Reality Check

Jun 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Dr. Bob Banerjee

One visit to a security industry trade show or conference in today's market could give the mistaken impression that IP products already enjoy the lion's share of the market.

While many green-field systems are based on IP products, the reality is that there is a tremendous amount of analog systems still in use. Upgrades often lack the budget or justification to “rip out and replace.” Security directors want to reuse existing equipment that still works fine, while carving a clear migration path toward future IP.

Still the mainstay of today's video systems, analog cameras and digital video recorders (DVRs) are reliable, cost-effective and well understood. They dominate smaller systems where video will only be viewed locally or where an all-in-one box is a perfect fit. Analog cameras have more than proven their longevity; it's not unusual to have a 15 or 20-year-old camera still functioning as well as the day it was installed.

But the promises of digital IP video are great, including instant and remote access to both live and recorded video and end-user choice in commercial, off-the-shelf storage. IP video also maximizes the return on investment of the existing IT network infrastructure.

Technologically, the differences between IP and traditional analog CCTV systems don't begin until you get past the actual camera. Camera positioning, lighting, field-of-view, masking, etc. remain largely the same.

With IP surveillance systems, video traverses the IP network and is viewed on PC monitors and recorded on a network video recorder (NVR). Bandwidth is the number one consideration with IP video.

Recording at the edge, or storing video at the edge of the network instead of transporting it to a centralized NVR, is a bandwidth-friendly option in today's IP video systems. This decentralized approach uses the network only to replay video at a workstation. This renders recording independent of other network conditions, such as congestion and downtime. If this sounds like a DVR to you, then you're right — but with the added power of streaming pure video over IP to countless users, in different locations, with large shared plasma displays, PCs, Web browsers and monitors. That is when the similarity with the humble DVR ends.

New uses of existing data transmission protocols such as iSCSI have also made IP systems highly flexible for the end-user. Using iSCSI, video streams can be sent directly to network-aware disk arrays, thus eliminating the need for an NVR server, operating system and software. Alternatively, SCSI RAIDs are also commonly used to attach massive storage directly to DVRs.

Choosing IP Video

For an industry so dependent on proven, reliable technology, the switch to IP technology is a leap of faith. Instead, many have taken a gradual approach and adopted hybrid solutions, a mix of analog cameras and IP encoders which stream video across the network, as well as IP cameras connected directly to the network. These solutions mark the beginning of a safe migration path.

With hybrid IP strategies, a complete and pure IP CCTV solution can be deployed in parallel with an existing analog matrix switcher. While each organization is different, a good migration strategy involves incremental investment in new technology that still leverages the old.

Where does IP video make absolute sense? Security personnel involved in new construction projects, where there are few legacy equipment concerns, can cut some of the costs associated with installing a new video surveillance system by leveraging the new network being installed, instead of adding additional coax.

Although DVRs have had Web browser access and PC software access for many years, “pure” video over IP is still far from commonplace. Security directors must ensure that their systems integrators are equally well schooled in installing a managed network switch as they are an analog matrix switcher; however, a shortage remains of skilled technicians with both security and networking expertise.

The reality of IP video is that it requires new technology, new training and new departmental collaborations. While the promises are powerful, many in the industry are only beginning to understand IP video. It will be some time before IP video overtakes analog cameras and DVRs, and it's likely that the simple and age-old concept of recording at the edge will serve as the missing link by eliminating the concerns of bandwidth, network reliability and complex installation.

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Dr. Bob Banerjee is the product marketing manager for IP video products at Bosch Security Systems Inc. He has extensive experience in advanced hybrid analog and digital CCTV solutions and has developed Bosch's IP Resource Center found at www.boschsecurity.us/ip.

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