Based on the VideoFOCUS and CARDINAL MiniLab software products from Salient Sciences, these two online training courses teach how to clarify evidentiary video and audio recordings utilizing the Zoom video conferencing platform for a seamless, high-performance online training experience. Attendees have the option to purchase either the training only, or a “training + software” package including a new one-year Subscription license or a one-year maintenance renewal of an existing license to the latest version of VideoFOCUS for one low price. Customers with current, paid maintenance contracts on their existing VideoFOCUS licenses may qualify for FREE training seat(s). Click here for complete details and enrollment information.
Fall 2019 VideoFOCUS Training
Based on the VideoFOCUS and CARDINAL MiniLab software products from Salient Sciences, the Fall 2019 session of the Forensic Video/Audio Training will be held on 9-13 September 2019 at the Omaha Public Safety Training Center in Omaha, NE. Attendees have the option to purchase either the training only, or a “training + software” package including a new one-year Subscription license, a Perpetual license, or a one-year maintenance renewal of an existing license to the latest version of VideoFOCUS for one low price. Customers with current, paid maintenance contracts on their existing VideoFOCUS licenses may qualify for FREE training seat(s). Click here for complete details and enrollment information.
Spring-Summer 2019 Conferences
For the Spring and Summer 2019 seasons, Salient Sciences will be exhibiting at the following events:
3/5/2019 – 3/5/2019: Security & Policing Home Office Event 2019, Farnborough, Hampshire, UK (for details, please visit the Security & Policing website)
4/9/2019 – 4/10/2019: NATIA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Spring Training Conference & Technology Exhibition, Dover, DE
4/29/2019 – 5/1/2019: National Cyber Crime Conference, Norwood, MA (for details, please visit the NCCC website)
7/30/2019 – 8/1/2019: NATIA 2019 Annual Conference & Exposition, Kansas City, MO
Please note that attendance at the NATIA conferences is strictly for NATIA members and exhibitors who are specifically invited by the NATIA organization. For further details, please visit the NATIA website.
FREE Training Offer on VideoFOCUS Pro Purchases in 2018
As a special offer for 2018, each purchase of a new VideoFOCUS Pro Perpetual or Subscription license, or a maintenance renewal to an existing VideoFOCUS Pro license, with the maintenance contract covering the period including 30 November 2018, is entitled to one complimentary tuition (a $900 value) in any advertised US training session in 2018.
Please click here for complete details and enrollment information for upcoming US training sessions.
VideoFOCUS 7.0 Now Available
Having completed the initial beta testing period, both VideoFOCUS Pro and VFSource Version 7.0 are now in general release and are available for download and installation under all licenses having a current maintenance contract*.
In addition to numerous improvements to the user interface and support for some additional DVR formats, the new features of VideoFOCUS Pro include:
- Automatic Reporting, which produces a PDF report detailing the properties of each item being reported, all steps required to reproduce, hashes (both SHA1 and SHA-256) for all imported and exported media items, plus user-editable text fields under Case Properties and Session Properties that provide notes for the overall case and each item along with the agency name, examiner name, case number, and case title;
- Macro Function, enabling any set of actions taken on one piece of media to be quickly applied to other similar media, without the user having to repeat the same actions in the user interface;
- Unified Export Window, supporting the simultaneous export of multiple images, video, and audio, with separate tabs allowing independent format selection for each type and a detailed PDF report being automatically produced and saved along with the items (if enabled);
- Improved Item Labeling and Tooltips, providing a more consistent methodology for the labeling of items created by filters, modifications, edits, etc.;
- Independent Time Zone Setting for Each Case under the new File->Case Properties menu item, a helpful function for examiners who work on cases originating from across multiple time zones, and;
- Cases Now Described Through a Standardized Text File, not a version-specific binary file as in previous versions, enabling new cases created in versions 7.0 onward to be opened with later versions.
Please watch for our automated support messages informing of new releases, and also periodically check our support website for the newest versions of VideoFOCUS as they become available.
* Under Upgrade Amnesty, any previously-purchased VideoFOCUS license is now eligible to gain entitlement to all new versions for one future year with the purchase of a 1YR maintenance contract. To request a quotation to renew maintenance on your VideoFOCUS license, please complete and submit the online form and either we or your in-country dealer will respond as soon as possible.
Fall-Winter 2017 Conferences
For the Fall-Winter 2017 seasons, Salient Sciences will be exhibiting at the following events:
10/17/2017: LEVA 28th Annual Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video
Association Digital Multimedia Evidence Symposium (for details, please visit the LEVA website)
10/21/2017 – 10/24/2017: IACP 2017 124th Annual Conference and Exposition of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (for details, please visit the IACP Conference website)
11/7/2017 – 11/8/2017: NATIA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Fall Training Conference & Technology Exhibition, Williamsburg, VA
11/21/2017 – 11/24/2017: MILIPOL Paris 2017, Paris-Nord Villepinte, France, Stand L163, “Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina” (for details, please visit the MILIPOL Paris 2017 website)
11/29/2017 – 11/30/2017: NATIA Southeast Chapter Training Conference & Technology Exhibition, Deerfield Beach, FL
1/17/2018 – 1/19/2018: NATIA Southwest Chapter Training Conference & Technology Exhibition, Austin, TX
Please note that attendance at the NATIA conferences is strictly for members and exhibitors who are specifically invited by the NATIA organization. For further details, please visit https://www.natia.org/.
Spring-Summer 2017 Conferences
For the Spring and Summer 2017 seasons, Salient Sciences will be exhibiting at the following events:
3/7/2017 – 3/9/2017: Security & Policing Home Office Event 2017, Farnborough, Hampshire, UK (for details, please visit the Security & Policing website)
4/4/2017 – 4/5/2017: NATIA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Spring Training Conference & Technology Exhibition, Dover, DE
4/24/2017 – 4/26/2017: National Cyber Crime Conference, Norwood, MA (for details, please visit the NCCC website)
6/15/2017 – 6/17/2017: AES International Conference on Audio Forensics, Arlington, VA (for details, please visit the AES website)
7/18/2017 – 7/19/2017: NATIA 2017 Annual Conference & Exposition, Tampa, FL
Please note that attendance at the NATIA conferences is strictly for NATIA members and exhibitors who are specifically invited by the NATIA organization. For further details, please visit https://www.natia.org/.
VideoFOCUS 6.1 Preview
At the recent DAC School Training in Phoenix, AZ, Jeff Hunter introduced the new VideoFOCUS Pro Version 6.1 software that we are working to release hopefully sometime in the next few weeks. In addition to numerous improvements to the user interface and support for additional DVR formats, the new features include:
- Improved hierarchical visual organization of the sessions list;
- Ability to arrange views in the MultiView sessions in any desired arrangement, with independent zooming;
- Hashing (MD5, SHA1, and SHA2) for all imported and exported files;
- Explicit indication of key frames in all views;
- User-defined labeling of time regions across multiple videos within the same case;
- Better handling of footage gathered from across different time zones, and;
- New audio redaction function.
Please watch for our automated support messages informing of new releases, and also periodically check our support website for the newest versions of VideoFOCUS as they become available.
Upgrade Amnesty for Old VideoFOCUS Licenses
Effective 1 January 2017, all Perpetual licenses to VideoFOCUS may be brought current to the latest version and gain entitlement to all new versions for one future year simply by purchasing a one-year maintenance renewal.
Under this upgrade amnesty, all retroactive “upgrade” and “back maintenance” charges are waived entirely, providing an excellent opportunity especially for those who may have bought an early version of VideoFOCUS from the old Salient Stills company to get current again and take advantage of the expanded capabilities of versions 6.0 and beyond.
To find out if your old VideoFOCUS license qualifies for upgrade amnesty, please complete and submit the online form and we or your in-country dealer will respond as soon as possible.
Improved Subscription Licensing Now Available for VideoFOCUS!
Since the release of Version 4.0 in 2012, both Perpetual and Subscription licensing have been available for all VideoFOCUS software products. As of Version 6.0, Salient Sciences additionally offers USB Dongle Activation for Subscription licences, allowing these date-limited licenses to be shared across multiple machines and operated without an internet connection in the same way as dongle-based Perpetual licenses – an important consideration for workstations housing sensitive data.
When a Subscription license is purchased with USB Dongle Activation specified, a special RTC dongle having its own real-time clock (or “RTC”) on board will be supplied at no additional cost. This independent RTC enables VideoFOCUS to reliably manage the subscription term, even when an internet connection to a trusted time server (e.g. nist.gov) is not available. For Perpetual licenses, which are not date-limited, a non-RTC dongle will be supplied. Pictures of the two dongle types are provided below.
Follows is a more detailed explanation of Perpetual vs. Subscription licensing:
With Perpetual licensing, the customer “owns and maintains” the software license. Analogous to buying a car, there is a significant initial investment to purchase the license, which includes an initial maintenance contract providing entitlement to all new versions that are released during that first year of ownership; thereafter, the customer can purchase a new maintenance contract each year to continue entitlement to the latest versions.
For most of our customers, Perpetual licensing is preferred, because they never have to worry about a critical forensics tool ceasing to work for them if budget is not immediately available to renew the maintenance. Even if the maintenance should expire at some point without renewal, the software continues to function indefinitely at the most recent version that was allowed under the last expired contract (also called the “last entitled version”).
But for smaller customer agencies who may find it prohibitive to absorb the larger initial cost for the Perpetual license, the “rent and maintain” model of the Subscription license may be more attractive. Like leasing a car, the initial cost is more modest – essentially, you pay for the first year’s maintenance contract and you can start using the software immediately with full entitlement to all updates while the contract remains active.
The main potential downside of Subscription licensing is that if the maintenance is ever allowed to expire without renewal, the software will simply stop working – possibly making for a bad day if the maintenance happens to expire in the middle of a critical case!
The other potential downside of Subscription licensing is the need for the software to have a trusted clock source to reliably enforce the subscription term. Traditionally, our Subscriptions have used Online Activation only, meaning that the computer had to have an internet connection or the software would not run – again, potentially a big problem for machines having sensitive data. However, this limitation is completely overcome in Version 6.0 with the USB Dongle Activation via the RTC dongle.
To minimize any disruptions of Subscription licenses, and also to ensure that Perpetual license customers continue their entitlement to all the latest versions of VideoFOCUS, Salient Sciences starts e-mailing maintenance renewal pro forma invoices within 3-6 months of the maintenance expiring, which hopefully allows time to purchase the renewal and avoid any issues. Where necessary and appropriate, temporary maintenance extensions can be quickly granted by Salient Sciences sales (just e-mail us at sales@salientsciences.com) to keep VideoFOCUS running at the latest versions while the maintenance renewal purchase is being processed.
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