Rockvilleash1976

The HDcctv systems do not function well in low light and poor weather so i would take them out of the mix.

NVR's do not like heat. They are servers and have you ever seen a server room without A/C?

A well built DVR like the Bosch 600 series is your best bet for this application.

I would use dome cameras over bullet cameras for this. I have been in the security industry for 12 years and i can't tell you how many time I have seen a soccer ball under a poll with a bullet camera looking at the Sky. I dont care how tight you lock it down if someone want to knock the camera out of its field of view a soccer ball will do it every time.

Bosch has a new product line called their Advantage line. They have a IR mini dome that I have used in everything from homes to High security military bases.

Consider using one thermal camera and two IR domes. It will increase the cost of your total system but the results will be a system that works day or night. The thermal camera can be set up to activate a beeper on the DVR when it seems motion.

HDcctv is the next wave of camera technology. It is a digital signal over coax. This falls between IP and Analog there will be some advantages with HDcctv. You can get up to a 2MP camera from Everfocus and use traditional wire methods using coax. They do not work over cat5 or cat6. HDcctv cameras and recorders will be standardized so any HDcctv camera will work with any HDcctv DVR.

I had the Everfocus rep come to my office and give me a demo. The indoor image looks awsome but the cameras have a hard time with different light conditions. The night time image is not very good and the cameras are not WDR. I would wait another year or two before I used the HDcctv technology.

There is a difference between a service contract and a maintenance contract.

Maintenance Contracts usually run 10-15% of your install cost on a yearly basis. I would recommend that you start the contract from day one and make it at lest a 3 year contract. If you used a good manufacture that has a 3 year warranty and provided UPS's at the DVR's you can make a good profit because you should not have any serious issue for the first 3 years. You need to exclude acts of good, vandalism, end-user error. At the end of the 3 years you should state that there needs to be a service visit to evaluate the condition of the system. I would not renew the contract without making sure the system is still in good working condition.

Service Contract:

For most warehouse systems I will do quarterly or bi-annual service to clean cameras and inspect the system. I always plan for two techs. You need to figure how many hours it will take to clean all the cameras and if you need any special equipment like lifts. Take that time and round up. So if you can do it in 6 hours you need to round up to an 8 hour day. If you leave it at 6 hours it is very unlikely a tech will get to another site to do any work so a 6 hour day should be an 8 hour billable day. $75-$125 an hour single man rate are the going rate in the market I am in.