Thief caught, need plate number if possible

[Regulator]

We have a LOREX 4K at the gate that aims at the keypad that caught someone stealing our mail. The issue is the video doesn't appear to catch the license plate but if someone had a large monitor to view it I think it may be able to be read. The LOREX NVR has several download options, DAV, MP4, etc but Im not sure which one is the best to download to get the most of the 4K image?

Any recommendations on what format to download and anyone have a large 4K monitor to see if they can read the license plate?

 

[bp2008]

Sorry, not a chance. To read a plate at that distance you need a lot more optical zoom -- that looks like a close to 90 degree lens which is almost as wide as they get without going completely fisheye. Also the bit rate of this video is terrible but that could be just due to badly tuned encoding during the export process.

This is zoomed to about 2x native resolution using a media player's zoom controls, so that is all the detail there is:

 

[mat200]

We have a LOREX 4K at the gate that aims at the keypad that caught someone stealing our mail. The issue is the video doesn't appear to catch the license plate but if someone had a large monitor to view it I think it may be able to be read. The LOREX NVR has several download options, DAV, MP4, etc but Im not sure which one is the best to download to get the most of the 4K image?..

Hi @Regulator

If you have a 8MP camera with a 90 degree H FOV the ID distance is about 25 feet. ( the distance to the 100 ppf density line )

For enough details on a license plate image capture you need iirc 60-80 ppf straight on for a daytime image capture. ( night time a completely different story ) That would be about 31-41 feet away from the camera.

How far away is the camera from where the car is pictured?

 

[Regulator]

Thanks guys, the camera is about 100 feet away. Im adding a new one this weekend near the mailbox.

 

[mat200]

Thanks guys, the camera is about 100 feet away. Im adding a new one this weekend near the mailbox.

Hi @Regulator

Look for a varifocal camera model

If 1080P then make the end to end FOV 19.8 feet wide where you want to capture enough details to potentially ID a suspect ( that would make it 100 ppf )
If "4K" UHD - then 2x 19.8 feet ( i.e. 39.6 feet wide ) for the 100 ppf density line.

Notice how you really will want a tighter FOV than most fixed lens cameras included in a kit provide.

Example a 8MP / "4K" camera at 90 degrees H FOV will give you an ID distance ( to 100 ppf ) of about 25 feet.
At 45 degrees to about 50 feet
At 12.5 degrees to about 100 feet