BriefCam Enterprise Examined 2011
In this update, we will review the latest release of BriefCam's Video Synopsis technology. In the past year, BriefCam has partnered with multiple additional VMS providers, and entered into a partnership with Milestone, embedding Video Synopsis in Milestone's Smart Client. The next release, BriefCam Enterprise, version 2.0, aims to bring their software to more users by a change in licensing structure and pricing.
Changes from Current Structure
In its first incarnation, BriefCam consisted of two products: VS Online and VS Forensics. VS Online was integrated with VMS partners. Users utilize the BriefCam client to pull archived video in a given time range from the VMS system, which is then summarized and available for playback. VS Forensics utilizes exported video from any recorder, and performs synopsis on it, allowing it to be used with products which aren't integrated.
BriefCam Enterprise changes this structure somewhat. BriefCam Forensics remains unchanged. BriefCam Online has been changed by split into two levels of licensing. First is BriefCam Live. Live runs synopsis on select video channels as it's recorded, in the background. This makes synopsis available for immediate review, instead of having to wait for the synopsis to be built. Second is BriefCam On-Demand, which is similar to the current VS Online method, which creates synopsis only when requested by the user.
The two license types may be combined, so certain high-use cameras (entrances and exits, or high-traffic thoroughfares, for example) could use BriefCam Live, with synopsis ready for review at a moment's notice, while lesser-used cameras could have synopsis built only when necessary. The time to build a synopsis on demand varies, but averages to around twelve minutes per hour of video.
Aesthetic and performance changes have also been made to the BriefCam client. In addition to area of interest, already included in the current version, users may also select an area of exclusion in version 2.0, to further reduce the amount of events added to the synopsis. Current users of BriefCam VS Online may migrate their licenses to BriefCam Live.
Pricing and Availability
BriefCam Enterprise will be available in the fourth quarter of 2011. Licensing has an MSRP of $150 per On-Demand license and $450 per channel for Live. Even with the less expensive version, pricing is neary the cost of a VMS channel yet still hinders the end user with a delay from seeing results, which we see as the single biggest deterrent to adoption. We believe Briefcam offers value to users performing investigations. However, with pricing at this level, our original analysis still stands, and we see it most likely being used by high security environments where timely investigations are key.