HDcctv Alliance

The HDcctv Alliance's Todd Rockoff certainly thinks so - unsurprisingly. In this in-depth interview, he discusses what he sees as the technology's advantages, its future potential, and the Alliance's short but productive history...

Stretch Inc. has started shipping the first product incorporating the HDcctv specification that will let cameras transmit high-definition images over coaxial and twisted pair cable.

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 28, 2009 – Stretch Inc., the pioneer and leader in software configurable processors, today announced availability of its VRC6404HD, the world's first high definition PCIe DVR add-in card. The new card is capable of high definition capture and compression of up to four channels of high definition video at full frame rate using multiple CODEC options. The VRC6404HD is compliant with the standards of the recently formed HDcctv Alliance, which enables transmission of uncompressed video across standard coax cabling. The ability to reuse an existing coax-based infrastructure allows installers to easily and cost-effectively upgrade existing surveillance systems to high definition. Stretch, a founding member of the Alliance, first demonstrated the HDcctv technology at trade shows earlier this year.

This morning myself and Security Installer editor Alan Hyder met with a man with one of the coolest surnames in all of security: Todd Rockoff. (Sure, he’s no Roger Vigilance, but who is?) Todd’s the executive director of the HDcctv Alliance, who are advocates of High Definition CCTV, you’ll be shocked to know. This new technology aims to utilise broadcast quality HD images across standard coaxial cable, and looks like it could be an important alternative to megapixel IP CCTV. Here’s a short video of what he had to say. We’ll be running a full exclusive feature interview on I4S next week.

HDcctv Alliance is a non-profit, global consortium that manages specifications for high-definition closed-circuit television (HDcctv) as open industry standards. HDcctv Alliance has announced that it is now open for membership sign up. Alliance members can log into their Website and gain access to non-public Alliance information.

Two key problems for megapixel cameras are (1) their substantially increased cost relative to analog cameras and (2) the complexity of using IP.

Sam Pfeifle and Dan Gelinas talk about the HDcctv Alliance, why it might offer attractive products to installers, and how you can now do "IP surveillance" and megapixel quality with an essentially analog backbone.

A new industry group officially launched Tuesday with a proposed standard for closed-circuit high-definition TV for video surveillance, and end-users applauded the effort to promote interoperability in a new generation of monitoring gear.