Why Is Intelligent Video Used?

In my previous post I mentioned that I wanted to dedicate some space to the what, why, and how of intelligent video functions and I attempted to answer the question, what is intelligent video? 

Continuing in that vein, today I’ll be talking about why intelligent video is used to give you some background of how it has shaped IP surveillance systems and will continue to do so in the future.

Why Intelligent Video?

The security industry has grown rapidly and is constantly evolving.  Not only has the number of IP surveillance system installations increased but so has the size and scope of installations.  This has led to smarter software systems to manage these surveillance solutions.

Security personnel and IP video users need an efficient way to handle their surveillance challenges. Hence, intelligent video. 

Analog Converges to IP-Based

As the security industry and its end users move from traditional analog CCTV surveillance systems to more powerful IP-based systems, new uses and possibilities have emerged for the video information that’s captured.

The fully digital images sent over a network provide new user benefits that were simply not possible with analog signals.  For example, a recent development is Panasonic IP Cameras like the WV-SF336 coupled with Panasonic Network Video Recorders that provide facial recognition based on images stored in a database. 

Panasonic’s president talks more about facial recognition in this article here.

Market Drivers

The reasons why intelligent video is used can be summarized by the three core market drivers:

1. The limited attention span of human operators leads to security risks.
2. Users need quick access to stored video.  FAST retrieval is important for efficient monitoring.
3. New ways to use IP video that spawn new user benefits.

Limited Attention Span

If you’ve read this far, you’re attention span might be better than average.  It’s been studied and stated that in only a little more than 20 minutes, up to 95% of surveillance activity is overlooked by the operator. 

And think about it – it’s virtually impossible to watch all the video all of the time.  But, if the video is not watched then alerts and events will not be acted upon creating a security risk.

Intelligent video steps in to resolve that issue by sending alerts to operators when suspicious activity is noticed such as people moving in restricted areas, cars driving the wrong way, or when someone is tampering with the IP camera.

Access Stored Video

To discover what actually happened you can sit and watch all of your archived video, do a manual search, or employ an intelligent video system that ensures only the most relevant video is ever recorded and stored.

This saves on bandwidth, storage space, and makes searching a whole lot easier.  Additionally many intelligent video systems can automatically search for events and retrieve them in seconds.

New Applications

Due to the digital nature of IP video, surveillance footage can now be used for more than just security purposes.

Realize a higher return on investment by obtaining marketing data from video footage such as people counting or monitoring the success of an in-store display.  That is, you can count how many people stopped at a particular merchandising shelf.

What’s Next?

Up next I’ll talk about how intelligent video applications are used and what the best practices are for implementing and using it.

In the meantime if you have any questions please feel free to call us at 866-885-4853.

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