IMS Research shares the hottest video surveillance trends for the year ahead. Here we abridge their projections, but give you a link at the bottom of the article if you wish more depth.
1. City Surveillance Looks to Wireless Video
City surveillance (municipalities) happen to be the fastest growing vertical market for video surveillance (e.g., HikVision, a China-based video surveillance equipment manufacturer, has been appointed general contractor on an $800 million safe city project in China.) In other regions, such as the Middle East, wireless infrastructure is used to stream video surveillance live from police vehicles to command centres. This integration between mobile and fixed locations has the potential to improve crime detection and prevention, providing more accurate intelligence to the police agencies using the technology.
So what, if anything, will slow the growth of wireless video? According to IMS Research, only the knowledge and skill set of the systems integrators is holding back the growth in wireless video surveillance. If you can grow your skill set, the business is there.
2. HDcctv Joins the Fray in 2011
The HDcctv Alliance was formed in 2009 to develop and manage the definition of an open standard for the transmission of HDcctv using industry standard coaxial cable. HDcctv technology is built upon the HD-SDI standard pioneered in the pro broadcast market.
In terms of sales, 2010 was a muted year for HDcctv branded products due to low product availability. However, IMS Research predicts that HDcctv will be a strong trend impacting the video surveillance market in 2011 as vendors begin to release HDcctv compliant products.
3.The Mist Clears on Cloud Based Video Surveillance
The hype around Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) or cloud based video surveillance is not unfounded: the recurring monthly revenue business model is very attractive to telcos/ISPs, central monitoring stations and installer/integrators. The ability to achieve remote redundancy of video data, true ‘plug n’ play’ installation, remote access to the video, and a lower cost video surveillance system are all factors that will encourage this market to grow.
Looking ahead to 2011, certain applications of VSaaS are more likely to take off than others. The most successful will be customers with multiple sites that each require (four or less) cameras. These niche applications include mobile phone masts, chains of small retail shops, oil rigs and electricity sub-stations. The cost of installing hundreds (if not thousands) of traditional DVR systems across multiple sites can be reduced by having a VSaaS solution.
An increasing number of VSaaS providers offer the following services integrated with their solution: energy management, point of sale (POS), video analytics, home automation and access control. The belief is that end-users will be more likely to adopt a solution with a strong value-add, rather than just a video surveillance or security application, particularly if cost is the primary decision factor.
For the time being, niche applications will have the greatest initial traction.
4. Video Analytics: To Security & Beyond
The VCA market is far from the potential predicted a few years back and many have found the last two years tough. So where is the new potential for VCA?
IMS Research predicts 2011 will be the year that VCA looks beyond security.Visually intelligent devices is the name used to describe the use of video analytics in market such as automotive, defence, medical, consumer and digital signage. For example, in digital signage, video analytics can recognise certain personal characteristics to provide a more targeted advert.
5. From HD to 3D
In the consumer and professional broadcast space, 3D technology gained increasing acceptance and mindshare during 2010, and recently IMS Research observed a number of examples of 3D technology beginning to penetrate the video surveillance market.
The key benefit that 3D offers is depth perception. The extra dimension of depth could pave the way for more accurate and more advanced analytics algorithms. One prime example is the distinction between flat and non-flat objects; confusion between shadows and solid bodies could be significantly reduced via the introduction of a depth dimension.
IMS Research does not believe that 3D technology will gain mass acceptance amongst vendors or end-users in the security industry in 2011. The high price of 3D displays, the high cost of cameras, the initial lack of vendor support and technological conservatism inherent within the security industry will all be limiting factors. 2011 will herald a start as manufacturers will begin to experiment with 3D and begin to plan 3D into their technology roadmaps.
6. 2011: The Tipping Point for Network Video
When are sales of network video surveillance products going to outstrip sales of analogue video surveillance products?
At a global level, the tipping point isn’t forecast to happen until 2015. However, this picture changes as you drill down – the tipping point is 2013 in the Americas and 2012 in EMEA. Peeling back the layers still further can be even more revealing. The Middle East market has already tipped, and the Russian market is forecast to tip in 2011.
Globally, the airport, port and utilities sectors are all forecast to tip in 2012; but education is the real leader, with the tipping point having already occurred this year. The real laggards are the retail, commercial and banking & finance sectors.
7. The Commercial Thermal Surveillance Market Begins to Heat Up
The use of thermal security cameras in surveillance applications is not a new phenomenon but applications have been costly and beyond the reach of most security customers.
The commercial thermal security camera market will expand rapidly in 2011 as an increasing number of vendors begin to offer “affordable” thermal cameras to existing customer bases. Looking beyond 2011, prices of commercial thermal cameras could quickly reduce (due to increasing economies of scale and advancements in lens technology that reduce the current dependence on germanium, a significant cost element in thermal cameras).
8. Looking Into the High Definition Crystal Ball
2010 may have been HD ready, but how fast did the network video surveillance market move towards higher resolution cameras? 2010 certainly saw significant growth in the number of HD and megapixel network security cameras shipped; however, standard definition network camera shipments still outsold their higher resolution counterparts at a factor of four to one.
HD and megapixel cameras are forecast to represent nearly 30% of network security camera shipments in 2011. Going forward, IMS Research forecasts an increasing proportion of high resolution security cameras will be HD rather than megapixel types.
The requirement for high resolution cameras is increasing and HD has emerged as the resolution sweet spot. HD offers increased resolution but not to the extreme level where the cost of storage and bandwidth becomes unmanageable. Furthermore, the preference for HD in the consumer electronics space has driven the demand for HD in the video surveillance market.
At what point will the tipping point occur when a larger number of HD network security cameras are sold than standard definition network cameras? IMS Research forecasts that by 2015, over 60% of network security cameras shipped will be HD and megapixel resolution.