Our Hikvision PTZ CCTV cameras give you the ability to pan, tilt, and zoom in any direction. They’re great for focussing in high definition and tracking moving objects.

Perfect for monitoring large outdoor environments, such as large residential areas or industrial estates, some PTZ cameras can be controlled remotely. For ultimate convenience, you can do this using an app on your phone, or any other device which is connected to the internet. Your CCTV camera will send you notifications of unusual activity, so that you can log into your app and manually track and zoom in on any intruders.

Auto-Touring CCTV

If you’re not available to control the movements remotely, you have the option to create a guard tour. This means that you can set up the PTZ CCTV camera to follow a pattern of predetermined movements and positions.

>Aside from being great for capturing suspicious activity, a moving camera will be very noticeable and off-putting to would-be criminals.

Auto-Tracking PTZ Camera

In addition, many PTZ cameras have in-built auto tracking software which allows the device to focus on a detected target by panning, tilting, and zooming on the object.

They do this by monitoring the pixels generated by the CCTV camera. When the pixels change due to movement on the footage, the camera can focus on this variation in pixels and track any movement.

With more basic, fixed cameras, if a person moves out of view, you are not able to see them again unless they move back into the range of the camera. The auto-tracking function of PTZ cameras expands your range of view, allowing you to capture any suspicious activity.

What Does PTZ Stand For?

PTZ stands for pan, tilt and zoom. These functions are extremely effective for surveillance. Here’s a bit more about each of the functions.

Panning

• The camera can swivel from left to right and back again, allowing a wide area of coverage.
• Panning options can range from a complete 360 circle to a smaller area.

Tilting

• As well as moving from left to right, tilting gives the camera the ability to move up and down, giving an even greater range of coverage.
• The amount of vertical tilt varies between camera models, but can go right up to 180 degrees.

Zooming

• Optical zoom allows the camera to maintain the quality of the image. It does this by physically adjusting the camera lens, changing the focal length to zoom in and out.
• The pan, tilt and zoom functions can all be controlled by you through an app on any WiFi enabled device.
  It’s just like having an extra pair of eyes at your home or business, without anyone having to be there in person.
• Whilst more expensive than more basic CCTV cameras, PTZ cameras can often be a more cost-effective option.
  Due to the field of view that these cameras make possible, fewer cameras are needed to cover the same area.

Installation of PTZ Camera

Evolution CCTV and Electrical can supply and install Hikvision PTZ CCTV cameras throughout the North West of England, including Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales.

For more information on PTZ cameras, or for a quote, give us a call on 01257 460332 or send us a message

The post Hikvision PTZ Cameras appeared first on Evolution CCTV.

The images captured by these cameras can create an accurate picture of how people are using your car park, and notify you of anyone who is breaking the rules (for example if they haven’t bought a parking ticket).

You can also choose to use ANPR alongside a barrier system.  When the camera detects a known vehicle entering the site, you can programme it to automatically raise the barrier.

How Does Automatic Number Plate Recognition Work?

This technology works by capturing the number plates of any vehicles that pass by the camera.  Consequently, these cameras are usually positioned at entries and exits to a site.  It then automatically reads the individual letters and numbers that make up a vehicle registration, using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.  This information is then checked against the database records.

The data that the cameras collect is made up of ‘read’ and ‘hit’ data.

• Read data: This is the data that the camera collects as the vehicle passes through the ANPR reader.
• Hit data: This is a match to a VRM already held on the database records.

Advances in ANPR Technology

In the past, ANPR was costly, unreliable, and only used for a few purposes. Errors were frequent, because the available hardware at the time could not read every licence plate reliably.  It was inconvenient too, as due to the frequent errors, it couldn’t operate without human confirmation. Furthermore, poor lighting and non-standard characters caused issues with detecting and capturing vehicle registrations.

However, the latest advances in Automatic Number Plate Recognition have set new standards for accuracy.  Hikvision ANPR cameras are now packed with a host of ground-breaking features, making them suitable for a wide range of projects.  To illustrate this point, we’ve listed some of the more typical ANPR applications below.

Uses for Private ANPR

• Site entrances
• Car park management and access control
• Leisure, hotels, and commercial
• Petrol station drive-offs
• Industrial estates
• Shopping centres
• Golf clubs
• Clubs and pubs
• Hospitals
• Logistics and vehicle tracking

Hikvision ANPR Cameras

Hikvision ANPR cameras are much more efficient and accurate than traditional systems. They also don’t need any frequent and annoying camera positioning adjustments, which was a problem with the systems of old.

Evolution CCTV and Electrical can install Hikvision ANPR cameras for you, which feature:

• Unsurpassed accuracy
• Full motion clips or single ANPR images
• Full graphical reporting
• Sophisticated vehicle database
• Cost-effective
• A network version for larger projects

If you would like to talk to us about the installation of Hikvision ANPR cameras, give us a call on 01257 460332 or send us a message today.

The post ANPR Camera Installation North West appeared first on Evolution CCTV.

Due to the amount of foot and vehicle traffic, safety should be of the utmost importance in car parks, yet they are often a magnet for crimes such as assaults, carjacking, theft, and vandalism.

Why Car Parks?

The abundance of hiding places and the seclusion of car parks is very attractive to criminals. This environment provides an ideal opportunity to target your customers and employees as they enter and exit your premises.

Car parks are often not monitored by security staff or CCTV, and this allows them to commit crimes while going undetected.

Why Install CCTV Cameras On Your Business Car Park?

You want your customers and employees to feel safe at your business premises. An environment that deters criminal activity is crucial to this.

There are many things you can do to provide a less optimal environment for criminals.  These include limiting the number of hiding places on your car park and installing plenty of lighting. Hiring a dedicated security person is a great idea, but it may not be financially possible for many small businesses.

The single most beneficial and cost-efficient way to keep your business car park safe is to install quality CCTV cameras. They will not only act as a deterrent to would-be criminals, but mean that any criminal activity is recorded, and can be used as evidence in prosecution.

Car park security cameras will provide 24/7 monitoring, allowing a response to security incidents in real-time.

Most criminals will scout the area before committing a crime. Therefore, having noticeable, high-quality security cameras in the car park of your office, warehouse, care home or other business premises, can help to discourage them from proceeding.

CCTV Protects Against More Than Just Crime

In addition to crime, CCTV is useful in your car park to see any car accidents as they happen. They can help the authorities to determine exactly what happened and take the proper action.

Having a good quality CCTV system in your car park will also protect you from costly hit-and-runs and fraudulent insurance claims.

Feature Packed CCTV

Our HikVision CCTV cameras offer features that are beneficial to car park surveillance, such as license plate recognition, facial recognition, and wireless connectivity back to the main business premises.

Infrared imaging for night-time or low light video recording comes as standard.

If you’d like to know more about our CCTV systems, give us a call on 01257 460332 or send us a message through our contact form.

The post CCTV For Car Park Security appeared first on Evolution CCTV.

Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest video doorbells are, for the most part, making life more convenient for UK homeowners. You can instantly see who is at your front door without having to leave your sofa.  Also, missed deliveries will be a thing of the past.

However, the main reason for purchasing a video doorbell, according to a survey by a leading analytics firm, is that they ‘provide feelings of security and peace of mind.’

Thinking of buying a video doorbell for this very reason?  In that case, you might be curious as to whether they provide the same level of security that comes with a CCTV system.

The short answer is ‘no’. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why video doorbells are no match for a proper CCTV system.

Video Doorbells Reliant on WiFi

Modern video doorbells usually rely on WiFi. This means that if you lose your WiFi connection, you will not be able to view the video. With broadband outages being commonplace, your video doorbell unfortunately won’t always be working.

Also, if your WiFi signal is weak, your video may cut out often, meaning that your security will be compromised.

We will hard-wire your CCTV system to your electrics.  So, as long as there’s not a power cut, you can be sure that your system will be operational.

System Security of Video Doorbells vs CCTV

As the technology required for CCTV systems has been around for many years, they have been upgraded continually, and now provide total, reliable security.

On the other hand, video doorbells are in the early stages of development.  This means that they are still subject to a number of teething issues. Recently, Ring devices have suffered several high profile attacks, where confidential information has been accessed through vulnerabilities in the software.
Video doorbells use wireless to transfer data, and this leaves them open to attacks from signal jammers. Signal jamming will render your video doorbell completely useless.

Again, since CCTV systems don’t use wireless technology, this isn’t a problem.

Video Doorbells More Likely to be Damaged

CCTV cameras are usually positioned fairly high up. This gives them a broad view of the surrounding area. This means that criminals will find them harder to access, unlike video doorbells, which are very easy to vandalise.

Aside from purposeful vandalism issues, the very nature of video doorbells means that they are touched daily, and not just by fingers. Since the outbreak of COVID, people have started to use keys and other objects to press doorbells to avoid contact, resulting in damage to the device.

CCTV is a Better Crime Deterrent

Neither Ring nor Nest doorbells are advertised as ‘security devices’. There is virtually no concrete evidence to show that video doorbells reduce crime. In contrast, research has shown that would-be burglars found CCTV to be one of the biggest deterrents.

Can Video Doorbells Replace CCTV?

Whilst video doorbells are a great way to keep an eye on where Amazon have left your latest delivery, they don’t even come close to replacing a dedicated CCTV system.

For the best of both worlds, you could consider using a video doorbell alongside a CCTV system. Evolution CCTV and Electrical can install both CCTV systems and video doorbells for you quickly and at a competitive price.

This HikVision video doorbell works alongside our CCTV systems, as they both use the same user-friendly app. Give us a call on 01257 460332 for a chat, or contact us through the website for more information.

The post Video Doorbell vs CCTV Cameras North West appeared first on Evolution CCTV.

When CQC inspectors visited the Ashton Care Home on John Street, Hinckley, they reviewed CCTV recordings which had been taken over a period of four days. The footage showed numerous occasions where staff failed to wear correct PPE. Sometimes, carers wore masks around their necks whilst assisting residents.

Worryingly, there were three recorded incidents where staff placed medicines into residents’ mouths without gloves, aprons, or even washing their hands!

Using CCTV to protect from risk of COVID-19

During the current pandemic, this kind of behaviour is all the more concerning. A report written by inspectors visiting the care home said, “This placed people at significant risk of harm from infections and increased the potential risks from COVID-19.”

The CCTV also captured “numerous” incidents of staff using mobile phones whilst assisting residents, or simply ignoring the residents entirely.

As a result of the inspection, the inspectors rated the home as inadequate.  They will now bring in special measures to bring it up to standard.

Without CCTV in the care home, this kind of behaviour could have been allowed to continue indefinitely, placing all 56 residents at significant risk of harm, or even death from COVID-19.

Using CCTV surveillance in care homes

Surveillance technology can help care home managers to:

• Protect residents from the risk of unsafe care or treatment.
• Keep the care home secure.
• Help residents to stay safe without a need to restrict their activities.

If you use CCTV to keep care home residents safe, then you should treat that CCTV as part of their care.  It therefore must meet the regulations under the Health and Social Care Act. The Act does not permit covert surveillance; residents, staff and visitors must be informed that CCTV is in operation.
To talk to us today about installing CCTV in your care home, give us a call on 01257 460332 or send us a message through the website.

The post CCTV Showed 63 Times Staff Weren’t Wearing Adequate PPE At Hinckley Care Home appeared first on Evolution CCTV.

Think about how people enter and exit both external and internal doors within your premises. Maybe you already use some form of access control for security. Keypads, key fobs and biometric methods all require various points of physical contact, whether with the keypad itself, or to push or pull the door open once it’s unlocked.

Completely contactless site access control should form a key part of all return to work policies in the current climate. In fact, current UK government COVID-19 secure guidelines suggest that keypad entry systems should be temporarily disabled. This would prevent people from needing to touch them, potentially spreading the virus to the next person to use it. However, it would make businesses vulnerable to intruders, so is therefore definitely not an ideal solution.

The solution is a completely contactless access control system. Our COVID-19 safe access control systems do not require any physical contact whatsoever. You don’t need to touch a keypad, or even have any contact with the door in order to open it.

How COVID Safe Contactless Access Control Works

Your staff can gain access with their own personal contactless key fob. The system will recognise the user, and will trigger the lock to release. Following this, the door will open immediately, with no need to push or pull.

When exiting through the door, there are two options to choose from. The first is the system described above. The second is a contactless exit button. Simply wave your hand near the reader, and the door will automatically open.

Contactless Entry for Doors That Don’t Need Security

Not all internal doors require security. Toilets, for example. The contactless button method works perfectly here. After washing your hands, you would usually have to push or pull the toilet door to exit, and who knows if the person before you washed their hands? Again, simply swipe your hand over the contactless pad, and the door opens without any need to touch it.

The Benefits of Contactless Access Control

• No spreading of germs through repeated contact with keypads.
• No need to keep changing codes for security.
• Contact with door handles not necessary. No need to push doors open with shoulders, elbows or feet to avoid touching them with your hands.
• Ability to manage who can access which area, and at what times those areas can be accessed. Help social distancing by restricting staff to certain areas.
• Control how many people can be in a particular area at one time. The reader will prevent anyone else entering the room until someone has left.
• Makes reporting contact tracing much easier. See which employees have been in a particular area at a particular time.

If you’re interested in getting a COVID safe contactless access control system for your business premises, send us a message or give us a call today on 01257 460332.

The post COVID Safe Access Control Systems appeared first on Evolution CCTV.

Using CCTV as a security measure is very sensible.  You absolutely have the right to use it to protect your property. However, this is only the case as long as you operate it responsibly, whilst being respectful of other people’s privacy.

Whilst you might be using the CCTV solely for the purpose of protecting your property, complaints from neighbours about CCTV are on the increase. People can sometimes believe that their privacy is at risk.  And some people even think that their neighbours are using cameras to spy on them.

Because of this, you should ensure that you are using your CCTV respectfully, as well as effectively. Here are some tips to help:

Tips For Using CCTV Respectfully, and Within the Law

• Consider the impact of your CCTV system on others.
• Options like privacy filters may be used where the optimum placement of your CCTV impinges on the privacy of a neighbour. Recording a neighbour’s property could lead to complaints of breach of privacy or harassment.
• Footage must not be used for anything other than protecting your property.
• Bear in mind that if your system captures images outside of your immediate property, you become subject to the Data Protection Act.
• You should always be completely transparent about your CCTV system. Let your neighbours know you have cameras installed, and the area that the footage captures. Putting signs up to let people know about your CCTV is not only respectful to neighbours, but an extremely effective deterrent to burglars.

Storing CCTV footage or images

• You should always ensure that date and time stamps on the footage are correct.
• Regularly go through your footage and delete recordings which you no longer need.  This is in order to ensure that you comply with the Data Protection Act.
• You must keep recordings safe and secure, and only grant access to those who need it.
• If your CCTV system records a criminal incident, the police may require it as evidence in an investigation.

Now that you know what you can and can’t record using CCTV, have a chat with an expert about our range of CCTV solutions.  Talk to our friendly team, or give us a call on: 01257 460332.

The post What You Can and Can’t Record Using CCTV appeared first on Evolution CCTV.

Hikvision’s Temperature Screening Thermographic Cameras have advanced detectors and algorithms, which are designed to detect raised skin-surface temperatures in humans. This makes them ideal for COVID temperature screening in offices, factories and other public places.

Benefits of Thermal Screening Cameras

Here are some of the benefits of our Hikvision Temperature Screening Thermographic Cameras.

• Just one second to detect temperature.
• Ideal for monitoring entrances.
• Great for public places with high footfall.
• Highly accurate; up to ±0.3°C.
• Detect and screen temperatures of multiple people simultaneously.
• No physical contact required.
• Alarm will notify of elevated temperature.
• AI detection, which reduces false alarms from other heat sources, for example if someone is carrying a hot drink.

All employers have a responsibility to assess and manage the risks of COVID-19 in their workplace. Both employees and visitors to your business need to be kept as safe as possible.

Aside from legal obligations, once you’ve had a case of COVID in your workplace, a great deal of staff absence could ensue. Multiple members of staff may be off work for weeks, due to further cases and the need to self-isolate.

This will obviously massively affect the productivity of your business. However, temperature screening could prevent this from ever happening.

Body Temperature Detection System North West

In conclusion, the rapid installation of Hikvision Temperature Screening cameras means that your business can be quickly protected from the threat of COVID-19 infection.

The temperature screening cameras can operate as a standalone solution, or can easily be integrated with your existing security systems.

We install these cameras across the North West, including Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales. Give us a call today on 01257 460332 or send us a message to find out more.

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