SourceSecurity.com. Technology Report. NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video

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1 SourceSecurity.com Technology Report NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video

2 The Technology at a Glance Page Expanding Analog Beyond HD 4 In order to survive in the marketplace in the era of IP video, analog technologies needed to evolve and expand their capabilities. The Technical Advantages of AHD Chips and Their Functionality 5 Summarizing NEXTCHIP s technological advancements as reflected in its AHD image processing product family. About the author An experienced journalist and long-time presence in the U.S. technology marketplace, Larry Anderson is the Editor of leading digital publication SourceSecurity. com. Mr. Anderson is the website s eyes and ears in the fast-changing security sector, attending industry and corporate events, interviewing leaders and contributing original editorial content to SourceSecurity.com. He leads a team of dedicated editorial and content professionals, guiding the editorial roadmap to ensure that SourceSecurity. com and SourceSecurity.com US Edition provide the most relevant content for industry professionals. From 1996 to 2008, Mr. Anderson was editor of Access Control & Security Systems magazine and its affiliated websites. He has written many articles for and about some of the largest companies in the security industry and has received numerous awards for editorial excellence. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Georgia State University with a minor in Marketing. What s Next in AHD : Higher Resolutions, More Flexibility 8 New capabilities include Ultra High Definition (UHD) resolution, once inconceivable to analog users. The Company Behind AHD Camera Chips 8 Video manufacturers depend on NEXTCHIP s technology to drive their product development and to stay on the cutting edge as AHD competes with IP video. Global Approach to Expanding AHD Technology 10 NEXTCHIP works to meet the global surveillance market s requirements of high imaging performance, a fast-paced development cycle and low cost. Driving the Worldwide Market for AHD 11 NEXTCHIP is working to raise awareness of analog HD, supporting manufacturing partners efforts to promote AHD in the U.S. market and globally. Dying Technology Comes Vigorously Back to Life 11 Once considered a stagnant sector devoid of innovation, analog is coming back in a big way. NEXTCHIP commissioned SourceSecurity.com to produce this document. 2 NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video

3 NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video Video surveillance cameras today are better than ever. They provide better images, offer more functionality and meet the most exacting demands of integrators and end users. Much of the video system improvements today are the result of better processor chips inside the cameras and other components. Because video improvements have come about in the age of Internet protocol (IP) and amid the rise of IP cameras it s easy to associate better surveillance system performance with IP systems. However, systems that use analog connectivity are also reaping the rewards of better chip technologies. Specifically, improvement in chip technology has fueled a recent rapid growth of analog high definition (AHD ) video systems. These systems use the same transmission cabling and infrastructure as legacy analog systems, but they offer performance and functionality comparable to IP systems, including higher definition. Improvement in chip technology has fueled a recent rapid growth of analog high definition (AHD ) video systems. And in the case of analog HD, too, better-performing cameras are driven by better processor chips, so-called ISP (Image Signal Processors). Specifically, these new chips are designed especially for AHD technologies, and they provide flexibility to enable manufacturers to use them in ways that are specific to their own equipment designs. The chips also enable video manufacturers to provide lower-cost systems, and systems that are compatible with other components on the market even those that use competing analog formats. The Image Signal Processor (ISP) is an integral part of video surveillance systems. While security integrators and end users may be familiar with a variety of camera and DVR manufacturers, they may not know about the companies that provide the core components for those cameras, including the all-important ISPs that drive new camera features and greater system performance. NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video 3

4 One such company is NEXTCHIP, a $54 million semiconductor chip company that trades on the Korean Stock Exchange. NEXTCHIP s security business unit provides the video solutions and ISPs inside any video surveillance equipment that uses AHD, a de facto standard with significant market share. Specializing in embedded vision applications, the company name may not be familiar, but the technologies are well-known. Understanding the technology of the ISPs inside video cameras provides security integrators and end users a better appreciation of the critical role those chips play improving video images and functionality. Considering how ISPs are progressing and being enhanced in the future also provides a roadmap of how tomorrow s video cameras will be better than ever. Importantly, better cameras and better systems are not contingent on transitioning to IP. Rather, ambitious innovation continues in the realm of analog systems, enabling them to compete feature for feature with IP systems for years to come. Furthermore, analog HD systems are less expensive and easier to install than IP. Recent growth portends a great future for analog HD, and the chips inside AHD cameras are at the center of the action. Expanding Analog Beyond SD As IP video cameras became popular, manufacturers and advocates of analog cameras faced a problem: Analog cameras could not provide the higher resolutions and other features of IP cameras. In order to survive in the marketplace, analog technologies needed to evolve and expand their capabilities. NEXTCHIP decided to devote its expertise in video imaging to solving this analog problem. 4 NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video

5 Solving the analog problem, in a nutshell, required development of capabilities that could compete with IP cameras while maintaining the simple, plug-andplay configuration of analog systems, and enabling an easy transition of the thousands of existing analog systems to the new capabilities. What the industry needed is a system that connects and installs like analog, but which provides capabilities comparable to IP. With analog system, installers don t have to deal with complicated network settings, cyber security issues, complicated codec processing, video management system (VMS) software and complex pricing scenarios. And pricing is always an important factor new analog cameras need to be less expensive than IP cameras. As an alternative to IP, development and introduction of AHD technology to the market have enabled totally new possibilities for analog innovation. By simply switching out cameras and DVRs using existing wiring infrastructure, AHD provides users cost-effective high-resolution imaging solutions that compete head-to-head with IP video. Providing a clear technical roadmap up to UHD (Ultra High Definition, 4K), AHD delivers unique value propositions and advantages to its users. Solving the analog problem, in a nutshell, required development of capabilities to compete with IP cameras while maintaining the simple, plug-andplay configuration of analog systems. The Technical Advantages of AHD Chips and Their Functionality NEXTCHIP s technological advancements are well reflected in its AHD image processing product family. They include: A robust and reliable imaging solution for high-resolution surveillance: Due to its technical nature, digital transmission requires relatively complex combinations of hardware and software in compliance with a certain set of network protocols. However, analog transmission in this case, AHD can achieve robust and reliable high-bandwidth video transmission over analog format with relative ease. Utilizing less complicated hardware sets., AHD can deliver technical advantages such as advanced signal filtering, less attenuation and long reach transmission over 500 meters. Also, thanks to AHD RX (Receiver), AHD delivers considerable flexibility regarding cable infrastructure, ensuring open-ended solutions (channel expansion) and cable-independent video transmission. Ranging from conventional coaxial cables such as RG59, 5C2V, 3C2V and including LAN cables and the like, AHD signals can be transmitted over virtually any type of media. AHD -based high resolution surveillance system. NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video 5

6 No latency transmission for time-sensitive surveillance applications: Because IP-based surveillance systems include compressiondecompression processing using H.264 or H.265 codecs, there is resulting latency, a time gap between when action takes place and the point at which the control center sees it on display panels. This latency limits realtime applications. However, AHD -based transmission does not require time-consuming encoding-decoding processing, since it is uncompressed with real-time transmission. This feature of AHD provides users advantages for functions such as real-time PTZ control for object tracking. A format built for high-resolution video transmission: As of September 2016, AHD is the only HD analog solution available in the market that offers real-time QHD (Quad High Definition) 4 megapixel resolution, according to NEXTCHIP. While other HD analog formats seek to catch up, AHD has been leading the segment, at least resolution-wise, according to the company. NEXTCHIP says the AHD lead can be attributed to the foundation of AHD the careful design of the signal format. As resolution increases, so must the sampling frequency of video signals. Theoretically, users can increase this frequency as high as the system requires. However, this would also increase the processing load of signal sampling, until it finally reaches a physical limit. Having considered this design issue, AHD engineers have carefully arranged the Y/C frequency band to create a signal format suitable for high-resolution video transmission beyond QHD. As a result, AHD enables stable QHD transmission with a sampling frequency running at 148.5MHz. NEXTCHIP says the AHD lead can be attributed to the foundation of AHD the careful design of the signal format. AHD transmission bandwidth. Universal format: AHD also ensures interoperability with other HD analog formats available in the market to provide maximum flexibility for the user. This was made possible by incorporating a designated IP block into AHD s formatting system to be able to deal with any possible system configurations. As for this feature, AHD is also taking the lead in the segment, says NEXTCHIP. Since, AHD is a patented technology, NEXTCHIP has been able to actively meet the market requirement in the regard. 6 NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video

7 Enhanced imaging performance (AWB/AE): AHD solutions also come with advanced imaging features including AWB (Auto White Balance), AE (Auto Exposure) and WDR (Wide Dynamic Range), all of which constitute a pivotal part of any imaging processing system. Because NEXTCHIP is an embedded vision technology company, it delivers highly advanced and reliable imaging algorithms. Excellent imaging should be able to reproduce natural colors as seen by the naked eye. And AWB is one means to achieve the finest imaging. The purpose of AWB is to analyze ever-changing lighting conditions under various scenarios and to pinpoint the optimal point within the CIE Chromaticity Diagram for accurate color reproduction, using factors such as RGB average function, weighted function, valid pixel threshold control, etc. The core principle is quite similar in the case of AE as well, since its goal is to locate and compensate for the optimal luminance value of a scene. So, in this regard, AWB/AE is an art of optimization achieved by fine-tuning flexibility. And thanks to optimized hardware/software partitioning for parameter control, NEXTCHIP s ABW/ AE delivers considerable color accuracy, with flexibility to enable users to further enhance and optimize their AWB features. NEXTCHIP manufactures a single integrated chip that incorporates ISP, TX and MCU to enable a smaller board form factor, shorter development time and to support a variety of sensors. Integrated imaging solution with embedded ISP-MCU-TX: Traditional hardware configurations inside cameras have required a separate external transceiver (TX) and also a micro controller unit (MCU) component, resulting in a bigger circuit board form factor. Other disadvantages are longer development time, limited sensor support and restricted ability to tune the ISP. In contrast, NEXTCHIP manufactures a single integrated chip that incorporates ISP, TX and MCU to enable a smaller board form factor, shorter development time and to support a variety of sensors. This ultimately benefits users by giving them a highly integrated and competitive hardware design. NEXTCHIP delivers advanced image processing features in a highly integrated manner. NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video 7

8 What s Next in AHD : Higher Resolutions, More Flexibility The current generation of AHD, AHD3.0, includes a 5 megapixel ISP to process up to 1944p@30fps. As of September 2016, AHD3.0 is the first and only solution which supports real-time QHD resolution in the segment, says NEXTCHIP. AHD3.0, real-time QHD solution. As for the forthcoming AHD4.0, the 4th gen of AHD product family, it will support up to UHD (Ultra High Definition) resolution, a realm once inconceivable to analog users. AHD4.0 incorporates highly integrated image processing features like 3D-NR and D-WDR, so NEXTCHIP expects it to set yet another technical standard in the segment. The Company Behind AHD Camera Chips Integrators and end users may not be as familiar with NEXTCHIP, but many cameras manufacturers depend on NEXTCHIP s technology. So who is the company behind the latest AHD developments for video surveillance? Integrators and end users may not be as familiar with NEXTCHIP, but many cameras manufacturers depend on NEXTCHIP s technology to drive their product development and to stay on the cutting edge as AHD competes with IP video and other analog formats. NEXTCHIP was founded on May 13, 1997, and became listed on KOSDAQ (the Korean Stock Exchange) in Today, the company has US$56 million in assets; and US$54 million in sales. Including affiliates and overseas branches, NEXTCHIP has 165 employees. NEXTCHIP s corporate slogan is The Vision Professional, which emphasizes NEXTCHIP s business professionalism and pursuit in embedded vision processing. As a global image technology expert, NEXTCHIP has been working closely with the world s renowned manufacturers, semiconductor companies and intellectual property (IP) providers to design and provide high-quality vision processing semiconductors to the market. The company has established a broad business network of sensor makers, IP and software providers and semiconductor companies. 8 NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video

9 NEXTCHIP HQ in South Korea. Chips for surveillance cameras are provided by NEXTCHIP s Security Business Unit, which focuses on video surveillance camera and DVR solutions. With a slogan Envisioning the Future, the unit emphasizes research and development (R&D) to achieve technology leadership. In fact, R&D employees make up more than 80 percent of the company s personnel. An image technology provider for 19 years, NEXTCHIP seeks to leverage economies of scale in manufacture, and they pledge a high level of customer support. NEXTCHIP s core technologies of image processing algorithms enable differentiating technology factors such as high bandwidth image pipeline processing, advanced camera features and image enhancement features including AE/AWB, WDR and LDC (Lens Distortion Correction). The company owns more than 47 patents related to image processing technologies alone. NEXTCHIP also has an Automotive Business Unit, which produces automotive viewing and vision-based ADAS solutions. Automotive affiliate VADAS, established in 2010, provides vision-based advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS); and HAN Technology, established in May 2014, is developing dashboard camera solutions. The company operates its R&D activities in accordance with the requirements specified in CMMI [Capability Maturity Model Integration] Level 3 in terms of standard procedures, tools, and methods. To ensure its ADAS software development reliability, NEXTCHIP has also attained Automotive SPICE Level 2 certification, an international standard procedure for automotive software development. The company is also ISO9001 (quality management requirements) and ISO14001 (standard for environmental systems) certified. NEXTCHIP is a recognized provider in various government-funded programs, such as Korea s WC300 NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video 9

10 NEXTCHIP works to meet the surveillance market s requirements of high imaging performance, a fastpaced development cycle and low cost. Global Approach to Expanding AHD Technology In addition to its headquarters in Korea, NEXTCHIP plans to open a technical support office in Detroit, the center of the U.S. automotive industry, and has a business development office in Frankfurt, Germany. Offices in Shenzhen, China, and Hong Kong offer sales and technical support for the Chinese region, where much of today s video cameras are manufactured. As manufacturing of electronic components, including video surveillance cameras and DVRs, migrated to the Chinese mainland, NEXTCHIP has positioned itself as an important vendor of key elements in these video products. Among NEXTCHIP s specialized design and support services are customer-specific and optimized product design and platform-based and modular design to ensure flexibility. NEXTCHIP works to meet the surveillance market s requirements of high imaging performance, a fast-paced development cycle and low cost. Fastpaced distribution is critical in a rapidly changing market. NEXTCHIP s areas of technology emphasis include advanced image processing, enhanced low-light performance, advanced signal filtering, and HD video transmission. Image processing advances include optical/sensor correction (black level compensation and dead pixel correction); color interpolation; and image pipeline tuning. Performance-driven image processing includes all wide dynamic range (WDR) modes [true WDR/local tone mapping/digital overlap/ frame-by-frame]; temporal (3DNR) and spatial (2DNR) noise reduction, and defogging. During the company s early days, NEXTCHIP introduced the world s first video controller in May 1998, and a 2-channel video decoder in February 2003, followed by the first camera ISP, launched in July 2003, and video codec development in June Merging with Image Works Co., Ltd., in 2009, NEXTCHIP opened its China office in Shenzhen in May The period from 2001 to 2004 included research and development investment that resulted in the company s market-leading position beginning in 2009 and continuing to the present. 10 NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video

11 Driving the Worldwide Market for AHD Now it s time to raise awareness of analog HD. NEXTCHIP wants to support their manufacturing partners efforts to promote AHD in the U.S. market and globally. In effect, the technology has been extensively field-tested in the Chinese and other global markets, and is ready to be implemented in the U.S. and large Western markets where IP system sales have been more dominant. NEXTCHIP seeks to contribute to the education of the market about AHD, and to highlight their role enabling the technology throughout the video surveillance market. Creating awareness will stimulate additional market demand and ensure that analog systems continue to be competitive with IP systems worldwide. Efforts to create awareness include NEXTCHIP s various marketing campaigns and appearances at trade shows such as ISC West and IFSEC. Dying Technology Comes Vigorously Back to Life It s only been several years since HD analog systems were first promoted. The success of the technology in the intervening years makes the best case of all for its potential in the market. As growth has accelerated, the undeniable potential of the market has helped to drive innovation. There was a time when the analog sector was thought to be stagnant, devoid of innovation, even a dying technology. The remarkable success of analog HD systems has debunked those assumptions forever. In the Chinese domestic market, especially, analog HD has enjoyed huge success beginning in Based on that success, and lower camera and overall system costs, analog HD is now being more aggressively promoted in other markets, expanding awareness and further confirming AHD as the de facto standard. AHD -based system development has created a highly optimized and integrated solution for any analog video systems. AHD provides an edge in the market, with more tools to flexibly develop, manage and diversify a manufacturer s product lineup according to its own product and marketing strategy. Faster route to market and ability to customize products to changing market demands contribute to a compelling formula for continued growth in the sector. New developments create even more growth momentum. And it all starts with a small image processor chip. AHD -based system development has created a highly optimized and integrated solution for any analog video systems. NEXTCHIP s AHD Technology: Driving the Future of Analog Video 11

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