Auckland CBD CCTV Installations - Central City Security Cameras

Auckland CBD CCTV installations are an important part of making this vibrant center of New Zealand's financial capital safer for everyone.

Auckland CBD is an amazing place that's changed so much in the 40 or so years I've lived here.  The Viaduct area in particular has already become a world famous jewel in the city's crown, with it's super-yachts, bars, restaurants and tons of pleasant outdoor spaces to hang out in.

Security cameras are widely used by businesses in the area.  This page tells some of these stories so you can get a bit of an idea of what would be involved at your own Auckland CBD CCTV installations if you want to get it done.

Auckland CBD CCTV Installation - Multi-Building Apartment Complex

This was a huge project!  The story of this cctv installation covers so many different aspects that it'll give you a great idea of what's involved in the process of protecting a large, sprawling complex of buildings & their tenants.

First though we have to look at dreaded "Before" photo ...

The Before Photo - Auckland CBD Apartment Complex CCTV - Existing Security Cameras

A few points that should be obvious from this picture.

• One of the 16 cameras isn't working.  It hadn't worked for ages and in this case it was a remote corner of the complex so that was a problem.  Like a lot of our apartment block customers, they have to keep a good eye on these areas because hard to get at areas are places where problems tend to happen.
• All the cameras were low resolution.  Quite frankly the pictures were pretty horrible, and they'd had several cases where they couldn't even get enough details to use them!
• No decent license plate cameras to reliably identify every vehicle that moves through the complex.

There were a lot of other interesting things that aren't obvious from the photo.

• The existing system was essentially unusable.  When I asked the client to show me some recorded footage from yesterday it couldn't be done.  The constant alarm messages didn't help either.  Functionally useless!
• The cabling was ethernet ( albeit Cat 5 and not the more modern Cat 6 ) plus a separate power cable ( tru-rip ) for each camera.   While this configuration is much less efficient than the modern POE ( power over ethernet ) method of powering cameras, it was to come in very useful during the upgrade!
• Several of the existing cameras, including the one that wasn't working, were PTZ ( pan-tilt-zoom) cameras.  Why is that a problem?  Don't get me started!   Ok since you asked.  There are several reasons I hate these cameras.  They cost a packet!  If you've got tons of money to burn go ahead because they're really whizzy and fun to use - which will keep you amused for at least 5 minutes.  Unfortunately for the rest of the camera's lifetime it'll be pretty much a useless, over-priced toy!  The problem is they can only look at one place at a time.  While they're looking left ,you don't have the right covered - you get the idea.   Also because they move they have moving parts - that's completely unnecessary in a CCTV camera and only creates a point of weakness.  My money is on a fixed security camera any day!  It's boring because you can't drive it around, but it does it's job and you always know exactly which areas of your site are covered.   The only time I recommend PTZ cameras is where you have an operator in a control room who is driving it, and even then it's normally for things like discreet events - crowd control at a concert for example.
• The only place on planet earth where anyone could access the system was in the office.   This isn't uncommon with old analog systems - on some sites in Auckland CBD the only place is a cupboard under a stairwell!

Auckland CBD Apartment Complex - Old School Security Cameras

A fairly typical assortment of old school cameras.  2 x fixed cameras in big old housings and a PTZ.

Interestingly the PTZ was set to patrol over a set pattern.  So it was constantly moving.  While that might seem like a good idea, I hope you can see the problem!  I remember sitting and watching it for several minutes during the system design stage & thinking to myself what a waste of money!  It was effectively useless at its primary role - to record what's going on!

The Brief - What This Auckland CBD CCTV Installation Had To Achieve

Ok down to business!

This was a very challenging project because we were heavily reliant on the previous cabling being intact and serviceable.   By doing this we were able to dramatically reduce the overall cost.  Re-cabling this site would have been a mission!

Some of the most important requirements for this security camera installation were pretty typical:

• Coverage of the same areas as before but in much higher image quality.
• One new area to be covered.  
• Capture of the details of every vehicle in the site.
• Accessible on authorised computers and mobile devices, both at the site and also off site.
• Make use of the existing cabling and cameras as far as possible.  This is an important point.   Budgets aren't unlimited, so often customers want to keep using their old security cameras for a while.
• Use the same high quality German Mobotix camera system as the one we had installed earlier to cover one specific area.

They knew that would give the building managers a huge help in keeping this valuable asset in good nick.

It would also help their residents feel safer, which means they're happier & that's good for everyone!  Funny enough as soon as the new cameras started going up we got comments about how much better they looked than the old ones.

What We Did - Auckland CBD Apartment Building CCTV System Upgrade

It ended up being about 18 cameras.  That might seem like a lot but remember we had multiple accommodation blocks, 3 large carparks & the communal areas.

All of the new cameras were high definition modern IP , POE ( power over ethernet ) CCTV cameras.  

We were able to use some clever pieces of kit that effectively turn an old 2-wire electrical cable into an ethernet cable.  This then allows us to use POE to power the cameras.

The great thing about this install was we were able to cable the whole thing and there was no need for radio links.  Often people want to use wireless because they seem to think this is prettier.  We always cable if we can because it's much more dependable - and that's what you want with CCTV above all else.

We replaced the defective PTZ camera of course with a nice new high definition camera.  The cabling was fine and the camera itself had failed - hardly surprising being a constantly moving PTZ.

The system is completely networked so they can see their cameras from anywhere on the planet at any time on any device!

They now have a state of the art system that's capable of being upgraded to as many cameras as they need in the future.  That's one of the cool things about the MOBOTIX distributed model - you can have as many cameras as you need, you're not limited in any way by a recorder with only so many channels.  

I personally think the site needs more cameras because there are still a few areas that really need more coverage.

Overall a great project.  A large very complex site with multiple buildings and no easy way to re-cable anything.

The After Pictures - Auckland CBD CCTV Installation Multi-Building Apartment Complex

The MOBOTIX Mx Management Center software up and running on the office PC.  Searching and exporting footage is now a breeze!

2 of MOBOTIX finest.  The dual lens D16 which allows 2 cameras to be used inside one housing but point in different directions.  On the right is the dual M16 system also with 2 x telephoto lenses - in this case one with a daytime colour lens and the other wth a black and white lens with a special LPF filter for license plate capture at night.

If You Need Any Auckland CBD CCTV Installations

Phone us or fill out any of the forms - you'll find one on pretty much every page of this site.

Auckland Security Cameras Ltd

PO Box 32293 Devonport
Auckland 0744
Phone (09) 551 7716

Since 2010 - Based in Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland , New Zealand.   Quality installation of security cameras Auckland wide, including the North Shore, Waitakere, Manukau, Takapuna, Glenfield, East Coast Bays, Beachaven, Birkdale, Birkenhead, Albany, Northcote, Devonport, Auckland Central, East Auckland, Pakuranga, Howick, Botany, Glendowie, St Heliers, Newmarket, Mt Eden, Epsom, Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, Remuera, Mt Albert, Mt Roskill, Onehunga, Henderson, Te Atatu, West Harbour, Mangere, Otahuhu, Papatoetoe, Otara, Airport Oaks, Penrose.