Searchable Video Databases

Most CCTV systems produce a massive amount of recorded video. One of the challenges is to being able to index the video for an efficient retrieval of relevant segments when needed.

Encoding video in MPEG-7 and its object-based descriptors stored in a database provides a powerful representation for performing semantic searches on the video acquired from cameras on the field. In a large video database of a surveillance system the MPEG-7 annotations in XML, combined with a native XML database, allow for querying of large amount of video in an effective way.

Enabling video to be stored and searched efficiently was one of the original objectives of the MPEG-7 standard. The low-level visual descriptors of MPEG-7 generated by Eptascape software describe the physical properties of objects, such as their contours, colors and texture. Searches are performed using templates combined with a ranking system and confidence factors.