Building a Recording Studio and Need Alarm System

[aodagreat]

I am in the construction phase of building a 3,300 sq.ft. private recording facility in orlando, fl and I am looking for a hi-end alarm system & video camera monitoring system.

I am looking for a complete alarm system,intercom system for the front door,video camera monitoring for the outside & inside of the facility and a access control system with key card access.

Im looking for a complete turnkey package for this facility and wondering if anyone has any resources for this type of system.

Please post any information

Thanks

[Ethan Winer]

Alarm installers are a dime a dozen, and I'm sure you have ten of them in your area. Try the yellow pages. Then compare the total cost which is a balance between what is charged for installation versus the cost for monthly monitoring. Some places install cheap or even free as a come-on, but cost much more in the long run due to higher monthly fees.

--Ethan

[tsvisser]

the monitoring service is one of the more important components of the alarm system itself, as they will be the ones who run through a checklist in a timely manner before notifying police to be dispatched, so selecting a good service is ultimately the determining factor of your system's integrity.

Some of the technical issues to consider, when choosing the complexity of system / security vendor...

Do you need partitions? Would you have administrative areas that workers would potentially need to access while keeping the sound work areas closed off? A front office could be disarmed to allow someone to access files or a computer for work related business during off hours, without having to open the whole facility up.

Do you need multiple users? Some users who would not be able to access certain partitions, or disarm during certain hours? Or simply to have the ability to know who has been arming and disarming the system? ...or temporary users for a freelance engineer, for example, that expires after a week, etc...

Do you need night modes, where perimeter security is enabled, but things such as inside motion detectors are deactivated? This would allow people to work inside at night without tripping the alarm, but something like a rock breaking a window and setting off a glass break detector would still sound the alarm, or forced entry through a window, CO2 or heat detector, etc...

Would you like the ability to remotely manage the system? There can be great piece of mind being able to log onto a secure webserver to see current status and logs.

Do you need tamper proof sensor devices? An expert thief equipped with drills and cutting materials could easily locate your sensor wires and bypass most systems by simply shorting the wires. More advanced systems will offer resistive sensor loads to prevent such simple countermeasures. Some systems can be equipped with cellular backup. Most thieves can disconnect your telephone service from the outside of your building, since utility boxes are generally well marked and easy to access.

Most typical alarm installers will put in a DSC panel. These are pretty basic, actually work good, but options are limited. Some more advanced options can be had from companies (alarm vendors not installers) like Ademco. Very advanced commercial installations might use something like Bosch / Radionics systems. HAI makes a "home automation friendly" series of panels that are quite popular with DIYers due to their flexibility and wide availability of parts online.

Video is of course a totally separate system. You could use baseband cameras attached to a multiplexer then with a VTR recorder. You could use baseband cameras attached to a DVR (with web capabilities) and HDD recording. You could use IP cameras to a DVR... lots of options, but need to weigh value and budget. It gets really expensive if you start required PTZ (pan tilt zoom) features and systems that are greater than 16 cameras.

[Rednose]

For what its worth, Brinks has been pretty on top of it at my Studio and home.
Not sure if they do the cam thing though, I had someone else do that.

[DSD_Mastering]

We have ADT in here. They didn't have to drill holes and run wire because everything is wireless with battery backup... motion detectors, cameras, fire alarms, glass breakage detectors and door position indicators.


Regards,

[Rednose]

Originally Posted by DSD_Mastering

We have ADT in here. They didn't have to drill holes and run wire because everything is wireless with battery backup... motion detectors, cameras, fire alarms, glass breakage detectors and door position indicators.


Regards,

Yeah Bruce, I had a rep come from ADT give me an estimate.
He didn't get back to me for a month. By that point I went with Brinks.
I also go my Condo free in the package, not sure if that deal is still offered.
They did do alot of drilling but I must say the techs they hired did a great job and were there ALL day.

It just feels good to have an ALARM, I don't have to do drive bys of my studio a two in the morning anymore.