We are approaching the end of the year. It has been a busy period for us, full of changes and opportunities. The adoption of our products in the global market in the last year made us accomplish an excellent result: they are currently used in the main forensic labs and intelligence agencies in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Our team has grown more than ever this year and now one of the rockstars of forensic video analysis has become our main trainer.
And we guarantee that the next year will be even better… But for now, let’s look back at what happened.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
One of the strongest competitive advantages of Amped Software is the very impressive release cycle of our products. We always strive to make our products more complete, trying to meet every possible need of forensic image and video analysis. And because of this, in 2015 alone, we have made 13 updates in total (and there still may be another one before the year ends!). Below is a recap of the main changes.
- Improved DVR conversion, with support for batch conversion of multiple files.
- New options for the Fourier filter, useful for latent fingerprints and pattern noise removal from video.
- Various improvements and additional customizations of the user interface, including the possibilities of setting the highly requested dark themes.
- The Video Mixer filter, later updated with the Similarity Metrics for doing scientifically measurable comparisons on images.
- A new video engine with audio support.
- Advanced file info tool.
- Improvements to the Compare Original filter.
- Video export to WMV.
- New filter Frame Size, for padding image and video size.
- New filter Add Logo.
- New filter Add Grid.
- Support for multiple colors in Color Deconvolution.
- Deinterlace with CRT Simulation.
- Undistort and Correct Fisheye, with automatic straightening from multiple lines.
- Point spread function display in the Deblurring filters.
- Inverse selection on Hide Selection and Spotlight.
Remember, most of our updates and developments are a direct result of user feedback and suggestions. We will always work alongside you, in order to provide the functionality you need.
If you have an idea – let us know. If something does not work the way you want it to – let us know.
The continued improvement of Amped Authenticate managed to keep it the de facto standard for forensic image authentication worldwide, with a strong interest in the technology from many new fronts. This year we have released 4 updates. And a lot of additional features are currently in development and will be released very soon.
The major improvements in 2015 have been the following:
- Improved algorithms (even more!) for clone detection that allow users to find most of the duplicates in the image.
- New filter JPEG Ghosts Map.
- New filter ADJPEG.
- New filter NADJPEG.
- New filter Fusion Map.
- Batch processing and report generation, with all the results of the analysis.
- Automatic warnings to automatically notify the users of suspicious results.
UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE
If you have an active support plan you can update to the latest versions of Amped FIVE and Amped Authenticate by going to the menu “Help” > “Check for Updates Online”. If you need to renew your SMS plan, contact us or one of our authorized partners.
TRAINING
We provide complete hands-on training courses on the use of our products. And in 2015, we trained more than 100 users from 22 different countries in 20 different training sessions.
The purpose of the Amped Software training is to:
- Provide students with the theory and the basics of image
processing - Understand different issues affecting images and videos in an investigative context
- Acquire an in-depth knowledge of all Amped FIVE and Amped Authenticate features
- Work effectively on real cases and be able to testify to the results
To book your session, please visit our training page or contact us.
These are the next sessions planned, for which we still have seats available:
- Amped FIVE: January 11-13, 2016, Champagne Illinois (USA)
- Amped FIVE: February 9th-12th, 2016, Trieste (Italy)
- Amped Authenticate: April 5th-7th, 2016, Trieste (Italy)
TOP POSTS FROM OUR BLOG IN 2015
In case you missed them, be sure to check out these posts from our blog. There’s a lot of value in them!
CSI Video Enhancement, Finally Someone is Getting It
Finally, a non-specialized website that understands how forensic image processing is done. An incredible start of the year!
Body-Worn Cameras
In this article series, we investigate the different aspects, technological and not, of the current hot topic of body-worn cameras.
Increase Your Productivity with Amped FIVE
In this post, there are a few hints about ways to speed up your workflow using Amped FIVE.
Cat or Duck? Authenticity versus Interpretation
An in-depth analysis of a viral series of images which also poses some philosophical questions about the image authentication processes.
Terrorism, photos, misinformation
In the light of the sad terrorist happenings in Paris in November 2015, we analyze some of the mistakes made by the media related to their use of images and their authenticity.
Comparative Analysis in Amped FIVE
Some good ideas on how to use Amped FIVE at its best, for comparative work.
We want to thank all our customers for trusting in our company and products and to those users who continue to send us requests for new features and improvements. Without you, our products would not have become the most valued and requested forensic video and image analysis software!
We wish you all a joyous holiday season and a New Year filled with peace and happiness.
See you in 2016 for more great things to come!
