Report: Tipping point for IP video revenues to take place next year

Revenues from network video products are expected to overtake analog for the first time next year, according to a new report from IMS Research, part of IHS Inc. However, analog cameras are still expected to continue outselling network cameras in terms of shipments through 2017.

“Network cameras are generally higher-priced cameras with more advanced features,” said Jon Cropley, principal analyst for video surveillance at IHS. “Therefore, even though less than 20 percent of all cameras shipped in 2012 were network cameras, the size of the market for them in terms of revenue was almost as large as that for analog cameras.” 

IHS said that a high proportion of large and enterprise projects already use network video surveillance instead of analog and that IP is increasingly being selected for smaller projects as well. In addition, price competition for analog cameras and digital video recorders is intense and a degree of commoditization is taking place for some product types, according to the research firm.  

IHS estimates that the world market for video surveillance equipment grew by more than 10 percent between 2011 and 2012. Growth was predominantly driven by sales of network equipment in many countries where analog declined. An exception, however, was China, one of the countries where the analog market continued to grow.

“The transition from analog to network video is continuing in 2013,” Cropley said. “This year the global analog space will be broadly flat while the network market will grow by more than 20 percent.”