Australian Trade Show

[cctv_down_under 0]

I just got back from the Australian trade show it was very interesting indeed.

 

Here are some of the things I noticed at the show:

 

1/ Merit Lilin and several other DVR making companies have decided to opt out of the high end arena and are now selling what I think is Omnivision, and boy it is cheap, it is linux based and fairly boring but it is rare to see three wholesalers selling the same products.

 

2/ CHANCE-I were at the show and I spoke to the head person, they are looking for distributors here, they have all the features that Vendoma advertise, they just havent put it on their website yet, they say that Vendoma has an OEM version and SDK and that they have made several valuable changes, the guy that was looking for distributors knew absolutley nothing. One thing that is interesting though was that they swear the onboard MPEG4 cards are going to be only marginally more expensive than the software compression versions so this is exciting, I had a good look at the software and it is not all that flash but it is very easy to use because of the lack of features, but they cant even play back files through the web etc.. so it is still underdevloped but looks nice.

 

3/ Magic radar is now being sold by a large wholesaler here in Australia, they only sell complete units, I had another look at it and it still is very plain and basic, they will release a linux version in 3 weeks, it is quite stable and looks ok on recordings and they now have a control room feature which is pretty good, the company distributing it here was told by magic Radar they have exclusive rights but then one of my dealers is ordering many peices of it OEM, so they are the same as Geo in this regard, they do not care about loyalty.

 

4/I read heaps of documents on the new enterprise stuff coming out for GE, I must admit this is the most impressive integration I have yet to see.(and yet to see means it is not here yet). it boasts access control DVR and alarms in one integration either by 232, ethernet and some wireless, the beauty of it all is that everything integrates, for example your alarm pad can have an lcd that can control any PTZ on the site, your access control links into the data base and the DVR and better still they export in common SQL, you can have reports straight to a website or graphical representation.. as per usual though it will be way overpriced and not used by many but it is a huge step forward for them, had another look at thier DVR range, still limited by speed.. and the cameras were less than impressive, they do have some great fibre transmition gear and some awesome housings, but as usual way overpriced.

 

5/ Geo showed me a run through of Version 6.1, my god it is impressive, not just saying that.. I will list a review on here soon so I will leave this one alone for a while

 

6/ I found an awesome Standalone, but insanlely expensive, it has Jog Shuttle, CDRW or DVDRW, USB, VGA, full channels of audio Composite out and is ...yep wait for it.... 400FPS, and not in quad mode either, in single mode (havent tested that yet) it looks the absolute goods with an embedded RTOS here is a link for it, they also sell a 800FPS DVR with 32 CH hardware compression but not very cheap... it comes from ICFS in china but it looks the goods. http://www.austarsecurity.com.au/austar/products.asp?cid=1336

 

7/ Also saw a really cool PTZ motion tracking cam, I know they have been around for ages, but this had a click and drag interface and on the fly button adjustments, and had a full 360 degree constant view, using two cameras, it was reall cool,,, Imagine doing a tour by writing your name on the screen by the mouse as if you were drawing it like a pen and then watching the cam follow your signature as a tour.

 

8/ Lots of cheap cameras coming in now, loads of Samsung... LG etc.. very poor quality but moving large volumes..

 

9/ I did see one other really cool software application but will not mention it yet as I may want to deal with these guys, lets just say it is developed here and is very unique and very impressive.. but more on that later.

 

10 Overall.. there is still nothing that comes close to Geo, and GE is still too expensive.. the big boys have come down a peg and didnt have such flash stands this year, there seems to be a trend towards anti terrorist tracking abilities this year and full system integrations, and many people are choosing between either high end DVR products or Low end and there is no gap in between, also some of the more reputable companies are now starting to loose the name brands and head for cheaper name brands like.. Samsung or LG and even OEM products, some of the biggest wholesalers in Australia I think are now struggling to justify higher prices as cheaper products close the gap and therefore they are no longer ignoring smaller dealers.

 

I did not see a DVR under 200FPS at the show excepting the Standalones of Dedicted Micros and Kalatel, the majority are now PC Based and only 1 I.P camera was at the show, there was many web servers and DVR integration accesories being introduced for the first time and it was busier than last year.

 

 

Regards,

 

GC

[AVCONSULTING 0]

That DVR looks like the one carried by Mace here. Link below. Also the low cost one looks like the AV Tech. Nice review of the show. Would have liked to have seen it.

 

http://www.mace.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=78

[rory 0]

this is out in the US, I think this is what you were talking about?

http://www.geindustrial.com/ge-interlogix/facilitycommander/index.html

 

Also, did you see these, great cameras with best image over most other name brands:

http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/products/ge-interlogix?pnlid=9&famid=63&catid=1083&id=CamPlus&lang=en_US

http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/products/ge-interlogix?pnlid=9&famid=63&catid=1083&id=UltraView&lang=en_US

 

It seems though, that cheaper cameras and DVRs are moving more, like you said, it may be time for me to delve back into COP cameras, as they are like the cheapest we can get out of Miami, or Mace; Just to make some regular cash. GE, Phillips, etc, have to start dropping prices, as they are pretty rediculous, great products, but seems right now people are more concerned with price, and even for myself, I have a cheap B/W provideo bullet camera here at my place that works great. Seems B/W cheap cameras look just as or almost as good as an expensive high end BW camera, but I noticed the cheaper the color camera is the worst it normally is. (eg. $60 bullet camera) outdoors at least.

 

Oh yeah, wish i was there!!

[Sure 0]

Hi thanks for a great review.

I also went to the show. The one thing that I noticed was that many large name manurfacturers are now representing themselves in Australia. I assume this will cut out alot of the people that are trying to get into the DVR market and are keen but in reality will only be there for one year.

GE now represents its line with 2 salesmen and one tech support for NSW.

I was a bit disappointed that there was not a greater emphasis on DVR intergration with POS and licence palte regonition though I presume this will come next year. I think the big guys will ride out the DVR onslaught and will back up thier range with long term product support.

[rikky 0]

Have you got more info on the GE integration systems?

[rory 0]

Have you got more info on the GE integration systems?

 

http://www.geindustrial.com/ge-interlogix/facilitycommander/index.html

[rikky 0]

Yeah right,

 

This thing can do anything.

But it's a framework, which needs all individual products to be interfaced to the commander software.

This ain't a ready to use package.

[rory 0]

What do you expect?!

[rikky 0]

I expect an integrated solution, which describes the functionalities of DVRExpert, but on a standard based solution, of the shelf ready to order and configurate.

And this without any hassle for interfacing, drivers, etc ...

And of course at a reasonable price.

[cctv_down_under 0]

I am with you Ricky

[rory 0]

I expect an integrated solution, which describes the functionalities of DVRExpert, but on a standard based solution, of the shelf ready to order and configurate.

And this without any hassle for interfacing, drivers, etc ...

And of course at a reasonable price.

 

reasonable price is out the window with GE...

 

But it does integrate with their DVRs, Access, and Alarms, simple plug and play. Ofcourse you still have to do some work, like plug the cables into the PC from the DVRs. They have ready loaded systems also.

[cctv_down_under 0]

Look I admit the GE gear is pretty good and they obviously have good R and D but the products they sell have far too much margin in them, you are paying for a name..

 

In Australia there is a really cool shop called Myers, this is the major shopping centres in Australia and to give you an example, they sell a Brand called Reserve, which is some pretty nice clothing but not all that expensive considering it comes from Myers, but I am fond Of Yves Saint Louren or YSL as it is called and this is a nice style of business shirt and suits, but I have always thought that Reserve's stuff is just as nice, but recently I just bought a pair of slacks and looked inside at the Reserve label and guess what.. they had sewn two labels there, one was YSL and lower than that was Reserve.. this is how I see GE.

 

They do have a good choice of products but most of the gear is not made by them but is made in the same Asian factory that many others are made in, now how can you justify the more expensive price to get a product that is mostly the same as a cheaper product.

 

Dont get me wrong consumer electronics is a lot different as systems integration is important and this is where I take my hat off to GE as they are an excellent sourcer of products and then they integrate them flawlessly, there is a lot to be said for a company that can source good product and then assemble it by itself and provide a full solution... however I think we would all be lying if most of our solutions are based on Enterprise style solutions, therefore most of us do not need it and why pay more for a branding and a name, sure it is easier to sell but so is a an equvilent product at a cheaper price.

 

GE and many other companies like Pelco for instance sell thier product on false pretence.. they tell every one it is made in the US to install buyer confidence but nothing about that statement is fully true.. lets take the storesafe for instance....The board comes form ASIA yet because the case is assembled in the US it is branded as an US DVR, this is very typical.. for example.. PELCO. a major brand by any means is made by a company called DYNACOLOUR and then sold under its brand.. Consumers and installers need to know that there is a missconception about OEM and no name products... you see it works like this.

 

Big names like GE, Pelco and others will find a good product in the Asian market and then they will ask the manufactorer to make it for them, the manufactorer is usually new to the market and working form a Grant given to them by the government and therefore they sell their product under another name with an agreement for volumes by the major players that Guarantees them not having to sell the product much and they can rely on their distributor.... but you see if that product falls behind in development..then the distributor drops it and then that manufactorer starts to search for a new distributor and then you can find excellent products that are equivalent to be sold but have some boring branding.

 

A perfect example of this would be ADEMCO Australia, now ADEMCO is a major player and their DVR product comes form a company called HISCO and they recently contacted us to sell their gear.. you see there is no loyalty either way.

 

The point I am trying to get accross is that there are very few manufactorers in the world, way less than many people think and a lot of products are Re Branded.. I am not saying GE do this but there are many products that are as good as GE if not better but are half the price, therefore I would not stock these produsts, you see because of GE's and other larger companies ties with Major Distributors, they are stuck with having expensive products... why?.. because the companies they sell to are high end and have offices all over.. therefore they have larger running costs than other smaller customers.. so they need bigger margins to survive..So GE and others can not drop prices to be able to sell to other distributors of their goods because then the big boys would be upset.. and the problem that lies there is that if the big boys are expensive and they get undercut then.. they lose sales and people like GE get pissed off.

 

You see that most major distributors do not truley only wholesale...they do retail corporate jobs.. but here in Australia they run into problems.. I have mentioned before that 50FPS is not fast enough to be a sellable item here, so what happens.. the big distributor for GE is in trouble as people like me can sell a product that is better than it and much cheaper, so then competition is born.. but you see Consultants are starting to wisen up that there are better products and cheaper and therefore start to scope cheaper gear.. this means that the wholesaler can not make massive proffits from corporate sales and then the revenue is halved...

 

GE gets pissed due to lack of volume.. then they come to people like us to increase volume and we tell them to piss off because the price is too high, so if they lower the prices they are stuffed.. they can not win this way.. one way around it is to have a disclosure agreement that is legally binding then they can shaft the big boys but offer prices that will never be put out in the open... this is what is happening now.

 

The other way is to make an advertising campain stating that US made is better and that PC systems are unstable and try to fool the installers and the general public.

 

An example would be the GEO CONTROL ROOM Versus..several other high end brands corporate integration software.. calling it ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS does not disguise the fact that companies like Geo offer this for free while other major players charge an additional amount for this service.

 

Shopping around as an installer can actually allow you import no more than say 16 pieces of camera that are of the same or better quality direct form an Asian manufactorer, sur eit is expensive to keep the stock until you sell it but then you still save thousands and you get the same quality product.

 

Regards,

 

GC

[cctv_down_under 0]

i would like to make one point very clear.. my opinions are only that Opinions...I have no proof that Ge actually do this or any other major player.. however it is common knowledge that this is a common procedure and although I may have looked like I was pointing my finger at GE I was not!! I was purely observing a common trend by several large corporate companies that I know of, it is wise for each installer/Importer to research all thier products and to find out exactly what is availiable in the market.

 

Personally I find the GE gear to be more than adequate and most consumers should feel very confident with their products.

[rory 0]

DVR, i do agree with you on most if not all of this, but thing is, it is more realistic for me to buy a US made product, whether the mother board or memory is made in asia, because i have great support from them. I just tested another OEM from taiwan, stand alone DVR, tech support is almost non english, and took 2 days to get back to me with no actual help on the matter. They only gave me one manual, GE gives me 3 with tons more info on other options to edit. Video quality was the same as GE's and the DVR is actually pretty good, no back up as video just Jpeg, but still a good unit for low end, So im impressed there. I bought from a Us distributor that told me it was an Apro DVR, when it as made by HiSharp!

 

Ive checked with Sunell and a couple others and they want volume only, which I cant give them, I cant pay for a trailer full of DVRs. So you see, I have to buy US due to my location, even if the memory or mboard is Asian, as I get great support. My distributor doesnt even know who makes it!

 

And I agree again, when buying Pelco, GE, Phillips, Sony, etc, you are always paying for the name. But still after using several other DVRs, PC and Standalone, GE is well on top of the rest, but yes, you pay for it, thats the major problem, and maybe one day they can come to their senses and drop the pricing some.

[rory 0]

i would like to make one point very clear.. my opinions are only that Opinions...I have no proof that Ge actually do this or any other major player.. however it is common knowledge that this is a common procedure and although I may have looked like I was pointing my finger at GE I was not!! I was purely observing a common trend by several large corporate companies that I know of, it is wise for each installer/Importer to research all thier products and to find out exactly what is availiable in the market.

 

Personally I find the GE gear to be more than adequate and most consumers should feel very confident with their products.

 

Dude, dont worry about it, if I was to use a GEO im sure I would love it. It is all about market like you said. I have no love for GE, I just 'like' their DVRs as they are so simple to install and work great as a standalone, but the price is way high. I mentioned before you can buy a 40Gb version and switch the HD yourself, saves on the HD cost, which for some reason they and other big name brands charge so much for. Really, I just like small, compact all in one devices, even PCs, I like the small desktop versions. Would be nice if someone could make a PC DVR using a cappucino PC (http://www.cappuccinopc.com), its made in asia resold in the US under this name