Hikvision Launches 5MP Analog Turbo HD 3.0

Btw, Hiks recorder may not be 4K input but TVI 3.0 is:

Techpoint brings the next generation of HD-TVI technology to you with HD-TVI 3.0! Now HD-TVI 3.0 supports up to 8 Megapixel or 4K resolution video while maintaining reliable distance performances of over 500 Meter on a copper core 3C-2V coaxial cable. Now HD-TVI 3.0 DVRs are now even compatible with other popular HD analog standards!

I find this whole HD-over-coax trend interesting.

Personally, my main beef is that I hate coax cables.

If I'm designing or recommending a system, I *really* prefer twisted-pair/Cat5e/6 cabling. Note that I'm just talking about building a cable-plant with future flexibility, not specifically related to just video.

Benefits of Twisted Pair (to me):

• Consistent jacks and plugs. No debate over BNC or F-Connector
• Jacks are flush with wall plates, no protrusions
• No debate on cable type (50 ohm/75 ohm, solid center conductor or plated, quad shield? etc.)
• More versatility - a CatX cable can be "hacked" to carry power more easily, multiple signals, etc. Not that I recommend this, but it's a nice benefit in a pinch
• Balanced-signal of twisted pair tends to be more noise-immune
• Typically smaller cable diameter adds up in large bundles

The one major benefit of coax that I see is that it tends to get longer distances than twisted-pair Ethernet.

IP is clearly the winner in terms of carrying data from the server to the client device, especially for tablets and mobile phones. Customers routinely expect ready access to video, they don't want to have to walk over to a DVR with a monitor attached all the time.

I also think IP is the winner in terms of the signal input to the NVR for most systems. It's easier in most cases, and eliminates the need for funky capture cards.

So, I think the real part of the system up for debate is basically the link between the image sensor and the H.264 (or H.265)/IP encoder. IP cameras do the encoding in the camera, and everything comes out IP. HD-coax cameras convert to IP through an NVR mostly, and that NVR also acts as a budget recorder/interface.

Part of me wonders if this is what Hik and Dahua might be trying to figure out. Should they make some kind of "encoder" that has an almost disposable user interface with ability to support an HDD for low-end systems, and then that same device would be the IP encoder for higher-end systems. Or should they make "DVRs" and then also a high-density rackable encoder? Something that does 32 channels of HD-coax into IP in a single box? 1 MAC address, 1 IP... How would Milestone license that?

I don't know that the coax cable reuse strategy is really a big long-term driver for these systems. I do think that they could make a strong play for a non-IP twisted pair camera network with an intelligent NVR/encoder at the other end to convert to IP. There are interesting possibilities here because I think camera resolutions will start to taper off, but things like video analytics may become more common. If you have good cameras, it's easier/cheaper to upgrade your encoder device with something that has more features/processing power in the future.

IP cameras currently have much higher top resolutions than the HD-coax stuff. I think consumers like the feeling that IP is less limiting, but if you agree that IP has won in terms of the server/client piece, then if you had a twisted-pair cable plant you could easily swap individual cameras to higher resolution IP cameras when/if needed.

I don't know what a twisted-pair PHY does to the cost of these cameras vs coax. But I do think that if Hikvision or someone embraced a cheap twisted-pair version of the same concept they could set themselves up for a very flexible and scalable architecture that better supported new cable plants.

I have numerous live view only applications in the healthcare vertical where we need live view only and maximum reliability. Currently we still manage hundreds of analog cameras and monitors just to monitor who is on the secure side of the door to let people in. TVI 1080P monitors and TVI Encoders would be very useful.

This is just my opinion, but the TechPoint innovation is significant. I remember a discussion not too long ago on this site about where the innovation will be coming from. You are looking at it.

To be able to walk into an existing facility (or to a customer that has 300 sites) and not touch the infrastructure yet deliver 1.3 - 5MP is a game changer. I know the purist here will balk at my remarks, but I am on the record that customers care about the bottom line and value. This addresses both.

The larger IP-only companies had better get cracking or they will loose market share. The reason they need to get cracking is once you loose market share you never get it back.

There are a few upper echelon manufacturers that integrate analog with IP in one recording device. They need to heed some experienced advice; dump the pure analog portion and integrate IP and Analog HD into one device.

There will still be a place for IP and it will be the lions share, but it will level off as this technology continues to grow.

Just my opinion and I have been wrong before. But I talk to customers all day and they are very interested in this. If I can install a 5MP camera at half the cost of IP (including labor of course), that is what they want. Customers have limited dollars, limited budgets and they have to get the most bang for the buck. They will trade off some advantages like lens control.

My question about this technology is, what about security and encryption? Can anyone just plug into these cameras and see what they're seeing? Can anyone just tap into the stream at any point and see what is happening? If the answer is YES, then at least IP cameras can bring encryption and IT security to the system. Does this vulnerability go further and create vulnerabilities to a company's network if the DVR is also plugged into the network?

And, what if I have an enterprise system that doesn't accommodate home-running cables all back to one spot with an NVR? How would I connect it back to a centralized recorder?

I understand that to most customers, these points may seem far-fetched and being "too paranoid," but for larger customers, this is a deal-breaker. Once they can make HD Analog technology that can address the typical security issues that come with analog, then I can look at it closer.

Update: Hikvision has released 3MP TVI cameras (up from 1080p) and Dahua has released 4MP CVI cameras but Hikvision now says 5MP models are not expected until later in 2017.