Megapixel imaging performance and cost-efficiency are going mainstream, says Paul Taggar, pictured, Country Manager, UK and Ireland, for the US manufacturer Arecont Vision.
Analogue video systems are as familiar and comfortable to security integrators and end-users as an old pair of shoes. As we all know from experience, analogue systems have never been perfect, but industry professionals have been forgiving of their limitations because there was no viable alternative.
Over the years, analogue performance was thought to be “good enough” with systems up and running all around the world in mission critical applications. Generally, these systems have performed reliably and have earned a place in history. But times have changed. Imaging performance has vastly improved over the past few years alone. And analogue systems simply cannot deliver the image quality, functionality and cost-efficiency that today’s new technologies provide. Megapixel cameras fully exemplify the latest trend, as they simply outperform analogue cameras any way you stack them up against each other.
ABI Research has forecast the year 2014 as an optimistic tipping-point at which IP camera shipments may outnumber those of analogue cameras. “High-definition systems are growing in popularity,” said ABI Research practice director Dan Shey. “Buyers understand the HD concept because they’re buying it for home use.”
With the proliferation of HD video, security professionals (who are also consumers the moment they step into their private life) expect a level of image performance when watching video from any source. We are living in an HD world for sure – and professional security technologies are slowly, but surely, catching up.
Making the move
With analogue CCTV systems, the resolution of a video image is a given. It is either 480 TV lines (for the NTSC standard) or 576 TV lines (for the PAL standard). Integrators work with that same resolution, no matter how large an area the system has to cover, and no matter what level of detail is needed. The common solution: add more cameras to a system to increase coverage areas while limiting their field of views to maintain usable resolution. Once a practical and accepted practice, it’s a solution that has become increasingly difficult to justify relative to image resolution, system functionality and budget.
Throughout history, we have seen new imaging technologies introduced that set new benchmarks in performance while quickly decimating their predecessors. Once upon a time, Vidicon and Newvicon tube cameras were the industry standard for general surveillance applications. The images were grainy, and low-light performance simply did not exist. But thousands of these cameras were deployed and became the mainstay imaging solution. Then CCD imaging devices arrived and changed the landscape, eventually incorporating more advanced processing capabilities that greatly expanded the capabilities of these cameras. There’s a similar transition taking place with megapixel cameras at the forefront of imaging.
New imaging standard: IP/Megapixel
According to a report by TechNavio Insights2, IP surveillance is poised for significant growth among end-users and large organisations for several reasons. With IP/megapixel video, cameras can capture any level of resolution including 10 megapixel images (3,648 x 2,752 pixels, which is about five times the resolution of your 1080p HD TV at home). Compare that to a conventional analogue camera with the equivalent of 640 x 480 pixels and you can easily see the difference in image detail and clarity. Set your computer monitor to 640 x 480 (if yours will still let you) for a quick visual reference.
The resolution of today’s megapixel cameras can be adjusted for specific surveillance applications and uses so you can have cameras with different resolutions on the same network. Core areas can then be viewed and recorded at and above HD quality with secondary areas viewed at lesser resolution with slower frame rates. This conserves valuable bandwidth to optimise existing network pipelines as well as recorder storage space. The higher resolution images provided by megapixel cameras also allow system designers to use fewer cameras to cover larger areas without losing detail, and with reduced infrastructure and cabling costs. In addition to reducing the initial installation costs of a system, these benefits translate directly into greater Return-On-Investment (ROI) and lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
Resolution performance versatility is just one of the advantages of IP/megapixel video that is making analogue cameras obsolete. Another contributing factor to the rapid rise of IP/megapixel imaging is the ease of network system connectivity. In the old days, every single camera had to have a ‘home run’ coaxial cable running to the recorder, which increases cabling costs significantly. Networking infrastructure enables connection of multiple cameras with fewer cables, and the use of Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) even allows power to be supplied to cameras on the same CAT-5 cables as video and control signals. It’s an efficient and simple installation solution.
Megapixel cameras also eliminate the need for mechanical pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras. The superior resolution provided by megapixel cameras enables highly detailed and accurate PTZ of recorded images. The result is better coverage, with superior image quality and far less system cost.
Future Proof = ROI
Building a security system around analogue is a dying proposition – there is plainly no longevity in it. From an end-user standpoint, using analogue could compromise the ability of a system to eventually integrate with the current and emerging technology. There is clearly no future-proofing in adding or installing analogue. If you are a systems integrator, using megapixel IP cameras extends the longevity of your business. For the end-user, it future-proofs your system and provides immediate ROI.
Analogue is not dead, but all indicators point to its eventual demise. Adopting newer technology today is the right thing to do, and it is easier than you might think.
Moving from old to new
As with any new technology, IP video and megapixel imaging have experienced growing pains. End-users often seek to preserve as much of their existing investment in surveillance equipment as possible, and the vast majority of these existing systems are analogue. Hybrid systems are providing a viable migration path to IP/megapixel systems as they let users have it both ways – they can still use existing cameras (connected to the network infrastructure using digital encoders), while benefiting from the advantages of the latest networking technologies. In some cases, customers have opted to apply just a few megapixel cameras at “single point” applications that can specifically benefit from the additional resolution. Unfortunately, the hybrid approach delivers only a small fraction of the end-to-end benefits IP/megapixel systems have to offer – but it signals the start of a new era in systems technology.
The key to all of these benefits is for system designers to change their mindset and that of customers. One of the opportunities megapixel camera manufacturers have is in educating the market on the benefits and realities of IP/megapixel imaging. The message has been getting through, and the technology is gaining traction for sure. The superior resolution of megapixel cameras, their versatility and overall cost-efficiencies are indisputable based on actual installations and metrics. The developments related to H.264 video compression make bandwidth and storage requirements of megapixel images more comparable to those of standard resolution images. And megapixel cameras are also comparable in price to standard-resolution cameras, especially when you consider the ability to use fewer megapixel cameras to cover larger areas than analogue cameras, and the related savings on infrastructure costs. The facts don’t lie.
Finally, many systems integrators (and users) have the false perception that the systems are too complicated to deploy. Partnerships between megapixel camera suppliers and various NVR and storage suppliers have paved the way for simplified integration of systems that incorporate the IP/megapixel video with high performance software platforms. There’s a wide range of megapixel cameras available today with selectable resolutions and frame rates that can easily be adapted to general surveillance applications. This provides system designers with a high degree of flexibility and confidence in their designs.
Transition obviously has to happen gradually, in some cases, to meet end-user needs and to preserve previous system investment. But anyone who has seen the image quality and performance advantages possible with an end-to-end IP/megapixel video system would surely agree that sooner is better for overall security. IMS Research has predicted that more than half the network cameras shipped by 2014 will be high-definition (HD) or megapixel resolution.
The popularity and deployment of analogue systems are rapidly declining for good reason. There is an excellent opportunity to achieve superior performance, and with a much higher ROI available. Security professionals don’t need to look too far to capitalise on this new solution. IP/megapixel cameras make the migration path very clear.
1: ABI Research: ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 28 research and advisory services. Dan Shey is a staff writer and researcher for ABI Research.
2: TechNavio Insights: The report by TechNavio Insights forecasts the size of the Global IP Surveillance market over the period 2009-2013. Further, it discusses the key market trends, drivers and challenges of this market, and profiles some of the key vendors.
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