Video Surveillance on the Basis of HD-SDI

It is a standardized digital interface: HD-SDI comes from the realm of TV transmission and has now found its way into the world of video surveillance. With it you can transmit uncompressed video streams in Full HD over coaxial cable - delay and jitter-free as well as in high definition. The lunaHD company - a Joint Venture of NSC Sicherheitstechnik and ITS in Bielefeld - already offers the corresponding products. Matthias Erler of GIT-SECURITY.com spoke with the Directors, Harald Butenuth and André Hoppe.

GIT-SECURITY.com: Mr Butenuth, Mr Hoppe, you both founded the LunaHD company at the end of last year and already have your first customers. How and with what motivation did you come to start this company?

Harald Butenuth: We have both been active for many years in professional video surveillance and in the related product management roles, and have seen a great deal in this time: we know all the techniques and devices that are on the market. As we were confronted with HD-SDI technology for the first time it got us both very excited. The quality of the pictures above all was the trigger and ultimately the motivation for us to get to know it better.

André Hoppe: Harald Butenuth as Director of NSC Sicherheitstechnik and myself as the owner of ITS saw the chance to establish ourselves with this additional new technology with a new company under the new brand name of LunaHD. We are both more oriented towards security technology in our own companies and therefore decided for this constellation.

Could you give us a brief insight into the capabilities of this technology?

André Hoppe: HD-SDI technology originated in professional TV technology and allows video streams up to a resolution of 2.1 megapixels to be transmitted smoothly and without loss. HD-SDI is defined in the SMPTE 292M standard and this ensures that the products are compatible with each other.

Harald Butenuth: The important thing is that high-definition video streams can now be transmitted over the same coaxial cable that is also used in analog technology. This enables the infrastructure of analog systems to be used, but to attain much better results.

Can you explain SDI technology in comparison with IP technology?

André Hoppe: In short, the difference is the following: with IP the image is compressed in the camera then transmitted over a network cable. At the other end the whole thing is processed and decompressed. With SDI the image is captured in the same way but not compressed. The raw data are forwarded directly by coaxial cable without compression losses, without any image delay, and without any jitter. In contrast to IP technology, you don‘t need any specialists to build a video surveillance system on the basis of HD-SDI. Such systems are built in an almost identical way to classic analog systems and don‘t need any PC technology.

What individual products do you offer?

Harald Butenuth: We have everything that is needed especially for this technology. This includes the necessary cameras, recording equipment, monitors and accessories. We‘re not directly targeting installers or the project planners, but solely distributors who then themselves complement these products to build a complete system. We are therefore not competing with them because we can be compared to a manufacturer. We put preselected and preconfigured products together and sell them under the brand name LunaHD.

What target markets and areas of application do you see above all for the HD-SDI technology?

Harald Butenuth: We can foresee applications in new systems as well as in existing installations. This is supported by the fact that the quality is five times better, the old cables can as a rule be used again and the installation effort required is minimal. There is no one industry for which usage is limited - we are addressing the broad market. The technology is particularly suited to applications where live transmission is required: when panning and tipping a speed dome camera the advantages of the technology become really clear as there is no delay in the image. The control signal is implemented immediately because of the minimal latency - that makes exact control possible.

André Hoppe: A good example is an in-store detective who wants to follow a shoplifter with the camerAndré With HD-SDI this really works well - in megapixel quality! The classic customer monitor that makes shoppers aware of the video surveillance is really a practical option using this technology.

You don‘t just want to deliver goods but instead offer a comprehensive service. What is included?

Harald Butenuth: We would take over the marketing for our partners, for example - the distributor would not have to do this themselves. That would include creation of the Internet page and the advertising that all partners will profit from. Through the partnership we want to ensure that a common brand with a common spirit is established. That makes us strong.

Mr Hoppe, Mr Butenuth, many thanks for the conversation.