Archive: March 2009
TI wants to make it easier to make DVRs and IP cameras
March 31, 2009Martha Entwistle
Texas Instruments will commodify the industry yet:
The reference designs offer a cost-effective electronic bill of materials (eBOM) at less than $40 for the IP camera and $60 for the DVR, while also including a full complement of analog ICs, ranging from power management to interface devices from TI. This enables customers to quickly create cost-sensitive products such as IP cameras, IP modules for closed-circuit TV cameras, digital video servers (DVS), DVRs and network video recorders (NVR), reducing...
Avigilon: Not just lots of megapixels anymore
March 31, 2009Martha Entwistle
For a while, Avigilon was really only notable for its 12- or 16- or lots of-megapixel cameras and the way its system could actually handle all that data.
Now their software integrates with third-party cameras. This is something they said they'd be doing when I met with them back at ASIS.
Vancouver, BC – March 31, 2009 – Avigilon, today, announced Avigilon Control Center 4.0, the company’s latest version of its award-winning High Definition (HD) surveillance software,...
Report from the PSIA Developers Meeting
March 31, 2009Martha Entwistle
I snuck out of the Honeywell event to hit this first PSIA Developers Meeting, headed up by head David Bunzel, who began the group/is executive director (search PSIA to get all the details on that - no time to link right now). Depending on battery life, I may return to the Honeywell live blog.
1:03 - Bunzel - I came to ISC West in 2006 and I couldn't believe it, it was chaos. Everything was totally proprietary. All these small companies with total solutions, but very small and the industry was very...
Live blogging from Honeywell CSS Dealer Forum
March 31, 2009Martha Entwistle
7:56 - See how early I'm up? First night in Vegas was boring enough (man this city is slow right now) that I'm feeling downright perky here at the Honeywell forum organized for their commercial dealers. Starts in five minutes. I'm not going to be posting a ton, but I'll throw up interesting stuff as it happens.
8:15 - It's a full room in the Bellini ballroom. Joe Sausa and Dave Kaufman, whom I just met and I'm told really developed the commercial integrators group at Honeywell, are about to address...
Follow ISC West action on Twitter
March 31, 2009Martha Entwistle
So, I'll be Twittering from the show floor, along with blogging (why, I'm not sure - see what happens, I guess).
You can follow me at sam_pfeifle.
If you want to follow a lot of Twitterers go to here.
ISC product news
March 30, 2009Martha Entwistle
There's so much product news at ISC it's hard to write much of it up, but if you want to send me a link to a product announcement, I'll post it here through the show and maybe for a few days after, as a general public service.
If it's just in the body of an email or something, though, I'm not going to do the full cut and paste.
Send it along to editor@securitysystemsnews.com. I'll post some stuff that's already come in in a little bit.
And here's some actual product news
March 30, 2009Martha Entwistle
From Speco:
"Why Speco?
Listen Up!
Introducing: H.264 Hybrid Pentaplex DVR
Speco Technologies TH Series DVRs feature advanced H.264 compression as well as IP and analog camera support. The TH series is our most advanced series of embedded digital video recorders yet!
IP Solutions: For any budget! There's live IP camera demonstrations there."
From Samsung Techwin:
Hey, they've got a new megapixel camera.
From Flir:
"NEW PAN/TILT MOUNT FOR FLIR’s LOW-COST SR-SERIES
(Sorry for the shouting....
Another company embraces the Mac
March 27, 2009Martha Entwistle
People may not think of Speco as particularly progressive, but they've just embraced the Mac, which puts them out front in my book. Check it out.
Of course, anything browser-based works on a Mac...
The latest threat to security alarm panels
March 27, 2009Martha Entwistle
Yep, Rasberry crazy ants. They're in the Houston area and they somehow destroy electrical equipment.
I'm scared:
Apparently attracted to electrical equipment, the ants invade by the millions and can shut down anything from computer systems and communications networks to hospital data bases and airport security control panels, he said. Repairs might cost millions.
They're not as bad as the camel spiders, though.
Seven-minute abs...
March 27, 2009Martha Entwistle
Nice presentation by Mike Jagger on marketing for the alarm industry. He's big on quality over quantity, providing exceptional service rather than competing on price (he calls it the race to the bottom). He knows his way around Power Point (or dare I hope, Keynote), too.
The light's a little off, but this is worth watching if you're an independent installer:
Wanna chat with Mike and some other good thinkers in the industry? Finish your Thursday night at ISC at the Treasure Island casino bar....