Scaling New ‘Highs' in Security? Not So Fast…

More to Transmit
Growing demand for IP-enabled products can also be seen in peripherals. Enclosure providers such as Videotec and Unitechno have made PoE available in their IP68-rated products, powering up network cameras, IR LEDs, fans and heaters in challenging environments. PoE-enabled wireless access points and nodes are available from EtherWAN, but their practicality in real life — where wired LANs are already in place — remains unknown.

But bandwidth requirements are dropping, with efficient compression schemes reducing the size of images and

Ed Strong, Director of Marketing at Western Digital

new technology providing more bandwidth, said Fan Look, VP of North Asia, Axis Communications. "In the beginning, we had M-JPEG and 10-Mbps pipes; now, we have H.264 and 1-Gbps pipes."

Transmission Distance
For HD streaming over coaxial or HD-SDI cables, transmission distance is another limitation, requiring a repeater at least every 100 to 150 meters. While this is not an issue for indoor applications, HD uptake is limited by distance.

The distance bottleneck could be overcome by converting coaxial signals to fiber, said Johnny Dou, Overseas Sales Representative, TVT Digital Technology. HDcctv quad splitters and accessories are able to reach 120 meters for 1,080p resolution, while 720p images can be transmitted 200 meters, said Su Tai, Sales and Marketing for GoMax Electronics. To be a member of the HDcctv Alliance, the minimum is 150 meters.

For full-HD hybrid storage, SLOC also increases transmission distance up to 500 meters, said Iris Yoon, GM of Business Development, Pinetron.

Wireless
Network cameras run natively on IP, so wireless transmission is possible over Wi-Fi, WiMAX and 3-G, said Ebony Huang, President and CEO, Brickcom.

However, the non-IP nature of HD-SDI requires converting the signal, as well as increased bandwidth. "For high throughput, 2 Mbps used to be enough, but now HD and megapixel pushes bandwidth requirements up to 5 or 6 Mbps," said Jeremy Koh, Regional Sales Manager for APAC, Firetide.