The video surveillance industry is expanding rapidly due to rising security needs combined with a spate of technological innovations -- including the migration to digital, fully networked systems, according to the market-research firm iSuppli Corp. The growth in video surveillance will open a vast array of opportunities for associated semiconductors, especially as the market shifts from CCTV cameras to IP cameras.

"With the emergence of networked Internet Protocol (IP) video surveillance cameras and IP video servers -- along with the rising use of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) -- video surveillance is moving beyond traditional security and into new applications such as transportation, retail, government and even home networking," said Mark Kirstein, vice president of multimedia content and services at iSuppli. "This expansion is being helped considerably by the idea of networked video surveillance, which allows for greater flexibility, field upgradeability, increased automation and more intelligence to be incorporated into the overall system. Because of this, IP cameras will experience continued growth in surveillance, displacing existing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras with modern technology that can be networked into larger security systems. Similarly, surveillance DVRs are transitioning into networked devices," Kirstein added.

Kirstein said he also expects to see the development of a consumer IP camera market. Telecom operators are expected to offer IP video surveillance as a value-added consumer broadband service. iSuppli predicts 2011 will be the first year that IP cameras overtake CCTV cameras as the dominant equipment in video surveillance.

Global video surveillance camera revenue is forecast to grow to more than $9 billion by 2011, maintaining a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.2 percent up from $4.9 billion in 2006, iSuppli predicts. Meanwhile, video surveillance unit shipments will more than double to 65.7 million units in 2011, rising at a CAGR of 17.1 percent from 29.8 million in 2006.

Code-name: profit

The growth in video surveillance will open a vast array of opportunities for associated semiconductors. iSuppli projects the market for surveillance-camera semiconductors will hit $1.25 billion in 2011, more than double the $525 million in 2006. The IP camera segment is the biggest opportunity for semiconductor suppliers because it will grow from a relatively small segment to become the dominant technology in five years. A major shift in semiconductor revenue likely will be propelled by this trend to IP cameras. Sales of video processor and interface chips, such as Ethernet, Power over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, will grow dramatically. However, spending on image sensors will fall off based on relentless price declines and accelerated adoption of less-expensive CMOS image sensors.

Spies like us

As advanced camera technologies such as video content analytics become available due to innovations from semiconductor and applications vendors, they will be integrated into intelligent video systems. These innovations include:

• Motion detection, such as a car entering a parking lot or a boat approaching a seaport
• Behavior detection, such as a person dropping a package near an elevator bank and leaving
• Thermal/infrared cameras, giving surveillance systems the capability to capture movement at night

Mission impossible?

However, the video surveillance market is not without challenges and several barriers exist that will slow the adoption of IP video surveillance equipment, including:

• Limited customer awareness and expertise with networked video surveillance.
• The conservative nature of traditional security customers.
• Distribution and sales channels for security and surveillance equipment and installation tend to lack IT/ networking expertise.
• New IT competitors entering the security market lack security industry expertise.
• Increased complexity in the decision and buying process due to coordination and conflicts between IT and security organizations.

About the market research study

Follow the line below for more information on the iSuppli report, "IP/Networked Video Surveillance: Markets & Technology".

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