What have been the latest developments in CCTV?

Closed Circuit Television (Cctv) has been one of the pillars of security systems for decades. Gerardo Cuervo Chavez, Lilin's Head of Networking, manufacturer of traditional IP video and CCTV solutions for professional customers, ensures in this article that CCTV security systems are increasingly committed to IP and HD-SDI technology, that have significant advantages compared to traditional analog systems.

Closed Circuit Television (Cctv) is a composite image transmission system, basically, for a certain number of cameras and monitors, in which signals are transmitted from cameras to monitors, But, How have these devices improved to adapt to markets in recent years??

Until very recently, the technologies available for CCTV were limited to two: Analog or IP CCTV. For applications where high definition is not required but it is required to keep the cost low, the analog CCTV option is — and for quite some time, will be— the most appropriate solution chosen by the market. Instead, By needing more definition users choose to abandon analog CCTV (whose definition, By the way, is limited to old PAL/NTSC TV standards) and choose IP equipment. although when using data transmission networks ip equipment has no limitation in terms of image quality, in recent times the market has noticed certain problems when executing a project with IP technology.

These problems are due to compression/encoding – transmission – decompression/decoding of the image, processes that reduce the quality of the initial image, adding a small delay in the transmission since it was captured by the camera until it is displayed at the monitoring station.

If the installation has not been carefully designed and executed, Some network bottlenecks and lack of software/hardware resources in decoding can cause the image transmission delay to be even higher. These drawbacks are the most pronounced by users and produce a certain dissatisfaction, especially when real-time monitoring is important. This is where the new HD-SDI standard can make a difference, making its application interesting in places such as casinos, Airports, urban security, Banks and other sites with high demands.

What is HD-SDI?

As his initials suggest (High Definition Serial Digital Interface) is a standard for high-definition transmission, based on a serial data interface. This serial data travels through a single conductor (Coaxial or fiber cable) at a rate close to 1,485Gb/s, and are used to transmit digital video without encoding or compressing. In case of using a coaxial cable, the connection can be extended to 300 M, as long as the cable is of good quality.

Since the image is transmitted without compressing or encoding, It has the highest quality that the format allows and no additional delay is added. This standard is currently used in broadcasting. (Producers, editors and channels TV transmitters in HD) and with it its success as a high-definition medium that is already duly proven. As a result of this, as an additional advantage when applied in CCTV, is that you can use CCD and other components that are currently used in broadcasting, whose quality claims, definition, Stability and durability are extreme.

Application and future of HD-SDI in CCTV

While HD-SDI-based monitoring systems have obvious advantages, There are still certain negatives that need to be resolved. For example, Connecting devices over long distances (by coaxial, limited to 300 m at best, unless optical fiber is used), The need for more video storage capacity, the lack of popularity of HD-SDI equipment and the fact that they are not produced in significant quantities make their costs very high at the moment. Moreover, there are special needs where the required definition is greater than what an HD-SDI device can handle (Today, 720p and 1080p).

Over time surely more manufacturers will be able to offer more variety of equipment in HD-SDI. And if production quantities allow it, the costs of the devices will go down., making this technology viable in lower budget applications.

Today, IP technology is one of the main allies in video surveillance and more and more companies are tending to install this type of solutions. But, What is the reason for this phenomenon??

•Digitalization
The IP system used for CCTV is composed of cameras that allow to obtain better resolutions and higher image quality than analog systems, thus enabling easy and fast incident recognition, access control, Fire, among other events. This, added to the flexibility given by the way data is transmitted, being able to send over a UTP cable, by fiber or wireless link, makes them practically usable for any need that arises in the market.

•Storage
Cameras have configuration systems, Video recording and management. They also have intelligent functions such as event search, motion detection, facial detection, audio detection, Anti-tamper detection, Sending emails as alarm notifications, among other advanced features such as iMegapro cameras. Recording is done on the hard disk, Image capture is easy, its consistent quality and allows access to videos over IP networks, which guarantees greater fidelity than another system can offer.

•Integration
Closed Circuit TV systems allow multiple additional devices to be incorporated into the initially installed system to expand the storage of images. The installation and integration of multiple equipment allows to guarantee an effective control and verification of the installation of video surveillance. IP systems are not only integrable with other technologies, but also enable remote access to all records from the same screen.

•Economy
Contrary to popular beliefs, the installations of IP systems are more economical since the extra expenses of cabling that consumes are lower and, essentially, because it allows the use of wireless networks. Saving not only wiring costs, but also installation costs and maintenance.

• New market trends
New trends also lead the market to opt for HD equipment that provides panoramic view and from different perspectives on live or recorded scenes; All in high definition.

According to data from the HDcctv alliance, according to the forecast until 2016 -As we can see represented in the graph- The market share of analogue cameras will be seriously adversely affected with a loss of up to one 20% market share in sales and yet new products such as megapixel cameras and HD-SDI cameras grow up to a 10% market share. New megapixel technologies offer more resolution and image quality, so it tends to grow strongly in market share and conventional, Analog, They lose market at a very fast pace.

Gerardo Cuervo Chavez

Networking Manager Lilin Spain

 

 

 

 

 

 

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