What video editing software is everyone using?

[Vortex Radar]

I use Final Cut Pro X on Mac for all my video editing. For the license plate zoom-ins, I used to do that manually with zooming and cropping and stuff, but I've since started using a MotionVFX plugin to make it a little more professional and automated. I forget exactly which plugin the zooming options come from since I've purchased several of theirs now, but that's how I do it. It looks like this:

 

[mentadent]

I used Windows 10's built in video editor and it worked well.

 

[LateralNW]

Unfortunately, this needs to be in the camera before the video is compressed. The compression algorithm works by deleting detail that it thinks the user won't notice. Unfortunately that is often license plate numbers. Often there are enough pixels for a readable plate, but the numbers have just been deleted by the compression algorithm. The algorithm needs to recognize plates and preserve the detail in the plates.
An algorithm needs to be developed that recognizes text and preserves the text in the video. This could even be done in such a way that reduced the size of the file. Translate the recognized text to an ascii string, and record the size and 3D angle of the text. The font would be wrong, but the text would be preserved.

I knew I'd seen something like this before. This is for compressing documents where there is text over images: https://www.researchgate.net/public...ment_images_with_large_textbackground_overlap
This would need to be extended to 3D, but the basic idea is there.

After a little research, there is software that improved post edit of number plates.
It is only available to police, military and other special services.
This software uses the existing image applying anti blurring techniques and some other clever processes.

vcodecs don't delete details. It Is a bit more complex that that.

 

[DAP]

After a little research, there is software that improved post edit of number plates.
It is only available to police, military and other special services.
This software uses the existing image applying anti blurring techniques and some other clever processes.

vcodecs don't delete details. It Is a bit more complex that that.

Video codecs DO delete details. There was one in the news a few years ago where a picture made it look like Trump's pants did not have a fly (zipper). It was later shown that the compression software deleted the fly.
There was another case where it was found that compression software was substituting the wrong character in text in an image that contained text.
Compression software is designed to maintain the over all impression of the image, not actual details. Sort of like impressionistic painting. The more compression you use, the more impressionistic it gets. This is why it is called "Lossy" compression.
Fine details in compressed images can't be trusted.

 

[LateralNW]

Video codecs DO delete details. There was one in the news a few years ago where a picture made it look like Trump's pants did not have a fly (zipper). It was later shown that the compression software deleted the fly.
There was another case where it was found that compression software was substituting the wrong character in text in an image that contained text.
Compression software is designed to maintain the over all impression of the image, not actual details. Sort of like impressionistic painting. The more compression you use, the more impressionistic it gets. This is why it is called "Lossy" compression.
Fine details in compressed images can't be trusted.

It's not as simple as you make out.
Depends on the codec how the image is processed.

Deleting details would make that codec useless.

Your explanation simplifies the process too much.
With H264 background information that's static won't be repeated but that is also over simplifying it.

Have you got better examples that shows video detail being deleted?
Raw footage from your A129 pro dash cam that can be compared to a high quality still image showing the deleted detail.

 

[Nigel]

Deleting details would make that codec useless.

The whole point of a lossy compression codec is to delete details!

Preferably unimportant details, but it is up to the codec to decide what is important and what is not, and it might not agree with your view of what is important, especially if it is a codec in an editing application. In our dashcams, at least the good dashcams, the codecs are optimised to store the details important for evidence purposes while driving, a very different situation to what you find in a TV studio.

You can get lossless compression codecs, but they can not compress nearly enough for sensible video storage, so all our dashcams use lossy compression codecs and they all delete detail.

With H264 background information that's static won't be repeated but that is also over simplifying it.

Vastly over simplified.

When driving there is never a static background, and yet our dashcam codecs do provide decent compression.

 

[LateralNW]

The whole point of a lossy compression codec is to delete details!

Not exactly.
" lossy compression permits reconstruction only of an approximation of the original data, though usually with greatly improved compression rates (and therefore reduced media sizes)."

Vastly over simplified.

And your point is? Stating the obvious.

When driving there is never a static background, and yet our dashcam codecs do provide decent compression.

So why are the file sizes similar in size regardless if the car is moving or not? What are you comparing it to? The tarmac/bitumen in front of the car is similar and could be a good candidate for approximation.
It looks like the dashcam has a fixed profile regardless of movement or not.

 

[Nigel]

" lossy compression permits reconstruction only of an approximation of the original data,

It should reconstruct it accurately, but with less detail than the original.

So why are the file sizes similar in size regardless if the car is moving or not?

When driving, there is normally not enough bitrate to store all the detail the codec is trying to store, so the codec uses all the bitrate it has available, which means it uses the limit specified in the setup. In this case the faster you go, the worse the quality becomes.

However, when parked, there often is enough bitrate to store all the detail, so the file size can reduce. How much it reduces depends on the camera, many still use full bitrate because they try to store image noise from noisy sensors, however when using low bitrate parking mode on the Viofo A139, when a car drives past, the video size can easily double.

 

[DAP]

I found some of the articles about the character substitution issue with lossy compression:

Lies, damned lies and scans

A German computer scientist uncovers a digital mystery

www.economist.com

Possible workaround for character substitutions in xerox machines

Possible workaround for character substitutions in xerox machines It might be, that a reader of this blog found the magic bullet, or at least a workaround to the issue. It seems to be a scan parameter within the machines, whose tendency to create character substitutions was even known to Xerox...

www.dkriesel.com

Here is the video of Trump with no fly:

Donald Trump Speech Has People Thinking His Pants Were On Backwards

Donald Trump traveled to North Carolina for a speech to Republicans, but the headline may be in his pants!

www.tmz.com

I can't find the article that described the issue with the compression, but there are still photos of the event that show that his pants do in fact have a fly, and the fly is only missing in the compressed video.

Compressed video can't be trusted to show all the details of an event. Text and textures are very prone to deletion or alteration.

 

[Nigel]

I found some of the articles about the character substitution issue with lossy compression:

As far as I am aware there is nothing like that in our dashcams, but there is certainly stuff that removes details in ways that make the detail unrecoverable.

 

[LateralNW]

I found some of the articles about the character substitution issue with lossy compression:

Lies, damned lies and scans

A German computer scientist uncovers a digital mystery

www.economist.com

Possible workaround for character substitutions in xerox machines

Possible workaround for character substitutions in xerox machines It might be, that a reader of this blog found the magic bullet, or at least a workaround to the issue. It seems to be a scan parameter within the machines, whose tendency to create character substitutions was even known to Xerox...

www.dkriesel.com

Here is the video of Trump with no fly:

Donald Trump Speech Has People Thinking His Pants Were On Backwards

Donald Trump traveled to North Carolina for a speech to Republicans, but the headline may be in his pants!

www.tmz.com

I can't find the article that described the issue with the compression, but there are still photos of the event that show that his pants do in fact have a fly, and the fly is only missing in the compressed video.

Compressed video can't be trusted to show all the details of an event. Text and textures are very prone to deletion or alteration.

While off topic some photo copiers deliberately alter the image scanned so I'm not surprised if the software running them has errors in its program.

Some prevent money being scanned.
Here's an example

Many years ago I got into trouble because I scanned a note and coloured it in.
The shop owner took it and only realised later it was fake. Our money is now made out of special plastics. I wonder why!
Unfortunately for me my school was close to his shop!

With the pants example I don't see any problem. For an algorithm to be so precise to remove only that detail is completely absurd.

 

[comadose]

If all you want to do is cut and join video, avidemux is free and works really well. It just copies the raw video without re-encoding it, so zero loss of detail.

 

[ev232014]

I use Final Cut Pro X on Mac for all my video editing. For the license plate zoom-ins, I used to do that manually with zooming and cropping and stuff, but I've since started using a MotionVFX plugin to make it a little more professional and automated. I forget exactly which plugin the zooming options come from since I've purchased several of theirs now, but that's how I do it. It looks like this:

View attachment 60414

I think you post the closest result I seen !

Taking note that this is broad daylight with minimal sun reflection, no wonder I been chasing anything that produce anything read-able @ typical headlight with no glare .

I take footage of my normal night driving view, at a typical car at 30-40 MPH and with traffic passing me: I can read and see their plates, and my dash cam -it not - upon inspecting the MP4.

I think I chalk it as -the affordable technology- is not there , for us, yet .

EV-

 

[Lothar]

After a little research, there is software that improved post edit of number plates.
It is only available to police, military and other special services.
This software uses the existing image applying anti blurring techniques and some other clever processes.

vcodecs don't delete details. It Is a bit more complex that that.

What is the name of this software?

 

[LateralNW]

What is the name of this software?

I just Google it.

 

[Lothar]

I just Google it.

Is it Focus Magic?

Focus Magic - Sharpen Your Blurry Images and Photos

Focus Magic is software that uses advanced forensic strength deconvolution technology to literally “undo” blur, recovering lost detail from images/photos.

www.focusmagic.com

Their website says it's used by the CIA, FBI, Police, and many others...
If so, it's not limited to only them. Anyone can buy a license to use it.

 

[LateralNW]

Is it Focus Magic?

Focus Magic - Sharpen Your Blurry Images and Photos

Focus Magic is software that uses advanced forensic strength deconvolution technology to literally “undo” blur, recovering lost detail from images/photos.

www.focusmagic.com

Their website says it's used by the CIA, FBI, Police, and many others...
If so, it's not limited to only them. Anyone can buy a license to use it.

As interesting as what you found is. Keep in mind that a member insisted the only way to read number plates was with good cameras recording them in the first place.

I'm sure there are lots of programs out there but the one I found said they only sold to special needs groups.

It may have been this

Our Products | Amped Software

Software tools to authenticate, convert, enhance, analyze and present photo and video evidence during investigations.

ampedsoftware.com

But the point was it is possible and you just helped to prove my point. Thanks.

 

[Skylar132]

I use Final Cut Pro X on Mac for all my video editing. For the license plate zoom-ins, I used to do that manually with zooming and cropping and stuff, but I've since started using a MotionVFX plugin to make it a little more professional and automated. I forget exactly which plugin the zooming options come from since I've purchased several of theirs now, but that's how I do it. It looks like this:

View attachment 60414

excited to see the a139 review, your reviews are always so good, any other cams you plan to review?

 

[Vortex Radar]

excited to see the a139 review, your reviews are always so good, any other cams you plan to review?

Ah thank you! It's a few weeks of work per dashcam review, lol.

Right now I'm working on the A139. I'd also like to do a quick (hopefully, lol) A139 vs T130 comparison. Just the planning and prep with the A139 has taken me about a week and a half after several months of collecting footage... and now I'm finally done with the main shoot and starting to work on B Roll and editing. I'm hopeful to get it out this coming week sometime.

After that there's the Escort M2 and NexiGo D90. I'd also like to get to the A119 Mini and A229. I bought a BlueSkySea B4K to review, but I can't play back the .TS files unfortunately so I'm scratching my head with what to do with it.

That's what's in the queue right now and realistically it's probably gonna take me a while. I still am trying to get better and getting through reviews more quickly so I can review more dashcams.

 

[SawMaster]

I bought a BlueSkySea B4K to review, but I can't play back the .TS files unfortunately so I'm scratching my head with what to do with it.

"Potplayer" works for .ts files, and IIRC may have file conversion options. Jokiin liked "handbrake" for converting files, I never tried it.

Phil