n BY LISA HSU
K has made a place for itself in the consumer market, with 4K television and displays becoming increasingly popular. Now, it is slowly making its way into the security industry. “4K video systems are not only a trend of the future, but also a ready solution going to impact this market. With the capability to cover wider areas, budget can be saved due to fewer units and installation,” said Ken Huang, Marketing Specialist at DynaColor. With the release of 4K, new solutions can be explored in several verticals to make use of the UHD resolution.
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DEFINITIONS AND VERTICALS Boasting 4,096 x 2,160p (8.3 megapixels; around four times that of full HD resolution), 4K has the ability to display UHD video footage. In the same way 1080p was first introduced, the initial 4K applications tend to be for outdoor surveillance with a large field of view and the need to resolve detail (e.g., sport stadiums). According to Andres Vigren, Product Manager of Axis Communications, “HDTV network cameras are already used for installations where there is a requirement to overlook an area with the capability to zoom in on details with high precision. 4K UHD takes this to the next level by allowing larger areas to be monitored with a single camera without compromising on level of detail should this be required when an incident occurs.” The ability to capture a large scene and zoom in on images without sacrificing pixels makes 4K ideal for monitoring large areas, which is useful for city
surveillance and transportation. Additionally, as one 4K camera can substitute many HD cameras, it presents as a cost-effective solution while minimizing blind spots. With 4K, data collected from video recordings creates opportunities for improved investigations, but also business intelligence. For instance, personnel and customer paths are more accurately traced, and the resolution is high enough to support multiple content analyses for functions like people counting and license plate recognition (LPR), which provides more precise identification and reduced false alerts. This also allows for faster and more accurate monitoring in crowd management and perimeter protection requirements. 4K can also be applied to safe cities, wide-lane traffic monitoring, police dispatching using geographic information systems (GIS) maps, and more. “Optical zoom becomes a useful feature thanks to the 4K cameras. The quality of the camera means it can provide a stream of information, such as metadata for marketing, operations, and processes purposes,” said Gerard Figols, European Head of Product Marketing at Panasonic System Communications.
▲Bengt Christensson, Senior Director Marketing, Ambarella
▲Brad Donaldson, Director of Product Management, Arecont Vision
▲Andres Vigren, Product Manager, Axis Communications
CONSUMER CONCERNS Although it holds great potential, 4K systems are not yet mature. There are a few things consumers need to keep in mind when purchasing a 4K system: is it suitable for the application and whether they
▲Pieter van de Looveren, Marketing Communications Manager, Video Systems, Bosch Security Systems
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