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Consumer trends find a niche in security
- By Fredrik Nilsson
- Feb 01, 2009
Technology advances surround us: cell phones, iPods, flat-screen TVs, video games and so on. Consumers spend $700 billion every year on electronics. In response, manufacturers keep channeling enormous amounts of money into research and development to further satisfy a seemingly insatiable appetite for innovation.
Video surveillance, being a significantly smaller market of around $10 billion per year worldwide, has been repurposing many of these consumer technologies for physical security applications.
Here are a few examples of consumer electronic trends you might expect to see in the physical security video surveillance arena in the coming year:
HDTV
The success of HDTV in home entertainment will spill over into the video surveillance market in 2009 because its 16:9 aspect ratio, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, high-frame rate, exceptionally crisp images and vibrant colors are ideal for large flat-screen video monitors. In addition, the higher-resolution standard delivers the image clarity that is critical to real-time surveillance and archived video that can be used as evidence in criminal proceedings. In a few years, 1,920 x 1,080 could very well become the standard resolution on most video surveillance cameras.
H.264 COMPRESSION
Several manufacturers in the security market have already launched products supporting the new H.264 compression standard. These systems are meeting with great success because the technology gives users a choice. They can either use H.264 compression to reduce storage costs and cut overall system costs by 10 percent or more or maintain the same cost while doubling their frame rate or image resolution. In the coming year, expect to see more high-resolution video cameras taking advantage of this superior compression technology.
Wireless Bandwidth
The surveillance industry has begun reaping the benefits of higher-bandwidth capabilities in wireless technology. For instance, mesh networks, based on 802.11 technologies, are making citywide surveillance systems much more flexible and cost-efficient. With the advent of smartphone devices with large screens and 3G support—such as the Apple iPhone—users will discover that they can cost effectively monitor live surveillance video remotely.
This article originally appeared in the February 2009 issue of Network-Centric Security.
About the Author
Fredrik Nilsson, general manager for Axis Communications, oversees the company’s operations in North America. In this role, he manages all aspects of the business, including sales, marketing, business expansion and finance.