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Vhoto Launches Free App To Mine Stills From Video
1 May 2014
Vhoto is a free iOS app that promises to solve two age-old problems for photographers. "Everyone has had trouble hitting the button at the right moment to get the perfect shot. And everyone is forced to choose between photo and video every time we want to capture an amazing moment," explained Vhoto CEO Noah Heller.
Sign On. For some reason the app launches in the video-unfriendly portrait orientation.
With Vhoto you just shoot video and leave the stills to Vhoto. It "instantly finds the best photos hidden" in your clips.
Not that this hasn't been tried before, but Vhoto brings a little artificial intelligence to the party. Two scoops in fact:
- It uses "computer vision" to evaluate over 20 factors (including blur, contrast, faces, smiles, novelty and user intent) to decide if the subject of the photo is sharp, well-framed and looking good.
- It also uses machine learning to understand what you like, analyzing your choices to ensure it gets smarter every time it processes a video.
When you like what you see, you can save or share your photo on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or with the Vhoto community.
In fact, to use the app, you have to sign up with that Vhoto community.
Video captures are significantly lower resolution than what smartphone still cameras capture, so don't expect still image quality. And while Heller suggested you no longer have to worry about framing the shot or when to press the button, it will improve things dramatically if you do. Video capture isn't usually better than anticipating the shot.
More information is in the press release below
Vhoto Makes Great Photos From Video
'Revolutionary Camera Technology Will Change the Way We Take Photos"
SEATTLE and BOSTON -- Vhoto has announced its revolutionary Vhoto App for iPhone and iPod touch is now available exclusively on the App Store.
Vhoto is free, easy and fun! Simply take a video using the Vhoto camera app or choose a video from your iPhone or iPod touch's library. Vhoto's proprietary technology automatically finds amazing photos hidden inside your video. Then you can save or share your favorite photos on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or with the Vhoto community. The Vhoto app can be downloaded here.
"We are addressing two big pain points with mobile photography today. Everyone has had trouble hitting the button at the right moment to get the perfect shot. And everyone is forced to choose between photo and video every time we want to capture an amazing moment," says Noah Heller, Vhoto's CEO. "Vhoto solves both of these problems by starting with video. We get you all of the shots -- quickly showing you the best ones and we get you video as well. We believe that this is fundamentally a better way to take a picture."
Because the technology is based on video, Vhoto also eliminates the need for users to frame and pose shots, making it ideal for selfies, action shots, candids, children, pets and group pictures -- things that are notoriously difficult to capture in a single photo.
"Computer vision is the technology that allows Vhoto to understand if the subject of the photo is sharp, well-framed and looking good," says Jay Bartot, Vhoto's CTO. "Machine learning is the tool that that lets us begin to understand what you like. Vhoto combines computer vision and machine learning to deliver great results, better than what many people can get from a still photo alone."
Vhoto's proprietary computer vision technology evaluates over 20 dimensions, including blur, contrast, faces, smiles, novelty and user intent, to quickly extract the best moments from video. Vhoto's machine learning technology analyzes a user's choices and ensures that every time it processes a video, it gets smarter. Vhoto leverages the powerful iSight Camera on iPhone and iPod touch, taking advantage of the increased processing power of the A7 chip.
Vhoto has also announced a $2.4 million dollar seed round, with investments from Atlas Venture, Polaris Partners and Co-Founder/Chairman Hugh Crean. "More than a century ago, George Eastman of Kodak introduced the automatic camera to the world and said, You Push The Button And We Do The Rest," said Heller. "Today, Vhoto continues that tradition. Our technology lets users get great photos without thinking about how to frame the shot or when to press the button."
For more information visit http://www.vho.to. To download the Vhoto app visit https://itunes.apple.com/app/vhoto/id816602120