The compelling benefits of digital video recording such as excess storage, easy retrieval of footage, and remote viewing have helped it outstrip analog recording in video surveillance. The clarity of digital video and its superior data processing have further cemented its dominance over analog video. Data on digital format is even admissible as evidence in courts of law. However, it is still grappling with certain technical shortcomings, one of which is that it is not completely tamper-proof. As technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are still nascent, very little has been done to standardize AI-related technology. To ensure that the information recorded is authentic, the industry for data processing technologies used in video surveillance has to establish certification or trademark standards.

This Technical Insights study provides an overview of advances in recording and data processing technologies for video surveillance. It covers technologies such as closed circuit television (CCTV), digital video recorder (DVR), network video recorder (NVR), automatic network replenishment (ANR), and video cassette recorders (VCR). The research service enables companies to align their positioning strategies to benefit from these emerging technologies.

Easy Availability of Broadband Technology Encourages Use of Digital Format

The availability of broadband technology is actively promoting the uptake of Internet Protocol (IP)-based video surveillance. Since the use of broadband technology is rapidly becoming prevalent globally, end users are becoming more enthusiastic about using network-based security systems that provide secure coverage of large areas. Higher bandwidth, along with better compression techniques, is greatly helping the provision of sophisticated solutions on IP platforms.

"The availability of broadband Internet also fuelled the use of DVRs and NVRs, which has allowed greater amounts of data to be stored," says the analyst of this research service. "It also enables the capture of better quality pictures than CCTV."

Video Surveillance’s Strong Value Proposition Attracts Varied Markets

Video surveillance technology’s brisk development is expected to have a profound impact on several other technologies including digital signal processors (DSPs), imaging software, and mass storage. Such massive-scale developments are anticipated to influence several end-user sectors to deploy the technology. The most proactive adopter is homeland security, as is evidenced by the considerable investments made by users at both corporate and national levels on CCTV infrastructure and video IP solutions. "This increased need for security, while being a crucial market driver, is also a technology driver since it encourages the security software market to invent more reliable and fail-proof systems," notes the analyst.

Although national security is expected to be the prime driver of video surveillance, corporations also have a robust business case for migrating to digital video. Video surveillance solutions are likely to be implemented in sectors such as healthcare, mining, gambling, and critical infrastructure areas in future.