HD CCTV is being touted as the answer to every installers dream when it comes to upgrading and enhancing existing analog CCTV systems. But how does it work and what are the shortfalls if any? HD SDI CCTV cameras can produce images that can achieve 720p and 1080p video at a full 30 frames per second. Add to this the fact that upon delivery there is  no latency or use of compression of the image and you start to see the attraction of this technology.

To enable installers however to reach a balanced view there is a need to ask if  HD CCTV can replace or even supersede IP based HD CCTV cameras?

Many in the CCTV industry have asked if IP solutions will be blown away by this new technology. Well firstly we need to consider that 80% of the UK market place is still analog CCTV solutions and HD CCTV in the form of  HD SDI is definitely at an advantage to take the share of upgrades. but is it flexible enough when it comes to integration and will the advance to 10 16 or even 20 megapixel IP cameras mean that HD CCTV will be dropped in favour of IP?

HDcctv benefits

Firstly we need to understand exactly how HD CCTV works as opposed to IP HD cameras.  HD CCTV uses coax and has been developed on the back of HDTV and the technology behind the pictures we see on our TV sets today. It is not dissimilar from a standard analog CCTV system and uses coax to carry images of up to 2.1 megapixels from the camera to the DVR. It does not use cat 5 or existing IT networks this means there is no compression required and as a result no latency.

The primary benefit  to CCTV integrators is the ease of installation. Because HD CCTV can use existing coax or is wired as a point to point system, any engineer with basic knowledge of CCTV can install it. No IP addresses, IT managers interfering or network issues to contend with. Quite simply its plug and play. This makes installation simple, uncomplicated and best of all cheaper than many IP based systems. No new cabling makes a retro fit installation far more commercially attractive than an IP solution.

The ability of HD CCTV to re-use the same cabling infrastructure as most traditional analog systems is though the main selling point together with images that will impress even the biggest sceptics of HD SDI CCTV. One of the largest costs in any analog system conversion is the changes to the cabling infrastructure. This technology allows organizations an easy, economical way to upgrade a legacy analog system to achieve the benefits of megapixel cameras.

One of the main challenges to HD CCTV and its uptake in the UK has been the lack of companies who are able to offer a cost effective HD SDI DVR this however has most definitely been overcome. IFSEC 2011 was the tipping point with HD CCTV systems being the star of the show. It was almost like the consumers had forgotten about IP CCTV. Still more competition is required and hybrid HD SDI DVR’s seem the obvious path to upgrade.

One barrier to HD CCTV is that the resolution capabilities IP are far greater. HD SDI cameras can produce the max resolution being 2.1 megapixels. IP cameras have as much as 5 times that resolution and it is only bandwidth limitations that stop this being expanded further. However many years in the industry have taught us that anything much higher than 2 megapixels starts to become cost prohibitive and even though sometimes higher resolution might be preferable it is often not practical. When viewed 2 megapixels is generally accepted as quite sufficient especially when compared to the previous best offerings of analogue CCTV.

Of course IP will always have its needs and the larger the organization the more likely that IP will be the preferred solution. This however still leaves vast amounts of the market place open to HD CCTV and gives the wider population the access to HD that has previously proved too expensive.

So the question was is HD CCTV the answer to everything, well no its not but it is certainly going to provide a viable alternative to IP and one that will prove to inevitably be the preferred option to current CCTV installers and their huge user database.