This year they will start to see big competition from the far east as many manufactureres out there realize the benefits of HD SDI . IFSEC will be one the best for years as we see companies go head to head and prices be squeezed. Everfocus will need to be on their game to stay ahead of the new players out there.

Everfocus HD SDI DVR

Installation is simple , either use the existing coax or alternatively run new coaxial cables just as would have been the case with a standard analog CCTV system. Many have questioned the flexibility of CCTV over coax but in essence most HD SDI DVR s have the ability to network and be accessed remotely via mobile devices.

HD SDI cameras do vary in performance and the HDcctv alliance has made great steps in making manufacturers cameras and HD SDI dvr s compatible. This will push the technology to bigger and better things and mean HD SDI technology will rival IP HD solutions for the market share. It must be stressed that HD SDI CCTV and IP both have there place. For new build and large integrated projects IP will still be the preferred option but the bulk of existing CCTV that has traditional RG59 coaxial infrastructure HD SDI offers a simple upgrade path that will find favour with CCTV installers and end users alike.

So this is the big year for HD SDI CCTV and with HD SDI technology improving by the day it will be interesting to see where we are the same time next year

Todays blog is about the installation itself and what we found, we will be discussing remote connectivity at a later date.

DVR SPEC (Korean in origin)

Entry level full HD standalone HD SDI DVR.

H.264 main profile

1920x1080P live monitoring

support HDMI and VGA output of full HD 1920x1080P resolution

4 HD-SDI video inputs.

support HD live display and recording 720P @50FPS.

Pentaplex live ,playback, recording ,networking and backup.

Storage is a MAX of 2xHDDs.

Remote connection via iPhone , Blackberry, Android.

Advanced CMS software.

The claim that an HD SDI CCTV installation over coax is a better option for installers rather than an IP solution is simple . No learning curve and easy upgrade. We have heard several reasons why HD SDI DVR s should not be used and this is mainly down to doubts that existing cable will be good enough to support HD SDI.

So to prove the point we bought some HD SDI kit in from Korea. The price was very reasonable dispelling one of the main issues facing potential HD SDI installers in this country, that being that the cost would be prohibitive. We decided on a 4way HD SDI DVR that was able to record and display images at 720p, 12 FPS and support up to 2 terabytes of hard drive.

The HD SDI cameras were of excellent build quality and design. One was a bullet camera complete with IR and one was a vandal proof dome , again equipped with IR.

The bullet camera spec was as follows 1080P HD-SDI bullet C/W 18 IR LEDs. It had a CMOS module  and 2.8-10mm ICR megapixel lens.

The dome camera was a 1080P HD SDI vandal resistant dome camera this time with 24 IR LEDs and a 2.8-10mm ICR megapixel lens

We deliberately decided to install the RG59 coax next to mains and make our connections in chocolate block, hoping this would show up any problems that may occur during upgrades, after all if HD SDI CCTV is going to sell here in the UK then it has to work in the toughest of conditions.

The installation was simple and took lees than an hour we decided to connect the coax in choc block at first and use made up standard coax leads to connect into the recorder. This was to try to prove some of the feedback we had  about how we need to use top of the range  BNC connectors in order for HD SDI technology to work.

We switched the system on an eagerly awaited the results. The first thing we noticed on the dome camera was lots of bright specs of colour burst affecting the picture. A problem solved by shielding the choc block connections by use of the hand. We then had perfect, clear and undeniably excellent pictures from both cameras. However by removing  the hand that was acting as a shield the colour burst returned. It became apparent that on the dome camera at least a better connection was required.

The pictures though were superb, having dealt with analogue in the past this live image was refreshing and crisp but what of the recordings? It soon became clear that the recordings were not as good as we had hoped. The compression required and the 720P definition meant we lost the sharpness of the live view. Of course we expected this but it was important this was improved, so time to upgrade the connections.

We decided that one camera should have standard BNC’s  the second camera would have HDCCTV approved connectors. We ran out 90 metres of  RG59 coax on each camera to increase the cable run and made off the BNC connections accordingly. Firstly the colour burst we had experienced especially from the dome camera had gone, the image quality in live mode was now superb. We took some daytime recordings and were interested to see that as we ran the playback the quality had improved quite dramatically the only disappointment was when the image froze we seemed to get inconsistent clarity. We had read about this phenomena but we were now experiencing it. Some frozen images were excellent , others slightly blurred and disappointing. What was not disappointing though was the clarity of the playback while in motion. You could count my colleague holding up 5 fingers from 30 metres away something that would have been impossible in analogue.

So onto night time images. The dome suffered from IR reflection this was eradicated by removing  a nearby light fitting but this was something that surprised us . However once the reflection issue was solved the live picture at night were good, not stunning but very acceptable in an area that had zero light. The bullet camera though once again excelled. Great night time images captured some excellent pictures of cars passing at night though it must be mentioned the lights from the car drowned out any attempt by the camera to pick up plates that during the day had been achieved with consummate ease.

Playback at night suffered the same fate as our daytime pictures . The H.264 compression desperately trying to save hard drive space meant that although acceptable and without question far better than analogue the recorded night time images were not as good as we had hoped. It does however need to be noted that the HD SDI DVR we were testing was the entry level model and well under £800 it must be accepted that there has to be compromise in some areas of performance.

Ease of installation and set up was so simple and the kit was of excellent quality. In summary this was our first experience of installing HD SDI cameras and an HD SDI DVR and overall we were very impressed, night time images especially from the bullet camera were second to none and the night time recordings will be a huge improvement on what analogue can offer. Our first taste of HD SDI technology has shown us that HD SDI has an awful lot to offer the world of CCTV. It won’t be too long before some of the main players realize that this is the sort of image quality that many installers and end users have been seeking for some time. HD SDI has arrived, an excellent solution hugely better than analogue and not as expensive as was first predicted

HD CCTV is generally thought of as being a product that can only be delivered over a network using Megapixel IP cameras together with some sort of video management software of NVR, However now Samsung have produced an HD CCTV solution that will find much popularity with CCTV installers especially here in the UK.The capture, viewing and recording of high definition images can now be achieved with the combination of the SCB 6000 HD SDI camera and the SRD-480D HD SDI DVR. The technology built into Samsung’s new HD SDI cameras and HD SDI DVR will allow the transmission of uncompressed and non-packetized Full HD (1080P) video over analogue cabling.

Samsung have uploaded some interesting footage onto you tube this month. We are not quite sure of their agenda or whether this camera can be linked into any HD SDI product. However what it does demonstrate is that HD SDI CCTV is now being considered by even the biggest manufacturers out there.

This opens up a world of possibility for anyone involved in HD SDI DVR products or cameras mainly because of the effect mass production will do to the price. It seems that for a corporation as large as Samsung to be interested in spending large sums of money on developing an HD SDI camera of this quality very soon a whole new world of HDCCTV is going to open up. We look forward to seeing the Samsung HD SDI DVR at IFSEC 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKAp4qyXm2w&feature=youtube_gdata_player

HDCCTV is a relatively new technology only coming to prominence in 2009. The HDCCTV alliance is at the forefront of promoting HDCCTV and has worked hard to standardize the technology.

Much of the UK market place is still very much an analogue platform and HD images have so far only been achieved using IP CCTV systems. Now however HDCCTV over coax is seen by many as the way forward especially in countries where legacy coax is prominent. However as the HDCCTV technology develops UTP cable is also now able to be used. This opens up vast opportunities to installers to upgrade their customers to HD at a highly competitive and realistically affordable prices.

So HDCCTV cameras and HD SDI DVR s will soon be competing against IPCCTV to provide HD images to CCTV security systems across the UK and Europe