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New funding, new panoramic from Mobotix, more analytic bashing and the power of IT managers examined. All updates are available to premium members inside.
This week: Falling Analog sales.The future of GE Security. New Investments. New info on key startup and more. Aggregates premium weekly updates.
Will troubleshooting 'standards' be a problem?Will Samsung dominate the industry? How fast are Pivot3 and VideoIQ growing? We look at key news and emerging discussions for the industry this week.
Are Security integrators going extinct? Are IP video sales on the rise? Does VitaminD have the right new approach to video analytics? Can Ganz really improve video quality bad weather? A number of interesting points to consider in this week's review.
The big story is the dueling and diverging financial results of two security powerhouses - Axis and ADT / Tyco. While Axis bounced back with strong results, ADT / Tyco's struggles continue.
This report aggregates our updates for the week. Full content of updates are only available for premium members.
Covers Forecasts, Axis, Cisco, wireless, energy savings claims and more. Aggregates premium updates for the week.
Covers new events and announcements including Pelco, Genetec, market statistics controversy, another public failures for video analytics and more. Aggregates all premium updates for the week.
Covers Arecont, Cernium, Terrorism, Video Analytics and more. Aggregates all video surveillance updates for the week.
Covers Axis, Mobotix, Cisco, Vicon, Exacq, StarDot and more. Summarizes weekly premium updates.
Covers Mobotix, Video Analytics, Megapixel, H.264, ADT, PSIM and more. Aggregates all premium updates for the week.
Covers Mobotix, Hikvision, Pelco, Axis, Genetec, new market statistics and more. Aggregates all premium updates for the week.
Covers ADT, Anixter, PSIM's Future, TimeSight, France, Face Recognition and more. Aggregates all premium updates for the week.
Covers Panoramic Cameras, Avigilon, Iveda, GE, Adesta debate, Europe and more. Aggregates all updates for the week (premium members only)
Examines Firetide, Agent Vi, iControl, Dedicated Micros, gunshot analytics and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Features iControl, Genetec, ObjectVideo, JCI and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Features Cisco, Axis, Milestone, IMS, standards, public opinion and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Features Standards, Analytics, Honeywell, Axis, BRS Labs, ACTi and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Covers GE Security, Bosch, Pelco, megapixel, NVRs and more. Aggregates all updates for the week (premium members only).
Covers Cisco, Firetide, PSIM, new market statistics, distributors, panoramic cameras and more. Aggregates all updates for the week (premium members only).
Covers Axis, integrators, hosted video, megapixel, emerging analytics and more. Aggregates all updates for the week (premium members only).
Busy week with lots of announcements and controversy over industry developments. Cisco, Pelco, GE, Sanyo, Axis, analytics and more. Aggregates all updates for the week (premium members only).
Summarizes ASIS new product reviews, analytics tests, storage evluation, Cernium's SMB products and more. Aggregates all updates for the week (premium members only).
Covers BRS Labs, Firetide, QNAP, Computar, statistics, investments and more.
Lots of news and updates this week: Cisco, ACTi, Vivotek, Cernium, Pivot3 and more. The following list aggregates all the 17 analysis updates posted this week. Links connect to the individual updates or read all of the updates aggregated below.
Covers GE, Axis, Mobotix, Market Statistics, HikVision and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Covers 3VR, Firetide, Cisco, Arecont, Aimetis and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions. [Note: links go to source documents. Analysis of event/topic provided inside premium section.]
3VR Obtains Funding
3VR has received $12M USD in new funding. This is in addition to previous funding rounds of $5M, $15M and $10M. 3VR has received over $40 M USD total funding since launch in 2002. The round is impressive both in the size of the funding and the source of it (well respected Silicon Valley VC Menlo Ventures led the round).
3VR's CEO emphasized the "ability to combine advanced analytics and biometrics into a single surveillance platform" as a key differentiator. However, for the last few years, open platform software providers who integrate with 3rd party analytics providers have been the fastest growing and highest revenue generating startups in the VMS market (e.g., Milestone, Genetec, OnSSI). The bundled providers have faced limitations on 3rd party support and difficulties in justifying analytics performance. Can combining analytics/ biometrics inside of a VMS overtake open VMS platforms as a trend?
In an e-mail, 3VR's CEO stated that 3VR "intends to use the additional funding to expand [their] Sales and Marketing primarily. This will encompass both additional verticals and geographies though our investments will be deliberate and with an eye for solid returns before more expansion."
Recently, we examined the challenges VC backed surveillance startups have had with significant funding relative to sales. 3VR fits in this category. 3VR projects 2009 revenue of $15 -$20M USD. For a 7 year old company with over $40M USD in funding, that's not a lot of revenue. It will be interesting to see what the exit is for 3VR and how significantly they can grow their business to match the valuation and funding invested. As a point of comparison, Cieffe,a similar company with $15 M USD in 2007 revenue was acquired before the crash for a combination of cash and stock of approximately $25M USD by March Networks.
VMS Provider Seeks Funding or Sale
According to V/B Research, IP video software provider JDS is seeking funding or considering a sale. One of the earliest IP video software developers, JDS projects total 2009 revenue of $2.5M USD.
Also, JDS may soon be suing your VMS provider. According to the report, they are pursuing a patent infringement case based on JDS core technology which JDS believes many competitive systems are based on.
It will be interesting to see what happens with JDS. They were quite early - for instance, they were the first company I remember marketing IP video software at US trade shows. However, I do not think they have maintained pace with many other entrants and I know rarely hear integrators or end users ask about using them.
Most Successful US Video Surveillance Startup
From a financial perspective, Sypixx is probably the most successful US video surveillance startup post 9/11. Acquired by Cisco for $51 M in 2006, Sypixx was acquired only a few years after launch and at a significant profit for its investors.
Sypixx demonstrates two key qualities of successful video surveillance startups: (1) founders with deep expertise in the market and (2) no VC funding - Sypixx funded by employees and angels.
Pete Jankowski, the founder of Sypixx is now working on a new startup called Next Level Security Systems. It's still in stealth mode but you can see Pete's public LinkedIn profile.
99 cent IP Video iPhone App
For the last few months, we have been examining a number of expensive, premium iPhone ip video applications. By contrast, SmartVue's iPhone app is available for only 99 cents (less than 1 USD). It's big limitation is that the system only connects to cameras and the user needs to manually enter in the URL of the camera's JPG feed. However, for 99 cents, it's an interestingly entry level option for users to consider. On the other hand, it lacks the VMS software integration that LexTech provides for Milestone/OnSSI and Feeling Software has for Genetec.
SmartVue is using this as a way to promote their own IP video solution. It's a clever way and this approach is likely to be a growing force on limiting prices in this market.
Firetide Company Update
Firetide released two announcements this week: (1) record revenue in H1 2009 and (2) a customer reporting rest results of up to 300 Mb/s outdoor performance.
On the revenue side, Firetide reported 50% growth from H2 08 to H1 09. In a follow-up phone conversation, they stated that revenue was up between 60-70% from H1 08 to H1 09. The latter comparison is year over year and revenue ramp up of over 60% is significant.
They noted that they have averaged doubling of revenue each year since 2005. It's hard to estimate what actual revenue is and since Firetide only starting selling products in 2004, doubling 4 times is unlikely to result in huge numbers. Firetide did note that about 60% of total revenue is from deployments using video surveillance.
Firetide anticipates growth in the use of their new 900 MHz radios for Smart Grid deployments.
As for the "up to" 300 Mb/s test results, this was for a "a point-to-point backhaul transport connection" using 2 radios bonded, each with 40 MHz spectrum. Firetide provided me additional detailed testing information from a variety of scenarios showing a range of performance from 140 Mb/s to 340 Mb/s (all using dual radios).
Abandoning Wireless for Fiber?
Two recent examples of cities - one in the US, one in the Africa with complaints about wireless video surveillance performance. Philadelphia switched from wireless to fiber and a South African city complained about their wireless performance.
While complaints about wireless performance (reliability, total throughput) are common, I am quite surprised about the switch to fiber in Philadelphia. Despite the challenges for wireless, the capital cost savings can be so significant that many (most?) cities are willing to deal with the shortcomings and challenges of wireless.
Examining Arecont's Performance Claims
SecuritySquared has an interview with Arecont's VP of Sales NA. Arecont provides a straightforward sales pitch on the benefits of megapixel and H.264.
The 2 aspects that I would flag are (1) the bandwidth benefits relative to MJPEG and (2) the bandwidth difference compared to VGA.
Arecont's H.264 is not very efficient during high motion or low lighting (see our Arecont test) and is nowhere close to the 6x savings Arecont cites in the interview. Indeed, Arecont's H.264 tends to be less efficient than other's MJPEG (see our StarDot test).
Arecont also makes a point about their 2MP cameras being in the 'same ballpark' of about 2.5 Mb/s for bandwidth consumption as VGA cameras (at about the 7 minute mark). I am not sure how this could be the case in a fair comparison (Arecont H.264 2MP vs H.264 VGA camera, same frame rate). The VGA camera would still easily be half or less than the 2MP (easily).
Security End Users Survey / Statistics
Security Magazine has a number of reports that provide statistics/market trends. Their Security 500 report contains market statistics for security spending broken down by market segments. Additionally the Security 500 end user rankings has a directory of 500 end users and their Points of Contact. This is part of the Securing New Ground Conference held yearly in November.
Immervision Lens Install
Immervision makes panomaroph lenses that allow 360 imaging for any analog or 1.3MP camera (requires their dewarping software to be integrated on the VMS system). Recently, they added an installation video on YouTube. It's helpful to see the steps to set the camera up including optimizing the ellipse which looks to be a little tricky and not common in 'normal' lens focusing.
School Video Surveillance
This week, SIW released a podcast with a Kansas City School and Cisco. The school discussed their IP video system. They said that the "best thing" about the system was the ability to view video remotely over the network which they claimed not to be able to do with their DVR. This is bizarre. What DVR did they have that they could not view video remotely?
The school explained how they would share video with the police or emergency responders. They would allow the authorities to VPN in or open up a port on their firewall. This is a 'clunky' procedure and the same risky technique people have been using for years with DVRs.
Cisco noted that they are not yet seeing stimulus money being used for school security.
Good Examples of Public Video Surveillance
Lancaster PA, USA has released what I think is the best available video clips showing public cctv in action. The car crash and the street attack are both shocking. They clearly show the value and use of CCTV as the opeartor controls the camera to track suspects. Additionally, the video is very clear and at a high frame rate showing the potential to deliver quality images.
Aimetis Rank in Top Selling VMS Providers
Aimetis announced their ranking in IMS's analysis of open platform network video management software for the Americas. They are in 7th. If you have never heard of Aimetis, this may be impressive. However, being 7th in a single category in a single geographical region is not terribly impressive in the greater scheme of things (especially since this ranking does not include the closed software systems and the appliances).
Aimetis biggest differentiator is that have developed and deeply integrated their own video analytics. Indeed, many consider Aimetis to be a video analytics company first and VMS second. However, Aimetis marketing efforts are clearly trying to shift that perception.
ASIS Award Entrants
The ASIS conference/show has a new awards program called Accoloade. The list of entrants is now published. It's mostly the same products from ISC West. Stretch's HDcctv card is one of the few new entries relative to the spring's SIA NPS awards.
Airport Misses Bomber on CCTV
A few weeks ago, a guy with a fake bomb shut down a NYC airport. This caused massive delays and certainly millions in costs. This week, news come that the surveillance video either was no good or did not exist of the incident. Of course, this resulted in criticisms of the airport and the value of surveillance systems.
Such criticisms miss the reality of specifying and deploying systems in airports. For instance:
Video Analytics Like SAP Software?
ObjectVideo is developing a very interesting blog where they post thought provoking/debate questions.
This week, ObjectVideo discussed how mature software like SAP and Oracle require training and configuration, contrasting it to the expectations in the security industry of video analytics working like hardware. ObjectVideo notes that, "This thinking highlights the resistance to change that exists within the security industry."
I think this is dangerous messaging. First, while IT organizations do put up with configuring big ERP packages like SAP, SAP is legendary for being a nightmare to deploy (for fun, read the SAP CRM Nightmare blog). Indeed, problems with using these systems is a key motivator in the move to SaaS for CRM.
Secondly, the security industry neither has the channel nor the cost structure to accommodate complex configuration and optimization. For instance, this is why more and more VMS software providers are launching their own appliances are partnering with others (like Intransa). Most of the market has neither the technical staff nor the ability to charge for expert optimization.
I think this is a reality that all manufacturers need to accept if they want to reach the mainstream security market.
Panoramic Video from 3xLogic
Earlier this year, 3xLogic released 360 degree panoramic dewarping/management software. It's a different approach to the hyped Mobotix Q22/Q24.
3xLogic allows end users to use third party megapixel cameras (Arecont, IQinVision, etc.) and adds a fisheye lens (3xLogic recommends the 3MP Tuss fisheye). Their hybrid NVR appliances can then dewarp and display video.
The cost structure is similar though instead of being required to use Mobotix's VMS, 3xLogic's NVRs are required. For 3xLogic and their dealers, it is a nice feature to have and an alternative to Mobotix. It's also a good differentiator to the many other DVR/NVR applainces in the mid-market.
On Line Sales of Apple VMS Software
VideoNext has launched a separate brand of VMS software/iPhone, called CAVU, targeted at the pro-sumer market. The marketing differs significantly from VideoNext who primarily targets the enterprise/government market.
This software can be purchased and downloaded from the CAVU website and then run on a MAC. 4 channel SW license is $199 USD and 8 channel is $599 USD.
Pelco Launches HD Monitors
Pelco is now offering HD monitors. See their HD monitor webcast for an overview. The monitors provide 1920 x 1080 resolution in 42, 47 and 52 inch models.
The obvious question is why buy a Pelco HD monitor when you can get dozens from Wal-Mart or the local electronics store?
The key technical differences mentioned include: (1) metal bezels to withstand harsher environments, (2) capacitors designed to withstand heat up to 105 degrees F, (3) higher grade of semiconductors and (4) panels specified up to 55 degrees C. Pelco also mentioned improved consistent frames/shapes between models to maximize aesthetics.
I was not able to ascertain prices and I am not an expert at monitors so I do not have an opinion on the value of these monitors.
MDI Merger/Purchase
Security manufacturer MDI is being purchased/merged with a Qatar integrator (Almana Networks).
MDI is a small to mid size US based company with some substantial US government/military deployments (I believe mostly access but some video as well). MDI caused some controversy last year when they announced they returned to profitability by selling direct to end users.
US Integrator Recent Financial Results
Henry Brothers, one of the largest US integrators has reported their Q2 financial results. SSN has an analysis of the results. HBE revenue dropped 7.6% compared to last year. The company barely broke even.
One interesting trend found in their 10Q is that their backlog grew significantly in Q2 compared to last year. Henry Brothers reports that this increase is driven by US government projects which offset drops in the commercial space. This is likely the best tactic given the current US economic condition (still very weak consumer/corporate spending, massive government outlays).
Note: Larger integrators tend not to be very profitable. The integration business inherently suffers from diseconomies of scale. As such, it's not surprising that Henry Brother's market cap ($36M USD) is almost half its annual sales (approx $70M USD).
Cernium Expands
Cernium reports that they are more than doubling the size of their Virgina headquarters (to 19,664 sqft).
ObjectVideo Expands
ObjectVideo reports expansion of its OVReady Network in Asia. However, the 3 new companies reported are companies I have never heard of before and may be small (Taiwan-based Wiixer; Korea-based WebGate and China-based Ragile).
Bosch Korea
ioimage announced this week that Bosch Korea is deploying ioimage's video analytics. On the surface, this may seem ironic given Bosch's own video analytics (which are undefeated at trade shows). On the other hand, Bosch is a huge company (over $45B Euros) and this subsidiary is small (about $250M USD revenue). It is not surprising that large conglomerates buy from outside suppliers.
Cisco Intelligence Transportation Solution
Cisco recently added a document overviewing their Intelligent Transport solution (note: large document - 7MB). Cisco has exploring this market for years (see 2003 document). However, this new document incorporates their IP video surveillance and security offerings. I could not find any other details. While transport is an important market for surveillance, it's unclear how ready or mature Cisco's solution is for this market.
Axis High PoE Report
Axis recently released a new report/power point presentation advocating/describing High power PoE and PoE in general.
The one real strange point about the presentation is the remarks about needing an outlet for each camera if you are not using PoE. For instance, the presentation refers to needing 24 outlets for 24 cameras. I am either misreading this or this is wrong. You would need 1 outlet and a camera power supply (from Altronix, etc.). I see Axis consistently make this point and it's grossly misleading or wrong. Actually, camera power supplies are fairly cheap and as long as you have people who are competent in dealing with low voltage electrical work, should be simple.
Axis Re-Selling Theia Lenses
Axis is now re-selling Theia lenses and has listed Thiea lenses on their website. Theia specializes in super wide angle lenses with minimal distortion. These lenses work with C/CS mount cameras and will work with most Axis cameras (but not the Q1755). We reviewed the Theia SY125M lens recently. While it provides a much wider FoV, it is not as magical as the marketing images provided and does have some limitations.
PSIA Demo Announced
Milestone and IQinVision has successfully demonstrated interopability between an IQ camera and Milestone's software. This is a demonstration only and is not reflective of commercially released products from either companies.
Much like the weekly press releases about LILIN's ONVIF camera, these are signs of progress but should not be misread as indicating that these specifications can be used in normal deployments.
SDN Editor Now in Public Relations
Rhianna Daniels has left Security Director News and has started her own PR firm called Compass Public Relations (her e-mail address is rdaniels@compasspublicrelations.com). One of her first clients is the PSA (she's the contact on PSIA's new release).
More on Virtualizing IP Video Software
Milestone has released a second version of their Technical Tip on Virtualizting IP Video Software. This version has additional technical details on optimization and potential issues.
Milestone German Expansion
Milestone is expanding its sales force in the German market, looking for a regional sales manager and country manager.
Features Axis, Vidsys, Pivot3, Cisco, HDcctv and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Axis Expansion of Hosted Video
In our test and analysis of Axis hosted video, 2 important developments should be noted. Axis hosted video offering supports on-site NAS devices that provide local storage. Secondly, in a few months, all Axis cameras will have STS/AVHS firmware pre-loaded. Both of these developments are important steps forward in increasing the competitiveness of Axis' solution against traditional video surveillance. I'd encourage you to read the details of the test and analysis.
Are VCs Losing Interest in Security?
VentureBeat has an interesting analysis on VCs losing interests in security startups. The article focuses on the Information Security market so it is indirectly relevant to physical security/video surveillance. However, some of the key complaints cited by VCs are applicable to our market segments including: (1) not being recession proof and (2) poor performance of post 9/11 security startups.
In 7 years since the boom started, not one of the US VC backed surveillance companies has successfully exited (many have been sold in a fire sale, more are coming but none of them have returned multiples of the initial investment) and I do not see any of those companies poised for a big exit in the next year or two (at least).
On the other hand, there are still video surveillance companies receiving funding. Additionally, funding appears to have increased over the past few months. Finally, investors contacting me looking for information on video surveillance companies has increased from a few per month earlier this year to a few per week recently (just an anecdote obviously).
Vidsys Seeks Funding
According to V/B Research, PSIM provider Vidsys is looking for more funding. Vidsys wants to complete a Series C rounds and is interested in $5M USD from an outside investor to close the round. This would be in addition to $13 M USD previously raised. In the report, Vidsys claims they will be profitable in 2010.
Ironically, Vidsys recently ran a webinar defending the existence of successful PSIM deployments while acknowledging that most were for very large organizations (watch the webinar video). With very few potential customers, even if each deal is a million dollars, it's just not a large market, especially if the company needs $20M or more in investment to get there.
The other interesting trend that PSIM market watchers should consider is that the big access control companies are motivated to go after the PSIM market. Not only do I hear this consistently from the major access control manufacturers, it's perfectly logical because it's a natural upsell for their existing customers. Of course, access control manufacturers won't be as good at PSIM as PSIM only providers but for most they will be good enough, cheaper and easier to deploy.
Server Based Video Analytics Financial Performance
In a video analytics survey article, an IMS analyst states, "Everyone thought edge [solutions] would be a winner. Server might be stronger than thought."
Putting the edge vs server technology debate to the side, the logistical benefits of server have always been obvious - it's cheaper to upgrade your DVR or add a server than to migrate to smart IP cameras. This is especially important in a recession. Last year, we examined those advantages of centralized analytics.
The other obvious factor is the simple lack of support from the Top 10 camera manufacturers. Only Bosch offers broad support for video analytics (I don't include Sony and Panasonic whose technology is clearly closer to VMD than analytics). Unless the large manufacturers are willing to invest in, release and promote smart cameras, it's almost mathematically impossible for edge to dominate.
This does not mean I am opposed to edge based analytics. I think there are many advantages for them. However, as a practical matter, product options in today's market make it unlikely for edge to dominate.
The next big trend to look for in server based video analytics is the use of GPUs. Though there are no products currently in production, many companies globally are evaluating such use. I do not know enough to have an opinion on future success but it is highly likely that in the next few years, it emerges, at least, as a marketing trend.
Pivot3 New Product - Broader Market
Video Surveillance storage specialist, Pivot3 has released a new product called VideoBank - a 2RU appliance that bundles a server and 4-10TB of storage with an MSRP starting at $8,800 USD (see announcement). This offering targets smaller camera count applications relative to Pivot3's CloudBank series. The VideoBank product line is similar to Intransa's VideoAppliance though Intransa's appliances start at 2TB and can ship with NVR software from a distributor.
By contrast, Pivot3 is targeting their product line at higher camera count deployments. Additionally, Pivot3 go to market strategy is focused on working with integrators on larger scale projects. While Pivot3 does not stock appliances with NVR software loaded, they say that they do pre-load NVR software for specific projects.
IndigoVision New Product - Higher Channel Count
This week, IndigoVision has announced a higher performance NVR series - the NVR-AS 3000. The existing series (the 200) is designed to record up to 20 cameras and playback up to 10 simultaneously. By contrast, this new series, can record up to 64 cameras and playback up to 20 simultaneously. Specifically, the system is specified for handling a bit-rate of 64 Mb/s and can handle a combination of IndigoVision's SD, HD, MPEG-4 and H.264 cameras. While pricing has not been finalized, IndigoVision does not expect a price rise compared to the 200.
Additionally, IndigoVision reports that they plan to release ONVIF support for their VMS application, Control Center, in the beginning of 2010. ONVIF support for IndigoVision cameras will follow at a later date TBD.
Examining Video Analytics for Retail
An interesting video of a Cisco account manager demoing retail video analytics has been posted. In it, the Cisco manager claims that the system can tell the difference between store employees and customers and can tell if an employee has been standing around too long or on a 'smoke break'.
While I am sure there is some way to do this, the big 2 questions one needs to consider is (1) what type of customer specific optimization this requires and (2) how often is the system wrong. It's likely that this rarely is tried in production simply because of the difficulty of solving those two questions.
The other element that strikes me about retail video analytics companies is that there are so many of them. I know of at least 10 of them and I can hardly keep track of who they are. None of them seem to demonstrate market leadership or strong traction.
Examining Business Case for Panoramic Cameras
Mobotix has a new video presenting the benefits and busienss case of their panoramic cameras. Key points including replacing 4 cameras and not needing an NVR because of 4GB on-board storage and DVR functionality built into the camera. The latter points are core to Mobotix's general marketing and are not really panoramic specific. The first point, about replacing 4 cameras, is pure over-marketing. At best, these cameras would replace the deployment of 2 traditional fixed cameras. Those traditional cameras would likely have greater effective resolution/image quality for the smaller areas they cover.
Other issues that should be taken into account: 4GB is small amount of storage especially for a megapixel camera. Additional on-site storage will be needed (though Mobotix support of direct recording to NAS devices makes this inexpensive). Also, Mobotix uses an example of a retailer. Retailers usually want PoS integration which is something that Mobotix's VMS software lacks. Finally, Mobotix's panoramic cameras work only with Mobotix's VMS software.
The big advantage Mobotix has is that they are one of the few manufacturers in the world with panoramic support. I am aware of a half dozen manufacturers working on panoramic cameras. It will be interesting to see how long it will take and how good those alternatives can be.
Are Color Detecting Video Analytics Legitimate?
ObjectVideo has a blog post about misleading marketing of color analytics. It's a good point about classic over-marketing of video analytics. Even if it 'technically' works, the practical problems that can be solved are severely constrained by the amount of objects in the real world that look similar, especially when you are analyzing hundreds of cameras over multiple days.
HDcctv Bold/DubiousClaims
Info4Security features an interview with the HDcctv Alliance. Most of the article covers topics we have previously reviewed in our HDcctv competitive analysis. However, there are a few interesting points to consider:
Google Buys Video CODEC Company
This week, Google Buys On2, a video CODEC company for $102 M USD. On2 claims their CODECs are more efficient than H.264. Since Google draws lots of interest, I am covering this primarily to state that I do not think there is much of an application to video surveillance. While On2 has reached a few agreements with video surveillance companies (Westec a few months ago and Digital Witness in 2005), the value of this technology does not seem to be great for video surveillance.
CMOS/CCD Market Projections
In-Stat has released new projections for the CMOS/CCD market. While the analysis covers the overall market, they make one important projection for video surveillance: "CMOS will make up 62% of security camera image sensors by 2013."
Trade Magazine Chapter 11
One of the largest trade magazine companies, Cygnus, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization to reduce secured debt from $180 M USD to $60 M USD. Additionally, Cygnus disclosed that revenue has dropped by 33% in 2009.
Cygnus's properties in security are some of the largest including SecurityInfoWatch and Security Dealer (see a list of all 47 Cygnus properties). Since Cygnus is a large company, the overall performance may not reflect the security titles performance. Cygnus responded to me that such revenue declines are consistent with many other trade magazine companies.
It's hard for me to determine how the security trade magazines are doing (they are either private or small divisions of larger companies). However, as we discussed about the future of trade magazines, the negative pressure on them seems real.
Everyone Convinced Video Analytics Won't Work
A new blog on video analytics has been added. In it, an individual listed on LinkedIn as an ADT application manager, laments, "everytime if I talk about Video Content Analysis most people try to convince me by the fact that it won’t work!"
The good news (for analytics providers) is that his blog is pro-video analytics. The bad news is that statement is another negative sign of the state of video analytics.
The video analytic vendors really need to do something to counteract this trend (and more over-marketing is not the solution). It's poisoning the market not only today but for years to come.
Fears About Public Surveillance
A web video interviewing Pennsylvania citizens demonstrates the level of fears many have about surveillance. The video is produced by a group in opposition to surveillance so it's clearly not balanced. However, it does demonstrate some of the risks and issues video surveillance companies need to address.
The funniest quote is a woman who laments that "Bosch is making a lot of money" off of the deployment of dozens of cameras in the streets of Lancaster PA. Bosch may be making a lot of money but very very little comes from a single small city deployment. Ironically, it's usually the local integrators who make the bulk of the profits on such jobs.
Multi-Megapixel Lens Availability
If you are interested in multi-megapixel lens, there is a LinkedIn discussion that examines various options for 3MP and 5MP lens from various manufacturers.
Features Alarm.com, Pelco, HDcctv, Arecont, Verint, Timesight and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Pelco Super IP Camera Deals
Pelco has announced "super deals" on their IP cameras through the end of September. Called the "Go-IP" Promotion, the offer allows buyers to "Purchase a Spectra IV IP, Spectra Mini IP, Camclosure IP or IP 3701 fixed network camera for as little as $25 on top of the standard analog price."
This seems to be a good approach for incumbent manufacturers to create financial barriers for customers to switch to IP only manufacturers. While it sacrifices some profits, it helps retain existing customers and maximize the total volume of products purchased. I suspect other incumbent manufacturers will pursue similar pricing tactics as competition with IP only manufacturers intensifies.
On the other hand, this can be interpreted as a response to weakening sales (given Pelco's layoff, furlough, etc.). Pelco's parent, Schneider Electric just announced Q2 2009 financial results. Revenue in Pelco's group (Automation and Control) dropped a severe 27.6% in Q2 2009 relative to Q2 2008. Since this number contains results from many other divisions, it is not directly representative of Pelco's performance but, at least, indicative of broader weakness in security and building products.
TimeSight Goes Hybrid
More NVR manufacturers add on-board support for analog cameras --
TimeSight, a VMS manufacturer best known for their storage optimization technology, has added on-board analog capture cards, enabling their NVRs to become hybrid. Called ACE, the 16 channel capture cards have an $1,800 MSRP. The card can be field upgraded or ordered as an option for 2 of Timesight's 4 appliance options (1 card/16 channels for the Office line and 4 cards/64 channels for the small business line).
The economics of using an on-board capture card are compelling. The per channel MSRP is $110 USD (significantly less costly than encoder appliances and less expensive to setup and maintain).
While a number of IP video manufacturers maintain an almost religious objection to supporting analog directly, customer demand is likely to force all sensible providers to offer this option.
Alarm.com Company Overview
Alarm.com is expanding into the video surveillance market with a hosted video offering similar to Axis STS. With 200,000 current customers and 800 dealers, Alarm.com is leveraging its foothold in the security monitoring market to expand into video surveillance. The video service was launched in November 2008.
The service consists of a series of IP cameras (basic, budget class indoor, outdoor and PTZ cameras) with special firmware loaded to automatically connect the cameras to Alarm.com's monitoring center and provide remote recording and client viewing. Alarm.com seeks to differentiate from tighter integration with its security monitoring services (for video verification, etc) and lower prices (since it is leveraging an existing monitoring center and customer base. While Alarm.com declined to share prices publicly, the price levels they cited to me were significantly lower than any video centric hosting provider (e.g., ByRemote, Secure-i, etc.) even for similar entry level packages. Alarm.com also offers a number of mobile viewing/remote control options that is consistent with the broader trend of many hosted providers.
Alarm.com only sells through dealers, ending its direct customer sales 2 years ago. Earlier this year, MicroStrategy, the previous majority shareholder sold their stake in Alarm.com for $27.7M USD.
HD SDI Camera Pricing
SSN featured a small DVR company offering HD SDI cameras (some similar features to HDcctv but not part of the HDcctv Alliance/standard). The company is SG Digital but the website and the term they use are almost identical to the HDcctv Alliance. SG Digital is offering a proprietary / closed solution. Whether or not one is interested in non-IP megapixel, using a proprietary solution from a small manufacturer creates significant risk of being stuck with a dead-end /end of life product.
SG Digital offers 3 HD products, a 720p box camera, a 4 channel HD only DVR and 20 channel DVR (4 HD, 16 analog inputs). The MSRP on the box camera is $1,067 USD, the 4 channel HD DVR is $5,097 USD and the 20ch 'hybrid' DVR is $6,052.
The pricing on the camera is fairly high relative to 720p/1.3MP IP cameras. Outside of cable savings, I do not the see the economic driver for this specific product. Contrast to Everfocus' HDcctv plans which do forecast significant product price decrease relative to IP.
HDcctv DVR Card Examined
Stretch announced a 4 channel HDcctv capture card. Since the card will be used by OEMs for integration into DVR systems, product shipment to end users is not likely until Q1 or Q2 2009. The card supports up to 1080p (at 15fps)/ 720p (at 30fps). Expect the card to be used in higher end, professional 'class' DVRs. Pricing will be at a premium to existing Stretch based DVRs as this card's cost is similar to their 16 channel SD cards but only runs 4 HD channels.
The card provides SVC H.264 encoding for the HD streams. This is likely the most interesting technological differentiator. It provides two benefits that are significant: (1) dynamic streaming to better transmit HD camera feeds across the WAN, and (2) reduction in storage costs through periodic re-sizing of videos.
Detailed IP Camera Bandwidth Calculator
In this week's article about calculating video surveillance bandwidth, I mentioned that calculators generally suffer from not including key parameters in their calculators - making the calculations no better than guesses. Axis pointed out their Design Tool does include options that specify the complexity of the scene and the impact of night time streaming. It demonstrates the significance of these factors. For instance, high complexity, night time scenes require 300% more bandwidth than low complexity, day time scenes. While these numbers vary by manufacturer, such factors need to be factored in to system planning.
IP Camera Focusing Appliance Released
Veracity has released an appliance, called Pinpoint, that simplifies IP camera focusing. The appliance allows an installer to connect their laptop to the local network immediately next to the camera. This is useful for cameras with out coaxial outputs, for installers who do not want to use spot monitors or for those who want to be able to zoom in and use VMS client/web browsing for tuning.
The MSRP is only $49.95 USD and the unit is small, making it an attractive tool for installers.
Virtualizing IP Video Software
Over the last few years, virtualization has been one of IT's hottest trends. Virtualizing multiple applications onto a single physical server has helped to reduce equipment and energy costs.
This week, Milestone has a technical post with recommendations for virtualizing their xProtect IP Video Surveillance Software. While they technically support virtualization, they do not strongly recommend it because the potential benefits are low for video archiving applications. Virtualization provides the most economic benefits when an application uses a low percentage of computing resources. Unfortunately, this generally is not the case in enterprise level video surveillance deployments.
At the same time, some VMS systems may benefit from using virtualization to simplify management and deployment of their central databases/enterprise management software (applications that requires small amounts of computing resources).
New Lens Calculator from Theia
Theia has released an updated lens calculator. While there are many lens calculators available (contrast to others), this one includes options for very wide angle lenses, 16:9 aspect ratio (becoming more important with HD), pixels per ft/meter delivered and a graphic showing FOV dimensions. It could be useful tool.
OnSSI Universal Driver
OnSSI has posted information on their Universal IP Camera Driver. Compared to the FAQ for Milestone's Universal IP camera driver, it's the same text with a few added pictures.
Dallmeier HD Product Series Introduced
Dallmeier has announced an HD product series line including (no surprise) HD cameras and HD recorders [already purchased models can be upgraded. More interesting/questionable are a series of HD encoders and decoders. The encoders upscale SD video up to 1080p (not sure of the benefit of this?). The decoders output HDMI up to 1080p and have built-in matrix functionality (which makes sense to me for displaying video in control rooms).
Arecont Product Matrix
Arecont Vision has released an updated 2 page Product Matrix that lists the technical specification and comparative functionalities within their product line. Useful if you are interested in specifying products or tracking Arecont's current functionalities.
Verint High End Hybrid DataSheet
Last week, we reviewed Verint's new High End Hybrid DVR. Now, Verint has released the DataSheet for their new EdgeVR. In it, Verint notes that they now have a total of 70,000 DVRs deployed.
Mobotix Frost & Sullivan White Paper
Mobotix has released a whitepaper by Frost & Sullivan. It's essentially a collection of Mobotix marketing material with the controversial Frost & Sullivan brand attached.
Central take-away from the paper is that Mobotix is pushing hard on its 360 degree cameras as a key differentiator.
University Using Analytics Stalled by Recession
A Minnesota US newspaper is reported on the local University's partial deployment of Cernium analytics. The report states that the roll-out has been stalled by the recession. The reporting cites the conceptual benefit of Cernium but then focuses on the deterrent effect of having cameras. The article cites that Cernium cost the school $400 USD per channel.
NYC Transit to Pilot Cameras on Subway Trains
A local newspaper article is reporting that NYC will pilot 1 subway train with cameras before the end of 2009. The article claims that the cameras will only be used for investigations and that there will be no live viewing. It raises the ongoing debate about the value of surveillance in public areas.
Also interesting will be the type of cameras selected. The long narrow layout of NYC subway trains are not conducive to megapixel or panoramic cameras (those are more valuable when covering wider open areas). I would suspect covering the trains well will require a high number of standard definition cameras (especially given the low ceilings and common crowds block any wide view of the train) and even then many areas will be obscured.
Features Standards, ACTi, Verint, Pixim, CSST, Genetec and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
iControl Raises New Round Includes Investment by Cisco and ADT
This week, both Cisco and ADT contributed to iControl's $23M USD in Series B funding. ADT's contribution is not surprising given the announcement earlier this year of the company's partnership. iControl is pursuing the home monitoring market for both security and energy management (dubbed by them "Home Security 2.0"). Total funding now stands at a reported $45M USD.
The service claims a video surveillance component though it their overall offering is somewhat outside the scope of the video surveillance market. I have not previously analyzed iControl but am happy to do so if there is reader interest.
Standards for VMS Systems
One of the most common end user questions is: How do you watch video from multiple DVR/VMS systems in a singular interface? The options are poor, the issue is problematic and it's not being addressed by IP camera standards. See our debate on VMS system standards in the LinkedIn group [Note: Free registration required].
You have 2 options. (1) You buy third party software (generally called PSIM but the term is debated) that develops support for the proprietary interface of each DVR/VMS. Downsides include: not having support for specific manufacturers, often limited functionalities for reviewing, searching and exporting video and significant cost to implement. Option (2) is to throw out all the equipment except for one manufacturer and 'standardize' on that proprietary solution.
This is great for incumbent manufacturers as customers are reluctant to force their users to use multiple viewing clients (training issues, administrative complexity, confusion about which cameras or sites are viewed on which software). It encourages lock-in.
Is it as big a problem as lack of standards for IP cameras? I am not sure but it is a major factor and problem for many end users.
ONVIF Products Going into Production
Last month, LILIN announced support for ONVIF in their camera lines. I have now confirmed that LILIN is shipping these cameras for production use. I have also received a sample to test. A short term barrier is the lack of third party VMS systems supporting ONVIF (this should be resolved with at least one VMS provider in the next few months). This is a positive sign for ONVIF (and great press for LILIN) but market impact depends on a critical mass of third party suppliers offering ONVIF so that end-to-end ONVIF solutions can be deployed.
ACTi CMS Software Released
ACTi is expanding into larger scale video management with their release of a CMS solution that manages distributed ACTi NVRs. This provides enterprise management and centralized monitoring of ACTi's Enterprise NVR line, but not their Professional series. The CMS also will not manage 3rd party NVRs. The MSRP of the CMS is $2,000 per server. For distributed deployments of 8-16 cameras, the total MSRP cost will be about $125-$250 (given that unlimited number of servers running Enterprise can be deployed at no charge; the only cost is for the CMS license).
This is part of ACTi's public stated intentions to "offer a complete solution in both hardware and software" and to provide "one-stop shopping". This reflects a larger trend of companies providing packaged solutions with ACTi targeting the lower side of the market. As camera companies expand their packages and increase competition with VMS vendors, it will be interesting to see how relationships with VMS providers evolve (or regress).
Verint H.264 Hybrid NVR Announced
Verint has announced a high end Hybrid NVR, called EdgeVR that will complement their existing mid-level offerings, the NetDVR II, and small scale product, the MicroDVR II. The EdgeVR supports H.264 main profile encoding with up to 16 analog cameras and up to a total of 32 cameras including IP/megapixel. The EdgeVR can be managed using the same administrative/viewing interfaces of their existing DVR lines - OpCenter and VidCenter. The MSRP for the EdgeVR is $7100 USD for 16 analog channels + 16 IP channels (32 Total) with 1TB of storage. Compared to Verint's NetDVR II, EdgeVR offers greater IP camera support (up to 32 for EdgeVR, only 6 for NetDVR II and H.264 support vs MPEG-4 for NetDVR II). Currently, EdgeVR only supports Verint's IP/megapixel cameras. Verint reports that they will support H.264 models from Axis and Arecont Vision this fall.
This product targets the market for mid to high organizations with distributed facilities (such as banks, retailers, etc.). The main direct competitors will be products from March, American Dynamics, Pelco, etc.
The EdgeVR is solid improvement in Verint's offerings and should be competitive with other high end DVRs. The main risk for all of the high end incumbents is the threat from newer entrants that are increasingly offering hybrid DVRs for under $5,000 MSRP.
Pixim and CSST Join HDcctv Alliance
Two fairly sizable companies are joining the HDcctv Alliance - Chinese video surveillance leader CSST and Wide Dynamic Range chipset leader Pixim.
CSST is important for the large and growing Chinese market as they are widely recognized to be the Chinese market leader (with $427M USD revenue in 2008). Given the low market share for IP cameras in China, CSST's support for HDcctv makes sense. It also could help drive adoption in China, a key market for the future of video surveillance.
Pixim plans for their future HD Pixim chipsets to be compatible with HDcctv specifications (though a release date is not available).
Genetec 3D Surveillance Overview
Last month, I mentioned that Genetec is partnering with Feeling Software to provide 3D surveillance/mapping interface. Now, a video is released that shows the 3D mapping feature inside of Genetec's OmniCast UI. 3D has been niche for a long time. Plugging it in to existing VMS systems has the potential to lower cost and make it more feasible for wider adoption. The product is scheduled for formal release at ASIS. It will be interesting to see what the technical details and how easy/hard it will be to deploy it.
Genetec iPhone Application
A mobile monitoring product offering, called iGuard, has been announced for use with Genetec (see product demo video). The application provides access to live and recorded video through iPhone/iPod Touches. The solution requires a dedicated server to facilitate transmission between OmniCast and the iPhones/iPod touches. The MSRP is $995 per device. Given the requirement of a server and the high license price, this is likely limited to high end, large scale applications with teams of security guards/monitors.
Compare to LexTech Labs which supports OnSSI and Milestone.
Analog Camera Resolutions Limited to 540 HTVL?
Last week, we examined Samsung's new A1 chipset/product offering. One of the key advantages claimed was increased resolution (600 HTVL).
Pixim published a white paper contending that there is no practical benefit from these newly emerging claims to higher analog resolutions. Essentially, there are a number of technical issues that make it infeasible to make use out of these higher resolutions (including limitations on monitors and DVR encoders). I would add, even if these increases could be used, it would be so minor that it would not be a major factor in product decisions.
IndigoVision Expands PoS Support
IndigoVision has announced support for Point of Sale integration, though no details on the PoS models/manufacturers included (an important point given the massive number of PoS providers). This extends IndigoVision's drive over the last year to expand third party integration, including a large number of the large access control providers.
Honeywell IP Camera Support
Honeywell has released new information on their Fusion III Hybrid DVR Series (v3.7). They are significantly expanding their IP camera support. For an incumbent manufacturer, it's surprisingly broad including support for ACTi, Axis, Panasonic, Sony, Arecont, Vivotek and a few more.
Axxon User Manual
Axxon is one of the major providers in the Russian market. They recently released an eletronic version of their User's Manual. Key topics to note include coverage on setting up facial detection, video analytics and PoS integration.
Integraph Price List Published
Intergraph has released a fairly comprehensive price list. The version released is for a State of Texas Contract. However, the general pricing levels should be quite representative.
Integraph is a premium priced product so it should be no surprise that many of the line items are $100,000+ USD.
New Cisco Video Surveillance VMS Version released
Cisco has released a new version of their VMS. It's a fairly minor release that primarily adds some performance improvements and 3rd party support. It does mention that it adds support for the Cisco Media API which is the foundation/basis for the PSIA specification.
Real Life Shrink Example and Solution
Agilence has released an interesting example of internal theft at one of their retailers and how their surveillance video integrated with PoS data solves it. The customer pays cash. The cashier accepts full payment but voids one of the items and pockets the cash for the amount voided. See the video below:
Features Samsung, OnSSi, ACTi, Pelco, Mobotix, Proxim Wireless and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Risks of Video Surveillance Startups
In discussions with video surveillance startups and investors, both routinely over-estimate the size and the potential of the video surveillance market. This increases risk of integrators/end users to be stuck with end of life products as startups fail.
The main risk is over-funding video surveillance companies resulting from infeasible growth/revenue targets. While startups focus on how big the video surveillance market is, the most important issue is how large any particular company can likely become. In video surveillance, a manufacturer that generates $10-20M USD annual revenue is already quite large. It's difficult to exceed that revenue level and only a few dozen companies globally it. Even the most successful video surveillance startup of the last decade (Axis) only generates about $250 M USD annual revenue. Arguably the next largest is Mobotix and their 2008 annual revenue was about $40 M USD.
Video surveillance startups that require tens of millions of startup capital have to become one of the biggest companies ($30M+ USD annual revenue) in the industry in a very short of period in order to justify their investments. In a fragmented market like video surveillance, this is extremely hard to do, especially since incumbents are developing competitive products (IP, analytics, etc.). The other alternative is an acquisition that pays out $50-100M USD for the startup despite low revenue. Outside of the Cisco acquisitions a few years ago, this is not happening. March bought Cieffe for about $16M USD, Honeywell bought ActiveEye and Siemens bought Vistascape for less than the amount invested in it.
The risk for integrators and end users is getting stuck with discontinued or abandoned products. Because of this systematic over-estimation, the risk is high.
Whenever I talk with video surveillance startups, I urge them to focus on funding and growth that allows them to be successful at no more than $10-20M USD in revenue, a realistic target that will force them to limit burn rate.
Is the Worst of the Recession Over?
The PSA, a large consortium of US integrators is projecting that the worst of the recession is over. They state, "We are seeing noticeable, positive results from our integrators. This is not to say we are back to the boom days, but our business is gradually getting better"
At the same time, they acknowledged how badly the recession has impacted the business: "In my 30 years in the electronic security business I have never seen such a difficult operating environment. It almost appeared the purchase order faucet was turned off."
Certainly, people across the board are saying that business is improving from the depths hit in the last few months. The problem remains that (1) a lot of businesses have been badly damaged over the last year (deep drains on cash/investment reserves) and (2) it's still not clear what factors are going to grow the economy or the security industry like what caused growth between 2002-2007.
Wireless Manufacturer For Sale On LinkedIn
Speaking of businesses running out of cash, an anonymous wireless router manufacturer specializing in video surveillance has posted a LinkedIn message asking to be acquired [Note: LinkedIn requires free sign-up for the group]. They are evidently out of cash but claim to be, "proven, reliable, and tested with many IP Cameras including ACTi, Axis, Arecont, Avigilon, IOImage, IQInvision, Mobotix, Pelco, Sony, and Toshiba. [They] have tested for interoperability with NVRs from Exacq, Milestone, OnSSI, GeoVision, HikVision, Strand, Nuuo, and others."
Who knows? You may have their equipment deployed currently.
There are a quite of number of companies in a similar position though I am not sure how many others will be advertising on LinkedIn.
Networking Problems with Large-Scale H.264 Megapixel Deployments
Test results from both Arecont's and Axis H.264 megapixel cameras (respectively the AV3105 and the Q1755) show wide variations in bandwidth consumption driven by low light and high motion.
Despite the overall storage savings, this is a problem for large-scale surveillance deployments. Since networks capacity planning requires sizing for worst case scenarios, networks still need to be designed for high bandwidth usage (even if the average bandwidth consumption is lower with H.264). For small sites with 3 or 4 megapixel cameras, this is not an issue. However, with large sites and 100s of cameras, this can become prohibitive or at worse force dozens of servers distributed at the edge to off-load traffic.
New 300 Mb/s Wireless Video Surveillance Product Offering
Proxim has released two series of high speed wireless networking equipment targeted to the video surveillance market. These are basically the next generation of Proxim product as their equipment has been used in IP video for many years.
There is a Point to Point (PTP) series (the QB-8100) and a Point-to-Multi-Point (PTMP) series (the MP-8100). The price for a link (end to end) will be about $12,000 to $15,000 MSRP (depends on the configuration). The PTP series is generally used connecting different buildings (e.g., 8 cameras on a remote building with no wireline connection). The PTMP series is generally used for connecting a number of distributed cameras back to a building (e.g., 5 PTZ cameras on various light poles in a parking lot).
Key point - though the series says 300Mb/s, an examination of the data sheet indicates that the system is actually for 100Mb/s of throughput. [This is similar to the variance in Firetide's new super high bandwidth product].
Proxim reports that later this year, it will release a 600 Mb/s version. Proxim says there will be a variety of models offered, some of which can be software upgraded for higher speeds while others require new equipment.
Examining Transit Video Analytics (from Vidient)
Vidient held an interesting webinar on using video analytics for transit applications (trains, subways, etc.). Read the accompanying whitepaper or access the 30 minutes webinar (password - "VidientRail").
Key takeways from the webinar:
Convergence Webinar
Vidsys has released a new webinar that covers convergence. It is a debate/discussion that focuses more on the processes involved with convergence rather than the technology.
Indian Market Overview Webinar
A webinar overviews the market size and growth opportunities of India. It's part of a whole series from ASMAG's SecuTech Conference of 20 different presentations that's well worth watching.
As for the survey of India, the three key points made were (1) the Indian market is small, (2) Indian buyers want low cost (or free) and (3) the market is exploding because of the terrorist attacks.
Other interesting points:
Can Samsung extend the future of analog cctv?
Samsung GVI is talking to the trade magazine about their A1 chip and analog cctv camera advances (listen to a podcast on A1 from SIW). The 4 key claimed benefits of these new analog cameras are (1) higher resolution (600 TV lines), (2) built-in video analytics, (3) WDR and (4) up the coax camera control. See the Samsung A1 product page for details. Online pricing for the box camera version is about $350 USD.
While Samsung should be able to sell this to its large customer base, I do not see this as widely attractive or the start of a trend. Specifically, the increase in resolution is unlikely to make a major difference (it certainly won't come close to matching HD). Secondly, the video analytics are likely to be very basic and incapable of providing enterprise level performance (if it did, it would be a revolutionary breakthrough at the price points they are charging). Finally, to get analytic alerts back or do any remote configurations, up the coax control will have to be used. This is unlikely to be interoperable or supported by 3rd party DVRs. While it may be a nice up-sell for Samsung's customers, it's unlikely that it will be appealing broadly.
Encrypting Video Surveillance Streams
A magazine article this week covered a new feature from 3VR that encrypts faces of video surveillance to protect the innocent. While it should be helpful in obscuring identities of people in surveillance video released to the public, it is unlikely to prevent security users from seeing the identity of people's faces. One of the criticisms made in the article is that surveillance systems should only record when suspect activity is detected. This is simultaneously understandable and yet infeasible. It's not possible to consistently determine who is suspicious before-hand. Any encrypted video must be enabled to be decrypted so that investigators can determine who the suspect actually is.
OnSSi Integrates with Software House
OnSSI is expanding its integration with access control, this time with one of the largest North American Providers - Software House. This will be useful as OnSSI targets to replace American Dynamics Intellex DVRs. What's more interesting/surprising, is that American Dynamics and Software House are both Tyco companies. Integration of Software House will be through OnSSI Occularis and will not be offered by Milestone.
ACTi New NVR Version + Central Manager Server Beta Released
ACTi has released a new version of their NVR software (v. 2.2). There are 2 big changes: (1) they have separated their client application from their server application [this is not an innovation, it simply matches the expected architecture of modern video surveillance system. Secondly, and most importantly, this client software (called NVR workstation) as being developed as the unified interface for "upcoming CMS servers." See their CMS beta page for details. It will be interesting to see how far ACTi goes in developing VMS software and how it is positioned to compete against their main partners like Genetec and Milestone. Already, ACTi has taken to Twitter to compare their offering to Milestone though it's hard to believe that ACTi is anywhere close to where Milestone or focused VMS offerings are.
ioimage Running Special on Video Analytics
ioimage sent out an e-mail this week, offering a 1 time special of $1999 for its PTZ with video analytics. This follows a recent webinar where they offered a 1 unit special for their IP cameras at $999 and basic series of encoders for $249. The webinar stated that this offer included training and was meant to help integrators get started with video analytics.
Cisco's Virtual Matrix Application
Cisco has released a user guide on its Virtual Matrix application. Virtual matrixes are a key feature for large scale surveillance operations that need to watch and switch among hundreds of video cameras. Large scale deployments are a core target for Cisco.
New Videos Overviewing Pelco's Products
Pelco released a series of videos covering various Pelco products. There's 8 videos total - listed on the Pelco news page.
Mobotix Partner Presentations
Each week, Mobotix releases at least a dozen new documents on its website - many of which are interesting from a product or market perspective. You can find these listed chronologically on our Mobotix news page.
The most interesting this week are from a Mobotix partners conference including one integration with SureView.
UK School Surveillance Examined
A video report on UK School surveillance: The debate centers around internal school surveillance - viewing and recording inside of classrooms (audio and video). There is a policy in place that video cannot be reviewed for behavior, incidents or quality of classroom training. Additionally, the system automatically deletes video after 2 days. They cite benefits that cameras protect teachers from false accusations and can help prove to parents that children had an accident rather than were abused by other children. Finally, a survey indicates that 1 in 4 parents wanted access to the surveillance video during the day.
Examines 360 cameras, OnSSI, Mobotix,Cisco, StarDot and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Panoramic Cameras / Sentry360 Company Update
Despite its potential and conceptual appeal, Panoramic/360 degree cameras growth has been shaky. Grandeye suffered a strange restructuring last year. Immervision may be changing its go to market strategy as well. Mobotix's offering (Q22/Q24) seems to be growing but it's more focused on an all Mobotix solution.
Up until 18 months ago, Sentry360 was an OEM of Grandeye. Since then, Sentry360 reports that they have developed their own software and panoramic product line, offering 1.3, 3 and 5MP versions. For more information see a product Overview deck and a recent recorded webinar. The cameras are currently supported by JDS, Video Insight and VSG with planned support from Milestone/OnSSI before the end of the year. The MSRP on the 1.3MP is $700 USD while the 3MP is $1500 USD.
Sentry360 is a fairly small company with less than 10 employees and no VC funding.
A central element is image quality which has been much debated in panoramic cameras since the days of IPIX. I have not tested Sentry360 or Mobotix's panoramic cameras so I cannot comment on this key element.
Supporting 3rd Party IP Cameras
Last week's note on Milestone's Universal Driver generated feedback and questions. The next day, Genetec explained their own version of a "Universal Driver" which they refer to as "Generic Extensions".
A few people asked about the difficulties for adding VMS support. A key difficulty is that there are two vendors that most IP camera manufacturers want support from - Milestone and Genetec. The reason is a combination of large market share and general openness to adding in 3rd party cameras (many other VMS providers have one of the two traits but not both). As Genetec explained, "You have no idea how much integration requests we receive every week, on top of widely distributed manufacturers, there are many localized camera/encoder vendors that are doing good in specifics vertical market." Even if any individual integration is easy, the waiting list for integration builds because of the sheer mass of IP camera manufacturers worldwide asking for support.
What will be interesting to see is how much easier ONVIF and/or PSIA make it for IP camera integrations and how soon that comes.
OnSSI OEMs Corporate
This week, OnSSI announced a new IP Video Software version called NetEVS. According to the announcements, it uses a 'recording system component' from Milestone (see the Milestone version and the OnSSI version of the announcement). The announcements are unclear (recording systems component?) but from the technical documentation, it seems that OnSSI is using Milestone's Corporate version. Corporate is the newest and highest end of the 4 series from Milestone.
This announcement follows the broad announcement between these companies in March about OnSSI becoming an ingredient OEM of Milestone's XProtect software.
Today's announcement generates further questions about what software is OnSSI's own and what is from Milestone. I have a request in to OnSSI for further feedback.
Hybrid DVRs slowing move to IP Video Software
Adding IP camera support to DVRs ('hybrid') will slow the motivation to move to IP video software. An anecdote this week that supports this: I was emailing with a major retailer who explained their current system design - Pelco analog cameras and Axis IP cameras. He uses Pelco DX8100 series DVRs and decoders to record the Axis IP cameras. He understandably does not like using decoders but has to because he has DVRs. He mentioned that if Pelco did not add IP camera support that they "we will be going to an ONSSI or the like as soon as we get some funds." Of course, as we mentioned last week, Pelco's DX8100 v.2.0 is now adding support for IP cameras.
I hear this theme frequently from end users. Most end users have DVRs that are a few years old and know about the growth of IP. However, because of monetary concerns, it's often a tough decision. To the extent that DVR manufacturers add IP support to existing products in the field, this becomes a 'pressure release' enabling customers to continue with their DVRs. However, many DVR manufacturers are not doing this with American Dynamics Intellex being on of the larger vendors with no IP support for their analog DVRs.
Orsus Company Update
Orsus, an Israel PSIM provider is releasing version 6 of its software. From their briefing, it is clear that they are positioning this for the very high end of the market. Specifically, they emphasized using this for not only security but large-scale general operational use.
Their 6.0 release features a variety of system optimizations including a dedicated access control management interface, forms/templates for handling incidents, changes in the rules engine to better support SCADA interfaces and a discovery tool to automatically synchronize with updates to access control systems.
Two video surveillance specific features added include: (1) a video pursuit features that simplifies tracking suspects from camera to camera (at a high level, it seems similar to features available from VidSys and Proximex) and (2) the ability to define different client UIs on each operator's workstation (allowing one operator, for instance, to use a 3D map and another one (say one a laptop) to use a 2D map).
In February 2009, Orsus bought Cinario. Orsus reports that the acquisition was made primarily for Cinario's customer base (in retail) and that the technology was similar but not enhancing to their existing platform).
Mobotix New Products Deck
If you are interested in Mobotix's 2009 roadmap and new product releases, download their New Products deck (note: it's 40MB, quite large). Interesting note: planned H.264 support in Q4.
Panasonic US President Resigned After 1 Year
JM Allain, the head of Panasonic North America has resigned after 1 year on the job. SSN has a few details. At the same time, Panasonic reiterated its plan to provide 'solutions' (see LA Kings announcement).
I'd like to cover Panasonic in greater but they make it very hard. They have declined all requests to speak on the phone and have asked me to send in a list of questions. When I do ask questions, I am provided stock marketing answers. It's not much of a solution for me. If anyone has ideas to resolve this, I'd appreciate.
Raytec New IR for Pan Tilt Camera
Raytec has announced an IR System specifically designed for use with Pan Tilt cameras. using IR with PTZs can be problematic unless the illuminators are designed to match the range of coverage of the PTZ. This is especially hard given the broad coverage area a PTZ offers. From a look at the design, it does not seem built for Speeddomes which would certainly limit its applicability.
ACTi Project References Report
ACTi has released a new Project Reference Guide (warning: large file, long download) that aggregates 60+ case studies. From the 110 companies websites I monitor, ACTi and Axis are by far the two biggest publishers of on-line case studies.
Cisco Video Surveillance Manager EOL
Cisco issued an EOL Notice for their original video surveillance appliances. They are encouraging customers to migrate to their Physical Security Multiservices Platform.
Last month, I mentioned how Cisco was working to merge/integrate their two product portfolios. This is one step.
Open Platform Paper by Milestone
Milestone's CTO has published an Open Platform Whitepaper. The document examines their approach, the benefits they see and provides many examples of integrations. The paper reports 55 current 3rd party integrations.
Platforms are always viewed with interest by investors and analysts as platforms often become dominant forces in markets (think Microsoft or iPhone App Store).
Two important questions for surveillance: (1) How important is being a platform? and (2) What does it mean to be a platform?
I think a surveillance platform has some value but is not as important as other markets. While 3rd party integration is important for surveillance, the number of 3rd party applications needed is fairly small in surveillance (dozens or hundreds).
Since almost every VMS vendor claims to be a platform, it begs the question of what a platform really is. I think the most important practical element is how many 3rd party applications are supported and what percentage of all possible uses are covered. In that respect, I am not sure how far Milestone is ahead. A lot of other VMS systems support at least a few dozen 3rd party systems. It will be interesting to see how this evolves over the next few years. If Milestone continues to grow their 3rd party support and builds a wide gap in total support, this could make a big difference at the mid to high end of the market.
50,000 Surveillance Cameras Planned for Mumbai, India
There is a massive video surveillance deployment planned in Mumbai. Read the article and you will see some elements seem strange. They plan to use the system for many different reasons from preventing terrorism, monitoring traffic and reducing crime (doing all simultaneously with a system is hard). Specifically, they plan to sell subscriptions to video feeds to the public (which is probably not a good idea if you are actually using this to monitor for terrorists and criminals).
The two biggest outcomes of US massive public surveillance contracts is (1) big contracts for vendors and (2) questionable results. It will be interesting to see if Mumbai can avoid the latter.
StarDot Releases MP Domes
StarDot has released a series of 1.3 - 5MP vandal resistant domes (see their MP Dome Product page), all with a built-in 4-10 mm lens, offering up to 30fps and two options for built-in IR. MSRP for the 1.3MP dome is $899 USD. MSRP for the 5MP dome is $1,149 USD.
Since 2008, a large number of MP domes have been released with offerings from most of the major vendors including Arecont, IQinVision, Avigilon, Mobotix, etc.
Lenel on Convergence
For those of you interested in access control and identity management see a in-depth interview with Lenel on convergence. Also, the same site (Security Squared) recently issued an Identity Management whitepaper that is well done.
Former Integral CEO Joins CNL
CNL is a PSIM provider based in the UK. They are best known for their CEO being a founder of Axis (Keith Bloodworth) and their partnership with IBM.
CNL is expanding in the UK with industry veteran and former Integral CEO Matt Kushner joining as Americas President.
Vidsys, Proximex and Orsus are probably better known in the US. I would anticipate CNL increasing their marketing efforts in the US over the next year.
Pelco/AMAG Integration Webinar
Pelco has issued another webinar explaining the integration of their DX8100 DVRs with AMAG access control.
Japan Expanding Use of Video Surveillance
Japan is increasing their use of video surveillance (see a news article and editorial). From the tone of the articles, it appears that the use of surveillance is not well developed in the Japan as they are discussing and debating very basic points of procedure and use.
Examines Axis, FLIR, Milestone, DM, Pelco and more.
Details on Milestone's Universal Driver
Last week, Milestone announced a Universal Driver for IP Cameras. While there was a lot of reader interest, most people, including myself were confused about what this really means and why Milestone is doing this now.
This is not an alternative to the PSIA/ONVIF camera specifications. Technically, the technical implementation is limited to Milestone's own system (see their technical FAQ for some details). It is also not intended to be a general used interface for other VMS providers. Also, the functionalities with the Universal Driver are limited. According to Milestone, "the Universal Driver only provides basic functionality like viewing the video streams, not managing the camera PTZ, events + alarms, I/O connections, etc."
Primarily, this seems to be a tool to speed up third party integrations with Milestone. Many of the camera vendors I speak with cite challenges in integrating with Milestone, primarily because of the waiting period, that it often takes to complete the Milestone integration. The potential of the Universal Driver may be to reduce the time and complexity of new camera vendors integrating with Milestone.
Upcoming 720p PTZ under $1,000 USD
Darim has an interesting megapixel PTZ coming out soon (see brochure for pictures/details). Using piezoelectric motors, the camera is significantly less expensive than normal PTZs. The MSRP of the Darim camera, model SPT-100, will be under $1,000 USD.
There are a number of important limitations of this product compared to normal PTZs. (1) There's only a digital zoom and (2) the pan/tilt speed is much slower than speeddomes - about 1/6 the speed.
With these specifications, the camera is suited more for indoor use (because of the limited zoom range) and where live tracking of suspects is not critical. However, it could be an interesting niche product where some re-positioning is needed but the cost and features of a traditional PTZ are over-kill.
Examining a Wearable Camera Kit
Last week, I cited evidence of growing interested in wearable cameras. As an example, Darim produces a wearable wireless video kit. The kit provides bundles camera, encoder, wireless networking and batteries providing up to 5 hours of use. Darim reports that they expect integration with Milestone in August. For wireless connectivity, they have WiFi and Motorola Canopy mesh options. The kit offers two camera options: analog or thermal (using FLIR's PathFindIR). The MSRP for the analog camera version is $2,500 and the MSRP for the thermal version is $6,000. At these price points, the target market is likely military/police use for responding to emergencies. An alternative is to building these kits oneself. However, the fixed cost of testing and optimizing may make this unattractive unless you are deploying dozens of these kits.
Examining Dedicated Micros Case Against IP
Dedicated Micros continues to make strong and, to me, shocking claims against IP. This week, they released a blog post on centralized IP recording, extending a similar case made last month in their CEO's webcast/video. The economics in the blog post make no sense to me. I find the technical claims in the webcast/video to be quite weak (comments like routers having a bad day, etc.).
If this is DM's approach, I worry about their future competitiveness in a market migrating to IP cameras.
I'd be willing to examine DM's claims if their interest from members.
FLIR on Thermal Cameras
In the recent Security Products magazine, FLIR published two articles - a Q&A and a survey of applications using FLIR cameras. The most note-worthy claims FLIR makes in these articles: (1) costs are being driven down to high volume commercial level, (2) FLIR is aiming for "IR everywhere", (3) thermal improves video analytic performance and (4) thermal provides crisp images in total darkness.
FLIR's marketing has been focusing on lower price, broader use for some time now. Currently, even at about $3,000, it's still quite expensive for security use (especially compared to fixed cameras with an IR illuminator (costing about 1/3rd that price). It will be interesting to see how far thermal camera pricing can drop. Also, a frequent complaint about thermal is that you lose the details of people in a thermal image. While thermal may provide 'crisp images', many specifiers still prefer the greater details provided by D/N cameras with IR illuminators.
Axis on SaaS
Axis talk on SaaS at ISC West was recently released. You can listen to the audio as well as download the slides. It's about 45 minutes and you can skip the first ten as it's a general introduction.
SaaS/Managed Video is not only a hot trend but Axis is a major proponent of it. This webinar is worth watching.
I will have more analysis and critique of this and the overall trend on Monday in a dedicated premium report.
Examining Video Analytics for Fire Detection
A webcast on Fire Detection Video Analytics from ISC West has also been released. This one is from AxonX, one of the larger specialists in this niche. Fire detection is one of the less frequently discussed analytics. As I have not researched or used them, I do not have an opinion. However, the webcast seems to be a good introduction to some of the points/issues involved in fire detection.
Evidence of Parking Lot Surveillance Effectiveness
Using video surveillance in parking lots is consistently viewed as one of the best applications of the technology. Even critics of surveillance tend to acknowledge its effectiveness here. If you need evidence demonstrating this, see a post by one of the US leading researchers.
Indian Video Surveillance Market Survey
A new survey article on the growth of the Indian Video Surveillance market is available. It centers around the impact of the Mumbai terrorist attack and the general trend of IP convergence. The perspective is similar to what I hear directly from many Indian contacts - Indian market growth is strong, driven by the response to Mumbai and far beyond the global rate.
Info on Axis New PoE PTZ
Axis is releasing their new outdoor, PoE camera - the Q6032 supporting PoE and extended temperature range (down to -40 C) which they call "Arctic Temperature Control". They have published a movie/demo of the Q6032 which is quite helpful in seeing the installation of the camera as well as the installation guide and user's manual.
Webcast of Pelco Hybrid DVRs and PTZs
Pelco has released two very useful webcasts on their product lines - one on the Hybrid DX8100 DVR and the other on Spectra IV 2.0. Both provide significant information but are short (maybe 10 minutes or so each) and can be watched on demand.
Benefits of Short On-Demand Webcasts
I'd like to see more manufacturers do on-demand webcasts.
IndigoVision US Expansion
IndigoVision looks to be expanding in the US with 3 positions posted on their website recently: West Coast Sales Manager, East Coast Sales Manager and North American Marketing Manager.
Waterside Video Analytics Whitepaper from Acuity
Acuity has issued a new whitepaper on the use of video analytics for waterside usage. Deploying video analytics near water is one of the more difficult uses as the motion and reflexivity of water makes analysis more challenging. The white paper discusses a number of the environmental and logistical issues. Also, importantly, it cites false positive rates for each scenario, a necessary element for any statement on video analytics' performance to be useful. Acuity was profiled in the May 15th weekly report.
More Details on Firetide's 900 MHz Product
Last week, we mentioned that Firetide announced mesh units with integrated 900Mhz radios. After speaking with Firetide, they confirm the product is now shipping and that the North American MSRP is $500 more than the traditional unit (HotPort 6000).
As for throughput, Firetide wrote, "throughput in the field when trees are involved will vary between 3 - 18 Mbps; the actual number will depend on how thick the tree canopy is, distance, existing interference and available channel width." With so many factors impact performance, such performance claims have to be verified in tests.
NVR Support Details for ArecontVision
ArecontVision has released a matrix listing their NVR partners, the models each supports and whether it has been verified by Arecont. There are over 40 NVR partners listed, representing a large portion of the market including both newer IP video software providers and larger incumbents including AD, Bosch, March, NICE Verint, Vicon, etc.
Updates on Pelco, Vidient, iCanTek, NoblePeak, DLink and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
IMS Statistics on Video Analytics
More acknowledgement of video analytics poor performance this week, delivered by IMS:
Pelco's Expansion of Hybrid DVR Support
This week, Pelco announced that their DX8100 series DVRs will support IP cameras (software version 2.0). Two points of interest: (1) existing units can be field upgraded to add IP camera support and (2) it's free (no payment for as many IP cameras as can be added).
The maximum number of IP cameras that a DX8100 can add will likely be between 2 - 10 (approximate). The actual number depends on the bandwidth consumed by the IP cameras and the specific model of the Dx8100. Pelco says they will publish charts in their specification sheets on this point. The DX8100 will support Pelco's IP cameras (up to 4CIF) as well as Axis cameras (with Firmware 4.xx). Finally, the new software version will include a Resource Manager that will help integrators determine the load of adding in IP cameras. [This is a nice feature rarely available on DVR appliances and likely needed as hybrid DVRs expand.]
Providing free upgrades to IP cameras for this widely used mid-level DVR series will help Pelco retain existing customers and reduce motivation for a more disruptive move to encoders/software only. I expect to see more incumbents pursue similar tactics.
Vidient Company Update
Over the last year, Vidient reports that it has been focusing on reducing false alerts and enabling simplified deployments (new version 4.0 will be publicly announced soon). As evidence of their improvements, they cite a 300 camera deployment for the St. Louis (US) metro transit service. At this deployment, they claim 97% accuracy with only 1 false alert per camera every 3 days. They mention an article in GSN magazine. I have asked GSN for a link to an on-line version and will share when I get it.
Vidient reports a new financing round (in the last few months). They project that this round is good until at least 2010 when they expect to be cash flow positive.
Vidient's analytics are still server based (no smart cameras, TI Da Vinci port etc). Their rationale for this is that smart cameras do not provide sufficient computing resources to implement filters and enhancements to meet performance needs.
Finally, Vidient reports adding a feature that allows users to flag false alerts in production systems, enabling the analytics to adapt to specific on-site conditions. Vidient says that this is in addition to algorithmic improvements.
iCanTek Company Overview
iCanTek is a Korean manufacturer of DVRs and IP cameras. They are better known through some of their OEM partners including Securitas Direct (in Europe), CCTVStar (in the US) and a large North American manufacturer that I was asked not to disclose.
They provide their own VMS - NVR Pro - which is free for their cameras. Additionally, they are supported by a number of VMS providers including Milestone, OnSSI, digifort and ipvision.
The product lineup seems solid but not many features or functionalities stand out as being unique or different. One product that iCanTek emphasized is the iCanView 290 optimized for alarm monitoring applications.
NoblePeak Company Update
NoblePeak manufacturers cameras for low-light / no light viewing. Winning the 2008 ISC "Best in Show", the company received significant attention last year.
NoblePeak reports that they expect cameras to be available in production in 6 months (towards the end of 2009).
NoblePeak is pursuing an OEM business model where they provide their camera cores for inclusion in 3rd party cameras. While public pricing has not been finalized, they are targeting a price point similar to lower end FLIR thermal cameras. Relative to thermal cameras, NoblePeak claims that they can provide clearer, more detailed images at similar low light/no light levels.
No Subscription Alternatives to Managed Video
This week, DLink released 'plug n play' IP cameras as part of its MyDLink offering (see the product page for the MyDLink wired cube camera). Essentially, these cameras can be viewed remotely without configuring port forwarding or setting up DDNS (similar at a high level to Starvedia's cameras that we reviewed recently).
From a business perspective, the growth of these 'plug n play' cameras increases the alternatives to managed video / subscription services. To the extent that small businesses can use IP cameras without complex setup and monthly cost, this could cut into the potential growth of managed video. Of course, these 'plug n play' cameras do not support 'plug n play' recording so that still will be an important limitation.
Cisco Supported by Milestone
Cisco's IP cameras (2500 SD, 4300 HD, 4500 HD) are now supported by Milestone's xProtect VMS (released in Milestone's new 4.3 Device Driver Pack). Given Milestone's user base, this will be useful for Cisco. Also, given Cisco's VMS only supports SUSE Linux, this allows easier use with Windows OS.
HDcctv technology details expanded
This week the discussion on HDcctv progressed, with over 40 comments. Key topics discussed are the length HDcctv can run over existing CCTV coaxial cable, cost comparisons and the use of SVC codec. While serious questions remain about more than 100 meters, the description provided by Gennum make it clear than less than 100 meters should work well. This will meet the needs for most sites (who have short cable runs) but still leaves questions for larger sites like casinos, hospitals, etc.
NLOS Wireless Mesh Introduced from Firetide
Firetide has announced a 900 Mhz mesh radio (see the product page for the 900 Mhz model). It's a dual-radio unit with (1) 900 MHz radio and another radio that operates at 2.4/5.8 GHz. This allows a local wireless link that can perform better in environments with obstacles (tree being the most common real world problem).
Firetide state that the 900 MHz version "delivers the industry’s highest throughput [for 900 MHz] – up to 26 Mbps, depending on line of sight conditions." That's vague and somewhat contradictory given the fact that the main use of 900 is for non line of sight. If the radio can support 2 or 3 cameras across obstacles, this could be useful. I have a question into Firetide for clarification and details.
Wearable Cameras Expanding
A few stories demonstrate the growing interest in police using wearable cameras including a case in Canada as well as use in the UK over the last few years. This is part of a general trend of expanding the use of surveillance from traditional fixed deployments (as we noted with last week's example of upcoming use of the iPhone). While these wearable cameras currently will be simple systems with local recording, the potential to integrate this over IP networks and record to video management systems is certainly a likelihood in the next 5 to 10 years.
The growth of wearable and personal surveillance may significantly expand the market for video surveillance products.
Cisco IP Camera Vulnerabilities
This week Cisco disclosed a security vulnerability in their 2500 model and their VMS system. The camera has an "information disclosure vulnerability that could allow an authenticated user to view any file on a vulnerable camera." It can be fixed by a free software download.
While issues of IP camera software vulnerability are rarely discussed, I would not conclude that there are no problems. Furthermore, I would also guess that Cisco's disclosure is not a reflection of Cisco's camera having special problems relative to IP camera manufacturers. Rather, it more likely reflects Cisco's overall process in testing, fixing and communicating security issues.
I rarely hear of security issues being problems for IP cameras. However, with over 100 manufacturers of IP cameras, one would expect that at least some manufacturers have unexposed issues with information security.
ArecontVision expanding in Europe
This week Arecont has posted 5 new job openings in Europe including France, Germany, UK, Scandanavia and Middle Europe. This looks to be part of a significant expansion in Europe.
Expanded Megapixel Documents from Lumenera
Detailed tech notes on using Lumenera with OCR/LPR, optimizing camera frame rates, and low light/bright light levels have been released.
Successful PSIM Deployments from Vidsys
This week, Vidsys released a video examining successful PSIM Deployments. It's an interesting webcast to watch. The two key themes were (1) cities and very large companies are using PSIM and (2) PSIM has advantages over using access control for situation management.
Vidsys explicitly stated that they were disproving the myth that 'no ones uses PSIM.' I am not sure who believe no one uses PSIM. Besides that, it's not a good sign when you need to spend marketing dollars trying to convince your audience that someone actually uses your product. More disconcerting was the examples of who they cited is using/interested in PSIM (the 4 largest US cities, the 25 largest Silicon Valley companies). This reinforces my long standing concern - only really large organizations will use PSIM. This implies that the market is small and unlikely to provide returns for the tens of millions invested in these companies.
It would be great to see a PSIM for the mid-market but I do not see it so far.
Mobotix Panoramic Camera Demo
Mobotix continues to promote their second generation panoramic camera with a new video demo of the Q24. It's referred to as a 'review' but it's from Mobotix's Installer magazine so it's unlikely to be objective. Nonetheless, if you are interested to see what the unit looks like and some sample shots, the demo is worth a look.
Also, Mobotix has released their user manual for the Q24 [it's a 40 MB download].
Mobotix Attacks Axis
Twitter usage continues to grow and is now being used for vendors to attack others. The editor of Mobotix Installer magazine criticized Axis for "producing me-too products". As proof, he cited shrinking Q1 revenue in Asia Pacific region.
I am not sure how he draws this conclusion from that one data point. Moreover, of all the concerns reasonable industry people cite about Axis, me-too products are not one of them (excessive cost, channel unfriendliness and growth of competitors are the big challenges most often stated).
Nonetheless, the direct communication that the Internet provides will certainly change how manufacturers interact. It will be interesting to see how adversarial or productive this becomes.
IT, ONVIF, Apple,Intergraph, AD, VMS Services and more. This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Why is HDcctv over-hyped?
HDcctv is already over-hyped. For instance, the level of media attention is far higher than when the IP camera standards groups launched. Plus, the amount of e-mails, searches and traffic levels are unprecedented
If you are an IP proponent, this should make you worry. At the very least, this is a strong sign that people are not happy with the current state of IP cameras. Most common complaints - too expensive and too hard to use.
On the other hand, the hype for HDcctv is far higher than the probable benefits. It seems many are comparing the reality of IP video to the concept of HDcctv. Once you look at the details of HDcctv, most should notice that it too is likely to suffer some serious operational issues as we examined in this week's premium report.
Is IT making video surveillance decisions now?
IMS recently released a report/survey on IT decision making in the security industry. The key themes is that IT is playing a greater role than ever before (more than 60% of IT managers are involved in decisions). SSN has an article citing an example from Honeywell on this point. Honeywell explains how they had to reduce the number of ports they used because of IT's concerns.
What remains unclear in these discussions is the exact role IT has. The Honeywell example is more of a IT 'veto' where IT can block a product. This is similar to situations where facilities blocks a product (or a deployment) because a security system requires the use of power, mounting on building or wireless spectrum. [As a side note, opening too many ports is a very common problem for video surveillance products]
The real disruptive potential of IT is to either (a) increase the amount spent on video surveillance and (b) favor IT vendors. From my discussion with large IT providers, neither of these are happening at the level that these vendor predicted or hoped.
Will Genetec/Milestone/OnSSI NVRs be a game changer?
While the trade magazines focused on HDcctv this week, is the Intransa introduction of Genetec/Milestone/OnSSI NVRs the real disruptive force? A number of important security industry people tell me they believe it is. This interest reflects the limitations and challenges in mainstream security users in handling software only. As I analyzed in this week's report on the introduction, these products are unlikely to be competitive in the analog/under 32 camera market - a huge segment. However, I have no doubt that this is part of a broader trend where most or all of the software only offerings will provide options for NVR/DVR appliance [primarily because the manufacturers have pre-briefed me on upcoming releases].
Can ONVIF lose?
In conversations with over a dozen manufacturers, the consistent theme I hear is a preference for ONVIF. Interestingly, the reason is always about ONVIF's fame/market share. Second most common point is Cisco joining ONVIF. Regardless of why this happened, the negative PR impact on PSIA from this is clear.
The only two reasons I can see for ONVIF to fail at this point is (a) there are technical problems (i.e., implementing ONVIF's SOAP format is too much load for lower end cameras or (b) ONVIF delays. PSIA has lost momentum and unless significant numbers of PSIA members release production products soon, it's hard to see why PSIA survives.
Depending on how much traction HDcctv group gets, this may be a factor in spurring the ONVIF and PSIA to merge to strengthen their position against a common rival.
Apple's Expansion into Video Surveillance
Apple's expansion into the video surveillance market continues. This week, TechData announced a distribution agreement where they will offer VideoNext's VMS software to run on Apple computers.
VideoNext offers a version of their software to run on the Mac Mini and another version to run on Apple's xServe line. Like with many applications, the appeal center around the stability of a Linux distribution without the complexity of Linux administration. VideoNext reports that use of the xServe with their VMS software is popular for overseas US military deployments where the systems are used in adverse environments.
Turning iPhones into Mobile Surveillance Cameras
VideoNext is releasing an iPhone application that captures video and records it to VideoNext VMS. The application also tracks the iPhone's GPS coordinates, enabling the position of the video to be displayed on their mapping interface. It's a useful tool for central commanders to see what the responders are seeing in the field. Additionally, the application is a client for viewing video.
While this application only works with VideoNext's VMS, it is a interesting glimpse at a technology/feature that is likely to become common over the next 5 years.
Examining Intergraph's Financial Results
This week, Intergraph published their Annual Financial Review and s short Financial Fact Sheet. Intergraph is a very large and profitable company with $800 M USD annual revenue and $150 M USD operating income. 40% of revenue is from the US while 35% is from EMEA. However, this is not all security revenue. Intergraph reports 2 main divisions: (1) Process, Power, Marine and (2) Security, Government and Infrastructure. While they do not break down revenue by division, my monitoring of their case studies and news releases indicate that non-security is very significant and perhaps the majority of their business.
Examining Intergraph's Security Solution
Intergraph is considered by many security people to be a PSIM provider. Intergraph's PSIM solution tends to be more complex with greater focus on integration with public systems such as emergency response/911. This week, Intergraph released a new Version of their Public Safety and Security offering. This new release enhances ability for agencies to share information as well as offering new mobile services. Additionally, Intergraph announced a project for Washington DC airports.
Update IP Products American Dynamics
Traditional video surveillance manufacturer has released documentation on their own line of IP Fixed Cameras (min-dome and box) and IP encoders (4 and 8 channel options). Both only support MPEG-4 compression.
Everyone Offers LPR
It is getting to the point where ever VMS provider offers LPR. This week, Vicon shared details on their integration with LPR provider INEX.
This reflects the general accepted belief that LPR is the most mature of the analytics.
White Light LED for Surveillance
Raytec has released an interesting demo of white light LEDs in use. The use of White light LEDs is still fairly new in security but it does address an important problem. Traditionally, outdoor camera setups were dependent on street lighting positioning. You were forced to put cameras near streetlights and to suffer the limitations of poor lighting (rarely would you add street lighting - it's too expensive and time consuming in most areas). White light LEDs offer a compact and fairly inexpensive way to ensure high quality lighting independent of street lights.
Raytec offers as range of white light LEFproducts with pricing starts at aboout $600. See an alternative white light LED from Bosch.
Specifications for Exacq's Embedded hDVR
Over the last two months, I have been mentioning the new Embedded hDVR from Exacq. Now they have released their product page and technical specifications.
Linux based, low price point ($5,000 MSRP for 16 channels), broad IP camera support, and compatible with their software offering will make this appliance one of those most attractive on the market and put pressure on legacy DVR providers.
Add-On Services for VMS Providers
VMS vendors and integrators are both looking for new services to offer (recurring revenue, etc.) This week, VideoInsight released a series of interesting documents describing their offering including:
Shrink Up
Acoording to the NRF, shrink is up significantly between 2007 and 2008 (rising from $34.8 M USD to $36.5 M USD). The report also has a breakdown of loss by category. It's also reasonable to assume that shrink continues to rise in 2009. This is a driver for the security systems industry.
On the other hand, NRF-LP attendees in Los Angeles this week, all reported that the show floor was generally slow and quite bad on the second day.
Low Cost Access Control Prioritized
For those of you interested in access control, SDM has an article examining how prioritizing value (reducing cost) has become a key factor for access control this year.
Strangely, though, a HID manager, claims that what buyers want now is future proofing. This seems to be the opposite of what rational buyers would want in economically uncertain times.
Managed and wireless services are cited as examples of enhancing value for access control.
Very Easy VMS Demo
Manufacturers vary dramatically in the types and simplicity of product demos they offer. I recently found a demo from Luxriot that was the easiest demo I ever found. It quickly downloads the client itself and connects to a live camera for viewing.
While demo offerings are improving, I think manufacturer could take more advantage of web technologies to simplify and provide richer access to demos and product information. In a world where vendors spend hundreds of thousands to reach hundreds of people at trade shows, they could a spend a fraction of that to reach many times more people on the Internet.
ADT Consumer Feedback
This is for ADT intrusion detection monitoring, no video surveillance. Nonetheless, it's a pretty fascinating look at what dozens of homeowners think about ADT. In the US security industry, ADT is the company I have found security industry people most love to hate (certainly a factor is their huge size makes them more known than almost anyone else). I do not know enough to have a strong opinion but these customer reviews indicate some of the experiences behind the frustration.
IQinVision Camera Sabotaged
IQinVision posted a video of a competitor sabotaging one of their cameras during a training. At the end, he tries to cover one of the cameras monitoring the room. This is strange on many levels - not least the obvious element that video surveillance labs usually are extremely well monitored.
This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
CSO Survey and Examination
Recently, a survey of CSOs was released. Key findings include:
3D Mapping Software
Feeling Software recently announced a 3D Mapping solution called OmniPresence. What's interesting about it is that it is being designed to work with 3rd party VMS software. Contrast this to existing 3D mapping features that are a component of very expensive PSIM and/or command and control software (L-3's FlashLight being one of the most famous).
Feeling Software is planning for commercial release in September at ASIS. At launch date, they plan to support Genetec. This has the potential to significantly reduce the cost and complexity of using 3D mapping software - a feature most everyone loves but rarely deploys. I will certainly be examining the technical details as the product is released.
In preparation for the launch, Feeling Software is hiring a sales executive - see the LinkedIn job posting.
Examining Agilence's LP Retail Offering
Agilence is a LP Solutions / NVR provider that recently received an investment from Pelco's parent company. This investment was an addition to their Series B which they raised last November. Schneider's investor stated that they saw potential synergies between Agilence and Pelco's products.
Agilence provides advanced Loss Prevention solutions for retailers through the use of integrated PoS integration, Exception Based Reporting and on-staff analysts. While Agilence offers their own NVR, they support a variety of 3rd party VMS systems including Panasonic, NICE, Pelco and AD Intellex. With existing DVRs, their software can be run on Windows PCs - either existing in the retailer or a stand-alone unit.
Key strengths include: (1)real-time, item by item synchronization of PoS data with video and (2) offering on-staff analysts to review the data/video to find security or operational problems. Their on-staff analysts are most attractive to smaller retailers (50 stores or less). A total of about 25-30% of their customers use Agilence's analysts.
See a presentation for details, metrics and business case for their offering.
The potential I see for Agilence is that most VMS providers (DVRs or IP video software) tend to do PoS integration as a feature/addition. Agilence may be able to provide enhanced loss reduction by optimizing their service for retailers and complimenting DVRs.
Pelco Furlough
The local Fresno news is reporting that Pelco will be furloughing employees this summer. Pelco responded via email, "Manufacturing, assembly, fabrication some others have to take off on Fridays and one week in July and one week in August. This to relieve excess inventory due to reduced sales over last 6 months. All North American Pelco employees have to take up to two weeks of accrued vacation anytime during June, July and August. This to improve profitably. Pelco will be open for business everyday, will take orders, will ship orders and provide our same level of fanatical customer service ALL summer. "
This move is consistent with the flat to negative sales growth being seen for traditional video surveillance providers.
Also, and ironically, Pelco just released a recruitment video focused on attracting engineers (one employee in the video notes how they left Apple to go to Pelco).
Evaluation on TimeSight Systems
The PSA has released a evaluation TimeSight Systems VMS product. It's an interesting read and good insight into how a large organization like the PSA conducts its evaluation.
The reviewer concludes on Timesight: "This is an extended storage solution versus a video management solution. In it’s present version it’s narrowly focused but focused well."
This is the risk of Timesight we have discussed: Is it good enough as an overall VMS or is it simply a feature (storage optimization) that better belongs to other VMSes?
Videos/Interviews from PSA Conference
The PSA Tech conference is a mid-size integrator focused conference in the US, held last month. The PSA has released a website for the event that includes various videos. The main video section of interest to video surveillance professionals is the interviews with various security industry people. It's hard to navigate amongst the videos but there are a few interesting discussions with larger integrators and manufacturers.
Intransa Announces Partnership with Major VMS Suppliers
A few weeks ago, we discussed Intransa's new "NVR" product offerings and the migration of software only providers to offering pre-loaded appliances. This week, Intransa formally announced its partnerships with Genetec, Milestone, OnSSI and Exacq as part of this offering.
March's Financial Results
March formerly released it financial results this week, confirming 2% revenue growth Q1 09 compared to Q1 08. This is consistent with their pre-announcement.
More interesting is the release of their analysis and comments on their business:
Manufacturers setting up Online video Channels
A positive trend I am seeing is manufacturer's setting up their own on-line video channels. The goal here is to provide information and demonstrations directly to the community. It's free and given that all manufacturers spend significant times doing web presentations or webinars, this is a very inexpensive and powerful way to demonstrate their products.
Companies now having online video channels include DM, ACTi, Pelco, Milestone. I am sure there are more and I am happy to share.
Europe vs US - Economic Paths
Many companies have reported challenging conditions both in the US and Europe (Japan would be the other major area). A major driver of this is obviously the general economy.
The NYTimes is now reporting that the US and European economies are diverging - with the US flattening out but Europe continuing to decline. The main reason cited is the much greater government stimulus in the US. This may not mean the US is in better shape (long term) as the US may be simply delaying and stretching out the pain.
In the last few months, the security industry's concern over the economy has seemed to diminish. Nonetheless, it's prudent to continue to track its potential impact.
Agent VI analytics Certified by i-LIDs
Agent VI announced that its analytics have been certified by i-LIDs. i-LIDS provide the UK government's benchmark for video analytics. i-LIDS offers a variety of certifications.
Agent VI reports that is certification is for primary detection in sterile zones. From what I know of i-LIDS, there is primary and secondary detection. Primary is more impressive because it indicates that the analytic can be used by itself. Note: that it is certified for use in strerile zones which can be an issue for many deployments where movement will occur.
There's a debate about the meaning and important of i-LIDS certification. My understanding is that it is important for UK projects (as it is a necessary requirement for some projects).
Reviewing the VSST Video Surveillance Technician Guide
The Security Industry Association is releasing a series of Certifications for video surveillance technicians. There are 4 certifications in the series. The training guide for the first one is released (see its table of contents).
I bought a copy of it ($45 online for the PDF version). It's a solid treatment of the fundamentals of analog video.
Unfortunately, it does not cover IP and the certification series only addresses IP in Level 4 (the final and highest one). They may need to update/re-do the series to stay current with technology.
If you want a really good textbook on CCTV, see Vlado's CCTV book. Vlado is also the co-author of the VSST guide. His textbook is 5 times as long and offers much greater depth than the training guide. Plus, the hardcover edition is only $58 USD.
This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Examining Sale of Axsys
This week, Thermal/IR manufacturer Axsys was acquired by General Dynamics for $643 M USD. That's a high sum for a security/video surveillance company. However, look at their Q1 financial performance and notice that revenue is high ($250M USD annual revenue run rate). While the acquisition price was 2.5 x revenue, it was only 22 x earnings.
This acquisition is not likely representative of the broader market. Axsys' profitability and relatively low number of direct competitors is in contrast to other segments in the market (e.g., IP video software, video analytics).
Non-IP HD Product Offerings
Given the interest in the HDCCTV alliance, readers may be interested in Gennum's HD over Coax for Surveillance announcement from a few months ago. The solution is called Aviia.
Avilia offers 1080p / 30 fps Serial Digital video up to 100 meters with Power and data over Coax. However, maximum distance specified for this solution using RG-59 is 100 meters compared to 300 meters for traditional analog CCTV.
Gennum is manufacturing transmitters (GV7600) and receivers (GV7605) for this solution.
Axis Timetable for ONVIF Support
Axis told me that they plan to release ONVIF support to their camera firmware in Q3, 2009. This will be in addition to their existing VAPIX protocol.
If Axis does release ONVIF support in Q3 and it works well, this would have a major impact in standards development. Given international preference for ONVIF/Axis, a timely release would likely mean ONVIF wins.
Axis also reports that they will not add support for ONVIF to Camera Station, their VMS software. Axis' decision here is important because if they did add ONVIF support, Camera Station would become much more of a competitor to 3rd party VMS providers.
In other ONVIF news, Bosch reports that ONVIF 2.0 may include specifications for accessing recorded video. If and when this happens, this could be valuable (1) for supporting on-board storage in cameras and (2) to support DVRs (which I think would help significantly in allowing customers to migrate from DVRs.
Examining Statistics for Free IP Video Software
The poll from our free IP video software report provided interesting results. Of 126 responses, over 50% said they sometimes or always recommend the use of free IP video software.
I am surprised that this number is that high but it does show the growth in acceptance of free IP video software in the last 5 years. In 2004, basically no one would have recommended it as there will little to no free offerings in the market.
The most common objection from readers is that free software is not good enough today. While I think that's largely true, the point is not about today but how that trend will grow in the future. The potential growth is what companies should be more focused on as they examine future plans.
Examining Convergence Statistics
Security Magazine recently released convergence survey results from large scale security departments. Here are some interesting aspects:
Taiwanese Company Global Expansion
This week the NY Times had an interesting article about Taiwanese companies increasing aggressiveness in selling under their own brand. The article discusses how the shift to netbooks is helping Taiwanese companies expand in PCs.
I see a parallel trend happening in our industry with the migration to IP cameras. As I mentioned when I returned from SecuTech, a number of Taiwanese companies certainly are pursuing or planning to pursue such efforts.
US Debt to Impact Security Sales?
I am currently researching the impact of the growing US debt. This is a popular topic right now in the business press with concern increasing that rising US Debt will have long term negative impact on the economy.
Specifically, in the security industry, I am investigating the potential for US dollar depreciation to affect security sales. Right after the September implosion, we saw the dollar strength, helping manynon-US security manufacturers like Axis improve their overall financial returns. More recently, by contrast, the US dollar is depreciating.
With cameras and recorders being primarily manufactured outside of the US, US dollar depreciation will force international product suppliers to either raise prices or lower their margins. Either way, this has the potential to harm the security industry.
I don't have any conclusions yet but it's worthing track this issue. If you have insights, please share.
Expanding Support Services for IP Video Software
The complexity of IP Video software demands causes difficulties for many integrators (especially relative to the simplicity of DVRs). This week, Milestone announced two new programs - STAR and ICON - that provides services to audit and certify IP video installations. While likely helpful for large projects, ultimately IP video deployments need to be simplified so the cost and need for these services is reduced. We discussed the phenomenon a few weeks ago in the discussion, Are You Too Stupid for IP Video?
Video Analytics for Remote Monitoring
Remote video continues to be a popular topic for video analytic vendors. In the past few weeks, we have seen MACE advocate remote Video in a trade magazine article, ioimage announce a project where they reduced guard costs 40% for an Israel car dealer.Moreover, VideoIQ recently conducted a webinar on remote video where they discussed a 1000 camera deployment (see VideoIQ's slides).
These deployments still seem early stage and do not reflect wide spread adoption. There are a number of barriers (beyond false alerts), like integration with central monitoring station software and the costs of adding video analytics (almost no existing system supports video analytics without adding new hardware on site).
Nonetheless, remote monitoring is the most promising area for video analytics as it offers hard cost reduction (reducing guard costs) that security organizations find easy to justify.
VoIP Providers Moving into Video Surveillance
A new survey article from Telcom magazine provides advice to VoIP service providers about entering the video surveillance market. Best comment was the recommendation that VoIP providers bundle IP video surveillance with communications infrastructure during the initial design to bloick traditional security vendors. Additionally, th article advocated the use of Video as a Service (they called it Web CCTV). In the article, large-scale telecom integrator Cable & Wireless reports offering a Video service. No details were provided to judge its value.
Cisco Expands Small Business Video Surveillance Offerings
This week, Cisco launched a new small business PTZ (the PVC3200 PTZ camera, see interactive model of the camera). The camera is fairly low end, 2.6 zoom, 350 degree total tilt and MPEG-4 compression. The list price is reported at $795. It is designed to work with Cisco's inexpensive NAS arrays (like the NSS2000).
This combination is targeted at the D-Link/Vivotek product offerings and will not be competitive for professional applications.
Embeddable Training Videos on DVR
Dedicated Micros announced embedded training videos in their DVRs. The link provides a video demonstration. Though the demonstration does not clearly show the functionality, the concept is useful.
Help functionalities in video management systems tend to be poor, limited to text files / compiled HTML files. Adding in short (30s to 2 min) video clips could be very helpful in improving customer satisfaction and reducing support calls. For instance, setting schedules and conducting investigations tend to be functions that users have problems with. If vendors embedded a short video on how to do this and provided a link to it from the section, this would help users quickly use the feature.
Cernium Featured on TV Show
Cernium's home/small business video analytic offering, Archerfish, is being featured on the TV show Designing Spaces.
Contrast this approach to Cernium's competitor's pursuing remote monitoring for businesses. Cernium's target market has more risks as the willingness to pay is lower and the hard cost reduction is not as significant (no guard reduction).
In the Media from LenSec
This week, IP video software provider LenSec, posted 2 video clips from their customers being features on the local news - Federal Way Case Study and a School Vandalism case study.
Training Videos from IQinVision
IQinVision has released a series of videos on their 4 series dome including an 4 overview video, a review of what's included, and a description of the camera components.
These videos are useful for the community to learn about the technology and product offering. It's a low cost way to train and market products.
DNF on Centralized Storage
DNF Security is one of the newer storage companies entering the video surveillance market. They just released 3 minute overview video explaining the benefits of their architecture for IP video. It's the standard pitch that all the new players are making - that centralizing storage reduces cost and makes it easier to scale.
I talked with DNF Storage once. I do not yet understand what differentiates them from other storage providers including Intransa or Pivot3. DNF does, however, have a wide product portfolio including SANs, NAS and servers.
Survey Article on Hospital Security
Security Sales Magazine recently released a survey article on hospital. While the article is primarily on access control solutions, it may be interesting for those targeting the health care market.
This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions
Limitations in Facial Recognition and LPR
While facial recognition for identification verification (like Driver's Licenses) continues to expand, the technology suffered a PR black eye this week. A number of US states are now banning smiling for driver's license photos. Unsurprisingly, the public and the mainstream press was not happy about this. Summing up the sentiment, a popular gossip website deadpanned, "Facial recognition software operates on the principle that people never make expressions ever, and just wander the earth looking like dead-eyed zombies." Obviously, that's not technically true but it does express a significant limitation in today's analytics - differences that appear minor to humans can be very hard for computers to discern.
This is not unique to facial recognition as a similar issue exists with License Plate Recognition. In selecting LPR, you need to verify that the LPR system has been optimized for the license plates used in your area (size, shape, coloring, separataion of letters, etc. varies across the world's license plates).
While there are certainly techniques in development to automatically compensate for these issues, they are not something found widely in production deployments (especially at reasonable prices).
Sacrificing security for comfort is common
One of the surprising elements of the smiling ban is that most security organizations are very cautious about imposing such burdens on the general public (unless you live in a police state or a war zone).
For instance, retailers routinely 'allow' shoplifting so that they do not falsely accuse nor ruin the shopping experience of their customers. It's also a reason why surveillance cameras are often deployed high above or far away from the area being surveilled. Most organizations are afraid of the reaction of customers to placing security cameras directly in front of customers (even if that would reduce crime).
Sacrificing security for comfort and aesthetics is a constant tradeoff in designing security solutions. I am not sure how much performance gains these states will get from banning smiling but the PR hit is quite severe.
PSIM Companies Dangerous Positioning
Another pro-PSIM magazine article this month. This article focuses on all things that PSIM must do. Essentially, it must do everything - total integration.
While the goal is noble, strategically, it is a dangerous. Total integration is incredibly hard. There are so many different subsystems involved that require custom work to be done. The result is expensive systems that tend to be fragile.
Far better to tak the approach of doing as little as possible to get a few systems working together and slowly increasing abilities. This is the standard process that allows technologies companies to develop over time. This is how companies as diverse as Axis and Facebook successfully expand. 10 years ago, Axis was a fringe webcam company that security incumbents did not take seriously. If Axis had tried to push their products for mainstream security use then, it would have resulted in incredibly inexpensive products that most refused. Instead, they grew steadily over the years and now the security incumbents all want to support Axis' cameras.
The main PSIM companies are taking the opposite approach. They are spending tens of millions of VC money trying to accelerate technical barriers that cannot be overcome in the short term.
Ironically, one of the defense contractors recommends basing PSIM solutions on open standards. This, of course, entirely misses the key problem with PSIM. There are no standards amongst DVRs, access control systems, IDS, etc., etc. Until you get those standards in place, PSIM vendors are forced to develop custom support for hundreds of vendors - an almost impossible situation.
Yes, PSIM is a worthwhile concept but you need to be able to execute reliably and at a low cost. Until that can be proven, PSIM is destined to remain a niche offering.
Are vendors doing enough for consultants?
A new report came out this week analyzing over 200 security manufacturer's ability to support industry consultants. The report, from ConsultantRegistry, concludes that most manufacturers are doing a bad job supporting consultants. While the whole report requires registration, they provided me an 11 page summary of the vendor rankings to share.
ConsultantRegistry is a new organization. Their goal is to provide an on-line newtork that connects industry consultants with new projects from end users and information from manufacturers. It's a few months old and I am not sure how it will evolve but I will be tracking it.
Problem with broken surveillance cameras
There's an interestingy video surveillance controversy emerging from New Orleans in the US. They have a public system of 252 cameras that uses wireless networking. Evidently, 20% of their cameras do not currently work. The City of New Orleans is claiming that this is consistent with the industry standard for wireless cameras not working. I am not sure how he knows what the industry standard is but problems with wireless video are routine (see our discussion of another city with a similar problem from December).
The main problem, as they acknowledge, is a lack of maintenance contract. Unfortunately, this is incredibly common for public deployments. Municipalities get grants or other funding for the install. Then, they ignore or underestimate ongoing maintenance costs.
Public sector deployments tend to suffer longer and greater outages that private sector. A main reason is that private sector deployments generally force accountability on a department or person. If a bank's cameras are out and they suffer a loss, the bank immediately takes that loss and the manager responsible may be fired. In public deployments, loss and responsibility are much less direct.
Broken cameras in public deployments are a serious problem that is unlikely to be reduced in the near future.
Overview of VCA Technology
I spoke with VCA Technology this week -- a relatively new entrant in the video analytic market (UK based company founded in 2007 with core team members previously at PI Vision). VCA has the same fundamental business model as ObjectVideo yet offers a lower cost alternative. Like ObjectVideo, VCA OEMs their analytics supporting TI DaVinci and Intel chips. They offer two levels of video analytic offerings, with the higher level offering a variety of analytic 'flavors' common in the market today.
While I received a demo of the product, I have not tested the product. I found their 3D configuration tool to be quite useful. However, I cannot obviously not speculate on the performance of their analytics.
Will P-Iris Improve Megapixel Image Quality?
Recently, Axis announced an upcoming product enhancement that aims to improve megapixel image quality. Called P-Iris (for Precise Iris), it is an alternative to DC auto-iris lenses. P-Iris is a combination of a new lens and software. The lens, provided by Kowa, provides finer grain motor control to more precisely position the iris. The software, provided by Axis, allows the Axis camera to gain feedback on the positioning of the lens and to adjust more precisely. Today, most megapixel cameras use manual iris lenses. The P-Iris lens will be available in the Summer-Fall time frame. At that point, we will be better able to assess actual imagining improvements.
Axis made a point that they are not patenting any of the technology. They are encouraging third parties to adopt and use similar technology. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
How to Sell Cisco Video Surveillance
Recently, Cisco released an 8 page guide for their partners on how to sell Cisco video surveillance for small and medium size businesses. Most of it is standard IP video marketing.
The most noteworthy aspect was their stressing that their VMS software was free (while competitors charged up to $1500). I am not sure which competitors they were referring to (probably Axis) as most small to medium sized offerings provide free software up to 16 channels.
Comments on ACTi Strategy
A new press release from ACTi demonstrates 3 interesting characteristics about ACTi's strategy and market approach. The press release is about IFSEC but it covers their general market focus:
Range of PoS Support from i3DVR
Manufacturers love to talk about being an open platform and how they can integrate with anything. Unfortunately, they rarely do as much as they claim when it comes to the hundreds of systems that are out there. Recently, i3DVR released a datasheet detailing their 3rd party PoS integations.
Even if you are not interested in PoS, take a look at the sheet. The sheer number of systems and the variety of different interfaces needed should demonstrate the complexity of 3rd party integration.
Megapixel Cameras from 3xLogic
Continuing the trend of new manufacturers offering megapixel cameras, US vendor 3xLogic just announced the release of a series of 1.3 and 2MP domes and box cameras (see datasheets on MPEG-4 2MP and 1.3MP domes). The price points are competitive with ACTi/Arecont level pricing.
I think 3xLogic is a company worth watching (I profiled 3XLogic a few weeks back). They are offering pure hybrid DVRs at low prices with strong support for megapixel. That's an attractive combination in today's market.
Raytec Webinars
This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions:
3 Key differences found in Megapixel H.264 camera tests
So far, I see 3 important differentiators among the cameras I am currently testing:
Why IP cameras force analytics to the edge
In a recent Pelco webinar, Pelco offered strong technical points about why analytics have to go to the camera. Performing analytics requires decoded video frames. With analog cameras, the encoder card in a DVR can provide decoded video frames instantly and with little overhead. With IP cameras, if you use MJPEG, a similar result occurs. However, with interframe codecs such as MPEG-4 or H.264, you have to decode the video. Pelco explained that MPEG-4 and H.264 significantly this reduced the number of cameras that a server could analyze.
the future of video surveillance belongs to these CODECs because of the bandwidth/storage savings. As the migration to IP evolves, this will increasingly penalize and cause problems for providers of centralized analytics.
Is SVC the next big CODEC?
When asked what is next after H.264, Pelco listed SVC as a leading choice. SVC, or Scalable Video Codec, can dynamically change the resolution and bit-rate of video streams. This is extremely important for security applications as so many viewers are in remote locations. It's is especially relevant to megapixel cameras that stream at very high bit rates (relative to WAN bandwidth) and can easily cause problems for remote viewing. For more information on SVC, see an overview on SVC posted on the site last year. It's going to take some time for SVC to go mainstream (as it requires more processing power but it will address the increasing pain as megapixel camera use expands).
In the meantime, there are a number of techniques video surveillance vendors are providing. One popular technique is for the NVR/VMS system to transcode video before it streams it to clients, enabling the bit rate to be dynamically adjusted for remote viewers (see 3xLogic's Aztec CODEC and Salient's Dynamic Resolution Scaling). Another alternative is Avigilon's use of JPEG2000 which provides scalable video but lacks the bandwidth efficiency gains of H.264.
Baseline vs High Profile for H.264
A final interesting note in the Pelco seminar was Pelco's advocacy of High Profile H.264. H.264 provides a variety of profiles and levels (H.264 is more like a family of specifications rather than a single specific one). Manufacturers may select from these profiles. Most IP camera companies are choosing baseline profile - the lowest of the options. Pelco says they have selected High. It is reported that high provides greater bandwidth and storage efficiency at the expense of increased processing power.
How much of a difference this makes will be interesting to see. I do, though, expect Pelco and a few other vendors to emphasize this difference in the marketplace. I am looking forward to testing the Pelco Sarix camera to investigate this aspect.
Genetec vs Mobotix on H.264's Value
A few months ago, a Mobotix partner posted a video criticizing the use of H.264 for centralized video recording.
Recently, Genetec has started its own blog. In one of their first posts, Genetec examines the value of H.264 and responds to these criticisms.
It's a discussion worth reading. Equally importantly, it's another sign of the growth of blogging as a more effective way to directly reach the community rather than depending on trade magazines.
How good are security manager's PCs?
User's PCs have a significant impact on video surveillance systems. While video may be processed and stored on optimized dedicated servers, surveillance video is routinely viewed and reviewed on normal PCs. Many common problems arise from PCs not having sufficient resources to handle the video applications. This is one of the risks of H.264 but is a common issue with any video display or processing. The importance of this problem only increases as video is available across the network. Gone are the days when surveillance video was solely watched in a security center - now users expect to use it on their laptops, homes, etc.
I am setting up a test PC to emulate the conditions of a security manager's PC. I have selected a 4 year old Dell Dimension 8200 with a 2 Ghz Pentium 4 CPU and 1 GB of RAM. Yes, it's out of date but such machines are the operating reality for many security managers.
I believe it is critical that applications must work with existing PCs. Asking users (especially corporate users) to change their PCs is not prudent. They rarely have the ability to do so and it's completely impractical if multiple people in an organization want to use the application. It's always important to make sure your software runs on existing hardware. I plan to test this with this PC.
What is the Price for IP Video Software?
This week, Salient System released a new product offering, called ONE, that offers their IP video software without enterprise management functionality (they now have 3 tiers of products/pricing). The MSRP for ONE is $125 USD per channel. They also offer a PRO series which provides enterprise management for an MSRP of $225 USD per channel.
This brings up two important points about IP video software - tiering price levels and the value of enterprise management.
MSRP around $100 USD seems to be the common price point for IP video software licenses without enterprise management (e.g., Axis Cam Station, LuxRiot, NUUO are all in this range). [Note: there are other similar product offerings that are free but these are usually only for use with the vendor's own IP cameras (e.g., ACTi, Mobotix, IndigoVision, Vicon, etc.]
By contrast, MSRP around $200 USD seems to be the common price point for IP video software with enterprise management. However, this can go significantly higher depending on the level of 3rd party integration and advanced functionalities included.
Enterprise management - the ability to centrally access, view and manage video resources - is probably the most important element. It's a feature that only a limited number of providers currently offer. However, this is changing and I would expect over a dozen providers to have it by next year (as the market grows).
Examining March Networks Financial Results
March Networks released their Jan-Apr 2009 results, reporting a 2% increase in revenue compared to a year ago. These are non-GAAP numbers and only limited details were provided so it's hard to be conclusive in interpreting these numbers.
The most important issue for March is the integration of the Cieffe acquisition and their transition to IP video software vendor. This is still in progress.
I have begun testing March's HD camera and using March's software. I will have more to report in the future.
Overview of ByRemote's Strategy
ByRemote is one of the first companies to enter Managed Video/ Video Surveillance as a Service. Given the high level of interest in this area, I recently spoke with them to learn more about their business strategy / technical offering.
ByRemote has their own VMS software. The provide 2 offerings: hosted, where cameras are directly connected to their software running in their data center and managed, where an appliance with ByRemote's software is loaded on a PC local to the cameras. The MSRP per camera starts at about $20 per month.
ByRemote sells only through dealers (prior to Jan 2008, they sold direct). ByRemote is building a network of dealers who sells the service to end users. Dealers can set their own prices and sell the cameras (the cameras are in addition to the $20 per month).
ByRemote offers continuous recording at a default rate of 1 frame per second. They say they commonly support 4-6 cameras per site with these settings. ByRemote does not use Axis STS.
Setting up IP cameras with ByRemote requires setting up DDNS and port forwarding to enable ByRemote to connect to cameras remotely.
I think this approach, using dealers and requiring on-site setup, will be a niche play. I think the best probability of success for hosted video surveillance is to sell direct, online only and bundle in the cameras for the cost of the subscription. Right now, at $20 per camera plus the cost of the camera and install, the economics are not extremely attractive relative to traditional video surveillance offerings.
Update on Pivot3
I spoke with Pivot3 and they say the VB/Research report on them needing funding is wrong. Pivot3 reports that they are well funded from their recent C Series round and are not seeking funding.
Two other interesting topics from our discussion:
(1) They now have two product models - the Databank and the CloudBank. The difference between the two is that the CloudBank has 1 more 4 core CPU and extra Ethernet ports compared to the DataBank. The CloudBank supports running IP video software while the DataBank does not. Pivot3 is charging the same price for both appliances. The rule of thumb they use is $1,200 street pricing per TB (including the ability to run the IP video software).
(2) The Cloudbanks offer NVR redundancy built in at no additional cost. This is quite interesting because very few VMS/NVR providers offer application level redundancy (it's hard to do and expensive). Since Pivot3 already provides redundancy for storage and runs the IP video software application as a virtualized appliance, they can restart the entire virtual appliance on another Cloudbank and provide immediate access to stored video and continued recording to the same storage array. This could prove to be very interesting for IP video software that does not offer its own redundancy. It could also be a way to win bids by writing this in to the specifications. [Note: I don't know how well this works and am simply reporting on the concept and potential]
Analytics Roundtable Examined
SSN has a new article interviewing CEOs of a number of video analytics companies. The most interesting comments are (1) ioimage's acknowledgement that analytics has not achieved the hype and that the economic slowdown may delay this and (2) VideoIQ's critique of the OEM business model (for a deeper discussion on this, see VideoIQ's CTO discussion on the problems of OEMing analytics). Most of the article, though, is standard marketing and is useful mainly as an introduction for those new to the video analytics business.
Details of new embedded Exacq DVR
Exacq has released a datasheet on its new embedded line - the ExacqVision EL. As I mentioned at ISC West, I think this product offering has very strong potential: fully hybrid, low cost (MSRP for 16 channels at or lower than $5,000 USD), Linux based and you can mix and match these appliances with Exacq's software only offering. I think the Exacq EL may become the best of the appliance offerings that are coming to market from the IP video software providers.
Computar Provides Online training
All manufacturers should provide online training for their products, make it free, put it on YouTube, etc. It lowers support costs, makes it easier for people to use the companies products and provides indirect marketing.
As an example, I recently picked up a series of training videos by Computar.
Cisco on Wireless Video Surveillance
This week, Cisco added a whitepaper on wireless video surveillance. The paper looks to be in conjunction with the marketing of their IP cameras. It's a very high level discussion.
Also, Cisco has released a new case study of their IP video surveillance offering being used in a school. The Missouri school integrates the surveillance with their existing Cisco network.
Milestone Demos Corporate Product Offering
Milestone has a new video out. It's a marketing piece, useful primarily for its 1 minute overview of their Corporate product offering.
Milestone has 4 product tiers, 3 of them are different licensing options for the same fundamental application. By contrast, the 4th tier, the Corporate version, is a completely different application that was developed in the last few years to provide enhanced capabilities in enterprise management, administration and configuration.
This report covers key developments impacting video surveillance professionals in the last week including financial results, new product developments, uses of security and various company actions.
Major Budget Crunches Hitting Security Departments
In a survey of over 250 security managers, the Security Executive Council is reporting significant drops in security department budgets (see their executive summary from their research section). Key statistics include:
Examining Mobotix's Financial Results
Mobotix's revenue grew 24.7 last quarter (compared to Q1 2009). While down from the 50% growth rate of early last year, the rate is significantly higher than Axis (once your factor out exchange rate factors for Axis). The Mobotix release highlights a 36.9% growth rate but that's for a 9 month period (see quarter comparison for the 24.7% number). Profit was down significantly for the period (both in real terms and percentages) compared to previous quarters (see the profit numbers in the bottom of the quarterly comparison).
It is certain that IP growth has been reduced, even in companies like Mobotix who have been stronger than others. Beyond that, the short term future of IP video growth is unclear as it is heavily dependent on the state of the global economy (as demonstrated by its fall over the last 2 quarters).
IP Growth Cut in Half?
The CEO of Norbain recently commented that IP growth has been cut in half. He sees spending on installs reduce but not a decrease in the overall number of installs. His numbers and observations certainly focus on the UK/European market. However, reports of price pressure and slowing IP growth are widespread.
Results of IP Camera Survey
94 respondents answered the IP camera survey last week. Here are some highlights of the results:
Statistics from US Security Integrators
Security Sales magazine recently released a very useful survey of US security integrators. It's 6 pages long and has dozens of metrics. Here are a few that are particularly relevant or interesting to video surveillance professionals:
Pivot3 Seeking New Funding
Accoding to VB/Research, Pivot3 is seeking additional funding to the $48M USD invested since 2003: "The company is currently finalising the fundraising details, but had planned to raise $25 million before the financial crisis ensued. In particular [the CEO] would like to establish relationships with European investors capable of providing $10-$15 million that could aid expansion into the region."
That's a lot of funding, especially for a relatively small market like video surveillance [Pivot3 has explored multiple markets but currently seems focused on video surveillance]. The risk here is whether Pivot3 can ever reach revenue levels to justify the level of investment they are consuming. Even really big video surveillance companies (think March in DVRs or Axis in cameras) only generate $100 - $300 M USD in annual revenue. Neither of these companies needed anything close to the level of funding Pivot3 is seeking to reach these levels.
The practical problem is if Pivot3 cannot meet the aggressive growth that investors will expect from such investments, that the company will result in a fate similar to iPix or Covi, where product development was discontinued and the assets were sold in a 'firesale'.
Pivot3 may be fine but that risk is more than I likely could take in recommending products, especially when there are so many other alternatives in the market.
Don't think winning ISC West awards means that Pivot3 should be safe. ISC West award winners have a really bad track record of failing - iPix, Grandeye, Covi and A4 Vision all won top awards at ISC West and went on to either fail or have major restructuring.
Overview of Acuity - New IP Video Manufacturer
Acuity is a new video surveillance company (1-2 years old) founded by Pelco and AD veterans gaining recent press attention. I received a company overview and live demo from them this week. Here are my initial observations:
Acutiy provides video management software and NVR appliances running only on Linux. They are positioned themselves to compete against IP video surveillance providers such as Genetec, OnSSI and Milestone. I see 3 primary ways they are trying to differentiate: (1) providing their own suite of video analytics, (2) deeply integrating the use and management of video analytics in their user interface and (3) providing security oriented feature and performance enhancements (that leverage their Pelco and AD experience).
Since this was an introductory call, I do not know the specifics nor have I tested the product. The key things to examine in considering Acuity are (1) given that the product is fairly new, how mature and broad are the feature offerings relative to significantly older products and (2) as with all analytics how well do they perform in the field.
In the future, I will have more information.
Charging for IP Video Software Support?
While IT departments are accustomed to paying for ongoing support of their software (15%-20% annually of the purchased price is common), security buyers are not. As such, resistance to what is perceived by many as a new and unjustified charge is common. In a new marketing piece released, Vicon is trying to capitalize on that sentiment by declaring that it will never charge any ongoing license fees.
Using Video Analytics to Cut Guards
One of the best security management blogs ran a series of posts this week on the use of video analytics to eliminate guards. The application is secure facilities where US TWIC regulations require that visitors without clearance be escorted.
As I describe in a comment to that post, this is a risky way to cut costs. There are problems with saturating coverage with cameras, maintaining 100% accuracy on tracking and delays in responding to threats. Making this worse, the subjects are already inside the premises, making it far easier and faster to cause damages.
In this case, it's Siemens using the Vistascape product at the Port of Wilmington. Siemens praises the ability to use the Port's existing CCTV investment. However, you have to wonder what the security and operational risks really are.
However, the most common use of video analytics to reduce guards are usually in construction sites or moderate security areas, which pose far less security risk and are significantly simpler than deploy than the TWIC escorting scenario.
Siemens cuts Prices
In what I can only describe as a sign of the times, Siemens has issued a press release announcing reduction in prices for access control and CCTV products.
There seems to be a pattern with mainstream, large security providers (Bosch, Norbain, Siemens) all acknowledging price pressures.
The question that I am curious about is: How much is this an impact of the economy vs. how much does this reflect poor strategic positions for large vendors with similar products?
ASIS Launches Awards Program
New award programs continue to emerge. New this month is an award program called ASIS Accolades for the ASIS Conference in September. It's only $250 to enter but you have to exhibit at the show. For exhibitors, this is a very inexpensive marketing tool (compared to ISC which charges 10x that price).
The bigger question for the rest of the industry is what do these awards really mean. They will be voted on by a panel of ASIS members but the decision will be based on submission of documents - no live presentation and no testing of the submissions. Also, many of the 7 categories are imprecise and subject to interpretation.
What's confusing to me is that ASIS serves the interests and needs of security mangers. However, these awards seem to benefit manufacturers more.
Solid Training on IP Video Surveillance
Vivotek's IP Video Surveillance Guide is an example of good training from a manufacturer. The Guide is well written and broadly covers key components of IP video. Most importantly, the guide is very light on Vivotek promotion or marketing.
While Vivotek sacrifices short term gain in this approach, it benefits in that more people will want to read and recommend it because the guide is genuinely informative rather than trying to sell the vendor's products.
Axis on Software as a Service
Axis has a new article on the benefits and the value of Software as a Service (SaaS) for video surveillance. It's a high level discussion. The most interesting element is the claim that SaaS helps IP video where it has traditionally been weak - in small camera count deployments. The article glosses over upstream bandwidth barriers. Though SaaS sounds promising, IP video vendors would have more success competing with analog CCTV by packaging low cost IP cameras and NVRs.
How hard is it to get PoE products?
Arecont Setting up Channel Partner Program
Arecont seems to be maturing their partner program (this was expected as a few months ago they hired a new VP of sales . Now they are establishing a formalized partner program with training classes and more.
Covers Milestone, ACTi, BRS Labs, Mobotix, Video Analytics and more. Key topics reviewed include:
Why Manufacturer Claims Need to be Checked
I periodically write critical pieces questioning the strength of various vendor's claim such as Bosch on video analytics, Frost's awards and this week on 3VR's Face Recognition test results.
As a general rule, manufacturer highlight the positives and trade magazines summarize those highlights. This leaves end users and integrators at risk and responsible for doing heavy due diligence. As a former integrator, I know this - painfully.
Unless we resign ourselves to let everyone fend for themselves, there needs to be a better way to question, test, discuss and debate what various products and technologies can do. Checking vendor's claims helps to solve this problem. It also signals to manufacturer's that they need to be more detailed in their communication and claims.
Importance of Defining Comparison Metrics
After a year of focused research on video surveillance companies, I see a consistent problem with defining metrics for vendor's claim. Vendors tend to choose a single statistic that highlight their strengths. However, users need to understand a variety of details that impact the use in their conditions. In those conditions, the results are often much different.
Let's look at a few examples of this effect:
Can Firetide do 400 Mb/s?
FireTide recently announced a new product series that they claim provides 400 Mb/s throughput. For video surveillance this is massive 400%+ jump in capability.
I believe that FireTide can do 400 Mb/s. What I question is in what conditions can this be done? Can you do it outdoors? Can you do it with other radio systems operating in the same spectrium? Can you do reliably in all weather conditions? Can you do it across large areas? Can you scale this to dozens or hundreds of cameras?
What we need to understand is how well can it perform in the variety of real world conditions. FireTide is being helpful and up-front with me on the details of this new offering and I plan to explore more deeply.
Can TimeSight reduce storage by 90%?
TimeSight claims to reduce storage by up to 90%. That's a very powerful claim, especially given the cost of storing video from multi-megapixel cameras.
TimeSight has shown me a live system and I believe there are scenarios where they can reduce storage by 90% or even greater. However, I also suspect that in many scenarios compared to many manufacturers, that the savings may be far less than 90%. Of course, since storage saving is only one element of a system, small storage benefits may be less important than other features that TimeSight lacks.
The issue is on a detail level for practical scenarios, how significant and meaningful are TimeSight savings? Again, TimeSight has been very helpful and here too, I look forward to providing greater feedback and recommendations.
Can BRS Labs alert without any rules?
9 months ago, BRS Labs announced that they were launching a video analytic that was so intelligent that it could spot abnormalities without an operator defining them in advance. Conceptually, this is a major breakthrough beyond what any other manufacturer is claiming to offer commercially.
I think BRS Labs may be able to do this in a controlled environment but: How frequently can they do it? How often are they wrong? How bad does the weather impact their system? How expensive is it do this?
They have no offered no evidence and little technical details.
Power of Marketing for Video Analytics
What's interesting is that when I talk to industry people, BRS Labs now is consistently listed among the top video analytics companies. This has to be their strong marketing efforts over the last year (since it's certainly not independent test results).
Marketing pays but, of course, buyer beware.
New Panoramic Camera from Mobotix
Mobotix is announcing to dealers a new version of their panoramic dome series - Q24. Mobotix states that the 3MP camera offers 8fps at 3MP, double the frame rate of the old Q22 as well as enhanced panoramic correction and a built in 4GB SD card. They claim very high market demand and are offering an MSRP of $798 EUR ($1070 USD) for the 3MP version.
With Grandeye/OnCam refocusing on a niche market and very few alternatives (Immervision lenses), Mobotix has a fairly strong niche here.
Do PSIM Deployments Exist?
Ironically, PSIM Vendor Vidsys is running a webinar asking if PSIM Deployments Exist? Clearly, Vidsys will discuss how they do exist and the benefits, etc. What's interesting is the acknowledgement, even indirectly that PSIM deployments are rare.
I would estimate there are no more than a few hundred PSIM deployments total by the major PSIM vendors - CNL, Orsus, Proximex, Vidsys, etc. However, if you include the access control vendors providing PSIM type functionality, there are certainly tens of thousands globally.
However, this does emphasize a point - the cost and complexity of adding and integrating a third party PSIM is significantly hurting these vendors and this approach.
Is Managed Video Ready for Central Stations?
The happy press for managed video continues to roll with new articles in SSN and Central Station magazine. The articles both argue for the benefits of central stations to re-sell managed video offerings (this is Secure-i's pitch). Most interesting quote is Secure-i's claim that they "give a central station a service that they pay in the ballpark of five bucks a month for, and then they turn around and resell it for $30 to $40 a month."
I am still sketpical of the economics of managed video as the costs I have seen are fairly high, making it frequently more expensive than a DVR. Plus, these services tend to require multiple year contracts making them not significantly less flexible than buying a unit.
Also, most of the managed video providers only support Axis cameras.
Both of these things (costs and camera support) will change over time. However, I don't see how the main barrier, upstream bandwidth limitations, will disappear anytime soon.
City Wide Monitoring by Police of Private Cameras
The City of Atherton in California is now running a fairly sophisticated operation whereby the police remotely monitor IP video surveillance. The article provides a significant amount of details including operational setup and charges ($300 sign-up fee, plus $269 per camera and an annual service fee of $50 per camera).
A major, basically unsolvable flaw, I see is interoperability. If you have an existing DVR or 3rd party system, it requires encoders for the video to work with the city's system (run by Milestone software).
The reality is video management systems from different vendors do not talk to each other so integration is basically impossible. Each resident needs to buy technology to adopt to the city's system.
PSIM systems are the best tool today to solve this (though only partially because no PSIM system can support the vast numbers of video recorders on the market). What's really need, though, is standards for VMS systems but that's nowhere on the roadmap.
Remote Monitoring with Video Analytics
ioimage recently released a webinar detailing their entrance into remote monitoring services. Skip the first 4 minutes as it is simply dead air waiting for the webinar to start.
Video analytic manufacturer movement into remote monitoring continues to increase with VideoIQ, Cernium and now ioimage all driving offerings.
3VR in Search of Funding
According to VB Research, 3VR is seeking up to $15 M USD in new funding. To date, they have raised a total of $30 M USD. 3VR forecasts 2009 revenue of $15M - $20M USD. Actual 2008 revenue was not disclosed and it is reasonable to assume that it was lower than the 2009 forecast.
Many video surveillance companies, especially the newer IP companies, are in the $5 - $25 M USD annual revenue range. To give a rough sense of comparison, US IP video software supplier Lensec reports 2007 annual revenue of $10M USD, European NVR manufacturer Mirasys reports 2007 annual revenue of $11 M USD, and Genetec reports 2006 annual revenue of $16M USD. Genetec's 2009 revenue must be far higher than 2006 - it's likely double or triple that, given their strong growth. Also, it's hard to compare companies simply by revenue because some are primarily appliance providers while others are primarily software, generating far different margins at the same revenue level.
Mobotix in Search of Acquistions
VB Research also reported that Mobotix is seeking acquisitions. Mobotix's report cash of $13.7M USD. They are looking for complimentary technology or to expand product development with VoIP being a particular area of interest. Mobotix noted that only 10% of their 2008 annual revenue of $48 M USD is from the US. This is not surprising given how famous Mobotix is in Europe and Asia but relatively unknown in the US. Mobotix is looking to ramp up US sales.
ACTi maps out H.264 products
By the end of 2009, the expansion of H.264 across the IP camera world will be fairly complete. In this pdf document, ACTi literally provides a map of their various new and upcoming H.264 offerings.
Access Control From IQinVision
IQinVision has announced a small scale access control software offering to be used with their Megapixel cameras. It works with their PRO series of cameras and allows users to open doors, activate alarms, etc from a user's PC. This solution is not meant to replace access control systems in traditional applications. Note: I am obtaining a copy of this software to test.
This type of solution appears popular with megapixel cameras. Compare to Mobotix's ExtIO and CamIO.
Video Collection from Milestone Systems
Milestone is building a fairly large collection of videos featuring their executives, partners and speakers at their events. See their directory of videos. Particularly interesting videos include those of their executives, including their CEO discussing how they never sell direct to end users (which is a controversial but increasing tactice by video surveillance manufacturers).
Covers OnSSI, the job market, megapixel, Cisco, federal grants and more. Key topics reviewed include:
IP Camera Test Enhancements
I continue to gather feedback from the Axis Q1755 test so that (1) I can re-test any open issues with the Q1755 and (2) I can modify the general testing format going forward.
Here are 3 steps I plan to take:
Another Important Sign that Video Analytics is Failing
When trade magazines run negative articles, you know a technology is in trouble. This month, SDM released a report on security integrator's experiences with video analytics. It is an excellent article that actually investigates the issue rather than simply prints quotes from the marketing people of each vendor.
In the article, the most interesting claims are (1) video analytics can cost up to $100,000 USD per camera, (2) expect one false alarm per camera per hour and (3) that on a scale of 1 to 10, the difficulty of video analytics range from a 6 to an 11. A senior engineer from Adesta states that at first the difficulty of using video analytics was a 10 but after a few years of experience, it's now 'only' a 6 or 7.
How motivated will people be to buy video analytics whern they hear integrators say that it is extremely expensive, highly error prone and really hard to deploy?
Now, even I think these claims fall more on the worse case scenario and not realistic of the best that is available. However, it is very clear to see the level of problems that video analytics faces. I see no technical solution in the short term. What's scary to me is that most video analytic vendors are not even making claims anymore about how they are resolving this. Even the video analytic vendors tend to join the chorus of establishing 'lower expectations.'
How Complex is Setting up IP Video Software?
One of the interesting dynamics I see in the industry is between those who are used to deploying DVRs and those who deploy IP video software. As someone who has deployed both, I find IP video to be dramatically more complex. Complexity is not a bad thing, especially when it provides you with more power. However, it does increase cost and forces your people to be stronger technically.
To give you an idea of some of the complications with IP, take a look at a recent blog post on setting up Cisco wireless IP cameras and optimizing security on Cisco's IP video management software. They both require command line configuration and Linux/Cisco IOS knowledge. That's fine for system administrators and network engineers. It's also fine if you expect those people to take over running video surveillance.
The big problem is economics. Security techs are less skilled in IT but they tend to be far cheaper and capable of configuring traditional analog security systems in very short time periods. I remain skeptical of the willingness of end users to significantly increaase labor costs for video surveillance. Indeed, I know many of the manufacturers who came in from IT are painfully finding out about the reluctance to increase spending and resources on video surveillance.
Current Level of Megapixel Commercial Availability
It's become clear that 1.3 MP, H.264, 10 - 12 fps cameras are now everywhere. At SecuTech, basically every camera manufacturer, even the laggards had such cameras available.
Also, 2MP, H.264 cameras are destined to be widely available in 6 months or at latest by ISC West 2010. Already, at SecuTech, there were at least 8 manufacturers announcing 2MP H.264, in addition to the half dozen global companies that had previously announced last month at ISC West.
What's driving this is the ready availability of DSPs and reference designs. What will be interesting to see is what the next jump in resolution is after 2MP. It may take some time as the 3MP and up providers all seem to have developed their own ASICs or FPGAs.
The other important aspect to watch in the megapixel space is how manufacturers start optimizing low-light performance and WDR to improve the image quality of their 1.3 and 2MP cameras.
Survey of Access Control Market
For those of you interested in access control, SDM has a good new survey of the access control market. Not surprisingly, they report access control spending to be flat to down and how access control is secondary in spending and attention to video.
Job Openings are Increasing
After a few months of very few job postings, I see a notable increase in the amount of job positing my spider is picking up from company websites. A few that stand out include: Business Development Manager and Sales Engineer at IndigoVision, a Sr. Marketing Associate at Cernium, and a test technician at Genetec.
Note: not all manufacturers post their jobs on their websites so the total number of job positings are certainly higher than this. You can check for new job postings on the "Updates from Company Websites" section on the site homepage.
Examining OnSSI as a PSIM Provider
OnSSI continues to expand its market position to be a PSIM provider. This week, they shared a new video that overviews their PSIM solution with an example in the education market. Essentially, their Ocularis software will provide PSIM functionality and work with their and other security systems.
While OnSSI certainly has an advantage with its existing customer base and their partnership with Lenel, the challenge will be for OnSSI to expand the third party support that current PSIM providers already have.
Note: the OnSSI video is being hosted on my YouTube account. OnSSI sent me a link to an executable. I extracted the video and uploaded it. I am happy to do this for any vendor as it is quick and makes it much easier for others to access and see the video. I recommend the use of YouTube or other video sharing sites.
Remote Viewing of IP cameras with no Setup
Here's another example of an interesting product offering and the use of a video to help show benefits.
StarVedia is a Taiwanese company specializing in IP cameras for the consumer/SMB market. They claim to provide plug n play IP cameras. However, plug n play is vague and used by many vendors to imply that the vendor believes they are easy to use.
Take a look at their 2 minute video on using their IP cameras and it becomes clear they have eliminated any configuration for remote vieiwng of cameras from outside your home or small business. That I find interesting because explaining to people dynamic IP addresses, DDNS, etc. can be problematic. Essentially, StarVedia pre-loads software in their cameras and establishes connections between its cameras and its VMS software running on your PC.
If this looks familiar, StarVedia is an OEM to a number of Western manufacturers. StarVedia is sending me a sample and I will be running and sharing results of a test.
Examining IP Migration using NVT
NVT, the manufacturers of devices that enable analog cameras to be transported over network cable, have released a 12 page application guide. It's a fairly concise and useful explanation of using this technology. Also interesting, they are now using "Hybrid Video" as a marketing term/slogan which certainly leverages the interest in hybrid systems today.
Side note: The guide implies that today analog over UTP is 15% of the market rising to 33% in the future. I know NVT is widely used but that does seem high to me. I am not sure if there are reliable statistics on this one.
Megapixel Calculuators from Arecont
Arecont has released a collection of calculators for calculating field of view and bandwidth/storage requirements. The bandwidth calculator seems to factor in a 83% reduction when switching from MJPEG to H.264. There is also a pixel density calculator but it can be hard to conceptualize as there is no visual representation of the setup. Making it more challenging is the use of pixels/foot which is as good a metric as I know but suffers from the problem that very few people have any sense of pixels/feet. (The tool does provide references for pixels/foot for common objects)
Webinar on Obtaining US Federal Grant Funding
If you are working on government projects or marketing to the government, a webinar on US grant funding may help you. That link lets you download the 43 minute presentation.
Webcast on Intergraph's Public Safety Solution
Integraph has released a webinar that covers a Business Intelligence solution for Public Safety. It's different from the PSIM offerings that are heavily marketed in that it is more focused on reporting and analysis of trends.
Information on Cisco's Small Business Video Management Software
Since many industry people are interested in anything Cisco, you may want to see the data sheet / information Cisco has released on their small business video management software. However, it's not that different from the many small site VMS software currently on the market.
Covers Axis, Bosch, Cisco, HikVision, OEMs, megapixel camera positioning and more. Key topics reviewed include:
Axis Falling Market Share
Axis 1st quarter results were weaker than Q4 2008 (see Axis' Q1 presentation). For the first time, Axis reported shrinking revenue (-2% in real, local currency terms). Only the US had growth (13%). Revenue feel in both Europe and Asia.
These results were widely reported as being more positive than they actually are due to currency effects increasing financial returns. Nonetheless, the depreciation of the Sweedish Kroner is extraordinary and does represent a real improvement in Axis business (just like if the Kroner appreciated, this would not mean that Axis would be a weaker company, even if short term financial results were negatively impacted).
While most IP video companies do not release financial results publicly, my survey of a dozen IP companies indicates that the IP video market is still growing (probably in the 15%+ range). This means that Axis lost market share last quarter.
I believe this is an acceleration of a long term trend and not an abberation. A couple of reasons for this:
A number of members have already commented on these points on our LinkedIn Forum.
Deep Drop in Q1 DVR Sales?
One of the most interesting gossip / discussions at SecuTech was the steep drop in sales for many Asian DVR manufacturers in Q1. A number of manufacturers and their partners commented that 30-40% sales drops were common. A few others said that sales were steady to slightly down. Given the lack of publicly, audited statements, it's hard to get an accurate picture. However, it does seem clear that at least some DVR manufacturers have been hit hard.
The best theory I heard was that a number of weaker Western distributors and re-sellers are under significant financial pressure due to the economic crisis. In response, they reduced inventory and had weaker sales. This could be a leading indicator of some of the marginal providers exiting the business.
Reviewing Bosch's President Remarks on Industry Outlook
Bosch Security President Gert van Ipeeren presented at SecuTech. Key points presented:
Cisco Re-Structuring in Video Surveillance
Cisco has conducted a limited re-structuring with the goal of fostering a singular platform for video surveillance. The plan, underway, is to unify the two technologies acquired from SyPixx and Broadware. Development efforts are being concentrated in their Northern California offices. Cisco reiterated their commitment to video surveillance and mentioned that, if anything, the importance of video surveillance is growing within Cisco.
Future Plan of OEMs
One of the key discussions at SecuTech was about Asian OEMs. It seems that the majority of Chinese and Taiwanese companies OEM to Western manufacturers. The debate centers on whether to stay with an OEM business model or to focus on developing their own brands. Many of the larger Asian companies do half OEM, half branded business. However, it seems that increasingly, Asian manufacturers are considering or moving toward branded sales.
Such a move could create significant changes in the industry. Perhaps the most well known example of this shift is ACTi who is clearly dedicated to developing their own brand. Many of the Asian manufactuerers look at the growth of ACTi as evidence and motivation to pursue their own branded strategies. On the other hand, as OEM sales have been the core of most of these companies for years, the decision is a difficult one. I expect this debate / shift to intensify in coming years.
Nuuo - the Milestone of Asia?
One of these Taiawanese companies that is increasingly focused on building their brand is Nuuo, a video management manufacturer. Nuuo develops IP video software, DVR/NVR appliances and DVR cards. Nuuo claims to support 600 models of IP cameras, more than Milestone (while this may or may not be true, Nuuo certainly has very broad IP camera support).
At SecuTech, Nuuo had a large booth right near the entrance of the show. Nuuo is focused solely on video management and says they have no plans to expand into cameras. The company was founded in 2004 and has over 100 developers.
I have their software and will be conducting a test on them in the near future.
HiKVision Strategy and Position
While many are familiar with HiKVision as an OEM of DVR cards aand DVR appliances, HikVision is expanding into a full IP video offering and strengthening its branded business. HikVision reports 2008 revenue of $260M USD with 70% of revenue from China. They claim to have 50% market share in China as well. The company reports 1400 employees with over 400 in R&D. Established in 2001, they are an outgrowth of China's National Research Institute. Currently, they primarily do direct sales in emerging markets.
They currently offer a moderate range of IP cameras with resolutions up to 2 MP. They offer IP video management software in addition to DVRs and hybrid NVRs. The software is fairly elegantly designed (especially relative to stereotypes of Chinese software) and is provided free for use with their IP cameras. Their software currently only supports their IP cameras. HikVision's IP cameras are priced at a similar range to ACTi. The cameras only are supported by a limited number of 3rd party VMS providers though they report they are close to implementations with a number of large VMS providers.
Feedback from IP Camera Testing
This week, I released the results from my first product test (of the Axis Q1755 HD camera). I recieved a lot of great feedback and recommendations on how to improve the testing. The key issues that commenters targeted was on H.264 performance, frame rate and night image quality. One, I am going to contact Axis to get some more feedback and recommendations from them regarding the Q1755. Second, I am going to add a number of additional tests with different test PCs to improve the testing. Please keep the feedback coming.
ACTi releases a CCD 1.3 Megapixel Camera
With megapixel becoming more commonplace, manufacturers are starting to focus on improving image quality and nigh-time performance (for instance, Panasonic won a NPS award for its CCD megapixel camera). Now, ACTi has released a 1.3 MP camera using a Sony CCD. Pricing is not publicly available yet.
Covers Cisco, Cernium, ACTi, ADT, Hybrid DVR pricing and more. Reviews and analysis on developing trends, company interviews and new releases. Key topics include:
The focus of the site for at least the next 5 months will be product tests and in-depth comparisons. The response to last's week survey was excellent (over 100 responders) and the interests of members were nearly unanimous.
Over 90% of respondents asked for product testing and product comparisons - a far greater number than any of the other options. This interest was reflected in the comments as well where members praised in-depth analysis and asked for more. Another key theme was the importance of being independent and being critical.
Launching Independent Camera Testing
Starting next week, I will begin releasing test results of surveillance cameras. My focus to start will be megapixel cameras. My plan is to provide sample videos from the cameras, videos explaining how the cameras work, statistics on bandwidth and CPU utilization and a writeup recommending how to use features and optimizations of the camera.
Over the last month or two, manufacturers have loaned me 7 cameras and I have obtained test licenses to 4 VMS systems. In the last two weeks, I have spent most of my time doing tests. While it's still early in the process, I think there are a lot of interesting and valuable things I can find and share to help the community.
The tests results will be available to all premium members. No payment is accepted from manufacturers to do the tests. I will cover my costs through payments from members like yourself and future members that join. I think this is the best structure to promote fair and accurate tests.
As this is new, I especially welcome your comments and feedbacks (e-mail me at jhonovich@ipvideomarket.info).
Examining Price Points for Hybrid DVRs
Over the last few years, the MSRP of 16 channel enterprise DVRs were in the $7,000 to $9,000 range (AD, Verint, March, etc. - products that offered 3rd party integration, centralized management, etc).
In the last few months, with new product announcements and the maturation of newer entrants (like Exacq, 3xLogic, Airship, etc.), the price points for hybrid enterprise DVRs is now falling toward or below $5,000 MSRP.
The other important aspect of falling price points is that all of these units support a fairly broad range of IP cameras, making them very attractive as migration options (see the review of 3xLogic below).
If you are a dealer or buyer of hybrid DVRs, you should be evaluating the prices you be re-evaluating the prices you pay. Competitors, of course, should also take note.
Advances in Megapixel Form Factor
In the beginning of 2008, there were very few form factor options for megapixel cameras. Almost all of them were "box" units (except for Mobotix). Form factor options are important for environmental and aesthetic issues.
Since then, we have seen a lot of advances - Axis now has multiple megapixel dome options (including the new 720p dome). IQinVision has 3 lines of advanced form factor options (including the new 4 series). Basler has entered the surveillance market with tiny megapixel cameras (even smaller than Arecont's).
This is another sign of the maturing of the megapixel market.
Cisco Releasing Documentation on their HD Cameras
The Cisco HD cameras were announced 7 months ago at ASIS. Recently, they released their 84 page User's Guide.
Also, a price check on the 4300 model on Google shopping reveals the current online price is about $1100, $300 less than it was a few months ago. Compare to the Axis Q1755 whose online price is about $1500.
Cernium Expanding into QSRs
A new job posting by Cernium indicates that they will be selling their new Archerfish video analytics appliance to Quick Serve Restaurants. They are looking to close franchise agreements with large fast food companies like McDonald's and Subway.
QSRs are well known for being cost conscious on video surveillance so it will be interesting to see how Cernium builds their value proposition. The early marketing around Archerfish was about homeowners/small business people getting alerts when they are away. See an interview with Cernium's CEO where he indicates current pricing is $1495 for a 4 channel analytic appliance with 2 cameras.
Will this appliance become a DVR? I think it is going to have to if they are to sell in the competitive QSR market.
Reviewing 3xLogic's Product Offering
3xLogic tells me they are growing quickly and given their product lineup and pricing, I believe them. They used to be an OEM (CSI Technologies) and in the last year or so, they have begun marketing under their own brand.
3xLogic manufacturers hybrid DVR appliances that support a broad range of megapixel cameras and PoS interfaces plus offers their own CODEC to reduce the bandwidth and storage costs of megapixel cameras. See a list of 10 points they consider differentiators. They are doing a test at a McDonald's and are displaying the use of an Arecont megapixel camera in the order area.
Pricing is very attractive. For instance, the MSRP on a 16 Channel, 480 FPS, 500 GB Video, 250GB O/S, Tower Case is $4,529. That's MSRP for a unit that's fully hybrid. Many manufacturer's dealer cost is that.
Given that they were OEMs previously and do not have a large existing analog base, they are in a strong position to offer competitive products for today's pressing needs (the migration to IP at low cost and broad camera choice) rather than stick to older offerings at higher prices.
Overview of Vicon's IP Strategy
I spoke with Vicon this week. Vicon was a powerful analog company years ago but is fairly marginalized today. It was only a brief introductory discussion but there were a few interesting points.
Vicon is selling software only in addition to appliances. They now OEM Agent Vi and S2 for analytics and access, respectively.
Vicon is giving software licenses away for free for any Vicon IP camera. This is similar to the model that Geovision, IndigoVision and Mobotix use.
I did not find any particularly strong differentiators but I was doing a deep dive. If you are interested in more investigation, let me know.
ACTi Partners with PSA
ACTi will now be distributed through the PSA, a large co-operative of 200 American integrators (total annual sales 1.7 Billion USD).
This is likely to further help ACTi's expansion in the US at a key time where traditional security integrators are looking to move to IP.
IndigoVision on the Transportation Market
IndigoVision has a new 4 page paper on the transportation market. It is a combination technology overview and series of case studies on Indigovision deployments. IndigoVision's paper have a lot of technical content so they are useful for those looking to learn more about details on IP video surveillance.
They also have a strong whitepaper section that is heavy on engineering details and light on product marketing - good for education purposes.
ADT on Retail Security
ADT has added a number of useful and interesting studies and reports on retail security topics: a discussion on 5 worldwide security trends, a whitepaper on expanding video surveillance in retail, and a report on chaos in retail advancing the use of RFID.
ADT on IP Video Surveillance
ADT has posted an article on their site validating the growth of IP video surveillance, saying that IP's time has come. Of course that sentiment is not new. What makes it interesting is that it is coming from ADT, an extremely large force in the security industry and one that many viewed as being reluctant to 'converge'. ADT notes that up until 18 months ago, IP sales were 'neglible' but are now 8-10%. They now expect it to be more than 50% within 4 years or less.
A particularly interesting dynamic will be how ADT fares in this transition. Last year, leading Security Analyst Jeff Kessler had a favorable analysis on ADT's prospects. If ADT pulls the transition off, it certainly will not be an easy one.
Update on March Network's Video Analytic Support
A few weeks ago, I referenced a whitepaper from March Networks discussing their video analytics offerings. I noted the lack of reference to their existing DVRs. They updated me that their video analytics do work with their DVRs - with certain analytics running on encoders (perimeter protection, facial detection) and others that can be run on-board the DVR itself (those include People Counting, Occupancy Detection, Area Obstruction Detection and Intelligent Scene Verification). The ones that can be run on-board make it easier and cheaper for those already or planning to use March DVRs.
Covers OnSSI, Milestone, Sony, IMS, Axis, Pelco, Basler and more. Significant market, competitive and product announcements this week. Key topics examined include:
Forecasts examined, ioimage seeks acquisitions, integrator's on economy, Milestone and more. Significant financial, competitive and product announcements this week. Key topics examined include:
Announcement
The LinkedIn group for IP Video Market Info is becoming an insider's forum for discussion and debate on industry topics. If you want to participate or ask questions for us to discuss, join the group.
New Topics Analyzed
Summary of This Week's Reports
As we examined in our newly released 2nd edition of the 2009 Video Surveillance Industry Guide, the negative pressures against the security industry continue to build. We see 4 main forces impacting the security industry – (1) massive fall in long term consumer spending because of the bubble bursting, (2) a long-term shift to lower cost products, (3) a delay in replacing existing systems and (4) an overall lower priority on anti-terrorism spending. Our theory is that these impacts will actually build and hit the security industry even harder over the next few years.
As part of this trend, we looked at the future of security trade magazines. Print publications, in general, are under pressure both by the shift to the web and the recession. I expect we are going to see fewer but more global security web publications with people from around the world collaborating and sharing information (like this US column in a European based publication).
During the boom, IT convergence was all the rage. Sensible people in the industry are now realizing the necessary future path is more assimilation than it is conquest. This week, we discussed the most common mistakes that IT people make in coming into security. Do not think of it as IT vs Security. It's better to consider and appreciate how different security is from other business units like sales, marketing, operations, etc. These differences are significant and fundamental. They result in a much different security industry requiring unique practices and tactics.
Finally, as part of our ongoing look at how convergence is changing, we debated the benefits and alternatives to video encoders. Over the last few years, out of necessity, encoders were the main tool to bring CCTV cameras into IP video systems. Now, with the ongoing maturation of hybrid systems, design options and flexibility are increasing.
Axis, Mobotix, IndigoVision, Mate, PSIM, more. Significant financial, competitive and product announcements this week. Key topics examined include:
Updates on the service:
Download the February 88 page monthly report if you have not already done so.
Significant financial, competitive and product announcements this week. Extensive 5 page analysis; Key topics examined include:
Significant financial, competitive and product announcements this week. Key topics examined include:
Two Updates on the service:
Lot of interesting things are happening this week. I have not finished the February monthly report but I will send it out tomorrow. In the interim, if you have not read the January Monthly report that's still available.
Sorry for the long report. I actually have even more topics to cover but I am not sure how much is too much. Any thoughts on length and topics, please let me know.
Covers Milestone, Axis, Envysion, Sony, American Dynamics, marketing strategies, competitive positioning and more. Examines key trends that manufacturers and integrators should be considering.
One update on the service:
The January Monthly report is still available. It's 82 pages and covers a wide range of new and noteworthy topics in the industry. Next week, the February monthly report will be released.
| Topic |
|---|
| Case Studies |
| Convergence |
| Financials |
| Hosted/Managed Video |
| IP Cameras |
| Megapixel Cameras |
| Retail |
| Standards |
| Statistics |
| Storage |
| Video Analytics |
| Video Management Systems |
| Wireless |
