22 Oct 2005

Organization

O'Bresky Enterprises has been Subway franchisee within the Minneapolis -St.Paul area for the past 13 years and currently owns and operates 16 locations.

Challenge

O'Bresky Enterprises installed CCTV systems about 10 years ago but of the recorders were analog VCRs.  Tired of having to deal with high maintenance tape management unreliable picture quality, President Dan O'Bresky began his extensive research on digital recorders.   "The great thing about digital recorders that the video is there when you need it and with reliable, high picture quality. With the VCRs, I found that was a case of Murphy's Law," says O'Bresky.  "When we went to check the tape after an incident, it was dirty, broken or of poor quality the tape was not checked before being used - in those cases, we couldn't use the video."

Solution

O'Bresky replaced his analog systems with Silent Witness DVMS 400 units to provide the recording back-end in seven of the locations, a DVMS100 is used to replace a time-lapse VCR as a test at one location and he has DVMS 800 units on order for the remaining eight locations.

Through Remote Access Software (RAS), O'Bresky can login and view video and manage images from a remote location.  This has come in handy when the store alarm has triggered at night.  Rather than having to drive to the location to check it out, he can check it from home, assess the situation and if it's a false alarm, inform the police so he isn't charged for it.   "I was very impressed with the installation as it went smoothly and had a set-up process that was the same as a VCR.  Since installing the DVMS units, I've still looked at hundreds of products on the market and I haven't seen anything yet that would change my mind," says O'Bresky.  "Some people are daunted by the price of a CCTV system but I've found it to pay for itself within a year."