What Do You Use For Video Enhancement Software?

I haven't used such software packages although they might result very useful in some cases, especially for police investigators trying to extract usable info from outdated low-res CCTV footage. 1 year ago I came across this software - https://ampedsoftware.com - it was recommended by someone to a government client in my country. Looks like a very good idea, but I don't know if it can deliver the results it advertises, to me it resembles the fake cctv magic seen on CSI:Miami. So it would be nice to test it if possible in real life conditions. 

A few months back I got on a Google rabbit trail and ended up finding this:

http://videocleaner.com/index.html

I've never actually used it but I watched a few of their videos.  They make some interesting claims (such as it being "an industry standard and relied upon by law enforcement and analysts worldwide").  Maybe that is true but I'd never heard of it. The GUI is not for the faint of heart but seems fairly powerful.  It is free so it obviously doesn't hurt to try it out.  Being on the manufacturer side of the house, I've just never had a need to use it.

I use Ocean Systems products, ClearID and iNPUT ACE.  ClearID is a plugin for Photoshop with still images.  iNPUT ACE, is an entire workflow tool.  Its great for converting odd file types into playable formats.

We recently got Axon Five (Amped Five) for enhancements.  I am just getting into it and have a lot to learn.  Beyond the enhancements, it can print out a report that shows what has been done to the image/video, very useful once evidence gets to court.

Each one is great stand alone, but together they make a powerful package.  LEVA.org is a great resource for forensics.

Great topic.  

Hi! I am replying to this post a few months late...

I am the CEO and Founder of Amped Software, producer of the software Amped FIVE mentioned above.

In general, for video surveillance, it's way better to upgrade the camera than to use an video enhancement software.

How are our products used?

When a crime happens, law enforcement usually tries to acquire the footage from a multitude of cameras in the area. They can come from a single network or from various sources.

You don't have control on the quality of the system, you just have videos of various formats, quality and content.

What's the purpose of our software:

- convert videos from proprietary/native CCTV video formats with minimal loss of quality

- identification of useful footage

- identifying and correcting quality issues (interlacing, darkness, blur, low resolution, noise...)

- analyzing issues of the compression (frame type, macroblocks...)

- analyzing image content (for example people height or distances...)

- annotating frames, redaction, reporting...

As you see, enhancement is a small, but important part of the processing. But this is useful mostly in an investigative/forensic/post-mortem scenario.

If you check our examples you can see some pretty good results. Where's the catch? 

First of all, the system, while easy, is not automatic.

Second, with our algorithms we are just showing better what's already there, attenuating the defects. We can not (and must not) add new data to the video. Sorry, it's not possible to get a readable license plate from 3 white pixels, nor never will be. The data is simply not there.

If you are planning a new system, plan for better cameras, not for post-processing (or at least not post-processing alone).

Post-processing may be extremely useful in specific situations, but in most of the cases cannot replace a better camera.