Deblur a License Plate in Video

[ekimble83]

Hi All,

Can someone deblur this license plate in this video? I'm relying on the experts out there that can get a good shot at this. I've been trying different software, but I have no clue what I'm doing with it. Please help!https://youtu.be/y6sRm4QiAwo

[aedipuss]

post the ORIGINAL video here and maybe someone will look at it. without the source you've lost any detail.

[Cornucopia]

Unless that is a 4k camera or better, you don't have enough pixel information in the area of the license plate to do what you want.

Much better to show this to the authorities and have them track down the make/model/color of that vehicle.

Scott

[ekimble83]

How about this view?
[Attachment 51197 - Click to enlarge]

[smrpix]

That's the best I've ever seen out of the hundreds of requests that have come through here.

Definitely take it to the authorities.

What happened, if you'd care to share?

[ekimble83]

Porch Pirates!!! They went through the entire neighborhood taking people's packages. We also have a good photo of one of the woman's face too. Needs to be enhanced a bit as well.
[Attachment 51198 - Click to enlarge]
[Attachment 51199 - Click to enlarge]

[lingyi]

Give a copy of the original file to the police. Unless you know the woman and are willing to confront her, there's nothing you can do that the police can't. Any altered video or image will get thrown out of court.

[aedipuss]

How about this view?
[Attachment 51197 - Click to enlarge]

nice picture but the actual pixel count on the plate is about 30x8. nothing can be done to enhance it, not close or sharp enough.



[Attachment 51202 - Click to enlarge]

[october262]

How about this view?
[Attachment 51197 - Click to enlarge]

nice picture but the actual pixel count on the plate is about 30x8. nothing can be done to enhance it, not close or sharp enough.



[Attachment 51202 - Click to enlarge]

the last 3 looks like - 26j or l or 1

[lingyi]

How about this view?
[Attachment 51197 - Click to enlarge]

nice picture but the actual pixel count on the plate is about 30x8. nothing can be done to enhance it, not close or sharp enough.



[Attachment 51202 - Click to enlarge]

the last 3 looks like - 26j or l or 1

This illustrates the issue with non-authority sources and presenting that as evidence. Even if you get the plate right, it leaves open: Is the plate stolen, is the van stolen, who is the owner, who was driving, did thay have authorization to drive the vehicle, what is their relation to the woman, and so on.

[johnmeyer]

I'm with Scott: normally these requests include an image that has no hope of being recovered. However, this one is close enough that you might be able to get a few letters and digits. Given that you can tell the make, model and color of the car, the authorities can probably ID it with only a partial plate number.

You could download the trial for this software and see what you can get:

http://www.focusmagic.com

[aedipuss]

I'm with Scott: normally these requests include an image that has no hope of being recovered. However, this one is close enough that you might be able to get a few letters and digits. Given that you can tell the make, model and color of the car, the authorities can probably ID it with only a partial plate number.

You could download the trial for this software and see what you can get:

http://www.focusmagic.com

not sure the authorities will do anything with a "screen shot of a facebook picture". we weren't even given an original image to work with.

[Cornucopia]

No, they will require the original straight off the camera's media for chain-of-evidence reasons (though always make a clone backup for yourself - even the authorities can lose/ruin stuff. Plus they often have to keep it as evidence for an indefinite period of time).

Scott

[ekimble83]

MAN!!! Does everyone always have such a pessimistic view on this site sheesh! Well while you all were doubting the image, the Sheriff said the image should be fine and the tech guys would take care of it. They received the exact same image that I sent to you guys and was able to get the license plate number. Late in the evening they found the vehicle and impounded the vehicle. The driver stated he wasn't the owner of the vehicle and that he was just borrowing it. We got the name of the girl in the picture so the police will be searching for since she has warrants out already. With that being said, stay positive folks, because you just never know with technology! Happy Holidays!

[johnmeyer]

MAN!!! Does everyone always have such a pessimistic view on this site sheesh! Well while you all were doubting the image, the Sheriff said the image should be fine and the tech guys would take care of it. They received the exact same image that I sent to you guys and was able to get the license plate number. Late in the evening they found the vehicle and impounded the vehicle. The driver stated he wasn't the owner of the vehicle and that he was just borrowing it. We got the name of the girl in the picture so the police will be searching for since she has warrants out already. With that being said, stay positive folks, because you just never know with technology! Happy Holidays!

I'm glad to hear that you were able to get the perp.

I too have found that too many on this site have gotten negative to the point where it is tough to get any real help. This thread is an excellent example. Instead of helping, many people just like to stand back and take shots at the person asking for assistance.

However, as several of us said, your particular image looked like it had enough detail to permit getting at least a few letters from the license plate, which is what I assume the police were able to do. You don't need much when you also have a perfect image of the car itself which, knowing its location and the time of day, reduces the number of suspect vehicles to a pretty small number.

[p_l]

Enhance!
https://youtu.be/Vxq9yj2pVWk

[lingyi]

It's not pessimism [or "taking shots"] but reality. The OP's quest for non-professional enhancement of the video was futile as fortunately the video was clear enough for the police follow up upon. As with 99% of these kind of posts, any additional data the OP could provide would likely be dismissed immediately by the police or the court.

Positive thinking is one thing. Seeing dozens of posts in which 99% leads (as far as the OP reports) to nothing is reality, as is the fact that the 99% of the 1% that leads to something positive is because the OP passed the [original] video/pics to the authorities with the proper equipment and experience to do a proper investigation.

[Cornucopia]

Yes, I'm very glad that you were able to have a positive outcome. Note that you were able to get a more definitive and proactive response from the authorities. Which is what I directed you to do.

The authorities don't often have necessarily any better tools than are available here or to most pros, but they also do have cross-referencing databases with which to narrow down possible search scopes. And that can make all the difference! If you were to tell us that state/province license plate was, say 7 alphanumeric digits, the # of possible permutations might be in the billions. But if the authorities know from inside experience that certain sequences cannot occur, and certain ranges haven't even been issued yet, and certain other sequences are likely to only be issued hundreds of miles away (and so not likely to appear locally), matching that with the make/model & color of the vehicle can narrow the original possibilities down to only scores of options. Which then makes APBs feasible.

I stand by my assessment of the raw (youtube) data, particularly of the minimum resolving requirements, but that is not pessimism, but realism, and professional honest critique. Which I thought was what you wanted.

Scott

[aedipuss]

whine all you want about us. i don't download or click in any youtube or other online links. post original video here or too bad. the picture posted is as i said. too far away and too low res.

[lordsmurf]

the Sheriff said the image should be fine and the tech guys would take care of it. They received the exact same image that I sent to you guys and was able to get the license plate number.

I call BS.

I don't want readers of this post to believe in some sort of fairy-dust magic "enhance" program as seen on CSI (which is amusingly now an old TV show). They're probably using Ikena software, the law enforcement defacto standard. But understand that other software can be better, or the same, including the freeware Avisynth, depending on the task.

Realize that sheriffs/etc rarely know the nitty-gritty tech details, as it's still often "tech stuff" (as evidenced by calling the forensic/evidence person a "tech guy"). Interdepartmental office politics can vary from treating those folks as magicians to derided as non-LEOs.

As others have stated, it's very likely that a partial was recovered, with guestimated plate, which combined with make/model/color resulted in a match.

What Cornucopia and lingyi have stated is 100% correct.

impounded the vehicle.
searching for since she has warrants out already.

That's all that matters.

[MSanfilippo]

Hi everyone!

I am trying to deblur the license plate of the white SUV in the middle lane of this video and image. I have been struggling with the software and I'm not sure if it is even possible to get a decent read on the plates. I was in a car accident and need plate numbers of the white SUV. I would really appreciate any help!


[Attachment 52665 - Click to enlarge]

Thanks!!!

[aedipuss]

next time start you're own post. and you've got to be kidding. there's aren't enough pixels to get anything from this low rez image. but here's a blow up for you to try. the plate area is all of 12 square pixels. good luck.


[Attachment 52671 - Click to enlarge]
[Attachment 52672 - Click to enlarge]

[MSanfilippo]

Thank you!

[p_l]

Here you are, using my top enhancement algorithms. Don't know if it'll hold up in court, though.

[ricjvs]

Dear all,

First of all Merry Christmas!

I need a precious help of experts... A guy hit in my car and go away, can someone deblur the license plate in a small video in order get the plate ID?

I have the original recording from a cam and video/screenshots after zoom in, that i can provide.

Please, can someone help me?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
RS

[johnmeyer]

If you can make out a few letters on your own, then some of the suggestions earlier in this thread may help. However, if you can't even begin to guess at one letter or number, then it is hopeless.

[ricjvs]

Hi,

Please, see the attached files.

I need the license plate ID of the white van, can someone deblur it for me? I already tried but i have no experience with this and couldn't got nothing...

Can someone help me?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
RS

[lordsmurf]

Hi,
Please, see the attached files.
I need the license plate ID of the white van, can someone deblur it for me? I already tried but i have no experience with this and couldn't got nothing...
Can someone help me?
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
RS

I don't have time for this, but I bet at least a partial can be recovered. The key here is probably basic contrast, frame stacking, sharpening, and upsizing. There are special AIO tools like Ikena that does that ($10k/seat software), or you can dabble in Avisynth to approximate the same.

You'll also need the make/model/year of the vehicle, so research that as well, scan the full video for vehicle profiles as needed.

I don't work for licensed lab (which WILL be required for any legal action), but I have advised legal professionals (LEOs. PIs, etc) with forensic video methods.

This needs to be submitted as evidence, and let the LEOs do their job on it. There's really nothing you can do here. At most, you can try to "be helpful", and show them some better plate picture. But before they'll act on it, they'll want to recreate in their own lab.

That's why a lot of these "help me blow up license plate" posts are utterly pointless and futile, waste of time.

[Jerry AAA]

I'm trying to get the plate # from the black SUV in the top right corner please
[Attachment 58057 - Click to enlarge]

[p_l]

Of course, I've always believed you can't create pixels where no pixels existed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxq9yj2pVWk

However... I recently had a go with the free trial at MyHeritage.com to try out their AI portrait facial animation feature. It's quite interesting, sometimes hit or miss, and both mesmerizing and creepy at the same time. Definitely in the realm of the Uncanny Valley.

But what I also found there was an "Enhance" feature that despite all the CSI exaggerations of the past, actually sharpened old blurry photos to an amazing extent, in some cases. Would it work on those license plates? I can't say, because my free trial is up. But it might be worth a shot.

https://www.techspot.com/news/88770-myheritage-deep-fake-service-brings-old-photos-life.html

https://www.myheritage.com/