Maintenance monitoring is a new concept in the CCTV industry, although it is used regularly in other sectors such as IT, refrigeration, and Oil & Gas production to increase system uptime and reduce maintenance costs.
So we’ve compiled a list of the 10 frequently asked questions about CheckMyCCTV:
1. What is CheckMyCCTV?
CheckMyCCTV is a software solution to check and verify that a CCTV installation is working correctly at all times. CheckMyCCTV monitors your installations and alerts you when there is an issue so it can be pro-actively remedied.
2. Why use CheckMyCCTV?
Your customers require their CCTV systems to be operational 24/7 to ensure their staff, premises, and assets are protected at all time. Traditional annual maintenance cannot provide this assurance. By monitoring your installations with CheckMyCCTV, you can give your customers the assurance that their CCTV systems are operational at all times.
CheckMyCCTV can be used as part of a proactive maintenance service, allowing you to resolve issues before they become critical.
3. How does it work?
CheckMyCCTV works by connecting to the DVR or NVR and performing checks using a network connection, either locally, via broadband, 3G, or VPN. Systems can be configured to be checked at preset intervals and if any of the checks fall outside of the user threshold, or if a failure is detected, an alert is displayed on the CheckMyCCTV Software, and an email is sent.
4. Does anything need to be installed or configured on the CCTV system?
The only thing that needs to be configured on the DVR or NVR is a user account for use with CheckMyCCTV. No other hardware or software is required.
5. What checks can it do?
There are a number of checks that CheckMyCCTV can perform on a remote CCTV system, the ‘core’ checks that work on all of our systems are:
- Network/Connection Check – Ensures the software can connect to the CCTV and Router.
- Camera Failure Check – Reports when cameras have failed on the system.
- Recording Check – Ensures the system is recording as expected.
- Record Duration Check – Ensures the system is recording for the correct duration.
- Time Accuracy Check – Ensures the time is set correctly on the system.
There are other checks which are available on other devices including Camera Tamper Detection, and Restart Checks. A list of available checks can be downloaded HERE.
6. Does CheckMyCCTV work with any CCTV system?
CheckMyCCTV is currently compatible with over 40 brands of DVR/NVR manufacturers including Samsung, Panasonic, HikVision, Dedicated Micros, Lilin, Xtralis, Vista, and Videcon. A full list of compatible brands can be seen HERE. We are adding more brands on a ‘per project’ basis, so if you use a particular brand for a project that is not supported, please contact us.
7. What if the CCTV systems are on a Corporate network or behind a Firewall?
Many CCTV systems are installed on company networks which have no external access to them. Ordinarily, this would mean that checks could not be performed, but using our CheckMyCCTV Connector software, it is possible to run the checks on your customers’ network and receive the results in your CheckMyCCTV Service.
For more details about CheckMyCCTV Connector, click HERE.
8. What do you need to run CheckMyCCTV?
Not much, the software is installed on a Windows PC or Server with at least 2GB of an RAM and as long as it has access to the Internet or a connection to the systems to be checked, then that is all you need. Some of our customers have a second monitor to show the status of their installations using the Map facility, but that’s optional.
We also have CheckMyCCTV Monitoring Partners who can run the service for you. For more details about our monitoring partners, click HERE.
9. What is a typical application for using CheckMyCCTV?
There probably isn’t a typical application as such, any CCTV system could be monitored regardless of the application. However, by far the most popular application where CheckMyCCTV is used is to monitor the status of multi-site retail installations. This is often because it is difficult to know the status of multiple CCTV systems more dotted around the country than a few systems. CheckMyCCTV can display the status of thousands of CCTV systems on one screen.
10. How much does CheckMyCCTV cost?
CheckMyCCTV is licensed annually per connected DVR or NVR System (up to 64 cameras). The cost per license depends on how many systems the software is monitoring. We have a CheckMyCCTV Starter Pack which contains the CheckMyCCTV software, 25 Licenses, Customer branding, and remote setup and training for just £995+vat.
If you have a specific application, or would like to try CheckMyCCTV, please contact us to discuss your individual requirements on +44 (0)161 970 6137 or email us at info@nullcheckmysystems.com