Samsung vs Hikvision & Avigilon
When comparing these CCTV giants, it is important we asses them in a way relevant to the end-user. We intend to compare the two companies and general services they offer however not individual cameras and specific quality of images.
With thousands of products offered by each company we're comparing their underlying features and not their cameras.
Research and development
Samsung is a well-known household name and has been for almost 80 years where they have excelled in the electronics industry and provided us everything from microwaves and washing machines in the 80's to smart TV's and Phone's now. Although Samsung have been at the forefront of electronics and general tech for a long time their CCTV branch, Samsung Techwin, was sold to the Hanwha Group (one of the largest business conglomerates in South Korea) to create Hanwha Techwin.
Hanwha Techwin has an interesting manufacturing approach as they are making the same camera under a different name, they are selling the same line of surveillance cameras under the branding of Wisenet and Samsung for different prices.
This is as a result of competition from other brands and Hanwha finding that Samsung may be a name that sells. One of Samsung’s biggest competitors in surveillance is Hikvision. Hikvision have been leading the surveillance market since 2001 and are the #1 manufacturer in CCTV, in 2017 they had seen a 29.2% increase in revenue on the past year. Hikvision provide a wide range of cameras largely similar to Samsung Techwin however their R&D is significantly more focused than any other surveillance company. 8% of profits are put back in to research and development and their team is renown for being the biggest in the industry with the best state of the art facilities.
Hikvision’s large budget and extra efforts into the development of their products makes them a superior manufacturer however features offered are similar to other brands, they all offer extensive libraries of cameras but what actually makes them stand out? Hikvision’s cameras are easily tailored to budget and requirements, they cover wider angles than most standard CCTV cameras (less cameras to view the same area), inbuilt analytics are provided so less software is needed to install and easy to use, even for the least tech-savvy.
Usability
With the birth of smart IP CCTV cameras, it can take as little as a few hours to install a new system making the whole process more flexible, both to your security and financial requirements. Hybrid Video Recorders (HVR's) also offer scalability, they let you connect both more aged analogue systems to smart IP cameras under one 'umbrella' network. Both Hikvision and Samsung offer HVR's nevertheless Samsung's has come under criticism for having poor usability and poor app performance undermining the cameras 'smart' nature.
Both Hikvision and Samsung offer your cameras to be monitored by an alarm recording centre (ARC) or self-administered with surveillance compatible software. Samsung cameras are well equipped feature-wise for example there are local storage options and solid hardware capabilities however although Samsung's cameras offer reliability on the hardware front, their software is much less impressive. Subscription fees are not required by Samsung either however their software compatibility is rather useless, if you're not using a Samsung powered device.
Usability
There have been countless advancements in surveillance cameras over previous years, 4k resolution is now offered by many manufacturers and Avigilon in particular lead the HD surveillance revolution recently releasing their 7k CCTV camera. Avigilon have also been described as one of the only end-to-end manufacturers encompassing everything from access control and door readers to CCTV systems and servers. Avigilon does come under criticism from smaller businesses and home owners as it doesn't provide solutions for them but instead only for the IT professional.
Since the release of the 7k CCTV Avigilon has announced they will be going into partnership with Hikvision, this has prompted positive discussion on what Avigilon can bring to the company. Although criticisms are made about Avigilon not providing domestic and small business solutions, their software has been dubbed the easiest to use.
If you are looking to find more information about what is the best CCTV system, speak with our local security installers today who will be able to help find you the best system for your premises.
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