Get License Plate from Video

[xxnsra]

Hi there,

Two days ago i took a cab here in Rio de Janeiro and forgot something very important to me in the car.

I've got all the security cameras around the neighborhood, so i can try to get the license plate of the car.

The best record i have is this one:

https://youtu.be/2BjGNxwvbdI

Exactly at 6:22 to 6:32 the license plate points directly to the camera.

But, the video quality is very bad.

Is it possible to get the license plate from this video? (It's 704 x 480)

Any help is welcome. I'm desperate. Seriously.

Ty!

[lordsmurf]

You need a lab with Ikena.

[xxnsra]

You need a lab with Ikena.

Lordsmurf,

Searching about what you said, i understand you are talking about the Ikena software, by MotionDSP.

The software is not free. So, before i learn how to use it, and buy it, do you think it's possible to get the license plate with this software? Or unlikely?

[october262]

can't you call the cab company there and see if their employees turned anything in??

[xxnsra]

can't you call the cab company there and see if their employees turned anything in??

He is not from any company. I just randomly took the cab, in the street.

But, i remember he was using a sticker on the window about an app where you call cabs via smartphone.

I called the company of the App and they said they can help me only with the license plate.

If i get the plate, 100% sure i'll have his name, telephone and address

[smrpix]

There's nothing there to get.

[johnmeyer]

This same question was posted just five days ago:

Security camera video

He was trying to get the license plate number from a truck. As I posted in that thread, there is software that will sometimes help a little bit, like this software:

"Focus Magic"

You can download a trial and see what results you can get with your video or stills. However, don't expect the miracles that you see in the examples on their site.

[xxnsra]

I tried Focus Magic.

It's quite simple, and they have a "tutorial" on their website, about reading license plates.

But, the program did nothing special.

Thank you anyway

[johnmeyer]

As I said, don't expect miracle. That statement applies not only to Focus Magic, but to any other technology. Unfortunately, most people have seen too many movies where someone pushes a button and miracles happen. This YouTube video does a great job of showing these fallacies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhF_56SxrGk

[jagabo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp77AjBdlEc

[KarMa]

Even with a 1080p video, it's not easy. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/372801-trying-to-get-the-license-plate-off-this-video-clip

[lordsmurf]

You need a lab with Ikena.

Lordsmurf,
Searching about what you said, i understand you are talking about the Ikena software, by MotionDSP.
The software is not free. So, before i learn how to use it, and buy it, do you think it's possible to get the license plate with this software? Or unlikely?

Yeah. That's why I said you need a lab.

There's no free software that does what you want.

[xxnsra]

Thank you guys,

The link posted by KarMa discouraged me.

The pic on his thread is 10x better, and still the people could not get a clear view.

It's time to accept my lost.

Thank you for the help!

[jagabo]

First of all, Youtube reencodes your video with very low quality removing any fine detail that may be in it. Even so, the license plate is only about 3 pixels tall in that 480p video. Unless you have a 4K version of that video in pristine condition there's not enough information there for any program to make anything of it. Don't waste your time and money.

[KarMa]

Yeah. That's why I said you need a lab.

There's no free software that does what you want.

I really don't believe there is anything that can do what OP wants. There is nothing to work with in that 480p video, at least with the license plate.

[xxnsra]

Unfortunately the video is 704 x 480

I don't get these security cameras. When you do need them, they barely help.

I know there is the problem to storage high quality videos, but yet, they could be a little better.

[smrpix]

Your money would be better spent greasing the dispatcher's palm.

[jmac698]

I can think of a simple solution to this. In these types of problems, people are thinking of the problem the wrong way. They think they want to get a clear image that can be read. The actual question, is to recognize predefined objects (letters). The solution is to simulate all possible letters displayed at that size, then verify which image is the closest. However for this, you'd need for the standard font for the license plates. Even getting a few letters could be enough, if the taxi company has them in an alphabetized list in a spreadsheet. What you could literally do is park a car in the same spot and compare the two images. Immediately you could eliminate some characters, and maybe if you're lucky, get one digit. That's not so practical. Better is to find the font, or even some plate samples from the licensing dept. webpage. I couldn't help as I can't navigate the government dept's in a foreign language.

I saw a paper (article in a research journal) on something like this, and it works quite well with the barest of information, certainly small blurry images that could never be read.