According to statistics, the global market for video surveillance is projected to reach over 74 billion dollars by 2025. From personal home cameras to supermarket CCTV, the camera surveillance industry is increasingly crucial for protection and safety.
However, due to the increasing volume of cameras being used for video protection, CCTV infrastructures now need to be able to handle massive amounts of data. This is where video analytics for CCTV becomes a necessary part of security systems.
This article discusses how and why to use video analytics, how it differs from CCTV, and why you should consider video analytics as part of your CCTV infrastructure.
Let's dive in!
CCTV security is more than just camera surveillance. A complete system can comprise video recording and several other technologies – such as VMS, remote monitoring, and exposure optimization (more about these below).
In short, these technologies work on a system that can analyze footage correctly. This is where video analytics comes into play.
Video analytics is a technology that can interpret video security images and perform security functions. For example, it can use AI or pre-coded information to determine if a camera is picking up suspicious activity.
With pre-coded analytics, a user specifies the type of activity the security system wants to look out for. In contrast, an AI will learn over time what actions warrant suspicion.
It can pick up and analyze different motions, objects, and interference that might suggest a security issue. And, it can work in tandem with a more extensive security system to:
As we'll discuss later, when used effectively with other technologies, it can create a powerful and highly effective means for video protection.
First, a video content analytics (VCA) system is software compiling security data. It is commonly used alongside a video management system (VMS), which records and stores video footage.
While a VCA system allows to go deeper in analysing the activity, i.e.monitor dangerous behavior, identify mobility issues in heavy traffic areas, and more.
A security system's infrastructure brings camera recordings together to one of the following storage bases:
This information is then accessible through VCA or VMS interfaces. Video analytics allows you to process recorded videos by connecting to a VMS or real-time video by connecting directly to the IP cameras.
Remote monitoring uses an internet connection to pick up and transmit security footage to a remote device. It is specifically designed to identify suspicious activities and notify the relevant person.
To do this, the footage is analyzed to recognize specific types of information. Here video analytics plays a role in deciding what data is relevant to security. This might include:
By scrutinizing such activity, video analytics can provide a way for businesses to streamline and improve their security system.
Exposure optimization is how well cameras can measure the amount of light hitting the sensor. It is controlled by shutter speed and aperture. These factors determine the quality of the recorded images.
In traditional photography, a person can use a manual or automatic setting to ensure the lens adapts to capture the best amount of light.
However, with CCTV footage, it is even more important that exposure is optimized to carry out security functions, such as facial recognition.
By using video analytics, particularly AI, in coordination with a VCA system, the software can learn to adjust exposure automatically. And, in doing so, capture high-quality footage.
In essence, video analytics is just one part of CCTV.
CCTV includes all the faculties of surveillance and security monitoring. In comparison, video analytics is a way to find qualitative and actionable information from what a CCTV system observes.
CCTV security systems can suffer from several common issues. These include:
Lighting issues: Poor lighting affects the quality of camera footage. This might include glare, dark spots, or shadows, limiting image capture.
False alarms: The camera perceives a security threat when there is none. In windy areas, sun glare and shadows can set off false alarms. These false-positive waste time and resources.
Transmission issues: This concerns networking and transmission breakdown. The longer the CCTV is down, the more chance that criminal activity goes unnoticed.
Detection issues: This is about the range of the camera and how it targets activity. A camera is only as good as its coverage.
Implementing video analytics into a CCTV infrastructure is a way to manage and improve the limitations of CCTV security.
While it may not be a cure-all for security, it does provide a valuable way to mitigate common errors. Video analytics can be essential in detecting, lighting, and determining the presence or absence of suspicious activity.
As well as identifying areas of hidden risk, it intertwines with every aspect of the security system, offering a cost-effective solution to personal and organizational safety.
Two-i is a video analytics solution that transforms CCTV footage into actionable, searchable, and qualifiable data. It is designed to improve security productivity, empower decision-making, and actively identify risk.
Book a demo today to see what Two-i video analytics can do for you.
