Understanding camera metadata in Security Center SaaS

2026-08-03Last updated

Camera metadata is descriptive information generated by supported camera analytics. Security Center SaaS uses camera metadata to support intelligent search, investigations, and event monitoring.

What camera metadata is

Camera metadata is descriptive information generated by a camera's analytics engine about objects detected in the video stream. Examples of metadata include:

  • Person detection
  • Vehicle detection
  • Object classification

Camera metadata records what the camera detects. Camera analytics events are system events generated from those detections. In Security Center SaaS, metadata and analytics events are processed separately.

Activating camera metadata

You can activate camera metadata from the Events and metadata section of a camera's Settings tab. Deactivating camera metadata in Security Center SaaS unsubscribes the system from listening to the camera metadata stream. The metadata collected on the cameras is unaffected.
Note:
The Activate camera metadata checkbox is only visible if the camera and its configuration support it. Turning specific camera metadata events on or off isn’t currently supported.

Supported metadata

Supported metadata varies depending on how the camera is added, the manufacturer, the features that the camera supports, and the devices that Security Center SaaS supports.

The supported metadata can include one or more of the following, depending on the previously stated dependencies:
  • People analytics
  • Vehicle analytics
  • Object analytics

Licensing

The licensing requirements vary depending on your camera manufacturer:

Axis
No additional licenses are required.
Bosch
Two Bosch licenses are required:
  • IVA Pro Perimeter - for vehicle search.
  • IVA Pro Appearance - for people attribute search.
Note:
Only one of these applications can be active at a time.
Hanwha
No additional licenses are required.
i-PRO
No additional licenses are required.

Manufacturer applications

The following manufacturer applications must be installed to take advantage of camera metadata and intelligent search investigation functions.
Hanwha
Hanwha P-AI series requires the WiseAI (WisenetAI application) for 2MP/4K Single-Sensor P Series Cameras.
Note:
Other Hanwha cameras that are supported might not require this application.
i-PRO
i-PRO requires AI People Detection or AI Vehicle Detection.

Monitoring events

You can use Security Center SaaS to perform an intelligent search from a camera tile. You can also use the Investigation task to view past events for analysis and investigation purposes.
  • Camera metadata from compatible cameras can be used to monitor for events of interest: person, vehicle, and object.
  • Intelligent search can be used to query specific camera metadata using the Investigation task. For example, you can use natural language search and filters to find specific event types of interest: person of interest, vehicle of interest, similar people, and nearby activity.