FAQ
Updated January 31, 2022
Q: When my subscription expires, is my card automatically charged to renew the subscription?
A: No. Unlike other subscription services, My Cognitech Cloud does not automatically charge your card to extend the subscription. You can renew your software access at anytime after your subscription expires. Once your prior subscription has expired, you can change the length of your next subscription.
Q: What length subscription should I choose initially?:
A: We recommend that new users choose the shortest subscription term in order familiarize themselves with the software and to aligns their needs.
Q: Do you have a money-back guarantee if I do not get expected image/video improvement?
A: No. We don’t offer refunds or money back simply because in image/video processing computing science in general, and in the Forensic Video Investigation practice of this technology in particular, there is no technical way to guarantee the specific outcome or have expected level of image/video improvement.
Everything depends on the intrinsic digital evidence-data information content, whether visible or invisible but ingrained in the initially degraded data. For example, to a naked eye the blurred image may appear similarly low quality, whether highly compressed or not. But our state of the art image processing algorithms are highly efficient for lower compressed data, while the highly compressed images may yield very little improvement. Similarly, the non-zoomed resolution of the original video data is a leading indicator of how much information can be restored/extracted by image processing, but some level of resolution can be recovered in some cases. The only way to determine how much it improvement is feasible, can be done by turning on MyCognitechCloud computing engine, then applying various software tools available on MyCognitechCloud, utilizing prior training for optimal method triage and correct processing parameters selection. And of course, providing these computing assets of MyCognitechCloud incur immediate multiple costs ( including AWS costs) the second the MC2 subscription is initiated.
Q: Do you offer a free trial?
A: No. My Cognitech Cloud utilizes high-end cloud technology and infrastructure to deliver steady outstanding performance and data speeds. These capabilities come at a high cost to Cognitech, including third party charges, but gives us the ability to provide a top tier experience.
When the customer agrees to purchase the MC2 software service, a complex system is activated, which involves third party charges, such as: pre-payment commitment to AWS, Microsoft, Subscription services, payment services etc. This is setting in motion a digital production line with hundreds of moving pieces, all of which have to be prepaid or committed to pay for upon initiation of the MC2 service for each customer.
Q: Who should use MC2?
A: We recommend that only people familiar with image/video processing and analysis field and with some prior professional training should use Cognitech MC2 software tools. Cognitech website does facilitate the learning of the software interface through our interactive tutorials. The complete on-line software Manual is also available to subscribed users.
Having said that, we make effort to provide end-users with excellent professional intended, on-line manuals that should be used in conjunction with the end-user’s required prior professional training.
Using Cognitech MC2 software tools will help to improve the end-users prior professional knowledge in the field these tools are for, but it is not intended to replace the prior basic training experience. Using Cognitech Tech Support for training purposes is not supported by Cognitech Technical Support.
Q: Why is it required that the end-user of MC2 software has prior training ( really prior education in the image processing field)?
A: Images that require the information quality improvement have been afflicted by some physical degradations, otherwise they would be perfect ( e.g. too little or too much image formation energy) and/or optical blur etc. Just as it is in medicine, the success of treating the afflicted patient, the most important part of successful treatment is to diagnose the disease. In a practical environment one can think of triage process, when perhaps several degradation source are present. Once the triage is properly established, the practitioner would look for the appropriate software tools in her/his arsenal. The mastery of these tools then becomes equivalent to formulating the optimal treatment plan. But without having theoretical foundation in ‘image triage’, one will use wrong tools for a wrong problem. And no image improvement shall be achieved.
Q: Can Cognitech software on MC2 enhance any license plate in any surveillance video?
A: Yes for qualified data*. Cognitech Software utilizes the best and latest proprietary algorithms and methods for forensic video and image enhancement. Cognitech has the largest US Patents portfolio in the forensic video field.
*Even the best and latest technology has limitations that depend on the video data quality such as resolution, compression level, etc. Therefore, some video processing will yield good results while not even the best modern forensic science can guarantee success for ALL data.
Q: Is MC2 professional image/ video processing and analysis software user-friendly?
A: The term ‘user-friendly professional software’ is relative to the end-user’s level of prior Training, experience and education. MC2 provided software was designed for a productive professional use by professional end-users based on over two decades of state of the art scientific developments and experience by thousands of forensic professional end-users throughout the world.
Every effort was made to make the software and its GUI as simple to use as possible, but not at the cost of software optimal efficiency, and efficacy, which is the professional goal. So by these high professional standards, the MC2 provided software is ‘user-friendly optimal’.
Q: How long after purchasing will I receive my account credentials and be able to access MC2?
Once the end-users credentials are issued upon subscription payment, and due to AWS security verification requirements, it may take up-to 24 hours to get system authentication and a full access to MC2, in some cases. The subscription allocated duration takes this into account. In practice, the system authentication and hence ability to initiate the use of MC2 by an end- user may be almost immediate, once the credentials are issued. Please contact MC2 techsupport from the form below if you think your MC2 access is having an issue.
We normally reserve two business days ( 48 hours) to troubleshoot basic issues, but in practice it may be much faster, depending on how complete is the end-user reporting and if the issue can be independently verified by MC2 techsupport. NOTE: Issues reported for My Cognitech Cloud, TriSuite, or other software products may need to include Microsoft PSR file with problem steps recording of your issue on a local computer. If you need instructions on using PSR (Problem Steps Recorder) please check your Microsoft help page.
Q: Can I store my files in MC2 between uses?
A: Cognitech strives to provide maximum security for the end-user’s image/video data. Therefore MC2 does not offer permanent or persistent online storage for your files. All files uploaded to MC2 for processing work and all computational results are stored in a temporary storage that is deleted after each session termination. Therefore, the end-user should regularly transfer their data back to their local system or their third-party connected web-drive, prior to session termination by the user or prior to auto-termination due to system idle status for one hour ( this period duration is subject to periodic revisions, see ).
Q: How long can each login session duration be?
A. The MC2 automatic system optimizes the computing resources by terminating sessions that show ‘Idle status’. The Idle status is triggered if the system does not detect any manual actions by the end-user for at least one hour. A warning message is automatically flashed prior to the session auto-termination. The user is recommended to produce some mouse moving/clicking action to continue the session.
Q: How often should I stop my software from running and transfer my results data back to my local storage?
A. To avoid a loss of produced useful data results due to session-termination, the end-user should transfer these results to an local storage at least every hour. It is also recommended that prior to these data transfers the end-user closes any active computing and temporary terminates and closes the software ( not the MC2 session), to be re-open later for a fresh run. This assists in ‘garbage collection’ between computations and assists in a computing memory clean up that speeds-up and optimizes software functionality.
Q. What if I am processing a long movie that takes over an hour?
A. It is recommended that end-user pre- partitions their data into smaller video-sequences using available software tools, which would result in less than one hour processing time per run. If inadvertently the computation is going to exceed the one hour processing time limit, the end-user should perform some manual mouse action at least hourly, to prevent Idle Session Termination triggering.
Q. Does MC2 software allows the ‘batch processing’ of multiple data files.
A. We currently do not support batch processing of multiple data files.
Q. What kind of Technical Support is provided to MC2 end-users.
A.
Please see information provided prior to any purchase on the lower page
In particular
| Response Time | Max 2 Business Days for Monthly subscription E-mail Only | Max 1 Business Days for Annual subscription E-mail or phone or on-line sessions |
Q: Can My Cognitech Cloud or its software cause any problems with my local computer or any problems with my local data.
A: No. My Cognitech Cloud ( MC2) and its software are 100% remote computational service. Unlike the traditional software, MC2 does not require any code installation on the local computer. The entire MC2 service can be received through and 100% within the standard internet browsers such as Google Chrome, FireFox, or Apple’s Safari.
At the end-user discretion, the end-user may choose to install Streaming application provided by AWS (Amazon Web Services) for the optional convenience of the end-user, called Amazon Appstream 2.0 Client. The Software is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind express, or implied. By installing the Amazon Appstream 2.0 Client, the end-user agrees to the terms of service and conditions from Amazon, Inc.:
It should be noted that AWS Appstream 2.0 Client has functions similar to a very basic internet browser and is compliant with the AWS security assurance program enumerated below.
MyCognitechCloud is build on top of Amazon Web Services IT infrastructure.
The IT infrastructure that AWS provides to its customers is designed and managed in alignment with best security practices and a variety of IT security standards. The following is a partial list of assurance programs with which AWS complies:
- SOC 1/ISAE 3402, SOC 2, SOC 3
- FISMA, DIACAP, and FedRAMP
- PCI DSS Level 1
- ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018
Here is a comprehensive List of AWS Security Compliance Programs, a ‘gold’ security standard in IT world:
https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/programs/
More specifically, the command control flows from the end/ user computer to the MC2 computing environment, and not backwards to the end- user’s local computer.
My Cognitech Cloud utilizes only Non-Persistent computing and data resources for each end-user and each work-session. All the data ( images and videos) has to come from the end-user to the MC2 computing instance, each time the end-user initiates the MC2 session. This means that when the end-user initiates the remote work session ( the only way to connect to MC2), a 100% new-fresh computing and storage environment is being created by AWS, with the latest available version(s) of the licensed MC2 software, which in itself is approved through the Information Security Seal of EOUSA Department of Justice.
Q: How do I report any verifiable technical issue with My Cognitech Cloud
A: First confirm that your local internet and computer satisfy the minimal requirements listed here:
Any verifiable MC2 software or login Issues must be reported here:
For user’s problem verification and explanation the report must include Microsoft’s Problem Steps Recording (PSR)of your issue. If you need instructions on using Microsoft PSR (Problem Steps Recorder) please download PDF instructions here
http://cognitech.com/PDF/RecordingIssues.pdf
Microsoft PSR is a standard MS Windows Accessory that comes within Win OS. See Microsoft page here
Depending on the reporting issue, the PSR can be run and its record created here:
- Local computer
- MC2 ‘virtual’ computer
- PSR module on Video Investigator on MC2
If we get the PSR and can verify the reported issue, and the issue needs and has a fix or a work-around, we will e- mail you within two business days from your notification ( weekends not counting).