UK toy retailer secures new shops with integrated IP surveillance

Smyths Toys Superstores, a large UK toy retailer with 63 shops nationwide, recently deployed an integrated IP-video surveillance system consisting of 1,500 Axis Communications network cameras, 500 analog cameras, 35 Mirasys NVRs and 15 hybrid recorders at its new stores. The system was installed by Multisys.

Smyths was unable to get the most out of its existing analog system, as it could not increase storage and the quality of the video was very poor. The largest toy retailer in Ireland, had been rapidly expanding into the UK and Irish markets having opened a number of new stores over the last few years, its business requirement of needing more days of store video footage could not be met by its current system. “We were looking for improved performance infrastructure in our new stores, as well higher image quality and remote accessibility for video footage,” said Stephen McGivern, Facilities Manager for Smyths. “Centralized monitoring for all stores for out of hours alarms was also a key requirement.”

The Axis and Mirasys integrated video surveillance system featured unique features such as corridor format that provided excellent views of the aisles and high quality images but reduced the number of cameras they required as well as the amount of unwanted data. Multisys were able to build high quality custom hardware for Smyths that ensured high availability and met data retention requirements “Mirasys' ability to auto detect the orientation of the camera 16x9 or 9x16 (tall or wide) means that we can use less cameras,” said Eoghan Carroll, MD of Multisys.

Following the implementation of Axis cameras and Mirasys NVR, Smyths have now been able to improve image quality whilst reducing the number of cameras needed due to the corridor format solution. The key aims of the project have now been achieved: long-term video storage, improved performance infrastructure, remote accessibility for video footage and centralized monitoring for all stores for out of hours alarms.

The IP surveillance system has been a good solution for large scale projects and multiple sites. The remote access feature means it is very easy for store managers to find events that have happened, and the high quality images provide a significant improvement compared to the old system without significant cost increase, said McGivern. “The Axis/ Mirasys partnership has provided a solid future proof solution which can grow as our number of stores increases,” added McGivern.