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terryharman
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2015 4:26 pm

Zoom

by terryharman » Tue Dec 01, 2015 8:29 pm

Hello,

I would love the ability to zoom into a video, either live or recorded. It can help identify people or reading a number plate for example.

Thanks :)

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Semper Vaporo
 
Posts: 331
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am

Re: Zoom

by Semper Vaporo » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:23 pm

Some cameras have a zoom feature, but of course, that is not usable with the pre-recorded video after the fact.

Another option in Windows is the Magnifier program. You run "Magnify.exe" (in the Windows/System32 folder), then you can vary the size of the window that opens and move the mouse over the area you wish to see larger. There will also be a small transparent icon (hard to see sometimes) that looks like a magnifying glass that you can click on to get to a window where you can adjust the amount of magnification.

But, be aware, that unlike all the TV Crime Shows, all the magnifier can do is make the pixels of the screen (or the image) become more screen pixels the same color as the pixel being magnified. You do NOT gain resolution. Instead of one tiny dot you get a larger square. Magnify enough and all you have are large square blocks of uniform color each representing the color of the original individual pixel.

You can still gain some additional detail if you are viewing motion because as motion occurs YOUR mind will blend the changes caused by the motion to produce more perceived resolution.

Be aware that it can take a MINUTE (or so) for the Magnifier program to start displaying. It has to commandeer contiguous memory from the system to be able to build the magnified image of the screen area and superimpose that over the real viewing screen. This can take a lot of time to do because it has to wait for individual programs to relinquish the memory those programs are using or allow it to be swapped to the Swap-File on the HDD. Video processing uses a lot of memory so Sighthound is trying to use all it can and has to "get out of the way" for Magnifier to use it instead. If you start Magnifier, be patient, it will show up eventually and is useful at times to help identify some detail in the videos.

I am running 7 cameras now (a mix of USB and IP cams of various resolutions) and it can take a long time for Magnifier to elbow its way in, but I have not noted any degradation in processing of the videos by Sighthound while running Magnifier. When I had fewer cameras I used to leave Magnifier running to magnify the thumbnails on the main viewing window next to the large image of one camera.
Semper Vaporo,


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