The Privacy Masking module: automated blur in camera image
Video surveillance systems based on Xeoma can benefit from a special module called ‘Privacy Masking’ that can hide areas of camera video streams in real time. This module in available in the Xeoma Pro edition, so every camera that uses it in its chains should be covered with a Xeoma Pro license.
This tool basically blurs selected areas of what your camera ‘sees’ that shouldn’t be monitored – for example, for confidentiality reasons. This will be especially handy in video surveillance systems that happen to capture private property (like a neighbors’ yard or windows) or buildings where a certain level of privacy is expected (for example, medical establishments). One more special feature of Privacy Masking is that it can also be used in combination with detector type filters to dynamically blur detected objects like faces, license plates, etc. even on the move.
Since Privacy Masking is a filter module by its type, it should be connected in the middle of a chain, before destination modules but after the video source module (usually the ‘Universal Camera’ module).
Please note that you would need to have either a ‘Preview’ or a ‘Preview and Archive’ module in a chain with ‘Privacy Masking’ to be able to see its effect.
Privacy Masking used solo
This method is great for masking static sensitive areas that always stay in the same area of camera vision.
Connect Privacy Masking into a chain between the video source and the reactions.
Open the module’s settings and make sure that the ‘Use a detector to select zones for masking’ toggle switch is in an inactive state (grey color).
Mark an area or several areas that must be blurred in the monitoring zone below.
Save changes by clicking the OK button. Pixelization of the selected zones will start in up to a couple of seconds, and must be visible on screen.
Privacy Masking used in combination with detectors
When used in combination with Xeoma’s detectors, the Privacy Masking module will not use its own settings – instead, it will get information about what to mask from the preceding detector module.
Connect Privacy Masking into a chain after the detector module that will be doing the detection of objects that Privacy Masking will need to mask (Motion Detector, Face Recognition, ANPR, etc.).
Open the module’s settings and make sure that the ‘Use a detector to select zones for masking’ toggle switch is in the active state (blue color).
You will notice that enabling this option hides the Privacy Masking’s own monitoring zone. Instead, the Privacy Masking module will blur objects it receives from the preceding detector in a chain, so that’s where you need to do modifications when needed.
Save changes by clicking the OK button. When adjustments are required, make them in the settings of the detector that Privacy Masking is working with.
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Warning: Privacy Masking is not compatible with the ‘Direct saving to the archive without re-encoding’ option. That means that if the ‘Direct saving to the archive without re-encoding’ option is being used (and for many cameras it is being used by default), you will not get the masking effect in recordings made by the ‘Preview and Archive’ module. At the same time, the masking effect can and will be shown in live view.
If it is essential to have Privacy Masking work for recordings as well, it is imperative that the ‘Direct saving to the archive without re-encoding’ option be disabled in the settings of the Universal Camera module – which is a downside because the option is very useful for CPU load and disk space optimization. |
This module is available in the Xeoma Pro edition. Since Xeoma Pro and Xeoma Standard licenses summarize, you can purchase a Xeoma Pro license for 1 camera and add it to your Standard license in order to use the “Privacy masking” and other intellectual Pro modules for 1 camera (you can purchase Pro licenses for any number of cameras).
November, 30 2024
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