Magnet Verify’s latest breakthrough: Encoder Configuration Analysis

Magnet Verify is revolutionizing digital media analysis yet again.

For years, Verify has given investigators and examiners a powerful way to understand where digital media comes from and whether it’s been altered. Its structural analysis approach already changed the game by shining light into places no other tool could reach, helping investigators confidently separate authentic images, videos, and audio from edited, transmitted, or AI-generated content.

Now, Magnet Verify is taking another massive leap forward with Encoder Configuration Analysis (ECA), a brand-new, patent-pending, capability that digs even deeper into the ‘fingerprints’ left behind in video files.

While file structure recognizes how a file is built, ECA identifies unique patterns hidden inside a video’s codec settings. These patterns act like a signature for the exact encoder and settings that created the file, opening the door to an unprecedented level of clarity and source identification.

Why does Encoder Configuration Analysis matter?

Because real-world evidence is messy.

Files get reencoded by social media platforms, messaging apps, and tools like FFmpeg. When that happens, pixel values, metadata, and internal structures get rebuilt.  While Verify currently leads the way in media provenance identification, this reencoding often leaves investigators with a list of potential devices.

ECA helps cut through that noise. By combining structural analysis with this new codec level insight, Magnet Verify can work to pinpoint the originating brand and model even after platforms have re-encoded or normalized the file.

Other ways ECA helps in media investigations

ECA also shines in cases where there’s no structural match in the Verify Reference Library. The addition of this new data point brings entirely new matches to light, revealing connections and insights that simply weren’t possible before.

In an era filled with concerns about deepfakes and synthetic media, ECA adds even more strength to Magnet Verify’s deterministic and reliable approach. It doesn’t just flag AI involvement—it can narrow down which AI tool created a video. That’s something no other solution offers today.

What’s next with ECA in Magnet Verify?

Expect to see ECA powering even smarter, more intuitive features across Verify. That includes boosting Attribute Similarity Analysis and enhancing Automated Analysis to help turn complex technical findings into clear, confident results about a file’s authenticity and provenance.

Find out more about Magnet Verify

Not using Magnet Verify yet? Learn more about Verify and how you can confidently authenticate images and video, and counter manipulated media here