Image Per Second

Almost all customers and even some CCTV installers will take the DVR recording Image Per Second (IPS) or Frame Per Second (FPS) as a yardstick to rate a DVR. The higher the IPS or FPS over the number of video channel ratio the better.


But do you know the different between IPS and FPS? You need to be very careful when compare a DVR's IPS with another DVR's FPS.


Mpeg technology uses the interlace scanning technology (please refer to my 2008 Nov posting - Halloween – Unidentified Flying Creature) And here comes the confusion, some unscrupulous DVR producer actually self-define IPS as each interlace scan as one image. In other words if they said their 16 channel DVR is 400 IPS recording, in actual fact it is only 200 FPS recording worth.


Well, what I'm trying to say is, you may end up paying full price for half a car.

Green Shoots in a Mirage?

As the world real economy continue slipping into the abyss, the equity markets around the world had rallied from strength to strength since March.

Rightfully the health and life of a financial market depends on the real economy but the roles seem to have been reversed, where the real economy depends on the financial market. Hence all my business associates and friends had repeatedly asking me the same question; Is the current stock market truly reflecting the health condition of the economy 6 months down the road. Truthfully I don't have an answer.

I think the key question we should ask is, can we actually create wealth out of thin air by printing money or by changing the accounting rules like what the Obama administration had done and i believe they will continue to do so? Again I don't have the answer for that question but for sure we can channel video signal through air without wire with WIFI and extract water out of thin air!

Allow me to show you how;

Solace

As expected, the Malaysian economy is contracting 6.2 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago, its worst fall since the fourth quarter of 1998 at the height of the Asian financial crisis. It is the first time in eight years that the gross domestic product (GDP) has experienced a quarterly contraction which also translates to a drop of about 7 per cent from the last quarter of 2008. Bank Negara also believes that it has continued into the second quarter and governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz would not say if Malaysia would return to positive growth this year.


My fellow CCTV installers, in this depressing economy for those who would like to seek refuge in Joanna Wong sanctuary, check out her MTV. I had recommended this Taiwanese singer to a few CCTV installers (from 19 years old to early 40) and all of them had instantly fallen in love with her soothing and comforting voice.


Oh yes, happy Duan-Wu Festival!

Windows 7 - XPM

The new Windows 7 will feature a Windows XP mode (XPM). This feature allows applications to run in an XP virtual box and appears as if they are running natively on Windows 7. It is a great feature for small and medium-sized businesses who have applications that won't run well on Windows 7. XPM allows those who would like to upgrade to Windows 7 but at the same time want to use their old XP applications.



XPM to Windows 7 is network video server to a network surveillance system. Video servers enable an analog system to perform functions like motion detection, DI/DO connection, pre/post alarm snapshots etc. Migration and upgrade to an IP-based digital system from an existing analog surveillance system made easy and cost effective.

In other words, with video servers users can upgrade to IP-based digital surveillance system but still be able to use their old analog cameras.

Thermal Camera

This is a follow up to my previous posting as I said cinemas should deploy thermal camera. Some might wonder how does a thermal camera work.

Unlike a normal camera which can only capture light reflected by the objects, thermal camera or night vision camera operates by capturing the upper portion of the infrared light spectrum emitted as heat by objects which is imperceptible to our eyes and amplifying the infrared light to the point that we can easily observe the image. The hotter the objects, such as animal, warm human bodies, running engines, electronic appliances etc. emit more of this infrared light than cooler objects like water, trees or buildings.


Check out this cool thermal imaging of bat video from Discovery.

Star Trek

I watched Star Trek XI last Thursday night at Mid Valley Megamall's Golden Screen Cinemas and I noticed there is a big infrared (IR) camera being deployed next to the screen facing the audience. The main purpose to have a camera pointing at the audience my guess is to prevent the pirated DVD syndicate from using camcorder, handphone or any recording devices to record the movie.

To me with the given height and the area the camera has to cover, it is better to deploy a low lux box camera instead of an IR camera.

IR camera is a good fit for areas with virtually no light that only need coverage in a limited or confined area. The analogy of an IR camera is like walking around into the pitch dark with a torchlight. While IR cameras capture the image by supplying their own IR light source Low Lux cameras take the opposite approach as they take advantage of any ambient light available, in this case the light reflected from the cinema screen.

Like a torchlight, IR coverage is limited and narrow hence IR cameras often hit the limit of their IR lighting long before the optical limits of the lens. I suspect the IR camera at the cinema can only capture images around the central of the audience seats.




Back to the movie, I'm no Trekkie but like it all the same. The only setback was a lady setting next to me coughing nonstop throughout the show. Sigh... hope it's not H1N1... 5 more days to go before I can find out. Perhaps all cinemas should deploy thermal cameras instead of IR cameras.

Toyota Prius

My friend called me from Hong Kong yesterday, he told me that he is considering getting the Toyota Prius petrol-electric hybrid car.





I dunno if it is wise but again it demonstrates the green industry is indeed picking up a lot of steam.

Livi's 501

I must admit I'm a big fan of Levi Strauss 501 button fly jeans.

In celebration of the annual Levi’s 501 Day on May 1st, Levi’s is launching a special edition eco-friendly jean inspired by its classic and definitive 1947 design and made from 100% organic cotton. Organic cotton starts with seeds that are not genetically modified or treated with fungicides or pesticides. Weed and pest control is taken care of with the use of natural predators, by hand hoeing, trap crops and biological practices., The whole process from growth through harvesting is monitored by The Organic Trade Association. This special edition instead of its usual red tab it will carry a white tab with green Levi’s sign off to mark its exclusivity.




Today go green, go organic and environment protection is not only big in the fashion industry but in our CCTV surveillance industry as well. If you are aware of the importance of coexisting with the environment for sustained growth and development, look out for the RoHS compliance sticker on the CCTV gear.

RoHS stands for Restriction on Hazardous Substances. The RoHS directive aims to restrict certain dangerous substances commonly used in electronic and electronic equipment. Any RoHS compliant component is tested for the presence of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Hexavalent chromium (Hex-Cr), Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). For Cadmium and Hexavalent chromium, there must be less than 0.01% of the substance by weight at raw homogeneous materials level. For Lead, PBB, and PBDE, there must be no more than 0.1% of the material, when calculated by weight at raw homogeneous materials. Any RoHS compliant component must have 100 ppm or less of mercury and the mercury must not have been intentionally added to the component.

Well, that is that. Oh yes, I'm going to get this pair of jeans.

Oscar Pistorius

Most of the time when I introduce myself as a CCTV guy to a perfect stranger, the reaction is rather negative. I found out later they often associate CCTV with negative thought like crime, burglary, shoplifting, vandalism, paranoid, pervert, peeping tom, control freak etc.

Before I continue I would like to share with you a story.



All the while living with prosthetic legs was seen as a huge impediment, but Oscar Pistorius, a young man from South African has turned this perception upside down. At age 1 his lower legs were amputated and at 20, this talented sprinter began to close in on an Olympic-qualifying time for the 400m. Experts said that his times were so good that he must have been getting an unfair advantage from his blade like prosthetics and eventually The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had bared him from competing against able-bodied athletes at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

The point is Pistorius had actually gave the world a shocking paradigm shifting in which disability becomes ability, disadvantage becomes advantage.

Perception is a very funny thing, it make you see what you want to see, hear what you want to hear and it is very dangerous too as it shun you from seeing or hearing other possibilities. Now please allow me to introduce you to a few positive thought about CCTV. CCTV is for monitor productivity, improve efficiency, reduce losses and eventually to improve your bottom line. The ultimate purpose of deploying a surveillance system is to set yourself free!

H1N1

Last Friday our land lord had issued a circular “Guidelines for Tenants: Business Continuity During a Pandemic” to all Low Yat Plaza tenants to raise awareness, alertness and cautionary measures in tackling the eventualities and possibilities in view of the global pandemic of swine flu H1N1.

To date the health authorities had confirmed two Malaysian with the Influenza A virus.
Both patients were on the same Malaysia Airlines flight MH091 from Newark, New Jersey, to KLIA via Sweden on May 13. The first case involved a 21 years old male who has been admitted to Sungai Buloh Hospital while the 2nd female patent is now warded at the Penang Hospital.

The Malaysian health authorities had put 117 passengers on MH091 who disembarked at KLIA, both Malaysians and foreigners under home quarantine. The 15 crew members are also under home quarantine. At the same time all 102 passengers on AirAsia Flight AK5358 from the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang to Penang last Wednesday have also been ordered to undergo home quarantine.

Despite this gloomy development a joker, a cctv installer told me that H1N1 actually sounded very much like Star Wars's R2D2 wife. Sigh... during this trying time we indeed need all the jokes in the world to keep our spirit high.

Cheer!

Digi vs. Celcom

There is a very unhealthy practice in our CCTV industry; bad-mouthing each other.

It is very bad for the image of our entire industry As much as we would like to win, sometimes our product or service may not a fit for the needs of the prospect. To me, it is always more desirable to show respect and to speak highly about your competitors. If you engaged a negative approach in a situation where you are not successful, you are actually pushing yourself and your business further away from this prospect and the potential of working with them in the future.

I have personally found that it is in fact to my advantage to team up and work with 'competitors' in our industry. Many 'competitors' are now my closest friends.

Lighten up my dear 'competitors', check out this Digi vs Celcom video;

Pukau

Yesterday a prospect came to our outlet to look for a CCTV solution. He said his neighbor's house was broken into and his neighbor told him that they were `pukau' ( a form of hypnotism). The prospect said he does not believe in `pukau' but to be on the safe side he would like to put up a very big and obvious outdoor CCTV camera to deter burglars from picking his house.

I am no believer of hypnotism neither but last night on Animal Planet TV channel sharkman Michael Rutzen is on a quest to hypnotize great white shark in open water. He actually managed to put sharks into a sleep-like state called tonic immobility. I find it amazing, it totally changed my perspective of hypnotism.

Check out this amazing photo of Michael Rutzen with a hypnotized shark!

IQeye

Megapixel network IP camera is getting vary popular.

Please check out this recent video footage taken with IQeye IQ511NLNPNE 1.3MP Wide Dynamic with V3 megapixel 1/2” lens.

Kentucky Grilled Chicken

Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food chain recently is introducing grilled chicken at its 5,100 American outlets in an effort to present a healthier image to diners. Described as "packed with flavour", the chain's grilled chicken pieces will be marinated and seasoned with six "secret" herbs and spices. It's a momentous move for KFC which has spent 69 years promoting Colonel Sanders' finger lickin', artery-clogging original recipe.

The grilled chicken pieces contain 70 to 80 calories and four to nine grams of fat. That's an improvement on KFC's fried chicken which come in at 110 to 370 calories, with between 7 and 21 grams of fat. KFC has been edging in a healthier direction for some time. As far back as 1990, the company began emphasizing its initials rather than marketing itself as Kentucky Fried Chicken, partly because the word "fried" was considered a turn-off. More recently, KFC became one of the earliest fast-food companies to scrap trans-fats in its cooking.

Some CCTV installers keep saying that their business is getting worse since early this year but unlike KFC they refuse to change their business practice like working on Sunday and public holiday and keeping their mobile phone on after working hours. To me if we want to continue eating cheese we must put in extra effort to look for new cheese, if a 69 years old company can change their business practice so can we all.

BlackBerry

BlackBerry is on fire or should I say creating a `storm' among the smartphone business user market around the world. According to analysts at the NPD Group (National Purchase Diary, a leading global market research company) , Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Curve range outsold iPhone in the 1^st quarter of 2009 in the United States , relegate Apple’s flagship gear into 2^nd place.

Malaysia Telco Mexis and Celcom are also going all out to capitalize on this mega storm. This BlackBerry phenomena was initiated by the most powerful man in the world, US President Barack Obama. This Obama tipping point had rippled out throughout the world.

To ride on this fruity trend we as CCTV solution provider must take heed and pay attention to DVR (Digital Video Recorder) which supports RIM's BlackBerry offsite remote monitoring and viewing. With Obama devotion and endorsement I am very sure BlackBerry supporting DVR is the next big thing in our CCTV industry.

Check out our BlackBerry supporting DVR; http://tander.com.my/dvr.html

CCTV Fallacies

Would like to share with you a few CCTV fallacies;

1. CCTV is to 'catch' thief.

The heroic act of thief apprehension is the prerogative of Royal Malaysian Police not civilian who had installed CCTV. A well planned CCTV deployment is more for crime prevention.

2. Only a pervert will use CCTV.

A knife can be used to rob a bank or to prepare a meal for your family.

3. CCTV is very expensive hence CCTV is for rich people only.

Depending on how extensive you want your CCTV system. It can be as simple as 1 network IP camera like the RM450 Panasonic BLC1 which allows you to record, monitor via Internet and handphone.

4. CCTV is an unnecessary expenses.

CCTV is capital investment which will help you to monitor productivity, improve efficiency, reduce losses and eventually to improve your bottom line.

5. CCTV is very difficult to install should I want to do it myself.

Installing Wi-Fi network IP camera is a matter of plug and play.

6. CCTV is very difficult to use.

Once the CCTV system is properly deployed and configured, operation is as easy as using your DVD player.

7. CCTV is expensive to maintain.

A good quality CCTV equipment is stable and reliable. In fact it is more costly and troublesome to hire a guard or rearing a dog than maintaining a CCTV system.

to be continue....

Picture: The Starbucks Paradox by Bernie Hou

Music to My Ears

Today I would like to share with you a few fine example of WARRANTY claim;

1. “I bought the DVR from you a year ago, please come and help me to backup a recorded video footage for free.”

Music to my ears; I bought the car from you a year ago, please come and help me to pick up my kids from their school for free.

2. “My new CCTV camera was damaged by power surged, please replace it for free.”

Music to my ears; My new car was damaged by a falling tree, please replace it for free.

3. “ Come to reconfigure my router (as the router configuration had changed on its own) for free as I can no longer access to my DVR via Internet.”

Music to my ears; Come to readjust my car seat (as the seat had changed its position on its own) for free as my legs can no longer reach the paddles.

4. “ My PC that hosts your DVR card is not working, come to fix it for free.”

Music to my ears; My car porch to park the car I bought from you is leaking, come to fix it for free.

5. “ Your come to just tighten a screw, don't charge me.”

Music to my ears; Your time, years of study, experience is worthless and you can pump petrol for free right?

I am not saying that those customers of mine are unreasonable but they had failed to see their requests are indeed unreasonable :)