Installation Review: Systems Integrator Lands $60,000 HD Video Surveillance Solution

By Cindy Dubin, Business Solutions magazine.

Three years ago when systems integrator ComSurv started selling HD video surveillance cameras and systems, companies were just starting to show signs of revamping their old analog systems, particularly in universities, retail stores, and small gasoline stations. "They had a desire at that time to capture more detailed video, and as HD systems became more affordable and justifiable, the transition to HD was under way," says José A Noy, CEO of ComSurv.

MOBOTIX Corp., a developer and manufacturer of high-resolution IP cameras for video surveillance, makes up ComSurv's main line of camera systems, and Noy says there is a camera for any need. For ComSurv client Goodwill Industries, the need was to protect its drop-off location points located outside of each of its 25 retail locations in South Carolina.

Goodwill did have a video surveillance system in place for eight years to help deter theft from those donation areas. These cameras were used to capture license plates of cars coming in and going out of the drop-off area. "None of these cameras gave enough information to actually help prosecute people who stole items," says Noy. Last January, Goodwill began its search for a high-definition camera that would capture the level of detail the company wanted.

In this world of social media, it was on Facebook where Goodwill became aware of ComSurv and invited the systems integrator in to perform a demonstration of its cameras.

Goodwill was not interested in replacing its existing camera system, but wanted instead to just add the high-definition surveillance video.

In total, Goodwill invested around $60,000 in HD video surveillance cameras. "If we estimate the lost dollars in donations every time a retail location was robbed, each camera will pay for itself in no time," says Noy.