Camera Tracking System FAQs and Specifications

The best system to use depends on the specific vehicle type and your needs. The question really breaks down into 3 different parts as follows:

Choice of DVR:
Typically we would specify our Drive DVR unit for HGV vehicles. This is a hard disk-based system that supports up to 2TB of storage (1TB as standard), and provides recorded history of up to 90 days (dependent on the number of cameras fitted and the hours-per-day of recording).

Choice Of Cameras:
Generally we’d recommend the ProVision 300 system as a minimum, which provides a forward facing camera and cameras on both the nearside side and offside, giving clear vision down both sides of your vehicle. You can add other cameras to this including blind-spot cameras, rear cameras, load-space cameras and in-cab cameras.

The question therefore comes down to your specific goal in fitting cameras, which can be for accident reporting, driver and vulnerable road user safety, security and other bespoke needs. The ProVision system is highly flexible and we can meet virtually any need. Because of this, we would recommend that you discuss the specific customer need with your account manager as they will be able to provide accurate guidance based on previous installations.

Choice Of CameraMatics Cloud-Plan:
You will have a choice of the ProVision Live Management and Live Management Pro plans. The key difference between the two plans is that the former provides 500MB/vehicle/month of video viewing and downloads, whereas the latter doubles that to 1GB/vehicle/month.

Importantly, this data allowance is pooled across the vehicles in the fleet. This means that for a 50 vehicle fleet, you would enjoy 25GB of data per month on the Live Management Plan and 50GB per month on the Live Management Pro. The final choice therefore comes back to how the system is planned to be used. A company that simply wants occasional video viewing and downloads may safely choose the base Live Managament Plan, whereas a fleet that plans to actively monitor and review footage for driver training and risk management purposes, will need the higher level plan. Again, your account manager will be able to advise you on this.

Find out more here: https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/usage-examples/

The best system to use depends on the specific vehicle type and your needs. The question really breaks down into 3 different parts as follows:

Choice of DVR:
Typically we would specify our Edge DVR unit for LCV vehicles. This is a SD Card-based system that supports up to 128GB of storage and provides recorded history of up to 10 days (dependent on the number of cameras fitted and the hours-per-day of recording), but typically we would expect 3 to 5 days average.

However, if the LCV vehicle makes longer journeys, not returning to base for a few days or more, then our Drive system would be ideal. It supports up to 2TB of hard disk storage (1TB as standard), and provides recorded history of up to 90 days.

The only other consideration is where more than 5 cameras are required. In this instance, the Drive system must be specified as it supports up to 9 cameras, whereas the Edge unit is limited to 5 max.

Choice Of Cameras:
For SWB vehicles, we would recommend a minimum of a forward camera and a rear camera. For LWB vehicles, additional side cameras can be fitted, giving clear vision down both sides of your vehicle. You can add other cameras to this including load-space cameras and in-cab cameras.

The question therefore comes down to your specific goal in fitting cameras, which can be for accident reporting, driver and vulnerable road user safety, security and other bespoke needs. The ProVision system is highly flexible and we can meet virtually any need. Because of this, we would recommend that you discuss the specific customer need with your account manager as they will be able to provide accurate guidance based on previous installations.

Choice Of CameraMatics Cloud-Plan:
You will have a choice of the ProVision Live Management and Live Management Pro plans. The key difference between the two plans is that the former provides 500MB/vehicle/month of video viewing and downloads, whereas the latter doubles that to 1GB/vehicle/month.

Importantly, this data allowance is pooled across the vehicles in the fleet. This means that for a 50 vehicle fleet, you would enjoy 25GB of data per month on the Live Management Plan and 50GB per month on the Live Management Pro. The final choice therefore comes back to how the system is planned to be used. A company that simply wants occasional video viewing and downloads may safely choose the base Live Managament Plan, whereas a fleet that plans to actively monitor and review footage for driver training and risk management purposes, will need the higher level plan. Again, your account manager will be able to advise you on this.

Find out more here: https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/usage-examples/

The best system to use depends on the specific vehicle type and your needs. The question really breaks down into 3 different parts as follows:

Choice of DVR:
Typically we would specify our Edge DVR unit for Cars and CDV vehicles. This is a SD Card-based system that supports up to 128GB of storage and provides recorded history of up to 10 days (dependent on the number of cameras fitted and the hours-per-day of recording), but typically we would expect 3 to 5 days average.

Choice Of Cameras:
We would recommend a minimum of a forward camera and a rear camera. For commercial cars (taxis, driving school vehicles) and CDVs, an in-cab camera can be fitted You can add other cameras to this including load-space cameras and in-cab cameras.

However, if the vehicle carries passengers of the public for any other reason, then it is very important to have a much longer history of footage available. In this case the Drive system would be ideal. It supports up to 2TB of hard disk storage (1TB as standard), and provides recorded history of up to 90 days.

The question therefore comes down to your specific goal in fitting cameras, which can be for accident reporting, driver and passenger safety, security and other bespoke needs. The ProVision system is highly flexible and we can meet virtually any need. Because of this, we would recommend that you discuss the specific customer need with your account manager as they will be able to provide accurate guidance based on previous installations.

Choice Of CameraMatics Cloud-Plan:
You will have a choice of the ProVision Live Management and Live Management Pro plans. The key difference between the two plans is that the former provides 500MB/vehicle/month of video viewing and downloads, whereas the latter doubles that to 1GB/vehicle/month.

Importantly, this data allowance is pooled across the vehicles in the fleet. This means that for a 50 vehicle fleet, you would enjoy 25GB of data per month on the Live Management Plan and 50GB per month on the Live Management Pro. The final choice therefore comes back to how the system is planned to be used. A company that simply wants occasional video viewing and downloads may safely choose the base Live Managament Plan, whereas a fleet that plans to actively monitor and review footage for driver training and risk management purposes, will need the higher level plan. Again, your account manager will be able to advise you on this.

Find out more here: https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/usage-examples/

The best system to use depends on the specific vehicle type and your needs. The question really breaks down into 3 different parts as follows:

Choice of DVR:
Typically we would specify our Drive DVR unit for passenger carrying vehicles. This is a hard disk-based system that supports up to 9 cameras and 2TB of storage (1TB as standard), and recorded history of 120 hours+ of recording with a full complement of cameras fitted.

Choice Of Cameras:
The placement of cameras in these vehicle types can be very bespoke and specific. But typically, there will be front, rear and 2 side cameras on the outside. Additionally inside will feature driver-facing camera, plus a forward, middle and rear camera in the passenger area (smaller vehicles will not require the middle passenger camera). Additionally, larger vehicles may want to include a blindspot camera. For double-decker vehicles, or where additional cameras are required, DVR units can be doubled up to give more capacity.

We would recommend that you discuss the specific customer need with your account manager as they will be able to provide accurate guidance based on previous installations.

Choice Of CameraMatics Cloud-Plan:
You will have a choice of the ProVision Live Management and Live Management Pro plans. The key difference between the two plans is that the former provides 500MB/vehicle/month of video viewing and downloads, whereas the latter doubles that to 1GB/vehicle/month.

Importantly, this data allowance is pooled across the vehicles in the fleet. This means that for a 50 vehicle fleet, you would enjoy 25GB of data per month on the Live Management Plan and 50GB per month on the Live Management Pro.

The final choice therefore comes back to how the system is planned to be used. A company that simply wants occasional video viewing and downloads may safely choose the base Live Managament Plan, whereas a fleet that plans to actively monitor and review footage for driver training and risk management purposes, will need the higher level plan. Again, your account manager will be able to advise you on this.

Find out more here: https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/usage-examples/

There are no technical restrictions as to where cameras can be placed. The only restriction is the number of cameras that each DVR type supports. The Edge system supports up to 5 cameras, whereas the Drive system supports up to 9.

However, the placement of cameras (and other devices) on or around the windscreen area must be carefully planned as incorrect placement can cause MOT failures.

ProVision is an approved FORS supplier/partner. Parts of our solution will help a fleet operator to gain FORS status (be it Bronze or Silver). The spec ified equipment involves, rear and side cameras linked to an in-cab monitor. However FORS is concerned solely with accident prevention and so their spec does not require any form of recording equipment.

Although ProVision wholeheartedly supports any initiatives that can help reduce accident rates and protect vulnerable road users, we also feel that if investment is made in camera equipment then a very prudent step is to record the video stream, which will protect the driver and the fleet operator in the event of an incident occuring.

The short answer is Yes. ProVision’s cloud platform is classified as a ‘Data Processor’ and as such we are bound by the GDPR regulations for Data Processors. Our systems do not store any personally identifiable data and the video remains on the hardware in the vehicles. The exception is event-based video snapshots, which can be uploaded to the cloud. However these are erased after 30 days and are only accessible by the specific account holder.

Fleet operators should be aware of their own requirements with regards to GDPR and the use of vehicle camera systems. We have provided a useful guide here: https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/7-point-gdpr-compliance-checklist-fleet-vehicle-camera-users/

We speak regularly with the leading telematics software providers to look at ways to more closely integrate into their systems. This integration requires a significant amount of work to develop an API (Application Programming Interface) to provide to these companies. This work is ongoing and based on the requirements and demands they have for this type of collaboration.

However, even without any form of integration, there are numerous fleet operators using the ProVision system alongside their telematics product of choice to make better decisions based on sourcing the video of events and incidents. This work has delivered significant savings for hauliers and fleet operators alike, which can amount into hundreds of thousands of Pounds/Euro.

There are many reasons why a single-camera product, and especially a dashcam, is not sufficient or fit-for-purpose when it comes to professional/commercial use. From a lack of coverage, to lack of remote access for video download, lack of tamper-proofing, lack of hardware status (knowing if the equipment is working and recording) and finally, no upgrade path.

All of this is outlined in the following article: https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/throw-your-dashcam-away/

We would classify remote access to a vehicle’s footage as THE most important element of a vehicle camera system. CameraMatics delivers remote access through an advanced cloud platform. There are many benefits to this as outlined in the following 2 articles:

https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/benefits-of-cloud-connected-solutions/
https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/connected-plans-remote-access-just-accidents-think/

However, even without factoring in the additional benefits of a CameraMatics Cloud Plan, having remote access to your footage is critical in the event of an incident, especially for vehicles that travel abroad. When a commercial vehicle is involved in an accident, the police are invariably involved. That means that the vehicle can be impounded. Even if this is not the case, the vehicle may be damaged and require recovery. In each of these scenarios, it may prove very difficult to get the footage at all, or at the very least may introduce significant delays.

If you have a CameraMatics Cloud Plan, you will have complete remote access to livestream and download footage and other data. This is critical, as discussed in Q11. If you do not have one of our cloud plans activated, you will need to physically access the DVR in the vehicle and either plug a USB memory stick to download the footage, or remove the media from the device and plug it in to your own laptop.

To read the hard disk from the Drive DVR, you will require a USB-SATA adaptor cable, which we can provide as required.

Yes – A connection can be created by a SUZI connection as an optional add-on to your ProVision systems.

Yes – all the cameras we fit have advanced infrared capabilities to deliver superior nightvision performance of between 3M and 10M, dependent on the type camera.

Yes – All the cameras we supply have built-in microphones and will feed audio to our DVR unit. However, during configuration of the system in the vehicles, audio can be set to record or fully disabled.

Audio recording needs specific considerations in terms of public and employee privacy. We have written a useful guide for this here: https://www.provisioncameramatics.com/vehicle-cameras-law-genuine-audio-recording-snooping-beware/.

Yes – We can supply standard monitors with a 7” screen size or a mirror monitor that combines a rear-view mirro with an integrated display.

Our cameras offer varied levels of protection dependent on the application. Our internal cameras offer a minimum of IP6X to IP65, whereas cameras designed for external use range from IP67 to to IP69K.

Our forward cameras provide either full HD 1080p or standard 720p HD. Our side, rear and interior dome cameras are supplied in 720p HD.

Our cameras are rated at 25FPS.

Our cameras are rated at between 110 degrees to 150 degrees, dependent on which camera is chosen.

We do not supply fully wireless cameras as they still require a power source, which involves cabling, yet they can be problematic in terms of the transmission of video back to the DVR. Ultimately, they are not sufficiently reliable or at a cost level to suit commercial use.

Our systems are typically light on maintenance requirements. Our CameraMatics Cloud Plans will inform you automatically should any issues occur with the hardware allowing you to address them quickly.

However, as part of a pro-active maintenance program we would also suggest visual checks done by your drivers as part of the walk-around, this would include checking the DVR LED display, which can also highlight any problems – for example if the “Record” light doesn’t illuminate, or the “Alarm” light is illuminated in yellow, this can indicate maintenance is required.

The DVR automatically manages the storage and will simply delete the oldest recordings to free up space for new recordings, ensuring it always keeps the most recent recordings for review. You should therefore choose the type of unit and the correct amount of storage to give you the minimum amount of recorded history to meet your needs.

The digital forward-facing camera options we offer in 720p/1080p are optimal for number plate identification. Side and reverse cameras can pick-up number plates in good conditions, but these can be obscured in poor weather conditions, or in especially bright glare causing reflections.

All footage for a vehicle is stored in the mobile DVR unit installed in the vehicle. The only exception to this is the event snapshots feature, which can be enabled per account as required. This uploads a short clip (up to 30s) to our cloud server for very quick review without having to access the DVR.

For GDPR purposes, these clips are stored on the server for a maximum of 30 days, after which they are permanently deleted. If you wish to permanently store this clip, you can download a full HD version of it to your local/internal systems/servers.

Upon requesting the download of video from our system, the software interrogates the DVR in the vehicle for the footage from the date and time required. It is then transferred directly to your local storage device without being stored on our server. This is implemented to ensure that ProVision, as a data processor, complies with GDPR requirements.

There are several options to do this: You can have additional hard drives and rotate them to increase the period of data you have – for example if you have three 2TB hard disks per vehicle, and swap them around every 2 months, you could maintain a historical record of 6 months recording on every vehicle. You could clone the contents of hard disks when reviewing them, keeping a historical copy of their contents at that time for archiving purposes. You can also plug in a USB hard disk or memory stick directly into the DVR to download footage.

Live streaming is designed to be a quick confirmation of whether you need to take further action (contact the driver/authorities, download the footage, etc). We therefore wanted to ensure that this function operated quickly and used as little bandwidth as possible. For that reason we intentionally reduce the quality of the streamed video. However, when downloading this video, you will then have full HD quality footage.

We offer 4 levels of plans as follows:

The Monitoring plan is ideal for fleet operators that have no telematics installed. It provides advanced vehicle tracking and a basic level of telematics. It can therefore replace a tracking-only system, often for the same or less cost, while providing so much more. Video downloads can be facilitated for a set fee per download.

The Live Management and Live Management Pro plans offer a choice between either 500MB/vehicle/month of video viewing and downloads, or 1GB/vehicle/month.

Importantly, this data allowance is pooled across the vehicles in the fleet. This means that for a 50 vehicle fleet, you would enjoy 25GB of data per month on the Live Management Plan and 50GB per month on the Live Management Pro.

The final choice therefore comes back to how the system is planned to be used. A company that simply wants occasional video viewing and downloads may safely choose the base Live Managament Plan, whereas a fleet that plans to actively monitor and review footage for driver training and risk management purposes, will need the higher level plan. Again, your account manager will be able to advise you on this.

Yes – You can decide that on a per-vehicle basis to specifically meet your needs.

Yes – You can make changes to your plan throughout the term of the contract, either upgrading or downgrading as required.

Our contracts have a minimum term of 36 months. However, clients have extended this in return for lower hardware and installation costs.

Use of 3rd-party sims is technically possible, but not something we encourage due to the added complications in configuring the system and testing. As such, this is supported in very specific circumstances only. It should be noted that the monthly fee for the CameraMatics Cloud Plan still applies (albeit with a small reduction), as the majority of cost applies to our systems and software rather than the sim. As such fleet operators should weight up the cost of using their own sims vs. the savings achieved, as they may find overall monthly cost per vehicle increasing because of it. Your account manager will be able to assist you with any questions relating to this.

It is by no means mandatory. However not having any form of connected plan means we cannot fully and adequately support your systems and you will not know if any faults or other issues develop. You will also be missing out on the very best aspect of our system…CameraMatics. We therefore strongly recommend the Peace Of Mind plan as a minimum.

This is only really a potential issue for smaller fleets that cannot benefit from the pooled data allowance across all the vehicles. However, we monitor all data usage and actively inform customers that are exceeding their pooled allowance. We apply a ‘fair usage’ policy whereby excess usage charges will only apply where a company constantly exceeds their allowance over a number of months. However, where applicable, we would simply suggest they upgrade to a higher-level plan to avoid this.

But please be assured that this is a very rare occurrence and only typically occurs where a user misuses the system. Under normal usage, the standard limits will more than suffice.

The CameraMatics Partner Program is open to all commercial vehicle dealers, body builders and vehicle hire/leasing companies. The requirements are not extensive or overly complicated because the program is simple and flexible.

IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED AS A PROVISION SAFEDRIVE CENTRE PARTNER, YOU MUST:

• Be a commercial vehicle dealer, body builder or leasing company.
• Have a team of sales people that are available to be trained by us in Vehicle CCTV and Fleet Risk Management product sales.
• Have a team of vehicle technicians that are available to be trained by us in Vehicle CCTV and Fleet Risk Management product installation and maintenance. • Agree to reasonable minimum sales volumes (for benchmarking purposes).
• Agree to promote the range of ProVision products within your showroom, vehicles, tradeshows and/or other relevant placements (to a reasonable degree). The specifics of which will be agreed as part of the onboarding process.
• Agree to install the ProVision CameraMatics solution in a demonstrator vehicle, for each vehicle type you sell/lease.

Becoming a partner is quite simple. Visit https://partners.provisioncameramatics.com/ and click on ‘Register’ to begin the process.

The major benefits are:

1. You become an official referral point for enquiries that come in to us within your operating region. This delivers new potential customers to you.
2. You get direct access to our sales and technical support teams to receive priority advice and support.
3. You are eligible for our dealer-level pricing, providing generous margins on our hardware.
4. Possibly the most important aspect – you get to sell and forget. Once you have sold and installed the solution we take over any of the support aspects, freeing you up from the typically time-consuming tasks.

If an issue occurs, you can contact us directly using:

Email: support@pvcameras.com

Phone: UK: +44 (0)20 3740 3562 or IRE: +353 (0)1 968 1380

The major benefits are:

1. You become an official referral point for enquiries that come in to us within your operating region. This delivers new potential customers to you.
2. You get direct access to our sales and technical support teams to receive priority advice and support.
3. You are eligible for our dealer-level pricing, providing generous margins on our hardware.
4. Possibly the most important aspect – you get to sell and forget. Once you have sold and installed the solution we take over any of the support aspects, freeing you up from the typically time-consuming tasks.