According to Mike Newton – the entrepreneur and CEO presiding over the AD Group of Companies – the core security marketplace is still ‘slow’ in terms of its commercial pace as a result of the economic downturn.
“In previous recessions,” said Newton as we chatted on the AD Group’s stand at the NEC, “only certain facets of the industry have taken a hit. This time around, though, the retail, construction and banking sectors have all been hit at the same time. It’s unprecedented, and has resulted in lots of projects being put on hold.”
Newton also harked back to the “unmitigatingly awful” weather that hit the UK towards the tail end of last year.
“Thankfully,” he added, “transport sector-based work is now picking up, as is the niche project work.”
Newton suggested that, now there’s a more thorough knowledge of where the Government’s spending cuts are really going to bite, more funds are gradually being released for security-related projects. That’s good news.
Impressions of the 2011 exhibition at the NEC
Newton’s colleague Pauline Norstrom – the worldwide director of marketing at the AD Group and current chairman of the BSIA’s CCTV Section – joined us for this exclusive interview at IFSEC 2011.
What are Norstrom’s lasting impressions of the solutions on offer at IFSEC 2011, I wondered?
“I’ve noticed a decreasing level of differentiation this year in terms of the CCTV offerings,” replied Norstrom (a comment echoed by many practitioners, in fact).
Pleasingly, Norstrom added that the AD Group is now beginning to see “good traction” for SD Advanced at the top end of the IP solutions scale when it comes to end user projects, although the norm in terms of bulk work still involves upgrading analogue solutions to hybrid.
Dedicated Micros and AD Network Video – both part of the AD Group of Companies – adopted an innovative approach to exhibiting at IFSEC this year, with the main feature of the stand being an all-new, state-of-the-art articulated demonstration vehicle.
The company made the decision to invest in the new vehicle after the success of it’s Closed IPTV roadshows which ran throughout last winter. Closed IPTV IP video products are installed on the vehicle together with the latest innovations from the AD Group such that they’re at the fingertips of integrators, installers, specifiers and end users in the UK all year round.
Additions to the CamVu IP camera range
New products on show included additions to the CamVu IP camera range, among them the CamVu 720 dome and box cameras which feature “exceptional” low light performance and HD resolution with up to two megapixels of on-board recording to micro SD card.
They also boast transmission on alarm and multiple video streams in MPEG4, JPEG and H.264 simultaneously at different, transcoded resolution and bit rates to meet end user bandwidth requirements while maintaining a differentiated high quality record rate for use as evidence.
Adding to the new HD IP camera products is the new CamVu IP camera with in-camera de-warping, which leverages the inherent de-warping capability of the Group’s ChipWrights ViS combined with the benefit of a five megapixel sensor.
Multiple independent streams are managed seamlessly with no need for special software within the NetVu ObserVer viewing application offering electronic zoom of each view.
Part of the NetVu Connected family of ‘seamless’ video products, images from the camera are recorded and viewed alongside the images of both analogue and IP cameras deployed within the same system.
“The new CamVu IP cameras add to Dedicated Micros’ growing range of easy-to-use IP video products,” stated Norstrom.
HD NetVu Console and the NV8
These include the 2011 IFSEC Security Industry Awards finalist, namely the SD Excel Closed IPTV (the hybrid DVR/NVR capable of recording, streaming and displaying multiple HD IP cameras seamlessly alongside a mix of analogue cameras).
“The HD NetVu Console has been working throughout the show,” outlined Norstrom, “displaying multi-media video content around the stand while providing demonstration points which illustrate the integration of IP and analogue cameras within a single, embedded user interface. That’s a key capability inherent in NetVu Connected products for many years now.”
Offering HD recording and powerful re-display performance, the NV8 joins the DV-IP enterprise server/decoder range, boasting an impressive 300 Mbits of video streaming bandwidth and delivering a flexible configuration solution.
That solution operates as either a real-time HD/hybrid multi-screen decoder for high performance video wall deployment or as a dedicated real-time encoder for recording and transmission of both analogue and HD IP camera images.
Strengthened solutions for the transport and fire protection markets
Continuing its focus on vertical markets, AD Network Video has moved to strengthen it’s fire and transport market solutions with new products on show at IFSEC which meet the specific demands of each sector.
For example, the new FireVu Dome – realised by the AD Group’s D-Tec division and marketed within the AD Network Video portfolio – features video smoke detection and video transmission capability. When combined with the new FV1 annunciator, it provides a solution to the growing problem facing commercial property owners: that of non-emergency response from the fire service.
“FireVu enables RVRCs such as AD Group’s Remguard division and other ARCs with the capability to provide visually verified smoke and fire alarms which fully integrate with the existing fire alarms and building management systems to satisfy the need of fire authorities for visually verified alarms from commercial premises,” enthused Norstrom.
Taking a look at the value-added video solutions available to the transport sector, the AD Group’s TSS division showed the mobile CCTV unit developed for Gloucestershire Constabulary and which featured the award-winning TransVu mobile video recorder in the form of PatrolVu and Dedicated Micros’ Infiniti (the ruggedized PTZ camera complete with integrated IR illumination). Visitors were invited to see how a real mobile police unit operates in practice.
TransVu put to the test at Le Mans
Testing TransVu on the AD Group’s Le Mans Sportscar has played a significant part in making the product robust and reliable in order to meet the demands of the transport sector. Indeed, when combined with vehicle telemetry and telematics data, this solution offers a significant return on investment to the transport operator.
Footage on show at IFSEC included that recorded during the recent crash at Spa Francorchamps. During the crash, in which Mike Newton was involved, the TransVu – which sustained an impact in excess of 40 G at 180 km/h – carried on recording throughout: true testament to the suitability of the product for harsh environments.
Thankfully, Newton sustained only bruising in the accident, but he was clearly suffering at IFSEC. Ever the true professional, though, he never let that show.
For an overview of the AD Group’s contribution to IFSEC 2011 watch the exclusive video below…
