Free DME & DFIR Resources

Resolution Video, Inc. recently announced a new course entitled "Courtroom Presentations Using Adobe Flash", which will be held March 10-12, 2009 in Tucson, AZ. The course will be taught by Paul Hartzell, who published a very well received article on the topic here on Media-Geek several months ago (click here to read the original article).

On Windows 7 and Windows 8 the default skin for Windows Media Player overlays the playback controls on top of the playback window, much like many Flash or HTML5 player skins. If you prefer the classic/corporate skin look, it's still there and only takes a few clicks to get to...you just have to dig a little. Click here for Microsoft's Windows Support post on the topic.

Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference.

If you're using Picasa you don't need to read any further, as I'm sure you already know this.  If you're not using Picasa for any reason, let me tell you one of the main reasons I do.   As you probably know Picasa is a pretty handy little free program for editing, managing and sharing your photos, but I rarely use it for any of those things.  What I love most about Picasa is the included Picasa Photo Viewer application.

Upcoming training events from Ocean Systems. Hope to see you in class!

Forensic Video Analysis – FVA 101 (4-Day)
June 9 @ 9:00 am - June 12 @ 5:00 pm
Ocean Systems, 4016 Blackburn Lane, Burtonsville, MD 20866 United States
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Introduction to Forensic Video Analysis is 4 day course that provides a comprehensive approach to your casework for both digital and analog video evidence with a primary focus on our stream-lined workflows and digital media processing. It is intended for anyone who is new to the field of FVA or persons who have not been formally trained using these tools.
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DVR Assessment & Video Recovery (3-Day)
June 16 @ 9:00 am - June 18 @ 5:00 pm
Brighton Fire Department – Station 1,
3100 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618 United States
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This 3 day class will provide students with an overview of the multiple challenges and issues that may arise or should be considered when acquiring digital video evidence using multiple techniques. This course is recommended for anyone who will be responsible for the recovery of digital video evidence from CCTV systems, from Patrol Officers and Technicians to Forensic Video Analysts.
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Time flies when you're having fun helping your peers and colleagues solve technical problems. Thank you to all who have shared their knowledge & expertise to-date!

I know I don't post to our LinkedIn group much, but I do post regularly to our site, Facebook page & my related Twitter account (@audiovideogeek). I plan to try to sharing on our LinkedIn group more often as well.

We've been expediting digital & multimedia investigations together as a community for over 5 years now. I'm really proud to be a part of that process, and you should be too. On behalf of our entire community, thanks for your valuable time and participation! All the best! - LC

Tired of going at it alone, eh WiGig? The aforesaid Alliance has just teamed up with yet another organization -- a mere six months after doing likewise with the Wi-Fi Alliance. For those unaware, WiGig's 60GHz multi-gigabit technology has already begun to penetrate the higher-end AV market, particularly in devices that shoot 1080p from source-to-display sans cabling. But as we've seen, the adoption rate there isn't anything to write home about, and it seems as if the entity is branching out in an effort to broaden its potential profit portfolio. 

Full story:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/03/wigig-and-vesa-team-up-promise-wireless-displayport-gear/

Apple has discontinued the "prosumer" Final Cut Express and its high-end Final Cut Server products in the process of its release of Final Cut Pro X earlier this week. And, to the surprise of no one, the complete restructuring of Apple's direction for its video editing software aimed at professionals has been met with loud criticism. But Apple plans to quickly improve Final Cut Pro X over time, addressing many of the complaints with incremental feature updates.

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The DoJ sent a letter to the attorneys for the Baltimore Police Department.

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* Updated with Corrected Images & Explanations. 

After the break you'll find several images of a bogus Person of Interest (PoI) that were recorded by a DCCTV system. Two different analog CCTV cameras with built-in IR illuminators were connected to the black-box, h.264 DVR. These JPG images were exported from the DVR’s proprietary player. All of these images exported at 704 pixels by 480 pixels. When the recorded video is played back via the proprietary player it is displayed at 630 x 455; however, analysis of the proprietary file and exported AVI files reveals both of those contain a 704 x 480 video stream.

Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to:

• Describe the PoI’s clothing items from these images as you would for producing a BOLO. Note any issues that may affect your description.
• Identify the single most important correction that should be made to these images prior to printing. (BONUS - Why does this correction need to be made, and what tipped you off to it?)

If you’ve taken one of my recovery classes or attended one of my presentations on the topic at a LEVA conference or other event, you may have seen these examples.

Positive & negative, in regards to perspective, can both have unintended consequences. While I don’t have any problem with people referring to me either way (Pessimist or Optimist), in my opinion, both are incorrect for me personally. “Oh, so you're a realist.” No, that sh!* is scary; reality. I’m a believer.

I published the remaining few paragraphs over on LinkedIn and have put the link below if you're interested. I was hoping it would be seen by a wider audience. All the best. - LC

(The original post no longer exists on LinkedIn.)

When looking for the source of a malicious infection on a computer network, a digital video recorder (DVR) might not make it on the radar of a malware fighter. That could be a mistake, according to one security expert.

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A close friend shared something with me a few years ago. Something he said to his therapist when they asked "Why did you choose to focus on child exploitation, and why would you do such a thing for so long (much of it, on his own time)?"

You've heard the answer before, but maybe, just maybe, if you read all my posts from this weekend, you'll get it.

"If not me, then who?"

I don't see anyone else working for free doing this. Nobody else creating their own jobs. Jobs that never existed before, until they made others realize somebody needed to be doing these jobs.

I don't recall others stepping up and saying "Please, give me more to do for less or no money, and fewer benefits!"

Oh, I see volunteers. I know there are millions of others like us.  But clearly, you're missing the point.

For him, me and others like us...this is all about "me".

Adobe’s award winning Presenter Video Creator has been enhanced with new tools designed to put interaction right into educational videos. Trainers and Educators alike are rapidly adopting Adobe Presenter thanks to it’s amazingly simple, show-and-tell video tool. Innovations in the video tool have been delighting users for more than a year now. Given the immediate popularity of the new learner intervention, tracking and collaboration tools were added to interactive projects, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Adobe has released an update that now provides users a tool that will let them embed learner tracking and collaboration right inside the videos.

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