Is it possible to identify NLE used in postproduction? at DVinfo.net

Taivo Glumov · March 14th, 2013, 09:33 PM

I wonder if it is theoretically possible to identify NLE software used in post-production process if you have only final rendered footage burnt onto the authored BD-R disc?
Can NLE software embed some information about itself (version and licence info) into exported video file or it will be eliminated or scrambled during authoring of BD-R?

Edward Carlson · March 15th, 2013, 01:10 AM

Look in the credits. Wait until the end when all the logos roll past. I've seen a few movies with the Avid logo in there.

There's no way to tell what it was edited with otherwise. Unlike lenses, cameras, and film, NLEs don't give a specific look to the image. (That's not to say a specific camera will either, but it affects the look more than the edit system does.)

And it's very unlikely that a big hollywood movie will have only been touched by one editor on one system. The colorist will do stuff in DaVinci after the editor has cut it in Avid, then the audio department will do a bunch of stuff in Pro Tools, the graphics guys will make the titles and effects in After Effects, Shake, 3D Studio Max, and whatever else they need, then the guy who does the DVD menus will make them in a combination of an NLE, image editing software, and the DVD authoring software.

The best bet is to look up the editor who cut it, and find out what he or she uses most often.

Taivo Glumov · March 15th, 2013, 08:41 AM

I am wondering if NLE can leave some code in the file header during post-production and then this information can travel to the very end into the final disc. Can it be possible to find out if a some commercial "masterpiece" was actually cut and graded in a pirated software or student/teacher NLE edition? Can such information be identifiable somewhere in the video file header or else?

Don Bloom · March 15th, 2013, 10:48 AM

I have never seen or heard of that being able to be done. I may have missed something along the way but honestly, I don't see that as being something that can be done. At least not yet.

Bob Hart · March 17th, 2013, 02:04 AM

Anything is possible I guess. There has been rumour of cam info being embedded into each frame of a vision stream to one day enable stolen serials to be identified in end-product. Hoe and when and if this is done by any entitity is unlikely to be propagated. The baddies are fast enough at hacking and countermeasures already without being given a free ride.

March 14th, 2013, 09:33 PM	#1
Taivo Glumov New Boot Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Gaborone, Botswana Posts: 8	Is it possible to identify NLE used in postproduction? I wonder if it is theoretically possible to identify NLE software used in post-production process if you have only final rendered footage burnt onto the authored BD-R disc? Can NLE software embed some information about itself (version and licence info) into exported video file or it will be eliminated or scrambled during authoring of BD-R?

March 15th, 2013, 01:10 AM	#2
Edward Carlson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: North Hollywood, CA, United States Posts: 807	Re: Is it possible to identify NLE used in postproduction? Look in the credits. Wait until the end when all the logos roll past. I've seen a few movies with the Avid logo in there. There's no way to tell what it was edited with otherwise. Unlike lenses, cameras, and film, NLEs don't give a specific look to the image. (That's not to say a specific camera will either, but it affects the look more than the edit system does.) And it's very unlikely that a big hollywood movie will have only been touched by one editor on one system. The colorist will do stuff in DaVinci after the editor has cut it in Avid, then the audio department will do a bunch of stuff in Pro Tools, the graphics guys will make the titles and effects in After Effects, Shake, 3D Studio Max, and whatever else they need, then the guy who does the DVD menus will make them in a combination of an NLE, image editing software, and the DVD authoring software. The best bet is to look up the editor who cut it, and find out what he or she uses most often.

March 15th, 2013, 08:41 AM	#3
Taivo Glumov New Boot Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Gaborone, Botswana Posts: 8	Re: Is it possible to identify NLE used in postproduction? I am wondering if NLE can leave some code in the file header during post-production and then this information can travel to the very end into the final disc. Can it be possible to find out if a some commercial "masterpiece" was actually cut and graded in a pirated software or student/teacher NLE edition? Can such information be identifiable somewhere in the video file header or else?

March 15th, 2013, 10:48 AM	#4
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Re: Is it possible to identify NLE used in postproduction? I have never seen or heard of that being able to be done. I may have missed something along the way but honestly, I don't see that as being something that can be done. At least not yet. __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

March 17th, 2013, 02:04 AM	#5
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,476	Re: Is it possible to identify NLE used in postproduction? Anything is possible I guess. There has been rumour of cam info being embedded into each frame of a vision stream to one day enable stolen serials to be identified in end-product. Hoe and when and if this is done by any entitity is unlikely to be propagated. The baddies are fast enough at hacking and countermeasures already without being given a free ride.