Installing security cameras at heights

You just purchased a top of the line security camera system and are installing it at the absolute best vantage points. One problem, a few of those vantage points are 20+ feet up in the air. The pro’s will know when to use a ladder and when to use something safer than a ladder, like a cherry picker or bucket truck. In this post, I’ll look at when you should ditch the ladder for a lanyard and consider the investment in safety.

A friend of mine that’s a doctor once told me that an average person has the same chance of living at falling from any height over 25 feet (I had to ask about extreme sports and how those guys crash motorcycles from 25+ ft all the time with which she noted that those guys “know how to fall”). So, let’s assume you’re going to fall when you install your high-tech security cameras, let’s give you the highest percentage chance of living assuming you don’t have hemophilia. Working at any height over 20 feet will decrease your chance of survival dramatically but heights lower than 20 feet don’t increase as dramatically. I WANT YOU to work at heights under 20 feet.

If you absolutely have to install the system yourself and you have the perfect vantage point at over 20 feet high, consider renting a bucket truck or aerial lift from a local dealership. For a 45′ working height truck, you’re looking at approximately $350 per day. Renting a lift can definitely help you become more cost effective than hiring a professional but be sure to work safely. Something like 28 people die every year from lift truck accidents. There are plenty of safety manuals available on the internet that are free of charge. If you’re operating one of these trucks, be sure to read up.

If you plan to use a ladder at heights, consider using a lanyard. Tie a lanyard to a secure spot near your work site. Using a lanyard is a good way to stay safe if you happen to lose your balance or if the ladder moves.

For more information on installing security cameras, check out these tutorials provided by ApexCCTV.com.

Is it worth it?

How many of us have hired someone to provide a service and they turned out to be less than professional. Or, they had a very professional demeanor and they were very nice but their knowledge was less than satisfactory. At what point do you decide to hire a professional.

If done right, security cameras are not exactly cheap. The equipment cost for a nice 4 Channel IP Security Camera Package could cost around $3,500. Do you want the kid across the street to install this for you, or Johnny One Truck to pull up in his 1980’s van with the tacky curtains over the windows to do the installation?

The industry average is $1,400 per camera installed. So, a four camera system will cost around $5,600. So staying with the nice IP Camera Package we spoke about earlier, it is $2,100 to install that bad boy. Do you need a college degree to install cameras? No. Do you need to know what you are doing? Absolutely! Sometimes these cameras can be very temperamental, or if you hook them up wrong, even the first time, they could be ruined.

Please keep in mind when ordering security cameras and you get the installation price, would you call an electrician to fix the toilet? Would you call a dentist to prescribe you eye glasses? Would you call a carpenter to neuter your dog?  Probably not. Security camera technician have been trained to be just that, be security camera technicians.

The Facts! Quality vs. Price for Security Camera Systems

We have all seen it, every day. When was the last time you were in a store and noticed on the overhead TV that they had you on camera? And on that TV you noticed that the resolution and clarity was so poor that you they could not possibly recognize anyone in the store. So you start staking the place out, looking at what you could get. Or you’re watching the local news and some gas station has caught a robbery on video but the video was so bad you wouldn’t even know if that was your mom robbing the place.

Being in the CCTV industry, we see this all the time. The customer wants the cheapest most affordable camera deal out there. The normal sales person does not want to belittle the customer’s decision, speak poorly about your low end products, or lose the sale, so they make sly comments like: “yeah, that’s a great camera” knowing that they are not going to see much with THAT thing.

Security cameras are not cheap, who thinks that they are? This devise captures video, converts that into a signal, transfers that signal to a “box” that can convert that signal back into video and displays it on a television. But its more than that, in most cases that “box” can convert that video back into a signal, sends that signal to a satellite in outer space, that signal comes back from outer space and down into your cell phone so you can watch your cameras while eating your lunch 100 miles away from the office. Does that sound like something you should be spending $99.95 on?

Let’s be very realistic, what are you trying to watch? Your home? Your business? Your Family? Your employees? These are all things that are very important to you and if something happens, you are going to want to know who, what, where, and how. The average camera installed is about $1,200, so a 4 camera system could cost you almost $5,000.00. Is your family, your business, your home worth that. The fact is you will save 10x’s that by avoiding your first robbery. Last year retail theft was estimated at around $33 billion, that’s a 33 with 9 zeros behind it! After Home Depot added security cameras to their stores, they saved an estimated of $170 thousand PER STORE in products that would have otherwise been stolen. That called a great ROI, Return On Investment. But………. They don’t have $99 camera system.

Keeping Your Privacy

Privacy. We all want it. Celebrities have none. Computers, thanks to viruses and hackers, have even less. Privacy goes hand in hand with safety. It is our safety blanket that allows for us to act uninhibitedly within the confines of it’s embrace. Everyone expects for the home to be a privacy haven. Supplementary items need to be brought into the mix in order to ensure security, which goes hand-in-hand with privacy, such as camera security systems, guard dogs, floodlights, and more. While security cameras and the like offer great protection, it’s important not forget about the fundamentals.

The easiest way of establishing privacy within your home, to shelter your indoor activities from the outside world, can simply be accomplished by investing in window blinds.  Blinds aren’t just for those of us who live on the first floor of buildings, preventing nosey passers-by from peeking into our realms, but also for those who live in larger apartment tenements. Buildings adjacent to one another can make it easy for your neighbors to take a gander across the street, directly into your bedroom, especially with a set of binoculars, or a telescope if they’re fancy. Protect your privacy with a solid set of window blinds, which will not only provide you privacy, but will also keep the sun beams away, for all of you Edward Cullen’s out there.

Make sure to select blinds that fit the contours of the windows they’re covering. If the length and height are too short, areas of the window will be left susceptible to being viewed from outdoors. Also take into consideration the opacity of the blinds. You want to find a balance in light exposure. Blinds that are transparent will serve you no purpose in the attainment of privacy, as everyone will be able to easily see right through them. Opaque blinds are ideal for optimal privacy as they do not allow for any light to penetrate through, which accounts for the lowest visibility through them. The darker and more solid the blind, the better of a selection they are.

Save time and money with a camera security system

If you own a business and need a camera security system that will save you time and money, read this article!  Staffing is the number 1 challenge and cost for any business:  how many people to hire, when to schedule, when to have additional coverage for busy times?  Answer.  A GeoVision DVR camera system.  Not only will it record all the employee activities and provide accurate event records but with the GeoVision Smart Box, a web report will provide graphs and reports of real-time, hourly, daily, monthly and yearly statistics on people traffic and gender and age distribution.  This Geovision option allows accurate forecasting for staffing as well as a look into the demographic that your store is currently marketing too.  Using this data could open the doors to business opportunities.

Size Matters: IP vs Analog

Do you want to see more with less cameras? If so, than IP is the way to go. IP cameras with megapixels will cover more viewing area than a high-resolution analog camera.

A standard high-resolution Analog camera has a 640×480 field of view so it needs to be moved around to see more, which means more cameras. The diagram below gives you a good idea of how many analog cameras you will need to cover this area.

So a good solution is to get one or two IP cameras that has enough resolution or sees a big enough picture to monitor all of this area. This is precisely what IP megapixel cameras allow you to do.

Which Type of Camera Should I Use? Part 2: Bullet Camera

As I mentioned in my previous post, selecting which type of camera to use is often the most confusing part of designing a surveillance system.  In part 1, we discussed how box cameras good for very specific needs because they are customizable.

Bullet cameras are highly versatile in an entirely different way.  The two main differences between a box camera and a bullet style camera are the lens and the housing.

A bullet camera does not have the ability to simply change the lens.  This means one should pay careful attention to size of the lens when selecting a bullet style camera.  Fortunately, many bullet style camera are outfitted with a varifocal lens which allows the camera to be adjusted within a set range.

The housing is also a major difference.  While virtually all box cameras require a housing for outdoor use, many bullet style cameras are designed to be weatherproof.  For this reason, many bullet cameras are more cosmetically appealing for outdoor use than box cameras mounted in housings.

In addition to being weatherproof, many housings will have IR illustrators built in.  This allows the camera to monitor in pitch black conditions without additional accessories.  The two primary advantages to this feature are more simple/straightforward wiring and more cosmetically appealing.

One final feature some bullet style cameras has is called cable management.  This is a mounting bracket that houses the cables, so they are not exposed.  This is particular useful to prevent vandals from cutting the cables.

While the lens choices available for a bullet camera may not be as flexible as a box camera, the ease of install and flexibility of the housings make bullet cameras a staple security camera for most surveillance systems.

Security Cameras & CCTV Practices – Jan 5, 2010 – 3rd Ed.

Online Tutorial Videos Make CCTV Easier

So you want to know how to install your surveillance camera in outdoor housing or how to calculate the hard drive space in GeoVision’s Software?  Take a look around YouTube or any other video sharing Web site and you can find the answer to almost any question you have regarding video surveillance.  Online video tutorials are a fast and easy way to learn about all things CCTV.

Video sharing Web sites such as YouTube and Vimeo have made it easier for people involved in the surveillance industry to share their knowledge.

With these videos you can see the step-by-step process in action and fully understand what is being done.  Videos make it easier to see each component or connection that is discussed.

Here are some good channels to check out on YouTube with tutorials covering a wide variety of CCTV topics:

http://www.youtube.com/user/apexcctv

http://www.youtube.com/user/ipvideomarketinfo

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