Case Study
It’s hard to imagine our modern-day world without video surveillance cameras, smartphones, tablet cameras, dashboard cameras, action cameras, and body cams. Thousands of cameras capture thousands of different events. Like unbiased witnesses, they are ready to share what they saw. Thus, when it comes to crime investigations, it’s not surprising that video recordings become an imperative form of evidence. However, it’s not uncommon for a recording’s setting, camera’s technical features, and other factors to impact the quality. Sometimes, there’s no certainty that the video reflects real events.
As a result, the involvement of video forensics is often necessary for a video recording to contribute to uncovering the truth. These experts leverage their expertise and specialized equipment to ensure that video recording can serve as uncontested and informative evidence during legal proceedings. Investigators need to overcome many challenges, and even simple videos can present significant problems. There are dozens of modern digital recording formats and analog recordings. In many cases, law enforcement agencies are limited in their ability to reconstruct this data.
Converting video to a necessary format cannot be reliably achieved by simply using general-purpose consumer software. Innumerable surveillance system models have their own video formats without user-friendly and easily obtainable converter formats. Even if these conversion tools exist, there’s no guarantee that conversion will not destroy the image’s microscopic details that will be critical in the future. An expert with video coding training and reliable video forensic equipment gives you the best chance at an accurate outcome.
Expert involvement is also critical when video is damaged. For instance, a dash cam captured the entire incident while the camera was functional, and the data remains on the memory card. The last recorded video that captured an impact cannot be reproduced using regular tools. In this case, experts can often compile small fragments of video data in the right sequence. This technique can enable the reconstruction of video captured seconds before the impact, which can then be presented during court proceedings.
Retrieval of necessary information often requires more than just viewing the video. For instance, multiple cameras can record the same event. If recordings are reproduced one after the other, it’s hard to match details. It’s much easier to accomplish this by analyzing all recordings simultaneously. But, first, recordings need to be synchronized. Synchronized recordings allow investigators to view events from different angles and capture critical details.
Expert contribution is often required when a video is missing the necessary details. It can happen for various reasons:
- Recording on handheld video devices results in shaky video.
- Recording from a distance yields low-resolution images.
- Rapidly moving recorded objects and slow-working camera autofocus systems result in blurred images.
- Insufficient light and light reflecting in the camera’s direction (backlighting) produces dark images.
The camera’s characteristics, such as resolution and frame dimensions, also impact quality.
Taking all these factors into consideration, it’s not guaranteed that a video can clearly capture a car’s license plate or criminal’s face.
When it comes to forensic video enhancement, it’s naïve to expect a miracle from an expert, similar to stories shown in fictitious crime shows. However, modern video enhancement software can sometimes produce miraculous results.
Forensic Video Enhancement
One of a video forensic expert’s main responsibilities is the determination of a video’s authenticity and identification of any video tampering. Even easily attainable video editing tools allow the deletion of video fragments or sequence editing. In this case, the resulting edited video does not capture real events. Thus, before using video evidence, it’s important to examine whether it was edited or not.
This complex task is accomplished through two phases. During the first phase, forensic experts evaluate the video to determine whether it is an original or a copy. The term original video is only used to refer to the video captured on the device during recording. Copying can simply mean that the video file was copied on a different device, the device that was not used during video recording. Copying can also refer to editing the file format, such as resampling and recompression. An expert trained in video coding from different devices and video editing can help conclusively indicate the video’s authenticity.
The best way to distinguish between an original and a copy is to obtain a video copy recorded on the same device as the video in question. Discovering recompressed video raises a red flag for a video forensic expert. Video recompression can indicate video editing.
However, recompressed videos are not always fabricated. For instance, all YouTube videos are recompressed, yet very few YouTube videos were edited from the original.
As a result, the most complicated part of authenticity determination is finding the remaining evidence of counterfeit videos. Sometimes, easily observed, simple artifacts can serve as this proof. For instance, a suddenly appearing object in the video frame or hands of a clock that rapidly changed to a new time can prove that the video is a fake.
Professional forgery is not easily detectable without special tools such as modern forensic software. In this case, forensic experts can conclude the video’s authenticity by closely inspecting various qualities of the video, such as video format, coding parameters, file structure, metadata, and, more importantly, verification of the image in every frame. It’s a very tedious and lengthy process. Without performing this analysis, experts can’t be confident that the video depicts real events and not what someone wanted us to see.
From time to time, experts are presented with a new challenge – source camera identification. This is a specialized area of forensic analysis requiring advanced tools and expertise. Experts need to record dozens of frames in a specialized setting using proven devices. After that, specialized software will isolate the camera’s imprint. Camera imprints are an image fragment that cannot be seen with human eyes, and that remains the same in all images. Collected imprints are then compared against imprints on proven authentic videos and photos. This explanation might lead the reader to believe that camera identification is simple, but it’s not true. The captured image’s quality determines the simplicity with which forensic software will discover camera imprints. Poor image quality can even produce invalid data imprints. In order to arrive at the correct conclusion, experts need to have a deep understanding of “imprint” search algorithms, video comparison techniques, and software data interpretation skills.
Once a video has been authenticated, forensic experts may perform additional analysis to identify people, vehicles, objects, or events that are relevant to the investigation.
Video enhancement services
Digital Forensics Corporation offers expert video enhancement services. Our computer forensics team is able to digitally enhance and evaluate all types of video files.
Using state of the art and cutting edge technology, Digital Forensics Corporation is able to clarify and analyze your video files, allowing you to obtain, preserve, and present crucial evidence. Digital Forensics Corporation also offers expert witness testimony from our experienced industry leading computer forensic engineers to support your case.
How does video enhancement work
A forensic examiner can clarify the events depicted in a video, while preserving its evidentiary integrity. Our experts first make a forensic copy of the video. Then they examine the copy using a variety of techniques, depending on the original video’s format, image quality and resolution: sharpening blurry images, adjusting contrast, enlarging areas of individual video frames, reducing playback speed, isolating specific frames for image enhancement, and more.
We work with videos of all kinds
- Security Cameras: We can work with footage from all types of security cameras, indoors or outdoors.
- Smartphones:Video from all types of phones, whether Android or Apple or something else, can be enhanced.
- Police Video: We have worked with footage from body cameras and dashboard cameras.
- Home Video: We have worked with digital video recordings of all kinds, including those converted from VHS format.
Objects Identification
Thus, object identification comes into play. In order to solve this issue, experts need to find identifying characteristics using an image. These characteristics need to distinguish an image from thousands of similar images. Next, it’s vital to compare a verifiable object’s characteristics against duplicate object’s characteristics. This job is similar to a child’s “Spot the Difference” game. A forensic expert’s ability to skillfully play this game can impact the destiny of stakeholders involved in video investigation.
Forensic Photogrammetry
During investigation, questions can arise about size and distance. Forensic photogrammetry, a branch of video forensics, can provide the answers. An individual with the knowledge of simple rules of advanced spatial geometry can solve this riddle using established geometric measurement principles and forensic modeling tools. When a computer performs geometric measurements, results will be obtained more rapidly, and data will be more accurate.
However, advanced spatial geometry is not always enough. Luckily, modern computers have the capability to produce 3D models of geographic areas and objects. Forensic engineers can determine several points with known coordinates on video or images, easily calculate coordinates of other points, and determine the distance between these points.
An image can demonstrate the distance between two objects. A video can also determine the time between the events. When distance and time are known, speed can easily be calculated. Cases that involve the determination of guilt after a vehicular accident often require calculation of speed. Accumulated forensic expertise and video forensic methodologies allow experts to determine the speed under different conditions. Many factors are at play, such as the time of day, distance from the subject of the recording, and movement of the camera. However, vehicle speed can often be estimated using forensic measurement methods.
Video forensics can’t solve all riddles. However, experts know that even the tiniest details can make a significant impact during an investigation. Video forensic experts are not magicians, but they still try to work toward reputable and actionable findings.
Photo Enhancement
Digital Forensics Corporation also offers expert photo enhancement services. Our expert computer forensic engineers combine skill and technology in order to clarify, enhance, enlarge, restore and correct your digital images.
Our image enhancement services have been used extensively by law firms, corporations, governments and individuals worldwide. The effectiveness of visual imagery presented as evidence can hinge upon the quality and clarity of the image. Digital Forensics Corporation ensures that you are as prepared as you are able.
Audio Enhancement
Digital Forensics Corporation specializes in the provision of expert audio enhancement services relative to digital and analog audio recordings. Our audio enhancement services include sound clarification, noise reduction, and the enhancement of poor quality recordings. Digital Forensics Corporation’s arsenal of cutting edge software and experienced personnel ensure that your audio files will be as clear as they can be.
Why Use DFC For Your Digital Enhancements?
- Confidentiality is our priority.
- For over two decades, our experts have been on the cutting edge of the enhancement field, and we have a digital armory of software at our disposal.
- As professional investigators, all of your evidence is subject to the appropriate procedures and is maintained in a strict chain of custody, ensuring that it is admissible in court.
- When you work with Digital Forensics Corporation, you can expect professional, timely and responsive service with strict adherence to deadlines.
Сontact our forensics experts now
We are leaders in the field of video forensics, and have helped thousands of clients turn blurry or dark videos into compelling evidence. Call us any time, any day at 1-800-849-6515 for a free consultation to learn how we can help!
