HD Camera manufacturers are struggling to offer Video Content Analytics on their HD / Megapixel IP cameras……… they don’t tell you why – it is simple, their hardware cannot cope with it and needs updating……….probably too much stock of legacy kit though
At least one company (VideoIQ) has cut out the middle man and gone straight to hardware that can support it – clever people
Dont worry Iam not going completely scatty and i need to make it absolutely clear I am not a soap fan!!. My family however are addicts and I get sadly exposed to snippets of Emmerdale, Coronation Street , Eastenders and so on a more than palatable daily basis. This blog though is not about soaps but an observation about a recent scene played out in an Emmerdale episode this week.
It was based around CCTV footage of a guy leaving a shop, well the comments from one of the cast was that how was anyone going to recognise the face of the guy leaving the shop. Well the guy who was playing with what we know now must have been some kind of VMS software cropped the image and zoomed in on the suspects face. Bingo a crystal clear image of the perpetrator .
What does this tell us though? It is the first instance I have seen on TV of Megapixel IP cameras in action and lets be honest its exactly what the CCTV industry has craved for for years. So slowly but surely the public will realize that megapixel IP cameras and VMS software is the way we have to go. Once this realization dawns upon business traders then analogue CCTV will start to be replaced. So as we have said on this site many times before , we love megapixel IP cameras which to be fair is more than i can say for Emmerdale Farm!
CCTV suppliers, manufacturers and installers have endured a barren couple of years. We have seen many good companies go to the wall and some bad ones as well. Add to this the strain that wholesalers have suffered, lots of them have been taken for tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds as their customers (the installers) go bust.
Hybrid CCTV
Its also the end user that has suffered. Pressured into taking the cheapest quote due to the economic climate they have seen CCTV systems installed to poor standards and then find that within a few months the installer has gone to the wall leaving them with a very unpleasant legacy and few choices but to find another installer to take on the servicing of the security equipment.
This year however we hope to see a change for the better and a situation that will benefit all. We are at a cross roads for the industry and everyone is wondering how the next two to three years will develop. Analogue CCTV systems are still by far the dominant surveillance system out there but IP CCTV is making a relentless march and inevitably this type of system will takeover. However we believe it going to be Hybrid CCTV that is going to dominate proceedings now and in the short to medium term. CCTV manufacturers are also finding that the shift away from analogue is taking much longer than expected and are seriously having to re-think their strategies.
The thing is Hybrid CCTV solutions offer end users the flexibility they need. Many want to move to IP CCTV but have little or no budget to do so. However the thought of HD and megapixel IP cameras is whetting their appetite for change and Hybrid CCTV solutions mean they can combine the best of both worlds.
We predict that some very big players will start to produce 32 way units that will accommodate a 16/16 split to enable them to start selling their HD cameras, slowly at first but once the benefits are realized by the end user we expect upgrades to start taking off.
So there is hope, the weak have failed and the natural process that is the survival of the fittest has left the CCTV industry in good shape and ready to fight off competition from IT integrators. So with good installers and great new technology we are sure that Hybrid CCTV will help to fuel a strong recovery over the next 5 years.
VideoIQ have come up with a fantastic solution to recording IP video.The iCVR camera together with some cutting edge encoders are able to record event generated video on the edge of the network eliminating the need for third party DVR, NVR or VMS software.
iCVR Video IQ camera
By using advanced analytics the iCVR HD camera produce and record HD images without the need to use the network, meaning bandwidth use is reduced to the absolute minimum. With the need for a central storage solution eliminated and advanced analytics that are able to learn events and increase accuracy over time, the iCVR is very simple to install and easy to use. It would seem that edge device recording is without question the way forward and Video IQ are well ahead of their competitors. Check out the iCVR camera and on board recording solutions on the Video IQ website….well worth a look.
Arecont Vision from the US have released a few new innovative HD cameras to add to their range.
The Arecont AV1325 (1.3MP) and the AV2825 (2MP 1080p) offer a conventional look and feel to security cameras, wrapped up in an IP66 housing, cable managed bracket and integral IR LEDs to aid the True Day Night chip inside…….. offering the usual Arecont crystal clear HD image in either 1.3 or 2MP offering.
Arecont HD cameras the AV8185 and AV8365 vandal proof units offer vandal proof, IP67 True Day/Night perfomance, along with the AV8185 Internal version dome – all of these delivering 4 x 2MP streams to provide a 180degree panoramic scene…….
adding a slightly different slant to the same theme,Arecont HD cameras also include the AV 8365 and AV 8360 deliver the same 4 x 2MP streams, but this time in a 360 degree ‘quad’ format for full ‘surround’ video…..
The interesting and also innovative feature on all the 180 and 360 cameras is the ability to transmit all the streams down the one single ethernet cable – smart!
Arecont Vision are a great company with great products and are also very open to 3rd party integration – preferring to simply developing clever kit than trying to embody an entire system – although, they do offer great viewing and recording solutions too !