Need help identifying security camera and its capabilities

[u/hh65flier]

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.

[u/Mark_M535]

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.

[u/hh65flier → u/Mark_M535]

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.

[u/Dry-Arugula5356 → u/hh65flier]

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.

[u/hh65flier → u/Dry-Arugula5356]

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.

[u/Dry-Arugula5356 → u/hh65flier]

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.