With the need to protect pupils, staff and property high on the national curriculum, Manor High School in Leicestershire has turned to local CCTV specialists Tranter Fire & Security for the answers, and Tranter has in turn specified a solution based around sophisticated technology from Bosch Security Systems (BSS).
The system comprises more than 40 cameras - a mixture of Bosch Dinion and Flexidome devices - installed at various strategic points around the school including entry/exit points, corridors and cloakrooms. Images from each camera are transmitted over the school's own local network and stored digitally on one of three Bosch Divar digital recorders.
All ancillaries including Bosch LCD monitors and keyboards are provided, as well as the appropriate operational software and storage management software. Authorized staff are able to monitor and review images from a local monitoring suite within the school's premises' office.
Tranter Fire & Security chose Bosch technology due to its reliability and performance, as Leigh Tranter explains, "Bosch came to demonstrate its technology to us and we were immediately impressed. Although slightly more expensive than other products on the market, we were certain of its benefits, and managed to convince the school management that quality counts."
Leigh believes they benefited from promoting the Bosch brand, "Bosch is a household name, synonymous with quality engineering. This definitely helped in selling the solution, as well as the technical back-up and support provided by the Bosch team which has been second-to-none."
The Bosch Flexidome cameras installed utilize advanced 15-bit imaging technology, the same technology already proven in its Dinion cameras to exploit the full potential of today's imaging chips. With their 540 TV-line resolution, Flexidome cameras are able to produce extremely sharp and detailed images and handle difficult lighting conditions, including an Auto Black feature to counteract the effects of fog or glare, NightSense to compensate for fading light, and backlight compensation to ensure clear images when viewing entrances.
The Bosch Divar digital versatile recorder series comprises compact, low profile units that combine flexible digital recording and multiplexing, not only saving space but also ensuring integrated functionality. Designed with both the installer and operator in mind, Divar allows simultaneous recording and playback of video images, and an "overwrite protection" feature of marked video clips prevents the loss of evidential material.
The images per second (IPS) record rate and image quality are selectable for each of the 40+ cameras, thereby making it possible to prioritise recording between the high-risk and lower-risk areas. By having a higher refresh rate for critical areas, considerable hard disk storage space can be saved. Recording rates of 50 IPS (PAL) or 60 IPS (NTSC) are guaranteed, without the need for synchronisation. As well as control and external alarm inputs, the Divar's motion detector triggers an alarm when movement in a user-definable area of the image is detected.
"All of the Bosch technology was easy to install," Leigh concludes, "and the Bilinx feature that enabled cameras to be set-up remotely without having to keep going up and down a ladder saved us considerable time on site, which translates into a more efficient service."
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