Currently only available for the iPhone, and only for use with a single webcam camera but it might be just what you are looking for, and you don’t get better value than free!!

Surveillance webcam app for iPhone

There’s some interesting blog dialogue flaring-up in the VOIP world which hypothesises that VOIP is dead - 2008: The Year That VOIP Died

Of course they are not really reporting the end of the use of VOIP, quite the opposite in fact - the use of IP networks for voice telephony has become merely plumbing.

There is no killer benefit to VOIP.

Ordinary telecoms costs are cheap enough.

VOIP has become fairly mainstream and boring, and therefore barely worth further discussion.

There’s some talk of High Definition telephony (HD VOIP) bringing a renaissance, but who ever finished a phone conversation and thought I really must upgrade this handset to the latest Bose unit so that my chums sound better!?!?!?

As you read the blogs from these VOIP gurus you have to wonder at the similarities, and might VOIP be a predictor of the future of IP CCTV:

• VOIP was special
• VOIP was the future
• Dedicated exhibitions and conferences were created
• Some manufacturers didn’t get it
• Some mainstream manufacturers broadened their hardware product range
• Some focused on the software
• Maybe there were more providers than there was demand?
• Pure play companies are struggling
• Some companies fell by the wayside

This summary - 10 points about the death of VOIP - gives a neat overview.

Another interesting article introduces the Internet Communications Continuum - I’ve never heard it called this before, but it is this thing, this continually evolving connectivity of the cloud that is the vital wave to ride!

We’re in a recession, and a lot of folk are losing their jobs.

Those people are looking around for a new career, perhaps in a technology with a future …

They see upcoming major projects such as the 2012 London Olympics creating a great demand for CCTV and other security services.

They are looking to re-train and to pick up new skills, seeking courses to attend which will provide them with the new skills they seek.

Some are in the market for a career change into a new and more interesting field of work associated with developing technologies such as IP CCTV.

Common questions include:

• Where can I attend a CCTV training course?
• How much does it cost?
• What previous experience or qualifications will I need?
• What will employers expect?
• Are there any jobs?
• Where are vacancies advertised?
• How can I start my own CCTV company?

We have a great deal of experience in the UK CCTV market, please feel free to Contact Us and we’ll gladly provide you with some pointers to guide you in the right direction in these difficult and changing times.

CCTV cameras have proved as vital to Scotland Yard detectives as forensic evidence such as DNA samples or fingerprints.

Commander Simon Foy, Scotland Yard’s head of homicide, said:

CCTV plays a huge role in helping us investigate serious crime. I hope people can understand how important it is to our success in catching people who commit murder.

Will the results of this study by the Met Police bring an end to the “Is CCTV worthwhile?” debate?

Good to see my favourite ‘CCTV Facts’ quoted again - 4.2 million cameras, people in London are filmed up to 300 times a day - I first put those on a web page about 5 years ago and frequently received calls from the media …

Read the full story about this first study into the effectiveness of surveillance cameras in helping UK Police solve crimes over at The Daily Telegraph website.

There wasn’t much doubt about the efficacy of UK CCTV in the aftermath of the London Bombings; the UK Police were able to establish so much factual information so quickly that some other european countries quickly set about changing their laws so that they could install similar systems …

Ideal for a bit of light reading in that quiet period between Christmas and New Year.

From the Introduction:

The move to open video systems—combined with the benefits of networking, digital
imaging, and camera intelligence—constitutes a far more effective means of security
surveillance and remote monitoring than has ever been reached before. Network video
provides everything that analog video offers, plus a wide range of innovative functions
and features that are only possible with digital technology.
Before setting up your own system, you need to consider what features are required.
It is equally important to consider factors such as performance, interoperability,
scalability, flexibility and future-proof functionality. This guide will walk you through
these factors, helping you to achieve a solution that fully takes advantage of the
potential of network video technology.

Feel free to ask any IP CCTV queries at our IP CCTV forum.

You might like to subscribe to this blog in an RSS reader (top right of our IP CCTV blog home page).

We’d be delighted to have you sign-up for our email newsletter and allow us to keep you informed of the latest developments in this fast-moving sector.

Or feel free to Contact Us for any other help or information.

It’s Christmas Eve and there’s only one high-tec camera worth checking today.

NORAD the North American Air Defence service musters all their technical know-how and electronic wizardry in an attempt to Track Santa.

Will they manage to capture HD video evidence of Father Christmas and his reindeers in full flight this Christmas!?!?!

Click the image to learn all about Santa’s sleigh!!

A Merry Christmas to one and all …

They’ve built a rockin’ promo website to launch this new IP CCTV camera (switch your speakers on!).

It’s got a great specification, including:

• 4 megapixel camera
• built-in 10X optical zoom lens with auto-focus
• 16X digital zoom in addition to the optical zoom
• Day/Night capability with IR cut-filter
• Dual stream H.264 and JPEG
• POE (Power Over Ethernet) ready
• SD memory card slot for video storage at the camera
• USB port for direct attached USB HDD
• HDMI port

We’ll be adding this new camera to our webshop early in the New Year, if you can’t wait until then just get in touch …

You can add comments to this blog Post below.

Feel free to ask any IP CCTV queries at our IP CCTV forum.

You might like to subscibe to this blog in an RSS reader (top right of our IP CCTV blog home page).

We’d be delighted to have you sign-up for our email newsletter and allow us to keep you informed of the latest developments in this fast-moving sector.

Or feel free to Contact Us for any other help or information.

Of course IP is only 5% of the CCTV Market.

Can that really be so?

If you take a look at our IP CCTV Facts page you’ll see that it’s being adopted by some fairly serious end-users, and used in some fairly big system applications.

You have to wonder whether stats such as these, once created, simply get trotted-out ad infinitum:

• 4million CCTV cameras in the UK
• one camera for every 14 people
• you’ll be caught on CCTV 300 times a day

These numbers have been quoted for about the past five years now!

Who is counting?

How?

ACTi have recently upgraded their free NVR software application.

The NVR 2.2 is the first FREE 64-channel management software supporting MJPEG, MPEG4 and the most efficient compression standard - H.264.

NVR 2.2 supports ACTi’s full product range of IP cameras and video servers; Box, Bullet, Fixed Dome, PTZ and Speed Domes. All resolutions from VGA up to Megapixel are supported.

Additionally, users can select real-time live view monitoring, recording and playback with simultaneous 64-channel window display. With the enhancement of overall control management, NVR 2.2 empowers users a smooth and fast operating speed while processing multiple tasks at the same time.

ACTi is the only IP camera manufacturer offering FREE “server-client” software with streaming engine. Our complete unified solution includes a full line of hardware devices and management software that enables customers to easily enjoy anytime/anywhere video monitoring without any extra licensing costs or maintenance fees.

Other key feature enhancements along with the formal release of NVR 2.2 are highlighted as the followings.

· Auto Upgrade

· Supports New OS

· Supports ACTi New Products

· Enhanced Playback Speed Control

· Event ID Supported

· AccessKey to Maintain Image Aspect Ratio

· Export Video in AVI format or JPEG Files

· Enhanced Digital Zoom Operation

NB ACTi’s NVR software is currently only compatible with their own brand of network cameras and servers.

They can transmit the 3D video to the home via their current HD set top boxes.

You’ll need a 3D TV (currently about £2,000) and will still need to wear 3D glasses for the time being.

It’s another interesting milestone in technology development - there’s a good video explaining how the technology works over on the SKY website. Interesting to watch it and see how they use dual camera rigs to capture two views from a similar distance apart as your eyes.

I can’t see that it’s really got any advantages beyond HD for CCTV, but who knows, maybe in the future we’ll be able to see the thief’s hand reaching in through the smashed jeweller’s window!