Bosch makes foray into 4K Ultra HD

April 11, 2013
Company rolls out 110 new products at ISC West

German-based security solutions manufacturer Bosch on Wednesday announced that it will be bringing the next generation of high-definition imaging to the video surveillance market with the development of a new 4K Ultra HD video solution.

“The time is now to start moving to 4K,” said Willem Ryan, senior product marketing manager for video systems at Bosch in a press conference.

4K imaging delivers 4,000 horizontal and 2,000 vertical pixels to produce 8-megapixel resolution.

“I think more pixels is better in general,” Ryan said. “4K gives you the ability to do a few things better.”

When asked if current surveillance infrastructure of most users could support a move to 4K Ultra HD technology, Ryan said that 4K consumes about twice the amount of data of a 1080P camera. Though he said that H.264 can currently handle 4K, Ryan indicated that as the industry transitions to H.265 technology beginning in 2014, that that will provide 50 percent more compression, thus easing the burden that this new HD imaging technology will place on an organization’s surveillance backbone.

“4K will change some of the ways we approach security,” said Jeremy Hockham, president of sales, Americas, at Bosch. “We are at the start of something very interesting and very exciting.”

Ryan said the timeframe for the launch of an Ultra HD solution will be around the end of 2013.

In addition to 4K, Hockham said that Bosch is debuting 110 new video products at this year’s show, the majority of which are IP-based. These new video solutions stretch across each of the company’s product lines and include:

  • IP micro and FLEXIDOME micro 2000 family for the Advantage Line by Bosch
  • The IP bullet and FLEXIDOME 5000 family
  • DINION and FLEXIDOME starlight 7000 family
  • AUTODOME 7000 pan-tilt-zoom cameras

“I don’t think I’ve worked in an industry going through so much change at one time as video (surveillance),” Hockham added. “The challenge for us is listening to customers and adapting to change.”

The company also announced the launch of its new Integration Partner Program, which is designed to provide Bosch partners with development tools and resources to ensure support of its products within third-party solutions. The program features a new web portal and solution advisor to help integrators identify the compatible software or products that are right for their projects.