Video Camera Solutions – Choosing the right solution to match your use case
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Introduction
The use of video technology and the associated analytics has increased significantly in recent years. As technology has advanced so have the use cases by businesses, including surveillance applications for traffic monitoring, city security and licence plate recognition, to name a few. The solutions available in the market differ vastly and the one you choose will depend on what the use case is as well as factors like is it indoors or outdoors, what type of connectivity or resolution is required.
You will hear lots of terms thrown at you but it is important to choose the solution that is right for your business. Hopefully this blog will help you gain a bit of clarity. Let’s also be clear that we need to ensure the right technology will also provide you with the analytics and reporting needed as well as meeting any compliance requirements.
Monitoring and actionable insight is a key requirement from using camera technology
It’s a fact that crime is an ever-increasing problem, both in our private and business lives.
However, it’s important to remember that the number of other use cases are also increasing. There are many applications for CCTV: traffic management, public and employee safety, retail security, surveillance and more.
Video solutions are great but would be of no use if you cannot do anything with the data that is output. The key is to integrate into a solution that provides the insight you need to action what you see in video and image format. For example, a camera would tell you the licence plate number of a car, however this data is only useful if you can integrate into another solution that may allow access based on the plate being on an “allowed” list or even tell you if this number is for a car that is stolen.
So which camera solution do you choose?
Network cameras are the most common type of camera available. They have good picture quality, but require a constant power supply.
4K, 5MP, and IP PTZ network cameras have better picture quality than most other types of network camera. Most can be used outdoors as well as indoors. Dome Cameras are also available for applications where an indoor dome is required for monitoring purposes such as in schools or hospitals.
Bullet Cameras are another option that offer very high resolution, with images at up to 10 megapixels using 60 frames per second (fps) recording capability while maintaining privacy. Infrared PTZs work well indoors because they don’t require line-of sight like regular PTZs do; however, these devices cannot operate outdoors because sunlight interferes with their infrared capabilities making them useless during daytime hours unless additional measures are taken such as shielding from direct sunlight sources such as heavy clouds overhead etc.
AI is driving the use case agenda for video and image content
The two most common use cases you hear are below:
Face Recognition: This is the ability to match a human face against an existing database of known faces. For example, it could be used to verify that an employee has entered their correct identification credentials at a door or gate.
LPR (License Plate Recognition): An LPR system automatically identifies license plates for vehicles entering a facility by “reading” them with cameras mounted in strategic locations around entrances and exits from private property such as parking lots or gates into industrial sites owned by businesses operating there. Once detected, LPR cameras trigger alarms if any unauthorised vehicles enter unauthorised areas where they shouldn’t be going – such as in front of loading docks.
Both are driven by computer vision AI technology and these types of use cases are growing all the time.
There are so many to mention including:
- People counting
- Demographics analysis
- Suspicious person detection
- Fly tipping monitoring
- Retail store optimisation
- Autonomous vehicles
- Medical Imaging
- Interactive entertainment
- Drive Thru’s
- And so many more…
So where do you store data?
Everything has a choice, even how you store the data. This tends to be driven by the company’s storage strategy however, with video, the additional security has an important part to play. Typically, the options available are:
- Edge storage, which offers the fastest retrieval time but is also the most expensive option.
- Recorders, which tend to be cheaper than edge storage but slower when it comes to retrieving video content.
- Cloud storage, which is by far the cheapest way of storing footage as it only requires an internet connection and some bandwidth for uploading and downloading video content respectively.
- A combination of the three above.
TCO and ROI on the solution you choose is a key influencer
When choosing a video solution, you need to consider the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and ROI (Return on Investment).
It is important that you get a clear understanding of how much it will cost for your organisation to implement and maintain the chosen solution. This will determine how you invest.
Making the right choice and influencing factors
There are many things to consider:
- Quality of picture: The quality of the video that is recorded by the camera is important to consider when choosing a surveillance solution.
- Recording Time: The recording time and storage capacity needed should be considered when choosing your surveillance solution.
- AI driven: AI-based analytics helps in identifying objects or people in real-time with visual recognition capabilities, which can be used for various purposes such as facial recognition and object detection (such as license plates). This technology provides more security to businesses, allowing them to know if there are any threats on their premises without having to manually check each one individually.
- Cloud, On Premise, Hybrid – Your choice depends on your budget requirements and other factors such as deployment space etc., so choose wisely!
- Cost Impact – There are several factors that affect pricing like hardware costs for cameras themselves plus additional services required for installation and maintenance along with software licensing fees too! Make sure these costs don’t get overlooked before signing up because they could add up quickly.
Conclusion
It’s important to remember that there are many factors to consider when choosing a video analytics solution, such as your budget and the capabilities of your network. There are also many types of cameras available on the market today, each with their own pros and cons. In addition, there is much more than simply having cameras installed in your business. The key to your choice is the actionable insight your business needs.