IP Video Surveillance News and Reviews
Search:
Login
The Source for Video Surveillance See Plans and Prices - IP Video Pro Service

Does Your Manufacturer Make Their Own Products?

by John Honovich, IP Video Market Info posted on Apr 26, 2009 About John Contact John


A lot of video surveillance products look the same. The reason may be becuase they literally are the same. Big Western manufacturers routinely buy and re-brand a small number of Asian products.

During a week of meetings in Asia, it has become clear to me that this practice is very widespread - a common practice for analog incumbents, IP video market leaders and new entrants from IT. 

Like many, I was certainly aware of the practice of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) deals where, typically, a Western company re-sells Asian products under the Western company's brand. However, I had previously falsely assumed that this was a minor practice. 

How Western Companies Cover-Up This Practice

The big Western companies that engage in this practice go to great lengths to cover up this practice. Here are they key tactics:

  • Strict Non-Disclosure Agreements: Asian manufacturers can and likely would be sued if they named who was OEMing their products.
  • Restricting Asian companies marketing in Western markets: Western companies often pressure their Asian OEMs not to advertise or exhibit at trade shows in the US or Europe so that the community does not uncover these relationships.
  • Lying to Journalists/Analysts: Manufacturers who I know OEM products routinely assure me that they do not.
  • Just Adding their Label: Often Western companies take the finished Asian product and simply add their label, with no enhancements.
  • Make cosmetic changes to products: To conceal this practice, Western manufacturers will often modify the housings of cameras or front panels of recorders to make the product look unique.

Certainly, these practices show that the Western manufacturers know this is a questionable, if not unethical, practice where they profit off their brands rather than delivering value.

Why This is Important

In a technical business, like video surveillance, buying direct from the 'real' manufacturer is almost always strongly preferable. The systems can be complex and need to last for many years. If you need support or a product enhancement, it is far more likely to be accomplished by working directly with the developers than through a 3rd party like the big brand.

Secondly, as a middleman, the big brands add significant cost. While they claim to test, validate, provide support and training - their main cost and value is simple - selling and marketing products. In an increasingly connected world, do we really need to pay for these middlemen?

Finally, these OEM deals actually increase confusion in the marketplace. The big brands portray each of their offerings as unique. However, if they were clear about what was being OEMed we could easily and quickly understand what real differences did exist.





Most Recent Industry Reports

Testing Cisco-Linksys Switch for IP Video (SRW208P) on Sep 01, 2010
Switch selection for IP video surveillance is a key consideration in overall design. Unfortunately, it is often less scrutinized than the 'stars' of the solution (i.e., VMS and cameras). Moreo...

Testing Milestone GO VMS (Free 8 Ch) on Aug 29, 2010
Milestone's aggressive moves targeting the smaller video surveillance systems continue. This month's release of a free 8 channel VMS, called XProtect Go, adds to their June 2010 release that droppe...

Testing the iCam VMS / iPhone App on Aug 29, 2010
Home video surveillance systems are quickly getting a lot better and a lot cheaper. A good example of this is an application called iCam that has recently been in the news for helping a homeowner d...

Training: VSaaS Hosted/Managed Basics on Aug 22, 2010
This hour long training explains the basics behind Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS). If you want to learn about the most talked about emerging trend in the industry, this is an ideal place t...

Training: Megapixel / HD Basics on Aug 18, 2010
This report provides a 95 minute video series that teaches the fundamentals of using, selecting and applying megapixel video surveillance in real world deployments. We cover 9 fundamental aspects: ...

Real World CCTV / Surveillance Success on Aug 16, 2010
In this report, we find, review and share 50+ real world success stories using video surveillance. These are actual documented examples where crimes, murders, thefts and more have been recorded and...

Testing Archerfish Solo Smart Camera / DVR / VSaas (Cernium) on Aug 09, 2010
Combining many video surveillance functionalities in a single device is a growing trend. The hope is providing a turn-key, 'all-in-one' solution simplifies deployment and provides everything one ne...

Directory of Budget / Home / SMB IP Cameras on Aug 07, 2010
We have completed a broad testing program of budget IP cameras for use in the home or SMB markets. This directory provides links to each test. Full test results including video screencasts and vid...

Testing Rogo's Managed VSaaS on Aug 04, 2010
Managed / hosted video offerings continue to expand with a variety of technical and business approaches. In this test, we examine Rogo's Managed Video offering. The system uses an on-site recordin...

Testing Lorex's IP Camera (LNE1001) on Aug 03, 2010
Simplifying remote viewing is a key element in choosing and using IP cameras for home and small business users. Doing it the 'old fashion' way can require technical skill, be cumbersome and frustra...

IP Video Market Info 2010