Why does anyone still use analog/DVR systems?

[easygibson 0]

I'e been reading posts on this forum, trying to get a feel for what people are saying and doing and I finally feel like posting something.

 

I don't understand why anyone is still using analog cameras through DVRs. That should be a dead industry with the advent of IP cameras.

 

Digital IP systems provide higher resolution video with fewer cameras at a lower cost overall. When I get done bidding an install my bid is almost always at least 20% lower than my competition and I'm providing more and better coverage.

 

On top of the vast advantages of IP systems themselves, we use Mobotix cameras which just plain run over any other IP system for quality and use and are usually comparable in pricing to any other IP system we use.

 

MOD: promotional links removed

 

I guess the real reason for my post is I am asking this group to please explain the advantages of CCTV and DVR systems over any decent IP camera system. i am confused as to why the old technology is even still being sold.

[tomcctv 190]

I guess the real reason for my post is I am asking this group to please explain the advantages of CCTV and DVR systems over any decent IP camera system. i am confused as to why the old technology is even still being sold.

 

 

 

 

its simple it still works ........... most of use use mobotix and to be honest its hard for end users.

 

how about hybrids ????? more compaines are bringing out full hybrid systems they see the upgrading of customers existing systems why have customers throw away existing systems when they can add MP.

 

some of the hybrids out there will run mobotix better than with the mobotix software

[easygibson 0]

Pay-phones worked for longer than that. Find one today. I still like to use my CB radio. It's fun but not many still out there.

 

We do integrate into existing systems when necessary but I couldn't justify trying to sell outdated technology to my customers. We try to provide the best quality product we can find.

 

When I first started doing this I was put off by what I saw as a huge price tag. Until I found that the other companies were selling analog systems for more $ than my IP/digital systems cost. Per camera? Absolutely, analog is cheaper. Per system, with comparable coverage? Analog isn't even close.

[MaxIcon 0]

2 main reasons, already touched on:

 

- Analog is cheaper, up to a certain point, if price is more important than quality. You can get an 8 camera D1 analog system far cheaper than a 4 camera 720p IP system. Yes, quality is much worse, but there's always a market for cheap.

 

- Ease of use. With analog cams, you plug the output into the input. It doesn't matter who made your camera or DVR (with a few proprietary exceptions), and you don't have to fool around with a bunch of network settings and performance tweaks. Sure, it's very limited, but likwise, there's always a market for extremely simple.

 

Simple and cheap? People will buy it. Many of them will then upgrade to IP cams when they figure out they've wasted their money, but that's the free market.

[shockwave199 0]

It depends on who you're asking. Not everyone here is a professional installer- not by a long shot. If you're asking why installers are still installing analog, that's one thing. There it's mostly about educating the client as best you can and then installing what they settle on anyway. If you're asking DIY people like me, there's a couple of answers. Analog has already been installed and that process is usually painful- one you don't repeat often, not to mention the money investment. When properly installed, either by know how or luck, analog can still ID. It's never going to compare, but it can still ID and do it respectably, too. And that doesn't spell 'broken' really, so the need to fix is less motivated- in the short term. I'm not gonna go into price because all things being considered, I can see where IP- most especially decentralized systems like mobotix can be cheaper with far superior results. What it comes down to is simple- every single person wants to see the best images they can. But they want it simple, versatile, and at a price point they can afford. And mostly, when the obvious isn't so obvious and there's a fear of the unknown, the average DIY person needs to be educated- well educated. Analog is being overtaken, yes. Completely? I'm not sold on that notion yet.

[bigglebowski 0]

You can relate this to TV with HD and SD. Many people out there just simply dont care that much about the higher resolution picture over the standard def that they are used to. In most cases they already have the HDTV (which looks worse than a CRT did for SD) since that has been all you can buy for the last several years. They simply dont want to pay the extra fees in STB or even care to have the features of DVR since it cost extra. Certainly the satellite and cable providers would love to dump the redundant SD channels from the lineup to get that extra bandwidth back. Much like SD, analog cameras are here to stay for a while.

[survtech 0]

IP, megapixel and HD are not be-all, end-alls. No matter what some of you might think, a well laid out analog system can do many jobs just fine. And analog is far from dead. An overwhelming majority of casinos are either 100% analog or at least mostly analog.

 

The points are cost to completely overhaul the infrastructure, inability of many IP cameras to guarantee continuous 30fps, unknown longevity of IP cameras (good quality analog cameras typically last 10 years plus) and most importantly, most casino surveillance systems are optimized for analog. That means, care has been taken to select, locate, install, aim and zoom the cameras for optimal coverage. Changes to accommodate HD would also require patching numerous holes in ceilings.

 

This isn't your typical Mom and Pop store. Casinos often have over 1,000 cameras with sufficient coverage to see 100% of the gaming floor with sufficient clarity (I love that term) to identify everything that goes on and every person there.

 

That often takes more planning and installation skill than even some of the most complex IP systems but due to that foresight, there is no pressing need to convert to MP IP. Other than bragging rights or maybe brand new venues, the smart casinos are installing MP in select locations based on demonstrated superiority for the intended purpose (for instance, to see the cards and chips on a gaming table clearly with just one camera, instead of two).

 

In many other casino applications, MP would just be overkill and there is no rational basis for replacing high-quality analog cameras with 4CIF IP cameras. Then you add camera cost to the mix. We pay ~$90 for box cameras and ~$150 for most domes. Those cameras have been selected after rigorous testing based on their excellent picture quality, flexibility and installation ease. Similar quality IP cameras would likely cost at least 3x as much.

[GrouchoBoucho 0]

i'll give you one solid reason: there are still a few uses for which there aren't suitable ip cameras available, at least not at a reasonable price. i have installs where good *low* light performance is necessary - i mean *low* light, with no ir. there are particular analog cameras that work exceedingly well for this. there are no ip cameras i've found that even start to come close until you get into a particular 1mp model at about 6 times the price. i'd love to do all-ip because there's so much more flexibility, but the products simply aren't always there.

[SectorSecurity 0]

I install analog when thats all that will fit in the clients budget, if they don't want to spend the money to go IP I can't force them, that would be the main reason we still install analog.

[UrbanSecurityGroup 0]

Real life answer is money! Clients make purchasing decisions based on many factors but usually most important is the budget; not potential value of investment over 10-20years-lifetime of the system. Due to this simple fact, oftentimes analog products are the only reasonable solutions that fit clients' needs. If there was minimal or no competition in the marketplace, an installer of course could influence an uninformed client to spend more than initial budget allows. But again in the real world, with lots of competition (especially now-a-days with so many cheap china made products) and many clients requiring video surveillance to be only "good enough" image quality, analog is the only answer TODAY!

 

In the future, analog in the marketplace will go the way most analog products of yore... ie analog cable tv.

 

The day low end ip solutions and products will offer the same quality and price, that's the day analog is gone. For now analog is the only realistic option for many, many projects (for ex: almost all landlords of apt building here in nyc go with analog).

 

For clients with budgets that allow for ip solutions, ip components are the obvious choice.

[UrbanSecurityGroup 0]

I forgot to mention that even the analog world of cctv is slowly transitioning to digital... one major example is using ethernet cable + baluns instead of coax... As the technology of ip systems and components advances, economies of scale grow, prices will fall, and ultimately we will be left only with ip based solutions...

[shockwave199 0]

In the future, analog in the marketplace will go the way most analog products of yore... ie analog cable tv.

And yet, since cable has gone digital I've never had so many glitches and crap happen on a constant basis. The biggest one being incredibly slow channel changing due to conversion. Digital cable boxes are nowhere near ready for prime time and any honest cable tech that visits your house to fix something will tell you that- especially cablevision in my area. And in the audio recording world too, which is almost all digital because it was just THE greatest thing for amazing resolution and reproduction, all anyone wants to do is make everything sound like analog again- from plugins that add analog 'warmth', to mixing outside the box on a real console to analog tape. No matter where digital has taken over, there will always be an analog purest that favors it. Amazing.

 

Analog cctv is easy, no muss no fuss, and straight forward. Sometimes simplicity rules too. And considering an analog camera well positioned with a proper field of view at a choke point will positively ID someone almost every time, it's still a viable solution.

 

Case and point, my front door analog cam yesterday morning. Woke me up- annoying. And this was one TALL Jehovah witness!

 

[Mrcarcrazy 0]

OP Seems to be confused on difference between IP and Megapixel. Or he's a troll...