HDcctv: Improved forensic evidence

The transition to IP surveillance is well under way, as a growing number of security customers manage video from PCs, tablets, and smart phones.

Customers needing HD surveillance often turn to megapixel IP cameras. But how good is the video?

The quality of both live view and playback video transmitted from MP IP cameras is severely limited by the bandwidth of the local-site IP LAN.

Now there is a new video interface for surveillance: HDcctv. HDcctv-compliant cameras deliver unadulterated HDTV signals over existing coaxial cables or low-cost Cat5e/6 cables, and HDcctv-compliant DVRs deliver highest-quality MP IP surveillance over the internet.

HDcctv is different from both analogue CCTV and from IP transmission. The three video interface technologies now available for surveillance are compared in this summary: http://bit.ly/hloVt5.

Security installers have a new opportunity to conveniently bring high-quality video evidence to the internet via HDcctv-compliant DVRs.

This is the second in a 4-part mini-series that connects the dots between HDcctv and IP surveillance.

Why do HDcctv-compliant DVRs store the highest-quality IP video?

The quality of stored video is fundamentally limited by the bandwidth between image sensor and image storage.

If the bandwidth available is less than required to transmit the native video format, then some compromise is required: reduced frame rate, reduced resolution, and/or reduced frame quality through the application of video compression techniques.

More bandwidth between sensor and disk means higher-quality video, all else being equal.

A local-site IP LAN hosting 16 MP IP cameras offers at most 1Gb/s total bandwidth, and much more commonly only 100Mb/s, to be shared among all 16 cameras and possibly other IT equipment.

By contrast, 16 HDcctv-compliant cameras deliver 100% digital video at an aggregate bandwidth of 24Gb/s.

This overwhelming 2 to 3 orders of magnitude bandwidth advantage of HDcctv corresponds to vastly superior forensic evidence as compared to MP IP cameras.

In order to keep file sizes manageable, not every DVR stores unadulterated video from all channels at all times.

However, the DVR is capable of storing vastly higher-quality images when it matters, for example per schedule or on alarm.

The internet is the greatest integration technology in history.

However, don’t fall for the myth that HD IP surveillance requires MP IP cameras. It doesn’t.

The highest-quality internet HD forensic evidence is cost-effectively served up by HDcctv-compliant DVRs.

Turn to HDcctv for high-quality, convenient, affordable MP IP surveillance

HDcctv is set to become the predominant video surveillance interface technology faster than anyone predicted.

Because it is already so easy to integrate DVRs into IP video surveillance systems, the ready availability of HDcctv-compliant DVRs is accelerating the move to MP IP video.

Many HDcctv events are planned for IFSEC, including a series of retrofit seminars. You can sign up at www.highdefcctv.org/signup.

I look forward to seeing you there!