WE’VE stated a few times in the past 12 months that the HD standard is going to both free up and demand design teams take digital functionality to the next level. With its recent release of the HD AutoDome range, Bosch has achieved the Holy Grail – leapfrogging itself into the front rank of HD 1080p players while delivering users a stack of digital functionality.
A great move from Bosch is giving the market a one-two punch in the form of the IP66 AutoDome 800 for external applications and the AutoDome Junior designed specifically for internal apps requiring a more compact footprint with no compromise on performance.
At the heart of each of these cameras is a Bosch Dinion HD chipset that isn’t made by one of the 3 big providers – Sony, Hitachi or JVC. That means with Bosch you are getting proprietary design and a feature set you won’t be disappointed to find in a much cheaper camera in 6 months time. The 800 gets a 3-inch CMOS sensor while the Junior gets a 2.5-inch setup.
“Our HD cameras are doing very well in the market and the technology from our 1080p HD camera is now manifesting itself into our moving camera portfolio,” explains Bosch’s Sean Borg. “Personally, I think standard definition will phase out.
“Both these cameras have a full optical and digital zoom with the AutoDome 800 having a 20x optical zoom and the AutoDome Junior having 10x optical zoom (16x digital). Back in the analogue days we had 36x optical zoom but this was not as powerful as 20x optical zoom with HD. The transition to HD gives far superior performance.”
According to Borg, the 800 and the Junior have full HD streaming allowing them to handle 1080p at 30 images a second or it’s possible to reduce resolution to 720p and stream 60 images per second.
“We’ve got video content analysis onboard which is not a common feature of pan and tilt units – we’re proud of that capability,” says Borg.
“Other features include stabilization, advanced privacy masking, 64 user presets, preset tours and alarms. Both cameras support H.264 main profile compression. Autotrack II automated motion tracking.
“From a networking perspective you can run these units over PoE Plus so you don’t have to power them locally. And as with all our HD cameras, they are all ONVIF compliant and that means companies like Genetec, Milestone, Avigilon, DVTel in December – and many others – all can take our cameras.”
AutoDome 800
The AutoDome 800 Series’ 1/3-inch CMOS sensor, offers 1080p resolution and sensitivity to below 1.0 lux. The AutoDome 800 Series supports 1080p30, 720p60, 720p30, 480p30 (WVGA), and 240p30 (WQVGA) resolutions for 50 Hz and 60 Hz models at 16:9 aspect ratio.
Nice features of the AutoDome 800 include bandwidth throttling to manage bandwidth and storage requirements, as well as network-based control of PTZ operation, presets, tours and alarms as well as web-based configuration of all dome settings.
That 1080p HD resolution at 30 images per second delivers 6 times the detail level of standard definition cameras, ensuring crisp video even when zooming in digitally to extend the camera’s range. In addition, the 16:9 aspect ratio increases situational awareness by maximizing the field of view without compromising image clarity.
The high-performance 200x (20x optical/10x digital) offers variable pan and tilt speeds and AutoPivot ensure optimal camera control and viewing at all zoom levels. There are 99 user-defined presets as well as tour and AutoPan modes as well as integration with Bosch video products including the Bosch Video Client and the Bosch Recording Station, as well as the full range of Bosch video over IP products.
Pan and tilt preset repeatability are accurate to within ±0.1 degrees and the AutoDome 800 Series delivers variable pan/tilt speeds from a crawl speed of only 0.1 degrees per second up to an ultra-quick 120 degrees per second. The dome is capable of pan speeds of 360 degrees per second and tilt speeds of 100 degrees per second between prepositions. Meanwhile, AutoScaling (proportional zoom) and AutoPivot (automatically rotates and flips the camera) features ensure optimal control.
The AutoDome 800 Series uses an advanced H.264 encoder to create DVD-quality streaming video at ultra-low bit rates. Use of H.264 encoding, bandwidth throttling, and multicasting capabilities, minimizes bandwidth and storage usage to significantly reduce costs.
Bosch’s quad-streaming feature offers 3 H.264 streams and an M-JPEG stream in full and reduced bandwidth modes. During full bandwidth operation (full HD 1080p30 or high frame rate 720p60) the second stream is an exact copy of the first stream. In reduced bandwidth mode (720p30), the second stream is an independently configurable, downscaled-resolution stream. In both modes the third H.264 stream consists of HD I-frames only.
As mentioned earlier, smarts are a big part of the AutoDome 800’s feature list. The AutoDome 800 Series comes with Bosch’s Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA) built-in. IVA is state-of-the-art intelligent video analysis that reliably detects, tracks, and analyzes moving objects while suppressing unwanted alarms from spurious sources in the image.
The AutoDome 800 Series features recessed screws and latches for increased tamper resistance and has an operating temperature down to –45°C (–49°F). The outdoor pendant comes fully-assembled with a sunshield and ready for wall or pipe applications with the proper mounting hardware (purchased separately). In addition, the pendant housing comes equipped with a low-impact, high-resolution acrylic bubble for enhanced image clarity.
Additional features include 2 alarm inputs and 1 open-collector alarm output, which can drive an external device. There’s also built-in iSCSI support allowing the AutoDome 800 Series to stream video directly to an iSCSI RAID array. There are 24 black or grey privacy masks displayed in the same scene. As the camera is zoomed, each mask changes size so the covered object cannot be seen.
AutoDome 800 offers 20x optical zoom, 10x digital, 0.8 lux low light performance, signal-to-noise ration of 50dB, backlight compensation, White Balance ATW, Indoor, Outdoor, AWB Hold, Extended ATW, Manual Day/Night Monochrome, Color, Auto. There’s a data rate of 9.6 kbps to 6 Mbps depending on Overall IP Delay 240 ms
AutoDome Junior
Bosch’s AutoDome Junior is one of the best specced indoor PTZs money can buy. Starting off with full 1080p HD resolution and sub-1.0 lux minimum scene illumination from its 2.5-inch progressive scan CMOS, the Junior keeps on delivering with 160x zoom (that’s 10x optical, 16x digital) and day/night functionality.
Diameter is 12.8 cm making the AutoDome Junior HD half the size of its big brother, the AutoDome 800. The small size has no impact on the breadth of the feature set, however, which is almost identical in features and capability to the bigger AutoDome 800.
You get variable pan and tilt speeds and AutoPivot ensure optimal camera control and viewing at all zoom levels, as well as 64 user-defined presets as well as tour and AutoPan modes. The AutoDome Junior HD allows for a total of 15 individual, easy to configure privacy masks, per scene.
There’s also the same direct network connection using H.264 and JPEG compression and bandwidth throttling to manage bandwidth and storage along with the same network-based control of all dome functionality including PTZ operation, presets, tours and alarms as well as web-based configuration of all dome settings.
Pan and tilt preset repeatability are accurate to within ±0.1 degrees and there’s variable pan/tilt speeds from a crawl speed of only 1 degree per second up to an ultra-quick 120 degrees per second. The dome is capable of pan speeds of 360 degrees per second and tilt speeds of 100 degrees per second between prepositions.
AutoDome Junior HD uses that advanced H.264 encoder to create DVD-quality streaming video at ultra-low bit rates. Use of H.264 encoding, bandwidth throttling, and multicasting capabilities, minimizes bandwidth and storage usage to significantly reduce costs. AutoDome Junior HD supports 1080p30, 720p60, 720p30, 480p30 (WVGA), and 240p30 (WQVGA) resolutions for 50 Hz and 60 Hz models at 16:9 aspect ratio.
You get quad-streaming feature of the same 3 H.264 streams together with an M-JPEG stream in full and reduced bandwidth modes. During full bandwidth operation (full HD 1080p30 or high frame rate 720p60) the second stream is an exact copy of the first stream. In reduced bandwidth mode (720p30), the second stream is an independently configurable, downscaled-resolution stream. In both modes the third H.264 stream consists of HD I-frames only.
There’s built-in video content analysis including MOTION+ video motion detection based on pixel change and includes object size filtering capabilities and sophisticated tamper detection capabilities. The AutoDome Junior HD also features Bosch’s Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA) – same as the AutoDome 800 does. This IVA is state-of-the-art intelligent video analysis that reliably detects, tracks, and analyzes moving objects while suppressing unwanted alarms from spurious sources in the image.
There’s also image stabilization algorithms including shake in both horizontal and vertical axes, as well as a heavy-duty, tamper-resistant aluminium housing protects the camera from vandalism and theft. There’s built-in iSCSI support, an embedded web server that lets the installer access all the user settings, make camera adjustments, and update
firmware via a standard web browser or via the Bosch Video Management System.
Both the AutoDome Junior and the AutoDome 800 cameras conform to the ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) specification guaranteeing interoperability between network video products regardless of manufacturer. These are a strong release from Bosch that both meet the market’s current needs and deliver a platform for future development.
