HTS, established in 1997 at Shenzhen, China, has been a pioneer in camera field. In 1999, HTS built its own brand — Viewse — which was the first Chinese brand in surveillance camera market, providing the market with top-notch cameras. After its 2007 acquisition by China Security & Surveillance Technology, Inc., HTS has more resources for R&D development with advanced instruments and technical professionals. HTS continues to invest in manufacturing capability and product design, ensuring its dominant status in China. A&S China Best Buy talks to Liu Zhengwen, Assistant to GM of HTS about the company's strategy and its newest innovation, the Viewse 1/3-inch zoom camera.
HTS, established in 1997 at Shenzhen, China, has been a pioneer in camera field. In 1999, HTS built its own brand — Viewse — which was the first Chinese brand in surveillance camera market, providing the market with top-notch cameras. After its 2007 acquisition by China Security & Surveillance Technology, Inc., HTS has more resources for R&D development with advanced instruments and technical professionals. HTS continues to invest in manufacturing capability and product design, ensuring its dominant status in China. A&S China Best Buy talks to Liu Zhengwen, Assistant to GM of HTS about the company's strategy and its newest innovation, the Viewse 1/3-inch zoom camera.
For an electronic product to last more than 10 years would merit a thumbs-up from most people on reliability and quality. This is even more noteworthy for electronic products like surveillance cameras, which run 24-7. HTS first provided products 12 years ago and some users are still using the first generation of its products.
"We are running an event in China, for users still using our first generation cameras" said Liu Zhengwen, Assistant to GM of HTS. "This proves our product longevity with reliable and stable performance."
The company offers the market the best products with its in-house R&D capabilities. Liu pointed out HTS is a technology-driven company. The organization offers several new innovations, such as megapixel cameras with CCD sensors, network cameras as well as intelligent cameras.
"Only in-house R&D technology and new products can keep a company in a leading position," Liu said. "We want to keep ourselves in a dominant role in this industry in China, but also we want our products can change the typical stereotype of Chinese-made products. HTS wants to show people there are good Chinese manufacturers they can work with."
Viewse 1/3-Inch Zoom Camera
The Viewse 1/3-inch zoom camera is the hottest product from HTS. Currently, there are very few camera manufacturers who can offer 1/3-inch zoom cameras. The camera was developed because zoom cameras are a perfect solution for more applications and scenarios. "We see strong demand for zoom camera in many applications, such as shopping malls, transportation, airports and large-area surveillance projects," said Roger Zheng, Manager of the R&D Center at HTS.
Zheng explained that these applications prefer to install speed domes, instead of fixed box cameras. Conventional fixed or manual varifocal cameras cannot provide clear images over a large-scale surveillance area. "Therefore, speed domes can be a perfect solution for our customers and zoom cameras play an important role," Zheng said.
With robust technical advances in analog cameras, HTS knows product criteria and has the ability to develop reliable products. "Auto varifocal is a key factor for good zoom cameras, and the algorithm is critical to judge if the product features good auto varifocal function," Zheng said.
"To most Chinese security camera manufacturers," Zheng said, "Their auto varifocal function is provided by lens manufacturers, instead of their own developed software. However, we started developing our own varifocal functions from last year. The big difference is their varifocal function takes time to provide a clear image. Even it takes only a second, the delay is unacceptable for security purposes."
When it comes to zoom cameras on the market today, Sony, Samsung and Hitachi are considered three major players. HTS conducted a product analysis of these three players. "We have tested their cameras by some aspects — resolution, distortion and real image effect," Zhang said. "And we are confident that our zoom camera not only enjoys the price-performance ratio but also delivers a comparable performance."
Put to the Test
A&S Installer tested the products and gave it the following review: The Viewse 1/3-inch 18x zoom camera features a Sony CCD with resolution of 600 TVL and focal length of 5.3millimeters to 95 millimeters at F=1.5 to 3.6. The camera body is composed of aluminum, providing effective heat dissipation. With an 18x auto varifocal lens, it is able to provide crystal clear images from 300 meters away. Its auto varifocal speed can quickly focus on objects without any shaking or streaking.
The camera features good performance without distortion, along with low illumination, five areas of back light compensation and eight areas of privacy masking. It also offers flexible day and night functions, including auto adjust, .jpg)
black-white and color. With its onscreen display, users can conveniently adjust functions. The camera features an RS 485 input for more flexibility.
Product Technology
The company is working on new projects, including network cameras and high resolution cameras with more intelligent functions. HTS plans to introduce a new zoom camera with 36x optical zoom this year.
Zheng pointed out that HTS' product portfolio not only extends to more high-end products but also strengthens its existing mid-end and entry-level products, such as 10x and 22x zoom cameras with HTS in-house algorithms.
Miniature zoom cameras are another focus. The company expects to launch a new series of cameras with super digital processor (SDP) technology this year.
Quality Assurance
The organization has cooperated with many international players for years. For example, the company has recently passed all the approval procedures for manufacturing procedures, quality control and management by a large and notable American partner.
Furthermore, HTS has worked with technical institutions in Japan, the United States and South Korea for R&D. With high quality control, the company strictly follows international and industrial standards. It has obtained international quality certification for ISO9001:2000 as well as passing other international standards such as CE, FCC, MA and RoHS.
With all the criteria to be a good manufacturer - R&D capability, manufacturing capacity, quality control, management and after-sales service — HTS sells its products worldwide. North America is its largest overseas market, with Europe coming after. With new affordable products ready, HTS will increase its market share in Southeast Asia.
"Our ultimate goal is to become an international level well-known surveillance camera manufacturer," Liu said, "It will not be easy. But we definitely need to catch up with trends and reinforce our competitive edge for innovative products, quality management and customer service."