Favorite IP Camera Manufacturers 2014

Author: John Honovich, Published on Feb 10, 2014

With the worst manufacturers identified, we now turn to the favorite IP camera manufacturers of our 2014 integrator survey.

120 integrators from 20 countries answered the following open ended question:

24 manufacturers received votes with 10 standing out.

A few important themes emerged in the integrator's explanations (in no particular order):

  • Image / Video Quality
  • Stability / Reliability
  • Product Line Breadth
  • Low Cost for Solid Quality

Since our last edition in 2011, the top 10 favorites have changed significantly, with 3 of the biggest brands falling down, being surpassed by newer entrants.

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[********:** *********** *********** ** ******* *** *** **** *********, ********* ***** *******.]

Axis ******* ** ********** ****

****** ****, **** ********, *** ** *** **** ********* *****, ********* 5x *** ****** ** ********* ** *** ***** ************ *** roughly **% ** *** **********.

*** **** ******* ******** *** **** - **** *********** *** broad *******, **** ******* **** **:

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  • "******* ******* *** ***** ***** *****", "******* ** *********** ***** light ******", "*** ***** ******* **** ** ****", "***** ******* in **** ** **** ***********" *** "**** ******* *******."

**** ** ****, **** ***** *******, ** *** *******, *** just *******. ** ****, ******* ****** **** *********** *** **** WDR ********. *******, ** *** **** ****, **** ****** **** caught ** ** ***** *******.

**** **** ********** *******

**** ***********, **** ******** **** ** * ********, ***** **** as * *******, **** **** ** **** ****. *** *******:

  • "** **** **** ** *** **** ** *** *******", "** cannot ****** *** **** ******* ***** *******" *** "** *** prices ***'* **** *** **** **** ****, * ****** **** will **** *********** ****** *****. ********* ** ******** **..****."

High ***** / *** ***** ************

"******" ***** ***** ** ** ** ********** ***** ** *********** favoriting *** *****, *** '*******', **** ****, *** ******* ***** / ****** ****. **** *** *** **** ****** ** ********** responses **** ****, ********** *** **** ****** *** ***** *** brands **** ******. ******** ********:

  • "****: *******; *******: ******* *** *****", **** **** "******* *** Hikvision: ******* **** ******, ****** *****, ****** *******", "** ****** always *** **** ******* ***** ******* *** **** ****, ** we **** *** ****, ********* (***** ********** ******* ****** ***** for **** *****)"
  • "*** ******** ** *** ** ***** ******* ** ***** **** although *** ***** ** ******* *** ** *** ********'* ****** so ** ** *** **** ****. ******** ** *** ** price ** ********* *** ***** ***** ******* ** ****** ** better ******** ** ***** ******."
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Avigilon *****

******** ******, ******* *******, ********* *** ****, ***** ********* **** were **** ** ***** ** **** **** ****. ******** *********** were *** **** ****** ** **** ******* **** *** ** other *************. ******** ********:

  • "********** ******* ******** ** **** *** ****** *** **** ** setup **** **** ******* *****."
  • "********** *** **** *******. **** **** ** ********* *** ********* network ********."
  • "**** ** ***, *********, *** ******* *******."

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Sony ***** *****

***** **** *** **** ********** **** *** **** ******, **** still *** ******* ******* ***** *********** **** *** **** ****** refrain ***** ***** ***** *******:

  • "*** ******** ** *** ** ***** *******"
  • "***** ******* *******/*******"
  • "**** *** *** ******** ** *****"

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Vivotek *** ********* *****

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Arecont ********

***** ***** ******* ** *** **** ***** *** ***** **********, Arecont **** **** *** * ******* ** ********** ** **********'* favorite, **** ******** *********:

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  • "*** **** *** "*******" **** ****" *** "***** ** ********"
  • "**** **** **** ********* **** ******* *** *******; ***** ***** of ********** *******; ** **** *** ** *********** ******"

Panasonic *** ******* ****

***** **** ********* *** * *** ********** **** ****, **** were ******* **** **** ****.

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Pelco - ***

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Comments (28)

John Honovich

IPVM | 02/10/14 09:46pm

Note: Thread deleted as it misunderstood this report to be a discussion asking people who their individual favorite was.

Questions on the survey results are welcome.

Carl Gelbart

In reply to John Honovich | 02/10/14 09:54pm

Thanks

Undisclosed Integrator #1

02/11/14 05:03am

How did Speco do? I hear there 02 series is improving?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1 | 02/11/14 05:11am

No votes for Speco. That said, Speco is more of "I don't know surveillance, I like to shop the discount bin at ADI" brand.

The only thing I have ever heard people be really interested in Speco is their 'Intensifier' line but that appears to be little more than sens up tricks.

From what we see in these results, knowledgeable integrators go directly for budgets brands (like Vivotek, Hikvision) or for higher quality offerings (Axis, Avigilon, Sony). Speco is neither but it is a known 'trusted' commodity for those who do not know much about surveillance. I'd be curious to hear from others with opposing experiences / viewpoints.

Undisclosed #2

02/11/14 05:43am

Speaking of ADi's discount bin, I see them advertise bundles with FLIR cameras at ADI on several occasions. Having seen their products at trade shows like ASIS and ISC they make some very impressive thermal cameras, and they are a large company, I heard #2 in surveillance camera revenue. Have you seen anyone on the survey respond that uses FLIR cameras?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 02/11/14 05:49am

FLIR is a weird beat. There's 'real' FLIR, which is the thermal camera business. And then's there Lorex / FLIR which is the DIY / SMB focused manufacturer they acquired recently. Lorex was a decent size company at $75 million. Traditional FLIR thermal camera revenue may be high, but that's skewed by how high their average selling price per unit is ($10,000 per, maybe more).

No one mentioned them but that's clearly because FLIR is either / both a niche thermal offering or a low end / not heavily differentiated brand for professionals.

Btw, FLIR recently released its first new consumer surveillance camera which has potential.

Undisclosed #3

In reply to John Honovich | 02/11/14 12:20pm

"how high their average selling price per unit is ($10,000 per, maybe more)."

FYI, I think it's probably closer to $6,000USD now. With their FC-series cameras the street price of a typical FLIR camera has dropped significantly. Some can be had for under $4,000 (FC-345) if I'm not mistaken.

However, you probably didn't see them mentioned because even for integrators that focus on critical infrastructure I doubt that thermal channels make up a majority of their business. The Lorex/Digimerge brands are... interesting... but I don't think they've had enough volume with those brands yet to really be thoroughly stuck in peoples head when they think about cameras.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #3 | 02/11/14 04:13pm

But they also sell PT thermals, cooled thermals, etc. which routinely go for far more.

In any event, whether it's $6,000 or $10,000, that is a lot higher selling point than the average IP camera manufacturer who is likely about 1/10th that amount.

Jeffery Cranfield

02/11/14 02:11pm

Any votes for IQEye?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Jeffery Cranfield | 02/11/14 04:19pm

One vote. The challenge for IQinVision is that they lost a lot of ground after their management shakeup and have not really recovered in the marketplace.

Dick Green

02/11/14 03:11pm

John, given the recent introduction of Samsung's new WiseNet III chipset, I'm surprised that Samsung wasn't mentioned in the report one way or another. Or was the response just too low on this brand? And yes, I'm a Samsung rep. Just curious as to their perceived position.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Dick Green | 02/11/14 04:17pm

I believe Samsung and ACTi are on their way up but the big improvements that both companies have made have been in the last 6 months or so. That's too soon to get many integrators to switch, choose a new favorite etc.

Samsung got one vote and the integrator had a sensible position here - "Samsung. Many - if not most - of my favorite Sony features at half the price."

References - Samsung WiseNet III test, ACTi 5MP panoramic test, ACTi 10MP dome test.

Alain Bolduc

02/11/14 05:59pm

John - From what you provided already, it seems clear enough how the respondents are leaning. To get a better sense for the results, some additional details about the general responses might be interesting, given that Axis was preferred by such a wide margin.

You gave some good examples already, but what comes to mind is:

Out of the 120 repondents, how many/what percentage identified and commented about more than one manufacturer?

For those who did, what was the rationale, since the original question was asking them to identify their FAVORITE manufacturer? Was there any kind of pattern in the responses, like "I prefer manufacturer A for these types of situations/applications, but for more common applications, I'll go with manufacturer B because..." or something else?

Alain Bolduc

In reply to Alain Bolduc | 02/11/14 07:34pm

I should rephrase that second question since you've already covered the quality/price trade-off:

"I prefer manufacturer A for these types of situations/applications, but for more common these other applications, I'll go with manufacturer B because..."

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Alain Bolduc | 02/11/14 07:42pm

About 1/4th mentioned more than 1 manufacturer. Of those, about half of them cited price as the driving factor in citing multiple lines.

Mohammad salimzadeh

02/12/14 04:44am

we are ACTi exclusive distributer in Iran, i like to know every detail information and feedbacks you have about it. negative votes and positive votes. also is there any comparisson file between ACTi and other brands based on quality issue and performances?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Mohammad salimzadeh | 02/12/14 05:00am

Mohammad,

The negatives are in the worst IP camera report - mainly quality/reliability problems. As a distributor, you would know better than I how many issues there are currently.

On the positive votes, there were only a handful of which there two detailed comments: (1) "ACTi for MP/$. New low cost lines provide cost benefits." and (2) "wide range of low -end and high end products."

Those comments reflect what we have seen as well - in the past year, ACTi radically expanded its product portfolio and the new stuff is very expensive and has unusually high megapixels.

A few years ago, ACTi really lost its way, especially with the wacky 4MP line. Now, I think they are on the way up. One thing I think they are doing well is focusing on higher MP. Though it's debatable how valuable 5MP and 10MP are, it's a good differentiator against the super low cost Chinese offerings that are gaining ground.

We have 2 recent tests on ACTi cameras - 5MP panoramic, and 10MP minidome.

Neil Patel

02/12/14 10:56am

Hi John was there a mention of D-Link in any of the responses?

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Neil Patel | 02/12/14 01:35pm

No. Where D-Link is strongest (consumer / SMB) does not overlap where integrators in this survey focus (professional / commercial / industrial). Also, the D-Link professional surveillance line does not stand out (not highest end features, nor lowest cost).

Undisclosed Integrator #4

02/13/14 02:04pm

So with all this intel, dont you have a ranking grid with percentages? It would be good to see that in addition to a narritive form.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #4 | 02/13/14 03:47pm

I purposely did not include a grid / table / chart because I want people to focus on the specific issues / drivers than on a reductionistic image that will surely be misused by sales people to 'prove' that they are better than their competitors.

Undisclosed #5

In reply to John Honovich | 05/13/14 01:33pm

What I like the most of IPVM is the lab-testing and the analysis from people below each article.

Thumbnail img 0051

CAPTAIN RAVINDER REDDY

12/16/14 11:20am

John

May I request you to please let me know the ranking of DvTel cameras and their VMS.

Regards

Capt Ravinder Reddy

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to CAPTAIN RAVINDER REDDY | 12/16/14 12:30pm

No mentions on the camera side. 2 mentions on the VMS side, far from being ranked on either side.

DVTel is a VMS developer but not historically a real IP camera manufacturer (though they are trying to change that).

Undisclosed #6

12/29/14 04:42pm

What about "VANGOLD" company ? are they good

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #6 | 12/29/14 05:05pm

I have never heard of Vangold.

From looking at their website, they appear to be one of the hundreds of me-too Shenzhen manufacturers.

Tamer Mussa

IPVMU Certified | 12/29/14 05:10pm

Thank you for your concern .

If I'am looking for a good company in china to be their distributer ,what should I look for ? what is your advice?

Tamer Mussa

IPVMU Certified | 12/29/14 05:28pm

Aslo I heard that they are OEM of Dahua ...is that right ? and how I can be an OEM for a good vendor .

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