Derrick
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
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This surveillance kit is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s ideal for home users but on the other, there are quite a number of better solutions out there that will deliver a better result.
It’s an unfortunate reality, but video surveillance has evolved from being a luxury security item to a necessity. We are seeing more and more residential complexes implementing video security, and the technology has also allowed home users to install and run their own surveillance cameras without employing a security company to do the installation and maintenance thereof.
PCMall recently announced the addition of the ViSo range of surveillance hardware to its catalogue, and while this brand is relatively unknown in South Africa, some of the ViSo products seem rather promising (as I shall explain further on).
The nice thing about the ViSo kit is that you can customise it to your needs.
There are USB-based cameras that connect directly to your PC and you can purchase some optional accessories that will allow you to mount these cameras anywhere on your property.
Then there are also some higher spec’d day/night infrared cameras that don’t use USB, but analogue video cables with BNC connectors. For our surveillance test, PCMall sent us four cameras along with some other extras to transform our office into the Big Brother house, much to the dismay of the other staff.
Each of these components can be purchased separately and as needed. The first two cameras I unpacked were the boxed USB retail ViSo cameras. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed by the quality of the hardware in particular.
The Starter kit’s camera felt flimsy and the plastic chrome finish didn’t help either. The second camera is called the “ViRo” and features pan and tilt capabilities. Sadly, this one too has a flimsy feel to it and its all-plastic exterior makes it look a little cheap.
Another major oversight is that neither of these cameras is suited to be placed anywhere else beside a bookshelf or your PC desk.
The ViRo does have a threaded mount, but this seems a little useless considering the general placement of surveillance cameras.
Nevertheless, ViSo’s colour IR cameras, which can be purchased separately, are solidly constructed and are bundled with mounting brackets, allowing you to wall-mount them virtually anywhere. These also have a much larger IR LED cluster, which allows for much better night vision.
The installation process was remarkably simple and even though I anticipated some issues, I had everything installed and connected in about 30 minutes. Hooking up the USB cameras was as simple as plugging them into open USB ports, but I had to make use of a USB hub as my PC had no more USB ports available.
Connecting the colour IR cameras required a little more work, but the concept is straightforward. The cameras are powered by an external power supply, which is able to accommodate up to ten cameras. To set them up, you need to cut some wires and screw them in place on the power supply.
Next, the cameras need to be mounted and then connected to your PC via the USB Frame Grabber, a little USB dongle that allows you to access the video feed of a camera via your PC’s USB port. This USB device has two ports: S-Video and C-Video, the latter being used by this kit.
Once all the cameras have been mounted and connected to your PC’s USB ports, the next step is to install the software. Having used high-end software such as Axis’s Camera Station, which is used by their surveillance cameras, I have rather high expectations for any video-surveillance software I might be using.
The software that ViSo uses with its hardware is acceptable, but it’s targeted at a consumer market and doesn’t offer much in terms of advanced features. The software does have a few nice features, including the ability to set up remote access to your camera from a PDA, Pocket PC or BlackBerry phone. Other brands such as Nokia, LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson are also supported.
Overall, this surveillance kit is not bad. It’s very easy to install and configure, and home users will appreciate the ease of use.
Sadly, the one area where this kit disappoints is the most important aspect of all: image quality. The USB cameras offered mediocre picture quality while the IR cameras offered a slightly better resolution. We’d even go as far as recommending that you only use the latter. If, however, your requirements are great picture quality and more feature-rich hardware, this kit might not be for you.
It’s an unfortunate reality, but video surveillance has evolved from being a luxury security item to a necessity. We are seeing more and more residential complexes implementing video security, and the technology has also allowed home users to install and run their own surveillance cameras without employing a security company to do the installation and maintenance thereof.
PCMall recently announced the addition of the ViSo range of surveillance hardware to its catalogue, and while this brand is relatively unknown in South Africa, some of the ViSo products seem rather promising (as I shall explain further on).
The nice thing about the ViSo kit is that you can customise it to your needs.
There are USB-based cameras that connect directly to your PC and you can purchase some optional accessories that will allow you to mount these cameras anywhere on your property.
Then there are also some higher spec’d day/night infrared cameras that don’t use USB, but analogue video cables with BNC connectors. For our surveillance test, PCMall sent us four cameras along with some other extras to transform our office into the Big Brother house, much to the dismay of the other staff.
Each of these components can be purchased separately and as needed. The first two cameras I unpacked were the boxed USB retail ViSo cameras. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed by the quality of the hardware in particular.
The Starter kit’s camera felt flimsy and the plastic chrome finish didn’t help either. The second camera is called the “ViRo” and features pan and tilt capabilities. Sadly, this one too has a flimsy feel to it and its all-plastic exterior makes it look a little cheap.
Another major oversight is that neither of these cameras is suited to be placed anywhere else beside a bookshelf or your PC desk.
The ViRo does have a threaded mount, but this seems a little useless considering the general placement of surveillance cameras.
Nevertheless, ViSo’s colour IR cameras, which can be purchased separately, are solidly constructed and are bundled with mounting brackets, allowing you to wall-mount them virtually anywhere. These also have a much larger IR LED cluster, which allows for much better night vision.
The installation process was remarkably simple and even though I anticipated some issues, I had everything installed and connected in about 30 minutes. Hooking up the USB cameras was as simple as plugging them into open USB ports, but I had to make use of a USB hub as my PC had no more USB ports available.
Connecting the colour IR cameras required a little more work, but the concept is straightforward. The cameras are powered by an external power supply, which is able to accommodate up to ten cameras. To set them up, you need to cut some wires and screw them in place on the power supply.
Next, the cameras need to be mounted and then connected to your PC via the USB Frame Grabber, a little USB dongle that allows you to access the video feed of a camera via your PC’s USB port. This USB device has two ports: S-Video and C-Video, the latter being used by this kit.
Once all the cameras have been mounted and connected to your PC’s USB ports, the next step is to install the software. Having used high-end software such as Axis’s Camera Station, which is used by their surveillance cameras, I have rather high expectations for any video-surveillance software I might be using.
The software that ViSo uses with its hardware is acceptable, but it’s targeted at a consumer market and doesn’t offer much in terms of advanced features. The software does have a few nice features, including the ability to set up remote access to your camera from a PDA, Pocket PC or BlackBerry phone. Other brands such as Nokia, LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson are also supported.
Overall, this surveillance kit is not bad. It’s very easy to install and configure, and home users will appreciate the ease of use.
Sadly, the one area where this kit disappoints is the most important aspect of all: image quality. The USB cameras offered mediocre picture quality while the IR cameras offered a slightly better resolution. We’d even go as far as recommending that you only use the latter. If, however, your requirements are great picture quality and more feature-rich hardware, this kit might not be for you.