System Design

Paragon Communications can supply anything from a single product to complete custom designed solutions for multi-site applications. Thes system designs address a wide range of problems that require a combination of audio, video, images, control, monitoring and certain associated facilities.

• Paragon work with the customer to define the objectives for the solution and the specification requirements to achieve them
• then system is then designed, specifying the optimum products for each of its elements
• Next comes installation, commissioning, handover & training
• This is then followed with full maintenance agreements since we fully support all installations

TV Distribution & PC Extension

Paragon Communications design...

• Simple systems to extend the keyboard, Mouse and Video of a PC great distances over CAT-5 cable to...
• Complex systems distributing TV and video to 1000's of PC's throughout a large office and...
• Anything in-between.

CCTV Surveillance Systems

Paragon Communications are experts in optimising the design of systems to meet the needs of the customer and to ensure that an optimal return on investment is achieved. At the same time our experience can help to show the customer additional business management benefits that can be derived from modern digital CCTV systems.

• Jointly establish objectives for the surveillance system
• Production of detailed coverage diagrams
• All electrical wiring is certified
• Camera direction and coverage angles set and agreed with customer
• Recording schedules programmed camera by camera for optimal recording effectiveness and times
• Full customer training provided
• Full support packages available

CCTV Surveillance Changes

There have been two major changes affecting surveillance in recent years. The first relates to the need for it and the objectives of the installation. Without doubt there is an increasing need for surveillance systems. This may be an indictment of modern life but it is a fact that we all have to live with. In terms of the objectives for the system there is also a move away from systems designed as a deterrent, or to simply monitor activity, towards a need to identify and to prosecute offenders.

The second major change has been in the technology used within a system. There is a very rapid move away from the traditional analogue recording systems using VHS tapes, towards digital recording of images. Digital technology is also being used in the cameras and the monitoring approaches used. This, coupled with the digital recording, results in more convenience, better performance, and greatly increased utility.

From a convenience point of view digital systems eliminate the need for daily tape changes. Now recording times of several weeks to several months are possible depending on the situation. At the same time the hours spent searching tapes to locate an incident are reduced significantly due to the almost instant access to digitally recorded data. Add to this the fact that digital systems can play back earlier recordings whilst still recording current activity. At the same time all of this comes without the need to regularly clean recording heads!

Better performance and utility features include the ability to set motion detection alarm zones on each camera and the fact that copies of images can be made with no loss of quality. But possibly the biggest advantage of digital it that the images, both live and recorded, can be monitored remotely from anywhere in the world with just a PC, a modem and a phone line.

System Design Generics

The electronic elements of our solutions follow a common design model which we then enhance by offering logical extensions to the solution. For example a CCTV surveillance system fits the model and then we may offer access control, gates and barriers because these frequently go together to make up a total solution. The generic model of the electronic portion is shown below.

Signal sources (cameras, satellite receivers, DVD, microphones. etc) may require some signal conditioning (amplification, format conversion, etc) before passing to the chosen transmission media (cable, fibre-optic, microwave-link). Depending on the transmission media some form of transmitter and receiver unit may be required. At the other end a local system collects the signals and presents them on displays and loudspeakers.

CCTV systems, TV distribution systems, extension of a PC's screen, sound systems and even a system streaming multimedia over the Internet, all match this model. Not all system designs will contain all seven stages but the technologies involved and the knowledge required to design amd implement the system will be the same in all cases.