Most Recent Reports on IP Cameras

Testing Ikena's Video Enhancement Software on Mar 17, 2010
Driven by Hollywood sensationalism, public interest and expectations for miraclous video surveillance enhancement is common -- unrealistic and dangerous. A popular YouTube video captures the essenc...

Top 5 Reasons Analog Cameras are Easier to Install than IP on Jan 16, 2010
While IP has many advantages over analog, ease of installation is not one of them. IP cameras are far harder to install even if the installer has extensive networking expertise. And for the majorit...

Standardize Exposure Settings for IP Camera Comparisons on Dec 23, 2009
We recommend all surveillance camera comparisons be performed with standardized exposure settings to ensure fairness and eliminate 'games'. Starting immediately, we will use 1/30th and 1/8th second...

How Exposure Impacts Low Light Video Surveillance on Dec 13, 2009
Exposure, and the tricks manufacturers play with exposure, are key to accurately and fairly assessing low light performance of cameras. For instance, take these two images: The images capture t...

Are 'Hot' IP Cameras a Problem? on Nov 10, 2009
In our ongoing camera testing, many of the megapixel cameras get really hot, really fast. So hot, in fact, that it would be uncomfortable to hold the camera for more than a few seconds. The questi...

Is Hacking IP Cameras A Major Risk? on Aug 03, 2009
Fears are rising that IP cameras can and willl be hacked. At Defcon, a demonstration showed an IP camera's feed intercepted and replaced by a fraudulent video, allowing a hypothetical suspect to st...

IP Camera 2009 Mid Year Review on Jul 27, 2009
Megapixel was the most dominant trend in IP cameras over the first half of 2009. So dominant was megapixel, that not only did most manufacturers release new megapixel cameras but a new non-IP megap...

Top 5 IP Camera Problems: 2009 on Jul 12, 2009
In the last year, IP cameras have made great strides and while there are still important barriers that constrain broader use, problems are dimishing. Last year, we examined the top 5 problems of I...

Should You Buy IP Cameras Online? on Jul 05, 2009
Buying video surveillance cameras on-line is a relatively new but growing trend. Traditionally, end users bought cameras from integrators while integrators bought directly from manufacturers or thr...

How Do You Solve the Problem of Bad Surveillance Video? on Jul 01, 2009
One of the most frequent complaints by both industry outsiders and megapixel camera vendors is how bad surveillance video is. It's so bad, many would say that they would challenge the basic point o...


Most Recent Industry Updates

Features IP Video Market's analysis on IP Cameras's recent events and is only available to subscribers of the Video Surveillance Professional Service.

Selectable Power over Ethernet Classes on Feb 10, 2010
As cameras offer more options (storage, analytics, etc.), their power needs will certainly rise. This poses a problem for appropriately measuring and setting up power draw for PoE switches. Network...

Optimizing Bandwidth Consumption Through I Frame Settings on Feb 04, 2010
A blog post from Genetec offers an interesting example of lower level IP camera optimizations that can impact bandwidth utilization. Genetec claims such an optimization can lower bandwidth consumpt...

Anixter H.264 Performance Claims Examined on Dec 23, 2009
Equipment distributor Anixter's deeply flawed H.264 study reveals key issue in the use and marketing of H.264 IP cameras. In their Lab Report on H.264, they claim, "In tests with little or no motio...

The Risk of Skewed IP Camera Comparisons on Oct 12, 2009
One of the most misleading and common problems in evaluating IP cameras is drawing comparisons to less functional alternatives. This results in the evaluator saying that the IP camera is just as go...

Features and OEMs for Video Encoder / Servers on Sep 05, 2009
Encoders, often called streams in Europe or Digital Video Servers (DVS) in Asia, are an increasingly mature product offering in video surveillance. Competition based on cost and minor features is i...

Detailed IP Camera Bandwidth Calculator on Jul 30, 2009
In a July 2009 report about calculating video surveillance bandwidth, I mentioned that calculators generally suffer from not including key parameters in their calculators - making the calculat...

Challenges in Supporting 3rd Party IP Cameras on Jul 09, 2009
A few people asked about the difficulties for adding VMS support for IP cameras. A key difficulty is that there are two vendors that most IP camera manufacturers want support from - Milestone and G...

Is SVC the Next Big CODEC? on May 24, 2009
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. ...