GIVEN the investment in a typical legacy cable plant is usually
around 30 per cent of any system installation cost you save serious money if
this cable can be retained and exploited for new-generation networked CCTV
camera systems. Just released in Australia by SME Telecoms and QVS, HIGHWIRE
is especially suited to mega-pixel IP camera applications or multiple IP
cameras as it supports high data rates. It’s a solution so neat it deserves
some serious attention.
HIGHWIRE is not a video codec or any kind of video
capture device – it is simply a signal conversion device enabling Ethernet over
co-ax for ANY type of network device (e.g. IP camera, network switch, DVR/NVR,
PC or even a printer). One of the key elements of this product is its simple installation.
HIGHWIRE modules are used in pairs and installing them is
extremely simple. One HIGHWIRE unit is connected to each end of the co-axial
cable with the BNC connectors, thus providing a straight RJ45 to RJ45 network
connection from end to end across the existing cabling.
The HIGHWIRE-to-HIGHWIRE coaxial connection instantly
operates as a full-duplex 100BaseT Ethernet connection and is completely
transparent to any network device. Important, too, HIGHWIRE has no MAC address
or IP address and requires no set-up whatsoever.
Where cable length, quality or signal interference
prevents full rate operation (200Mbps), the HIGHWIRE pair will auto-adapt to
transmission conditions, lowering the total bandwidth as necessary. This will
be transparent to the network system, although the connection bandwidth will be
reduced. However, it is the total rate (up + down) which decreases – so that
for example at half rate, cameras that require up to 90Mbps downstream and
10Mbps upstream capacity will not be affected.
In terms of its physical size, HIGHWIRE is a compact box
about the size of a pack of playing cards. It has a standard RJ45 network
connector on one side and a co-axial BNC connector on the other. It uses very
little power, and is designed to fit inside a camera housing if required.
CCTV cable is normally routed to a central point, forming
an effective single “star” network topology. Thus exploitation of legacy video
cable with HIGHWIRE actually solves a major problem with Megapixel cameras –
that of the high network bandwidth requirements for such devices when installed
on single cable networks in which multiple nodes share a single Fast Ethernet
pipe.
HIGHWIRE supports 75 ohm coax through a BNC plug with a maximum
cable length of 300m for full data rate (or up to 450m at a reduced rate). The
data throughput max is 200Mbps (total up + down).
Benefit’s of HIGHWIRE include:
* Uses legacy cabling – cuts installation costs
* Supports multiple IP cameras
* Supports megapixel cameras
* Supports any network device -fully transparent 100BaseT
Ethernet
* Simple to install- no IP address or other setup
required
* Full-speed over 300m cable (900ft)
* Compact – fits inside CCTV camera housings
* Low power – uses camera supply
* Rack-mount option for control room end
* Solves network traffic problem for MEGA-PIXEL cameras.
