RESTON, Va.--ObjectVideo took a big step toward making its video analytics more ubiquitous this week with an announcement that its OnBoard suite of analytics is now available on Intel Architecture.

What this means, said Ed Troha, director of global marketing at ObjectVideo, is that "a manufacturer with a zillion Intel-based DVRs installed can now offer OV as a customer upgrade. Previously, the OEM would have had to sell an additional hardware overlay--a board or a blade--now it can be a software upgrade."

Previously, the OV software was installed on devices using a DSP (digital signal processor) chip. If a DSP wasn't already in the device, OV couldn't be added. Many devices, particularly DVRs and video management systems, have Intel chips inside, but not DSPs, noted Alan Lipton, chief technical officer at ObjectVideo.

ObjectVideo OnBoard on IA is available for both Windows and Linux. A single channel of full ObjectVideo analytics capability takes fewer than five percent of a 2.2Ghz CPU. Features can be quickly introduced using ObjectVideo solutions, or more tightly integrated through OV Ready APIs to create highly differentiated capabilities.

Bob Ferrar, director of Intel's Embedded Architecture Division, said there's usually 20 to 30 percent of "head room" on an Intel processor in many devices. "We're actually pretty pleased," he said, "that they're recognizing the ongoing value that Intel Architecture has by extending the video analysis to existing platforms. As processing power continues to improve, more analysis will be delivered."

As far as the size of that existing DVR market, "we roughly estimate the installed DVR market today to be in the neighborhood of seven to eight million units, with 2008 sales being more than 25 percent of that total and growing," said Simon Harris, research director, security and fire group for IMS Research. "Though we don't track this specifically, I would expect that at least 50 perecent of this base is Intel. Plus, with new processor technology coming out from them, I think that percentage may increase."