Analysis of Market Development Trends for Optical Transceivers in the Security Industry
With the continuous maturation and refinement of technology, domestically produced optical transceivers are also making steady progress in functionality and performance. For example, video AGC (Automatic Gain Control, which automatically monitors the amplitude of the input video signal and dynamically adjusts the gain to output a standard 1Vp-p video signal at the receiver) functionality.
Technology upgrades are also reflected in the diversity of functions, such as providing richer service interfaces, battery power failure alarms, character overlay, lightning and moisture protection, and device network management, demonstrating products that are oriented toward convenient application and equipped with fault pre-diagnosis systems for video optical transceivers.
Video optical transceiver technology upgrades are also reflected in modular functional design, where the main functions of the product, such as optical-electrical conversion, video, data, and audio modules, are designed as fully independent and pluggable, integrating all signals involved in security applications into a single optical transceiver.
Lightning protection design is also an important topic in enhancing the functionality of today's optical transceivers. Lightning protection needs to be considered on all external interfaces of the optical transceiver, not just data interfaces, but also all external interfaces such as video and audio, as well as power input interfaces. Otherwise, lightning often invades the equipment through the weakest point of protection, causing equipment damage.
2010 marked the first year of high-definition in the surveillance industry, and the concept of "high-definition" also began to emerge in the video optical transceiver industry. Wasv Communication launched high-definition video optical transceivers covering industry-standard interfaces such as HDMI, DVI, and SDI, while Tiandy and Jiangsu Xinchuang also introduced their own high-definition optical transceivers.
Alongside the rapid development of the optical transceiver industry, there is also competition among technical solutions, the most significant being competition from network video solutions. Among current fiber optic transmission solutions, in addition to solutions that simply use optical transceivers for networking, there are also solutions such as optical matrices, video codec switches, Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) with video codecs, and UTN integrated service optical transmission networks.
Different solutions use different types and methods of optical transceivers. For example, to support the construction of Ethernet Passive Optical Networks, optical transceivers based on EPON technology are also receiving increased attention from manufacturers. This type of product can reduce costs in projects involving large-capacity front-end video access.
The integrated service all-digital optical transmission and switching system can effectively address the requirements of multi-level transmission/switching and management, representing a new technology platform for the development of optical transceiver technology. Products from this system can also effectively support image distribution access across various topological structures, such as star, chain, ring, and hybrid topologies.
The period of the 12th Five-Year Plan will be a critical phase for the development of fiber broadband access networks. According to national development requirements, triple play, broadband speed-up, the Internet of Things, and energy conservation and emission reduction will all be key directions for the development of fiber broadband access networks during the 12th Five-Year Plan period.
Key tasks include: actively promoting the trial commercialization of new technologies such as 10G Passive Optical Network (PON) and Wavelength Division Multiplexing PON (WDMPON) to meet the FTTH (Fiber to the Home) access requirement of 100Mbit/s per user, building a world-leading fiber broadband access network; researching and developing technologies and products that can better integrate with the Internet of Things, creating a powerful access bearer network for the IoT; and continuously improving green environmental protection and energy-saving technologies, striving to achieve internationally leading levels of power consumption for active equipment in fiber access networks.
To achieve higher access bandwidth, the promotion of Fiber to the Home (FTTH) takes priority. China Telecom plans to activate 1 million FTTH subscriber lines, while China Mobile and China Unicom are also accelerating their FTTH deployments. In the coming years, FTTH is bound to experience explosive growth, expanding market demand and thereby driving the fiber optic industry forward.
According to relevant data statistics, with the full implementation of the "Broadband China · Optical Network City" project, urban areas planned to add 30 million households with FTTH (i.e., access bandwidth of 100M or above) in 2011, three times the number during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, with a cumulative coverage of 40 million households; southern cities (including county towns) will achieve full 8M access bandwidth coverage, with 20M coverage reaching 70%; developed eastern cities and provincial capitals in central and western regions will achieve 20M coverage of over 80%.
By 2013, all household customers in southern cities (including county towns) will be provided with 20M access, with FTTH coverage reaching 80 million households. By the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan, southern urban areas will achieve full optical network coverage for household and government/enterprise users, with FTTH exceeding 100 million, ranking among the world's leading levels.
The large-scale construction of fiber broadband access networks by telecommunications operators has multifaceted impacts on professional security video optical transceiver manufacturers. The large-scale construction of fiber broadband access networks provides good development opportunities for optical transmission equipment and fiber optic cable manufacturers. Comprehensive optical communications companies that can gain access to this market will find it highly advantageous for expanding their market presence. However, the vast majority of companies that solely produce video optical transceivers will find it difficult to enter this market.
On the other hand, building a world-leading fiber broadband access network in China will greatly promote the development of IP surveillance. This is favorable for companies producing media converters (fiber optic modems), but it will cause the proportion of video optical transceivers in the overall security surveillance system market to shrink. Video optical transceiver manufacturers that can combine current IP video solutions to provide users with large-scale fiber-based integrated video management platform solutions will occupy a relatively proactive position in market competition.
Currently, due to various reasons, front-end devices in surveillance networks will not fully adopt digital products in the short term. Secondly, analog video solutions have the advantages of maturity and economy, making them particularly suitable for small and medium-sized surveillance projects. Additionally, for the maintenance and expansion of existing projects, continuing with the previous fiber optic transmission solutions remains relatively convenient. Therefore, in these aspects, video optical transceivers still have significant application prospects.
There are differing views on the impact of IP surveillance development on the future market of optical transceivers. One view is that with the acceleration of the IP process, the proportion of video optical transceivers in the overall security surveillance system is shrinking. However, there are also differing opinions within the industry, believing that due to unstable transmission speeds caused by network bandwidth limitations, as well as improvements in optical transceiver compression transmission technology, the two will move toward integration rather than competition in the future, and therefore will not affect the optical transceiver market based on fiber optic transmission.
The integration of optical transceivers with other products is also a future development direction. Several years ago, foreign companies developed optical transmission cameras. In the past two years, domestic companies have also been developing similar products. Taking the fiber optic high-speed dome as an example, Tiandy's fiber optic high-speed dome integrates the optical transceiver transmitter module onto the high-speed dome's circuit board.
With the decreasing prices of fiber optics and core optical transceiver chips, the application of optical transceivers is becoming increasingly widespread. Various security systems require better transmission technologies, and customer demands will further diversify. Overall, optical transceiver products must develop toward multi-service integrated platforms. In summary, digitalization, multi-functionality, intelligence, standardization, and integration are the current directions of optical transceiver technology development.