Smart R Distribution - Experts & Thought Leaders

Smart R Distribution has appointed Mark Russen as the Business Development Manager for its extensive range of Access Control and Intruder Detection Solutions.   Extensive work experience  Mark Russen, who has worked within the electronic security industry since 1986, is a highly experienced sales professional who has performed senior sales management roles for some of the biggest names within the sector. These include Europlex Technologies, Siemens Security Products, and Vanderbilt, (recently re-branded as Acre Security), where he provided national and international sales support for the distribution channel and key accounts.   Intruder detection “Our sales of access control systems have consistently grown year on year and with the addition of carefully selected Intruder Detection products to our product line the time is now right for us to employ a dedicated Business Development Manager to ensure we continue to offer the highest levels of pre-sales support,” said Neill Williams, Director of Smart R Distribution. He adds, “We are therefore delighted to welcome Mark to our team and we look forward to putting his experience and extensive product knowledge to very good use.” Roles and responsbilites Mark will be responsible for developing relationships with existing and potential customers Mark will be responsible for developing relationships with existing and potential customers in the process. This will help them grow their businesses by identifying new sales opportunities for the Access Control and Intruder Detection solutions supported by Smart R Distribution, including those from manufacturers such as ACT, ACRE, Authenticard, Comelit-PAC, Dahua, Farpointe Data, Fermax, HID, Intratone, Safetrust and STiD.  Advantages of the innovative technology  “I am excited to be joining a distribution company that has such an enviable reputation for its sales, logistical, and technical support,” said Mark Russen. He adds, “I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the company’s ongoing success by helping installers and system integrators ‘put the right pieces together’ and take full advantage of the innovative technology built into the very latest generation of products and systems.”

Brooklands Museum has recently upgraded its CCTV system to a complete IP network video surveillance solution, with cameras supplied by Smart R Distribution and installed by Q7 Integration. High-definition IP solutions  Located in Weybridge, Surrey, Brooklands Museum is on the site of the world’s first purpose-built motor racing track. Visitors to the Museum can get up close to aircraft designed, built, and flown at Brooklands, as well as explore the historic site which is brought to life through interactive collections of motor vehicles and aircraft. “With so many valuable exhibits to protect, as well as a responsibility to ensure the many thousands of visitors who come to Brooklands every year can do so in a safe environment, we decided to replace our old analogue CCTV cameras with high definition IP models which utilise the latest technology,” said Mark Dover, the Museum’s Facilities Manager. 24/7 central monitoring  Museum was provided with the best cameras which included monitoring activity to deter and detect shoplifters Mark Dover adds, “Our security personnel are now able to view 24/7 the superb quality images captured by the cameras on monitors at our central control room.” Chobham-based Q7 Integration, which specialises in delivering turnkey electronic security solutions for its high-end clients, worked closely with Smart R Distribution to ensure Brooklands Museum was provided with the best cameras for the job at hand, which included monitoring activity in the Museum’s retail store to deter and detect shoplifters. Wisenet QND-6082R 2-megapixel dome cameras Among the 14 cameras installed at the Museum are 3 internal Wisenet QND-6082R 2-megapixel dome cameras manufactured by Hanwha Techwin. With built-in IR illumination and a 3.1x motorised varifocal lens, the cameras allow users to zoom in to observe the close-up activity of any suspicious activity. They also feature Hallway View which provides a highly effective way to monitor narrow vertical areas such as corridors and a suite of Intelligent Video Analytics (IVA) that includes defocusing and tampering detection, as well as directional, intrusion, motion, and enter/exit detection. 5-megapixel Wisenet QNO-8080R bullet cameras They benefit from enhanced WDR to produce clear images from scenes containing a mix of bright and dark areas New external 5-megapixel Wisenet QNO-8080R bullet cameras have also been installed. These are similarly equipped with built-in IR illuminators, enabling them to capture very high-quality images regardless of the lighting conditions. They also benefit from enhanced Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), which performs at up to 120dB to produce clear images from scenes containing a challenging mix of bright and dark areas which normally results in over or under-exposed images. Video surveillance solution “We had a limited budget to achieve our objectives and yet did not want to compromise on the quality of the images captured by any new cameras or miss out on taking advantage of the latest technology," said Mark Dover. “With this in mind, Q7 Integration and Smart R combined their expertise to recommend affordable cameras that could deliver the functionality we need. We now have a highly effective video surveillance solution which will be put to good use as we strive at all times to maintain a safe and secure environment for our employees and visitors.”

Simon Shawley, Business Development Manager at Smart R Distribution, explains “How recent advances in video recording technology means that installers can help end-user clients to extend the life of their existing analogue CCTV systems, while enabling them to migrate to a full IP network based video surveillance system, at their own pace.” IP network-based video surveillance solutions offer users significant advantages over traditional analogue CCTV systems. These include the ability to benefit from the latest generation of multi-megapixel and ultra-high definition cameras, as well as the opportunity to monitor and manage the system from anywhere on the network. IP network-based video surveillance For mission-critical applications, IP network-based video surveillance provides a high level of resilience For mission-critical applications, IP network-based video surveillance provides a high level of resilience, as the captured images can be recorded and stored at any location on the network and retrieved via a PC or smart device. However, despite these benefits, it was not that long ago, when security managers agonised over whether they should attempt to persuade their financial masters and IT colleagues, to agree to the replacement of an existing analogue CCTV system with an IP network-based video surveillance solution. Need to deploy IP cameras and recorders The choice was either/or and although there was an understandable inclination to want to deploy cameras and recorders, which capitalise on the very latest technology, there was inevitably budgetary restrictions and ‘don’t even think about it’ resistance from technical colleagues, who were concerned about the impact on the company’s network infrastructure. In 2021, the question is no longer whether or not there is a justifiable need to immediately migrate to video over IP. Users can now choose from a range of fully functional hybrid solutions, which enable them to extend the life and cost-effectively enhance the performance of their existing analogue CCTV systems. This is because hybrid solutions allow users to benefit from the superb quality high definition images captured by IP cameras, without having to move to a complete IP network solution. Hybrid video surveillance For users, who want to immediately benefit from being able to capture and record high definition images, but are not yet ready or able to install an IP-based system, HD analogue cameras, which are able to capture and transmit images, and audio without any latency, at distances up to 500 metres, using standard coax, provide a cost-effective way to upgrade and extend the life of their existing analogue CCTV systems. Users can then migrate to an IP network-based video surveillance solution, at some point in the future and at their own pace. Hybrid XVR recorders Hybrid XVR recording devices, which are also known as Pentabrid video recorders, have been available for some time Hybrid XVR recording devices, which are also known as Pentabrid video recorders, have been available for some time. They facilitate the recording of images, captured by a mix of analogue and IP cameras, and this means that an existing analogue CCTV system can be significantly upgraded, with users able to benefit from the recording of images, which have a resolution of up to 4K. Until recently, the number of channels that could be allocated to IP cameras on a 16 channel machine was typically limited to just 2. The latest generation of hybrid XVR devices, however, now offers a far greater level of flexibility. With the use of a relatively low cost switch, the available number of channels on these NVRs can be configured to meet the users’ immediate needs, e.g. 4 channels allocated to IP cameras and the remainder for analogue cameras, but with the option to change the mix as and when requirements change. Transmission and power Traditionally, analogue cameras and recorders were installed with a coax cable between them, for the purposes of transmitting video data and they required the provision of a local power supply, in order to operate. When IP network-based cameras were first introduced, they worked in the same way, but a subsequent significant technological advance saw the development and introduction of Power over Ethernet (PoE). This allowed electrical power to be supplied via a network switch or a PoE-enabled network video recorder (NVR), and the power could be provided over the same cable carrying the video data. Development of Power over Coax (POC) Further advances in technology then saw the development of Power over Coax (POC), which offered the benefits of PoE, but over coax cabling to HD analogue cameras. It, therefore, became possible to power the cameras directly from an XVR recorder and most impressively, over distances of typically up to 500 metres, with at least one camera/recorder manufacturer able to achieve this over 800 metres. Now, with the latest generation of transmission products available, hybrid solutions are available, where PoE can be provided over coax to IP cameras and so whatever type of cabling is in place, users can benefit from this hybrid joint power and transmission option.  POC Ethernet Extender devices POC Ethernet Extender devices are readily available from distributors, such as Smart R Distribution POC Ethernet Extender devices are readily available from distributors, such as Smart R Distribution, which provide the flexibility to upgrade and/or expand an existing analogue based CCTV system over existing coax, e.g. by adding multiple new IP cameras to take advantage of Deep Learning AI or intelligent video analytics, as well as the cameras’ ability to capture high definition images. They can also be used to provide a data only connection for a myriad of other network devices.  It is worth noting that a 4-channel POC Ethernet Extender can enable the transmission of video and power to 4 cameras over a single cable, which makes it highly cost-effective to expand and upgrade a system, without having to install new network cabling. New surveillance systems based on IP network technology While the majority of new surveillance systems installed in the future are likely to be based on IP network technology, HD analogue cameras combined with XVRs, provide a significant opportunity to upgrade and extend the life of the countless number of existing analogue CCTV systems. However, they also provide a platform to add new IP cameras and other devices as well. The good news is that hybrid video surveillance solutions are very easy to implement, with the added bonus that there is no need to incur the cost and time of installing encoders or converters.