CCTV system help please - auto track and number plate req

[mattysupra]

just to give you some feedback on the cctv situation. Well, im yet to have a cctv system that i would like. I have contacted no end of cctv companys and almost all have failed to turn up. Most ring day before and tell me that the chap who is going to survey site is off ill, wifes having a baby and so on. The ones who have turned up (2) have simply not quoted or come back with a stupid quote. Best quote so far was for £26k to install one camera ! (seriously ?)
Im sick to death of chasing company's. I have the money to spend, but i have lost all faith now in anyone actually turning up.

So next question as im now back to installing myself. - would anyone on here recommend a system to me please. I would like one camera that will auto track. Will return to watch gate whilst not tracking something, will record for say 3 weeks before it over writes, will have a manual control i can use to look at things please. PS- i dont require number plate recognition, however i would like to be able to see number plates on it visually .

We can go two ways, either someone might be so kind to tell me what to order or better still send me a cost and order details and i buy from them direct. I dont really have time to mess around searching for hours for better deal etc. Simple, spec and cost if possible if you can supply but obviously i want a fair price and not a joke price of £26k for the same sony camera i can get off ebay for £250 quid ! some serious labour on that quote.

Any help / link to a package would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[secureiam]

The distance involved etc its important, what did the quotes specify?

 

[secureiam]

£1,000+vat will get you an auto tracking 2MP 30x optical zoom camera, the DVR depends on how long you want it to record for and if full res and full frame rate but £400 should be plenty, then there is the fixing brackets and time to fix it. people need to make a living but 26K does seem steep but they have done the survey so they should know whats required.

The problem would be if they have there lights on, that's where an anpr camera comes in.

 

[secureiam]

I can't find a camera that will definitely allow you to track and read the plates at night with their lights on.

But asking around to see if there is anything close, at the moment the solution appears to be track your vehicles but apnr cameras to read the plates at night with those that have there headlights on.

If they have quoted for a solution, it be nice to see whats on there recommended list, I may be able to verify it for you.

 

[secureiam]

Do you want the bad news, the only cameras I can find that maybe be possible of doing exactly what you ask are from Axis and are around 5K each(AXIS Q6045-S MkII) at the cheap end (had a quick look but some of the specs looked like an older lower spec models ie 720 not 1080). Axis is from my understanding the dogs bol***cks, they are capable of taking the headlights out of the equation with a complexity I am only just getting to grips with. Down for several training sessions over the coming months with AXIS to get to grips with there gear.

Your quote at 26K may not be as stupid as it sounds (hence what did they quote), not sure you would be able to get hold of that camera.

http://www.axis.com/global/en/products/axis-q6045-s

I have spoke to a few distributors and manufacturers, so you can have anpr dotted around to pick up the licence plates, and the tracking or the above and read the plates manually.


Hope this helps a little, even if its not what you want to hear.

 

[SimonH2]

Bear in mind that I am definitely no expert in the area, but I did have some involvement in security and CCTV at my last job. There they has some issues in common - easy road access, remote location (no neighbours to bother the tealeafs), once they get round back they are completely out of sight, ...
Unfortunately i didn't get to try any of this as when it came down to it, manglement decided not to spend anything It didn't help that what we did have was "blinded" when they put up some nice looking but not all that functional outside lighting - all we got at night was a glare round the lights and everything else in darkness.

Rather than trying to get auto-tracking and things like that working, why not more than one camera, each optimised for a specific tack. If you have one tracking camera, then when it goes off tracking one "suspect", then others will be able to move about unseen.

My plan was to have :
One camera (existing location) with a general view of the road access. No good for detail (eg number plates), but lets you see who went where.
Additional cameras, ideally hidden, close to where any vehicles would have to go - setup specifically to get detail (vehicle make/model/number plate/possibly driver's face) but little else.

As it is, I think the only time the CCTV got used "in anger" was catching the night shift (including supervisor) "rushing the process" to get their turns out in a few hours (and damaging the machines in the process) - then slacking off to the canteen to play cards. It had been suspected, so an internal camera was discretely moved - once the manager had seen the tape the next day, he paid an unexpected visit the next night and caught them all red handed.

 

[secureiam]

Without knowing the lay of the land its difficult to recommend anything concrete.

if you have a tracking camera that can see number plates with the headlights on (not anpr as they are stationary), then you could miss others visiting the site that is true depends on what is being covered.

having a demo of something that's already been done is a good way forward.

Have you found a solution yet.