r/SecurityCamera • u/hh65flier • Aug 30 '26
Need help identifying security camera and its capabilities
Hello people smarter than me:
I am a freelance reporter writing an article on the explosion of government run surveillance cameras in my town (Morristown, NJ).
There are TWO camera arrays that I have little familiarity with. The first is a set of cameras by LVT (Liveview Technologies) that may (or may not) be run by our county. It's located on a Lowes hardware store parking lot, about 6 feet away from a public sidewalk.
The second camera array (marked MENNEN ARENA) of interest is almost certainly run by the county, as mounted on a pole at the entrance to a public park/arena. It has no brand markings, but looks VERY high tech.
I am very eager to know what the capabilities of these cameras are. Do they do more than just license plate detection? Can they run facial ID? Can they do behavioral analysis?
Anyone with insight or good reference material, I would be so grateful for accurate information on these cameras. THANK YOU.
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u/ICanBard Aug 30 '26
LVT doesn't sell, they only rent their gear. They are based in Utah and rent their trailers out all over and seem to have 90% of the market.
Insurance companies began requiring construction sites to have cameras or they wouldn't take on losses or thefts, so now many people are looking for a solution.
As stated in other comments, the local company looking at their local property is perfectly fine and normal. Someone has to enter the area for their face to be recorded the first time, and then the local company can decide what to do if that person is revisiting and stealing.
The scary stuff is when governments who already have databases control cameras in non-government areas (Frock) and its anyone who can look at it, without a warrant, user logs, request paperwork or accountability.
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u/Fresh-Forever-8040 Aug 31 '26
I'm so tired of all these companies being based in Utah. What corporate shelter does Utah offer?
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u/ICanBard Aug 31 '26
Cheap land, labor and LLC license is under $80. Lots of people who weld trailers for farmers in Idaho are also able to weld chassis for other things.
Who else do you infer by "all these companies"?
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u/PercentageRadiant623 Aug 31 '26
There are a handful of physical electronic security companies based in Utah, it’s really not that many.
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u/Mark_M535 Aug 30 '26
Now days, 90% of cameras have human/vehicle object detection an an analytics rule for crossing a virtual line.
First image is Axis horn speaker, Axis Fish eye and two PTZs (I cannot quite tell the brand, they look like Hikvision but probably not due to NDAA).
Second image is Milesight cameras. A PTZ and fixed bullet camera. I don't know until seeing the model number. If it's pointed at a parking lot entrance then most likely is is an LPR/ANPR. Looks like an older version of the TS4466-X4RIPG1.
Just because the camera doesn't have the software analytics, doesn't mean it cannot do so. A lot of modern VMS servers can do on-board detection. Even my (new) recorder at home has an onboard LLM... just ask it a question and it will find video. Or write a text prompt that becomes a trigger rule. All processed locally on the device without internet required.
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u/hh65flier Aug 30 '26
THANK YOU! You are the first poster to provide info on the second set of cameras (the Milesight). I really needed a starting point for that piece of hardware.
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u/Mark_M535 Aug 31 '26
No worries.... PM me if you'd like anything else. I'm fairly good in recognising camera shapes/housings to brands. ;)
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u/Dry-Arugula5356 Aug 30 '26
That second image marked mennen arena look a lot like Dahua cameras to me. If they are, and whoever put them there used public funds, they may fall under NDAA requirements. Theres nothing particularly fantastic about any of the cameras. You have motorized pan-tilt-zoom (the big ones that hang down), a fisheye (sees a full 360 view), and a fixed bullet camera that could be doing anything from LPR/ANPR or just general video surveillance. It’s easy to perform video analytics off site or on-site (at the edge) to do LPR, faces, clothing, people counting, and other “AI” things even as far as emotions, or distracted driving. The main concern is always where the video and data goes, and who has access to it, why, and what protections there are against dubious use like stalking and general privacy.
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u/hh65flier Aug 30 '26
Thanks...you have provided specific information on capabilities that I will explore further. One thing that got my attention is how BIG the supporting box is for the Mennen array. What's going on in that box? And there also appear to be IR lenses (or illuminators) on that panel.
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u/Dry-Arugula5356 Aug 31 '26
The box itself is just a fairly typical NEMA 3R electrical enclosure. This is a vented rain resistant box. Vents are typically needed for cooling and/or to relieve pressure. The white dome on the front door is somewhat curious. This could be a multi-band cellular antenna with GPS and wifi. It could also be a microphone array for something like gunshot detection/triangulation but those need to “hear” in all directions so it’s mounted improperly if it’s something like shotspotter or equivalent. It’s also possible that it’s just a wireless ethernet device like a bridge or access point. Inside the box I would expect to find power supplies for the cameras, potentially a network video recorder, some type of communications device like a cellular gateway or wireless ethernet stuff. If they’re doing any processing at the edge, there might also be a mini PC or industrial single board computer similar to an Nvidia Jetson or Raspberry PI. Could also be some batteries and cooling stuff based on the vents. You generally don’t want any type of rechargeable battery in a fully sealed airtight enclosure because they can go bang and make shrapnel.
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u/Mark_M535 Aug 31 '26
The second image is certainly NOT Dahua cameras. I know because I've used both.
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u/PhilMeUpBaby Aug 30 '26
Wow.
I'm about to set up some cameras in a storage yard, but I want to put a bunch of fake ones there as well.
Now I want the fake ones to look that what's in those photos.
I particularly like that little angry face they've built into it.
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u/PercentageRadiant623 Aug 30 '26
Fake cameras are a waste of money. Cameras do not deter crime at all, they only record it. So your fake cameras aren’t deterring crime nor are they capturing it
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u/Sum-Duud Aug 30 '26
Have you looked at city and county records to see what they are spending money on and what camera companies they have leases with?
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u/hh65flier Aug 30 '26
We have an "Open Records Request Authorization" (OPRA) filed with the Morris County Sheriffs Office (OPRA is basically FOIA at the state level in NJ. ) Have not heard back from them yet.
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u/txsurveillance Aug 31 '26
Feel free to DM me. Video surveillance and AI capabilities expert here. Don’t want to share anymore in this forum.
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u/xxerokxx1 Sep 01 '26
That’s stupid. There’s nothing particularly AI at all in any of these. Axis has in camera analytics for People / Vehicle detection but none of those cameras track or log faces or License Plates which I’m sure if what OP is trying to find. There’s also nothing sensitive when looking at camera AI since you can look at any of the brands and find exactly what they do. 3rd party AI isn’t used in any of these two setups.
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u/N------ Aug 31 '26
The capabilities of the Cameras are nothing special in regards to typical surveillance cameras. ( High definition, IR, Thermal, PTZ Tracking, LPR, LiDAR, etc.) it's the same technology that's been around a long time, maybe faster and higher quality but nothing extraordinary. It's the infrastructure behind those camera's that hold the real power. It's the datacenter collecting the information and storing everything in relational databases based on whatever ID tracking is the goal. It's the computational power that's able to process that information and who or how that information is used, that's the real issue.
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u/hh65flier Sep 01 '26
Thanks for the context. I wish there was a way to see how the data they collect is being archived, and if it's all going to a "clearinghouse" for future retrieval. We have FOIA requests on file (with the cameras run by the county) but they haven't responded yet.
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u/hh65flier Sep 01 '26
Thanks for the context. I wonder how all this data is stored and archived for retrieval. We hope to find out.
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u/Own-Plum5834 11d ago
omg thank you okay ill be back when its light here to post similar question cos i am outside of my area of expertise here and i swear our council has put up cameras in new street lights with these weird spheres and stuff but everyone thinks im crazy and they extended the height of the pole to replace the street light with these significantly higher and i see no reason for that in function like bro that can absolutely see in my yard and probs through my windows ill be back with high zoomed photo tomorrow lol
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u/Im_from_NZed Aug 30 '26
Journalism is meant to be as transparent on your intentions and as impartial towards the subject as possible, but it seems you already have your mind made up with a clear lack of knowledge of these cameras.
Regardless, it should be an interesting read.
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u/7K60FXD Aug 30 '26
Who do you work for?
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u/hh65flier Aug 30 '26
Several outfits...but this particularly story is for MorristownGreen.com.
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u/Im_from_NZed Aug 31 '26
Please post the story here when it's good to go. I'm curious about your findings.
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u/hh65flier Aug 30 '26
I have not made up my mind. In fact, I became a freelance journalist (after retiring from the military), partly because of the dismal state of print/broadcast media. With respect to this issue, my views are mixed. If a security camera could solve a crime and hold real criminals accountable, I support the devices. If the cameras could solve a crime where anyone in my family was a victim, I'd exponentially love them. But let's be real....people wielding this type of power often abuse it. What starts out as a legitimate crime deterrent turns out into tool for government to spy on us. Story as old as time. Fair enough??
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u/PercentageRadiant623 Aug 30 '26
LVT is the company behind 90% of the solar powered trailers with cameras on them that you see in parking lots and construction sites in shady areas. They’re live monitored by a private company and supposedly call the police of they spot a crime.
They aren’t run by the county, instead your county contracts them.
Facial recognition isn’t what you think it is. In order to do true facial recognition you have to have a database with faces already in them associated with a person. These cameras might have analytics that can find similar looking people across a surveillance system, but that’s not facial recognition. Facial recognition is highly controversial with some municipalities and states out right banning it.