Is this Peak IP Camera?

[adamg]

I'm starting to get the feeling that we've hit the peak of the IP camera market.

We've had some pretty huge jumps in performance in about the last 6 years. Common resolution went from 0.3MP to 4MP. Built-in infrared emitters that match the camera's ability to resolve an object at distance are now standard. All form factors imaginable, all-weather, impact resistant, lenses available from long to 120degree horizontal to 360x180 degree fisheye. Pricing dropped by about a factor of 6, from the glory days of Axis and Pelco charging $800 for a 640x480 mpeg4 camera to a common 2mp camera being in the $120 range. Smarter encoding has made incredible progress in video compression, going from 2mbps constant with 640x480 to averaging 100kbps for an indoor 4MP scene with minimal movement.

And don't forget that even the analog market tagged along with HD over coax or twisted pair.

My reading of the tea leaves lately is that the product improvement has stagnated and pricing is steady or rising.

 

[john-ipvm]

Good question.

Product improvement is shifting currently to video analytics and cloud management. There is only so much value in increasing resolution for most cameras so manufacturers are shifting to compete on software (AI, VSaaS).

Agreed about product pricing being steady or rising, part of it is likely that it is so low now that further drops do not have as much impact in driving demand and that is hard to cover costs at a certain point when you get so low.

The issue for most IPCamTalk users, based on my reading of posts here, is that cloud is generally avoided but analytics could be helpful (e.g., truly accurate alerting).

 

[silencery]

Yes, definitely an intriguing question. I think we may have reached a plateau, but definitely not peak.

Now that the "low hanging fruit" improvements have been made over the last few years, we will probably move into a phase of heavy refinement. Similar to how phones have been using software for subtle, but noticeable improvements in image quality, I'd like to see IPcams make the same improvements.

Daytime image quality is great now, but there is still a lot of room to get better in low-light or high contrasting light environments. Perhaps other features such as LPR or auto-tracking might see large gains as well.

If your question is whether or not the average price point for a camera will drop below the $100-150 range, that would be a different story. I do feel the market has established this range as the acceptable price balance for something of good quality.

 

[SyconsciousAu]

Pricing dropped by about a factor of 6, from the glory days of Axis and Pelco charging $800 for a 640x480 mpeg4 camera to a common 2mp camera being in the $120 range.

analytics could be helpful (e.g., truly accurate alerting).

Perhaps other features such as LPR or auto-tracking might see large gains as well.

Not entirely sure how I came across this thread, I suspect little fingers have been playing with the mouse because I sat down and it was on the screen, but here we are 18 months later with common 8mp cameras in the US$90 range, starlight 4mp cameras in the US$120 range, LPR for US$5 a month, and free AI for all BI users. I think we've answered you question @adamg.