Is Megapixel Technology Too Expensive?
Wed, 11/26/2008 - 14:48 — Erron - 6 comments
One of the greatest challenges dealers seem to be faced with these days is the current trend towards IP camera technology. IP cameras provide many benefits, and the stunning images from megapixel cameras would seem to make them required for many installations.
However, when I ask dealers why they aren’t making more proposals with IP cameras, especially megapixel, the answer I most often get is, "It’s too expensive!". Dealers are obviously fearful that bidding what appears to be expensive technology will lose them deals, even though their customers would benefit greatly from the technology.
While it’s true that megapixel IP cameras ARE more expensive than the traditional analog camera, that’s not the whole picture. A new IP camera system can be very competitive with a traditional camera system and offer a much higher quality system with more future growth potential.
Consider these cost comparisons of a traditional system versus an IP system and you might consider taking another look at IP technology.
1) NVR’s are cheaper than DVR’s - This makes sense because a DVR has the compression hardware built in. When you buy an NVR it does not come with compression cards, also referred to as capture cards, because they are now located in the camera. What this means is that the cost of the compression hardware has shifted from the recording unit to the camera itself. This one reason is why the IP cameras are more expensive and the NVR’s are more inexpensive.
2) Cat 5 cable is cheaper than coaxial - Especially in these days of skyrocketing copper costs. Cat 5 uses much less copper and is therefore a fraction of the cost per foot compared to the ever increasing coax cable cost. The cost per termination is less because RJ-45 connectors are less expensive and easier to terminate than coax connectors. Cat 5 is lighter and therefore costs less to ship. Often times customers will already have usable Cat 5 in place and finally your installation costs are less because it’s easier to work with. Cat 5 pulls easier, you can fit more into an existing conduit, and the interlocking connectors means less service calls in the long run.
3) Megapixel offers FOUR times the resolution of standard analog cameras - While it is obvious that you can’t just eliminate four cameras and replace them with one megapixel camera, the truth is that often times you can replace two or three with a single megapixel. In particular, an area such as a front counter or lobby where we typically utilize several cameras to complete the view could really be covered by a single megapixel and still give better video quality and coverage. Even when compared to ’high resolution’ analog cameras, megapixel is still a far superior image quality. Have a quick look at this comparison. (http://www.3xlogic.com/rsc/megapixel/megapixel-comparison.html)
I’m finding that megapixel cameras are quickly taking the place of PTZ cameras as well. Pan, tilt, zoom cameras often require an operator to be effective. While the operator is zoomed in on a particular area the rest of the shot is lost. Megapixel cameras can zoom in as well, but it is done digitally without the loss of the rest of the image. PTZ’s also use motors, belts, and gears to position the camera and lens whereas megapixel being digital, has no moving parts that wear out over time.
Megapixel IP technology is a big win for the client because nothing else comes close to the quality. This technology is also a big win for the bidding dealer. Even if we happen to be ten to twenty percent higher in price we can easily demo this type of system and clearly show that we are giving the end user FOUR TIMES the image quality for a modest increase in price. We can then offer the options of later date expandability without having to add additional recorders and the value really starts to make sense.
Especially if you demonstrate that megapixel cameras will give them the image quality that is considerably more usable, it becomes a no-brainer from a purchasing standpoint.
I’m really just touching the surface of this comparison but wanted to give you the tools it takes to win jobs and offer a better overall value to your customers. I’ve seen it time and time again, 6 dealers all bidding the same quality of equipment and the one guy that shows the benefit of megapixel wins, even with a higher bottom line price.
Comments
Storage cost?
How about storage cost? While the resolution can be 4 - 20x that of an analog camera, the storage can often be 10x-100x more than an analog camera (higher resolution, less efficient codecs).
What if ... it was less?
You brought up a great point and one of the most overlooked technological advantages of Vigil. We developed the Aztech codec specifically for megapixel video and it produces files sizes that average under 20k per image! Really. The same video with IQeye's codec averaged 154k per image. The aztech compressed images are still fantastic, it's not over compressed and it makes megapixel a reality in our opinion.
I think we (3xLogic) need to put more information about this on our website but you can see a file size comparison of normal megapixel files compared to aztech compressed files at the very bottom of our megapixel page: http://www.3xlogic.com/megapixel. This data was taken from a megapixel system installed in a Shell gas station so I think it's reasonably accurate.
I'll try to get engineering or sales to give us some sample aztech compressed video so others can judge the quality for themselves. I'll post it on the Aztech page which is currently empty waiting for this type of info. http://www.3xlogic.com/aztech
By the way, the data (<20k files sizes) are from a 2MP camera.
Also, if you create a free account you don't have to wait for your comments to be approved. http://www.3xlogic.com/user/register
A few videos are up
We received a few samples videos from Tim at AAA Security. They are up at http://www.3xlogic.com/aztech.
Thanks Tim!!
nice article, Erron--good sales information!
Erron,
You did a great job of explaining the overall benefits of IP cameras that use megapixel technology. The biggest problem that I've had with specifying IP is cost, as most of us know. The way you've explained it does help us to better understand how to sell it. I'll certainly give your ideas some careful consideration and I may begin providing my prospective clients with an option to upgrade to IP. One thing is for sure, this is going to take some effort to educate the public as well. Any ideas on how to do that with an across-the-board percentage? Do you know of other dealers doing it this way? Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks, Erron.
Al Colombo
www.alcolombo.us
Education is key to the
Education is key to the general public. It's best described in a manner that is easily understandable. The 'Digital Revolution' as it is being coined, is how TV is going from analog to digital, the CCTV market is as well. You will see a lot of stores start to sell off their 'outdated' TV's as part of the digital transition. Camera systems should be sold in the same manner. A professional system would be an IP based system with room for expansion and up to date technology while analog would be the low cost option. We know that this is true by doing an internet search and finding a handful of analog cameras at rock bottom prices. I believe it's only a matter of time before the dealer market is primarily IP and digital and analog becomes 'consumer grade'.
Have a look at our Aztech
Have a look at our Aztech compression method.
http://www.3xlogic.com/megapixel
You can see there that we actually can get the storage cost down considerably, even close to that of standard cameras in a lot of cases.
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