Staying in Focus

IP camera features make video surveillance a force to be reckoned with

• By Guy Shahmoon
• Sep 01, 2008

As video surveillance becomes a more pervasive and mission-critical operation, enterprises need powerful, scalable security solutions that can grow with their businesses. Video cameras are just one piece of the puzzle. They are, in fact, the eyes of any surveillance operation. Analog cameras serve up high-quality images and come in an array of sizes and shapes. But the drive to cut costs and digitize operations is fueling the proliferation of IP cameras.

According to 2006 U.S. & Worldwide Video Surveillance Market, published by analyst firm J.P. Freeman, U.S. sales of IP cameras are projected to reach $1.17 billion by 2010, up from $229 million in 2007. Meanwhile, analog camera sales are expected to decline from $665 million in 2007 to $432 million in 2010.

IP cameras make sense for many businesses expanding their security operations— they require less cabling, dovetail with existing IT systems and afford almost unlimited scalability—but there are several factors to consider before deploying these devices. Do they deliver high-quality images without overloading the network? Do they integrate with your video management software? Do they offer analytics at the edge? Are they easy to install, user-friendly and reliable? Answers to those questions can help an organization determine the total cost of ownership associated with a particular IP camera.

Smart Cameras
As enterprises become increasingly global, networks become more spread out. The result is more intelligence being built into edge devices and tighter integration between IP cameras and video management software, which “talks” to videosystem devices.

For the most part, a camera can only be as smart as the software with which it interacts. A noteworthy IP camera not only runs software of its own but also communicates effectively with featurerich video management software.

Integration between the camera and management application is key. It simplifies setup and affords scalability, allowing a user to configure multiple cameras from a single screen and with an easy-touse interface. Tight integration between the edge device and management software also allows the functionality of the IP camera to be leveraged effectively.

Powerful on-camera applications further enhance a video surveillance solution. With analytics, a camera that can intelligently detect events—someone scaling a wall or a group of people entering a store—can save time, resources, bandwidth and storage. By analyzing video at its origin, only relevant footage is transferred to authorized personnel. On-board analytics result in less time wasted viewing footage, fewer security staffers required to monitor a security system, less data flowing through IP network pipes and less video taking up valuable space on storage devices. On the back end, fewer servers are needed to analyze video.

In addition, analytics can help an enterprise monitor and maintain its video equipment. Camera-tampering analytics, for instance, detects when a camera has been moved from its original position, when images are out of focus or whether a camera’s field of view is blocked. With a solution that uses thousands of cameras, maintaining and monitoring equipment together and from a remote location can make the difference between an efficient video-security deployment and one that is poorly managed and underused.

An Eye on Reliability
It may seem obvious to say that a device needs to be reliable, but in today’s video security environments, reliability takes on greater importance.

Because IP cameras are freestanding units that perform multiple functions, they incorporate more hardware and software than their analog cousins and there is more that can go wrong inside the cameras. For that reason, a low-end IP camera may yield a lower mean time between failures, requiring more maintenance over time.

The bottom line? An organization considering a mass deployment of IP cameras needs to choose a device that can be easily installed and maintained.

IP cameras with PoE cut installation costs by reducing cabling requirements because both data and power flow through the same standard Cat-5 network cable, with power drawn from the PoE-capable Ethernet switch. Another feature that can pare down installation time and cost is an analog output, which allows an IP camera to be aimed and focused during installation without having to be connected to a corporate network or the Internet.

Maintenance also plays a major role in overall TCO. An IP camera that has high MTBF but can be managed and firmware-upgraded from a central location— and that has a proven track record of reliable operation in a networked environment— will require less maintenance and offer a better return on investment.

Enterprises with video surveillance operations want to spend their time and money deterring crime, raising profits and streamlining efficiencies, not running cables and troubleshooting network downtime. Many low-end IP cameras offer a low acquisition cost but a lessthan- ideal TCO. With IP cameras, as with almost anything else, you get what you pay for.

There are other IP camera features that are noteworthy. Support for interlaced and progressive scan video gives users the flexibility to play back footage on both analog and digital monitors, and security features such as SSL-based authentication ensure that only authorized users are accessing and viewing video footage.

Undoubtedly, innovation will continue to elevate the quality of IP cameras and drive their adoption in the enterprise. In such large-scale deployments, where thousands of cameras are installed, enhanced compression technology, on-board analytics, tight integration with video management software, improved reliability and ease of use can help organizations streamline operations, increase efficiency, boost their bottom lines, reduce TCO and, ultimately, make the best use of their technology investments.