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AHD offers the best of both worlds

There will always be proponents of analogue cameras and recorders, just as there is a growing fan club for IP cameras and DVRs. However, with the development of AHD (Analogue High Definition) the market can now find a middle ground that carries increased functionality over traditional analogue, while concurrently providing a more cost-effective solution than IP technology.

The first analogue HD technology – HD SDI (high definition serial digital interface) – works with an analogue infrastructure and offered those installers who were wary of IP technology a higher definition version for their analogue installations. In recent years, there has been an increasing drive to disregard analogue technology, but with the introduction of Dahua’s HDCVI (High Definition Composite Video Interface) in 2013, there was an apparent increase in definition at a lower cost.

AHD provides the ability to transmit a signal over distances of approximately 400 metres on coaxial cable transmission. The ability to use existing analogue cabling is a boon for end-users since the cost of replacing cabling is removed, both increasing the time to adoption and decreasing the hassle factor.

The recent introduction of AHD has heralded the first truly cost-effective high-definition system that will ultimately replace many analogue systems.

In most instances, HiTek Security has been able to eliminate many of the existing analogue camera models with the new AHD cameras. However, there are specific models where analogue still provides a better cost to performance ratio. The company’s AHD DVRs are available in a hybridised version, able to communicate with both analogue and digital cameras. Similarly Provision’s AHD cameras can support both AHD and analogue output.

The AHD technology, pioneered by ITE Tech, offers two video stream specifications: 1080p30 and 1080p60 1080p. With AHD, high definition digital video can be transmitted easily over coaxial cables, twisted pairs, or simply over the air. Multiple video streams can be easily transmitted using AHD over a single 5C2V/RG6 cable up to a length of 1000 m without any repeater or up to 400 m in the case of 3C2V/RG59.

AHD leverages the extremely robust AV transmission capability of DTV to easily and seamlessly upgrade an analogue CCTV surveillance system to full HD. It is expected that AHD will become a de facto standard in the future. AHD composites video, audio, and control signals together and then transmits them over one coaxial cable, thus simplifying installation.

HiTek Security is currently working with its suppliers to test DVRs on the cloud. The biggest issue faced is that many installers do not know how to connect devices to the Internet without assistance from technical support personnel. Two of Provision’s cameras are able to work with cloud technology and are geared towards easy self-installation. Installers simply use their smart mobile device to scan in the QR code on the camera. Once they have done this, a quick self-installation occurs, eliminating any human error.

Analogue will not disappear any time soon. Factors that end-users and installers consider are the price difference between analogue and IP technology as well as application relevance. In certain instances, analogue technology is still preferred, for instance with covert cameras and in licence plate recognition applications. The drive towards AHD will increase as its benefits become apparent, but some users will continue to select analogue technology, especially on an entry level camera basis.

AHD has changed the playing field substantially by providing users with an option other than analogue with its quality limitations and IP with its higher cost. In addition, since analogue and IP do not work together on their own, AHD provides the necessary bridge to incorporate both technologies in one installation.

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