Can you check your CCTV in under 20 seconds?

You can with CheckMyCCTV! The latest updates to the test engine now make it possible to comprehensively check your Dedicated Micros CCTV system and cameras in under 20 seconds*.

As an installer or RVRC, your customers may expect (or demand) that you regularly check their CCTV system. CheckMyCCTV is a simple and most cost effective way to ensure that your customers sites and your reputation remain in good health.

CheckMyCCTV automatically and autonomously checks many aspects of the CCTV system and gives you a status report in less than 20 seconds. If you had the time, patience, and persistence, you could (probably) manually perform all the tests that CheckMyCCTV does.

If you want to give it a try, here’s the tests you’d have to perform……on your marks….get set……GO!

  • Check that you can connect to the DVR.
  • Check that the time and date is correct.
  • Check that all the cameras are working.
  • Check that the unit is recording. (Are you sure it’s recording?)
  • Check that the hard disks are working.
  • Test the network bandwidth of the DVR. (Are you losing the will to live now?)
  • Take a daily configuration backup from the DVR.
  • Check that the DVR is actioning alarms. (Are we nearly there yet?)
  • Check that the DVR is connecting to a central station on alarm, etc etc.

I think you get the picture. In all there are up to 22 individual checks that CheckMyCCTV performs on every unit, every hour of every day.

So, do you really have time to check your CCTV systems manually? Find out how much time and resource CheckMyCCTV can save you, contact us today for a FREE 14-day trial.

 

* Tests conducted on a standard BT Broadband connection at 6Mb/s download and 330Kb/s upload using a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 PC.

New Feature: Interactive Map support

We’ve had a busy start to the year, so we’re happy to announce the launch of Interactive Maps for CheckMyCCTV, now it’s even easier to keep a track of the status of all your sites.

By utilising the interactive map function, users can display site locations and corresponding status on a map using colour coded markers. It is easy to locate sites geographically, rather than just from the site tree – useful if you have many sites around the country (or world for that matter), or the operators are unfamiliar with the site locations.

The maps are fully interactive, so by clicking on a marker on the map, CheckMyCCTV software will display the status of that unit. It is also possible to display units grouped by site, customer, or alert type. The map will automatically update and resize so you will always see your sites in the optimum display format.

In line with our policy of offering the latest core features to existing users. Click on Help > Check for updates within CheckMyCCTV and and following the instructions to download Interactive Maps for FREE.

If you would like to see how CheckMyCCTV can help you manage multiple CCTV sites and locations, contact us and we’ll arrange a 14-day FREE trial.

New Feature: Secondary Network Check

CheckMyCCTV checks that there is a network connection to the CCTV system and will report an alert if the connection fails.

Acting on customer feedback, CheckMySystems has introduced a secondary network check, which checks a secondary IP/Hostname address if the Primary IP address fails or does not respond.

The improved network check gives users a better indication as to whether it is the CCTV system which has an issue, or if there is an issue with the network or broadband connection that the CCTV system is connected to.

A typical Secondary IP address could be another device on the same network as the CCTV system, such as another DVR/NVR or the broadband router.

How does the enhanced network check work?

CheckMyCCTV repeatedly checks network connectivity to the CCTV system, and reports any issues, here are the available combinations with the enhanced network check:

  1. The Primary address passes – No alert indication.
  2. The Primary address fails, and the Secondary address passes – Possible issue with the CCTV System.
  3. The Primary address fails, and the Secondary address fails – Possible issue with the network connection to the site.

Typical issues if both the Primary and Secondary addresses fail could be:

  • Loss of broadband/network connection.
  • A change to the router/firewall configuration.
  • Loss of power on the site.
  • A problem with the network connection on the site.

The Enhanced Network Check function is available to all CheckMyCCTV users, click on Help > Check for updates to upgrade.

New Release: CheckMyCCTV version 1.1.0

CheckMySystems is happy to announce the release of version 1.1 of CheckMyCCTV software. This version fixes a few bugs and adds some new features based on customer feedback. Current users can update their software by clicking Help > Check for updates and follow on-screen instructions.

New Features include:

  • Event Log – shows issue alerts for each Unit, Site, Customer.
  • Alarm Set/Unset indication – allows quick verification that a unit is armed or disarmed.
  • Ignore function – allows users to manually ignore issues for a preset time or until the issue clears.
  • User editable notes – allows free text notes to be added to each Unit, Site, or Customer.
  • Alarm Activations – warns if alarms have not activated over a preset time period.
  • Remote Alarm Connection:
    • Checks that the remote alarm reporting is enabled.
    • Checks that the IP address/Hostname of the RVRC is correct.
    • Checks that the unit has reported alarms to the RVRC over a preset time period.
  • Added Maintenance Tools tab (Not in the Trial version) – allows remote reboots, Network Time Protocols, and network settings to be configured.

CheckMySystems are always grateful to receive feedback, whether it is positive and negative. If you have any issues with CheckMyCCTV or have any feature requests or suggestions please send them to feedback@nullcheckmysystems.com and we will respond to every email.

7 ways CheckMyCCTV can enhance your maintenance contracts

Traditional CCTV maintenance contracts are typically ‘reactive’ by definition, consisting of one or two visits to site a year to check the operation of the CCTV system. The contract can also include a guaranteed response time when a fault is reported. This pretty much hasn’t changed since the inception of CCTV installations.

With the advent of network attached CCTV systems, installers can provide a ‘proactive’ maintenance contract option using CheckMyCCTV. Here’s 7 reasons why a proactive maintenance contract, powered by CheckMyCCTV, is beneficial to you and your customers:

  1. Reduce your costs – Accurate and timely health monitoring using CheckMyCCTV can reduce your service and maintenance costs by providing targeted service visits.
  2. Increase revenues – You can add value to your current maintenance contacts by including 24/7 CheckMyCCTV health monitoring to your ‘Platinum’ contracts.
  3. Reduce costly site visits – The chances of a fix in the first visit are greatly increased. Issues are diagnosed remotely, so you know what is wrong before you attend site.
  4. Improve your service offering – In today’s difficult trading environment, you can provide a higher level of service to your customer base than your competitors.
  5. Puts you back in control – CheckMyCCTV diagnoses and reports the faults instead of relying your customers detecting faults.
  6. Manage your security estate more efficiently – CheckMyCCTV can monitor many hundreds of sites, allowing you to manage larger and more geographically diverse security estates.
  7. System checking is automatic – No extra resource is needed to manage CheckMyCCTV, it automatically checks at the intervals you set.

CheckMyCCTV is FREE to try for your CCTV installations. Contact us to discuss how CheckMyCCTV can  enhance your CCTV maintenance contracts and arrange a free 14-day trial.

Is your CCTV faulty?

Are your CCTV systems working right now? It’s a pretty simple question but in reality a difficult one to answer. There’s often no quick way of knowing if remote CCTV systems are operating as expected, which is where CheckMyCCTV can help.

In many cases faults are often only discovered when an incident occurs that has not been recorded, and by then it is too late.

We wanted to discover how many sites had typical faults or issues which were undetected. So with the help of our customers, we gathered statistics from a sample of 300 sites and included only the initial test result to represent of the state of the CCTV system prior to using CheckMyCCTV.

The results were surprising, 75% of all units tested had at least one issue which affected operational performance requirements as highlighted in the UK POLICE REQUIREMENTS FOR DIGITAL CCTV SYSTEMS document.

45% of units were recording for less than 31 days.
31% of units had the time set more than 1 hour fast/slow.
24% of units had the incorrect Timezone/Daylight Savings time configured.
16% of units had one or more failed cameras.
6% of units had problems with Alarms not activating.
2% of units were not recording at all.

Fortunately, CheckMyCCTV identified these issues and they were rectified by the installer. However, without using CheckMyCCTV it may have been several months before the issues were noticed, leaving a critical security gap in the users CCTV coverage.

It seems that there are plenty of documented cases where CCTV systems have been installed and are assumed to be working, but were not. I quickly found a number of examples by entering ‘faulty CCTV’ into Google search:

CCTV cameras weren’t working during Digbeth club shooting

Blackburn town centre CCTV cameras ‘faulty’

Quarter of council’s CCTV cameras not working

There were many more listed in the search results, and along with the Van Gogh painting which was stolen from Cairo Museum which I wrote about in a previous blog, it seems that faulty or incorrectly configured CCTV systems may not be as uncommon as first thought.

Want to find out if your CCTV systems are operating correcting? CheckMyCCTV automatically performs a number of checks on all your CCTV installations every day to ensure you systems are operating as expected. Contact us today at sales@nullcheckmysystems.com to trial CheckMyCCTV FREE for 14-days.

 

Try CheckMyCCTV free for 14 days

Contact us for a FREE 14-day, no obligation trial today, and find out what CheckMyCCTV can do for your business.

Typical users of CheckMyCCTV are:

Installers wanting to offer a higher level of support to their customers and still reduce support costs,
End-users who want to ensure their CCTV estate is operating correctly, and
RVRCs wanting to increase revenue streams by providing a CheckMyCCTV service to their customers.

CheckMyCCTV is compatible with Dedicated Micros, Vista (SmartDisc, SmartTel, SmartMobile, and Navigator), HeiTel, Dahua Technology,DVR365, Adata, and WatchMan DVR products. More brands are coming soon, if your CCTV system is not listed, request it today.

Register to download the CheckMyCCTV FREE 14-day Trial here

Van Gogh theft blamed on faulty security

A perfect example of ensuring that your Security systems are working was demonstrated when a Van Gogh was stolen from Cairo Museum back in August. It transpired that none of the alarms were working and only 7 out of 42 cameras were operational.

If you work in the industry you probably thought this was down to shoddy workmanship or poor maintenance, which it may well have been. However, if someone was to ask you how many of your cameras are operational right now, would you be any the wiser? You may be able to check back on the last maintenance visit and point out that everything was working when that was complete, but it may have been many months ago and a lot could have changed since then.

You could give your customers training on how to detect whether the system is operational, but do they have the time, inclination, or skills to do the job properly, after all Security systems are often a grudge purchase for your customers anyway, so they are often locked away only to see the light of day when an incident occurs.

CheckMyCCTV gives you and your customers the tools to ensure that their security systems are working correctly, in the case of the stolen Van Gogh, CheckMyCCTV would have reported that cameras had failed and alarms were not being triggered, so at least the customer or installer would have been aware that their security was severely compromised. It could be argued that this may not have prevented the theft anyway, but to be forewarned is to be forearmed as they say.

Welcome to our Blog

Hello, and welcome to our blog. Here we will be keeping you up to date with what is happening at CheckMySystems, along with hints and tips, product enhancements, and any other news.

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, or feedback, we’ll try to respond to all that we can.

Thanks for reading.

Darren Rewston
CheckMySystems Ltd.