As the use of video becomes increasingly sought-after by end users, systems are being designed which capture footage for a variety of reasons: security, safety, traffic management, business intelligence, site management, process control, etc.. As the amount of data grows, so issues with locating required video footage quickly and easily becomes more of a challenge. To this end, BriefCam is launching its RapidReview Starter Kit.
Video has proven itself to be a great enabler, and as a growing number of systems make use of video data, so the task of managing live and captured information becomes a more significant challenge. While video at sites was once the almost exclusive preserve of security and safety systems, today integrators are being increasingly asked to deliver video capture for a wide range of other purposes.
System integrators and security installers have been working with video capture for many years, and as a result a growing number of companies are scaling up their offerings to end users and providing video for a wider range of applications. The economies of scale inherent in the security sector, coupled with expertise and experience, makes this move a natural fit for many. However, the increased use of video data does create a few issues.
Video cameras generally stream video around the clock, usually at anything between 5 and 25fps. Even at the lower frame rate estimate, that equates to 432,000 frames of video each day for a single camera stream. Consider that many sites may have 10, 20 or even 100 cameras, and you start to understand the sheer scale of data being captured. With many sites retaining video footage for 30 days, the amount of stored data is huge.
In most security applications, the vast majority of that data won’t ever be used. Unless an incident occurs, the reality is much of it won’t even be viewed. It will be overwritten as new video footage is captured. However, if an incident occurs, there might be a few minutes, or even just a few seconds, of video which is crucial to an investigation. Finding that footage in a timely fashion has always been a problem for end users.
As the industry moves toward greater use of analytics and AI-based algorithms, so smart search options are increasing. Object classification with filtering allows searches to be refined very quickly and with a high degree of accuracy, enabling access to relevant data when it is required.
One example of this is RapidReview from BriefCam, which has now been launched in a starter kit format to simplify use.
A simpler option?
BriefCam has announced the availability of the BriefCam Starter Kit Program. The appliance-based solutions combine hardware and software, and enable simple-to-create deployments in less than five minutes, according to the manufacturer. This is achieved because the kit is supplied with a pre-configured and certified hardware appliance.
The Starter Kit enables seamless integration with supported VMS software, and its powerful and intuitive graphical user interface and administration tools simplify operation to allow fast and accurate data mining. Full access to BriefCam’s cloud-based learning management system is supported, delivering user and administration training to customers.
The thinking behind the BriefCam Starter Kit Program is delivery of a complete package including high-value video content analytics seamlessly integrated with compatible VMS software, providing a plug-and-play deployment with high end capabilities. This approach will enable BriefCam and its VMS partners to deliver best-of-breed forensic analytic solutions. The Starter Kits are aimed at systems with less than 200 channels of video.
The RapidReview Starter Kit is based on the RapidReview product, with support for video synopsis and robust multi-camera search capabilities including the use of 27 classes and attributes for filtering results. These include various criteria including colour, size, speed, path, direction, dwell time, face recognition and appearance similarity.
These filters can be applied to ‘drill down’ into search results, allowing a quick and simple categorisation of results. Designed to be easy to apply and intuitive, the filters allow operators to quickly define video of importance.
Collaborative case management is used to effectively organise all relevant video assets of an investigation; this approach further accelerates and optimises the video review process. Visual layers are used to identify and highlight activity levels, dwell times, common paths and background changes. These can help to create an increasing and powerful set of hundreds of search combinations which in turn ensure any video investigations and more efficient and accurate.
The RapidReview Starter Kit enables a fast and intuitive video analysis deployment, boosting the return on investment almost immediately. Installation has deliberately been kept simple. The process consists of a few basic steps: license activation, VMS IP address configuration, camera activation, SSO (single sing on) enablement and user creation, and VMS plug-in installation.
The Starter Kit includes out-of-the-box support for on-demand and scheduled video analytics, and can be expanded to support a maximum of 200 video streams. Upgrade paths to BriefCam’s Insights and Protect products are also available.
The BriefCam Starter Kit Program is available to the company’s VMS partner ecosystem, but the initial offering will only be available for Milestone XProtect.
RapidReview Starter kits which are compatible with BriefCam’s other VMS partners will be available in the near future.