WHY IS FORENSIC VIDEO AUTHENTICATION IMPORTANT?

Digital video recordings aren’t always accurate eyewitnesses. A common misbelief in the court systems today is that because a video may skip or jump that it automatically means it has been edited or manipulated. Furthermore, if a video doesn’t contain accurate metadata or misrepresent an event that occurred, it may not be considered reliable or authentic.  Forensic video authentication services add weight to critical evidence when digital integrity is a concern. 

Forensic video analysis is the scientific examination, comparison and/or evaluation of video in legal matters. Our forensic video authentication services assist the trier of fact to determine the authenticity and verify the source of video evidence recording. Our expert video authentication services can detect manipulation or edit detection within a video recording.  

video authentication services

VIDEO EVIDENCE ISN'T ALWAYS ACCURATE

With the proliferation of digital video evidence from surveillance systems, body-worn cameras, police dash cameras, and videos captured by mobile devices (iPhone) videos have become of high probative value in court. However, videos can be easily manipulated which can be a direct cause of mishandling or misrepresentation of the recording at the time of acquisition. Video recordings are fragile and if the digital information or foundation of the video evidence is not interpreted or decoded correctly, it can be used as a weapon. These issues can leave a video suspect of manipulation. 

COMMON VIDEO AUTHENTICATION ISSUES

VIDEO AUTHENTICATION PROCESS

PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

We inspect the video and perform initial testing to determine the scope of the reuqest. It is at this phase we can also determine if the video is an original or authentic copy. We prefer to only enter investigations if we know our video authentication services will be of assistance to your case. In other words, we never collect a retainer until we know we can help using video forensics.

FILE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS &

At this phase of testing we can verify the source of a digital video recording, determine its file history as well as provide software manipulation detection. Our tools can answer difficult questions like how the digital chain of custody was handled and the history of a video file's lifespan. Using MedEx Forensics, we can now identify devices using a database of 19,000 recordings (including video editing tools) that files have passed through. We can examine mobile devices, surveillance video systems, professional cameras and more.

LOCAL/GLOBAL ANALYSIS

Temporal or spatial frame analysis will reveal inconsistencies locally to a video image including compression artifacts or copy/paste/clone detection. Frame by frame, motion vector and macro-block testing can be performed to determine behavior of specific pixel areas.

PRNU ANALYSIS

The PRNU Analysis or Photo Response Non-Uniformity Analysis captures a noise profile of a camera for comparison and verification against an unknown image/video recording. Our experts can determine if a video recording came from a specific type device.

VIDEO FORENSIC EXPERT WITNESS

After 35+ years in business testifying as a forensic video analysis expert, Edward Primeau, our lead forensics expert, has worked with and learned from some of the greatest trial lawyers in the world. This experience has strengthened Primeau Forensics’ expert witness performance in the court room. We have testified in local, state and federal courts all over the United States and have extensive experience helping legal teams develop a solid trial strategy. Click HERE to read what some of them have said.

video forensic expert

IF YOU HAVE A RECORDING THAT YOU QUESTION OR NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING, PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A PRO BONO CONSULTATION.