The JDL Digital Systems Team Blog

Why pure IP solutions are not yet competitive across the board

abigailhamilton — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:58:18 +0000

Our VP of sales outlined for us really clearly why all-IP solutions are not yet competitive for organizations like casinos:

Of course there will come a time when the IP-camera world really will surpass the analog-camera world, but there are many practical reasons why that is not the case today with regard to casinos.

A JDL hybrid system that you buy today will be able to take you to that confluence by allowing you to mix an IP camera and IP recording scheme with the existing analog infrastructure you have today. Easily, quickly and transparently. Once it is set up, the operator will see and feel no difference other than controlling the additional abilities that come with an IP camera.

I know a lot of people don’t want to invest in “yesterday’s” technology and are wise to be careful. But to me the blended system of IP and Analog, with each of their strengths being used in the proper place, is still the way to go for a casino and will be for a while longer. Having a system in place that can transform itself as the technologies mature and change continues to be the best use of your purchasing dollar. You get the best of today without having to leave it all behind tomorrow.

Update: More good info about this topic at http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=2902

Innovation

dvrsoftwareleader — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 21:25:07 +0000

The Economist published an interesting series of articles on innovation. Talks a lot about shortening business cycles and the essence of innovation. In many cases, new business models and packaging are the innovation, not the technology. We hope to cover it all by considering ease-of-use as an innovation. Ease of use for the integrator as well as the end user. This entails smart technology, but it’s all in the service of ease-of-use.

Haphazard Deployment Results in Too Many Silos

dvrsoftwareleader — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:32:45 +0000

This article about convergence from SSI by Alan Jain shows why we have always approached security surveillance from a software angle.

Big-picture convergence will ultimately be accomplished in the form of a software layer that covers every physical security event, operation and transaction across all locations of a corporation, in a unique policy-based paradigm.

As data sources preponder and enterprises need to make decisions in unprecedentedly short cycles, the ability to collect, manage, and use information is the ticket to success and secure operation.

They don’t call this the Information Age for nothing.

Price Per Terabyte of Pixels

gryphonmacthoy — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:21:09 +0000

I think most people agree that things (most things) get cheaper in volume. You know, like a Baker’s Dozen of donuts — if you buy 12 they’re only $11.50, but normally they cost $1.00 each.

Turns out that the same is true of video recordings. It turns out that the higher your frame rate (frames of video pre second) and the higher your video resolution (CIF being low and 4CIF being higher) the lower the cost of each bit of video data.

OK, if you hate math, just skip to the 2nd to the last paragraph…

A well-known example on the market right now is a PC-based DVR that costs $14,000. It has 32 channels, records up to a total of 480 frames per second, does CIF and 4CIF and everything in between, and 3TB of storage. Here’s the math:

$14,000 / 480 = $29.17 per frame at CIF

Compare to another item on the market that costs $12,000. It has 32 channels, records up to 960 total frames per second, does CIF and 4CIF and everything in between, and has 3TB of storage. The math:

$12,000 / 960 = $12.50 per frame at CIF

Now, even if the prices where the same, the second option would be a better bet, right? Double the total maximum frame rate for the same price? Obvious. But this is only easy when the other features are all equal. Number of channels, amount of storage, maximum video resolution, etc.

More Math:

Price / Channels / Max Simultaneous Frames Per Second On All Channels / Resolution (nnn*nnn) / TB of Storage = Price Per Terabyte of Pixels. (OK, I don’t like that label, but the last 4 were worse…)

Take the examples above again with that formula:

$17,000 / 32 / 15 / CIF(352*240) / 3 = 0.0001397
$12,000 / 32 / 30 / CIF(352*240) / 3 = 0.0000493

Not very useful numbers, I know. Stay with me.

Let’s plug that second one in with it’s OTHER capability of doing 16 channels at 4CIF(704*480):

$12,000 / 16/ 30 / 4CIF(704*480) / 3 = 0.0000246

Another NOT useful number. Well, then again… here they are again. Don’t think of them as dollars; rather a score, where the lower number is better.
0.0001397 = 3TB of CIF@15fps
0.0000493 = 3TB of CIF@30fps
0.0000246 = 3TB of 4CIF@30fps

Run your favorite DVR through the equation and see what you get. Here’s another system I know of:

$21,050 / 24 / 30 / 4CIF(704*480) / 6.5 = 0.0000133

Math Haters Start Here:
When you buy better video quality, your dollars work harder. The cost per bit of video data is generally less in systems that produce higher quality video.

I know it’s esoteric, but the more I run other systems on the market through this bit of math, the more I see which one’s are priced efficiently and which are not. Then again, there’s nothing about ease of use or reliability in this equation, either…

An aside as we join WordPress

dvrsoftwareleader — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 22:38:19 +0000

Just saw that one of a friend’s longtime favorite blogs is #1 among the top WordPress blogs this week.

Awesome!

Is it too ridic to aspire to join them on the list someday? IMO, aspiration = not ridiculous.

1st post: Comment! Join in!

gryphonmacthoy — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:21:52 +0000

1st Post: Welcome to the DVR Software blog. We started this blog for two reasons:

1 – We want to start open discussion about what a Digital Video Recorder for Security and Surveillance should be like. So, join in — post comments and argue with us! OR agree!

2 – We want to tell the world what we are doing to make these systems better — more intuitive, more expandable, more connected, easier. Sometimes it will be a silly little detail — sometimes it will be a REALLY BIG IDEA. We hope, at some point, we’ll talk about the Next Big Thing that actually becomes THE Next Big Thing.