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Instagram, from user @chelseakauai
It’s an all-too-familiar scenario: sports-event attendee takes photo of athlete mid-motion, photo is ruined by glaring blur. Short of investing in a thousand-dollar camera, metamorphosing into Neil Leifer, or having some preternatural sense of the best nanosecond at which to capture Lebron’s dunk, there aren’t many ways around it. A new app called Taplet, however, aims to change that.
Launching today, the app allows users to record or upload a high-definition video from such apps as GoPro, Kodak, or Nikon, from which they can extract blur-free photos.
“In life there’s all these epic moments unfolding, but they happen quicker than we can react,” said founder and CEO Dustin Pourbaba. “I started Taplet with the backwards idea of letting people pull HD photos out of videos so they could more easily capture life’s magic.”
Co-founder Andy Fortson said the app, which is free to users, is equipped with proprietary image-enhancing technology that prevents such blemishes as blur and color loss from surfacing.
“All the technology behind rendering photos was built by our team of image processors. We use various methods to account for blur, color-loss associated with video, and more,” he said. “The aim behind our technology is to work in the background and without the use of servers, so Taplet is entirely built locally on a user’s device. Our processing also runs lightning fast to ensure the optimal user experience.”
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Fortson added that the startup plans to introduce new features within the near future, which will be implemented with the help of a fresh $1 million seed round — and the interest of a number of forces within the sports and entertainment industries. The funding included contributions from such names as Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, GSI Commerce founder and ‘76ers minority owner Michael Rubin, CAA Sports co-head Michael Levine, Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee, Fortson said.
The startup also invoked its glitzy repertoire to complete its recent private beta period. “Taplet had hundreds of influential pro-surfers and athletes, models, musicians, photographers, and studio executives using the app to capture incredible photos. Right now we’re seeing drone pilots taking breathtaking photos, parents capturing timeless images of their kids, digital creatives producing unbelievable content, and so much more,” said Fortson.
But beyond aesthetics and star-studded heraldry, Fortson said Taplet offers something deeper: an alternative to the process, rather than the technology, of capturing content. “Users are able to capture moments not necessarily easy or possible given current photography methods. The act of recording a video first and then later pulling out your favorite images introduces a new way of capturing...pictures.”
“We’ve only had a glimpse of what’s to come,” he said.
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