a midspan? The answer is, in some cases we don’t, but in others we do. As with any other product we have discussed, we need to first consider that...

Since last year there has been a lot of talk with regard IP security cameras with 4K resolution. As with any advancement in video security, this too has come about due to advances in consumer electronics. While being the “latest and greatest,” it still raises questions as to actual, practical everyday usage. What Is 4K Resolution? Let’s start by defining 4K. Back in the day we had HDTV, which in some cases was defined in terms of its resolution of 1920 hor...

According to a recent MarketsandMarkets report, video surveillance storage solutions and services are experiencing a rapid adoption in the industry, estimated to grow 16.3 percent each year until 2018, eventually reaching a market size of $10.41 billion. In addition to the specific image content of surveillance cameras, there are also huge amounts of data surrounding it – everything from the location to the time of day, the duration of the video, and more. And the amount of data in the ima...

Transmission of video and PoE power for IP security cameras over infrastructures can be confusing. Network infrastructures are designed using twisted pair cabling that we refer to as CAT (short for Category) cable, also referred to as UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair). Security systems, coming from an analogue environment, have historically transmitted over coax cable, and with the use adaptors can transmit over CAT cabling, which can be further broken down into single pair twist...

The number-one cause of most power outages in the U.S. is bad weather What does the industry consider to be its most severe threats the U.S. electric grid? There is no shortage of nightmare scenarios. According to the Department of Energy, the number-one cause of most power outages in the U.S. is bad weather, which costs the economy between $18 billion and $33 billion every year in lost output and wages, spoiled inventory, delayed production and damage to grid infrastructure....

Any part of a transmission infrastructure has a dramatic impact on system performance We often view network switches as transparent transmission products. What goes in comes out. In reality, nothing is further from the truth. In this article, Neil Heller - Vice President, Vigitron, Inc. highlights that any part of a transmission infrastructure has a dramatic impact on transmission and, therefore, on system performance. At the very least a network switch can be viewed as a piec...

The solutions offered today in the field of server virtualisation seem to be a natural fit for the evolution of security systems from analogue to IP The video surveillance industry has been transitioning from analogue to IP-based systems over the last several years, and it is clear that this trend will continue. In light of this, it is apparent that taking advantage of the advancements in the IT world for use in security system design is the next logical step. In this article,...

  Bridging the gaps in wired infrastructure with wireless broadband Today, public and urban business organisations have sophisticated geographically dispersed infrastructures, which require centralised supervision and the deployment of global security and surveillance networks. As the necessity for public and personal safety increases, the market and demand for multisite surveillance solutions with rigorous, video-based security standards is growing. One of the most recent...

  Going back to the blueprint - assessing the challenges of designing an IP CCTV The world of IP CCTV design is continuously progressing. Security system designers and installers have to frequently evaluate customers' needs when running an IP-surveillance system on a company's network. It is up to the CCTV sales manager to eradicate any concerns regarding IP-based CCTV systems and look at the requirements of each customer, subsequently offering bespoke networks to suit the...

  Bandwidth is an important consideration for CCTV systems to reach their full potential Most surveillance systems today transmit data over IP networks. As manufacturers continue to improve the capabilities of CCTV systems, the amount of traffic travelling on a network becomes increasingly large. Bandwidth is a key consideration in managing surveillance systems and ensuring their full potential is reached. In this article, Bosch discusses the importance of bandwidth and ho...

   XML, API and web server offer the ability for interoperability between proprietary software Today's facility executive wants to purchase systems and components from various manufacturers and have those components work together as one system. They want "open systems" that allow the manufacturers to offer new features and add value without locking the owner into a single vendor's proprietary protocols. In short, they want Interoperability.Hirsch Electronics...

Can intelligent technology really deliver a high return on investment and what can it offer government and local authorities today? Yvonne Pritchard of Sony Professional Security details the advantages of intelligent solutions within security installations. Surveillance has long been an essential focus for governments and local authorities at all levels, from traffic and hospital  IP security - the intelligent choice monitoring to large-scale security operations for one-off e...