SAN FRANCISCO ? Vitamin D Video on Monday released a finished version of software that detects people in surveillance footage recorded by common Web cameras.

While using "webcams" to keep watch is nothing new, the California-based start-up has eliminated the need to sift through hours or days of video for portions containing folks whose activities or lack thereof may be of interest.

Surveillance webcam software that detected motion routinely vexed users with emails or alerts triggered by any motion, be it a passing bird or swaying branch. Vitamin D is crafted to recognize people.

"Say goodbye to the dark ages of video analytics," Vitamin D said at its website. "Our approach to object recognition paves the way for powerful new applications in security, advertising, entertainment and video search."

Vitamin D said it used artificial intelligence to help computers discern between objects such as clouds, planes, and people in a way similar to how the human brain processes visual information.

The company was founded in 2007 by former Palm employees.

Vitamin D Video 1.0 software was released on Monday, marking the end of a public test phase. A starter edition configured to work with one camera per computer is free.

A version supporting two cameras per computer is priced at $49 and a Pro Edition with no limit on the number of webcams has a $199 price tag.