A Conversation with Eddie Lee
Trade shows play a key role in the security industry. Many companies use the time on
the show floor to announce new products and introduce new technologies to potential
customers. At the recent ISC Solutions expo in New York, we took the opportunity
to sit down with Eddie Lee to talk about NUVICO products and technologies.
Q. NUVICO recently introduced two external adjustment bullet cameras. Tell
us more about this technology and solution, and how the user will benefit
from these products.
A. Most bullet cameras out in the current market all have one major flaw. Our
new adjustment bullet cameras address this one major flaw and eliminate
the problem from ever occurring.
When an installer goes to make the final lens adjustment before finishing up his
installation, he needs to first remove the front casing so that he has access to the
adjustment controls located inside. Once the camera is open, he makes his adjustments
then closes it up. What he doesn’t realize is that he also has inadvertently
trapped the ambient humidity inside. And because premium cameras are specifically
engineered to keep humidity and moisture out, it also keeps the humidity
from escaping. When the temperature drops during the night, the trapped humidity
creates condensation on the lens and on the inside glass, producing unwatchable
pictures that are foggy and hazy.
By relocating the controls to the exterior of the camera, we eliminate the need
of opening the camera altogether. This ensures factory seal and far superior resistance
to extreme temperatures. In addition, it also almost guarantees proper
installation the first time and avoids unexpected service interruptions.
Q. Storage has become a big topic in the security industry. How does the APEX
DVR assist in storage requirement?
A. When it comes to reliability and ease of use, embedded systems are still
the preferred choice for security professionals. The challenge, however, for
many stand-alone systems is the inability to extend its original storage capacity
parameters. We have identified this shortcoming and worked diligently to find a
solution that is reliable and easily scalable.
The solution is our AP-ES external storage unit. Part of our APEX series lineup
is available only for our enterprise-level DVRs and designed specifically to meet
the most demanding recording applications. Our external storage unit has four
removable HDD slots and holds 1 TB hard drive each. A mirror recording feature
is available in case of unexpected hard drive failures. When this occurs, drives are
easily swappable in the middle of operation to eliminate any downtime.
Most importantly, AP-ES units are a plug-and-play solution and configure automatically
once detected by the master DVR. These external storage units can be
cascaded up to eight units, totaling 36 TB of storage space when you include 4 TB
already available in APEX DVR. We are currently testing 2 TB hard drives, and,
in the near future, our already-massive storage solution will be expanded to 72 TB.
Q. End users are looking for more bang for the buck. How is NUVICO helping
them accomplish this?
A. From the very beginning, we have strategically concentrated on manufacturing
products that are user-friendly and affordable.
In recent years, we have worked carefully with our distribution partners in reevaluating
our product offerings. Based on their input and our own market studies,
we have taken some risk and discontinued those items that were not competitive,
or were not so much in demand in a fast-changing market. With these dormant
items out of the way, we were able to concentrate on improving existing products
and manufacturing them more effectively. The final result: more competitive prices
and an increase in sales.
Q. As security technology changes and moves to a more networked environment,
how is NUVICO supporting this transition, and do you find the analog
camera world still a viable product offering?
A. We forecast that the sale of analog cameras and DVRs will remain strong
for the upcoming years. This is partly due to their simplicity of plug-andplay
installation and low cost. But we do realize the future is IP/megapixel cameras
and NVRs. For the past two years, we have invested heavily and allocated all our
research and development resources in developing a full line of IP/megapixel cameras
and NVRs. Observing current market trends, all of our IP-based products are
ONVIF-compliant. The official launching of these new products will be during
ISC West 2011 in Las Vegas. And carrying on with the NUVICO tradition, they
will be user-friendly and affordable.
Q. The economy seems to be rebounding. How did NUVICO weather this
global economic crunch? How are business opportunities looking today and
going forward?
A. Despite the turbulent economy, we are happy to announce that NUVICO is
still growing. We attribute our continued success to standing firm with our
time-honored tradition of offering feature-rich, quality products that are reliable
and yet affordable. It is also due to our marketing strategy of keeping a streamlined
product lineup that concentrates wholly on the everyday demands of security
professionals.
We also are fortunate that we have distribution partners who foresee our strategy
and support us. Together, we will continue to provide quality products and
service.
This article originally appeared in the February 2011 issue of Security Today.