IntroductionSmartBay is a product range all
about correctly managing your CCTV cable infrastructure. On large installations this is critical to the performance of the system. On small installations it simply ensures the ability of the system to expand.
To enable cable management there needs to be a demarcation point where installed (or fixed) cable begins and ends. This cable needs to be of a consistant type and quality suited to the installation environment. This demarcation creates a LINK that can be tested and verified to be
working correctly. This type of cable management system can now include cable certification. There are many benefits to cable certification and demarcation of installed cabling. It is very rare to see a computer administrator climbing around in the ceiling of a building running computer network cable, because it is not cost effective, the same is true when installing CCTV systems. A dedicated cable installer who is conversant with wiring rules and building construction is much more
effective and efficient at performing this task. With a SmartBay patch panel the cable installer does not require any knowledge of any of the connecting equipment. He simply installs, terminates and then tests the cable as per the construction drawings. This business model of separating cable installation and equipment installation has proven successful in the I.T. industry, CCTV is moving towards an I.T. platform and away from Tape and even DVR’s. Will Internet Protocol eg
I.P. based CCTV remove the need for SmartBay Composite Video patch panels, after all I though composite/BNC was old technology?The answer is NO. I.P. and Composite cameras a complimentary technologies with often the best CCTV solution utilising both technologies. No matter how cheap IP based cameras get Composite still use fewer and less expensive components and as such will be more cost effective. Take this example, An installation of 50 cameras, mostly Composite cameras will be
wired back to conveniently located 16 Channel Encoders which encode the composite signals into IP packets, these packets then stream over an IP netork to a Network Attached Storage device (NAS). This gives the benefit of low cost Composite cameras and the full functionality of an IP based camera system. Coaxial cable as with UTP has a solid centre conductor. A solid centre conductor will break if bent or flexed too many times, so the fixed cabling must be terminated onto a connector
that is also fixed. A patch lead with a stranded centre conductor can then be used to connect the fixed cabling to the DVR. It is a simple fact that over time, equipment changes. With this change the cable connection point on equipment will most certainly change also. With a CCTV solution that uses patching this is a simple and neat method of reconnecting the new equipment. without patching you are stuck trying to stretch a cable that may run the length of your building just a little bit
further the reach the new equipment. Most Computer Network companies learnt this lesson a long time ago and a structured solution is now written in to tender requests. Product Manuals
SmartBay Certification Applications.
Cable management Design Guides. | 
