HD SDI CCTV

HD SDI CCTV is a new technology that will enable the CCTV industry to bring HD quality images to  the masses. Unlike IP CCTV the existing coax infrastructure can be used , no new cabling is required to upgrade from analogue to HD. The industry is buzzing with this news. We have many thousands of miles of coaxial cable that is currently out there and it is only now that  by using HD SDI CCTV we can use this coax to bring high quality HD images into the world of CCTV without huge costs involved to upgrade to IP.

HD SDI DVR
HD SDI DVR

So whats out there and who are the main players?  Well HD CCTV Solutions and Everfocus both have offerings in the form of  HD SDI DVR’s.  HD SDI cameras were being proudly displayed at IFSEC this year on quite a few stands. Opinion is still split as to what HD SDI DVR will prove to be the best solution to sell here in the UK . Will it be better to sell a hybrid DVR that is able to record both HD SDI cameras and their analogue counterparts ? This would mean customers  could do a partial upgrade rather than change their whole system to HD . The option to target areas for HD is appealing to many. This said full HDCCTV upgrades will not be out the question and there will be demand for an HD SDI DVR that  is able to perform, record and produce clear crisp images that has been sought by CCTV installers and their customers for many years.

HDCCTV alliance

So what are the benefits of HD SDI CCTV over HD cameras run on IP networks?  Well it really is the simplicity of the installation that makes it a winner . No need to re-train engineers and no need to run new cables, just plug and play. HDCCTV has long been the holy grail within the CCTV industry and it seemed that we had it with megapixel IP cameras albeit expensive and difficult to deploy. Now however, CCTV sales personnel will be falling over themselves to get this new technology in front of customers . Having seen  the HD SDI CCTV in action I can vouch for the fact that it will sell its self during the dem part of the sale. Price is still important though and its not as cheap as we would like to to be as yet. Also we warn against using HDCCTV cameras outside at night .The CMOS version of the HD SDI camera is almost 3 times as cheap as it CCD equivalent , but you get what you pay for, so if you need quality night time views pay more for the CCD version, its worth it.

As for functionality HD SDI CCTV is very flexible. It can still be connected to remotely and will do anything a standard analogue DVR will do. However We now have a zoom facility that can give us more detail post event. Double the detail in fact. So where faces before were blurred with analogue now we have a chance to see who really did break into the yard or premises. This is  the clincher because it was the biggest weakness with analogue CCTV and one that effectively renders the hundreds of thousands of analogue CCTV systems already out there , useless.

So HD SDI CCTV is about to come of age and there are many hundreds of thousands of customers out there who are ready to take up this technology sooner rather than later .

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