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David and Victoria Beckham choose Videoswitch to protect Hertfordshire home

Videoswitch provide CMOR domes for David and Victoria Beckham's Rowneybury House

When you are the world's most famous married couple, keeping the paparazzi at bay is a constant challenge.  It is therefore not surprising that David and Victoria Beckham are prepared to invest in the latest CCTV technology to protect their Hertfordshire home and enjoy a normal family life without unwanted photographers intruding on their privacy.

Rowneybury House, often referred to as "Beckingham Palace", was bought by David and Victoria Beckham in 1999.  Previously an orphanage, they have developed the property into an impressive 1930's Georgian style mansion which incorporates an indoor swimming pool, cinema and a snooker room.

CMOR domes from Videoswitch, the UK's leading independent CCTV manufacturer, are at the forefront of the recently upgraded CCTV system.  Tony Adams, who oversees the security arrangements at all of the Beckham's properties around the world, said: "Although we have been one of the first to use the CMOR domes, I was convinced from the results of the on-site trials that they could help us take security to a higher level."

The fully functional CMOR domes offer an innovative solution to providing non -obtrusive lighting for CCTV cameras in night time conditions.  They have built-in long range infra-red lighting which achieves levels of illumination far higher than that generated by conventional fixed IR lighting.

With C-MOR's targeted IR lighting, incidents of up to 100 metres away from the dome can be observed and tracked with full 360° pan and tilt coverage.  Normally, invisible light for external cameras has to be provided by way of stand-alone infra-red lighting units, which adds to the capital cost of a project as well as extra time on site for an installer.  "Now that we have the CMOR domes it seems quite archaic that we previously relied on conventional infra-red lighting units, the bulbs of which needed to be replaced on a regular basis," said Tony Adams.

For security reasons the exact number of CMOR domes deployed around Rowneybury House cannot be disclosed but according to Tony Adams there are more than enough to ensure that any unwanted visitors can be observed  by operators in the estate's  24/7 control room.  The images captured by the domes are recorded onto Videoswitch DVRs.  Tony added, "Our on-site security personnel are finding the PTZ function of the domes very easy to operate and they are impressed with the high quality of the images."

The success of the CCTV upgrade at Rowneybury House has led to Videoswitch being awarded the contract to provide CMOR domes and DVRs for David and Victoria Beckham's 250 acre estate in the South of France.