Analog Camera Vs IP Camera Surveillance

The very first thought, which strikes those who are looking to install a security surveillance

system in their premises, is whether to go for an IP Video Surveillance or Analog camera

surveillance? In this situation, it is not an easy task to decide which surveillance system will be a

perfect fit to your environment. Since, both the technologies have their pros and cons; this article

will focus on the in-depth analysis on these surveillance architectures, in order to determine

which option is the right choice.

The foremost difference between the two camera categories is the way the video signal is

delivered. In analog surveillance architecture, the analog camera turns the images into a

composite video signal, which can be received as a digital signal by a LCD monitor or a Digital

Video Recorder. In the IP based surveillance architecture, the network camera digitizes the

video signal, with the help of a specialized encoder available on its onboard web server. This

makes the IP camera act as a network device, which allows captured video images to be recorded

in digital format to a mass storage appliance, which can facilitate web browser viewing from a

remote device.

The transmission of signals is possible through a wireless or a wired interface such as Cat 5 cable

and the need for hubs, routers and switches is also essential.

Advantages/Pros of an Analog Camera

Analog cameras are cheaper than their IP cousins. So, if the IT budget allotted for

Surveillance is limited, then going for Analog camera deployment makes sense.

If the monitoring area is limited and encourages fewer amounts of cameras deployments,

say less than 10 cameras, then going for analog camera deployment will be a wise

approach.

Design flexibility- Analog cameras are available in a variety of designs such as mini

covert to PTZ models. All depends on the needs of the surveillance environment, such as

for instance mini covert cameras are used for spying application needs.

Compatibility- Usually, you can mix and match cameras and brands in analog camera

architecture.

Disadvantages/Cons of Analog cameras

Lack advanced features- Analog cameras lack some of the advanced features such as

advanced zoom and image clarity options.

Wireless analog surveillance architecture can be problematic- Analog systems are

prone to interference and signal encryption problems. So, there is a chance that some

other person can view your signals, in wireless analog surveillance architecture.

Long distance applications are tough- Analog cameras do not work for large distances

surveillance environments and so analog camera architectures with broad range fail

usually.

Quality reduction in video signal conversion and transmission- Usually, reduction in

quality is observed in the conversion and transmission process of video signal from an

Analog camera.

Advantages/Pros of IP cameras

Higher resolution- IP cameras, also known as network cameras are offered with greater

resolution. The clarity of the image depends on the image resolution of the network

camera. IP cameras deliver higher resolution images which may be 3, 5,8,12, 20 Mega

Pixels and beyond in near future. When compared to analog, an IP camera offers four

times greater image resolution. As a result a single IP camera can replace several analog

cameras.

Wireless reception- IP cameras have in-built encryption features and so they transmit the

signals in a secure way. Transmission options such as point-to-Point, point-to-Multipoint

and mesh topology are available in IP camera layout architecture.

Deployed on existing wiring- The installation of IP based cameras can be done on

existing network architecture.

Remote access availability- IP cameras are best to be used in remote surveillance

applications. Network camera architecture offers greater flexibility in assessment of

videos.

Digital Transmission prevents data loss- IP cameras capture/record in digital format

and so transmission/conversion of images is accomplished without data loss.

Disadvantages/ Cons of IP Cameras

Cost is high- IP cameras cost is high, when compared to analog cameras and so their

deployment depends a lot on the allotted surveillance budget.

Bandwidth needs to be higher- IP cameras need high bandwidth to transmit data,

whereas analog cameras do not have such requirements. However, with the compression

formats such as H.264 and the new H.265 in place, this requirement is slowly getting

reduced.

Storage- If the image is captured in higher resolution, need for a high capacity video

storage becomes essential.

With the advantages and disadvantages of Analog and IP cameras in place, the decision now

comes down to specific surveillance needs. With the prevailing technology of hybrid recorders

and video encoders, Analog and IP cameras can co-exist on the same surveillance network.

So, the selection of the surveillance camera type must be done by carefully assessing the

application needs and keeping an eye on the budget.