Learning how to master CCTV

End users and consultants who specify and manage Pelco (UK)’s wide range of CCTV systems – in addition to police, crime prevention and private sector security officers – will be pleased to know that we have established the Video Security Institute (VSI) Training Centre at our Wokingham Head Office so that they can learn about a host of surveillance-related topics – including IP for CCTV – and how to derive the best response from a number of Pelco systems.

All courses are free of charge (including hotel accommodation as necessary) and, once inside the VSI Training Centre, all delegates will be able to see and use a representative collection of Pelco products in a typical working environment. Indeed, the flexibility of the VSI Centre means that different devices may be coupled together to create a scenario that closely matches the trainees’ own on-site application(s). Genuinely effective training is the end result.

Where courses do include hands-on activity, sufficient CCTV equipment is provided so that all delegates can have an opportunity to practice and consolidate upon the topics taught. We believe this is the best scenario.

Courses are taught by experienced instructors including chief trainer Bryan Edwards and members of the six-strong technical support team. As a result, all courses are totally accurate and up-to-date, while all delegate questions will be honestly answered.

Class sizes, meanwhile, are limited and tailored to the class type. For example, the most intense hands-on classes are generally curtailed to a maximum of six delegates. Scheduled classes are open to all interested parties, or dedicated classes may be arranged if that is the preferred option.

Delegates on all courses receive a Certificate of Attendance on completion. Over 100 training days took place last year, with instruction provided for upwards of 500 individuals. We are now looking to double that figure and, at the same time, increase the number of different courses we offer (all of which are normally scheduled six months in advance) from 15 to 20 by the end of this year.

One way in which we can do so is monitor feedback from delegates. Results so far have been astonishingly good. By and large, end users don’t tend to know a great deal about cameras and how they operate. This is particularly true of some who work in the retail and manufacturing sectors. Managers can now realise many more functions on their systems by attending dedicated training courses.

End users and consultants

A number of course modules are intended primarily for the end user. These concentrate primarily on user functions, and relate them to real environments.

Each course is timed to run for around four hours, but various combinations can be run together and those combinations tailored to suit any specific customer’s requirements and on-site environment.

For end users, the available courses are Using the Spectra III Dome, Using the Genex Multiplexer, Using the DX9000 View Station, IP Networks for CCTV Overview, Operating the DX8000 DVR and Using the CM97XX Matrix System. Consultants can attend the IP Networks for CCTV (Technical) course in addition to the Product Overview sessions.

By and large, end users don’t tend to know a great deal about cameras and how they operate. This is particularly true of some who work in the retail and manufacturing sectors. Managers can now realise many more functions on their systems by attending dedicated training courses

With continuously changing technologies it is only too easy for security managers to lose track of the latest developments. The one-day Product Overview is designed to bring you right up to speed on all of our own products as well as many other systems and services in the surveillance arena. Static cameras, domes and PTZs, transmission mediums (including coax, fibre and UTP), switches and matrices, digital recorders and user interfaces are all covered in great depth. There are several practical demonstrations throughout the day.

An awareness of the CCTV industry, its products and applications would be basic requirements for attendance.

Pelco’s Spectra III dome (and its associated KBD300A controller) is a popular surveillance system for UK end users. In three hours, managers and officers can learn how high speed domes work in the real world, how they can program the cameras and learn basic operation of the keyboards.

A hands-on exercise at the end of the Using the Spectra III Dome module is essential. There is also time for performance and review questions, the answers to which will prove of great use to all delegates.

Operating the DX8000 DVR is a course providing a detailed description of the user features on this multiplexer/DVR – facilities and functions are discussed, with hands-on exercises offering the opportunity to consolidate lessons learned across the four-hour instruction period.

IP Networks for CCTV

IP networks are increasingly becoming part of the CCTV system. They are used for the transmission of control information, DVR replay and for live camera display. Each application has its own requirements of the network, in particular when transmitting video. The IP Networks for CCTV Overview is intended to prepare all Pelco partners for this new technology.

A brief description of IP networks and their components is followed by an overview of the requirements for carrying video. Various products that support IP are also introduced.

IP surveillance is, by its very nature, a technical subject. With this in mind, the one-day course content is kept as free from jargon and complexity as much as possible.

All major issues – including firewalls, Virtual Private Networks and video traffic flow – are discussed without becoming ‘bogged down’ in the technicalities.