Software To Zoom In And Get The License Plate Number?

this is where I think character recognition software can play a part, to gather together things of similar (but not the same) contrast or shade of similar colour to get out an image/patern of something the human eye might miss

in 1994 I bought my first hand held scanner and it came with character recognition software, it was good to about 95%, it turned the text it scanned, in to a text document that could be edited in a text application, it was slow but what a novelty, it was like magic
 
There is a simple solution to all this.
Need to change the law to make US license plates like in Europe.
Huge numbers. 😉
 
Sunny said:
There is a simple solution to all this.
Need to change the law to make US license plates like in Europe.
Huge numbers. 😉
Click to expand...

I wish, here in the UK we could have front number plates smaller like Italy used to have and now switzerland have
 
There is actually some truth to notion that investigators and IT geeks in TV shows and movies can use computers to pull amazing amounts of detail out of otherwise apparently unusable imagery. It just takes a lot more work and more than 30 seconds to get the results.

There are a number of forensic techniques available but they usually require significant computing power, dedicated hardware and highly specialized algorithms. Much of this advanced image enhancement technology has come out of the space programs at NASA and advanced astronomical observatories and in fact we have even been witnessing it firsthand in the news this week with the amazing images of Pluto being transmitted by the New Horizons spacecraft. The reason we are seeing such detailed images of Pluto are because of this kind of image enhancement and there is a huge difference between what we are seeing now vs the first images that were made public. (see below) Of course, other technologies are highly secretive and have been developed by intelligence agencies like NSA and GCHQ.

There are a number of different approaches in use along with ones we probably don't know about publicly but they involve things like image stacking, deconvolution, advanced interpolation, polygon interpolation and a fascinating thing called "Superresolution" which can transcend the diffraction limit of optical systems and enhance the inherent resolution of digital image sensors. Some of these advanced imaging techniques and algorithms can infer detail that isn't even in the original.

Some of this technology is actually available to us mere mortals. You can buy Focus Magic for a modest price which I understand is in use by many law enforcement agencies. It uses the above mentioned deconvolution technique to increase the “actual sharpness” rather than “perceived sharpness” (with un-sharpen masking). It apparently works really well for forensic license plate extraction. It does all kinds of other cool stuff too.

Focus Magic
plate enhance.webp


Focus Magic motion blur amelioration
Focus Magic.webp



There is also some open source software available such as AutoStakkert!2 which was designed specifically for astrophotography but could be used elsewhere.

There is also the open source, somewhat geeky Supreme library collection which uses advanced techniques such as polygon interpolation to perform automated super-resolution imaging and other functions.

Supreme.webp



Pluto from New Horizons Spacecraft
B&Wpluto.webp
plutofullframe_color.webp
 
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^^^ Now that was funny. 😀
 
Funny.
What show is that?
 
This thread got me interested in further exploring the topic of forensic video analysis and it led me to the discovery of Video Cleaner, a powerful FREE - open source video enhancement software. (which includes support!) - (Windows XP or later)
Obviously, at this point I know nothing about its capabilities, ease of use or pros & cons but it sure looks interesting based on its list of a "few" of its features.

http://videocleaner.com/index.html

Vcleaner_plates.webp


VClean.webp


Solutions for most video restoration and enhancement problems
Here are a few examples, and their corresponding VideoCleaner solution (denoted as feature SECTION - feature GROUP - specific feature).

I've highlighted a number of features that seem especially useful to dash cam users. You might have your own selection.

PROBLEM...................................................................... SOLUTION
Video details appear fuzzy............................................... MAIN - Unsharpen strength
Video details are compressed.......................................... MAIN - Video Contrast strength
Video colors are compressed........................................... MAIN - Color Contrast strength
Video colors are too subtle............................................... MAIN - Color Amplifier strength
Distracting flashing emergency lights............................... MAIN - HotSpot Suppression
Video appears extremely dark or overly bright................. MAIN - Automatic histogram
Distant details are lost in the darker areas....................... MAIN - Backlight compensation
Video is cluttered with tiny random specks....................... MAIN - Denoise
Portions of the scene are out of focus.............................. MAIN - Deblur Lens
Scene is too dark or too bright......................................... MAIN - CURVE
Scene looks like a mosaic of tiny squares........................ MAIN - DEBLOCKING
Video contains repeated frames....................................... PROPERTIES - DUPLICATE removal
Audio is too quiet or shouldn't exist................................... PROPERTIES - CORE - Volume
Video plays at the incorrect speed................................... PROPERTIES - CORE - FPS speed
Only need a range of video frames................................... PROPERTIES - CORE - Starting & Keep frame
Fast moving objects look jagged...................................... PROPERTIES - FIELDS - Sep/Swap
Video jerks up/down or left/right....................................... PROPERTIES - FIELDS - Nudge & Shift
Only a small portion of the video matters......................... PROPERTIES - CROP
Video is the incorrect size or perspective......................... PROPERTIES - RESIZE
License plate or facial details are too small...................... PROPERTIES - RESIZE - SuperResolution
Video needs to be flipped or rotated................................. PROPERTIES - ANGLE
Certain color channels contain greater noise................... PROPERTIES - CHANNELS
Hard to detect when objects/people are moving.............. SPECIALTY - PRO - Motion Filter
Only want to examine complete frames (iFrames)........... SPECIALTY - PRO - iFrames
Unwanted on-screen timestamp or logo........................... SPECIALTY - PRO - Remove timestamp/logo
Digitized video tape shows VHS aging defects................. SPECIALTY - VHS
Correct fish-eye and pin-cushion lens distortion.......... SPECIALTY - LENS
Camera perspective needs to be repositioned................. SPECIALTY - VIEW
Can't read stationary signage or license plate....... SPECIALTY - AMPLIFY - Frame Radius
Movement or color changes are too faint.......................... SPECIALTY - AMPLIFY - Color Multiplier
Video overall color is incorrect.......................................... FINALIZING - COLORIZE
Need to highlight a specific area....................................... FINALIZING - ACCENT
Need to add on-screen text.............................................. FINALIZING - TEXT
Need to add frame numbers............................................. FINALIZING - NUMBER
Need to add timestamp or time counter............................... FINALIZING - TIMEstamp
Need to know which settings are active............................ MAIN - List all active features
See what the enhanced version has changed.................. MAIN - All frames / mid frames / subtract
Need to quickly toggle enhanced-unenhanced................. MAIN - Deactivate all enhancements
Need to compare enhanced to unenhanced..................... MAIN - Compare Original to Enhanced
 
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jokiin said:
He has an earlier version which is free, will see if I can find the link
Click to expand...

I've been noticing that a lot of venerable free software that's been around for years has suddenly become commercialized. It's understandable considering how much work some people have put into their creations.
Most recently many people are all upset that ClamXav anti-virus software, a highly regarded freeware solution for the Mac will now cost you. The author explains the change and his position here and I'm sure it's not atypical.
 
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Dashmellow said:
This thread got me interested in further exploring the topic of forensic video analysis and it led me to the discovery of Video Cleaner, a powerful free - open source video enhancement software. (which includes support!) - (Windows XP or later)
Obviously, at this point I know nothing about its capabilities, ease of use or pros & cons but it sure looks interesting based on its list of a "few" of its features....
Click to expand...
I just went and watched the installation and tutorial videos on YouTube and it's a pretty impressive program - especially given it's price.

It has a lot of functionality but the installation procedure is a bit convoluted and the user interface is different than any program I've seen. That said it is well covered in the tutorial videos.

Definitely something worth playing with if you're interested in this type of stuff.
 
Video Cleaner Basic Features and functionality

Specialty Features (a few of them)
 
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