1. A method for multi-mode video event indexing, the method comprising: determining a quality of object distinctiveness with respect to images from a video stream input; selecting a high-quality analytic mode from a plurality of video analytics modes and applying the high-quality analytic mode to the video input images via a hardware device to determine object activity within the video input images if the determined level of detected quality of object distinctiveness meets a threshold level of quality; and selecting a low-quality analytic mode from the plurality of video analytics modes and applying the low-quality analytic mode to the video input images via a hardware device to determine object activity within the video input images if the determined level of detected quality of object distinctiveness does not meet the threshold level of quality, wherein the low-quality analytic mode is different from the high-quality analytic mode.