"We carried out extensive research and tested a wide range of CCTV equipment before deciding which manufacturer to commit to," said Tim Edwards, Group Loss Control Director. "It was clear that the Samsung SVR-1645 stood head and shoulders above any other DVR that we tested."

Tim was particularly impressed with the opportunity that the SVR-1645 offered to stream from any store D1 resolution images across the company's network to its CCTV control located at JD Sports Fashion Group's Heywood distribution centre. "The D1 quality of the live images more than met our requirements and Samsung were able to demonstrate that the same image quality could be achieved if we needed to remotely retrieve and play back previously recorded video," added Tim.

The sixteen channel SVR-1645 has a built-in DVD writer and uses MPEG-4 compression to record D1 resolution images at 100 frames per second and CIF resolution images at 400 frames per second. The SVR-1645 is supplied with licence-free Centralised Management Software (CMS) which makes it very easy for customers to control how they display live or recorded images from any of the cameras on the network.

The SVR-1645 can also simultaneously record audio on all sixteen channels and has an audio detection feature so that recording can be triggered by the sound input when it reaches a specific level. The audio functionality is bi-directional which has proved to be particularly useful to the JD Sports Fashion Group as they use it to remotely challenge intruders when the stores are closed. This has been achieved at no extra cost by integrating the SVR-1645 with each store's music system.

So far the SVR-1645 has been installed in sixty stores but either it or its successor, the SVR-1670 which is fully compatible, will automatically be specified as new stores are opened or as and when the security system for existing stores are upgraded. "One of the attractive features of the SVR-1645 is that it is very easy to use and our managers therefore need very little training on how to get the best out of it. It has therefore very quickly become very popular among our store management as well as our control room operators," added Tim.

There is further good news for Samsung in that JD Sports Fashion Group has also recently announced its decision to exclusively use Samsung CCTV cameras. "Once again after extensive testing we were convinced that Samsung equipment offered the best option for us," said Tim. "The SID-562, SID-450 and SID-452 cameras, all of which have slightly different features, are specified for different locations in our stores. The SID-562, with its fantastic Wide Dynamic Range capability works particularly well, as it is able to capture outstanding quality images when located at the front door of our stores."

Commenting on the news, Simon Shawley, Senior Sales Manager UK and Eire for the professional security division of Samsung Techwin Europe Ltd said: "We are naturally very pleased that our DVRs and cameras have been able to meet JD Sports Fashion Group's exacting requirements. This much welcomed vote of confidence comes at a time when we have expanded our technical support team to ensure that we not only provide customers like JD Sports Fashion Group with the best possible products but that we also provide the highest levels of post sales support."