A comparison study of Costco vs. a solution provided by packages offered by professional solution providers yields the following results. While Costco systems might be appropriate for your system, it’s important to understand the differences between what is offered at locations like Costco and your professional vendor.
The text overlay has been a time proven solution. It’s hard coded imprint on the video with time stamp, and continuous monitoring has for years been a method to strengthen the case in employee theft cases. Without the overlay, the burden requires more comparison of point of sale data, and does not prove that no tampering occurred. The continuous feed of text overlay and video combine presents a journal of documentation that is very clear and straightforward for anyone reviewing the case.
For many, the quality of cameras system provided by places like Costco are adequate. The considerations for buying a system are mostly budgetary. If your budget is to consider the next 5 years of operation, the features, flexibility and camera quality of a more professional system bring a significant value.
Most notably would be the remote viewing, the ddns server (The ability to connect to your store from anywhere using just the hosted websolution, not something like logmein.com which is not designed and does not work well with camera systems).
IPHONEs, Smart Phones, Androids with apps are simply a must feature for new business owners, but they will find these features lacking in the capabilities of those purchased at Costco. The Integration with Point of Sale. While more costly, the integration options significant boost the value of the camera system. Finally, we can considerations for you if you are looking at online purchases. Many of the surveillance manufacturers have policies that void the warranty if product is purchase by certain vendors, or under certain circumstances