As a student back in mid 2000s, I used to buy lots of CDs. I remember when I bought the 100 blank CD pack in 2005, the label read – “Guaranteed to keep the data safe for 50 years”. But I checked some of the videos and pictures stored on those disks, they have partially become damaged. Perhaps it is due to inappropriate storage, but the video files have become damaged. If your video files from decades ago have become damaged, then there is still some hope through the use of free video reconstruction software VideoCleaner.
This free and open-source program combines many different open-source projects together to create a professional tool that can be used for video reconstruction or even for some forensic work (since forensic work often involves reconstruction of partially damaged videos).
According to the developers of VideoCleaner, it is being used by many professionals for forensic work with video and image material. It packages many other tools such as VirtualDub, AviSynth, FFDShow, CamStudio, FFmpeg, MediaInfo and dozens of many more. If you are wondering through what kind of interface you will be able to use all of these tools, then the answer is AviSynth – a non-linear scripts based video editor. Through the use of scripts, you can control how and when which of the tools are used.
Using the VideoCleaner, you can lighten dark scenes, remove lens distortion, emphasize details or enhance contrasts. Furthermore, there many other features that might help you uncover some of the previously hidden details from a video or image material.
While everything sounds so good, the only drawback is that it is using AvySynth. This means that people who are expert in AviSynth scripting will fall in love with VideoCleaner. On the other hand, people who are looking for a graphical user interface will be utterly disappointed. It does come with a PDF document that explains how to install VideoCleaner but fails to tell how to use it.
You can download VideoCleaner from http://videocleaner.com/download.html.
I am the lead programmer of VideoCleaner and would appreciate your feedback regarding the User’s Guide. I want that guide to help new users comfortably use the software. Please reach out to me through the provided email, or VideoCleaner support forum, so we can connect. Thank you, Doug