by Brianna Crandall — April 24, 2015—AMG, the British manufacturer of CCTV transmission solutions and sophisticated 5 megapixel cameras, announced this week that the company has completed the supply of the transmission solution for the security and surveillance project for the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong.
Designated as the “Design, Supply, Delivery, Install, Testing, Commissioning, Warranty and Maintenance of Interconnected Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) System at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, for Hong Kong’s Customs & Excise Department (C&ED,) Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), Hong Kong Immigration Department (ImmD) and Tourist Commission (TC),” the comprehensive security and surveillance solution was designed and implemented by Hong Kong-based UniVision Engineering Ltd.
According to UniVision Project Manager Tony Man, “In order to minimize the project costs and to cut down on the number of cameras needed, the governing departments approached us with the task, suggesting the TC’s (total of 260) cameras would be shared by the three governing departments as mentioned above, but it’s important the governing departments’ cameras were not to be shared with TC, as reversal favor. Therefore, we had to deploy servers to each of the governing departments and set the right system privileges and install firewalls so that the right camera(s), and the right users, can access the TC’s cameras at any time by all departments.
“We also decided to use fiber optics for the backbone, as this allows for smooth transmission signals and the ability to send videos as well as data signals from the cameras for control of PTZ (pan tilt zoom) to the control room. We decided to work with AMG Systems in the U.K. for the transmission solution, and deployed AMG’s award-winning 3700 product series for ring topology which has been designed specifically to provide for low-cost, multichannel drop-and-insert video collection, together with associated Ethernet and low-speed data and audio signals. Although initially the drop-and-insert feature was not implemented, this facility is available for future expansion.
“The timescales meant that we had to have all the outstation equipment installed within the first two months. This meant speedy supply from the manufacturers in terms of cameras, cable, network devices, switches and last, but not least, the AMG transmitters. It was a very tight project indeed.”
In total, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal CCTV solution has 620 cameras in a mixture of IP, Analogue and 360 degree. Of those, 260 comprise the designated TC solution. The 620 cameras are split into 220 IP PTZ cameras, 240 analogue PTZ cameras and 158 fixed, as well as two 360-degree cameras, with panoramic views. The solution was intentionally designed with the possibility for expansion, which is significant since there are plans for further berth extension to be completed by 2018, notes AMG.
According to UniVision Sales Director Peter Chan, “We made the best choice of supplier by choosing AMG. Some of the optical links are installed in really difficult access areas. It would take a tremendous amount of manpower as well as effected ‘down-time’ hours to make repairs. To sum up: by choosing AMG’s 3700 series with its very high documented mean time between failures (MTBF), we have cut the chances of repairs and re-occurring repairs, hence we have minimized the possibility of down-time hours, and a very happy client. I am thrilled by the cooperative manner with which AMG approached the project, and their support is impressive and prompt. The equipment passed with flying colors.”
