Xtronics.ch News Blog

Xtronics.ch is proud to tell you, that we’ve got a new Deal with NIXON.

What does NIXON do?

We make the little shit better. The stuff you have that isn’t noticed first, but can’t be ignored. We pay attention to it. We argue about it. We work day and night to make the little shit as good as it can be, so when you wear it, you feel like you’ve got a leg up on the rest of the world. We believe that you deserve a lot of respect. When you choose to wear a watch, or select a wallet to hold your hard earned cash, or want to put the final touch on your steez, you deserve to have something that reflects your entire package. You may not know how to say it, but you’ve got something to say. Dammit brothers and sisters, you can’t slap on an off-the-shelf piece and consider yourself you. Can you? That’s why we started Nixon and that’s why, 8 years later, we’re still here. - Copyright by NIXON –

If you’ve bought your first home, or if you live in a less than desirable neighborhood an you’ve got stuff worth stealing (and lets face ut that includes most of us) you’re going to want to get yourself some security cameras and surveillance equipment.

The problem is knowing exactly what type of security camera to get.

While we put together an excellent beginners guide to buying security cameras he didn’t take that close a look at the wonderful world of IP cameras.
These days, a wide range of security camera equipment and capabilities exists which can make any security surveillance system extremely able and highly functional.
Many wireless systems exist which make use of different means of getting their image signals from the camera to the receiver/monitor/recorder devices. WiFi is now one of those.
WiFi stands for “wireless fidelity” and it’s the wonderful thing that allows you to browse the internet in places like Starbucks from your smart phone. But it can also be used for the security system as well.

The good thing about WiFi cameras is that they come equipped with an IP number and it is possible to set up a ‘website’ which you can log into anywhere in the world to see what’s going on in your home.

So it’s worthwhile to consider installing an IP camera if you’re going to be traveling a lot, but what should you look for in an IP camera?
When considering whether or not to get a WiFi security camera it is important to take the following things into consideration (besides all the items listed in our beginners guide to buying security cameras):

• Software
• Transmission signal strength

Software Support

Like everything else that relies heavily on computers IP cameras need good software to work well.
While there are free options out there like Vitamin D  it always helps to have a software package that works out of the box and doesn’t require too much head scratching to set up.
The most IP Security Cameras come with excellent software that supports all sorts of encryption and can handle multiple connection protocols.

Transmission Signal Strength

It’s important, if you’re dealing with a wireless IP camera, that it can send a signal over at least 250 feet, or have the means to send footage directly into a ethernet cable.
If the signal is not able to get from the camera to the server then there is no point for the camera to have internet capabilities.
But that’s about it, by shopping around for WiFi security cameras you should be able to make sure that your home is safe, no matter where you are in the world.

Xtronics likes to give its customers choices, which is why many of our products may come with different versions but with small differences.

Security cameras are no exception and in fact, the many different specifications and functions available quite often confuses the average buyer. That is why we dedicate this article to briefly explaining the most useful parts of a security camera so that you, the customer, can make an informed decision on which type to use.

As this is a guide made for the not-so-technically-inclined, we won’t bore you with the details about how the image sensors absorb light and transfer them into electronic signals or how TV lines are related to bandwidth. Instead, we bring you the meat, the details, and important facts you can use.

Image sensors are one of the most important part of a security camera as you would be blind without one. The two most common types are CCD (charge coupled device) and CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor), which uses two completely different technologies for capturing images.

You also have the Super HAD CCD and Interline CCD, which are improvements upon the traditional type of CCD, for a total of 4 different image sensors. What’s the difference?

CMOS:

• Uses only 1/5 to 1/10 as much power as
• CCDsCheap due to low cost of production
• Great for battery-powered cameras

CCD:

• Less electronic noise than a CMOS
• Better image quality

Super HAD CCD:

• Twice as sensitive as traditional type of CCD
• Has a 6 db better smear rejection ratio than the formal traditional type of CCD

Interline CCD:

• High resolution
• Large pixels for high sensitivity
• High frame rates with multiple outputs
• Fast line dump for faster sub-sampling
• Low image lag and smear
• Great for machine vision, microscopy, fluoroscopy, and other applications that demand high imaging performance.

In the end, which is best? You might quickly vote for the Interline CCD, and you might be right, but recent advances in technology have minimized any quality differences between CMOS and CCD, so to a beginner I would say: It’s pretty much the same since image quality does not soely depend on the image sensor. Look at the other specifications too.

TV Lines

“TV Lines” refer to the horizontal resolution measured in relation with the picture’s height. That is, for a standard 4:3 aspect ratio, your 720 pixels accross the screen divided by 4/3 would give a max of 540 TV lines in theory. Of course, it depends on the lens, the ccd, the camera output direct to a monitor, etc. The important thing to know is: The more the better.

Causes for low TVL:

• A poor quality or badly set-up camera.
• A poor quality or poorly focussed lens.
• Poor quality video cables. These can cause distortion of the high frequency analog signals.
• The network bit rate used to transmit the video. If the bit rate is too low then TVL will be reduced.
• Product quality. Poor design of the analog to digital conversion electronics can greatly reduce TVL.

Wired/Wireless

There are many reasons to choose wired security cameras and many reasons to choose wireless security cameras. When making that decision, there are plenty of factors to consider: the size of your home or property, the placement of the cameras, the cost, even weather and network interference.

Wireless security cameras with long signals are very convenient because you can place them in many different, hard-to-reach spots, without worrying about wires or cords.

The signals can also go up to 1000 feet, which means you can have your wireless security cameras in areas that didn’t have the proper outlets for regular wired security cameras. Wired security cameras, on the other hand, tend to be more cost effective.You never have to worry about dropping the signal or worry about obstructing or otherwise affecting the wired security cameras signal.

One is obviously not inferior to the other, there is only one better for your needs.

Useful Features

Waterproof/Weatherproof:

Security cameras have to be sturdy, they have to be resilient. When Mother Nature throws a fit, your security camera should be able to say say “Back off, yo.”

But how do you measure the durability of security cameras? Luckily for you there’s something called the International Protection Rating or the Ingress Protection Rating.

This is a system which can the rate of durability of everything against water and solid objects and is an especially important piece of information to know when you’re dealing with an outdoor security camera system.

To help with that, Xtronics.ch security cameras all come in a strong heavy-duty aluminum casing to protect against water, stormy weather, falling debris, and even vandalism and often have a IP66 or IP67 rating.

Night Vision:

What security camera doesn’t have night vision nowadays? Hey, let’s create a security camera that only works during day, where crimes are less likely to occur! So unless your security camera is indoors and the room is guaranteed to be lit 24/7, you will probably want a security camera with IR (infrared) lights.

Just as shining a spotlight on something makes it easier to see with your eyes, lighting up an area with invisible infrared light greatly improves night vision. The only compromise is color as all of your images will be in black and white. You’ll have to agree though, that’s better than just black.

Motion Detection and Alarm Settings:

How great is it that you can set your security camera to send an email to yourself (or even the police) when it notices something is moving when it shouldn’t be?

Not only that, but our security camera’s software can automatically take a picture or start recording video when it notices something is moving. You can then have it automatically be uploaded to an FTP server.

There are so many uses for motion detection and there’s no other way to describe it except for being an essential part of any security system.

PTZ:

PTZ stands for Pan, Tilt, and Zoom, which are functions you can use to move and control your security camera. While it may sound useful for some, it’s probably better to just buy 2 security cameras and here’s why: While the security camera is looking at sector A, you miss the footage on sector B. When you move it to look at sector B, you miss out on everything that happens in sector A.

Also, you probably won’t be there to manually control your security camera 24/7, so what happens then? The best, but more expensive, solution is to buy another security camera so you can keep an eye on everything at any time. Location and placement then becomes the most important factor in ensuring the most effective surveillance, but that is out of the scope of this article.

I might have left out a number of details which our security camera veterans might be picky about, but please remember this is a “Beginner’s Guide”. If there is enough interest, we might publish a part II on security cameras, make sure to keep an eye on the Xtronics.ch News Blog!

This is our most advanced indoor/outdoor security camera to date.

With the ability to monitor your home or office from anywhere in the world, it’s no surprise that the Skynet One IP camera has become such a hit with our security focused resellers.

However, it is not just IP connectivity that makes this camera so special. The Skynet One has additional features that really make this product stand out from the rest.

Features include:

• 0 Lux rating and infrared technology for recording in total darkness
• Durable weatherproof all metal casing
• A high quality 1/4 inch image sensor to capture all the action in crystal clear video

You get all this and much more at a factory direct wholesale price, so its no wonder that the Skynet One has become the top choice in home and office surveillance.

Order a sample today, then order 10 more when you discover what an excellent value you are getting for one of the most amazing IP security cameras on the market today, the Skynet One.

I live in a country that uses DVB-T will your DVB-T products work for me?

Before purchasing a product, you need to look to the product description to see which compression the device utilizes.

Put simply Digital TV signals are sent in the MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 format and the device you use will also need to understand that format.

While most DVB-T countries use the MPEG-2 compression of DVB-T there are a number of countries that use the MPEG-4 compression rate, or are moving from the MPEG-2 codec to the MPEG-4 codec. According to Wikipedia this is that list of countries:

• Cyprus
• Estonia
• France
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Norway
• New Zealand
• Poland
• Portugal
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Sweden
• India
• Israel
• Taiwan
• United Arab Emirates
• Kenya
• South Africa

Look at part two of the description to check whether a DVB-T receiver uses the MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 codec before putting any DVB-T devices in your shopping cart and you should be fine.

I lost the manual, Is there any place I can download manual from?

If you are missing a manual or have lost a manual please feel free to contact us at shop@xtronics.ch with the product number of the manual you are missing and our friendly customer service team will get you the documentation you will need.

Why are your shipping prices so high, Can I get a cheaper shipping price?

Xtronics.ch does not make any profit on shipping fees.

Because Xtronics.ch is based in Switzerland shipping does cost more than just sourcing from your home country, be it USA, the UK or Uganda. We always select the fastest shipping options to make sure that items get to you or your customer faster than the competition for better customer satisfaction and longer term gain.

However, due to our business volume, we already get special discounted rate from our shipping partners.

Additionally, our shipping team is always looking to cut costs to increase profitability for resellers and dropshippers. In fact, they have managed to score a significant victory recently.

CRE Loaded Editions

There are three versions of CRE Loaded, the Community Edition, B2B edition and PRO edition.

Community Edition

This is the free version of CRE Loaded, and comes just PCI PA-DSS Validated with CRE Secure PCI Compliant Payment System integrated and with no form of guarantees or support from the company.

Pro Edition This comes with much the same services as the community edition with a little extra support and guarantees (although one commentator had difficulty with this) At the time of writing the pro option cost a base USD$125 (although that was half of the usual US$250 price), plus additional costs to upgrade to the latest version of the software.

B2B Edition This is the super deluxe version of CRE loaded and comes with everything (including a higher level of service) It cost US$297.50 at the time of writing (although this was again half price from the usual US$595) a cost which included install to one domain. Like the pro edition there would be additional costs for program upgrades.

In general, the CRE Loaded platform, like Zen Cart and Magento is an OSCommerce offshoot that in that it doesn’t host any content and won’t be able to used in conjunction with sites like eBay, Amazon or one of the many eBay alternatives.

And, like OSCommece, Zen cart and Magento, this puts it into the more complex basket because it means that users will be required to know code and how to deal with site hosting companies, domain name brokers and the like.

Like OSCommerce, Zen cart and Magento CRE Loaded is very customizable with a number of different shops being created from the same model. And like the two other platforms it has had a number of add-ons made for it to make it do a number of different jobs.

However, unlike Magento CRE Loaded and Zen Cart are often mentioned in the same breath as being the fastest, most user friendly of the OSCommerce offshoots.

Like many open source projects out there CRE Loaded’s strength is in its number of add ons and, besides the Download controller and Gift Voucher/Coupon features that Zen Cart and Magento has, it also has Newsdesk, FAQdesk, Wishlist, a Google Adsense Banner Module and an Affiliate manager.

It is these add ons which, according to Sean Michael Kerner, writer for the very essential ecommerce-guide.com gives CRE-Loaded the slight edge over Zen Cart (ecommerce-guide.com/resources/product_reviews/article.php/3463941).

Both use PHP 4.1+, MySQL, 3.2.3+

So what are the problems with CRE loaded?

Besides being too complex for people just getting into ecommerce to get up and run with Sean Michael Kerner says that, for the community edition there aren’t the necessary file permission warnings that are needed when transferring your store to a web server that may require you to go back to the server.

According to some users the CRE pro (read paid) version also has some largeish holes as well, including the inability apply percentage discounts to product attributes and the inability to add images to attributes. People have said official support for the paid version is also less than ideal.

And Allan, one of our customers, said that he had used CRE Loaded 6.4 B2B (read the deluxe version) in one of his online shops and had found that the system offered regular categories and multiple sub categories as well as creating buyer groups with the capability of setting different discounts for each of the groups.

Like any of the open source ecommerce platforms there is no shortage of support for people trying to find their way around CRE Loaded and anybody trying to fix problems would be advised to visit the following resources:

So, as you can see, CRE Loaded is perhaps worth looking at if you’ve got some time on your hands and are willing to put the work in.

Let us know what you think of CRE Loaded in the comments below or take part in our polls to let us know which ecommerce platform you run your business with.

Yes, that day every man hates and every woman loves, Feb 14th, is just around the corner. So if your significant other happens to love gadgets, then here are some tips on prime gifts that are sure to keep her happy on Valentine’s Day and keep your brownie point stockpile sky high.

Pink Camcorders

Phones are great for taking quick pictures and videos, but what if you really want to capture video footage from family get-togethers, holiday trips, graduations, and other special events? A modern digital camcorder is a real necessity for preserving special memories. Powerful but easy to use the Pink Digital HD Camcorder and Paris – Digital Camcorder w/ Face Detection can do high FPS videos, mega quality pictures, and allow her to do filming all day long with a single purse/pocket sized device.
This is one practical gift that a gadget-girl will truly love. If your partner likes keeping track of everything then we recommend you buy this for your lover.

USB Jewel Heart

These days a USB flash drive is as necessary as your house keys. Whether she is taking large work files back and forth from the office or just sharing pictures and music with friends, nothing beats the convenience of a USB storage drive.
Well, why not make sure the one you give her is as beautiful as she is?
This is an elegant all-metal and jeweled heart necklace that has 8 gigabytes of flash memory so your loved one will have enough space to keep her work files as well as digital pictures of you close at heart.
And if those items don’t grab your fancy check out these other beautiful items that could transform you from zero to hero this Valentines day:

Visit: http://www.xtronics.ch/products_new.php

Quite possibly the world’s smallest projector – introducing The Atom – mini portable projector that literally fits in the palm of your hand!

Size: Just how big is it exactly? 5.5 cm x 6 cm x 3.5 cm. No you’re not dreaming – The Atom is 3.5 cm thick! Quite honestly, this is one of the, if not the, tiniest projectors you’ve ever seen!

Performance: But don’t let its size fool you – this ultra-mini projector packs a punch that will bring presentations to life! Or hook up your game console, MP6 player, or portable DVD player to The Atom and play your favorite movies or games on the big screen! The Atom easily provides 60 inch display resolution for a fun time every time!

Durability: Despite being built like a tank, The Atom is surprisingly light, tiny and compact. That’s because this tiny projector is constructed from heavy gauge extruded aluminum for strength. Well-vented for excellent heat dissipation and attractive to behold, The Atom is the future of wall projection in a small package.

If you’re an online reseller stock up now because this baby is HOT! Expect lots of orders and amazing profits with The Atom ultra-mini projector!

Visit: http://www.xtronics.ch/product_info.php?products_id=575

Selling on eBay

When you make selling on eBay, your own online store or one of the many eBay alternatives You’ve usually got one thing on mind. You want to sell as many products as possible and make as much money as you can.

To do that you need to do two things:

• Pictures and a title that will get lots of people to look at your description
• A description that convinces the buyer that they can’t live without the item

While we have previously covered how to get the titles right we haven’t looked at how to nail the description.

When creating a description for eBay you need to know two things, the product and the person who will be buying it.

Do your research!

Know Your Buyer: As the seller you need to get into the heads of the buyer to find out what needs they want fulfilled and the type of environment they live in.

This doesn’t mean you should spend time spying on existing customers with keyloggers and hidden cameras, it does mean that you should find out what they’re searching for and talking about online.

Once you’ve got the keywords you are after it’s time to see what the customers think about the items and what they want.

This can be done simply by visiting Google and reading the stories that crops up in the news and blog section… or visiting a service like whostalkin.com to see what people are saying on social networks.

Know Your Product: The more you know about the products that you are selling the better you will be at selling them.

This is because you will be in a better position to judge the exciting features of the product and tell the customers what they want to hear.

By reading blogs, white papers articles and industry news you’ll be able to keep up to date with the latest developments and newest technology and by becoming a member of a forum you will become an expert in the topic your customers expect you to be.

This means when you get the product in your hands for testing you will be able to find out exactly what it does in a short time.

As a dropshipper or reseller it’s essential that you buy a sample of the items you get in and play around with it so that you know what items to list and what items to ignore.

Start exploring the features and functions, get a feel for it. You’ll probably find out that it also plays music and videos and its got FM radio and a FM transmitter.

You need to really explore the functions and setup of the gadget to know what really makes it so special. This goes down to knowing what chipset powers it, what GUI it uses and what OS is used.

The video and audio formats something works in can also be selling features if you’re reselling electronics. Formats like MP3, WAV, MPEG-4, RMVB are commonplace enough but Video File Formats like MKV or Audio Codecs like FLAC would be worth mentioning.

Writing your description:

When it comes time to write you should already have a pitch in mind from the research and testing stage.

One thing to keep in mind is the importance of selling a concept rather than the service or idea. This means, that instead of selling somebody a GPS for example you are selling them the idea of always knowing where they are.
Getting the keywords that will get your item in front of the people most likely to buy is as simple as visiting a site like adwords.

You also will want to make the copy very addictive so that the potential won’t want to stop reading. One way to do that is to anticipate the questions they are likely to ask about the product and answer it for them. Is it a GPS player? Then they’ll probably ask about the software, the charge time, the screen size, the OS.

By answering the questions that they are asking you will draw them from one paragraph to the next till they get to your last sentence, which will be such a strong ‘buy now’ message that they can do nothing but refuse.

In saying that though your descriptions shouldn’t be too long. As the old copywriter adage goes “Copy should like a woman’s skirt… It should be long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to make it interesting.”

Editing and proofreading your description

Once you have finished your description it always pays to proof it for mistakes. Nothing will kill your credibility with a buyer faster than poorly written descriptions and errors in your work. As a result it pays to print out the descriptions and then read through them.

These are some of the things that professional proof readers do to prevent errors slipping through in writing:

While this may seem a little extreme it will almost guarantee that you get word perfect descriptions.

But in the very least you should run a spell checker through your description to pick up the more glaring errors.

So research your buyers and your products, sell the sizzle and not the steak, and ensure your descriptions are free of errors and you will find yourself doubling your sales in no time.

Downloads

Xtronics.ch got a new Download Section, where you can get some Wallpapers and much more.

Visit: http://www.xtronics.ch/downloads.php