SLOC technology injects a shot of confidence into analog upgrade to network HD

At the just concluded 11th China International Social Public Security Products Expo, Intersil Corporation (Nasdaq Global Trading Code: ISIL), a global leader in high-performance analog mixed-signal semiconductor design and manufacturing, showcased to visitors a series of products and solutions for the 960H market as well as the SLOC (Secure Link over Coaxial Cable) cooperation ecosystem.

SLOC technology solves signal transmission problems

Currently, the public safety video surveillance market faces challenges in infrastructure, resolution, image transmission distance and latency. The SLOC (Secure Link over Coaxial Cable) ecosystem adopted by Intersil solves the above problems. The transmission of mixed signals through SLOC technology can achieve both real-time and uncompressed as well as remote viewing. It successfully solves the contradiction between real-time and latency, compression and non-compression.

"With the advent of high definition, the upgrade of analog systems to IP high definition systems will face the replacement of the entire system. How to use the existing analog system to successfully upgrade to a high definition system and achieve the goal of 'having the best of both worlds'? We have developed SLOC technology." Chen Yu, general manager of Intersil China, said that the high-definition monitoring system has formed an industrial chain. However, some customers are faced with a problem, that is, how to transmit the signal of the high-definition IP system through the existing CCTV coaxial cable infrastructure without using new lines or modifying the cables, so as to save costs and resources. "I think many manufacturers of monitoring equipment are working towards this, but from the perspective of the semiconductor industry and as a solution manufacturer, we hope to build a good platform so that our customers can achieve the most intelligent development on this basis." Chen Yu said.

Huibert Verhoeven, vice president and general manager of mixed signal systems at Intersil, told reporters that SLOC technology is a new transmission technology. A key point of this technology is that it allows you to quickly upgrade the existing system.

"The so-called upgrade is actually the upgrade from the traditional analog system that uses coaxial cable to transmit video signals to an IP high-definition system that uses network cable transmission." Huibert Verhoeven said that SLOC technology can quickly collect traditional analog system signals without the need for rewiring. The ability to transmit IP signals through the coaxial cable that transmits analog video signals is one of the biggest highlights. If you rebuild a video surveillance system, you can also use SLOC technology. "Because the transmission distance of traditional video surveillance systems is limited, such as IP transmission, which is 150 meters. SLOC technology itself can make this transmission distance longer. When adding repeaters, the maximum transmission distance can reach 500 meters."

Chen Yu introduced to reporters the four advantages of upgrading analog standard definition to digital high-definition surveillance systems using SLOC technology. "For front-end probes, existing cameras can be replaced with IP cameras with real-time intelligent analysis functions; existing coaxial cable infrastructure can be reused without adding network cables, saving wiring costs; the maximum transmission distance is 500 meters without the need for repeaters; real-time transmission of analog and digital high-definition video without delay."

Simultaneous interpretation of digital and analog signals

As the pace of development from analog surveillance to network surveillance is getting faster and faster, how to achieve the upgrade from analog to network at a faster speed and lower cost has become the focus of the industry. SLOC composite video transmission technology came into being on this basis.

According to Huibert Verhoeven, SLOC is an advanced modem solution that can transmit analog CVBS video and high-definition digital IP video simultaneously through a coaxial cable, that is, SLOC = analog video + IP stream. This efficient hybrid video surveillance technology helps megapixel IP cameras to operate on the existing CCTV coaxial cable infrastructure, with a maximum monitoring distance of 500 meters, and can also support delay-free analog CCTV and network IP monitoring functions. The emergence of SLOC technology will bring good news to the realization of a seamless transition of video surveillance systems from analog CCTV to network IP monitoring.

In the SLOC solution demonstrated by Intersil, the analog CVBS and IP HD video image signals output by the IP camera are modulated by the transmitter using the TW3801 chip, and then transmitted to the DVR using the TW3811 receiver chip through a coaxial cable. After demodulation, the analog CVBS and IP HD video image signals are transmitted to the PC workstation. In the actual system, they can also be sent to the local monitor, PTZ controller, or transmitted to the video monitoring terminal equipment such as NVR through the IP network via the network switch. In addition, the TW3801 transmitter can also be embedded in the IP camera.

Chen Yu also introduced that the SLOC solution consists of a camera modem PHY chip TW3801 based on SLOC technology and a receiver modem PHY chip TW3811 based on SLOC. SLOC technology makes full use of the installed coaxial cable infrastructure and supports networked IP functions, without requiring major changes to IP camera design or DVR design. TW3801 and TW3811 are highly integrated modem PHY subsystems that include an analog front end (AFE), a digital modem, and two Ethernet media independent interfaces (MII). TW3801 combines the CVBS signal and Ethernet MII signal it receives one-to-one into a proprietary output signal transmitted over coaxial cable, while TW3811 performs peer-to-peer decoding of the signal it receives from the camera modem PHY based on SLOC technology.

Products using SLOC technology can achieve a downlink throughput of up to 36Mbps (from camera to receiver) and an uplink throughput of up to 11Mbps (from receiver to camera). This unique technology can simultaneously transmit analog CVBS video and digital IP video over a single coaxial cable, allowing megapixel IP cameras to operate over existing CCTV coaxial infrastructure with a maximum monitoring distance of 500 meters.

This hybrid surveillance system supports delay-free analog CCTV and network IP surveillance functions, and the digital IP cameras based on the analog coaxial line infrastructure will not interfere with the operation of the original analog system. With SLOC, surveillance system manufacturers have the ability to build hybrid surveillance systems that support delay-free analog CCTV functions and network IP surveillance functions. SLOC technology is sought after by companies in the industry

Chen Yu said that the cost of upgrading to a high-definition system using SLOC technology will be reduced. "Rewiring is a huge cost. For example, if a building needs to be rewired, it not only has labor costs, cable costs, but also construction and wiring costs. With SLOC technology, the entire product can be upgraded without rewiring. If it is an analog system, upgrading with SLOC technology will definitely save a lot of costs."

In addition, if the existing analog system is upgraded to high-definition monitoring, there is no need to change the overall architecture, which can also achieve the effect of cost savings.

At present, many companies including Sony and Hikvision have produced actual products using SLOC technology.

He Junfeng, technical support director of Hikvision, said that SLOC technology combines the advantages of analog and IP systems. "SLOC technology can achieve long-distance transmission, with the longest distance reaching 500 meters." SLOC technology provides a feasible solution for upgrading the system to a high-definition network system under the existing coaxial wiring conditions. This implementation method is in line with the government's advocacy of low-carbon environmental protection and waste reduction. The use of this technology can use CVBS preview, which provides great convenience for engineering personnel.

He Junfeng also introduced that Hikvision has produced a series of products such as the DS-1H05-T IP camera based on SLOC technology. At the Intersil seminar, Shenzhen UTP Technology Co., Ltd. and South Korea's Pinetron also launched UTP701EVOC and HD1K integrated SLOC products respectively.

As the process of security monitoring moving towards high definition accelerates, the emergence of SLOC technology will greatly shorten the construction period and reduce related cost investment. SLOC technology will provide high-definition network HD solutions for existing analog infrastructure, help achieve a seamless transition of video surveillance systems from analog CCTV to network IP monitoring, and bring strong impetus to the growth of the IP security system market. The emergence of SLOC technology may become a shot in the arm for upgrading analog standard definition systems to network HD systems.