John your 'guess' that VCA is less robust than VideoIQ is not right. Have a look at this 'side by side shootout' test video on YouTube which shows VideoIQ performing worse in demanding situations.
Many have moved from VideoIQ to VCA based products not just because of price but also that VCA is more robust and accurate.
TESTING – VCA has an extensive library of test video with scenes selected to test robustness and accuracy. In this case the foliage movement, rippling water, low contrast and stationary person scenes cause VideoIQ to false-alarm or fail to track, whereas VCA continued to operate correctly. The test method, described at the end of the video, ensured that the testing was equal, fair and repeatable. We have tested quite a few competitor products this way and so far none of them has out-performed VCA on these test clips.
VCA Technology also has i-LIDS video analytics (sterile zone) certification. Currently, this is the only fully independent video analytics test standard available in the world and it is an important question to ask a manufacturer if you are thinking of using their video analytics outdoors. i-LIDS is sponsored by the UK government but testing is open to all analytics manufacturers. (Put ‘i-LIDS testing’ into Google if you want to find out more).
Geoff Thiel, VCA Technology CEO