 | Issue: | Asia-Pacific II 2003 |
| Article no.: | 13 | |
| Topic: | IPTV – Internet Video | |
| Author: | William Claxton | |
| Title: | Managing Director | |
| Organisation: | OpenAsia Solutions Pte Ltd | |
| PDF size: | 184KB |
About author
William Claxton is the Managing Director and founder of OpenAsia Solutions Pte Ltd and is an IT Consultant specialised in digital media applications. His company provides market-leading Internet solutions and products throughout Asia Pacific. Mr Claxton is President of Singapore’s Association of IT Consultants and serves on the Advisory Board of Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Information Technology. He is a published software author of the award winning ‘Log-It PC.’ Mr Claxton, a US citizen, is a permanent resident of Singapore. He earned a BA in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Article abstract
Internet Protocol TV cameras, ‘Webcams’, are changing the way television is used. Although broadcasters were first to use these cameras, business and security applications now far exceed broadcasting applications. Digital video systems, used for security systems are being replaced by IP based systems that let executives monitor their operations throughout the world from wherever they may be. Healthcare, retail and manufacturing are among today’s biggest users. The increasing use of webcams for public and on-the-job surveillance raises social questions.
Full Article
The convergence of corporate and industrial television is affecting several market segments including telecoms, security and automation. What is it all about and why is this significant for business operations? Incremental Progress Perhaps not wanting to miss out on the Internet boom as they did the PC boom, broadcasters were early adopters of video delivery over the Internet. Broadcasters were eager to try webcasting as a vehicle for reaching worldwide audiences beyond the reach of cable and over-the-air transmissions. Their interest actually drove much innovation and funding of IP-based video. In fact, the popularity of streaming media formats such as WindowsMediaTM and RealMediaTM owes much to the patronage of CNN, BBC, NBC, ABC and ESPN. Meanwhile, for industrial closed circuit TV, CCTV, PC-based systems began to replace videocassettes as a recording medium. A dizzying variety of proprietary servers were introduced and marketed as ‘digital video recorders’ or DVR systems. Technically, DVRs are a huge advance over VCRs. A single black-box DVR can record 30 days of video from a dozen cameras, with significant labour reduction since operators don’t have to change tapes. DVRs can be networked with other PCs and connected to the Internet. Moreover, DVRs can employ sophisticated logic – such as to record only when motion is detected in a selected region of the image. Some can even use software to detect an open flame or smoke in the image and trigger a fire alarm. DVR systems allow businesses to outsource the security monitoring function and replace their guard with a man at the security company. Still, DVR vendors are trying to catch-up with IP-based video since the cameras and transmission networks of DVR systems are still analogue. DVR systems are just a stepping-stone towards fully digital video networks. The Importance of Stand-ards IP-based video relies on open standards for data and transmission protocols. Protocol standards let vendors focus on applications and avoid reinventing the supporting components. Data format standards help ensure that consumers don’t get stuck with products supported by just one vendor (as was the plight of Betamax users in the videocassette format wars of the early 1980s). To appreciate the value of standards, compare the fates of webcams and corporate videoconferencing. A webcam is an inexpensive chip camera that connects directly to a computer and is a popular peripheral for videoconferencing. Webcam users were initially limited to communicating with others who installed webcams from the same manufacturer. Only after the advent of standards for videoconferencing via Internet did webcam adoption increase significantly. Corporate videoconferencing has had several standards for some time. Business customers benefited from the standardization of videoconferencing and will continue to do so when the Internet-based standard is broadly adopted by the industry. Network Video Cameras Are Born In 1995, as the Internet age was dawning, the world’s first slow and clunky ‘network cameras’ – a chip camera that you could plug directly into your network and view using a standard web browser – appeared. Today there are dozens of companies manufacturing IP-based network cameras, costing less than US$ 200. The size of these cameras is smaller than a bar of soap and they provide quarter screen full motion video. The manufacturers benefit from standards for data exchange (JPEG and MPEG), for networking (TCP/IP) and web communications (HTTP, FTP and related protocols). Even the Linux operating system they employ is open source. Thus, while there are myriad makes and models of network cameras, there is a common basic feature set: plug & play on any network using a fixed or dynamically assigned IP address embedded Linux operating system embedded Web server and user interface via Web pages auto-iris, auto-white-balance and often auto-focus built-in motion detection, event triggers and alarms. This commonality has created a secondary market in software applications that either reside on the cameras or in the network – typically at a remote server. Some independent software vendors (ISVs) offer software solutions that rival DVR products and do not restrict the customer to a black box. Unlike DVRs, though, software-based solutions can mix and match server hardware and can be upgraded. Complete monitoring solution can be obtained for around $US7,500 – including three IP-based cameras, server hardware and software, installation and staff training. The systems can be accessed anytime, from anywhere, to display live or recorded images. Recording duration is limited only by disc storage – 30 days for three cameras requires 200 GB. When that space is used up, it is automatically reused. For safekeeping, individual video files can be exported and stored on CD-ROM. Importantly, both monitoring and administration are web-based, so video monitoring may be integrated into an organisation’s intranet, web site or security system. Since the data are in an Internet compatible format, there are no limit to how businesses can integrate video monitoring with their operations. Applications in Business Operations Applications that integrate video and other data illustrate clearly the power of networked video. Healthcare, retail and manufacturing are major users and most applications have nothing to do with security videos. Healthcare and Life Sciences Video monitoring is an integral tool at some specialised treatment centres, such as those treating sleep disorders or seizures. These illnesses are routinely diagnosed and treated using digital video combined with biometric data. A related technique called ‘EEG video monitoring’ is gaining acceptance as a means to evaluate and treat patients suffering from seizures. In these applications, a patient checks into a special room equipped with a networked video camera. Hospital staff monitor the patient’s heartbeat, breathing, oxygen saturation and other variables recorded via sensors. Digital video is recorded throughout the session and images of the patient synchronised with the biometric data may be visually analysed. This technique usually leads to diagnoses that are more accurate and sometimes leads to a modified therapy session. Video is also an important management tool for monitoring surgeries, maternities, nurseries, quarantine wards and life science laboratories. Video can be cross-referenced with other data, such as room temperature, barometric pressure or the names of medical officers on duty. Often, these data is directly overlaid on top of the video images. Retail and Franchising When retailers experience problems such as shrinkage, fraud, clerical errors and shoplifting, they usually begin to investigate by reviewing cash register records. Specialised network video applications can link video recordings to data from a retailer’s point-of-sale (‘POS’) terminals. This allows retailers to review video sequences based on transaction IDs, item numbers, terminal numbers and employee numbers, in any combination desired. Managers can then identify whether losses are due to theft or incompetence. Networked video cameras can also help identify retail customer service problems. Is there a service bottleneck? Do customers appear happy while waiting for service? These questions are particularly relevant for franchise operators – and these questions cannot be answered by financial reports. A network video solution helps franchise operators monitor the quality of service in their outlets and it benefits the franchisees too. Manufacturing In Asia as elsewhere in the world, manufacturers are moving plant operations to locations where labour is cheap, while centring their strategic operations in locations with better financial, transport and telecom infrastructure. This globalisation requires management to know what is going on in a variety of remote locations, often while they themselves are on the move. Networked video provides a ready solution. Placing cameras in various indoor locations, connected to a server in each plant, where company managers can see – and troubleshoot – plant operations. They can monitor an entire production facility at a glance, or have separate cameras monitor a line, a process, or specific work area – a loading dock, for example. When network video is merged with a production statistics system, managers can relate production output, yield and error rates, to the corresponding video images and see if procedures are being followed rigorously and observe production problems or defects. Manufacturers can manage more efficiently and reduce travel costs, using networked video cameras and servers. Where We Are Today Today, the distinctions between corporate and industrial video are blurred beyond recognition. Thanks to the Internet, video is being used almost as routinely as text. Although broadcasters were early adopters of video over the Internet, business customers are now driving the market. Indeed, businesses are now in the enviable position of being able to integrate all their data communications into one manageable IP-based network. That includes: video monitoring, desktop computing, telephony, temperature control, fire alarms, access control, intrusion detection and many other subsystems. With just one network infrastructure to maintain, the total cost of ownership for each system is greatly reduced. Further, staffing decisions can be made more flexibly and security monitoring can move to the IT department or be outsourced. Many of the kinks have already been worked out of networked video. While there is still some wrangling over what is the best video format among various contenders, there is little doubt that standards will prevail over proprietary DVR systems. The market for networked video is nowhere near saturation. While most hospitals use video monitoring for security, they do not routinely monitor patients. While most manufacturers have a CCTV system, rarely does it provide remote monitoring capability. Retailers with stand-alone analogue systems are under-utilising their video monitoring capabilities. The market is still largely untapped; it is truly an emerging market. A Bright Future An indicator of the potential size of this market is the explosive growth in shipments of MPEG, digital, video chips. In 2002, this market totalled 180 million units and US$ 1.3 billion in revenues, largely for DVD players. By 2007, MPEG-4 network video devices will displace DVD hardware for most sales. By then, analysts expect to sell 344 million MPEG Video IC units and reach US$ 2.8 billion in revenue. This will dwarf the traditional security monitoring market. Today, the industry no longer talks about network video as part of the webcam or CCTV markets, but of the IPTV market and that is how it should be.
