UMOVAL Grown Up for 20 Years & Three Development Eras on Video Surveillance

Video surveillance was basically synonymous with security since the security concept first entered the market. Currently, other security industry segments have risen rapidly, such as smart access control systems, anti-theft alarm systems, etc., but video surveillance is still half of the security market (about 50%) and the vane of the entire security industry.

In recent years, with the full application of advanced technologies such as AI chip technology, audio capture technology, and encoding and compression in video surveillance systems, the digital transformation of the video surveillance industry has been fully realized. Along the way, one step at a time, analog monitoring and semi-digital monitoring have laid a solid foundation for all-digital monitoring.

What are the characteristics of the equipment and key technologies in the three eras of video surveillance? How will the surveillance industry develop in the future? Let's learn more about the technology and UMOVAL's development history together.

The Era of Analog Video Surveillance

Since the 1970s, video multi-screen splitters, video matrixes, analog monitors, and video tape recorders have constituted the main equipment of the analog video surveillance era, and the video switching matrix is one of the core equipment. The collected video is converted into an analog signal through the analog monitor, and then the host computer controls the signal to be transmitted in the coaxial cable, and the final video data is stored in the video tape (VCR).

However, the storage space of the tape is very small, and the transmission speed of the coaxial cable is very slow (it has been basically eliminated at present), so the long-term storage can only be achieved by replacing the tape frequently, which leads to problems such as low automation efficiency and slow video retrieval.

Semi-digital Video Surveillance Era

Since the 1990s, the hard disk recorder (DVR) has become an epoch-making product in the video surveillance industry, and it also marks the entry of the semi-digital video surveillance era. DVR uses digital recording technology to digitally encode and store video analog signals. It is far superior to analog monitoring equipment in terms of image processing, image storage, retrieval, backup, network transmission, and remote control.

The Era of All-digital (Network) Video Surveillance

The era of all-digital video surveillance is the so-called era of intelligent network video surveillance. In the contemporary era, video surveillance systems are mainly composed of video encoders, network cameras, and a central management platform due to their open and decentralized characteristics. The entire process of video storage, control, transmission, and playback is completed by content analysis technology, so that the system's scheduling, command, and control functions can be fully utilized.

How Will the Video Surveillance Industry Go in the Future?

According to statistics, my country has installed nearly 200 million surveillance cameras. How to analyze these video data more intelligently has always been an eternal topic in the surveillance industry. In the future, with the in-depth integration of the entire security industry and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, the intelligent upgrading of key technologies such as video content analysis, retrieval, and high-definition transmission will become a general trend.

The realization of all this requires the support of 5G next-generation communication technology. At the beginning of the 5G setting, it was developed for ultra-high-speed, high-reliability, low-latency and other characteristics, which just solved the core pain points of current surveillance video transmission. At the same time, wireless video surveillance will also usher in greater room for development.

UMOVAL Company will go with the development of new video surveillance technology and keep leading the new era of IoT industry with customers.