Whilst it’s been a busy time for us here at Amped with the demand for training higher than ever, we have made sure our development is continuous and we’re here again with another huge update for Amped FIVE.
A Completely Revamped Conversion Engine
As you will know, one of the biggest struggles within the world of CCTV and video analysis is the ever-increasing number of proprietary formats. Our support and development team are constantly receiving requests for new format support and in our latest update, we have enabled conversion support for BVR, DVS, H64, PSF and SHV formats, along with some variations of other formats already supported in previous versions.
All these formats are multiplexed streams. This is when a manufacturer has placed all camera footage into a single time-based video stream.
The latest FIVE not only converts the files straight away, but demultiplexes each video stream, splitting them into their own individual chains within the software. Under the Convert DVR Advanced tab you will find the options to enable this time-saving function.
Files to Convert > All, one chain per file.
No more mixed streams, no more time wasted writing carving scripts. A few clicks will now save you hours!
Multiplexed single stream decoding is huge, so expect a dedicated blog post in the next few weeks looking more deeply into decoding files of this type.
But the new conversion engine does not stop there! There are a lot of benefits even on single stream video files. Standard conversion done with vanilla FFmpeg is often not enough – there may be the risk of losing video frames because of wrongly interpreted proprietary metadata. Our new engine not only cleans almost every proprietary video format, being in MPEG4, H263, H264 and H265, but for many of them also recovers the proprietary timestamp. We found more than 50 different variations of timestamp formats!
The Load Timestamp filter now supports the input of this file type, whilst also adding it to the built-in player.
Remove Frames Filter
We have a new filter! Remove Frames allows you to select individual frames, add them to a list and remove them from your video. This filter can be used in instances such as removing badly stabilized frames after applying stabilization, manually demultiplexing a multi-stream video and for quick removal of a sneaky duplicate frame on a large file without the need for automatic scanning.
It’s so simple to use. Navigate to the frame (or frames) in question and click Add (or shortcut key ‘U’). Once you are happy with the selection in the list, click Apply and the filter will remove those frames.
Correct Fisheye
The Correct Fisheye filter now has some more advanced functions.
Alongside the Focal Length parameter on the Settings screen, you can now adjust the Field of View according to how it is reported on the camera specifications for a more accurate manual input.
We’ve also added a Post-Projection tab on this filter to virtually change the orientation of the camera view.
You can manipulate the Longitude, Latitude and Rotation degrees to achieve the desired output for your presentation, allowing for specific focusing within the virtual scene.
Add Text
After some user requests, we have added some useful features to the Add Text filter. You can now use a solid color of your choice as a background to any added text. On the filter settings, choose Text to surround the area immediately around the text with a color, whilst Selection will allow you to specify the location of the text and background color.
New format macros $DATE and $TIME have also been added, alongside two parameters Date format and Time format. We’ve also included a better format of the $POSITIONTIME macro so that the decimals don’t intermittently disappear, as they were doing.
Video Mixer
Under the Blend tab on the Video Mixer, you can now choose to blend between the Difference in two videos, choosing either to do so via blending the first video into the second or vice versa.
Field Shift
The Field Shift filter now includes more of a choice regarding how the empty space around the borders of the video are filled after the Field Shift filter has been applied. Alongside filling the border with black as in previous versions, you can now fill the empty spaces either by replicating the nearest pixel, Replicate, or rolling over the pixels on the other side, Wrap. This is useful in some videos with specific issues of pixels rolling on the other side.
Add Timestamp
You’ll notice an additional checkbox parameter called Disable Rendering. When this is checked, an added timestamp won’t immediately appear on the image but can be used by other filters at a later stage of processing, such as Add Text.
Video Loader
The decode library of the USBPlay video engine has been updated and now includes experimental 64-bit support.
Filter Settings
In case you should need it during input or analysis, all text boxes for decimal numbers now have a built-in calculator allowing for basic arithmetic.
Generate Report
When generating a .DOC format report, you should now notice there is improved handling of project-relative links in the report.
Hash Code
Our developers have increased the computation speed when generating hash code values, avoiding unnecessary re-computations which could slow down the process.
Copy Info
If ever you get in touch via our Customer Support, we might ask you for information about the version of FIVE or the system running the software, or you might need this information for validation reasons. Found under the Help and About tabs, Copy Info will copy the system information for the computer you are using, allowing for it to be pasted into an email or a document. We have updated this to include more detailed information about the hardware and operating system of the PC running FIVE.
Bug Fixes!
- Some of you noticed a bug was preventing image redraw after a slider reset, which has now been fixed.
- The bug that was causing the filter status to be ignored as to whether it was enabled or disabled whilst reading a project file has been fixed.
- There was a bug that was preventing playback of videos loaded using FFMS with Audio which has now been fixed.
- When using Compare Original there was a bug that was causing an error when comparing a color original against a grayscale image. This has now been fixed.
- There was a bug causing an error during output regeneration of the demultiplexer when the option Write every sequence on separate files was enabled. This has been fixed.
- We have fixed a bug that was preventing listbox refresh after adding a filter in the Video Mixer.
- The bug that was preventing manual editing of the timestamp format in the Add Timestamp filter has been fixed.
As always, we try our best to spot every bug before we issue our updates, but if you spot one please let us know!
Don’t Delay – Update Today
If you have an active support plan you can update straight away by going into the menu “Help” > “Check for Updates Online” within Amped FIVE. If you need to renew your SMS plan, please contact us or one of our authorized partners.
