IP-based video surveillance becoming more mainstream

The main market of video surveillance equipment in Thailand is still for public safety and business optimisation, while the IP (Internet protocol) camera is fundamental to smarter surveillance.

“Smarter surveillance” is security for personal and business needs that is used for crime deterrence, forensic and proactive purposes. Currently, surveillance of critical infrastructure and retail outlets need top-performance high-definition image quality, and high scene fidelity at all angles of view is also extremely important. 

A Swedish manufacturer of network cameras for the physical-security and video-surveillance industries, Axis Communications, has announced that it will focus more on the Thai market for both public safety and business optimisation.

According to IHS, a global provider of information and analysis to businesses, the value of the Thai market for video-surveillance equipment this year is forecast to increase by 3.9 per cent to US$115.2 million (Bt4.1 billion). The market’s 2014-19 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is estimated at 5.3 per cent, to reach $150 million in 2019. 

Thongchai Watanasoponwong, country manager for the Indochina region, said Axis Communications is ranked No 1 globally and in Asia in this market, and third in Thailand. The company aims to be market leader in Thailand in the near future.

The market is transforming rapidly from analog video cameras to IP-base cameras worldwide, including in Thailand. The global market for IP cameras, also called network video cameras, is forecast to be $24.1 billion in 2018. While the video surveillance market has a 2014-18 CAGR of 12 per cent, that of network video cameras is 22 per cent. 

Thongchai said Axis offered a wide portfolio of IP-based products and solutions for security and video surveillance. The company’s security cameras, video encoders, accessories and access control products are easily integrated with its video management software, or with a partner product, to build a complete security or surveillance solution.

“For forensics, IP cameras with their different pixel density and scene width can detect, recognise and identity the suspect. For example, an IP camera can identify the suspect if it can capture a photo with 80 pixels per face,” he said.

Thailand and Indochina provides a lot of opportunities for this market. New investments address security needs in certain areas, including airports, city surveillance, critical infrastructure, gaming and transport. 

The company is approaching the market through partners. Its three distributors are DigitalCom, Bacom Internetwork and SIS Distribution (Thailand). Also, it has around 1,000 resellers. This year, Thongchai said, Axis will enhance the capability of its existing partners rather than appoint new ones. 

Axis offers complete security solutions through its partners in application development, technology programs, architecture and engineering in order to customise customers’ needs. Currently, video management systems come from 800 ADP (app development program) partners.

“All solutions are designed with open IP standards that allow users to easily connect with their existing IT equipment. They are also flexible and scalable, and will work out of the box with networks, routers, screens, computers, tablets and smartphones. Users can download and install the Axis Camera Application Platform onto the Axis cameras and video encoders,” Thongchai said.

Axis Communications this year is taking a new market approach, offering video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) and video content analytic (VCA) technology.

VSaaS is for smaller businesses looking for a trouble-free, efficient solutions, or companies with multiple sites, such as chains of convenience stores. With a subscription-based surveillance service, small and medium-sized enterprises can reduce up-front investment and prevent solutions from becoming outdated. 

Video surveillance is hosted in the cloud, and users can easily upgrade the system with new features, applications and services.

“Users who have an analog network video system can benefit with Axis video encoders. A video encoder digitises analog video and works as a bridge between an analog CCTV [closed-circuit television] system and a network video system,” Thongchai said.

The benefits of network video could also help businesses optimise their performance, he said. For example, it can revolutionise the way retail professionals work with loss prevention, store optimisation, fraud detection, security and customer service.

Recently, Axis announced Zipstream compression technology, reducing storage requirements by an average of 50 per cent or more in video surveillance applications. Zipstream technology is compatible with the H.264 compression standard and can be used with the latest Axis cameras and video management software without additional investment, Thongchai said. 

Zipstream technology allows customers to reduce bandwidth and storage requirements without having to invest in new cameras or software. It does this without compromising on important image details. 

Zipstream technology analyses and optimises the network camera’s video stream in real time. Scenes containing interesting details are recorded in full image quality and resolution while other areas are filtered out, to use available bandwidth and storage optimally. 

Important forensic details like faces, tattoos or licence plates are isolated and preserved, while irrelevant areas such as white walls, lawns and vegetation are sacrificed by smoothing in order to achieve better storage savings.

“With an advanced gatekeeper, a camera can automatically pan, tilt and zoom to a pre-set position when motion is detected in a pre-defined area, and then it continues to track the detected object. Cameras support automatic defog, which, when activated, automatically detects fog in the scene and digitally filters it out of view to provide clearer video,” Thongchai said.