Page 12 - Security Today, April 2019

Increasing Sophistication
Advancements in camera surveillance technology By Peter Ainsworth
Video surveillance management is becoming in- not want the upfront costs or ongoing maintenance of an on-premise
server. It also allows multi-site owners to review all their video, ana- lytics and/or dashboard data from one central location.
There are two distinct benefits to cloud connectivity. The first is storage and second is the centralized management of video and data dashboards. Cloud surveillance offers multiple subscription service opportunities, including selectable recording durations/frame rates and resolution (by camera) as well as health dashboards and video analytics applications paid on a monthly basis. There are also hybrid options that use a migration path for customers that offer the benefit of both local and cloud storage.
Improvements in Resolution
As the industry has matured along the internet protocol (IP) path, the resolution of cameras has improved as well. Cameras that are to three megapixels (MP) are considered standard resolution. Higher resolution cameras that range from five MP to 20 MP deliver many benefits including greater clarity and higher image quality. These advancements can be used with live images, where one high-reso- lution camera can cover the same visual area of two or three lower resolution cameras.
creasingly sophisticated in terms of operational capabilities, including the type and scope of ana- lytics available. From retail to banking to transpor- tation, security managers are using surveillance to
catch criminals, analyze traffic flow, gather valuable marketing in- sights and much more.
Historically, video data was stored on servers where much of the video content was analyzed. Increasingly, companies are storing he video data in the camera, or “on the edge,” and using the camera’s own processing power to develop the analytic metadata. This has several advantages as it removes the dependency on expensive addi- tional servers while improving analytic accuracy. Since the processing is working on the “original/uncompressed” video data, bandwidth usage on the network is reduced.
Moving to the Cloud
Storage of surveillance video is starting to migrate to the cloud. This began in the residential market and is now becoming popular in the commercial sector. Today cloud storage is ideal for smaller applica- tions such as retail stores or fast-food franchises where owners do
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