Burglar image enhancement, any ideas please?

[amissonne]

Please Please, read before commenting, and if you are unable to help in addressing my specific request for whatever reason, again please keep your comments and advises to yourself. I'm not interested in some advice, what I need is pretty clear. Thank you in advance.

Caught a thief breaking into my office on video. I can see his face, but can't quite make it out. Is there any way to enhance it?
I have already given it to the police, they are doing their thing. I just wanted to do my own. So, if you have any ideas please let me know.

I'm trying to enhance a still image, not a video. I copied the images from the video, Check them out. I just need a little enhancement so I can make out the face. Thanks

[aedipuss]

try capturing as a png or tiff file. jpeg compression makes it hard to enlarge.

[amissonne]

Hey thanks for the quick reply, the system doesn't allow me to save it in those forms. Only Jpeg and BMP is allowed. I have attached the BMP form. It's a video, therefore, I can capture multiple images. I am posting the ones where his face shows the most.

[aedipuss]

you may have meant to attach bmp, but it's listed as jpg

[vhelp]

you can save the bmp images as png (png is smaller then bmp, and lossless) using windows included ms paint app. when you save-as, select the png format. then post the png file.

[amissonne]

Ok thank you all for trying to help catch a thief. Ok here is a picture I took off of the video in the form of .bmp and also .png

See what you can do for me. This is the best area of the video to see his face. But I can capture other images as well. Let me know. Thank you all.

[jagabo]

Your only hope is to upload the original video, not stills.

[amissonne]

Come on, someone work it and post it...I can't wait to see that face...

[jagabo]

Nobody's going to get you anything recognizable from those images.

[sanlyn]

So let's say you manage to submit a video here, and the video gets processed and you get a good clear face. What will you do with it? Stand outside on the street 24/7 and wait for this face to walk past? Find the guy and string him up? Why isn't your video in the hands of local law enforcement? They probably have experience in these matters, which would lend more credibility to any legal charges you wish to make.

[amissonne]

Come on Sanlyn, all you have to do is read my original post. I have already indicated that I have given the video to the police.

Tell me this: if you were robbed, don't you really want to know who did it, regardless of whether justice is delivered or not? I don't know about you, but I DO.

Besides, there is this guy who keeps walking around my office even after the robbery who fits the description of what I saw on the video. I even saw him on a bike yesterday, just the way you see it on the video when the robbery was committed. But I need confirmation. Is that too much to ask?

[AlanHK]

But I need confirmation. Is that too much to ask?

Yeah, it is much too much to ask.
For a start, there is no chain of custody. so there is zero "confirmation" possible.

There are legal implications to anyone who helps you, and as a result someone is arrested, attacked, or has his name dragged into the mud. American lawyers will sue every person they could find.

If the cops won't help you, find someone who will do it confidentially. Not on an open website.

[amissonne]

Oh give me a break, there is no such thing as a lawsuit because you identified someone. Paranoia is no way to live life, you don't get sued for breathing oxygen, give me a break.

[jagabo]

It's all moot anyway. Like I said, nobody will be able to give you a recognizable face from those images. The underlying video is too fuzzy and noisy, and the compression artifacts are too heavy. The only hope is if you post full motion video -- then someone might be able t use super resolution techniques to bring out some more detail. What you see on CSI is 100 percent fake.

[TreeTops]

Another suggestion: invest in a better video camera and install lights on the front of store so that the camera will produce a better video. My game camera works better in the dark than that camera you used.

[budwzr]

Get sued? Ummm, the "Good Samaritan" rule would prevent that. That's an American rule, by the way.

[amissonne]

Please use the following as a rule of thumb before commenting here on my post:

If you do now know or do not want to help enhance this picture for whatever reason, please reserve your comments and advises to yourself. I do not need them.
I didn't post here looking for advice; the reason I posted here is pretty clear. If you are unable to help in addressing my original request, please keep your comments to your self. Thank you.

[smrpix]

Please use the following as a rule of thumb before commenting here on my post:

I don't believe that's YOUR call. Have a nice day.

[sanlyn]

Personal considerations aside, the impersonal facts are:
(a) the images posted aren't useable for your purposes.
(b) If anything is to be cleaned up or otherwise derived from that video, it can be gotten only by working with the video -- not with still images. The type of video filters anyone would use for this will not work properly on photos.

[amissonne]

Sanlyn, thanks, finally a useful comment from someone.
The video is 71MB in size, I don't believe I will be able to post it here. But I will give it a try. Thanks again.

[sanlyn]

Video can be edited to short segments for posting. The tools for this are mostly free and are listed in the forum's Tools section. Or you might try posting some info about the source format, and members can offer more derail.

[jagabo]

Sanlyn, thanks, finally a useful comment from someone.

Twice before I told you that you needed to post the video.

[amissonne]

I managed to get a clip, about 8MB, but the noise was higher in the clip I created than in the original. The original video is in .exe format, which is the format the security camera DVR outputs.

I will have to get the shorter clip directly from my original security camera DVR, which is at my office. I will post the clip tomorrow. Thanks

[amissonne]

jagabo, I know you did. I was waiting to hear it from more than one person, that is all, you know how it goes.
I will post a clip tomorrow, hopefully someone can do something with it.

[jagabo]

And even with the video I'm doubtful anybody will be able to get you anything identifiable. Security camera's these days record with high compression codecs which make it very difficult to enhance.

[amissonne]

Well, at least I'd have given it a shot...the rest, I'll have to leave it for the police to figure out. They have the video as well as finger prints.

[gll99]

My eyes may be fooling me but it looks like a bottle drink on the ground in the pic. If that's the case have you tried checking nearby stores for their indoor videos within an hour or so prior to yours. Those clothes should be easy to spot. Either way if it was me I'd check with nearby corner stores in case he stopped in to buy something before hitting your place.

[amissonne]

gll99, no that is not a bottle, or at least not his...the video shows him coming first on his bike to check the place, then he returned with a rock he used to break the glass window. He didn't have a drink in his hand.

[budwzr]

I think I see a "piss jug", maybe he's a trucker.

[AlanHK]

Please use the following as a rule of thumb before commenting here on my post:

Please note this is a forum, not your personal blog.

And my comment, like it or not, is that this is at best a waste of time, at worst a legal minefield.

Get sued? Ummm, the "Good Samaritan" rule would prevent that. That's an American rule, by the way.

Rubbish. That protects you if you are making a good faith attempt to help someone in a life-threatening situation. Not to engage in vigilantism.