Monday, August 31, 2009

Simple Solution

This is not the first time I touch on this topic but I would like to talk about this topic yet again.

We constantly try our very best to give our customers the simplest possible CCTV solution but some prospects feel that our proposals are way too simple to their liking. To them our proposed solutions are not sophisticated enough.

There was one prospect even asked if we were looking down on him as among all quotations he received, our proposed solution was the simplest. He is now one of our many happy IP cameras users.

Like I pointed out in one of my previous postings, some CCTV installers deliberately design their CCTV solution as complicated as they possible can. They will sell their complicated CCTV design as high tech and sophisticated solution. Their ultimate aim is not to provide the user a sophisticated CCTV solution but to maximize their profit from both the initial acquisition and the subsequent monopolistic expensive maintenance.

Pick a solution. Choose wisely.



Hari Kemerdekaan!

My fellow Malaysians, Happy Independence Day!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

No CCTV Sunday #11: The New Breed Online Games

Movie-based games almost never work. No matter how cool the movie, the game is almost always lame. For a lot of movies, the game is an afterthought but a good game takes years of development.

Allows me to introduce to you 2 new breed of movie-based online games. Hopefully this will mark a new dawn of tight movie-game collaboration.


James Cameron was hands-on for the more than three years France’s Ubisoft took to develop “Avatar” online game. The game will hit stores ahead of the film’s year end holiday release.

First let me show you the movie;



... and the game;




LucasArts and BioWare have spent years designing a massively multiplayer online game similar to “World of Warcraft”, “Star Wars: The Old Republic”. PC Gamer U.K. called “The Old Republic” “a credible ‘World of Warcraft’ killer,” and the lineups to see the demo at gamescom have been longer than those at most movie premieres.


Friday, August 28, 2009

Sales Pitch

To throw a CCTV sales pitch or any sales pitch for that matter is a balancing act.

It is a must for the CCTV solution provider representer to be technically sound but I found out most of their sales pitch tends to explain in detail all the elements or gear in the solution.

Most CCTV prospects are like small kids in term of CCTV concept and product knowledge. And throwing a sales pitch is like story telling, if the kids (CCTV prospects) being bogged down by all the details, they will get distracted or get bored.

Do you remember the fairy tale 'Little Red Riding Hood'?



A girl called Little Red Riding Hood, after the red hooded cape or cloak she wears. The girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sick grandmother.

A wolf wants to eat the girl but is afraid to do so in public. He approaches the girl, and she naively tells him where she is going. He suggests the girl pick some flowers, which she does. In the meantime, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole, and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandmother.

When the girl arrives, she notices he looks very strange to be her grandma. Little Red Riding Hood saying, "My, what big teeth you have!"

To which the wolf replies, "The better to eat you with," and swallows her whole, too.

A hunter, however, comes to the rescue and cuts the wolf open. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge unharmed.



Check out this details overloaded version of Little red Riding Hood video and decide for yourself if kids (CCTV prospects) would like it... or even begin to understand the story.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Trust

This morning my friend called to inquire about CCTV system for his office in Menara Mbf. He said nowadays even his wife's relative female staff can not be trusted.

I will spare you the details. Just check out this ad;

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Marketing with Youtube

I find it very easy and more importantly impressive and effective to explain a product by providing a Youtube link to a prospect.


Like the product shown in this Youtube's video is Vivotek IP7161 2-megapixel network IP camera.




And the following videos show the main functions in Vivotek ST7501 32ch central management software.







Monday, August 24, 2009

FPS

FPS in CCTV stands for Frame Per Second, is the measurement of the frequency or rate at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. For PAL system CCTV 25 FPS is the equivalent to real time.

The following cool video is probably 3 to 5 FPS worth. Check it out.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

No CCTV Sunday #10 Catcerto

This performance, conducted by Piecaitis, was recorded on June 5th in Klaipeda, Lithuania.



Lithuanian composer Mindaugas Piecaitis was inspired by Nora the Piano Playing Cat and composed a concerto for her to perform with an orchestra.

Nora appears via videotape. The rest of the music was performed by the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Too Old?

Yesterday a system installer visited us. He told me that the PA system and MATV market in Malaysia is saturated.

When I advised him to diverse his business into CCTV, he kept telling me that he is too old to learn new trick.

He is only 41. For those who are old at heart let me share with you 3 stories.


The late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong came up with the Genting casino idea in 1963 (age 45) and the casino eventually opened in 1971 (age 53). And the rest is history, he eventually became one of the richest man in Malaysia.







In 1955 Ray Kroc at the age of 53 opened his very first McDonald's drive-in in Des Plaines, Illinois and officially established the McDonald's Corporation. At that time he was suffering from diabetes and arthritis. His gall bladder and thyroid gland had already been surgically removed. But the desire to succeed burnt throughout his body.




Colonel Harland Sanders allegedly had 1,009 rejections when trying to establish his franchise, took to franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants at the age of 65.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Multi Tasking

For the pass few weeks, a number of PC based DVRs were brought to us for service and reconfiguration.

Most of the problem was caused by the users making use of the PC to perform multiple tasks. They used the same PC to host the PCI DVR card, to surf Internet, to host their accounting software, to play on-line game, to download movie, you name it.

To me a PC based DVR is like a car, to host a DVR card with PC is like getting around in your car. Of cause you can use your car for incoming bullets as well (exposed your PC to viruses while you serve Internet) but don't expect your car to run as smoothly after using it as a shield, that is if it could run at all.



During this tough economy period, careful with one's money is wise but don't fall in the penny wise pound foolish trap. Imagine you managed to save RM2,000 by multitasking your PC but you could have lost RM5,000 worth of goods when the PC DVR is down.

If you are serious about your CCTV surveillance system, a dedicated PC to host the PCI DVR card is a must.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

15 Malaysia

Though today is not Sunday (only Sunday I reserve for No CCTV posting) but I would like to make an exception.

I insist you must check out this website: http://15malaysia.com

15malaysia is 15 short films, directed by famous directors such as the late Yasmin Ahmad, James Lee, Amir Muhammad and Ho Yuhang as well as fresh faces like Liew Seng Tat and Johan John promise a Malaysian-ness like no other.

These films talk about a lot of things — food, race, politics, religion, bank loans. Every little thing that Malaysians come across in their daily lives is touched upon here. No stone is left unturned. They also feature some of the best-known faces in the country, including actors, musicians and top political leaders.

The release of these 15 free 3-5 minutes short films run from August the 17th right to September 16th, which is Malaysia Day.

Enjoy!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Masks - H1N1

Tried really hard to avoid this topic but it is impossible not to notice there are so many people wearing masks on the streets and in shopping malls.

For the pass few days, heavy rains had cleared up the haze in Kuala Lumpur. Hence am pretty sure they wear masks as precaution against the influenza A H1N1 virus and not for the haze.

Allow me to share with you a few snapshots which I took yesterday with the Vivotek IP camera model IP7133 which is mounted at our shop front in Plaza Low Yat;












As of last evening H1N1 had claimed 62 lives in Malaysia with total cases of 3,857.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

No CCTV Sunday #9: The Darkside of Cameron Highland.



This photo was taken at a tea plantation in Cameron Highland on 26th last month . A highland resort in the state of Pahang, Malaysia. The photo is to answer my pal, JR's photo taken from his home (pic. below). Should have taken off my shoes...



Today I am not going to talk about the resort but to direct your attention to the darkside of Cameron Highland, the story of the disappearance of the Thai silk king, Jim Thompson.



It was an Easter Sunday on 26 March 1967. Jim Thompson, 61. Tired from a round of business, which included the opening in Bangkok three weeks ago of a new, two-story headquarters for his $1.5 million-a-year silk business, Thompson came to the Highlands as the guest of Dr. and Mrs. T. G. Ling of Singapore.

Thompson settled in Bangkok after World War II and in 1948 started the Thai Silk Company. In doing so Thompson played a pivotal role in reviving the Thai silk industry. He introduced modern dyes, better looms and oversaw production and marketing while allowing his weavers, most of them women, to work from home and share in the company's profits. It made Thompson a millionaire.

At around 3pm on that fateful Sunday Thompson went for an early evening stroll alone without telling anybody. Dr Ling from his room adjacent to the hall, could hear footsteps and he took it that it was Thompson's footsteps and that he went out for a walk.

He was expected to return for tea but when he failed to show up by dark, Dr Ling went to the police station at the nearby town of Tanah Rata that evening and reported Thompson missing.

The police launched the most massive manhunt ever seen in the Malayan mountains. Some 300 soldiers and police using tracker dogs fanned out through the jungle. The ground search parties were soon joined by search aircraft. Helicopters swooped over the highland treetops for days.

The aboriginal tribesmen of the area were called upon to help in the search. Even with the expert tracking skills of the aborigine natives no trace of Jim Thompson could be located in the dense jungle.

As the search drag on, Brigadier General Edwin F. Black, a long-standing friend of Thompson's and commander of US support forces in Thailand flew in to assist, as did some of his senior colleagues.

Despite there being a manhunt on an unprecedented scale, no trace of Thompson was found.

It was not simply Thompson's fame and wealth that guaranteed his disappearance would become one of South East Asia's greatest modern mysteries - it was his past.

He had spent World War II with the OSS, the US intelligence agency that was the precursor to the CIA. It was rumoured that Thompson at the time of his disappearance still maintained his links with American intelligence.

This was the 1960s in South East Asia. Vietnam was 10 months away from the Tet Offensive and while the Communist Party of Malaya had been driven north over the Thai border its reach still extended to the Cameron Highlands. Enemy agents may have tracked him down, kidnapped him. Or perhaps he was aware of his life was in grave danger, he had staged his disappearance so as to make it looked like he died in the dense Cameron jungle.

Forty years on and the mystery of Thompson's disappearance seems no closer to being solved than it ever was. Perhaps he was just simply eaten by a tiger.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Extreme

Last year a customer came to us. I can still remember he was at our outlet late in the evening, asked us to show him the cheapest CCTV solution available. He said his shop did not really need CCTV as he and his brother are at the shop all the time, it was the a clause in the shop insurance policy which required him to deploy CCTV at his watch shop.

He did not get anything from us that evening.

This morning he was waiting at our CCTV outlet before we opened. He said he would like to deploy the clearest CCTV cameras at his shop. He bought 4 nos of network IP cameras from us.

We dunno what is the reason for this drastic change of opinion toward CCTV deployment. But his extreme behavior reminds me of 2 Japanese movies;

The Sinking of Japan


World Sinks Except Japan

Friday, August 14, 2009

Unlevel Playing Field

Level Playing Field is a concept about fairness, environment in which all companies or players in a given market must follow the same rules and are given an equal ability to compete and has an equal chance to succeed.

When we design CCTV solution for companies, we will try to make full use of the surveillance technology to give our customers an edge over their competitors by;

a. Improve productivity with constant monitoring.

b. Reduce wastage and shrinkage due to non-adherence to procedures and theft.

c. Lower operating cost as the operation required fewer employees, reduce outlets visiting and traveling etc.



In other words, a properly designed and deployed CCTV system will provide an unlevel playing field to the CCTV system user. With the same resources they can perform better, produce more, spend less and ultimately improve their bottom line.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Don't be Stupid!

A CCTV system without power surge protector is like asking a person to carry out a dangerous work naked.

Without proper protection clothing, you can still carry out the dangerous job but is it wise?

See it for yourself.



Tuesday, August 11, 2009

"sophisticated" CCTV Design

Some CCTV installers deliberately design their CCTV solution as complicated as they possible can. They will sell their complicated CCTV design as high tech and sophisticated solution.

They make the CCTV system complicated, so much so that it is hard to operate, expensive to maintain and close to impossible for others to troubleshoot.

The ultimate aim is not to provide the user a sophisticated CCTV solution but to maximize their profit from both the initial acquisition and the subsequent monopolistic expensive maintenance.

I would like to share this photo with you. Am no male chauvinist but this funny photo is an apt illustration of what we had discuss thus far.

Those unscrupulous CCTV installers are like woman in this photo.



A simple CCTV system design not only is more economical as it uses less gear, uses less energy, friendlier to the environment, more stable, less down time, easier to operate and to troubleshoot.

Yet again, I would like to stress that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Monday, August 10, 2009

TMpoint

Last Friday our dealer had deployed 4 Vivotek IP cameras at the latest TMpoint in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.









As a wholly-owned subsidiary of TM, Telekom Sales & Services Sdn. Bhd. has more than 100 ISO Certified TMpoint outlets nationwide. These outlets provide a one-stop solution for TM Group products and services. They are providing services such as service provisioning, bill payments , fixed line, multimedia and other value added services. They also market a wide range of telecommunications as well as IT related products and accessories.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

No CCTV Sunday #8 The Vengeance Trilogy

Thanks to my friend Sean Tan who had introduced me to a Korean movie Oldboy, later I found out that the movie is part of a movies trilogy.



The Vengeance Trilogy (복수 삼부작) is a term used to describe three films directed by South Korea film director Park Chan Wook which dealt with the theme of revenge. They are:

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)



Oldboy (2003)



Lady Vengeance (2005)

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Play Safe

A customer came to us to get a Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) for his newly deployed CCTV system. He said his shop was broken into during a 25 minutes black out.

Time and again I had advised my customer when it comes to CCTV system, it is better safe than sorry.



To me UPS, Power Surge Protector, Network Attached Storage are like fire insurance policy. They are definitely worth looking into but it is hard to convince a customer to invest as those gear are redundant when nothing happen.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Parasite

Yesterday I had visited a CCTV system integrator. He said his business partner is a computer game. I looked at him blankly. He pointed at a PC which is hosting a DVR card and continued, “he is fun to be with but he is not contributing to the company but consuming our company resources.”

I dunno about his business partner part but I agreed with him that a dedicated PC is a must for a PCI DVR card. Game or any other PC software like accounting software, POS software etc will definitely consume the PC resources and affect the DVR performance.

To put it in a better perspective, a computer game to a DVR PC server is like a parasite to an animal or plant. It obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting the host.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Sewer CCTV

Today a condo management office called to inquire for sewer CCTV camera service to do inspection for their condo apartment sewer system.

We do not provide such service but I had recommended the gentleman to a customer of mine who are providing such service. They have lovable sewer crawling machines which I call them Sewer Utility Vehicle (SUV) in my last year posting.



It is good to check the sewer from time to time, you might find something interesting or outright disgusting lifeform like this sewer video footage from from Raleigh, North Carolina.



Deep Sea News contacted experts to find out what kind of creature this could be. They are clumps of annelid worms, almost certainly a form of tubificids. Normally these occur in soil and sediment, especially at the bottom and edges of polluted streams. In the video they have somehow entered a pipeline and in the absence of soil they are coiling around each other.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Mosaics

This morning I watched Stephen Green, HSBC group chairman interviewed by Bernie Lo on Bloomberg. He said both India and China are the place to be where both countries offer plenty of business opportunities.

Stephen's statement again strengthen my belief that multi racial in our country is in fact a boon never a bane.

It is a matter of perspective, like the other day a lady was at my shop to look for a pinhole camera detector. She said CCTV camera is the root of all evil. I continued, “so is money.”

If our country manage to capitalize on our multi racial composition, we will reap handsome rewards from the Islamic countries, India and China.

I don't believe in the Malaysia melting pot nonsense, to me trying to fuse different cultures and religions is futile. One Malaysia to me is more like a resourceful and powerful Wikipedia, a colourful magnificent mosaics.

Whatever it is, I am proud to be Malaysian.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Foosball Barbie

Two days ago a CCTV installer complained to me that it is extremely tough to deal with husband and wife customers. I must agree with him, husband and wife is a dreadful combination, they can work as a team against you and with a blink of an eye they can turn into rivals and do not agree on everything.

Hence, hight EQ and creative solution can go a long way when we deal with difficult husband and wife customer.

Win-win CCTV solution can be reached when we put our creativity mind in action. Check out this creative feminine Foosball Table. It might give you some inspiration.



French designer Chloe Ruchon took the manly game of foosball and gave it a decidedly feminine twist: she used Barbie dolls as the foos men!



Chloe’s table, Barbie Foot, was made in collaboration with Mattel and foosball manufacturer Baby-foot Bonzini. It was showcased in the DMY Berlin Design Festival 2009.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

No CCTV Sunday #7 Yasmin Ahmad 1959 - 2009



Yasmin Ahmad was a multi-award winning film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia.Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humor, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers. Her creativity could be seen in many TV commercials and evoked emotion of the viewers.

Funeral (2009) for the Singaporean Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.



July 23, 2009, Yasmin suffered a stroke and remained motionless, seated, she was resting her head on the table, with her hands cupping her face, while attending a meeting. On Saturday, July 25,2009, more than 48 hours after the surgery, Yasmin Ahmad was pronounced dead at 11.25pm. Yasmin Ahmad was laid to rest at the USJ 22 Muslim Cemetery in Subang Jaya, Selangor. Her husband, Abdullah Tan Yew Leong, their immediate families, hundreds of fans, friends, industry colleagues and personalities gathered to bid her farewell.

In the film industry, Yasmin drew much controversy in view of her openness and boldness in analyzing social issues. She has been targeted by critics since her first movie, “Rabun” was screened in 2003 followed by “Sepet” (2004), “Gubra” (2006), “Mukhsin” (2006), “Muallaf” (2008) and Talentime (2009).

Sepet(Chinese Eye) (2004)



Yasmin earned rave reviews for “Sepet” which won the Best Film Award and the Best Original Screenplay Award at the Malaysian Film Festival 2005. “Sepet” also bagged several international awards, namely the Asian Film Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2005, the Grand Prix Award at the Creteil International Women’s Film Festival in the same year. “Gubra” won the Best Screenplay award at the Malaysian Film Festival 2006. “Muhsin” won the Generation kplus – Best Feature Film and the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix award at the Berlin International Film Festival. “Mukhsin” also won the Best Asean Film at the Cinemanila International Film Festival 2007. “Muallaf” won the Asian Film Award – Special Mention at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2008.

Yasmin, we all Malaysian will miss you a lot especially in the coming Hari Merdeka, Aidilfitri, Chinese New Year and Deepavali celebration.

Tan Hong Ming In Love (2007) Petronas Merdeka Day commercial