IP video can suit any business size

Fredrik Thor says IP networking has expanded the applicability of security video

IP-based surveillance has been capturing market share annually across most industry segments. I have seen a recent IMS forecast suggesting that IP video comprised about 30 per cent of all installations in 2011 and will be nearly 50 per cent of the market by 2015. IP video has moved beyond being a niche offering.

In fact, it is required knowledge – although the CCTV market's conversion to IP has been incredibly slow.

With analogue CCTV, the last innovation was the addition of colour video in the 1950s. Yet, with today's video technology, manufacturers have been racing to deliver cameras that deliver images with ever higher resolutions. Image quality is the most important factor for security video requirements.

Chips and processors can render multiple megapixel images, but lenses are seeing improvements only to about five megapixels. Because camera imaging technology must wait for the lens market to catch up, manufacturers will concentrate on products that provide more clarity, especially in low light.

The most light-sensitive camera on the market today is an IP-addressable network camera promising colour images of down to 0.05 lux, without the need for auxiliary light. Branded as "Lightfinder", this technology will find its way into all types of cameras, from box to dome to PTZ dome.

It promises increased resolution and colour in scenarios that were traditionally only in black and white.

Today most video storage is done digitally. Any compression improvements assist the reduction of TCO.

H.264 is still the undisputed industry leader here. Adopted widely by vendors of video hardware and software to bring HD video to the surveillance control room, it also helps drive the migration from analogue to IP networked video.

The killer app for video surveillance products is the ability to apply rules to initiate predefined actions. For example, sending the end user a text or email in the event of a break-in, or signalling to a retailer that queues are getting too long and they need to deploy more cashiers.

Analytics applied to the network edge or in the camera today can help solve some common problems, and developers are working to produce more apps.

Video encoder technologies, which bridge analogue and digital video, are also continuing to develop, enabling working analogue cameras to be integrated into an IP-based surveillance system.

The SDHC standard offers edge-device storage capability up to 32GB, which could amount to days or weeks of video. Ally local storage with a basic web-based viewing application and you have a simple platform suitable for small businesses.

Hosted video means end users can buy cameras and pay for their off-site storage as they go. Some vendors offer packages for a monthly fee. Integrators can benefit here from recurring revenue, and there is the opportunity for white-labelling.

Some customers may hesitate to consider hosted video because they need high-resolution images. But ISPs are expanding the bandwidth they offer – promising greater resolution in hosted video. Where bandwidth is lacking, consumer NAS devices can be used to store TBs of quality video locally in a cost-effective manner.

Innovations in network video have made IP for everyone, regardless of installation size or location. There are so many storage, installation and functionality options now that it should be hard for a customer to refuse, so long as they are educated properly about the benefits.

Fredrik Thor is northern Europe sales manager at Axis Communications