Think about why you installed cameras in the first place. To record videos so you can have a clear look. If they’re blurry and hard to recognize, then what’s the point of installing them?

Why do you need to stick with the analog? Because of the cheaper price. When it comes to reality,  it’s all about money. Cost matters.

And, the resolution of analog cameras is improving. With technologies like CVI, AHD, and TVI, HD resolutions for analog systems are achievable. Now we can even have four and five-megapixel analog cameras, which is impressive. 

However, the price gap between analog and IP cameras is also narrowing.

Essential Difference

To fully understand them, let's start with the technical sense.

The main difference between analog and IP in the “tech” realm is the method of video recording and transmission.

Analog cameras record the image and then send the signal to a DVR (digital video recorder) via coaxial cable.

The DVR converts the video from analog to digital, compresses the file, and stores it on a hard drive.

The monitor needs to be connected to a DVR to view the video, or the DVR can be connected to the router and modem to broadcast it over the internet through an internal network.

IP cameras record the images digitally to begin with. 

They can then receive and send data over the LAN instead of going through the DVR first. 

Detailed  Comparison

Nowadays, nothing is simply what it is. Just like your cell phone, I bet you wouldn't expect it to work only as a dialer. Also, the IP camera is more than just a camera. It's like a mini-computer.

They can be programmed to provide a variety of analytics. They can detect motion or smoke, count people, track certain colors, sense when something disappears, and sound alarms. You can draw a trip line where if something crosses that line, it sends a signal. All that fancy stuff comes from IP cameras.

Other small advantages of IP cameras are easy unified management and remote PoE power supply. 

But IP cameras aren't perfect. Drawbacks include longer video feed latency and network bottlenecks caused by multiple devices sharing the same bandwidth.

As with analog devices, with the development of the industry, IP camera technologies are also continuously being upgraded.

For example, the new generation of H.265 encoding technology has greatly reduced network bandwidth usage and stronger encoding processers have lessened video codec delay. 

Currently, IP camera video delay has been reduced to just 150ms, basically unnoticeable when viewing video feeds.

Compared to IP, analog video systems are convenient plug-and-play connections and no delays in transmission. However, it is difficult to manage them in a unified manner in a large-scale system solution.

About The Future

From a macro perspective, the security industry is moving in two main directions - higher resolution and better management.

Following the future development of the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting devices via LAN is becoming an unstoppable trend. 

It is necessary to transform analog surveillance into network management to improve the operability of centralized management and dispatch. 

However, there are still a large number of HD analog surveillance systems on the market using basic coaxial cabling. And the labor cost to retrofit such systems can be a fortune.

Ethernet over coax technology which converts coax into Ethernet already exists on the market, but this technology is only achieved at a high cost, making it unviable as a universal technology. 

Therefore, the most pressing need in the market today is a technology that can provide network coaxial functionality at a low cost.

Did I forget to tell you that we LINOVISION happen to have a perfect solution? 

LINOVISION PoE over coax technology. Your best choice in upgrading analog surveillance systems. With only $80 per pair, upgrade to IP cameras with ease (meaning no handyman, no tedious cabling). Give it a try, man!