1. A method for multi-mode video event indexing, the method comprising: determining by a processor a quality of object distinctiveness with respect to images from a video stream input; in response to the determined level of detected quality of object distinctiveness meeting a threshold level of quality, the processor 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 to determine object activity within the video input images; and in response to the determined level of detected quality of object distinctiveness not meeting the threshold level of quality, the processor 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 to determine object activity within the video input images; and wherein the low-quality analytic mode is different from the high-quality analytic mode, the determining the quality of object distinctiveness with respect to the video input images comprises determining whether a camera providing the video input is moving or stationary relative to a scene within the video input, and the threshold level of quality of the scene is stationary.