NOTE: This is the first in a series of technology and application blogs sponsored by Axis Communications. SecurityInfoWatch.com will host these periodic updates throughout the year. We welcome your feedback.
4K and Ultra High-Definition (UHD) video content has approximately four times the resolution (4 times the number of actual pixels) of 1080p full HD. 1080p content has more than twice than 720p resolution. Add audio, metadata, potential multiple camera streams and you’ll soon be asking how you can deliver such high resolution over limited bandwidth connections or simply how to reduce storage costs.
Next-generation video codecs are most certainly the best opportunity, but you will quickly realize that specific implementation matched to use cases is significant.
First responders and tactical video
First responders represent a growing class of technical users that use "tactical" video for live and forensic review applications. The Video Quality in Public Safety (VQIPS) working group of the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S+T) provides guidance on how to deploy mission-oriented video streaming to the Next Generation First Responder.
"If we were able to track [first responder] status using technology tools, the on-scene commanders would know what is happening in real time," according to Paramedic Don MacGarry of Loudon County Fire and Rescue in Virginia.
If a police officer has a tactical video stream of where an active shooter is, they will have a better chance at directing the appropriate response and saving lives. Advanced thermal imaging network cameras can also deliver temperature information in addition to the video stream. Having improved situation awareness during a fire is essential for placing assets, including what side of the building is burning and what openings are available.
Next generation codecs make it possible to deliver mission-critical video streaming at reduced bitrates. Axis Communications Zipstream technology is one example of an efficient codec that makes it possible to use higher resolution and increase forensic detail while reducing storage cost and enabling longer recordings. The core competence of a next generation codec is the ability to enable high bit rate in scenes with significant detail in combination with low bit rate when the scene is relatively static.
Crime fighting Tactical Video Intelligence
In another city, a specialized team of law enforcement professionals just received intelligence of a new “crib” potentially nearby, where illegal narcotics and weapons are being stored. Two members of the city’s gang violence reduction unit start a tour and soon receive a “hit” off a fixed surveillance camera with a built-in license plate recognition (LPR) application and connected to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
The detecting camera has a microcomputer connected to a NAS (network attached storage). A “hot list” was recently uploaded to the NAS device after the city’s crime analysis software related the vehicle registration of a known gang associate to the primary suspects.
A “beacon” application notifies the team nearby, as well as the Command Center of the alert. The camera is equipped with a “next generation” codec called Zipstream, so a clip of the vehicle passing by the camera is pushed to law enforcement on site. The camera is capable of rendering details through forensic capture, and the team sees the vehicle occupants are armed with automatic weapons.
Knowing the location of law enforcement assets, the domain awareness system (DAS) command center automatically pushed out notifications of the filtered social media chatter to the nearby detectives and tactical response team. The cloud-based social media app has been listening for known gang language, keywords, and locations, focusing the intel to just what is most vital in this operation. A warrant is obtained and the unit leader requests the “go-ahead” for the operation from the DAS. A traffic management application creates a protective radius around the site operation, freezing traffic and dispatching EMS for potential injuries and HAZMAT should there be toxic drug production onsite. The team executes the warrant and takes key gang members into custody.
The Internet of Things (IoT) includes devices that can be detected on a network, be authenticated and updated. Network video surveillance cameras are examples of these IoT devices. By connecting “everything” the number IoT devices will be approximately seven times the number of people on earth today by 2020, according to Cisco.
The continuing growth in demand from subscribers for better voice, video, and mobile broadband experiences is encouraging the industry to look ahead at how networks can be readied to meet future extreme capacity and performance demands.
According to Nokia, 10,000 times more traffic will need to be carried through all mobile broadband technologies at some point between 2020 and 2030. We made our prediction in 2010 and since then have gathered information from the market which shows that the growth we foresaw is actually happening. The need for more capacity to accommodate the demands of video streaming goes hand-in-hand with access to more spectrum on higher carrier frequencies.
We will see growth between ten and a hundred video streaming devices for each mobile communications user – even now many people have a phone, tablet, laptop and a few Bluetooth-enabled devices.
A “next generation” codec includes an encoder that offers efficient, real-time compression of video, audio and metadata for more efficient streaming, decoding, and storage, ultimately taking up less disk space. The decoder extracts the audio or video information from the compressed video stream in real time or for forensic review purposes.
HEVC
The High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) Standard, also known as H.265 was developed by JCT-VC to increase the Advanced Video Codec (AVC, H.264) compression efficiency and endorse the development of UHD systems. Like AVC, HEVC is proprietary and usage is not free. In addition, the group HEVC Advance wants additional revenue taken in by any paid streaming-video services delivered with HEVC. It supports increased use of parallel processing architectures and effective motion vector data prediction techniques adopted to reduce bandwidth.
Mobile providers need conserve bandwidth to effectively deliver a quality mobile video experience. The replacement rate on phones is much faster than other consumer electronics, so native HEVC support is primarily focused on the smartphone industry. As of this date, Apple’s iPhones 6/6S and iPhone 6/6S Plus natively support HEVC for Facetime; Google’s operating systems, Android Intel Core i7 4790KQualcomm also include support.
HEVC encoding is highly processor intensive, which could create performance issues for network cameras that do not use efficient architectures. For example, an Intel Core i7 4790K 4 GHz processor has an AVC/x264 benchmark of 52 frames per second, while only 15 fps with HEVC. This basically means more dedicated CPU cores to accomplish the encoding. With processor manufacturers focusing on lowering power consumption as a priority, HEVC’s intensive encoding requirements may be better suited for servers or high-performance network cameras dedicated to video streaming only, without additional processes like video analytics.
About the Author: With thirty years of security industry experience, Steve Surfaro is Axis Communications Industry Liaison and Chairman of the ASIS Security Applied Sciences Council. He is also Standards Team Leader for the DHS Video Quality in Public Safety Group. Steve is published in a wide range of security publications and delivers an average of 100 industry-accredited sessions each year. He is author and contributor of the Digital Video Handbook, a DHS S+T publication. Steve recently received the Roy N. Bordes Council Member Award of Excellence from ASIS International. He was also recently honored by BICSI by receiving the Harry J. Pfister Award for Excellence in the Telecommunications Industry recognizing lifetime achievement, sponsored by the University of South Florida, College of Engineering.
