While NCAVF does all kinds of advanced video and audio filtering, sometimes we are hired by attorneys to simply explain the video evidence as it exists — even before enhancements are performed.
What about surveillance video evidence needs to be explained?
Video surveillance systems often record images in a way that is NOT like video you capture in your home video camera or on your smartphone. The security system may, for example, be hooked up to 5 or 8 cameras and recording all of these onto a single hard drive. To be able to record that much data at the same time, security camera systems must find ways to lower the flow of data. This is most commonly done through either lowering the resolution of the video saved or by lessening the number of video frames recorded per second.
How much is your surveillance video compressed?
Normally, on TV or with your home camera, video operates at 30 frames per second. Security cameras, on the other hand, may be recorded as low as 5 or 7 frames per second, and although I strongly discourage it, I’ve seen supermarkets often recording their surveillance at 1 frame per second — if events are recorded at this low frame rate it becomes very difficult to discern any valuable details.
The second method of reducing data is lowering the resolution of your surveillance footage. How much is done with that? Cameras today record with resolution somewhere near 720 x 480 — and systems automatically will reduce that to 360×240.
This compression means a great deal of detail is lost in the image and a great deal of time comprehension is lost as well.
We help attorneys both understand their evidence and present a stronger case to the jury.