Ambarella Pushing These IP Camera Trends

By John Honovich, Published on Apr 13, 2016

Will the market soon be ruled by H.265 and 4K Multi-sensor cameras?

Ambarella is the largest supplier of IP camera chipsets to high-end manufacturers like Avigilon, Axis, Bosch, Samsung / Hanwha, Nest and many others. What Ambarella develops and advocates often has a major impact on the future of IP cameras as manufacturers adopt Ambarella's chips and use those new features.

We met with them during ISC West 2016 to discuss their new chipsets (the S5) and what they are focusing on, including:

  • 4K Growth
  • H.265 Development
  • Greater Super Low Light
  • Multi-Imager Expansion
  • IoT Growth
  • 8K Cameras

4K Favored **** ***

********* ** ********** *** manufacturers ** *** ** chipsets *** ******* **** *** cameras. 

**** *** *** ** * security-specific ********** *** *** something *** **** **** in ********** ******** *******, unlike **, ***** ******* is.

****** ** * ******* factor *** ***** ***** in ******* *************, *** volume ** **-***** ******** outside ** *** ******** industry ** ******. * or *** ******* *** lose any **** ******* ******* over ****** ********** ** cameras, ******* ************* ** drop **** **** ******* lineups.

H.265 ********

********* ****** ******* *** *********** **** ******* *.*** encoding.

**** ********** ********* **** Ambarella ** *** ****** with *.*** *****.  ** tested ***** ******* ***** on ********* ***** (*.*** ** *.*** *******) *** ***** ***** *.*** cameras did *** ******* ********** bandwidth *********.

***, ********* ** ****** theirs **** ******* ***** bandwidth *******.

********* ** ******** ****, with ***** ***** ********, that ***** '*****' *.*** will ******* **% ********* reduction **** ******* ********** H.265. **** *** * demo ********** ****.

Low ***** ********** ************

** ******** ** ********* savings, ********* *** ******* ******** encoding ************ ** ***** of ***-***** ***********, ***** accuracy, *** ***** ******.

** ***** ** *********'* comparison *****, **** ***** their *** *** **** **** empower */*" ******* ** deliver ****** *** ***** performance **** ******* */*" imager *******. ** ****, this ***** ** *********** because ***** *** **** recent */*" ******* **** tested ***** **** ** low ***** *********** (*.*., ********* *********** */*" ****** Camera ******, ******* ****' */*" ***** Camera, ***.) **** **** **** quite ********* ******* ** the ****** ****** *** lens.

 

******* ******* ****** ****** size *** ****, ************ when ** ***** ** lenses.

IoT ****** ******* *******

** ******** ** ********* chipsets, ********* **** ******** "reference *******", ** ****** hardware ******* **** *** chip ****** ******* ** show ********* *** ** build * **** ******* with ***** *****. ************* then ***** *** ********* designs, ****** ** ******** features **** ******* */*'* or **-**** *****.

*** ***** ** ****** reference ******* **** *****, a ***** ********, *** a ******-********* ****** ******* to ** ******** ********* concept.

********

*** ******** *** ******** on-board ********* **** ** part ** *** ** and ** ******* ********.

**** **** ********* **** it ****** *** ******* competitors ** *****, **** may ** **** *** Ring ***********.

Motion ********* / ******* ******

** *** ******-********* ******, a *** ****** ******* motion, *** *** ********* chip **** ********** ****** filtering ** ****** ***** alarms. *** ****** ******* can ***** ** * very *** ***** ****, and **** ** ** instant **** **** *** PIR **** *********.

******* **** ** ~*** days *** ******* *** the ********** ** * 4 **-**** ******, **** 5 ******* *** *** worth ** *********.

** **** *****, **** and ***** **** ******* gained *********** *********. *********'* reference ****** **** ***** help ******** ***********.

S5 *** Chipset ******* ** *****-*******

** *** ****, ********* announced * *** ***-*** chip, **. *** ** *** support (*) ** *******, and ** ********* ** image ********* ** *** chipset.  

**** **** ******** *.*** ******** and ***** ******** **** the ******* ** ******* on-board ********* *** ****-*******.

*** *****-****** ****** *** been ***** ** ******* until ********.  ** **** seen **** (**** ******* *****-****** ******), ******** (******** ** *********** ****** Tested), ** (*** *****-****** ********* ********** to *******) *** ***** (***** ****** **** *****-****** Tested) ******* *****-****** ******, though **** **** ******* in *** *-*** *****.

*** *****-****** ****** *** seen ****** ** ******* product ************, *** *** in ******** **** **-***** analytics.  

* ** *****-****** **** did **+***, **** *** ability ** *** **** analytics ***** ** * more *********** *********** ** the *****-****** *****.

8K ***** ** ****?

*** ** ******* *** also ** ** ********** *** a ****** ******.  ** *********, 8K ******** * **** image.  ******* ***** ** expensive, ** ***** ******* for ** ***** ****** that *****, ******* ******** has ***** ***** ** at ***** **** ******* of *** ****** ******* to **** ***** *****.  

********* **** ******* ******* Avigilon ** ***** *  closed ****** **** ***** high-resolution *******, ********* ** now *********** ******** *********** to ****** ** ****-****** super **** ********** ******.

*******

********* **** **** * track ****** ** ******* IP ****** *** ******** (e.g., **, ***** ******, super low ***** ***********, *******'*, etc.). ** **** ***, they **** * ****** chance ** ** ********* for *.***, ***, *****-*******, 8K, ***.

*** **** ******** ** time. **** ******* ********* releases * **** **** not ********* **** *** cost, *** ******* *******. It ***** **** *** manufacturers ** ***** / integrate / ******** / release, ***. **** ** will **** ******* **** for ************* ** ***** a ******** **** ** offerings **** **** **** the ***** / *********** optimized *** *** **** market.

Comments (13)

Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified | 04/13/16 05:46pm

Wow, this chip still hasn't made it in a production camera yet?

H.265 IP Camera Chip Announced (Ambarella S3)

Did they give any indication what model or manufacturer might get them first and when?

Avatar

Brian Karas

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #1 | 04/14/16 09:40pm

Ambarella couldn't comment on deployments of the S3 chip. Given that it was just announced 18 months ago, when you factor in time to production and time for manufacturers to develop, test, and ship product based around a new chipset it's not surprising that it may not be incorporated into many (or any) products yet.

They are recommending the S5 chip for all new designs, though we do not know price delta between the two chips and if manufacturers would decide to leap to the S5, or if S3 will start showing up in more products soon.

Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified | In reply to Brian Karas | 04/14/16 09:52pm

...it's not surprising that it may not be incorporated into many (or any) products yet.

IMHO, 18 months is long enough that Ambarella should be shipping some chips even if the cameras themselves have not.

Though as you would be quick to point out, they may not wish, or be able to disclose this info.

Were all the 'demo' cameras just breadboarded, with no finished goods displayed?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #1 | 04/14/16 10:17pm

long enough that Ambarella should be shipping some chips even if the cameras themselves have not.

Sure, that is reasonable.

but you asked originally:

this chip still hasn't made it in a production camera yet?

So that's what we were addressing. I assumed Ambarella has shipped chips to a number of manufacturers but I also assume that not a lot are shipping right now. That said, based on historical patterns, I suspect this would ramp up in the next year.

Avatar

Luis Carmona

IPVMU Certified | 04/13/16 05:49pm

Cool article, Brian. But you have to work on your subject titles. Next time try...

Ambarella Aiming to Mercilessly Crush Competition!

Chips that can auto stitch multiple imagers would be a welcome development and offering.

Avatar

Brian Karas

IPVM | In reply to Luis Carmona | 04/14/16 09:41pm

Thanks. If I'm stuck for a headline in the future I'll make sure to reach out to you :)

Truman HW

In reply to Luis Carmona | 11/28/17 12:22pm

Heyell yeah. Each of the categories they crush... alone! Including the "Apparently Vapor-Ware" category. 

Where........ are they?   :-o  Me wants

Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified | 04/13/16 11:24pm

Customers have rightly accused Avigilon of being a closed system with their high-resolution cameras, Ambarella is now potentially allowing competitors to create an open-format super high resolution camera.

Is the image processing chip on the Avigilon HD Pro cameras today something that can't be procured by others? Is it designed by Avigilon?

Have no idea, but I always assumed it was a chipset for pro photography...

Undisclosed End User #2

04/14/16 06:28pm

A rival just popped into the news today.

Their self written TechCrunch Article

Movidius Website

Avatar

Brian Karas

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed End User #2 | 04/14/16 07:06pm

I'm not sure Movidius is a direct rival to Ambarella.

Ambarella chips handle things like encoding the data from the image sensor into a video stream.

Movidius looks more like an alternative to a DSP, that is usually downstream of the encoder chip (Ambarellas product) in the video pipeline, analyzing the image stream produced by the camera.

Ambarellas newer chips have the ability to perform some level of analytics/analysis on the encoder chip itself, eliminating the need for an external DSP (which has commonly been a Texas Instruments chip). So in some sense they could be competitors.

Undisclosed Manufacturer #4

In reply to Brian Karas | 04/15/16 02:26am

Hi Brian,

Being heavily in the mix of both those companies right now, I can tell you that they ABSOLUTELY consider each other as competitors. Ambarella even lists Movidius in the quarterly shareholder conference calls under the "threats" category. Movidius is a new software designed SoC/Image Pipeline with a ton of processing power on chip. It is going directly after Ambarella in the drone and surveillance camera space.

Avatar

Brian Karas

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #4 | 04/15/16 07:24am

Thanks for the additional detail. We will continue to watch Movidius, do you know of anyone using their chips in security cameras yet?

Undisclosed Manufacturer #3

04/15/16 01:42am

Amba S3L (4K) and S3Lm (upto 5MP) still have juice in them and I still don't see too many main stream CCTV products using S3L out there right now. Most companies using AMBA are still on S2L (correct me if I'm wrong?). I wonder whether one should skip S3 and move straight to S5 generation?

@Brian - is the H.265 HEVC implementation (achieving 128 Kbps bit rates on 1080p) for S5 significantly different than the H.265 implementation for S3? If not, will AMBA port the CODEC efficiency for S3 as well?

Read this IPVM report for free.

This article is part of IPVM's 6,584 reports, 886 tests and is only available to members. To get a one-time preview of our work, enter your work email to access the full article.

Already a member? Login here | Join now

Related Reports

Video Surveillance Trends 101 on Apr 01, 2020
This report examines major industry factors and how they could impact video...
Ambarella Speaks On Huawei, Shortages, And China on Sep 09, 2020
The Huawei Hisilicon shortage is impacting the global market, with major chip...
Mobiqam Presents Battery Powered & Quick Setup Video Surveillance on Jun 12, 2020
Mobiqam presented its battery-powered, quick setup video surveillance system...
New Products Show Fall 2020 - 25+ Manufacturers On-Demand Recordings on Sep 30, 2020
This show featured 25+ Manufacturers showcasing their latest new products....
Video Surveillance History on May 06, 2020
The video surveillance market has changed significantly since 2000, going...
AndroVideo Presents Edge AI Face Recognition Cameras on Jun 26, 2020
AndroVideo presented its AI at the edge face recognition cameras at the May...
Bosch Presents MIC 7100 Extreme PTZs on May 21, 2020
Bosch presented its MIC 7100 Extreme PTZs at the April 2020 IPVM New Products...
The Future of Metalens For Video Surveillance Cameras - MIT / UMass / Immervision on Sep 25, 2020
Panoramic cameras using 'fisheye' lens have become commonplace in video...
Hanwha Presents AI Analytics and First 8K Camera on May 11, 2020
Hanwha presented their AI Analytics and the "Industry's First 8K" camera at...
Virtual ISC West and GSX+ Exhibiting Contrasted on Sep 17, 2020
Both ISC West and ASIS GSX are going virtual this year, just weeks apart, but...
The Future of H.266 For Video Surveillance Examined on Aug 17, 2020
First H.264, now H.265, is H.266 next? H.266 was recently announced amid...
Leica Launches LIDAR / Thermal / IP Camera on Mar 04, 2020
Swiss manufacturer Leica is launching what it calls a "real-time reality...
Video Analytics Online Show 2020 - 35+ Manufacturer On-Demand Recordings on Sep 04, 2020
This show featured 35+ Video Analytics providers showcasing their latest...
Cisco Acquiring Fluidmesh on Apr 09, 2020
Cisco announced it is acquiring niche wireless manufacturer...
Longse Promoting Hikvision Partner Fullhan Chip Based Cameras on Oct 14, 2020
With Huawei HiSilicon production being shut down at TSMC, camera...

Recent Reports

Avigilon Aggressive Trade-In Program Takes Aim At Competitors on Oct 20, 2020
Avigilon has launched one of the most aggressive trade-in programs the video...
Mexico Video Surveillance Market Overview 2020 on Oct 20, 2020
Despite being neighbors, there are key differences between the U.S. and...
Dahua Revenue Grows But Profits Down, Cause Unclear on Oct 20, 2020
While Dahua's overall revenue was up more than 12% in Q3 2020, a significant...
Illegal Hikvision Fever Screening Touted In Australia, Government Investigating, Temperature References Deleted on Oct 20, 2020
The Australian government told IPVM that they are investigating a Hikvision...
Panasonic Presents i-PRO Cameras and Video Analytics on Oct 19, 2020
Panasonic presented its i-PRO X-Series cameras and AI video analytics at the...
Augmented Reality (AR) Cameras From Hikvision and Dahua Examined on Oct 19, 2020
Hikvision, Dahua, and other China companies are marketing augmented reality...
18 TB Video Surveillance Drives (WD and Seagate) on Oct 19, 2020
Both Seagate and Western Digital recently announced 18TB hard drives...
Watrix Gait Recognition Profile on Oct 16, 2020
Watrix is the world's only gait recognition surveillance provider IPVM has...
Intel Presents Edge-to-Cloud Ecosystem for Video Analytics on Oct 16, 2020
Intel presented its processors and software toolkit for computer vision at...
Microsoft Azure Presents Live Video Analytics on Oct 15, 2020
Microsoft Azure presented its Live Video Analytics offering at the September...
Worst Manufacturer Technical Support 2020 on Oct 15, 2020
4 manufacturers stood out as providing the worst technical support to ~200...
Clorox Announces, Then Pulls, Fever Camera on Oct 15, 2020
For almost one week, Clorox was marketing fever cameras. The booming...
Faulty Hikvision Fever Cam Setup at Mexico City Basilica and Cathedral on Oct 14, 2020
Donated Hikvision fever cameras (claiming screening of 1,800 people/min. with...
Directory of 211 "Fever" Camera Suppliers on Oct 14, 2020
This directory provides a list of "Fever" scanning thermal camera providers...