Increasingly, installers are looking towards the implementation of part analogue, part digital solutions. The hybrid mix of composite and IP-based video seems to be the best way forward, but can throw up certain problems. Veracity offers tools that make the creation of hybrid solutions a simpler task. Here PSI takes a look at the Highwire and Outreach products.
As an installer involved in CCTV, you would have to be far detached from the industry to have not considered the use of IP-enabled CCTV. The debates have raged, and several very different points of view have been paraded through the industry, but the technology has been slow to catch on. Even the so-called ‘early adopters’ are unsure of where it is going next, and a fair chunk of the industry wants to see how the use of the technology develops before throwing their hats into one of the many rings!
Those with their ear to the ground will have noticed that despite the protestations of some suppliers, installers (and end users) are seeming to favour the hybrid approach. This allows the use of higher quality competitively priced hardware, combined with the flexibility of IP-based network infrastructure. There is also a move towards the ‘networked’ element of a CCTV system remaining within the CCTV system, rather than transgressing onto the corporate network.
Whilst such a transition makes a lot of sense, it does throw up a few issues for installers. Thankfully, these installation quirks are being addressed, and the solutions are ‘plug and play’ ones.
Two issues that are commonly faced are the need for new cabling where a coaxial-based infrastructure exists, and dealing with long cable runs. To address the latter point first, high quality RG59 coaxial cable runs can transmit a video signal for distances of up to 350 metres, while RG11 cable can be used for up to 700 metres. Where UTP links are used, distances of up to 250 metres are achievable. All these distances are without additional amplification. When these figures are compared to the 100 metres maximum achievable with ethernet, it is obvious that the new technology has some limitations.
Because of the high levels of composite CCTV in use in the UK, another issue comes when considering adding an IP-based element to an existing system. The cost of replacing existing – and often perfectly good – coaxial cable can be enough to make an end user shy away from IP-based devices, especially in smaller installations.
These two issues have previously been cited as stumbling blocks when it comes to the creation of hybrid solutions. Thankfully, these are also two issues that have been addressed by products from Veracity.
Product design
Veracity offers two IP-based cabling products, Outreach and Highwire. Outreach is effectively a signal repeater, allowing cable runs to be extended beyond the standard 100 metres. As well as boosting the video signal, Outreach also allows PoE, where used, to be boosted too. The unit has a technology named Power Promise that regulates PoE, ensuring that the power delivery is as specified. This reduces the possibility of overloading. Multiple Outreach units can be used in a single link.
Highwire is effectively a convertor that enables IP-enabled devices to communicate over an existing RG59 coaxial cable. The conversion process allows the coaxial cable to function as if a 100baseT full duplex ethernet connection. Whilst much of the industry is looking at solutions that allow analogue signals to be transmitted over an IP link, this unit turns that thinking on its head and allows IP-enabled devices to utilise an existing coaxial link.
Having said that, the Highwire isn’t an alternative to the video server. It doesn’t offer control or video management functions, it doesn’t handle alarms, it doesn’t actually do anything<