New to Neat Video and Need Help

[VideoFanatic]

Here is a high action video with lots of action (23 seconds long).
Here is a low action video (47 seconds long)

I'm currently using Avisynth MT with Simple x264 Launcher to encode my videos and I'm very happy with the results but if I can get a better quality video with Neat Video then that's a bonus. Below is the script that I use for my videos. Will Neat video give me a better quality picture? If so, could you please recommend any tips on how to achieve that. I have an 8-core CPU.

setmtmode(5,12)
Mpeg2Source("J:\2 = New\z = Encode\Raw 1996 11 March 47 secs.d2v")
setmtmode(2,0)

ColorYUV(off_y=10,gamma_y=-15)
ColorYUV(cont_v=-12)

########## Remove Dancing Pixels. AddGrain is needed as it covers up the remaining spots that RemoveSpots can't remove

RemoveSpots()
AddGrainC(var=1.0,uvar=1.0)

########### Denoise

McTemporalDenoise(settings="medium", sigma=5, Chroma=true, useQED=false, DeBlock=true, interlaced=true)

########### De-interlace and Re-interlace. Removes de-interlacing artefacts for crap TV media players that may show them

AssumeTFF() # or AssumeBFF() depending on the source
QTGMC(Preset="Super Fast") # Strangely this is faster than Ultra Fast
Vinverse() # Removes any remaining combing artefacts that QTGMC doesn't remove
SeparateFields()
SelectEvery(4,0,3)
Weave()

Crop(2,0,0,-12)
AddBorders(0,6,2,6)

########### Sharpening 

LSFMod(strength=50)

[poisondeathray]

neat video has detailed instructions and "how to" videos
http://www.neatvideo.com/howtos.html

the most important key is to get a good sample region then fine tune it



In your script - you can't use LSFMod on interlaced video in that fashion. Either use it after you've deinterlaced, or separate fields and grouped even/odd fields before re-interlacing

Nor does it make any sense to add grain in the middle, then denoise it right after with MCTD. Adding grain is usually near the end or the very end

[sanlyn]

Here is a high action video with lots of action (23 seconds long).
Here is a low action video (47 seconds long)

I'm currently using Avisynth MT with Simple x264 Launcher to encode my videos and I'm very happy with the results but if I can get a better quality video with Neat Video then that's a bonus. Below is the script that I use for my videos. Will Neat video give me a better quality picture? If so, could you please recommend any tips on how to achieve that. I have an 8-core CPU.

Trying to work with "Raw" as properly interlaced video was a complete waste of time. NeatVideo did give marginally but visibly better results, and its sharpener is cleaner than most. But no none can convince me that the original source of "Raw" went directly from VHS to DVD. It had to have taken a side trip or two to mayhem and bedlam; no VCR-DVD combo could be that awful (but I guess it's possible). Maybe someone can explain how VHS-direct-to-DVD can produce such huge jaggies in a video, all by itself.

I use NeatVideo as a last step, run apart from other filters. It's less of a hassle, and changing it in Avisynth script is a headache. You can also load an avs script in VirtualDub and add NeatVideo in VirtualDub's filter list to process Avisynth's output, in the same step. By itself, NeatVideo runs about 9 to 14 fps on my quad-core, with no special settings for it.

I worked up versions "A" and "B" MPG (each are about 35 mb). With Version "A", I ignored the obviously modified interlace on that schizo "Raw" clip and treated it as really bad progressive video. Ran with QTGMC as "Type 2" to get 30fps progressive output. I treated Version "B" as a thoroughly botched reinterlace, running it with QTGMC and choosing "Select Even()" for 30fps progressive output. I know of nothing that can fix 100% of the damage. You can throw more smoothers at it, but almost any smoother makes it start looking plastic and/or fuzzy -- the noise and smearing are so thick, removing even part of the junk makes some objects appear to have no edges.

A1_Raw47_g2NV1d.mpg (treated as "never" interlaced)
B1_Raw47_c2NV1d.mpg (treated as botched re-interlace)

Gimme a little time on the avs scripts, they're an unreadable mess. In this order I used QTGMC, RemoveSpots (two passes for more smoothing), DeVCR, awarpsharp and dehalo_alpha to try to define some edges, FixVHSOversharp, and finally NeatVideo. I took the NV noise sample off deinterlaced frame 1294 -- it's a crummy 47% sample, so a better sample would give better results. I set noise reduction to between 35 and 60%, and NV's temporal filter to 3 (that equates roughly to a sigma of 7 or 9 with FFT3D). The only sharpener was NeatVideo at 45% (max is 250%). The source itself is seriously oversharpened.

All I needed on the "Action" video was some mild ColorYUV and weak NeatVideo. But then I saw damage along the top 20 pixels from improper VHS storage, so I'll have to address that later.

[themaster1]

Rule number one when you work with Neat : you take a good noise sample (with 60% profile quality minimum (see the docs)
Rule n°2: work with the component viewer, more often then not on Y only so you can see high,mid,low frequencies, noise being more present in highs & mids on Y (that can vary though). You zoom in, zoom out, you change the contrast (not too much) to preview how that's gonna look.
Rule n°3: don't abuse the radius feature 1 or 2 give good results generally and sometimes it's even better to use spatial denoising only (radius=0)
Rule n°4: use the latest version , V3 now support gpu's (=faster)

[VideoFanatic]

Thanks for your help everyone. I'll try Neat soon.

[sanlyn]

No problem, holygamer. I always learn something from those clips.
Here's the script I used for the A" (A1_Raw47_g2NV1d.mpg) version in post #3. I think it's the cleaner of the two. BTW, whether the clip is really interlaced or just blend-deinterlaced, or whatever, it becomes progressive after the line with daa3() anyway. Output is 29.97fps. BTW, I used NV temporal filter at 3 (20% priority), needed to smooth those wrinkles, but normally it's at 1, sometimes 2, sometimes off. Use greater than 2 only when you really need it, and check for any smearing. NeatVideo noise sample (dnp) and filter settings file (nfp) attached below.

# -------------------------------------------#
# The output of this script is filtered in
# VirtualDub with NEATVIDEO v3, noise sample
# patch is from frame 1294, NV settings are
# Y=40%, Cr=55%, Cb=55%, sharp=40%, temp=3.
#
# video scan type: progressive
# temporal filter = 3 / 25%
# noise sample (frame 1294): raw1294p.dnp
# noise filter settings: Raw47_d2NV1d.nfp
# -------------------------------------------#

vidpath="E:\forum\hgamer\"
ppath="D:\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\"
Import(ppath+"QTGMC-3.32.avs")
Import(ppath+"RemoveSpots.avs")
Import(ppath+"DeVCR.avs")
Import(ppath+"daa3.avs")

MPEG2Source(vidpath+"Raw47.d2v",CPU=5)

# ------- This setion is for histogram only. -------
# --  (Uncomment these 4 lines to use histogram. ---
#Crop(16,0,-8,-12)
#Histogram(mode="Levels")
#AddBorders(16,0,8,12)
#return last

ColorYUV(off_y=10,gamma_y=-10)
Crop(2,0,0,-12)
AddBorders(0,6,2,6)
daa3()
RemoveSpots()   # <- pass #1

AssumeTFF().QTGMC(Preset="medium",InputType=2,ProgSADMask=5.0)   #.VInverse() #<- optional, not really needed.
RemoveSpots()   # <- pass #2
DeVCR(20)
mergechroma(awarpsharp2(depth=10, type=1, blur=1, chroma=4))
dehalo_alpha(ry=2,rx=2,darkstr=0.6,brightstr=1.0)

ConvertToYUY2(interlaced=false)
ChromaShift(C=2)
FixVHSOversharpL(30,12,8)
FixVHSOversharp(30,14,10)
ConvertToRGB32(matrix="Rec601",interlaced=false)