The role of HD

I come to you once again with an entreaty to come see a panel discussion I'm hosting. I know, you tire of my shameless self-promotion, but, really, what do I get out of it, other than a great excuse not to be out late the night before?

No (he said with much magnanimity), I do these panel discussions for you, the readers, because they seem to be topics in which you're interested.

For example, do you find yourself walking the show floor at the big expos wondering, “Why can't any of these guys show me video that looks as good as my TV at home?”

I think that all the time.

Do your customers ask you that question?

Do you have a good answer for it?

At the moment, there are two competing solutions to the problem of delivering high-definition video surveillance. On one hand, there are the megapixel IP camera manufacturers, who offer up varying degrees of great resolution in exchange for bandwidth consumption and IT networking skills.

On the other hand is the nascent HDCCTV Alliance members, who promise HD DVRs and analog cameras that will deliver 60 FPS of HD-quality video, all over Coax cable.

Both will tell you their way is the best, most efficient way to accomplish the goal at hand. Theirs is the technology of the future. You'd be crazy to do it any other way, really.

So, at the ASIS International Conference and Exhibition this fall in Anaheim (just around the corner, really), I'll be hosting a panel discussion called “Bringing HD to Video Surveillance,” which will bring together the major manufacturers in the space, along with an end user and an integrator, to explore just what is the best way to deliver HD, why people are clamoring for it, and how the market will develop over the coming years. The manufacturing voices include Todd Rockoff, executive director of the HDCCTV Alliance; Fredrik Nilsson, general manager, Americas, for Axis; and Jim Voss, head of imaging at Pelco; for the integrator's perspective, we've got Rob Hile, who's doing complex integration with Siemens; and our end user voice is Mark Denari, who used to head up security at San Diego's airport.

It is my opinion that affordable and easily deployed high definition video surveillance is crucial for the future success of the security industry. The novelty of video has worn off. At this point, end users want to be able to use their video to actually catch people, to see license plate numbers, to make out faces, to use their video as evidence.

Blurry, pixelated images aren't going to cut it. So, how do you do HD? Find me at ASIS, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m., and maybe you'll be able to figure it out for yourself. Well be at the solutions theatre, Booth 1861, Hall C.