The digital jump

I’ve been MD of Powersafe since 1986. Since the company’s inception, I have seen the security and CCTV industries develop at an incredible speed, both in terms of technology and the range of applications where CCTV is used.

One of the major changes we have experienced, and survived, is the jump from installing analogue CCTV recording systems to installing digital. Furthermore, we have extended our digital installation capabilities to offer extensive networking services.

In the short term, this transition was not without its fair share of difficulties. However, in the long term, making the change has resulted in profound benefits for the company, our employees and our customers. This fact is reflected across the entire industry in growing numbers of installation businesses.

Since we switched to installing digital systems, our engineers have found they can do a lot more for customers, in a lot less time, with a lot less equipment. This ensures that we are a cost-effective, as well as a high quality, installer.

The jump from analogue to digital is one that all installers will have to make sooner or later. By 2008, it is expected that 95 per cent of CCTV recording solutions will be digital. Over the next four years, there are huge opportunities for installers who wish to ‘go digital’.

Powersafe’s transition to DVR installation is representative of many installers’ experiences. We originally started as an electrical contractor, installing cabling and electrical systems. Soon after this, we began installing CCTV cabling and then camera and recording systems.

In the early days, we didn’t work with any particular manufacturers, but as the market and technology developed we realised the value in becoming an authorised installer.

In 1997, we became an approved Sony installer. Sony quickly started to push for remote viewing capabilities from their installers, but offering remote viewing facilities from analogue CCTV recording solutions was – and is – difficult to do effectively.

In the short term, we took advantage of Sony’s video conferencing equipment to provide end users with what they wanted. This helped us to bridge the gap between analogue and digital.

Our engineers have found they can do a lot more for customers, in a lot less time, with a lot less equipment

Eventually, we realised, as many others have, that the market was changing and, even though we were not one of the bigger companies in the industry which are better positioned to cope with change, we had to bite the digital bullet.

This was no easy move. One of the major issues we faced was with smaller end users, such as small commercial sites and convenience stores, which could not afford to make the transition to digital in one go. These end users wanted to acquire digital equipment piece by piece, which presented problems with compatibility between analogue and digital hardware.

Furthermore, even if we got to the stage where images could be recorded, stored and managed digitally, when it came to submitting the images as evidence, the data had to be changed back to an analogue signal so it could be recorded onto VHS tapes. This interfacing between single channel digital recorders, multiplexers and VCRs was quite a complicated process.

Analogue to digital interfacing was less of a problem for our larger customers, such as Withybush Hospital, who were in a position to make the change from analogue to digital in one installation process.

However, this issue has been resolved for all customers with the introduction of all-in-one DVRs, which are now very competitively priced and allow analogue cameras to be easily incorporated into DVR systems. An example of where this has worked is a chain of Costcutter convenience stores, which is now benefiting from digital CCTV.

Another issue we faced was that the digital systems we were selling had little in common with their analogue counterparts. As a result, we not only had to sell the digital systems, but we had to ensure we could offer training too. Customers could cope with analogue systems that worked like their home video systems, but a step-change in technology required an equally dramatic change in training schemes.

This led us to look for a DVR manufacturer which could provide high quality digital recording solutions and could also offer the back up, training and support that we felt was necessary – both for our customers and ourselves.

For this reason, we chose Andover Controls – which manufactures the Integral range of CCTV recorders. Andover offers comprehensive technical support and training and these have made the transition to digital so much easier for everybody.

Even though we were not one of the bigger companies which are better positioned to cope with change, we had to bite the digital bullet

I mentioned at the beginning of this article that companies sometimes need to take risks in order to thrive. However, there is no point in taking unnecessary risks and working with manufac-turers like Andover significantly reduces any potential problems.

Being an Integral Partner gives us the opportunity to upgrade and reconfigure the DVRs we have installed. This lets us take full ownership of jobs. We don’t rely on a third party for upgrades, service or maintenance. This has benefits both for our customers and for us.

Installing DVRs has halved the engineering costs previously associated with installing an analogue recorder. Being responsible for the total job means we have total control of costs, schedules, response times and a whole host of other factors – meaning the customer gets a first class service from one point of contact: us.

The development of DVRs has not only given end users the opportunity to store, manage and view CCTV images quickly and easily; it has also made the dissemination of those images much easier.

Exported DVR images can be played on any PC and do not require any video playing software. Because of this, Dyfed-Powys Police have been recommending that end users have digital rather than analogue CCTV recording solutions wherever possible.

Digital technology has allowed CCTV systems to reside on computer networks, rather than having separate cabling systems. This affords considerable benefits and can, for example, allow security managers in multinational companies to check on the security situation at any worldwide site via an Internet connection.

However, putting a CCTV system on an existing network means you are encroaching on someone else’s turf – that of the IT managers and network administrators. Quite rightly, IT staff want to protect their networks so systems run smoothly.

All Integral recorders have bandwidth throttling capabilities to ensure that even when large amounts of data are being downloaded, it does not affect the operation of other systems on the network.

Some end users wanted to acquire digital equipment piece by piece, which presented compatibility problems

For example, Pembrokeshire County Council was concerned about the effect that the Integral DVR system would have on its network. However, following an explanation of the bandwidth throttling capability, the IT manager’s fears were allayed and the system now works happily alongside all other systems on the network.

Networking has also allowed our customers to make better use of staff resources. Instead of having a member of staff constantly on reception, anyone at the site can watch what is happening in the reception area by accessing the DVR over the network.

In some cases, this has removed the need for a central control room where all CCTV images are monitored. Essentially, the control room resides on the network and can be accessed from anywhere on that network or over the Internet.

The DVR system we installed at Haverfordwest Airport, for example, resulted in considerable savings – both for the airport and for us. An analogue-style CCTV monitoring room for a site such as an airport would have cost about £80,000, whereas the digital system we installed works on an existing network and PCs at a fraction of the price.

Furthermore, analogue CCTV images would have been transmitted on co-axial cabling or microwave transmitters, both of which are expensive. However, digital images can be sent from cameras to the DVR over existing computer networks. The financial and manpower savings afforded by this are considerable.

The transition from analogue to digital and networking capabilities has been a fairly painless process for us. There have been problems, but without facing and overcoming these issues we would not have grown to be the successful business we now are.

Over the next few years, as fewer analogue systems are produced, economies of scale will be diminished. This will result in analogue systems becoming increasingly expensive.

Therefore, if I could offer one piece of advice to other installers, it would be: ‘go digital’. If you don’t, you will face considerable obstacles in terms of the price and quality offered by your digital competitors, as well as diminishing demand for your analogue expertise from end users.

Powersafe, a NACOSS approved company based in Pembroke Dock and Cardiff, Wales, undertakes the design, supply, installation and maintenance of systems and equipment for retail, commercial, industrial and Government premises. The company also specialises in hazardous areas, such as oil refineries and petrol storage compounds.