South Korea's IP camera upgrades target 3 to 8MP resolution

Makers are improving their selections to compete on technology rather than price.

Higher resolution leads trends in South Korea's IP camera segment as manufacturers strive to steer clear of rivalry in the mainstream. Most aim to boost the release of 3MP units, while a few are working on up to 8MP variants.

Watchcam Co. Ltd has introduced an 8MP model in dome and its vandal-resistant version, box and bullet configurations. Outdoor-use models comprise its high-end range. The supplier also has 5MP kinds but will focus on the more advanced type. "With increased resolution, the viewing angle is wider and the digital zoom more powerful, resulting in a fewer number of cameras required," said King Choi, CEO of Watchcam. To ensure interoperability with recorders, the maker offers outsourced compatible NVRs with four to 64 channels or up to 64TB storage capacity. The camera is priced $600 to $700, and the latter device $5,000 to $6,000. Watchcam is waiting for the release of H.265 chips, which are double the compression rate of H.264 codec.

HDPro Co. Ltd is deemphasizing low-priced 1 and 2MP units, and has 2, 3 and 8MP products on the drawing board. "We are focusing on this development to prepare for the UHD era," said Allen An, HDPro's overseas sales and marketing general manager.

Manufacturers consider wireless connectivity a trend as well, although in home-use products at present. This is because signal stability remains an issue, especially in security applications, which require seamless operation.

Some companies, however, have a more positive outlook on wireless units, eyeing drones as a potential market. "We can use an IP camera with a relatively low resolution for live video to control a drone, and one with HD resolution for recording and connecting to the cloud," said Watchcam's Choi.

To explore opportunities outside security applications such as robots and wearable devices, a number of suppliers are enhancing functionality further. They have intelligence and panoramic 360-degree viewing angle on the agenda, in addition to miniaturization. Choi cites vehicle parking as a promising segment for IP cameras, which can be used in license plate recognition and car scratch detection. Watchcam is hopeful about the military sector as well after producing a prototype, which transmits data wirelessly between the telescopic rifle sight and the soldier's goggles.

Current demand, however, comes mostly from systems integrators, which cater to public institutions, and the petroleum industry and financial sector. Cynix Inc. concentrates on this field, which requires large volume but is price-sensitive. "Many South Korea companies feel that advanced products have their limit and are therefore paying more attention to the low end," said Joon Bae, Cynix'ssales deputy general manager.

Makers remain confident of the line despite competition from China counterparts. "IP camera's market is still much smaller compared with that of analog versions, but the situation will improve this year," said Sam Choi, business development manager at Seyeon Tech Co. Ltd. "General demand is significantly increasing," said HDPro's An.

South Korea companies offering IP cameras are mostly small and midsize businesses. The key players include Samsung, Axis, Honeywell and IDIS. Truen, Cellinx and Seyeon, which produce their own hardware and software, allocate about 30 percent of output for export. Cynix, which also turns to outsourcing, splits yield evenly between local and overseas distribution.

See a comparison table of IP camera suppliers on GlobalSources.com