So you are looking for an HD SDI dome camera?
What sort of unit do you need and will an HD SDI dome camera suit your needs. Firstly HD SDI dome cameras can only be used with an HD SDI DVR. If the DVR and dome are both HDcctv compliant no matter where you source them from they will work together. The HD cctv alliance standard is trying to achieve something similar to what ONVIF has done in the world of IP and there are a growing number of members who both manufacture and supply HDcctv compliant equipment.
In addition why chose a an HD SDI dome camera over say an equivalent Bullet camera?
Firstly dome cameras are seen as more aesthetically pleasing and they are less likely to be knocked or damaged. Therefore shop frontages, schools and other public areas will suit the HD dome camera well.
Will HD SDI definition be enough?
Of course if you go down the IP route then images as great as 29 megapixels and beyond can be achieved , however this is a very expensive route to take and conventional thinking says that 1.5 -2 megapixels is generally good for most applications. In addition to this HDcctv compliant cameras also fall into a commercially sensible price bracket.
HD SDI CCTV has been around now since about 2009 but the last year has seen an explosion in the technology. Prices have tumbled and as a result and HD SDI products such as the HD SDI dome camera have seen sales grow at an exponential rate.
Is the technology here to stay?
Well some say yes , some say no. One thing that is without doubt agreed upon however is that HD CCTV is here to stay. Over the next 5-10 years analogue cameras will disappear in favour of better and much clearer images produced by HD cameras. HD SDI cameras and DVR’s certainly have their place especially when considering an upgrade of your existing CCTV system. The ability to use existing coaxial infrastructure and the ease of installation makes it a popular choice right now. Add to this the fact IP camera installations can be complicated and the engineers may need extensive re-training and we can see why HD SDI camera systems are becoming the standard choice for UK installers especially.
10 reasons to upgrade to HD CCTV
1) HD CCTV has become cheaper and more reliable in the last 2 years.
2) HD SDI DVR’s give you much better definition on zoomed in recorded images.
3) If you are viewing HD CCTV remotely the images are crisper and clearer making decisions to act easier for the viewer.
4) When using HD CCTV zoomed out shots don’t mean loss of definition on review.
5) HD CCTV will give you crisper clearer images and of course this gives you a better deterrent value.
6) HD CCTV is simple, no engineer re-training.
7) HD CCTV means existing infrastructure can be re-used. If you have coax you may as well use it.
8 ) HD CCTV is not IP therefore you will not have issues with contention, compression or IT network issues.
9) Your engineers will have no need for laptops or remote IT support.
10) HD CCTV gives more evidence for the authorities to help with prosecutions.
So the humble HD SDI dome camera is going to be used more and more in the coming years and HD CCTV over coax will be the prefered upgrade path from analogue.