Spot On Security

Cloud computing has generated huge press lately. It is being called the next big transformation in Information Technology. So, naturally, we would expect to see cloud computing being promoted in the physical security industry, especially with video surveillance, which is so compute intensive. But this is where the myths begin. Don’t get caught up in the marketing hype. Cloud computing is not going to be a big benefit to video surveillance.

There are major economic advantages driving cloud computing in the IT world, but those same economies don’t work with video surveillance. This is glossed over and never mentioned in all the articles and ads that tout cloud computing for video surveillance. Companies just want to use the “cloud computing” label to get attention, when, in fact, if anything, video surveillance is moving in the opposite direction – more and more towards intelligence and storage at the edge.

Why doesn’t cloud computing work for the video surveillance market? After all, video compression and storage are some of the most processor intensive functions in physical security, especially if you try to add video analytics processing. But there are big differences, and once you look at the math, it is clear that someone has their head up in the clouds to be suggesting it be used for surveillance.

There are three big cost advantages coming from cloud computing in the IT world:

First, it is more economical with virtualized services. This means that you can save money running your sales management software tools on the same server as another company’s manufacturing resource planning software, or whatever other kinds of software other companies might want to run. Servers have been doing this for years in data centers. Now, they can do it across the Internet for many companies in one location.

Second, you get added savings because you no one uses their software all of the time, it is usually only needed in spurts. So, you reap the gains by sharing servers with others, by maximizing shared processing power.

Third, bringing  lots of server applications under the roof of one specialist company means they can manage everything more efficiently and take the headaches away from lots of individual companies trying to do it themselves.

For the above reasons, cloud computing service providers are saving IT managers 25% or more. That is significant. This assures that cloud computing will grow fast.

But these benefits don’t fly with video surveillance. Here are the problems:

1. You can’t virtualize NVR storage, because the video is recording continuously. This is the same problem that IP video systems have in the data room. IT managers would like to combine them onto their other servers, but they can’t do it because the video is streaming into the servers continuously. It is being recorded non-stop. In fact, video recording is so processor intensive that traditional servers fail, which is why the industry has introducing new server designs specifically for video surveillance. You can’t virtualize the NVR and run it on another server.
2. Most software applications see people retrieving data about 50% of the time  and storing data 50% of the time, but those applications are generally idle and waiting most of the time. NVR storage is recording 100% of the time, with huge bandwidth demands, while people only play back the video less than 1% of the time. The reason you can only run about 30 cameras (this varies by resolution and frame rate being recorded) on a good server is because you run out of bandwidth and processing power. So, there are no benefits gained from idle time.
3. In fact, it is far more expensive to centralize storage because of the above problems and the huge bandwidth needed by the video. This is why most hosted video services are finding that it makes far more sense to put a DVR or NVR at the site with the cameras, or to use cameras with built-in storage, rather than continuously streaming the video back to a central server. It is far less expensive.

As I said above, the real technology shift in video surveillance is in the opposite direction: Intelligent storage at the edge.

This becomes even clearer when you start talking about video analytics. Some companies offering a hosted video service are trying to stream video back to a central server. They are trying to make it sound as if cloud computing is going to save the end user money. In fact, their solution is more expensive, but if they don’t put in a DVR they can save up front costs for the customer. Unfortunately, they seriously cut back the video resolution and frame rate: You aren’t going to get anything close to high quality video this way. They won’t even be able to offer standard resolution, never mind megapixel video to their customers. It is more expensive, on an ongoing basis, but it does eliminate the cost of the DVR.

But when you try to offer video analytics, you can’t play that game: You need high quality, high frame rate video. That makes the so-called cloud computing video surveillance system a non-starter. You can’t get there from here.

This doesn’t mean that Hosted Video and Security as a Service (SaaS) aren’t growing fast. They are, and for good reasons, but none of those reasons have to do with cloud computing economics. They are growing because of superior ease of use for end users, friendly browser interfaces that they can access from any computer, and by providing remote services for end users. It is an ideal solution for small businesses and small retail stores that want to add security video.

The term “cloud computing” has been hijacked and is being treated as the next big thing for security. It is causing a revolution in the IT industry, so why shouldn’t it for surveillance? Well, because it ends up costing more, not less, to use it with video.

The world of pan, tilt, zoom security cameras has changed. Megapixel cameras and video analytics are shifting the role of PTZs.

PTZ cameras were once king of the hill. They represented the best possible technology you could get; giving you the ability to see in every direction  and zoom into the smallest details.

Companies like Pelco, Vicon and Kalatel, to name a few, started their businesses by producing high quality pan, tilt, zoom cameras. They rode the wave, as PTZs defined video surveillance, and grew into leading video companies.

But the problem is that all the power and benefits PTZs deliver are only gained when a person is sitting there actively panning, tilting and zooming. With only a few percent of cameras being actively monitored, and only a few percent of those being watched at one time, there is no one at the helm more than 99% of the time.

The other disadvantage of PTZs is that the moment you’ve zoomed in to see a license plate or to get a close-up of a person’s face, you lose the ability to see everything else. You can easily miss something more important.

If you want to look across a site, PTZs are valuable tools. But if they are sitting there, not being actively driven most of the time, they are expensive cameras. That’s why many PTZs are set for continuous tours, where they move from one preset location to another, auto-panning. This also partly overcomes the problem with missing things when it is zoomed into one area. They move from one point to another to cover a wider area. This allows one expensive camera to cover the whole area. That’s the hope, anyway.

However, belts, gears and motors don’t last long when the PTZ is set for continuous tours. The best quality models need replacement parts every year, when set for auto-panning. Cheaper model PTZs wear out even faster. When that one expensive camera fails at the site, you’ve now got nothing.

Megapixel cameras have taken a big chunk out of the once powerful PTZ. No motors, belts or gears to wear out. Even when you zoom in, you can still keep on recording the whole scene, so you won’t miss anything. This is ideal for recorded video. Megapixel cameras don’t give you anywhere near the full zoom capability of PTZs. You are limited to about 3X-8X for a megapixel zoom, not the 20x-30x you get with a PTZ, but in many cases that’s fine.  And, you can buy two megapixel cameras for the price of one PTZ.

Video analytics are also changing the world of PTZs. The applications where PTZs are most important – were live monitoring is needed – that’s exactly where video analytics provide the biggest bang. They enable security personnel to monitor far more cameras much more effectively, by proactively popping up cameras when the analytics see potential threats.

Why not use video analytics with PTZ cameras? You can, and we sell such systems all the time. But if you want to be sure you are going to catch an intruder, you can’t have that PTZ panning all over the place. Fixed cameras are the only way to assure you never miss a threat.

For example, let’s say you have a site where you want one PTZ camera to auto-tour across four different preset locations. The PTZ would move to one preset, watch for some time and then move on to the next. How much time will the camera spend watching any one area? Less than 25% of the time! That means more than 75% of the time you have no visibility on what is happening. With more than four presets, it is even worse. That’s a huge blind spot in your protection!

The alternative: You can put up 3-4 cameras with video analytics built-in for about the same cost as a PTZ camera with analytics, and you won’t have yearly replacement costs for the motors, belts and gears. Most importantly, the analytics won’t miss what is happening – so you get much better security. In fact, it is the only way to go, when you need surefire protection.

In other words, fixed, non-moving cameras with analytics now give the best site awareness. With active video analysis doing the watching for you, it is better to have more fixed smart cameras than a panning PTZ.

So, the new king of the hill is a megapixel camera with analytics built-in. This gives you zoom, a wide area of coverage that is never missed, and analytics to detect potential threats so that you know which camera to be looking at.

Even better, add a PTZ camera at the site if you want the ability to zoom in for a close-up. That’s where the PTZ excels. It’s a tool for extreme close-ups. This combination system has persistent protection because the megapixel cameras continue watching the areas they are trying to protect. They never look the wrong direction. Plus, the analytics watch for threats continuously, even when no one is watching the monitors.

The PTZ will be around for a long time and still plays an important role in surveillance. However, it is not quite as important as it once was. It once was king. Now it is a good soldier. The world has changed for PTZs.