GENIE Press release CCTV Domes

A dome is a dome…. Right?

Not necessarily. With a massive choice of internal mini domes and external vandal resistant domes available on the market, it is difficult to know where to start when choosing the right product for the relevant application.

For many installation companies, price is the driving factor and they will fit the cheapest option available, either through lack of knowledge on quality variations or as an opportunity to maximise profits in what is a very tough market sector. Sometimes it is the end user who dictates the quality of the installation by driving the price down as low as possible in an effort to keep the cost of what is often considered a grudge purchase to an absolute minimum. After all, it is well documented how tough it is out on the high street at the moment.

The downside of the price driven installation is usually low quality equipment which, whilst on paper delivers in terms of product specification, in the real world actually delivers low quality images which struggle to provide any kind of useful information. The adage of “you get what you pay for” has never been truer and end users need to be aware that when forcing the installer to keep pricing as low as possible, something has to give and generally this is the quality of the product.

Working with distributors, installers and end users, Genie CCTV Ltd offer a range of IP, HDSDI and analogue cameras to suit all applications and budgets. Their superior analogue cameras feature Pixim Seawolf technology which claims to offer high performance in all lighting conditions. Indeed, Genie worked closely with Pixim to incorporate their own binary data files into the processing chips ensuring the best possible performance characteristics.

Traditional CCD cameras rely solely on the lens to regulate the amount of light at the chip. In even lighting environments with small changes in the overall illuminated scene this works perfectly well. However, most retail environments are far from ideal and lighting can vary significantly in a very small area. If you take fashion retailing for example, often there are dimly lit “mood” areas right next to spot lit high contrast areas. In convenience stores there may be an overall even lighting scene but the addition of chilled food cabinets or refrigerators with bright fluorescent lights can easily overpower traditional CCD cameras causing ‘white-out’ thereby obscuring any detail in that area. Other areas of high contrast, such as shop doorways - where cameras are installed looking directly into bright sunlight -are traditional problem areas where, if you’re not careful, all you can see is a silhouette. Let’s face it, we’ve all stood in a doorway looking at a monitor displaying the camera supposedly capturing people entering the shop, and on most of them you can’t even tell if it’s you on the monitor?

Pixim Seawolf is different as it uses a digital pixel imaging chip rather than a CCD to produce images. Each individual pixel is effectively treated as a “lens” which can be dimmed or brightened to produce an even, well defined picture; even in extreme lighting conditions.

Another area where Genie’s Pixim Seawolf cameras have had great success is a local prestigious car dealership where the installation company had tried several makes of internal dome but was unable to overcome issues with sunlight streaming through floor to ceiling windows reflecting on a shiny tiled floor and glaring off the highly polished cars and windscreens. All attempts to solve this problem had failed until the company turned to Genie for assistance. Initially the company took just a single dome to try with some scepticism after their prior experiences but soon returned to collect several more after the initial trial dome exceeded their wildest expectations. They finally had a satisfied customer and have since used Genie domes on many more installations.

Genie’s Pixim Seawolf cameras are available in digital and true day night versions and can be supplied as internal domes, vandal resistant domes, bodied, bullet and module format. Vandal resistant domes and bullet cameras are available with IR LED’s to increase flexibility where there is little or no additional illumination. The full range of products can be viewed at www.geniecctv.com

Plexus Security Group servicing clients throughout the UK: