Surveillance systems are typically made up of a number of video cameras along with a multiple-channel DVR. This kind of DVR is capable of supporting from 4 to as many as 16 cameras. Considering that all the video recordings are saved into it, this DVR hooks up all the footage in one structure for better viewing.

A number of surveillance systems keep the video recordings on the hard disk drive of a standalone dvr. Other models can input the video footage at a built-in USB recording device.

There are those that have got motion detection-enabled recording, which signifies that the DVR simply captures movement to conserve disk space. This feature can even save me time in the future if ever there will be a need to watch a specific recording back.

I also discovered two kinds of surveillance systems, wired and wireless. According to the manual, the university uses a 16 channel wireless dvr system. This setup was less costly because it was bought as a set and it was easier to set up, as well.

An identical monitoring system is further employed in the university main hall and at the faculty building however I am not designated to those places.

Seemingly, these kinds of surveillance systems selected by the school management consist of wireless cameras that are easier to reposition and put up in different places. Wired cameras, that have nonstop power supply, are given too.

These color bullet cameras spread all over the university stadium are minute and barely noticeable. Since they are day/night cameras, they are suitable for 24/7 surveillance and can capture videos well even during nighttime.

The California Supreme Court held held that employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace, but that right has limits. And it doesn’t prevent employers from conducting some hidden surveillance in an employee’s office for “legitimate business concerns.”

“An employer may have sound reasons for monitoring the workplace,” Justice Marvin Baxter wrote for a unanimous court, “and an intrusion upon the employee’s reasonable privacy expectations may not be egregious or actionable under the particular circumstances.”

This ruling came about in October 2002 when office manager Abigail Hernandez and administrative assistant Maria Lopez discovered hidden video equipment in the office they shared at Pasadena’s Hillsides Children’s Center, a facility that houses abused children. Executive Director John Hitchcock had installed the equipment in an unsuccessful attempt to catch someone who had been viewing pornography on Lopez’s computer in the wee hours of the morning.

Hitchcock was particularly concerned because many of the 66 boys and girls at the center had been the victims of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. No one was ever apprehended.

Neither Hernandez nor Lopez were suspects, and the camera — activated only after work hours — never recorded them. Nonetheless, they were distraught upon discovering the camera and sued for invasion of privacy.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge C. Edward Simpson granted summary judgment to the center. But Los Angeles’ 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed in 2006, holding that the mere placement of the surveillance equipment in the women’s office without their knowledge invaded their privacy.

On Monday, the Supreme Court justices split the difference, saying that while they could understand the two women’s “dismay,” the placement of the hidden camera wasn’t egregious, and the employer had a valid reason for doing what he did.

This court decision has given employers the right to use surveillance systems and hidden cameras for legitimate business concerns.

This is a cute story about a pretty smart cow who figured out how to unlatch the gate to her pen and join her friends.  Its all caught on a hidden camera.

Steve McQueen has got nothing on a crafty cow who launched her great escape from a pen in Co Armagh by using her tongue.

Daisy was secretly filmed with a hidden camera by her owner, farmer Tom Grant, undoing the bolts on her pen with ruthless efficiency.

The brazen bovine’s owner said he was puzzled when he found his cattle enjoying a field of grass in the morning, despite locking them inside at night.

The farmer, with the help of his brother Vincent, set up a hidden camera to get to the bottom of the cattle confusion.

“I was a wee bit suspicious because I thought there was a bit of rustling in the area, and that maybe there were boys about during the night trying to steal one of them,” he said.

“Every night I would feed these heifers and put them into their respective pens, secured by a two-bar gate.

“I came out one morning and found the gate open and Daisy was out with her friends, and I thought maybe I didn’t bar the gate right. I thought maybe there were boys about during the night trying to steal a heifer.”

His brother said he was amazed at the genius of the cow, an animal not generally known for its intelligence, and its ability to let itself out in such a clever manner.

“I discovered one of the animals was able to open the gate with her tongue,” he said.

“People have the impression that a cow is a dumb animal, but as you can see from the footage, it’s far from dumb, it’s quite intelligent.”

Daisy’s bold break-out has been sweeping across social media sites such as Facebook and is currently trending across Twitter, where her lock-picking skills have been applauded.

I guess you could say this cow was an ‘udder’ genius and the farmer will have to ‘beef’ up his security ]]> http://safetytechspy.com/blog/25/cows-brilliant-escape-caught-with-hidden-camera/feed/ 1 http://safetytechspy.com/blog/6/added-benefits-of-surveillance-systems/ http://safetytechspy.com/blog/6/added-benefits-of-surveillance-systems/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:39:00 +0000 Michael http://safetytechspy.com/blog/?p=6 One of the first surveillance systems I installed was for a friend of mine down here in sunny Florida. He has several restaurants and he was going to start his test of the equipment on this unit located near the beach.

The installation went smoothly, and we had him up and running in short order. He was now able to watch the restaurant from home on his laptop. He was so pleased with the system that he had it installed in all his restaurants. He has called me several times to tell how much he appreciated me taking the time to convince him this was a good move.

On one of the calls he just casually mentioned that four months after installing the systems, he has not had a workmans compensation claim in two months, something that was very common before the cameras were installed. This alone is paying for the systems. Not only is it saving him money, it is saving him time.

He isn’t filling out forms, or going to hearings.

The cameras have foiled the old accident game. No more paying for back injuries that never happened. The employees now know that if they fell, the camera would see it, and the result is no more phony claims.

This was something that never occurred to me when I was selling the system, but it sure is a big benefit that I won’t leave out in the future.

Insurance money is a big part of any business with employees, and if you have a good record of being “accident free” your premiums go down, and many times substantially. Over the span of a few years that could mean a much bigger slice of the pie going in your pocket, or to funding another business, or to making repairs or capital improvements.

My Florida friend tunes in to his different operations at different times every day, and takes a few notes on what he sees. Then he gets together with his managers and implements procedures to fix what is wrong. His estimate is that the surveillance systems paid for themselves in the first month, and that since then he has put thousands and thousands of dollars on his bottom line.

“Sometimes,” he says, “it is the little things that I see. But when you have multiple properties, and they are all doing a little thing wrong, it’s a big thing. If all your bartenders are over pouring, that’s a tremendous amount of money in a month. If we are over cooking four or five steaks a night in six locations, that’s a lot of money in a month in waste. I fix one or two things at a time, and the bottom line results are outstanding.”

I’m sure there are going to be even more benefits that I haven’t thought of as surveillance systems become more and more commonplace. One thing I know for sure though, is that the benefits already far outweigh the cost.

Bobby Jo is a big fan of her dogs, four of them to be exact. She has rescued all four of them from certain death. In fact, in addition to the dogs she has adopted herself, she has saved another forty by getting other folks to adopt them. Some had as little as half an hour left before they would have met the Big Sleep.

Bobby Jo wanted a way to look in on her dogs when she was at work. Though she had solved most of their issues, occasionally she still came home to big mess. She felt if she looked in from time to time, she could see who the troublemaker was, and what started the fracas.

Since the dogs were only allowed in certain areas of the house, she opted for a four channel system wireless surveillance system. It took only a couple of hours to install, and everything went fine.

On Monday Bobby Jo opened up her laptop and dialed in to her surveillance system for her first look at what was going on back home.   They were all power napping, and not a tail stirred. After lunch she dialed in again, and they were in the kitchen. The biggest, Bork was in the process of tipping over the trash can, and the three others were waiting anxiously for it to happen.

When Bork got the can tipped over, Brad, the smallest dog, went straight into the can. All you could see of him was his tail, which was wagging heartily. The other dogs didn’t like this, and started nipping at him, trying to get him out, but he wasn’t budging. Bork jumped on the can, and this did move Brad out. Then there was a big hullabaloo involving all of them.

That night Bobby Jo childproofed the lock on that cabinet door, so they couldn’t get in.

They next day she looked in, and Bork was in the kitchen, and try as he might, he couldn’t get that door open. Since there was no prospect of getting food, the other three weren’t interested, and had retired to their quarters.

Another check found them all snoring in the afternoon.

It’s what dogs do best.

Bobby Jo checks in on her hounds every few hours through her surveillance system.  She has managed to control them very well by observing them, and then making changes that thwart some of their most unruly aspects.

But most of all, she just likes watching her babies.