Time Indexing Video Case Study

Time Indexing can be used very effectively for video applications. In this case study we consider how current CCTV technolgy is used for security and surveillance operations, and show how using Time Indexing can improve the accuracy of video retrieval and make big speed gains for video retrieval.

The traditional approach for CCTV systems is to record video data onto a video tape. When a section of the tape needs to be viewed, the viewer has to use the fast-forward and fast-rewind buttons to get to the right place. This task can sometimes be quite time consuming.

For organisations which have large security and surveillance requirements, they need to have multiple cameras and multiple recording devices. If an incident is seen on one camera, then the video from the other cameras is often needed. To get all of the videos aligned at the same time point is more challenging than finding the time point in a single video.