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HDR / Evidence and legal work / Exports, formats and players

Video exhibits · getting the file to open at all

CCTV exports and players, Hull. The disc arrived; nothing on your computer will open it.

CCTV video is different from regular video. The CCTV recorder stores the picture inside its own container, as well as indexing it by time & channel. When you want to play this back, it sends a "player" which is usually a Windows application, but some of these applications require access to the recorder that created them. Also, if you try to use them on a Mac, they don't work. This is why the disc ends up sitting on a desk, and the case stalls too. All of our steps are mundane and functional; and they work for us. We read the structure of the video to determine the correct format of the video. We copy the video stream to something that any computer will open. We leave the original untouched. We hash both versions. We document exactly what was converted, and how this was accomplished so the new version can be tested. Nothing about the footage will improve because of this process. If the recorder used to create the video is not owned by you, we will need permission from the owner.

Only pay if we recover your data, on most jobs An exhibit from day one It is being written over now

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Why nothing will play it.

Not ordinary videoThe video that an actual DVR recorder creates is stored in its own proprietary container. The picture stream contains pointers to specific locations within the container based upon time and/or channel. Most general players will not understand how to correctly display the video stream because it doesn't have standard pointers like most other types of media.
The native fileThe DVR recorder also includes its own timestamp information along with its own channel information in the recorded video. Once you re-encode the recorded video, you lose this information, and some of the picture quality goes with it.
The player discMost of the time a Windows executable is included on the DVD/CD sent to view the recordings. However, these executables will not run on a Macintosh computer. Some will only work with the recording device (DVR) model that created the video, but many times no player is included on the disc. At this point, the disc gets placed in a drawer and the problem stalls.
What we do with itRead the format on disk, convert without re-encoding, do nothing to the original, hash both versions, and list what was done so the conversion may be checked.

The format, the player, the clock.

Not one of these? Ring us →
What you haveWhat the fault isWhat to try
.dav, .264 filesVideo streams that are embedded inside of containers that were written by their respective manufacturers and never made publicYou'll need a quote before sending us the player with the file.
DVD/CDs that contain no player software or application.This is relatively common. Therefore, the file format has to be pulled off of the file itself.You'll need a quote before sending us the whole folder.
Windows-only .exeDoesn't work on a Mac and often won't work on newer PCs either.Request a converted copy.
Phone video of a monitor.Has gone through a screen, lens, and re-encode, therefore is not the footage itself.Return to the export itself.
Recorder clock.Drifts, can be set wrong when the system is installed, and is rarely updated in March.Difference from a reference clock is quantified and reported, not assumed.
Sending it to us: ring first or fill out the form to request a quote. Send the recorder disk (or camera card) via post to the Leeds intake laboratory (insured and trackable). Alternatively, drop the recorder disk (or camera card) off there, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. No appointment needed. We pay for its return journey. Call prior to sending if you would like one of our staff to check the packaging with you. All information about how to send is on the sending page.

The stages, one by one.

The casebook in full →
01

A case number first, then a free diagnosis Free

Every piece of gear that shows up receives a case number on the very same day it arrives. An engineer examines it and determines what is really wrong with it and there is no charge for this. We give you straight language about which files we will be able to copy from the disk and which ones we won't be able to. Then we provide you with a single price quote, in writing, based upon these findings. We don't begin working on anything until you agree to the quoted price.

The diagnosis is freeOne price, put in writingNothing to pay yet
02

Work out what it really is

An extension tells you almost nothing: .dav, .264, .dat, .vid, or an .mp4 with its internal layout reordered. Format is determined by the file structure. Password files are required for encrypted exports. Without the password file, we have no chance of doing anything with them.

Format read off the fileThe extension proves little
03

A copy that plays

We copy the stream into an ordinary container without re-encoding. Therefore, we do not add anything and we also do not lose anything. The original file as exported from the recorder is retained.

Stream copied, not re-encodedOriginal kept
04

The clock, checked not assumed

The recorder's time is compared to that of a reference clock and the difference noted. Most problems arise around British Summer Time. Regardless of what difference arises, this is included in the report as a number so that people do not have to make an estimate of it at some point later.

Offset against a clockWritten down, not assumed
05

You sign it off, then it comes back

You will not be charged while you think about this. First, you receive a list of everything that was recovered from the drive. Once you have seen the list and given us the go-ahead, the bill comes next. Files are returned to you on media purchased specifically for this job and we cover the return postage as well. Your job is kept open by us until you can view them on your personal computer.

You approve the listing firstCopied onto new mediaReturn postage at our cost

What we see on the bench

  • The file is okay; the player is wrong: most digital video recorders put H.264 or H.265 inside a proprietary container with their own stream markers, ordered by time rather than by stream. Most decoders are designed to take streams in order of the number of each stream, not by when they were recorded, so a general decoder assigns frames to the wrong ones and the problem keeps going.
  • Do not rely on the maker's own player: it can change the images in ways that are not disclosed to you, and where it reads round the disk index your pictures will not have any dates or times associated with them.
  • A re-export is not the same file: when an AVI was exported from an H.264 video, two frames were missing at an hour boundary. However, the metadata still matched the original file. Also, 944 by 1080 resolution video is displayed stretched to widescreen resolution. All elements within the footage are distorted in shape as well.
  • Redaction is a separate job, and a small one here: where unrelated individuals must be blurred/obfuscated prior to distributing a clip, faces and number plates can be masked in a short export. The masked version will always go out under its own exhibit reference number and never as part of the master files. We do not take on hours of multi-camera footage for editing.

Must have in the parcel: the recorder's own file in the same condition it was when it came off, a copy of the file which an average computer can open, hashes for both, the player or a written description of the format if a player does not exist, the clock offset, and an account of where the video footage came from and who has had it. Page one of the report states that this laboratory is not accredited.

One case from the casebook.

HU · HUL-2026-0872LOGGED ✓

A licensing hearing, and a disc that would not open

A bar off Humber Street gave its solicitor a CD two weeks prior to a licensing hearing. Four video files & a player that could not install on a Mac. The format was determined from the files. The stream was copied into something playable. The original remained unchanged. Both were hashed. The recorder's clock was at least thirty minutes fast and had never been put forward in March, therefore the report listed the clock offset.

Licensing hearing reportCourt-ready export

Before you box it up.

Do these first

  • Ask for the export, not a clip!
  • Ask for the player to be included on the disc too!
  • Record the recorder's make/model
  • Copy the entire folder, not just the video file itself!

What not to do

  • Recode it for playback.
  • Record your screen and send that as the file.
  • Change the names to something clean.
  • Expect a conversion to make it sharper.

What we get asked on the phone.

The disc will not open on my computer. Why?

It's not regular video. Recorders package pictures inside their own containers using hidden markers in streams; general players can't understand these. But most of the time, the actual file is still good. And you're pointing the wrong software at it.

The player will not run on my Mac.

This is common. Most are Windows applications and a few are specific to the model of the recorder they were created for. Get a quote first, either by calling or with the online form; after you've got a quote, post the disc, tracked and insured, to the Leeds intake lab, or drop it off there (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, no appointment needed), and we'll give you a copy that plays on anything you want, keeping the original untouched.

Does converting it make the picture better?

No. Be very careful of anyone that tells you so. Details that cameras didn't capture can't ever be restored. When a conversion is done correctly, it's completely faithful to what you originally captured, and that's all. If the conversion isn't done well, you'll lose frames and distort the shapes of items. That's why the original goes back to you alongside the conversion.

Is the time on the footage reliable?

Often not. Recorder clocks run slow or fast, can easily be incorrectly set when the system is installed, and virtually none are adjusted in March. We compare your recorder's clock with a reference clock and include the difference in our report.

What people read after this.

Video off recorders → Dashcam and bodycam footage → Reports for the court → Forensics and evidence →

The recorder is overwriting it now.

The clip you wish to obtain is currently being recorded over; the deadline has not changed. Log a job. The initial review will cost you nothing; your comments remain confidential.

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