Taking Advantage of Video’s Versatility

Hide DVRs in Plain Sight

I have written here before that sound security applications are akin to a good magic act. While you are looking at what is obvious, the real magic is taking place elsewhere. This can be said for video recording devices. How often have you seen a commercial burglary in which the owner has the DVR on an office shelf and it is stolen at the time of the burglary?

TIP: A good use for old VCRs is to have one plainly visible as a decoy for burglary and theft while the real DVR is locked away in a cabinet or closet elsewhere. Don’t forget to mark the decoy VCR “Security Videos – Do Not Touch.”

One vendor recently has been able to take covert DVR technology to the next level. Speco Technologies (www.specotechnologies.com) has been able to compress the DVR’s guts (circuit board, hard drive, power supply) into a standard lockable utility box. This makes it easy to hide your surveillance equipment in a locked utility closet. Another approach is to have security video recorded remotely with systems such as the Napco (www.napcosecurity.com) iSee video system, which is another good RMR generator.       

TECH UPDATE: Tree Power for Security Devices?

Recently, I ran across a new technology concept that I thought would be interesting to mention. The Holy Grail of wireless security devices has always been those that do not need to be powered by a battery. Research scientists at institutions such as MIT and the University of Washington have found that they can get electricity from trees. This is due to the pH differential between the trees and soil.

Companies like Voltree have already patented devices that sense forest fires and relay that information in a mesh network pattern through the forest using only the power from trees. How much more green can you get than that? I am tossing this suggestion out to our industry manufacturers to see if we might see similar security sensors, and even video cameras, powered by trees. How cool would that be?

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