Oct 29 2008
OmniVision Technologies, Inc., a leading independent supplier of CMOS image sensors, today announced that its OV10620 high dynamic range (HDR) CameraChip has been selected by VIVOTEK Inc., a leading global IP surveillance provider, for use in the company's first all-in-one outdoor day/night HDR security camera, IP7142. The design win marks the first time that a commercial security product is being built using a single-chip CMOS HDR solution.
VIVOTEK's IP7142 is a dual-mode (night/day) network camera designed primarily for outdoor use in commercial security and surveillance applications. The camera combines VIVOTEK's VVTK-1000 processor with OmniVision's OV10620 HDR CameraChip sensor and uses a 3.3~12mm vari-focal board lens with auto-iris to achieve high quality color images in both daytime and nighttime conditions. The camera employs a removable IR-cut filter to enable its dual mode functionality. By day, the OV10620 provides full color HDR imaging with the IR-cut filter in place. As light levels fall, the camera automatically moves the IR-cut filter and transitions to night mode, supported by built-in IR illuminators to enable night vision capability. This makes the IP7142 ideal for commercial security applications such as lobby entrances, parking lots, ATMs and loading areas.
"OmniVision has provided us with a great solution in terms of performance, versatility, ease of integration and cost," said Steve Ma, Product Marketing Director at VIVOTEK. "The OV10620 enables VIVOTEK to stay at the forefront of technology trends in this highly competitive market. We continue to work with OmniVision to develop leading edge solutions that will drive further growth for both companies."
The OmniVision OV10620 HDR sensor incorporates a unique split pixel design that operates using different exposure times to allow one part of the pixel to capture dark tones within an image, and the other part to capture bright tones. The two images are then merged using proprietary signal processing technology ensuring the visibility of entire scenes in high-contrast environments. The OV10620 is capable of performing at a dynamic range of up to 110dB in either color or black and white.
The IP7142 network camera permits simultaneous MPEG-4 and MJPEG video streams with different configurations to multiple devices over IP networks, making real-time monitoring feasible from any location. Additionally, the IP7142 supports 3GPP surveillance, whereby users can perform real-time monitoring using 3G mobile phones.
"Being selected by a leading manufacturer in the emerging domain of IP security cameras underscores OmniVision's technological prowess and our confidence in being successful in this fast developing market segment," said Todd Koelling, Senior Director of Marketing at OmniVision. "We believe the quality, versatility and integration of today's CMOS sensor technology is marking a major shift from CCDs to CMOS image sensors in the commercial security camera market. OmniVision is well positioned to play an important role in enabling this trend."
The single-chip OV10620 digital sensor comes in a 1/3-inch Wide-VGA (768 x 492) and a 1/4-inch VGA (640 x 480 pixels) image array operating at 30 frames per second (fps) at full resolution and 60 fps at QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) resolution. It has an operating temperature range of -40 degrees Celsius to +105 degrees Celsius. All required camera functions are programmable through the serial camera control bus (SCCB) interface.