With the amazing growth of Apple products over the last five years, it is no surprise that the surveillance equipment industry has seen increasing demand for security cameras and video surveillance software for Mac computers. At CCTV Camera Pros, we recently tested to confirm that two of our favorite product lines include software that is up to date to work with the new Mac Lion operating system (Mac OS X 10.7): our iDVR-E series stand alone CCTV DVRs and Zavio IP security cameras.

The iDVR-E series video surveillance DVRs are used with CCTV cameras and include a free Mac software application that lets users manage and connect to one or more of these DVRs from a Mac desktop or laptop PC. The Mac DVR software allows the user to view the live video in real time and also playback recorded video remotely over the Internet. The user interface is easy to use and very powerful. This is one of the best Mac DVR clients that we have seen and we have confirmed that the software is compatible with the Mac Lion and Mac Snow Leopard OS. Please click on the below image to view additional screenshots of the Mac software included with the iDVR-E.

If your goal is to setup an IP security camera and log in directly to it from the web browser of your Mac, Zavio IP cameras are an excellent choice. CCTV Camera Pros has tested and confirmed that Zavio cameras can be accessed from Safari, Firefox, and Chrome web browsers on a Mac computer using Lion or Snow Leopard operating systems. Please click on the below image to view additional screenshots and demo videos of Zavio IP cameras being access remotely over the Internet using Mac.

About CCTV Camera Pros
CCTV Camera Pros is a direct supplier of security cameras and video surveillance systems for home, business and government applications. We are a US veteran owned business and are located in Boynton Beach, Florida. CCTV Camera Pros can assist in the design of surveillance systems for any size application. We specialize in assisting our customers not only in the selection of the best equipment for their needs but also in remote support and setup of the Internet access to their cameras. Please visit www.cctvcamerapros.com to learn more about us and the surveillance products that we supply.

CCTV Camera Pros, manufacturer and distributor of security cameras and video surveillance systems, is proud to announce the release of the new MAC compatible iDVR PRO series surveillance DVRs. The new iDVR PRO includes real time recording (30 frames per second) for the 8 and 16 camera models and is compatible with MAC computers, as well as PCs, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows mobile phones for remote surveillance viewing. As with the entire iDVR product line, the PRO series uses the latest H.264 video encoding for the best compression and video quality.

Commenting on the iDVR PRO release, CCTV Camera Pros co-founder Mike Haldas says: “We have seen demand picking up for MAC compatible surveillance systems over the last year. Until now, we only had a Window PC based DVR solution available for Macintosh users who wanted to view their security cameras remotely from a MAC. With the addition of the new iDVR PRO, we now have a state of the art stand alone digital video recorder based on embedded Linux for the growing MAC user base. In addition, the iDVR PRO will appeal to anyone looking for a higher end real time H.264 DVR. We expect the iDVR PRO to become the standard for high end residential, commercial and government security installations.”

Features of the iDVR PRO includes:

• 240 FPS Recording for 8 Channel Model
• 480 FPS Recording for 16 Channel Model
• H.264 Codec Video Compression
• Pentaplex Function – Simultaneous Live / Record / Playback / Archive / Network
• Remote Live Viewing via Windows, MAC, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile
• HDMI output with HD resolution of 1680 X 1050
• USB and DVD Burner Video Archive
• Video Outputs: 1 HDMI, 1 VGA, 1 BNC, 4 Configurable BNC Spot Monitor Outputs
• 8 or 16 Loop Outputs (1 per Channel)
• 8 or 16 Alarm Inputs / 8 or 16 Alarm Outputs (depending on model)
• 4 Internal SATA Hard Drive Bays supports Up to 8TB total video storage
• 500GB Hard Drive Included & Installed
• Network Capability: Gigabit Ethernet w / LAN, DHCP, Dynamic IP & DDNS Support
• Watermarked Video for Taper Proof Security

For detailed information and pricing on the iDVR PRO series surveillance DVRs, please visit these product pages:

• 8 Channel iDVR CCTV Digital Video Recorder
• 16 Channel iDVR CCTV Camera DVR

About CCTV Camera Pros
CCTV Camera Pros is a manufacturer and distributor of video surveillance systems for home, business, and government. CCTV Camera Pros carries a complete line of surveillance equipment including, security cameras, digital video recorders, monitors, cables, connectors, and all accessories needed for complete surveillance systems. CCTV Camera Pros is partnered with a network of over 400 installers in the United States and can provide installation referrals nationwide. Please visit www.cctvcamerapros.com for more information.

It is not an easy thing to leave an elderly parent or relative to the care of a caretaker, especially with so many reports of abuse that you hear about on the news. Some people find more comfort by installing security cameras and a video surveillance system to monitor their loved ones while they are away. A video surveillance system can record all activity in a home when an elder’s family is away. Family members can also login to the system remotely to checkup on grandma or grandpa periodically if they choose. Affordable systems exist that allow people to remotely login from a computer or mobile phone.

Woman Catches Caregiver On Security Camera Abusing Elderly Father

The below video is rather graphic, so please use discretion if there are children in the room. The video shows how one woman caught an abusive caregiver hitting her elderly and disabled father.

Home Surveillance Systems to Monitor Elderly

CCTV Camera Pros supplies affordable home surveillance systems available to help monitor loved ones when you are away from home. We are available for free phone consultations Monday through Friday by calling toll free 888-849-2288. Please click on the below links to view some examples of surveillance equipment that can be used in your home.

• Home DVR Surveillance System with 4 Infrared Cameras
• iPhone, Android, and Blackberry accessible Stand Alone DVR
• Other CCTV security cameras that work with the above DVR

About CCTV Camera Pros

CCTV Camera Pros is a direct supplier of security cameras, videos surveillance systems, and CCTV equipment. Remote Internet viewable systems are our specialty. We are not only a distributor of surveillance equipment but we also test and support each product that we sell. CCTV Camera Pros is a Veteran owned business that was founded by a United States Marine. We supply surveillance systems and equipment to home owners, small, medium, and large sized businesses, as well as local and federal government agencies. No project is too small or too large for us to handle and we have trained sales engineers that can help design the system the is right for your requirements. Visit our website at www.cctvcamerapros.com.

Wireless Surveillance System used in Boca Raton HOA Project

Many Homeowners Associations (HOAs) in South Florida and other areas of the United States are facing the same obstacles when planning a video surveillance system to protect their communities.  In many instances, the clubhouse, pool, guard gate, gym and other common areas of interest are positioned such that running cable to one central monitoring station is not practical, cost prohibitive or simply impossible. Fortunately, with increasingly powerful and affordable wireless security camera system technology emerging, applying a wireless solution to surveillance systems for HOAs makes sense.

Setting up a wireless HOA surveillance system with either IP cameras or traditional CCTV cameras is now relatively simple and can be achieved with the use of IP (Internet Protocol) computer networks (LANs, WANs) and some wireless transmitters / receivers.  You may then access ALL of your cameras through your LAN (Local Area Network), as well as, remotely over the Internet if you choose.

Although it is NOT necessary to employ IP cameras to access your surveillance system remotely, there are some advantages in doing so.  The main one being that the commercial grade and reliable wireless transmitters work over IP, so IP cameras are a natural fit and the easiest to integrate. The PoE (Power over Ethernet) function of IP cameras is also an advantage.  This enables installers to power the cameras using CAT-5 cables with the appropriate PoE network switches or injectors.  In many cases this allows for easy integration into an existing CAT-5 network where cable is already present.  This can cut down on cost by reducing cable runs.

This system can also be used with CCTV / analog security cameras if you also use a network video servers and a network video decoder.   The main purpose of the system is to provide a cost effective solution for remote and hard-to-reach camera locations where dredging and cable laying is not practical or is too expensive to do.

CCTV Camera Pros of Boynton Beach, Florida recently partnered with Smart Pro Techs (who cover Palm Beach and Martin Counties as a surveillance installation partner for CCTV Camera Pros). CCTV Camera Pros was contacted recently by an HOA in Boca Raton, Florida to supply and install a surveillance system for a Homeowners Association with a mix of traditional wired analog CCTV Cameras in the Clubhouse and IP cameras paired with wireless transmitters at the two community entrances. The following equipment was used for this project:

• 8 High Resolution IR Dome Cameras for the clubhouse and pool areas
• 4 Outdoor Infrared IP Cameras – two positioned at each entrance to the community on poles
• 2 Wireless Video Surveillance Transmitter Systems – these were used with the outdoor IP cameras to transmitter about 550 feet from 2 poles, back to the clubhouse where the receiving antennas were positions as well as where the recorder is located.
• 1 PC based DVR which was built as a hybrid system for both CCTV and IP cameras

This surveillance system enables the home owners association board members to record video at the clubhouse, pool area, and entrances. It also allows them to view the system remotely over the Internet.

About CCTV Camera Pros
CCTV Camera Pros supplies video surveillance equipment and security cameras nationwide in the USA. We are specialists in the industry and can design a complete system that is easy to use for your HOA community. Please call 888-849-2288 to speak with an engineer or visit www.cctvcamerapros.com to look at more equipment.

About Smart Pro Techs
Smart Pro Techs is an installation partner of CCTV Camera Pros that provides data and surveillance system installation services in Palm Beach and Martin counties of Florida as well as all areas around New York City under their sister company Tel-A-Tech. Please call 888-849-2288 if you would like to get an estimate on surveillance installation for your community or business or fill our our request a quote form.

Wireless Security Camera System

Using Security Camera Systems To Prevent Employee Theft

It is a sad fact of our world that those who we provide employment for, can steal from us. Some do it out of necessity because they have no other option, while others do it out of greed, but no matter why they do this, it is wrong.

As a result, many employers are beginning to find new ways to prevent and catch employee theft, and the best option seems to be the use of security cameras & surveillance systems, including digital video recorders (DVRs) and even remote viewing technology. The age of grainy black and white camera video is long gone and the days of high-tech, and clear picture is here. All of this makes being a company owner or manager, much easier.

The area where there is the most theft is naturally the cash register. This is where the money is kept and it is the easiest place to steal from, especially when an employee thinks that no one is watching him or her. However, with security cameras set up in strategic locations around the register, you will deter employees from stealing and if they still do you will have proof that they did.

By letting employees know there is a security camera watching them, they will be deterred from wanting to steal from you and that will save big money and a lot of time. No employees stealing means your business can run smoothly and efficiently.

Technology has come a very long way and now everything seems to be integrated. This is the case with surveillance systems that are set up to be integrated with the registers so that when a point of sale is rung up, it is recorded in the video log. That way, you will know exactly where to look on the log to find out where the money was stolen from and by whom. That means you will save a lot of time trying to go through the logs looking for when the person stole from you. Now, all you have to do is fire them and use that as an example to other employees about why they should never steal from the register because the eyes of the manager are always watching.

You also want to be able to monitor the entry and exit points of the restaurant to see if employees are stealing anything from the building. You will be able to see anything loaded onto a truck, or removed from the warehouse, or anywhere else that you may store something that is very important and valuable to the company.

In a perfect world, there would be nor reason to ever try and monitor your employees to see if they have been stealing from you. You would simply be able to trust them and go on the honor system. Sadly, this is not a perfect world and thefts from the workplace happen on a near day-to-day basis ranging from pens to large quantities of money.
Here are just a few examples of how employee theft is prevalent across the board.

Jennings, Louisiana – “A former The Bank employee who was arrested in February for allegedly embezzling more than $88,000 from her employer is set to face arraignment in September.”

Erie, Pennsylvania – “Detectives arrested Kaytlin M. Kramer, 20, on charges of kidnapping, burglary, theft, robbery and making terroristic threats. Kramer — who police said was an employee at the club — is being held in the Erie County Prison on $5,000 bond. Whether Kramer was at the business when the robbery occurred in unclear. Erie Police Detective Sgt. William Masi later viewed security tape from the Rite Aid at 163 W. 26th St., which is near the club. The video showed Kramer buying duct tape and three pairs of gloves at 3:20 a.m. the day of the robbery, according to a criminal complaint Masi wrote in the case.”

Santa Clarita, California – “An employee at Magic Mountain admitted to having stolen close to $10,000 on two occasions by intercepting pneumatic tubes used to transport money and receipts. The employee was, reportedly, seen on the amusement park’s video surveillance cameras transferring cash from a pneumatic tube to a box, which was then put in her backpack. The same employee was, reportedly, seen five days later transferring more cash from a tube to a yellow bag.”

As we can see from just these three examples from a few days in August, there is a great deal of theft going on in businesses and companies need to protect themselves with video cameras that will monitor everything that happens.

If a business owner also worries about the business while they are gone, then they can install remote viewing technology that will allow them to view the employees as they work, from home. This is great for a company owner because he or she will be able to view everything that happens at the workplace, as it happens, from their computer at home, or even on their Blackberry.

Obviously something needs to be done about employee theft and it does little good to catch the employee after the fact. This is why you need security cameras to deter any would-be employee thieves from ever thinking about trying to steal from you. With cameras, remote viewing technology and DVR technology, you will be able to show your employees that you are trusting them with your business, but if they choose to destroy that trust, you will be watching both at the work and from a distance.