IP Video Is on the Rise … But How Fast?
A stock market maxim says that past performance does not necessarily indicate future returns. Nowadays, the same holds true for the security surveillance industry.
According to IMS Research, there are about 45 million surveillance cameras deployed around the world. The great majority of them are of the sturdy-performing analog variety. But industry experts prognosticate an eventual sea change: the future of video surveillance, in fact, is digital.
To be more exact, the surveillance industry is at the beginning of a migration to IP (Internet protocol) technology. In IP surveillance systems the cameras, recorders and other related devices connect to one another over a data network using the same transmission methods that computers in a home or office use to communicate over the Internet.
Unlike analog systems, which require each camera to be directly cabled to a recorder, each piece of IP equipment connects by finding the IP address of the others. This allows IP cameras to be monitored and recorded centrally from virtually any distance via the Internet.
So, the big issue is not whether video surveillance is moving to IP, but rather how fast that migration is going to happen. What are the advantages and pitfalls of IP security? Is IP video an all-or-nothing proposition? What do installers and users need to know to determine the best path forward into the future of networked IP? You are about to uncover the answers to these and many other probing questions.
Industry Insiders Debate the Trajectory of Transition to IP Video
End users and industry practitioners should not expect the migration to IP security to necessarily transpire rapidly. The reality is there are hybrid analog-IP systems available that can help companies preserve their existing analog equipment investments, yet transition smoothly to the world of networked IP. Other forces are also at play.
“The security industry is notably resistant to change, and new technologies generally take a while to gain acceptance,” says Simon Harris, senior research director for IMS Research. “It will be a gradual transition. But IP is coming on strong.”
In fact, IMS reports that the world market for IP-based network video surveillance products grew at an impressive 41.9 percent clip in 2006. By 2010, Harris predicts, IP systems will make up about a third of security cameras shipped. The combined market for network cameras, video servers and NVRs (network video recorders) is forecast to exceed $2.6 billion in 2010.
Other industry experts think IP adoption might happen even faster. After all, security-system customers have had one foot in the digital world for years. The vast majority of users have transitioned from analog VCRs to DVRs, and many of those have already connected their DVRs to the Internet to allow remote surveillance monitoring.
What these people may not realize is they have already completed the most complicated part of an IP system setup. IP cameras are just an extension of the networked DVR concept. Instead of only one network device (the DVR) communicating with a single piece of software, multiple devices (cameras) are now communicating with a piece of software.
IP-Based Solutions Offer Key Advantages Over Analog Hardware
Analog security systems have been effective surveillance workhorses for decades … so why all the interest in digital Internet technology? The simple answer is IP network surveillance offers capabilities that analog does not.
Chief among them is the ability to remotely and centrally monitor multiple geographic locations. Analog systems generally require a DVR to be located within 300 feet of the cameras, primarily due to cabling and transmission limitations. IP cameras, on the other hand, can feed video over the Internet to a recording system miles away in virtually any part of the world.
“Having access to video anywhere is attractive for organizations with multiple buildings or multiple locations such as schools, universities, retailers and global companies,” Harris says. “You can even connect emergency first responders like police and fire to your video network so they know where the problems are.”
Lower-cost and simplified installation is another incentive to go the IP route. “Although IP cameras are priced at a premium compared to analog, you need to take into account overall costs,” Harris says. End users can often leverage existing IT infrastructure and not have to run a cable to each camera. “The savings in terms of wiring and installation can be considerable,” he says.
That is especially true in cases where analog systems would require trenching through concrete and asphalt to connect adjacent structures, such as parking garages, gas station pumps and remote parking lot surveillance. There are even ways to simplify IP cabling further by using common 802.11g wireless networks or using the existing electrical wiring in a structure to carry video data. Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology can even be used to combine a power and data cable into a single Ethernet cable, greatly simplifying wiring.
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