8/1/2017 Which digital video interface is best for global security systems?

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Whichdigitalvideointerfaceisbestforglobalsecuritysystems?
PostedbyGretchenAlperonFri,May29,2015

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Movefromanalogtodigital

Toimprovetheinformationgatheredfromsituationalawareness,longrangeobservationanddesignatorsystems,thebig
trendistoincreasetheresolutionofthedaylightvideocamerasfromVGAtoHDandgreaterformoreaccuratefull
motionvideocontent.Higherresolutionsallowforanincreasedfieldofview(FOV)withequalDRI(detection,recognition,
identification)capabilitiesorincreaseDRIfromfurtherdistances.

Thereareeffortsinboththemilitaryandotherglobalsecurityareastomovefromanalogtodigitaltomeetthevideo
intelligencegoalsandothernetworkingneeds.Withdigitalthereisnodegradationofdataovertheinterfaceaswith
analogthereismorenoisewithlongercables.Thevideorecordingthatisenabledwithdigitalallowsfordistributionover
longranges.

Somelegacysystemsthathaveswitchedtodigitalusedwhatwasavailableatthetimesuchasthosefromthebroadcast
market,i.e.SDI,orfromthemachinevisionmarket,includingCameraLinkorGigEVision.Butnowtheinterfacehas
becomealimitingfactorinsupportingthebandwidthofgreaterresolutionsandframespeeds,andtherearemanyhigh
speedinterfacestochoosefrom.

Todeterminewhichvideointerfacewouldbebestforyournextdaylightcameraupgrade,itisagoodfirststeptoidentify
whichinterfacerequirementsaremostimportantforglobalsecuritysystems.

Videointerfacerequirementsforglobalsecuritysystems

Hereisalistofthemosttypicalvideointerfacerequirementsparticulartodefenseandglobalsecuritysystems:

MinimizeSWAPC
Numberofcablesneededforinterfacing
Sizeofconnectorsneededforinterfacing
Powerconsumptionofinterface
Costofcables
Longcablelengthsandflexiblecablesforroutingthroughoutvehiclesandusewithsliprings
Highreliability
SupportHDresolution(color)at60frames/second
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8/1/2017 Which digital video interface is best for global security systems?
SupportHDresolution(color)at60frames/second
Enablevariousimageformatsforbackwardscompatibility
Allowforupgradestogreaterresolutionsinthefuture
NewCMOSsensorswillenableevengreateridentificationcapabilities,sensitivityinlowlightsituations,
andrecognitionfromgreaterdistances

SomeadditionalcommentsonSWAPCthesizeofthecabledrivercanalsohaveabigimpactonthesizeofthecamera.
Inaddition,powerovertheinterfacenotonlyreducesthenumberofcablesbutalsothenumberofconnectors(whichcan
belarge).

ProsandConsofdifferentinterfacesforglobalsecurity

Withthoserequirementsinmind,letslookattheprosandconsofsomedifferentvideointerfaces.Fordetailed
backgroundinformationonthedifferentinterfacestandards,seeourfreeePaper.OrdownloadtheofficialCamera
interfacecomparisonfromthe3globalMachineVisionorganisations,JIIA,EMVAandAIA.

Hereisaquickoverviewofthespecs:

CameraLink(singlecable)

Pros

Wellestablishedstandardthatisreliableforshortdistanceconnection
Enablesvariousimageformats
GoodforupgradeofcamerainexistingsystemusingCameraLink
Poweroverthecableisoptional

Cons

Limitedbandwidth(onlyupto30fpspossiblewithfullHDcolor)
Doesnotallowforfutureupgradesofgreaterresolutions
Short,stiff,expensivecables

HDSDI/3GSDI

Pros

WellestablishedinterfacethatisgoodwhenstandardHDTVisgoodenoughforsystem
UpgradeofcamerainexistingsystemthatisalreadyusingHDSDI

Cons

DoesnotallowfordifferentimageformatsorgreaterresolutionsthanHD(TVfocused)
Extracablesforpower,communication,triggeringetc.arerequired

GigEVision

Pros

Providesatraditionalwayofsettingupvideonetworks
Long,flexible,inexpensivecables

Cons
LargeR45connector
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8/1/2017 Which digital video interface is best for global security systems?
LargeR45connector
Processingrequiredtopackandunpackvideogeneratesadditionalheatanduncertainlatency(reliability
issues)
Bandwidthlimited(noHDTVwithoutcompressionpossibleoverGigE)
Accuratetriggeringoverthecablemaybedifficulttoimplement

USB3Vision

Pros

Commonlyknownstandardbasedonconsumerinterface
Noframegrabberrequired(interfacecardrequired)

Cons

Largeconnectorandinterfacedriver
Maximumthroughputunpredictable(chipset,PCmotherboardanddriverdependent)
Sustainablespeedismuchlowerthantheoreticallimit
Unreliableoperationwithlongercables(>3m)

CoaXPress

Pros

Oneinterfacestandardforsystemstodayandinthefutureveryhighbandwidthcapabilitymovingto12
Gbpspercable
Oneflexiblecablesolution(includespowerovercable):lowestSWAPandCost
OnecableinterfaceEMC/EMIfriendly
Backwardcompatiblywith75OhmCoaxialcable(whenusingexistinginfrastructurelikeHDSDIoreven
analog)
Anydisplayformatispossible
Lowlatencyandstablevideotransfer,reliablewithhardwarecontrolthroughdirectmemoryaccess

Cons

Requiresaframegrabber
Relativelynewstandard,notyetwellknownintheindustry

Anoverviewoftheprosandcons:

Hereareourthoughtswewelcomeyours!Pleaseleaveusacommentorgiveusacallwithanycommentsorquestions.

Topics:InterfaceTechnology

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