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Dispelling the myths of IP video - Myth #2: Network cameras cost more than analog cameras, making IP surveillance too expensive

In this series, Roy Alves, country manager of Axis Communications South Africa, examines 10 myths about IP video.

It is true that network cameras are more expensive than comparable analog cameras. However, to get the whole picture, you need to look beyond the price of the camera to the cost of the whole system, including cabling, recording and monitoring. An important fact regarding the camera itself is that network cameras include functionality normally found in the DVR (digital video recorder), such as digitisation, compression and intelligence, which is why the cost of a network camera is higher than that of an analog camera. However, cameras are not the only cost in a video system, and the total hardware cost of an IP video system is normally comparable to, and often lower than, an analog camera solution with DVR recording.

When you then take into account installation and maintenance costs, and the ability to distribute video signals anywhere on the planet and access them from multiple places at no additional cost, the surveillance landscape can favour the network camera-based solution even more.

Cost efficiencies of IP surveillance

First, the cost of the system components must be analysed and understood. After the initial price of a network camera, which can indeed be higher than a simple analog camera, you need to look at the cost-per-channel. The network camera with its superior flexibility and performance quickly becomes comparable with an analog system anchored by a DVR.

In many system configurations the upfront cost for a surveillance system based on network cameras is even lower when compared to analog options. This lower total cost for the network camera system is mainly a result of back-end applications and storage that can be run on industry-standard open systems-based servers, and not on proprietary hardware like a DVR.

Network video systems use commodity technology for viewing, management and storage: standard PC hardware. This radically reduces software and equipment costs, particularly for larger systems where storage and servers are a significant cost portion of the total solution.

Added cost savings come from the infrastructure used: IP-based networks such as the Internet, LANs and various connection methods such as wireless can be leveraged for other applications across the organisation and are much less expensive alternatives than standard CCTV coax and fibre. With PoE (Power over Ethernet), power reticulation is also simplified by eliminating the need for dedicated power cabling: data and power are carried over the same network cable.

The cost of installation

Secondly, the installation cost of an IP surveillance system with network cameras compared to a DVR system with analogue cameras differs a great deal. Analog video is typically transmitted by expensive coax, which rarely exists in facilities and must be installed as dedicated cabling. Moreover, in a geographically large system image quality suffers with long cable runs. Distributing power and audio further complicates this situation. Standard IP-based networks surmount these obstacles at much lower cost and with far more flexibility, such as being able to view images from anywhere in the world from the cameras' built-in web servers. Because the network camera produces digital images there is no image quality deterioration due to distance.

IP-based networking is an established, standardised technology so the resulting costs are comparatively low, even when routing IP-based video streams around the world and to many different places, using a variety of interoperable infrastructures. New construction now has low-cost Category 5 data wiring, and a single network cable can carry video streams from hundreds of simultaneous network cameras when running at 1 Gigabit Ethernet speeds.

Lastly, the maintenance aspect is important to understand. The video from network cameras is recorded on standard PC servers using standard hard disks for storage. These are easily serviced and upgraded just like any other IT equipment within an organisation, and when higher performance or larger recording capabilities are needed, the server can be upgraded with the latest and greatest offerings from the fast-moving PC industry.

The next era

Respected industry analysts JP Freeman and Co. have forecast that network cameras are the fastest growing segment in surveillance and will pass the sales of analog cameras in 2008. As the understanding and implementation of security management over the IP network expands, the next era in advanced security management is coming. The analog camera has a lack of flexibility and performance that does not meet the demands of this new era. As network cameras move the frame-grabbing and intelligence capabilities out and away from the DVRs, systems can scale much more easily. Customers will be able to use cost-effective industry standard servers for recording and storage, and they will be able to choose from a wide variety of video management and analysis software. This move towards open systems and away from proprietary DVRs, combined with the benefits of networking, digital imaging, and camera intelligence will constitute a strong impetus to the market's rapid adoption of the network camera and its many advantages.

Roy Alves

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