International. Acceptance of home video surveillance has increased, in part because people now have more control over their surveillance systems.
Sales revenue from Arlo, Nest and other independent network video surveillance cameras reached $966 million globally in 2017 and is estimated to increase to $1 billion by the end of 2018. The United States was by far the largest country for these types of cameras, accounting for about 48 percent of unit shipments in 2017, according to IHS Markit.
"The acceptance of home video surveillance has grown, in part because people now have more control over their surveillance systems," said Blake Kozak, principal analyst, security technology and smart home, IHS Markit. "Users of network systems can log in and view images from their smartphones, share clips via social media or talk to family members via two-way audio cameras. Cameras are becoming a gateway to the home, expanding their use beyond simple security."
Impact of 4K
Some of the most important trends creating changes in today's consumer video cameras include improvements in camera resolution and the transition to 4K, analytics, and battery-powered cameras. Globally, less than 1 percent of independent network cameras in 2017 were capable of 4K resolution or higher, yet about 20 percent will have this capability by 2022. By 2018, the most popular resolution is projected to be 720 pixels or less, at 48 percent. of cameras
"Camera resolution remains one of the most important measures that suppliers use to convey the quality of their products to end users," Kozak said. "It's a feature that consumers understand and are familiar with, due to past experiences buying TVs, personal computer monitors, smartphones and other consumer devices."
Most vendors now promote 4K as a solution for wide area surveillance, claiming that fewer cameras can be used to cover the same area. In fact, a digital zoom image from a 4K camera is still a 2-megapixel image. This resolution provides a much more useful degradation of resolution quality than high-definition (HD) recording, where digital zoom quickly reduces image quality below the resolution of the video graphics matrix (VGA).
Higher quality images also enable the development of more advanced and reliable analytics. Two of the biggest barriers to adopting standalone 4K security cameras are storage capacity and bandwidth. The storage capacities required for 4K footage can also be quadrupled, compared to HD footage storage, which along with bandwidth, raises the cost of 4K cameras. 4K cameras, which have about four times the resolution of HD cameras, also require four times the bandwidth, meaning recording and management servers and software could also require an upgrade to cope with the demands of managing multiple 4K streams.
Deep learning analytics remains a future trend
Video analytics software can analyze live or recorded video streams to detect, classify, and track predefined objects or behavior patterns. It is used to automate the monitoring process and can be particularly effective in proactively identifying events as they occur and in extracting information from recorded video.
For many years, the only way to offer analytics to consumers in the video surveillance industry was by developing rule-based algorithms. The rules-based analysis is based on an "if-this-then-that" command structure, designed by the developers to help the camera decide the results. These rules are quite rigid by design, and as a result, these types of camera analysis cannot solve problems that are not yet programmed to face. However, rule-based analytics are still an excellent method for completing relatively simple tasks quickly and efficiently.
Deep learning, on the other hand, is one of the fastest growing fields in artificial intelligence. It can allow computers to interpret large amounts of data in the form of images, sound, and text. Deep learning analytics has yet to manifest itself in the consumer market, as they are just emerging in the professional security market. However, IHS Markit hopes that as the adoption of cloud-based software services in the consumer industry develops and evolves, deep learning analytics will be a natural next step.
Market adoption of battery-powered cameras.
Battery-powered cameras accounted for about 24 percent of standalone network cameras worldwide in 2017, which is expected to grow to 28 percent in 2022.
"The introduction of battery-powered cameras has dramatically changed the face of the consumer video surveillance industry over the past five years, as their flexibility and ease of installation has allowed for increased adoption of security cameras in the residential sector," Kozak said. "The success of these products has also increased consumers' overall awareness of home surveillance systems. Battery life remains a key concern for the end user, which is why suppliers now offer interchangeable battery accessories. When the battery life of the camera is running low, the user can simply disassemble the spent battery and replace it immediately with a fully charged replacement. This solution provides consumers with a clear and simplified battery management process."
