HDCCTV products hit the market

DENISON, Texas--Fueled by the launch of the HDCCTV Alliance in June, there has been a great deal of interest in the concept of non-IP high-definition video surveillance. However, that concept is already reality. SG Digital, the manufacturing arm of distributor Security Guys, has released a four-channel HD DVR, which you can actually buy today, using SD-I video transmission technology.

Not a part of the Alliance, SG-Digital was working on this independently, said SG-Digital's Jeff Silverman. Previously known for being Kodicom's exclusive dealer in the North America, "we're not that much in the public spotlight," Silverman said, "but we're trying to change that by pushing this product out." He said the DVR is already being installed at a South Dakota casino that had a need for four cameras continually offering 30 frames per second.

Security Guys has set up a Web site, www.highdefcctv.net, which may be confused with the Alliance's www.highdefcctv.org.

The company can also produce a DVR that's 20 channels total, with four offering HD and the other 16 offering traditional analog. But, "we'll probably have eight and 16 channels of HD by the end of this year," said Silverman.

Other companies probably won't be far behind. Chip-maker Stretch released in July an HD DVR card that should allow companies to be deploying product in Q1 or Q2 of 2010, said Bob Beachler, Stretch VP of sales and marketing, "and you'll see interoperability demonstrations at ASIS."

Stretch, a founding member of the HDCCTV Alliance, will also ensure that all of the DVRs produced using its technology are compliant with the HDCCTV Alliance interoperability specification.

Beachler isn't shocked that SG-Digital is already to market with the technology, developed by its South Korean technology partners. "We're demonstrating this technology using industrial cameras from Hitachi and Samsung now," Beachler said. "It doesn't necessarily surprise me if they can record SD-I-based cameras. SD-I came from the broadcast industry and they have in-studio equipment that records SD-I. I just wasn't aware of someone doing it in video surveillance, per se."