Geovision Launches Direct Cloud Offering

Add cloud, subtract integrator.

Geovision has launched myGVcloud [link no longer available], an offering that allows consumers to buy cameras and cloud services directly from Geovision. An image below from our testing:

This is certainly not the first professional manufacturer to offer a cloud service (e.g., Axis has had AVHS for more than a decade) but Geovision has made it that consumers buy directly off the Geovision myGVcloud website. Indeed, we bought a $50 720p camera and tested out the service.

Financial Overview

Relative to its Taiwan peers, Geovision has done relatively well over the past few years (compare to cut in half Everfocus). In the last 4 - 5 years, Geovision's revenue is roughly flat or just down slightly in the ~$70 million range. On the other hand, they too are clearly feeling pressure and looking for ways to grow business outside of the camera hardware race to the bottom.

Enter myGVcloud.

Summary Test

On the plus side, the pricing for the cameras and the service is relatively low / economical.

However, the limited resolution, poor image quality, poor playback, no real search, limited cloud access to SD card recordings and limited model selection makes it not that attractive.

This certainly may improve over time but, for now, we do not expect it to be a strong offering from Geovision. However, building out such an infrastructure may be important long term as the race the bottom undermines manufacturers selling traditional cameras / recorders.

Integration Competition Limit

myGVcloud is just a subset of the cameras that Geovision offers and the cloud VMS is certainly nowhere as close to the functionalities of their traditional VMS. To that end, it should not really conflict with what Geovision integrators are offering / selling today.

 

Camera Pricing

The GV-UBXC1301 sells for $50 USD online (on Amazon). This pricing is similar to Hikvision's EZVIZ 720p model, the Mini O (~$53 online), but significantly less expensive than most DIY cloud models, typically $100-150 or more, such as the Nest Cam.

Geovision offers other models, as well, including outdoor bullet (~$100), cube (~$90), and panoramic fisheye ($169/$199). This is more form factors offered by most cloud camera providers, though still limited compared to Hikvision, which includes EZVIZ/Hik-Connect capability on all Value/Value Plus cameras (including box, dome, PTZ, bullet, panoramic, etc.).

Confusing Subscription Plans

myGVcloud subscription plans are confusingly worded, as they read as offering both "Unlimited Size", but also "1 week" (or 2 weeks or 1 month), and a free "5GB storage plan (up to 30 days)" — listed as "lifetime" on the camera's Amazon listing and "1 year" on the camera's box. 

To clear this up:

• Cameras come with 5GB of cloud storage free "for life", with the storage duration hard limited to 30 days, but otherwise dependent on the size of the camera stream and frequency of motion events.
• Paid plans do not specifically limit storage, only duration. So the $8.99 USD plan, for example, stores video from one camera for 7 days, regardless of how large the camera's stream size is. 

Slight discounts are given for multiple month storage plans, as well, shown below.

Note that myGVcloud states that users require a subscription to view live and playback video, though this is included in the free 5GB "subscription" and does not require a paid plan.

Camera Setup

myGVcloud requires users to set up cameras via a desktop app (Windows or Mac), with no option to use a mobile phone for setup, unlike the vast majority of cloud cameras available. Setup was quick, scanning the local network for connected cameras, prompting to create an account, and add discovered cameras to this account. This application had no other functions.  Below is a screen shot of the setup utility.

Once added to our account, cameras were viewable via either the myGVcloud web portal or mobile app, detailed below.

myGVcloud Mobile App

Compared to most cloud camera mobile apps, the myGVcloud app is relatively simplistic. Multiple cameras may be viewed simultaneously, though only in a 2x3 layout, with no option to increase or decrease the number of panes in this view:

A single camera may be viewed, showing some additional options, such as digital zoom, snapshot, playback, and two-way audio controls.

Playback is limited to one camera, with clips simply listed chronologically, with no other search functions. Additionally, there is no export.

Web Portal Operation

The myGVcloud web portal is more limited than the mobile app for live view, as only a single camera may be viewed at once.

However, playback of cloud recordings is presented in a limited timeline, though this timeline simply displays clips' position on the timeline, and cannot be scrubbed through — the playback indicator is displayed separately. As in the mobile app, no export of cloud recordings is provided, but users may download clips from the camera's SD card.

Additionally, the web portal may be used to configure typical camera settings, such as resolution, framerate, exposure, WDR, etc. However, there is no way to manually control compression/bitrate.

Web Portal Latency

During our tests, when viewing from the cloud via the web portal, there was 7-10 second latency. However, the mobile app did not display latency nearly this high, with video only ~1-2 seconds delayed.

This latency appeared regardless of internet speed or machine configuration, as it was tested on multiple machines on varying cable and fiber connections, as well as LTE.

Image Quality

We also set the UBXC1310 Cloud Cam along with Geovision's UBX1301 and the 2542 from Hikvision in full light and low light.  Below is the full FoV in the conference room where testing was performed.

The cloud cam performed was outperformed by both the non-cloud 1301 as well as the 2542 as shown in the comparison image below.  The characters letters on the chart and facial details are both more easily identified on the UBX1301 and 2542 compared to the cloud cam.

The UBXC1301 also struggled in low light.  In the comparison below the subject is able to be detected, but details are not identifiable.  The letters on the chart are not legible.

Firmware:

• Geovision UBXC1301-0F: C1.04 2016-03-28
• Geovision UBX1301: v3.00 2015-04-23
• Hikvision DS-2CD2542FWD-IS: V5.4.3 build 160902