The nation’s unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.

As companies continue to downsize to stay profitable (or breakeven) this is the perfect time to invest in a Surveillance System.  Less people at work, which means more burden is being put on existing employees and yourself.  Your customers are also probably struggling and are more likely to steal something if the opportunities present themselves.  Don’t forget about your internal customers (your employees), they are getting additional work loads, with probably the same pay!  If you are not rewarding them or showing them appreciation, their morale decreases which makes it more likely for them to steal. 

I can’t think of a better way to keep an eye on your business than being able to watch it while you are traveling from your PDA or Laptop and from home.  Peace of mind can buy you a good night’s sleep!!!

Ryan Temple is the Director of Operations for PCSurveillance.net.  PCSurveillance has been serving integrators and manufacturing customized Surveillance Systems throughout the US since 2002.  You can read more of Ryan’s articles at http://blog.pcsurveillance.net/

·         Almost all products are manufactured overseas! – That’s right Honeywell, Bosch, Pelco and many of the larger companies all have their product manufactured overseas.  Those same companies also sell their products to smaller companies.  If you can find these companies they usually can save you some money because they should have a lower overhead.

·         Technical Support – This aspect is often overlooked!  Customers often only think about the immediate and not the future.  You have to ask yourself, does the company who I am purchasing this product from have technical expertise?  Are they helping me design the Surveillance System that fits my needs or are they just trying to sell me “their” stuff?  Call the company and spend 10-15 minutes talking to the staff

·         Longevity – Make sure you are dealing with a company that has been in business for at least 5 years!  You don’t want to start a large project and find out your supplier is out of business and cannot support your future needs.  

·         Do you manufacturer your own DVR, HVR, or NVR? – This is extremely important!  Who will you call for support?  Do you need to call and talk to another company or do they build their own systems?  The key is to find a company that manufacturers their own Surveillance System, thus allowing you direct access to support and direct help configuring the system

These are just a few quick pointers that you should consider when purchasing Surveillance Equipment.  Good luck with your venture and I wish you the best!

Ryan Temple is the Director of Operations for PCSurveillance.net.  PCSurveillance has been serving integrators and manufacturing customized Surveillance Systems throughout the US since 2002.  You can read more of Ryan’s articles at http://blog.pcsurveillance.net/  Ryan can be contacted directly at ryan@pcsurveillance.net

http://www.pcsurveillance.net/support/index.php?article=2

Using an internal Video Capture Card is inexpensive compared to using an external USB card. Internal Video Capture Cards also offer greater features than their external cousins. Internal video cards plug into a PCI slot in your PC’s motherboard.

For more in depth information regarding choosing a DVR Video Capture Card and the many functions available visit our website at www.pcsurveillance.net or contact us @   330-637-0499   and one of our technicians can walk you choose the right DVR Card for your Surveillance System.  Do you need Cameras, Wire, Power Supplies, and other surveillance equipment?  We can also assist you in purchasing the right equipment for your project.

Ryan Temple is the Director of Operations for PCSurveillance.net.  PCSurveillance has been serving integrators and manufacturing customized Surveillance Systems throughout the US since 2002.  You can read more of Ryan’s articles at http://blog.pcsurveillance.net/  You can email Ryan at ryan@pcsurveillance.net

I agree with Mr. O’Leary on the concept of integrated video surveillance and access control being the future of security.  It’s hard to imagine that in 5 years from now that all video and access control will not be integrated together!  Currently there is only one system that I am familiar with that can fully integrate video surveillance and access control on one platform, in one machine.  The XAD DVR is the only DVR that I am aware of that integrates video surveillance and access control using one software. 

There are many third party solutions that integrate access control and video surveillance; however it leaves the end user with at least two if not three software platforms.  The XAD comes with the following benefits:

XAD- 16 is a Hybrid DVR featuring all aspects of Access Control.  Sharing a common database with Video Surveillance, all access control events / alarms synchronized with video surveillance files.  A Hardware Compressed MPEG-4 Video allows the smallest video file size which can be played back on any video playback software and compatible with ITDC control panels.

It is designed with one thing in mind:  Simple integration and deployment of Access Control and DVR working under ONE-Operating System.

XAD fully supports all makes of PTZ protocols as well as POS.

UL, CE, RoHS Compliance, and FCC approved. One Year Warranty.

Ryan Temple is the Director of Operations for PCSurveillance.net.  PCSurveillance has been serving integrators and manufacturing customized Surveillance Systems throughout the US since 2002.  You can read more of Ryan’s articles at http://blog.pcsurveillance.net/

Video surveillance systems must deliver full-motion video, captured continuously in real time and often employing high-definition frame resolutions. Now the industry is moving toward integrated security products that consolidate operator consoles, digital imaging and video storage into one comprehensive security solution. Such integrated systems will give rise to entirely new usage models in video surveillance, heavily reliant on hard drives to meet the massive storage requirements imposed by network-ready systems that house 24×7 full-motion and high-definition video.

Seagate categorizes integrated digital video surveillance systems as indoor, enterprise, and ruggedized.

Indoor Video Surveillance

The need to safeguard organizational information and property has prompted more effective indoor video surveillance measures.

Enterprise Video Surveillance

Massive amounts of captured video data demand reliable, secure and multi-drive RAID-based storage solutions; here the hard drive’s high-capacity capabilities shine most prominently.

Ruggedized Video Surveillance

Mobile surveillance is rapidly gaining favor with law enforcement and the military, while outdoor surveillance has become increasingly important in safeguarding public and organizational interests. Both utilize ruggedized drives.

Ryan Temple, ryan@pcsurveillance.net

Our Central Monitoring Software provides the end user total management of their video assets.  By allowing our clients to monitor the well being of their video system from one central location.  This system is perfect for large corporations, municipalities, schools, and law enforcement. 

Systems come with the ability to integrate with POS (Point of Sale), ATM, and Access Control (fully integrated, NO third party software).  Looking for verification, our systems are capable of email and phone notifications.    

Companies with similar systems such as Click-It, March, and 3VR are unable to be as cost effective as PCSurveillance!  We deal direct with the overseas manufacturers and assemble the complete DVR, HVR, or NVR solution here in the US.  We deal with companies such as McDonalds, Red Roof Inn, Dunkin Donuts, Caterpillar, Johns Hopkins University, and many others.  Each of these systems is custom made from our clients’ specifications. 

PCSurveillance also offers in house training for all of our corporate purchasers and integrators.  If you are looking to partner with a full service Commercial Surveillance company, you’ve come to the right spot!  To find out more information, contact us at sales@pcsurveillance.net

Ryan Temple, ryan@pcsurveillance.net

·         Will the Camera be used outside or inside?

·         Do you want the Camera to be able to see in the dark (Infrared or LED)?

·         What style of Camera are you looking for (Dome, Bullet, Covert, PTZ, or Board Camera)?

·         What Resolution quality are you looking for (TVL)?

·         What is the distance you want to view, and the width and height of that area?

·         Do you need a Vandal Proof Camera?

·         Is the Camera directly exposed to the elements (does it need a heated exterior housing)?

·         Is your existing wiring 12 Volt or 24 Volt?

·         How far will you have to wire the cameras (RG59 Siamese Coaxial Cable should not be run further than 800’)?

·         Will I be running power over Ethernet (most cameras will not allow this, however more and more IP Cameras are coming with this option)?

·         Wireless (most wireless options have to be “clear line of site” to work)?

·         Are you looking for a Camera with analytics (this will be an IP Camera)?

We often hear our customers say, “I need a Security Camera” and our staff starts down the list of questions above along with many others to find the correct Camera for our customer’s application.  The PCSurveillance.net team is here to help answer your questions.  Our goal is to provide you with clear and concise information to help you make an educated decision.  Our team has years of surveillance experience and our here to help you!

Ryan Temple, ryan@pcsurveillance.net

Are integrators starting to look for more cost effective solutions and better service?  I think so.  Over the last 4-6 months we have been receiving phone calls from integrators who normally use larger CCTV Distributors such as Super Circuits, Northern Video, and Speco contact us looking for products with similar specifications.  Now, these companies are not going out of business, but I think that customers are becoming savy and are seeking out alternative companies that do not have to add in the large overhead expense that the large CCTV Distributors have. 

Where do you think Super Circuits, Northern Video, and Speco get there Surveillance Equipment from?  Again, it’s all coming from Asia (China, Korea, Taiwan, and others).  So they get there products from the same place we do, expect they have their sticker slapped on!  I get one of their fancy magazines each month!  I see their ad’s all over the internet and at the ISC West and ASIS Shows.  Who pays for all of that advertising?  Every integrator that purchases product from them pays 10-20% more than they would through smaller distributors.  Do these companies offer better resources?  There are positives and negatives in dealing with these larger CCTV Distributors.

With smaller quality CCTV Distributors you receive customized service and often direct attention and you become more of a partner than a customer.  Even though companies like Super Circuits, Northern Video and Speco try to accomplish this, it is hard due to their size and the vast amount of customers.  We know our customers by name and understand their business.  They have our cell phone numbers to contact us when there is a problem.  The smaller CCTV Distributors have more of a stake in each of their customer’s, I don’t think the representative at Super Circuits who answers the phone is as concerned about an integrator as we are.

This article is on the behalf of mid-sized CCTV Distributors.

Ryan Temple is the Director of Operations for PCSurveillance.  He can be contacted at ryan@pcsurveillance.net

How do you want your dome cameras installed around the cash register area?  How about the outdoor cameras at the drive thru area and pay window?  Do you want those cameras hooked up to monitors at the pay window and pickup windows to monitor the drive thru line?  What about the ability to log on from home or the main office?  Interested in central monitoring software allowing you to view all of your stores at the same time?  What about an email alert when the first person clocks in and when the last person clocks out?  Yeah, we can do all of that and more!

With our local integrators throughout the US we are able to offer installation services and maintenance when needed.  We have a full time systems engineer and four technicians on hand to custom design your system and offer customized training. 

To learn more contact us at sales@pcsurveillance.net

Ryan Temple, www.pcsurveillance.net

One of these customers has been installing CCTV Surveillance Systems in his restaurant chain for the last two years.  He called up and informed me they had caught one of the employees on tape stealing garbage bags full of food from the freezer!  That’s right we have cameras in the freezer and cooler area to monitor usage.  He went back and reviewed previous video and found the employee was stealing food every two weeks, costing him about $350 per month.  The call was not only to let us know that the CCTV System had worked, but to add additional surveillance cameras to more of his stores (especially in the freezer and cooler)!

An end user customer had also called last week about his CCTV Surveillance System.  He has a single business and was installing the 32 Channel DVR himself using CAT5.  He has a shipping/Dock that receives items in and then ships them right back out.  He said the first evening the system was up and running, they caught an employee at the facility after hours.  After further investigation he was opening certain freight items and taking a few items, hoping no one would notice.  This companies’ main goal was to place cameras at the receiving area to identify freight coming in and going out for their clients.  They wanted video evidence that a package was received, shipped, or damaged.  When there is a dispute, they simply search the DVR and burn a DVD of the event and send it to the customer.  Not your typical Surveillance application, but a very useful one!

These happen to be just two quick examples of what happened this week from our customers at PCSurveillance.  We receive phone calls and emails every week from customers all over the US.  For information on how you can receive a customized CCTV Surveillance System, contact us at sales@pcsurveillance.net

Ryan Temple, www.pcsurveillance.net