A survey by research firm Frost & Sullivan reports a rising end-user interest in networked surveillance video equipment. The study, called “Advances in Video Surveillance Technology,” found that end users are realizing the importance of networking as a part of video surveillance solutions and also see the need for the video feed to be captured, transmitted and stored via the Internet.
Frost says vendors are responding to this demand with IP-networked systems that capture and transmit images in real-time to a variety of devices including computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The report adds the growing demand for digital equipment from end users is directly related to the growing dependence on IP-networked surveillance systems.
End users are reluctant, however, to go completely digital because of the large investments they’ve made in current analog cameras.
“A more economical option would be to purchase a conversion technology such as digital video recorders [DVRs] that convert downloaded video data into digital format for transmission over an IP network,” said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Michael Valenti.
Other trends spotted in the report include the development of Ethernet-based video matrix switchers to simplify handling multiple video surveillance systems and the use of video servers to digitize images captured by analog cameras.
“In the future, as competitive pressure increases, vendors will have to work hard toward improving the analytical capabilities of video surveillance systems,” Valenti said. “Chemical and biological detection instruments in particular must be made easier for nontechnical personnel to use.”
