Examining Embedding Briefcam inside Milestone's SmartClient

Briefcam, a specilalist developer of video analytics for searching/investigations has integrated their solution inside of Milestone's VMS systems. The goal of this integration is to make it easier to use advanced investigation directly from the VMS client. Previously, a separate client was required for using Briefcam, forcing the operator to switch between interfaces.

The integration uses a plug-in to the Milestone Smart Client. To accomplish this, an executable is downloaded and installed on each PC that will run the Milestone Smart Client. The plug-in displays in the Milestone setup section, allowing drag and drop placement of the Briefcam viewer into any pane in a layout.

The Briefcam plug-in allows both selecting feeds and triggering video display in the rest of the SmartClient. An operator can scan and select an object of interest from within the plug-in. By double clicking on the object, the other panes in the Smart Client automatically synch up and display video from the time of that object. This provide a relatively tight integration.

No additional charge/license is required to use the plugin. The same licensing structure as previous is required for analyzing video feeds using Briefcam. For background on features and pricing, read our Briefcam product overview.

Advanced search options are limited in video surveillance. While there are few closed solutions (e.g., 3VR), the Briefcam / Milestone combination provides an interesting open alternative.