New Year.. .new security system?

As 2012 draws to a close and we are on the cusp of 2013, many re-evaluate portions of their lives. Here at HAE, we are always on the look out for new trends in emerging technology and how we can upgrade our customer's systems to make sure they are at the cutting edge of the security industry.

With old favourites from 2012 spanning everything from OnSSi and FeliCa, to the BPT Perla and Lenel, we cannot wait to see what innovations 2013 may bring. HAE are lucky to be part of an ever evolving industry.

Our PES Manager, Izak, and our MD, Robert, will keep HAE current and up to date with the latest security solutions that will last the test of time and our multi-faceted engineering team will keep our maintenance sites and installations running smoothly.

Here is to all of you and we are wishing you a very warm and prosperous 2013!!

HD cameras for the future... make.believe in Sony

Our PES Manager, Izak, discusses his thoughts on HD cameras:

"As with all new technology there are always some sceptics who don’t accept pioneering technology.

I heard about the new HD cameras, but with good IP cameras available at the time, I was not really interested, as proven cameras (like the Sony SNC RX570) had a brilliant zoom and were already outperforming the Coax cameras which currently saturate the market.

As a company, Heston Apex Europe LTD, was chosen to carry out a trial installation of a number of RH-124 Cameras on a stadium.

From the commencement of the installation, it was glaringly clear that this is the new technology for the future of the industry.

On the opening day, with a crowded stadium, it was possible to zoom in and identify people on the opposite side of the field. This enabled the security controllers to monitor any disturbances with ease and be sure that proper identification of the people involved was available.

So why choose the next generation of Sony HD cameras?

1.       Fewer Cameras. With full HD cameras better coverage is provided, with the advantage that identification of individual suspects is still possible. With previous generations of cameras you would need both a static camera and a PTZ camera to zoom in to the specific point of interest to get identifiable images or as alternative a multitude of static cameras zoomed in, which would therefore cover a lot less.

2.       Fewer Monitoring personnel. Fewer cameras also means fewer people are needed to monitor the same area and in tandem with the implementation of DEPA technology found on Sony cameras, intelligent functionality can be utilised on a PC

3.       H264 encoding. With H264 encoding it gives the best use of the bandwidth possible.

4.       High frame rates. With up to 30FPS, a smooth picture is ensured, therefore assuring the consistent capture of movement. This will increase with the newer generation cameras as demonstrated by Sony at IFSEC.

5.       Monitoring in all conditions. The Sony camera ranges have some of the best low light performance around. This includes PTZ cameras and the ER550, as well as the static cameras with additional IR as the DH280 and CH280.  Even in incredibly low levels of light in a server room, I observed a DH140 displaying a clear picture.

Even the best cameras is useless if not correctly set up. The SNC-Toolbox ensures ease of setup with all the cameras and settings available in one place. The cameras now have an easy setup and focus feature that enable the installer to tweak the focus and zoom without the need to sit on ladders with a spot monitor to adjust it."

Lenel Custom Solutions workshop- an engineer abroad

Our PES manager, Izak Potgieter travelled to Rochester in the USA to undertake a course in Lenel Custom Solutions work shop. Check out his blog below- Lenel Custom Solutions Workshop…. An engineer abroad!!!

Lenel Custom Solutions workshop – an engineer abroad

In the last couple of months, since being appointed as PES manager, I have increasingly had to deal with an escalation in complexity and sheer amount of Data Exchanges. With some new projects I have also had to do integration into 3^rd party software and hardware using DataConduIT.

With this in mind I asked to be sent to the annual Lenel Custom Solutions Workshop at the Lenel Headquarters in Rochester NY- which was definitely a challenging experience!

This workshop covered all of the following fields:

·         Database Architecture and links

This sector provided me with some additional insights into the layout of the data in the databases, and as well as supplementary information in regards to the database tables and relevant SQL scripts, links and triggers.

·         Data Exchange.

In the course we did several types of data exports and imports. We did hands on work in class and I definitely learned some new techniques regarding complex Data Exchanges. These will definitely save me a lot of time in the future and also will result in increasingly stable exchanges for more complex projects.

·         Custom Reports

With the use of Crystal Reports, it is possible to write reports that will cover the specific need for any client. With the use of existing templates from Onguard it is a simple case of changing it to fit requirements. This is a massive time saver and increases the simplicity of using the system.

·         DataConduIT

In this section of the course, we covered the basic setup and integration of software with the use of DataConduIT. Included in this coverage was basic fault-finding procedures that will help with all future installations and fault finding.

This was definitely a course that met my preconceived expectations and with the wealth of knowledge I took from it, I will be able to implement it into my work and offer a much better service to our clients.

I also managed to sneak in a bit of sightseeing, and was able to check out New York and Niagra falls- all in all the trip was a great success and I really enjoyed myself!

OnSSI Ocularis

Our PES Manager Izak Potgieter has been working in the security industry for five years. He is extremely well versed in a number of systems and is master certified in Lenel. Izak is HAE's go-to engineer and has allowed us an insight into one of his favourite products:

'After years in the security industry it rarely happens that I stumble upon a product that is so innovative that it amazes me.

When I first heard about OnSSI Ocularis I assumed it would be similar to all of the other products in the field catering for video recording solutions…… but after attending the training I can say that this is truly a high end solution that belongs at the top of the industry.

All the recording is controlled by background services that utilise resourses to the maximum. The user interface is managed with an IIS Web service.

There are several outstanding features: Blank screen monitoring, Push Video, Virtual Matrix and Motion search to name a few. All of these innovations set this apart as a high end solution.

The client software uses multiple screens with full functionality, without any problems and outstanding graphical interface. It also utilizes the GPU (Graphics Card) instead of the CPU to handle the decoding of video for display that is a better and more cost effective way of distributing the processing needs of encoded H264 video streams.

With different Solutions in place from Ocularis PS to ES there will be a solution to fit any given complexity and need.'

Izak Potgieter
PES Manager

To learn more about OnSSI, check out their website: http://www.onssi.com/