Customer Pole Devices move toward Customer Service Applications

Customer Pole Devices (CPD's) have long been considered merely bells and whistles at the Point of Sale (POS). They were seen as nice to have if extra money allowed, but were often the first item to be eliminated from the POS station when the budget limits were reached. Their main function was to display to customers information that was being displayed elsewhere and the redundancy was what made them seem to be superfluous.

Recent developments, and increased competition among retailers focusing on providing better customer service to gain an edge, have led to a reevaluation of the role of the Customer Pole Device. Applications that communicate in a more direct and useful manner with the customer are the future for these useful devices. An example of an application that has won customer approval is displaying a running total of the sale at a grocery market check out. Although most applications displayed the item and the price as the product barcode was scanned, there was always that sudden shock when the last item was scanned, and the total displayed. The "running total" eases the shock and allows the customer to pull out some items before scanning if the expected figure is being exceeded, and even better, to add some impulse items if the total is lower than expected.

With the increased use of debit cards and in store credit cards, the Customer Pole Device in the future will be even more customer friendly. Displays that greet the customer by name, and even suggest special offers specifically geared to the customer's sale patterns are examples of how the Customer Pole Device can serve to increase customer identification and satisfaction. There is no limit to the possible uses that may be found for information displays at the Point of Sale, but there is also no question that in the future they will be an expected and necessary part of the overall POS package, and not the frill they have been in the past.

Positive Software to introduce a bare-bones POS software, AveraSell. The installation, splash screen, and help files will all say AveraSell. In short, this will be very basic yet fully functional POS software branded with the name AveraSell.

The product will ONLY be available on the AveraSell website (www.averasell.com). It will ONLY be distributed for free when an end-user receives a quote from Averacharge. This product is separate from other POSitive products, and will not be mentioned on the POSitive web site. The promo is available in the US only. It will be single-user only. If the customer wants a network version, he will have to come to you for an upgrade.

In order to receive a free copy of the software, a customer must go to the AveraSell web site and fill out a Quote Request form. We then contact them to get their merchant account details and application. A quote is prepared and e-mailed to them, along with instructions on how to download and install AveraSell.

AveraSell will available starting in October.

AveraSell is upgradeable to any version of POSitive. These leads will most likely need hardware as well, such as printers, second monitors, even computers which you can provide.

AveraSell is single-user only. An upgrade to network user would only be available from Mdtcs web site.

Sentry H120/08









Details: Pentium™ 4 processor, 256MB RAM, 120GB 7200rpm hard disk, DVD-RW/CD-RW drive, 10/100 LAN adapter, keyboard, mouse and H Series video capture board(s) (see below). The DVR is contained in a medium tower case. Windows™ XP is provided as the operating system; Sentry H Series and system restore software are included.

Recording Time: The 120GB hard drive will typically hold about 3 weeks of recordings, when using motion detection recording, HM (MPEG4 like) compression and 320x240 resolution.

Scalability:
Sentry H120-8 - 8 camera, 120fps, one H-120-8 capture board.


Point-of-Sale (POS) Integration
Third-party electronic POS systems may now be integrated into H series DVRs via the AVE VSI - an external device that transmits POS transaction data to the DVR. Click here for more information on POS integration.

Excellent Image Quality
H Series boards and software provide excellent image display and recording quality through proprietary drivers and compression codec. Video can be displayed and recorded at 320x240, 640x240 or a true 640x480 non-interlaced resolution which eliminates the 'ghost effect' in motion video seen with many other systems at 640x480.

Multiple Camera Resolutions on same Screen
Some security cameras can be displayed at different video resolutions on the same screen, allowing optimal video display and recording, yet minimizing recording file size.

High Compression Ratio with High Video Quality
Video is compressed for recording by MJPEG or HM (MPEG4-like) compression: HM is proprietary compression technology, designed specifically for CCTV applications. It provides high video quality and yet saves a great deal of disk space through superior compression. CPU acceleration instructions also help the system gain real-time performance.

Multiple Recording Methods
Video can be recorded continuously at maximum speed, continuously with Smart Saving, On Motion, On Alarm, by time-lapse or by schedule. Different cameras can have recording methods set independently.

Multi-Drive Concurrent Recording
Different security cameras can be specified to record into different logical or physical drives, so that some camera recordings can be kept for longer periods than others. This is particularly useful where some camera recordings may be more critical than others.

Smart Saving during Recording
The recording frame rate varies according to the amount of movement. Low frame rates are used for more static video and higher frame rates for full motion video. The more motion detected, the faster the recording fame rate.

Advanced Motion Detection and Tracking
Moving targets are automatically detected and tracked by a tracking block. The H Series is sensitive to moving targets in bad lighting environments, and not sensitive to camera shake and the auto-panning of PTZ security cameras.

Noise Tolerance Feature
A motion detection noise tolerance feature reduces false alarms and unwanted recordings caused by weather changes (rain, wind, lightening etc.), and light changes. The sensitivity of noise tolerance can be adjusted for each camera.

Security and Stability
Four levels of ID and password protection are provided and an audit log of “log on and off” sessions, configuration changes and more is kept. The SmartFile management feature prevents disk fragmentation and increases system stability. Video recordings are saved in a database, optimizing storage utilization. What's more, H Series DVRs have a hardware watchdog that restarts the system automatically in case of system errors.
Powerful Remote Control
The H Series DVRs use a client/server architecture. Multiple clients can simultaneously monitor/control the same DVR site through the Internet, LAN or direct dial-up connection. Remote Viewer allows monitoring/recording of up to 16 remote cameras, remote control of PTZ security cameras, and remote configuration of multiple DVR sites. Remote Record Player downloads and replays video recordings from remote DVRs. Up to 16 cameras from different DVRs can be viewed at one remote site.

Recording Playback
Search recording log files by date, time, single camera or all security cameras. Also search by recording type – motion detection, smart saving, alarm input or time lapse. Play back in quad, 9 or 16 camera displays and switch to single camera full screen (and back again) with a mouse click. Speed up to 16X or slow down to 1/8 speed. Increment backwards and forwards by one frame.

Complete Integration
CCTV devices can be integrated into the H Series. Through an RS485/RS232 converter, PTZ cameras can be remote controlled for panning, tilting, and zooming. Via I/O ports or an I/O box (depending on board model), the capture board can receive signals from traditional sensor devices to start recording. Motion based recording can be used to trigger external devices such as lights, switchers, gates, and other traditional alarm devices.
Event Notifications
H Series DVRs instantly send out notifications when there is an abnormal situation or intrusion. There are many ways to notify an event:
1. Send a voice message to a desk phone or a cell phone through optional modem.
2. Send a text message to a fax or an e-mail address through optional modem.
3. Sound an event alarm.
4. Flash an event message on the split screen.
5. Display the event camera in full screen.
6. Trigger traditional alarm devices.
7. Send event reports daily, weekly or monthly by email.

Video Export
Exporting the video as 'evidence' is simple and easy. A single mouse click snaps the current video frame and saves it to an image file for print out with location, date and time information. Another mouse click records the video to an AVI or self-executable file. The self-executable file is embedded with watermarking and password protection. The self-executable files created can be viewed on Windows™ 98, ME, 2000, and XP systems without any special player required.

File Recovery on System Power Loss
An automatic file rebuild occurs after any unexpected power loss or software shutdown, limiting video loss to less than 3 seconds.

Positive Retail Manager