color/hue adjustments using virtual dub?

[etbrown4]

I'd like to adjust some colors in a video and have not clue what to do, or if it's even possible in Virtual Dub.

In Virtual Dub the only thing I see pertaining to color is 'color depth'. Have no idea what to select etc.

I'd like to smooth out what seems like a somewhat shaky video. I know lots of cameras are set up for this, but can video dub smooth out a video?

I did try filters and levels, but that seems mostly about light/dark.

I even tried to install VirtualDub Filter Pack from Infognition. and they seemed to list color etc, but now I don;t see that in the filter list. Not sure if that download was a good idea?

Tips much appreciated!

[jagabo]

Video -> Filters... -> Add -> HSV Adjust, Red Green Blue Adjust, Levels, Brightness/Contrast, ColorMill, Gradation Curves...

[etbrown4]

I see hue, saturation and value, but under levels, I don't see RGB or color mill etc. Where can these others be found, or am I missing them somehow. That level list is alphabetized.

Also is there a feature in VD to smoth out a slightly shaky camera? If so, could anyone kindly tell me how it;s done?

[jagabo]

The others are 3rd party filters. You have to download and install them.
http://www.infognition.com/VirtualDubFilters/

[etbrown4]

I even tried to install VirtualDub Filter Pack from Infognition. and they seemed to list color etc, but now I don;t see that in the filter list. Not sure if that download was a good idea?

This is a little confusing, as I don;t recall seeing RGB, Color Mill etc as part of the Filter Pack. I think they mentioned that there were about 20 filters in there, however after I completed the download, I don't see them on the filter list even after rebooting. Perhaps I did something wrong.

Tips appreciated!

Also, if it's not too much to ask - does anyone know if VD has a feature which will smooth out a shaky video? Many thanks for any help!!

[davexnet]

Rebooting not necessary. You just copy the *.vdf files (the filters)
to the Virtualdub plugins directory, and restart Virtualdub

[etbrown4]

Anybody know the default location where VD usually installs? It's not in my program files. I see the plug in's I downloaded. Need to fine the folder to drag them to!


Also, does anybody know if VD has a feature to smoth out a shaky camera? many thanks for any help!!!!

[davexnet]

Default location? There is not one, as far as I know. It comes in a zip file which you uncompress to a
folder of your choice and it runs from there.
Right click the shortcut/properties to view the location.
There is a plugin called deshaker.

[jagabo]

If you're running 32 bit VirtualDub on 64 bit Windows look in C:\Program Files (x86)\VirtualDub.

Deshaker: http://www.guthspot.se/video/deshaker.htm
RGB Adjust: http://neuron2.net/rgb.html
ColorMill: http://www.infognition.com/cgi/getfilter?id=95
Gradation Curves: http://www.infognition.com/cgi/getfilter?id=66

[etbrown4]

Ok, Virtual Dub by default installed itself into my downloads folder ... seems unusual, but that's fine.

On the original 1.9.11 install, there were apparently no plugins. If they were there, they were not in the plugin folder

I did the filter download from Infognition named red.green/blue and dragged the files into the VD plugin folder.

I noticed one rgb filename seems to be ef.rgb.vdf. There is also an file rgb.eq.vdf, now in my plugin folder.

When I go to VD , video, filters, and add......I see nothing there starting with rgb!

Must be doing something wrong.

Any help would be appreciated!

PS. Can anyone kindly tell me if VD as a feature which will smooth out a shakey video??

[jagabo]

Ok, Virtual Dub by default installed itself into my downloads folder ... seems unusual, but that's fine.

Actually, VirtualDub doesn't install itself at all. Your archive extractor extracted the folder to your downloads folder. You can move the VirtualDub folder anywhere you like. Then make a shortcut to VirtualDub.exe on your Desktop or Start menu.

On the original 1.9.11 install, there were apparently no plugins. If they were there, they were not in the plugin folder

VirtualDub's built in filters are within the EXE file, they aren't in the plugins folder.

I did the filter download from Infognition named red.green/blue and dragged the files into the VD plugin folder.

I noticed one rgb filename seems to be ef.rgb.vdf. There is also an file rgb.eq.vdf, now in my plugin folder.

When I go to VD , video, filters, and add......I see nothing there starting with rgb!

Ifognition's filter pack doesn't include RGB Adjust. Use the link I gave you to neuron2.net. The actual filter is RGB.VDF. It shows up in VirtualDub as "Red/Green/Blue Adjustment 1.0".

PS. Can anyone kindly tell me if VD as a feature which will smooth out a shakey video??

That's already been answered -- deshaker. And I gave you a link to it.

[etbrown4]

special thanks to jagabo and others who have contributed.

I did go to the Infognition site and downloaded that package called Filter Pack and also the red/green/blue separately.

As mentioned, I thought an earlier poster suggested that I drag them to my plugins folder, but that must be the wrong place because when I go to VD , video, filters, and add......I see nothing there starting with rgb!

Since the red/green/blue is not showing up in my filter list, must not I have the file in the wrong place?

thanks for any tips!

[jagabo]

Yes, you drag the VDF files into your VirtualDub Plugins folder ...\VirtualDub\Plugins. I usually keep the docs there too.

Make sure you are using 32 bit filters if you are using 32 bit VirtualDub; 64 bit filters if you are using 64 bit VitualDub. 64 bit VirtualDub isn't significantly fater than 32 bit VirtualDub and there are far fewer 64 bit filters available. So there's really no reason to run 64 bit VirtualDub.

[etbrown4]

I don;t wish to come across as clueless, however having worked with pc's since their introduction in '77, I'd say that VD may well be an excellent and capable editor, though it's a bit less than intuititive upon startup, at least to this newbie.

My machine is a 32 bit Acer laptop. I downloaded from http://www.guthspot.se/video/deshaker.htm for deshaker and from http://www.infognition.com/VirtualDubFilters/color_correction.html for the red/green/blue. The version of VD I havr is 1.9.11 build 32842.

Perhaps I missed it, but I did not notice any mention of 32 bit or 64 bit versions of the filters. Is there a way I can tell if I had the right ones?

Almost for certain the filters have been dropped and dragged into the plug ins folder for VD. Though since it's not working for me, I must have done something wrong!

Thanks for any tips.

[davexnet]

Almost certainly, if the filter doesn't say anything, it's 32 bit. Have you really been working with PC's all those years?
You seem to be having trouble with basic Windows issues, let alone Video.

[etbrown4]

ok great, those downloaded filters must be 32 bit.

I sure hope someone might be able to help me with this question:

If the downloaded filters, like red/green/blue are in the VD sub-directory entitled plugins, then why do you suppose they are not showing up when I click video, filters, and add?

Here is what does show up:
2:1 reduction (high quality)
2:1 reduction
blur more]
blur
bob doubler
box blur
brightness/contrast
........and about 20 more

any help is much appreciated!

[jagabo]

Those filters are built into VirtualDub. I don't know why the filters you added to the plugins folder don't show up. Are you sure you're running VirtualDub.exe from the same VirtualDub folder tree? Try the plugins32 folder instead.

[etbrown4]

Bingo.

With Ver 1.7.8 all the sought filters show up correctly. I suspect there may be a compatibility issue with the other ver. and my pc and or software, or OS. (vista)

I had no idea the I had two versions of VD, or even why two were provided. Nonetheless 1.7.8 seems just fine.

Thanks to all posters for hanging with me.

That was a challenge, and without jagabo in particular, I'd still be lost.

Thanks!

PS I've tried the deshaker, and I ended up with a file which includes all the little arrows in the finished video. I'll post a new thread on that one, and give this one a rest!!

[jagabo]

Deshaker requires two passes. First you set it up for the first pass then select File -> Run Video Analysis Pass. Then you set it up for the second pass and select File -> Save as AVI. During the first pass it's just running an analysis. During the second pass it does the deshaking.

[etbrown4]

well, since you responded on deshaker...

I understand the two passes.

After the second pass and I saved it, the saved file has all the little arrows saved into the clip, and still there.

Must have done something wrong, however I tried to follow the author's instructions.

And another thing. My original file is 15mb. With just changing some colors with RGB filter, VD saves the very same file at 880mb.

Does it always balloon up the file sizes? If so that's a bummer for uploading etc.

Last, and unrelated - my windows media player used to play the std Sony Handycam video files. I think they are wav or wmv. Possibly with a recent update with the windows media player, it will no longer play the Sony files without conversion to another format .

Has anyone experienced this? I see tons of comments in that regard on other forums. They all say to get over it and use something like Format Factory and convert to an avi. It's easy to do, however the clips become quite jerky when Format Factory converts mine.

Is there a way to go back to an earlier version of WMP so that conversion is not necessary, and thus the jerky video goes away? I realize an alternative is to forget about WMP and just use VD or a program like VLC.

[davexnet]

VLC is not a bad alternative, or try mpc-hc preferred by some.

Regarding the output video of 880MB, you probably made a very basic oversight, you forgot to set the output codec
(xvid, divx, etc) Look in video/compression. Without this it uses uncompressed, which is massive.

[jagabo]

well, since you responded on deshaker...

I understand the two passes.

After the second pass and I saved it, the saved file has all the little arrows saved into the clip, and still there.

Must have done something wrong, however I tried to follow the author's instructions.

You forgot to select the "pass 2" button for the second pass in the Deshaker dialog. Ie, select "Pass 1", set up everything in the Pass 1 Parameter section, run the video analysis pass. Then go back to the Deshaker dialog, press Pass 2, set up everything in the Pass 2 Parameters section, then preview and/or save your AVI.

And another thing. My original file is 15mb. With just changing some colors with RGB filter, VD saves the very same file at 880mb.

Does it always balloon up the file sizes?

The process of filtering requires that the source video be decompressed, usually to uncompressed RGB in VirtualDub. The filters are then applied. If you don't select a compression codec the file you save will be uncompressed RGB. If you want a compressed video you have to select a compression codec (Video -> Compression...), configure the codec, then save the file.

[etbrown4]

Thanks guys for the tips!

I did stumble into the 'load' button as it seemingly applies to filters. Is it necessary to 'load' a newly downloaded filter for the first time? If true, you old pros, would not need to load any because you have them all, and a poor newbie might need to do the 'load'. Am I right?

Following up on an earlier comment, has anyone noticed that converting a file with a program like Format Factory, can cause the image to become quite shaky. It's as if the image is not being processed by my computer fast enough - even though video clips prior to conversion will play smoothly.

[jagabo]

Filters in the plugins folder load automatically each time VirtualDub starts up. The Load button is for loading filters that aren't in the plugins folder. They will not be remembered the next time you start VirtualDub.

[etbrown4]

Update......

I totally appreciate all the tips. It has been a big help.

Here is one that might benefit others!

Although I could get some of the new filters to show up in the 1.7.8 version of VD, it was actually intermittent. That's right ..sometimes RGB or deshaker would be there and sometimes not. Even though they are in the plugins list in that subdirectory. For real. (My pc has been otherwise completely reliable up until I encountered this)

With version 1.9 I never got them to show up.

So for the heck of it I thought I would try the 'load' function in VD. Bingo, Bango! I loaded the new filters, one at a time, and now they are reliably there!

So it could be my pc, or my os, or conflicting software, or a bug in VD, but whatever it is, this fixed it.

Many thanks to all !!!!!!!!!

[jagabo]

Weird. I've never even used the Load button! And I've been using VirtualDub for more then 10 years.

[etbrown4]

Weird enough, but absolutely true!

[davexnet]

Is it possible the place the filters were "loaded" from was not the running Virtualdubs default location ?

[etbrown4]

For both versions, the new filter filenames were positively there, dropped into the corresponding sub directory for each, the subdirectory entitled plugins!

It sounds unbelievable but before the new filters were loaded with the 'load' function, only the 1.7.8 automatically showed rgb, and deshaker etc. in the operating program itself - but it did it one time only out of maybe 15 tries.

Only after they were brought up under the load function, were they there where they were able to be used.

I'm using an older version of Vista, so perhaps there is some anomaly there.

PS. The first pc I bought was in '77 and it had 16k of ram and data storage and programs were stored on a $25 cassette recorder. Even with the anomaly I experienced with VD, we're 1000 light years ahead of those days! Back then, the Apple had not come out yet. A year later, I got one of the early floppy disk drives, and it was a monumental advancement.

[jagabo]

PS. The first pc I bought was in '77 and it had 16k of ram and data storage and programs were stored on a $25 cassette recorder... the Apple had not come out yet.

That's going way back! An Altair, maybe? My first was an Atari 800 in 1980.