Ambarella CEO Admits H.265 and 4K Not Popular

By: John Honovich, Published on Sep 26, 2016

Ambarella is the main chip provider for high-end surveillance cameras driving higher resolution and new CODECs. While Ambarella has been pushing both H.265 and 4K, Ambarella's CEO now admits neither are seeing strong adoption in the West.

In this note, we examine the admission and what this means for the future of the video surveillance market.

********* ** *** **** chip ******** *** ****-*** surveillance ******* ******* ****** resolution *** *** ******. While********* *** **** ******* both *.*** *** **, *********'* *** *** admits ******* *** ****** strong ******** ** *** West.

** **** ****, ** examine *** ********* *** what **** ***** *** the ****** ** *** video ************ ******.

[***************]

H.265 *** *********

*********'* *** **** [**** no ****** *********]:

******* ***** **** [*.***] is *** ******* ** all *** ** *** royalty ******. *** ** China ** ***** ****** that **** ******** ***** well ****** ******* *** a *** ** ****** are ***** **** ** for ******* ******** ***********. So * ***** **** HEVC ********** ** ***** market ****.

**** ******** ******* / *.*** ******** fees ****, ******* **** *** fee *** $*.** ** Western ********* *** ****** and $*.** ** *****. 

** ******* *** **** issues ********* *.*** ******** *** stronger ********* ******* ********* *.***, *** ****** **** supporting / ******** *.*** streams ** *****, *** royalty ******. *** ******* rates *** *** **** significant *** *.***, *** even ** *.*** ********* were **********,  *.*** ***** delivers **** ***** *** more *********** **** **** smart *.***.

******, **** ************* *** not ******** *.*** *******, with *** ** *** * largest ************* (*********, ***** and ****) ******** ***** H.264 *** ** *.*** in *** ****. ***** a *** ****** ****** manufacturers *** ********* *.*** (most ******* *********, ******* and *******), **** ****** a ******** ******** **** limited *** *******.

4K *** *********

***** ***** *** ******** on *.***, *********'* *** said:

** ***** ** *** 4K, ***** ** **** what * ***** *** is **** *********. ** even **** ********* ** much ****** **** *********** full ** *****. ** do *** **** *** trend *** *** ************ IP ******** ****** ** to *** ****** *****, because *** **** ** get **** ********** ** you *** ** [*************] and *** ********** ********** matters *** **** *******. So ** ***** ****** a ******** ****** ******* to ****** ***** ** start ****** **** ********* become **** *******. * think ** ** **** trend. ** ** *****'* seen * ** ***** the ********** ***, *** I ** ******* **** megapixel **** **** **** could ** * ********** part.

** ****** **** *** being *** **** ****** than **, **** *** more ********. *** ****** behind **** ** **** 4MP ******* **** ** cost only ******** **** **** 1080p **** ***** ** ******* are ********* *** **** expensive. ********, **** ********* do *** ******* **** from *** ******** ** resolution **** *** ** 4K, ********** ***** ** limitations ** *** *** low *****.

*** ***/*** ** **** two ** *** **** hyped ******** ************, *.*** and **, *** ****** to ****** * ***** for * *** *****.

Ambarella's **********

**** ** *** ***** for *********, ** ********* ******* on ******* *** ******* edge ** **********, ****** that *** ***** **** adopt **. ** *** extent **** ***** ***** with ***** **********, **** computing ******* ********* ******, the **** ********* *** differentiate ******. ****** ****, Ambarella ** ********** ** GoPro's ******** (***** **** notable ********).

*******, ********* ***** ********** in *** ************ ******** market ****** ** ****** in *** **** ******:

** *** ************ ** ******** ******, ** *********** * ******* ** ******** ** *** ***** **** ** ****** **** ****, ************* **** ********* ******* ** *** ***** ******, *** ** ********** ************* ********.

** * ****-****-**** *****, overall ******** ** *** IP ******** ****** **** modestly **** ************ ******** experiencing * ***** ******* offset ** ****** ****** in *** **** ******** market.

Comments (9)

Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified | 09/26/16 02:22pm

Interesting article, thanks.

A few comments

H.265 still delivers less value and more operational cost than smart H.264.

H.265 and smart codecs are not necessarily an either/or choice, though.

But in China we start seeing that HEVC standard being well widely adopted and a lot of people are using them in for Chinese internal consumption.

What's the reason that the huge domestic Chinese market is buying h.265 when smart h.264 is available, if not for licensing?

IPVM examined the HEVC / H.265 licenses fees here, finding that the fee was $0.80 in Western countries per camera and $0.40 in China.

I believe this is only HEVC Advance's fee, there is still the MPEG LAs patent pool to contend (or risk ignoring).

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #1 | 09/26/16 03:14pm

H.265 and smart codecs are not necessarily an either/or choice, though.

Sure, but once you go to H.265, you need to worry about VMS support and increased client decoding demands. With smart H.264, neither of these are concerns, as you know. Plus, since smart H.264 already massively decreases bandwidth consumption, the incremental savings for smart H.265 are not as meaningful.

What's the reason that the huge domestic Chinese market is buying h.265 when smart h.264 is available, if not for licensing?

Neither of us are experts in the local Chinese market but a few things insiders there have told us:

  • H.265 helps differentiate / block out smaller competitors, so the larger Chinese companies can push major buyers to require it, reducing competition from rivals who can not as quickly / easily obtain H.265
  • The greater prevalence of end-to-end solutions (i.e., cameras and recorders from same manufacturer) reduces the concern of VMSes not supporting it, which is still an issue in the Western open VMS market

Undisclosed Manufacturer #2

In reply to John Honovich | 09/28/16 11:08am

> Plus, since smart H.264 already massively decreases bandwidth consumption, the incremental savings for smart H.265 are not as meaningful.

True, the bitrate drop from "dumb" to "smart" is big for low-complexity scenes for both Smart H.265 and H.264. H.265 has further I-frame reduction that will be handy but most likely not as big a drop as smart vs. dumb in general.

However, in more complex scenes (e.g. subway station, PTZ camera) Smart H.265 could bring meaningful bandwidth savings over Smart H.264. With increasing complexity the difference between Smart H.264 and Smart H.265 will likely move toward the inherent technology advantage of H.265 vs H.264 of ~40-50%. There is no magic here and one can expect the Chinese guys to show this in their promotion.

Most smarts are adaptions to more strongly filter out non-moving areas and IPVM showed that a big Smart H.264 saving comes from increasing the GOP size. This works well for mostly static scenes, but not for scenes with much motion, and many VMSes don't seem to like it and expect one I-frame every second or so.

Hey, that maybe in your next codec test round with Smart H.265 cameras you can test with a busy scene as well.

Jiang Chengyuan

09/28/16 08:40am

What if Smart H.265 can reduce another half bandwidth consumption, will it be competitive?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Jiang Chengyuan | 09/28/16 10:32am

What if Smart H.265 can reduce another half bandwidth consumption, will it be competitive?

It can be competitive if enough VMSes adopt H.265 and the cost / complexity to decode is not too high. Unfortunately, the former is going to take some time to resolve and the latter will likely be an issue for a long time.

Avatar

Jon Dillabaugh

Pro Focus LLC
09/28/16 02:14pm

Is the Chinese adoption of HVEC possibly due to the lower adoption of western VMS products? This is just my interpretation of how I assume Chinese end users connect their IP cams, more to NVRs than VMS servers. So, if that is true, then it is easier to adopt HVEC, because the IP cam and NVR are the same brand. Where in the USA, it seems that we are more likely to use a VMS server.

Please correct me if my assumptions are wrong.

Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified | In reply to Jon Dillabaugh | 09/28/16 03:54pm

I think you're right about dvr/nvrs.

On the other hand, Milestone, Genetec and Aaxon are supporting h.265.

Still, its somewhat illusory because these are direct drivers written for particular models, so camera coverage is likely to be inconsistent and arbitrary for some time.

Now, if we had an even a draft ONVIF Profile specification for h.265, maybe things would be better, since a single driver could cover a multitude of cameras, but...

Related: Hello H.265, Goodbye ONVIF?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #1 | 09/28/16 05:05pm

On the other hand, Milestone, Genetec and Aaxon are supporting h.265.

No.

Milestone will support it shortly, but not yet. And also only for most expensive versions.

Genetec supports it generally but there are still issues with specific cameras, e.g., we have the new Samsung H.265 cameras but they do not work currently with Genetec.

Finally, as you know, since ONVIF does not support H.265, you have to use RTSP (with the limitations of that) or do a proprietary integration which limits cameras supported and increases cost / barriers to support.

Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified | In reply to John Honovich | 09/28/16 05:53pm

No.

Right, no Milestone til next quarter. Thanks.

Genetec supports it generally but there are still issues with specific cameras, e.g., we have the new Samsung H.265 cameras but they do not work currently with Genetec.

Finally, as you know, since ONVIF does not support H.265, you have to use RTSP (with the limitations of that) or do a proprietary integration which limits cameras supported and increases cost / barriers to support.

Yes, I do know, as I said:

Still, its somewhat illusory because these are direct drivers written for particular models, so camera coverage is likely to be inconsistent and arbitrary for some time.

Now, if we had an even a draft ONVIF Profile specification for h.265, maybe things would be better, since a single driver could cover a multitude of cameras, but...

Login to read this IPVM report.

Related Reports

Cisco Video Surveillance Is Dead, Long Live Cisco Meraki Video Surveillance on Feb 11, 2020
A dozen years ago much of the industry thought that Cisco was destined to...
Cisco Acquiring Fluidmesh on Apr 09, 2020
Cisco announced it is acquiring niche wireless manufacturer...
Fever Camera Sales From Integrators Surveyed on Jun 01, 2020
Fever cameras are the hottest trend in video surveillance currently but how...
TVT / InVid White Light Camera Tested Vs Hikvision ColorVu on Mar 18, 2020
With mega China manufacturers Dahua and Hikvision facing both bans and human...
Sunell Panda Cam Body Temperature Measurement Camera Tested on May 14, 2020
Sunell is far less well known than its gargantuan domestic competitors Dahua...
Hikvision Global News Reports Directory on Jun 18, 2020
Hikvision has received the most global news reporting of any video...
Colombia's President Promotes Bad Hikvision Fever Camera Setup on Jun 17, 2020
Colombia's President Iván Duque has promoted a haphazard Hikvision fever...
Video Surveillance History on May 06, 2020
The video surveillance market has changed significantly since 2000, going...
The Booming Multi-Billion Coronavirus Fever Camera Market on Apr 21, 2020
The market for elevated body temperature detection cameras, aka 'coronavirus...
Facial Recognition: Weak Sales, Anti Regulation, No Favorite, Says Security Integrators on Jul 07, 2020
While facial recognition has gained greater prominence, a new IPVM study of...
Sony Launches AI Camera Sensors on May 18, 2020
Weeks after exiting the branded video surveillance business, Sony is making a...
Latest London Police Facial Recognition Suffers Serious Issues on Feb 24, 2020
On February 20, IPVM visited another live face rec deployment by London...
Video Analytics 101 on Mar 16, 2020
This guide teaches the fundamentals of video surveillance...
Coronavirus Hits Manufacturers, Standing Now, Worse To Come on Apr 06, 2020
Coronavirus is hitting security manufacturers, though overall modestly for...
Mobotix Thermal Detection Camera Tested on Jun 09, 2020
For years Mobotix has struggled but now sales are surging driven by Mobotix's...

Recent Reports

Huawei HiSilicon Shortage Impacts Surveillance Manufacturers on Aug 14, 2020
Huawei acknowledged problems and challenges for its HiSilicon chip business,...
Final Rule Does Not Expand Hikvision Dahua Blacklist on Aug 14, 2020
The final White House rule (200.216) has been added and contrary to the...
Taiwan Lilin NDAA Compliant Cameras Tested on Aug 13, 2020
Taiwan-based manufacturer Lilin is taking direct aim at Dahua and Hikvision...
White House Expands Dahua Hikvision Blacklist To Federal Funding [Final Rule Reverses] on Aug 13, 2020
The White House is expanding the NDAA to blacklist anyone who "uses" banned...
Actual Coronavirus Testing Options Examined on Aug 13, 2020
Fever cameras have emerged as an indirect and flawed way to test for...
Video Analytics Online Show September 2020 Opened - Axis, Avigilon, Bosch, BriefCam, Genetec, Milestone + 30 More on Aug 12, 2020
IPVM's sixth online show will feature 35+ Video Analytics companies...
The German Company Powering Many China Temperature Tablets (Heimann) on Aug 12, 2020
Many fever tablet suppliers market German-made Heimann thermal sensors while...
Salesforce Drops Dahua and Hikvision on Aug 12, 2020
Salesforce has dropped Dahua and Hikvision as customers, forcing the two mega...
Access Control Course Fall 2020 - Register Now on Aug 12, 2020
IPVM offers the most comprehensive access control course in the industry....
Genetec CEO Declares "We Don't Negotiate Payment With Patent Trolls" on Aug 11, 2020
Are patent trolls like terrorists? Genetec's CEO is coming out strongly...
Hanwha AI Analytics Camera Tested on Aug 11, 2020
Hanwha has released their Wisenet P AI camera, adding person and vehicle...
Alabama Schools Million Dollar Hikvision Fever Camera Deal on Aug 11, 2020
The Baldwin County, Alabama public schools purchased a $1 million, 144-camera...
Dahua Taunts Australian Government, Continues To Sell Illegal Fever Cameras on Aug 10, 2020
Dahua is effectively taunting the Australian government by continuing to sell...
HID Releases VertX Replacement Aero on Aug 10, 2020
HID is replacing two established and broadly supported types of access...
NDAA Compliant Video Surveillance Whitelist on Aug 10, 2020
This report aggregates video surveillance products that manufacturers have...