A recent 40 per cent spike in false dispatch fees levied by the City of Toronto Police Services has the Canadian Security Association (CANASA) concerned that it could be the tip of the iceberg for monitoring companies as municipalities review how they respond to false alarms from home security systems ... >> Read more
Any organization with a lot of video and demands to keep that video for a longer period of time is facing the question of how to best store it all and still have efficient ... >> Read more
For many large facilities, key control remains a huge headache and cost factor. Lost master keys are expensive to replace and they often have too many keys on bulky key rings with too many users who could potentially lose them.
So consider the potential pain involved when you’re the largest university ca... >> Read more
While dealers have been offering home automation to clients for several years, it tends to be somewhat exclusive — but that’s changing as a new generation of customers is looking for an app for their iPhone, BlackBerry or other mobile ... >> Read more
Most alarm dealers sell one business in a lifetime and the proceeds from that sale are crucial to their retirement. At the same time, most alarm dealers don’t know much about the process of selling a business and what to expect or ... >> Read more
In today’s IP world, deploying indoor network cameras has become relatively straightforward. Sure, there are many different factors to consider, but new ease-of-installation designs have eliminated a lot of the legwork. Outdoor deployments, however, present different practical challenges. Weather, lighting, camera housing, connectivity and resolution all must be addressed. I’ve broken down the considerations into four sections to help ensure a smooth outdoor ... >> Read more
When customers come looking for a way to control access to their facility, they may be thinking only of access cards or key fobs, readers, and software that lets them set time schedules and permissions. However, access control technology has come a long way from these types of basic capabilities, and it is to your benefit to educate the customer on the more comprehensive solutions that are available today.... >> Read more
For many of you, the focus of last year was probably all about the economy — keeping things steady as the recession took us for a roller coaster ride. For some, it meant staying lean and making tough choices to stay in business. For others, like some Canadian branches of multi-national manufacturers who surprised their companies and actually grew last year while their U.S.-counterparts floundered, 2009 was a banner year that has now set the bar for ... >> Read more
Using megapixel technology for security applications is a compelling reason to move away from analog cameras. Of course, you may own a 5-megapixel or higher digital camera at home, but getting this many pixels to run over an Ethernet network in a network camera at a high frame rate requires a lot of processing power, bandwidth and storage.
So be careful to match the appropriate resolution for your application. Luckily, determining your requirements is linear and easy to figure out once you know your ... >> Read more
Pretty much everyone in the security industry can agree that the definition of a ‘hybrid’ is a DVR that can simultaneous record analogue and IP cameras. For smaller legacy installations, a hybrid DVR can be a good migration path to IP, as analogue cameras can be preserved and newer IP camera technology, such as HD and megapixel cameras, can be ... >> Read more
