Achievements
Y3K has been a key part of the UK CCTV industry over the years, having been involved in the development and promotion of major technological achievements, including:
Plug and Play CCTV
The company's managing director Paul Singh, was one of the first people in the world to develop a plug & play CCTV system, this technology allowed a CCTV installation to be done in an instant without the need for any training or specialist knowledge, as Paul explains "we basically simplified the complicated part of installing a CCTV system, the wiring and power, we designed a special plug & play cable that carried the power, video and audio from each camera in a single cable, and used low voltage power to power the cameras, this reduced installation time dramatically and made the installation simple, even if you were not a fully qualified electrician".
This new technology was shown to the major resellers in the CCTV industry at the time, and rather than start to promote it they decided to ignore it, fearing that it would lead to a loss of revenue for them, from people buying and installing their own CCTV systems. However undeterred the Y3K team decided to sell the technology direct, to both consumers and open minded installers, it was an instant hit, with sales hitting £1m within 3 years.
Today Plug & Play wiring is used in nearly all domestic and small business CCTV systems available around the world.
IR Night Vision Cameras
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In March 2001, while visiting a supplier's manufacturing facility, the Y3K team came across a rather odd looking CCTV camera with LEDs around the lens, gathering dust on a shelf in the R&D department. The idea of the product, to provide images in low light and complete darkness without adding additional (and expensive) bulky IR lamps (a common problem in CCTV at the time, was getting decent images in low light). The concept was brilliant but the product was not finished, due to heat problems and IR reflection, however Y3K were determined to test the product and bought the sample.
After testing it in the UK for the very first time, the Y3K team were blown away with the night time images, as Paul explains "we put the camera in our testing room, turned off all the lights and went to view it from a monitor in another room, the picture was so clear and bright, we went back to check if we had left the lights on by mistake, it was truly amazing, this 6 by 3 inch camera was giving us clearer images than a camera and massive IR lamp would have". The next few months were spent helping the factory find solutions to the heat and reflection problems and then the product was ready for production, Y3K invested every last pound in the first shipment, confident that this new type of camera would outsell anything before it, they were right, the first shipment of thousands of cameras sold out in 3 months, and subsequent shipments also sold out, the camera was an instant hit and Y3K used the proceeds from the sales to set up Xvision, a specialist manufacturer of professional CCTV products.
IR cameras remain the most popular type of camera sold in the world, far outselling non IR cameras.
Low Cost DVRs
When Y3K started in 2000, CCTV recordings were made on to a Time Lapse Video Recorder, these recorded 24hrs to 1 month on a single video cassette, however the picture quality was poor and the recordings would have a very low frame rate (an image every 6+ seconds!) and finding a particular point in a recording could take hours.
As technology moved on, Digital Video Recorders (DVR) were launched, these units recorded in real time in high resolution and offered instant searching, they were brilliant, but very very expensive. The average unit was 5 times the price of a Time Lapse video Recorder.
The team at Y3K however had other plans, they wanted to be the first to offer a DVR that was as affordable as a Time Lase Video Recorder, "actually what we wanted was a recorder that would do our IR cameras justice, time lapse video recorders were just such poor quality" explains Paul, "we knew it did not cost more to make a DVR than it did a Time Lapse Video Recorder, so we asked our Xvision division to explore the possibility of manufacturing a low cost DVR, they in turn contacted an OEM manufacturer in Taiwan and the first Xvision DVR was launched. Initially even though the price was the same as a time lapse video recorder the sales were very slow, we were puzzled as to why this was, then suddenly after about 4 months, we started to sell a few DVRs, then a few more and sales just grew, by the end of the year we were selling more DVRs than Video Recorders!"
DVRs are now common place in nearly all CCTV systems.
IP CCTV & HD CCTV
As you would have realised by now, the team at Y3K like to be first with new technology, and when it comes to the very latest technology in CCTV, IP CCTV and HD CCTV, they were quick to add these products to their range. "We started selling IP CCTV in 2002 and have built up a wealth of knowledge and experience in IP CCTV, in 2004 we started investigating the possibility of HD in CCTV and we have a great range of IP and HD CCTV products, tried, tested and proven to be amongst the best in the industry, plus we offer expert advice and hands on training if customers need it" explains Paul.
The Future
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The team at Y3K and its Xvision subsidiary are currently working on several new projects that will once again change the dynamics of the CCTV industry forever, helping to protect and improve the safety of people and business in the UK and around the world.
