Smart Phone Video Enhancement

WHAT IS SMART PHONE VIDEO ENHANCEMENT?

Smart phone video enhancement is the process of applying scientific applications to a video recording in order to better see the events as they occurred. Smart phones record video events such as an accident or crime.

We forensically clarify or enhance to better see these events. In the following paragraphs, we hope to communicate some information that will guide you on forensic video enhancement.

We have included some before and after forensic enhancement examples for your review. We also include advise on what to do to best capture an event in for forensic enhancement.

Most people recrod smart phone video evidence freehand or without a tripod, so you can’t guarantee the video usability. When people are nervous they shake while recording. In this case do not zoom in too much. A wide shot is less shaky than a zoomed in shot. Shaky video can result in less than quality video evidence.

RECORD VIDEO HORIZONTALLY OR LANDSCAPE

When recording video on your smart phone, hold the phone horizontally and try not to zoom in. One of the most prevalent problems we have seen with video recordings are they shake and are not stable. The chaotic motion of a cell phone video can make it hard to see what’s happening.

FORENSIC VIDEO ENHANCEMENT

The two clips below will help you understand how video forensic video enhancement works. The first clip is of a forensically enhanced iPhone video. The original video was a distant view from down the block as it was recorded. In the sample below, please note no stabilization or other forensic enhancement has been applied to this video.

In the enhanced sample below, we applied warp stabilization. Notice how the frame follows the motion of the video, creating a more stable picture for analysis.

As you can see, the subject in the video was not close enough to the smart phone camera. This makes it difficult to see the desired events as they occurred. Clip one is not very helpful in this condition for use in court. The subjects are very far away, making it difficult to see the recorded events as they occurred.

THE SCIENCE OF FORENSIC VIDEO ENHANCEMENT

The forensic video enhancement process is not as simple as zooming in on the video recording. This will lower your overall video quality. Fixing it or enhancing your video isn’t nearly as simple as pushing the enhance button on your computer.

Reduced video quality occurs when you zoom in and has to do with pixels. Simply put, pixels are the small boxes of color code that combine to make up a given image. Each image is a series of pixels that display the image you see in front of you.

Expanding an image means also expanding the size of each pixel. Because each pixel is representative of one ?frame? of a bigger picture, such as photos making up a collage, each individual square pixel will expand along with the image. The increase of pixel size can cause distortion to the image, therefore making it even harder to decipher the contents of an image.

WHY A FORENSIC EXPERT IS NECESSARY

The forensic video enhancement process is not as simple as zooming in on the video recording. This will lower your overall video quality. Fixing it or enhancing your video isn’t nearly as simple as pushing the enhance button on your computer.

Reduced video quality occurs when you zoom in and has to do with pixels. Simply put, pixels are the small boxes of color code that combine to make up a given image. Each image is a series of pixels that display the image you see in front of you.

Expanding an image means also expanding the size of each pixel. Because each pixel is representative of one frame of a bigger picture, such as photos making up a collage, each individual square pixel will expand along with the image. The increase of pixel size can cause distortion to the image, therefore making it even harder to decipher the contents of an image.

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