Follow us on TwitterInterested in a Mobotix camera? Find out more about the company’s reputation from 10 industry experts in various parts of the world. Click on the link below to watch them share their experiences with Mobotix products.
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Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Product Review : Pelco SD4-W0
Appearance
Perhaps one of this product’s main selling points is its appearance. This indoor dome camera from one of the top security camera manufacturer is designed to perform its functions in a low profile manner. It is small in size 6.2 x 5.1" (157 x 130mm) and light in weight at just 1.8 lbs. It is sleek and simple and is available in 2 colors – white and black. For a more discreet monitoring, option for a smoked bubble casing is also available.
Pan Movement
A very useful feature in this PTZ camera system is its capability to continuously rotate at a 360 degree. It also has an automatic flip feature that allows it to rotate at 180 degrees. This enables viewing of a subject that passes directly under the dome camera. What this means is it can cover a wider area compared to other security cameras in the market.
Pan speed can also be adjusted depending on the monitoring needs. This feature is highly useful in stores wherein traffic or flow of people vary every day. Pan speed can also be adjusted in proportion to the zoom. For an image on zoom, it is just logical to use a fast pan speed when zoomed out to cover more area. Pan speed can be adjusted to as slow as .4 degree per second to as fast as 140 degree per second.
Camera and Lens Features
It employs an image sensor size of ¼-inch interline CCD which is more than sufficient in providing quality digital output images. Its horizontal resolution-- 470 TV lines (NTSC) and 460 TV lines (PAL )--and effective pixels -- 768x494 (NTSC) and 752x582 (PAL)-- can be considered average compared to high resolution cameras.
The camera has no night vision features and requires a minimum illumination 3.0 lux. This means that it needs a very, very bright full moon multiplied 3x to be able to capture images. This is a fairly good deal since a family living room has 50 lux.
Total lens zoom function is average at 80 (10x optical zoom and 8x digital zoom). Lens has automatic with manual override focus and iris control.
Verdict
Overall, this surveillance dome camera is functional with a few extras. For its price range, it is a good deal and is definitely worth a shot.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Video : D-Link Starter Kit review
If you’re thinking of installing camera surveillance in your house, then this D-Link Internet Surveillance Camera Starter Kit review is worth checking. The video discusses features and shows the actual unit. Find out more about this starting kit by following this link.
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Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Video : Bosch Autodome
With advancements in technology happening as fast as a blink of an eye, it is easy for products to become obsolete. Find out about Future-proof CCTV cameras, Bosch’s solution to the ever changing technology. Follow the link in this video to watch Bosch Autodome introduction video.
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Fake Dome Camera Stories
Fake security camera is not only useful in deterring the bad guys from invading your personal space or vandalizing your property but it is also great tool to use when pulling fun pranks to friends and strangers. Here are some funny fake security camera stories to spark your creative side if ever you do want to play a fun fake camera prank.
Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!
Two British females in their late teens decided to play a prank on two of their girl friends. They sent out an invitation for a get together. The invited friends were informed that they’d probably be the first people in the house since they will be out buying supplies for the party. They were advised to just go ahead and use the key under the mat to let themselves in. The invited friends are unaware of the surprise that awaits them. The house was dark when they arrived and a fake dome camera was set up in the entrance door. As soon as they walked in and opened the lights, the fake surveillance dome camera detected the motion and was instantly activated. Voice warning messages of “Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! The authorities are being notified!” came on in an ominous tone. The invited girls were absolutely terrified and the expressions were priceless. As they headed for the door with the intent of leaving the house, the two masterminds revealed themselves. All four girls had a good laugh after.
Invasion of Privacy
A small town business in Dahlonega, GA has an owner with a great working relationship with his employees. In fact, they are practically a family. One April Fool’s day, the owner decided to play a prank on his employees. He purchased a cheap fake dome camera and installed it in the comfort room on top of the mirror by the washing area. It was one of those fake PTZ dome camera with built-in motion detection. Without any knowledge of the prank, an employee entered the comfort room and did his business. As he comes close to the sink, the camera detected presence of the subject. It flashed its red blinking lights and delivered a voice warning message of “Make no sudden movements!” The employee was flabbergasted and rushed to the door. The fake dome camera looks so real, it didn’t cross his mind that it was a fake. After a greeting of “Happy April Fools” from the owner, it dawned on the employee that it is a prank and they both had a good laugh about it.
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Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!
Two British females in their late teens decided to play a prank on two of their girl friends. They sent out an invitation for a get together. The invited friends were informed that they’d probably be the first people in the house since they will be out buying supplies for the party. They were advised to just go ahead and use the key under the mat to let themselves in. The invited friends are unaware of the surprise that awaits them. The house was dark when they arrived and a fake dome camera was set up in the entrance door. As soon as they walked in and opened the lights, the fake surveillance dome camera detected the motion and was instantly activated. Voice warning messages of “Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! The authorities are being notified!” came on in an ominous tone. The invited girls were absolutely terrified and the expressions were priceless. As they headed for the door with the intent of leaving the house, the two masterminds revealed themselves. All four girls had a good laugh after.
Invasion of Privacy
A small town business in Dahlonega, GA has an owner with a great working relationship with his employees. In fact, they are practically a family. One April Fool’s day, the owner decided to play a prank on his employees. He purchased a cheap fake dome camera and installed it in the comfort room on top of the mirror by the washing area. It was one of those fake PTZ dome camera with built-in motion detection. Without any knowledge of the prank, an employee entered the comfort room and did his business. As he comes close to the sink, the camera detected presence of the subject. It flashed its red blinking lights and delivered a voice warning message of “Make no sudden movements!” The employee was flabbergasted and rushed to the door. The fake dome camera looks so real, it didn’t cross his mind that it was a fake. After a greeting of “Happy April Fools” from the owner, it dawned on the employee that it is a prank and they both had a good laugh about it.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Video Review : Mobotix Q24
Prefers watching a review instead of reading it? This video contains helpful product review of Mobotix Q24. The speaker discusses product overview and special features. There are also comparative reviews between the Q24 and other cameras including its predecessor, Q22. For more information on this product review, click on the link below.
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Saturday, May 1, 2010
X10 Automation and ZigBee Networks
The history of home automation is quite interesting. A number of years ago, the only remote control that most people owned was the remote control to their television. Remotes have since come a long way. Now we can control lights, garage doors, and CD players. Instead of standing up and walking over to the television to change the channel, we rely on a remote so that we can stay seated and relaxed. Instead of getting out of the car and lifting the garage door, we press a button and it opens. The problem with all these remotes is simply that; all these remotes! There are simply too many individual remotes. This is precisely the problem ZigBee Networks was created to solve. ZigBee is a wireless home-area network that is cost-effective and based on standards. It supports low data rates and it consumes very little power. The network is very reliable and secure.
Zigbee wireless operates in two modes: Beacon mode and non-beacon mode. In beacon mode, all devices are coordinated with each other and they know exactly when to communicate with one another. When the network is in this mode, the network coordinator will, “wake up” and send out a beacon. The beacon wakes up each device, which in turn will determine if it has any commands to receive and execute. If the device has a command, it will execute the command, and return to sleep. If it does not have a command, the device will immediately go back to sleep. When all is said and done, the network coordinator will return to sleep. In non-beacon mode however, all of the devices are able to communicate with the network coordinator at any time. This can sometimes lead to devices confusing signals, or interrupting other signals. Also, the network coordinator must be awake at all times in order to communicate with all of the devices, which leads to more energy usage. Either way, Zigbee’s low energy consumption stems from the ability of the network to remain inactive over considerable periods of time.
The closest competitor to ZigBee is Bluetooth. Much research has been done trying to determine if the two technologies go well together, or if they are competing automation systems. Giving the two technologies a quick glance however, it seems that they are quite complimentary of each other. ZigBee is focused on remotely controlling devices, and automating simple processes. Bluetooth is designed to with connectivity between large-packet devices such as cell-phones. ZigBee does not use much power; therefore users generally just throw in a few batteries and forget about it. Bluetooth on the other hand, relies on battery recharges, and a lot of them. When responding to devices, ZigBee is very quick to respond. Bluetooth is exactly the opposite. Bluetooth takes a fair amount of time to respond. This means that the two technologies complement each other quite nicely, and they can be used together with relative ease.
In summary, ZigBee is used to automate many, small tasks using as little energy as possible. Despite these facts, ZigBee is very reliable, and is a highly recommended security network.
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