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  1. Banned
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    Ok, so I recorded in a music video from VHS. The music video is of the band miming the recorded version. So, my CD naturally has better fidelity of the exact same recording than the VHS. So, I drag my recorded file off of the VHS into Sony Vegas Pro 10, and drag in a wav ripped from my CD. Due to an ever slight difference in speed in tape playback, of course the 2 sources don't line up perfectly, and by the end of the song is noticeably off.

    So, Vegas has this handy option of holding down ctrl and dragging the edge to adjust the length of the audio. Problem is, this results in a time compression adjustment rather than a pitch shifting adjustment. Which seems rather stupid to me, since really I just want to virtually adjust the speed of the tape playback, not digitally manipulate the original performance.

    I've looked around, and found I can adjust pitch in the properties, by entering in numbers, which won't allow me to just drag it to where I want it.

    How can I set it so that dragging the edge in this way results in the audio being pitch shifted instead of time compressed?
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    Found a workaround. Did the time compression to sync it up, rendered to wav, pitch shifted the original file in sound forge to match the length of the time compressed render.
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    Well, I was going to suggest Audacity to do that, but I wasn't sure you'd be open to the idea of using a 2nd program so I didn't post. I've found it's just better to use audio editors for time and pitch work as the results are on the money than to try to make video editors do this kind of thing.
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    Yeah, I typically agree. It's just that in this case the amount of pitch to adjust was dependent on the video, so I needed to have that video there as a guide. But, in the end I was able to find a way to determine the level of adjustment needed outside of the program, by using what the program provided me as a guide. Extra step....but probably better in the long run anyways even if I could make the program do what I was trying to do.
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  5. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    Modding the sample rate (e.g. 44.1 -> 45 Hz) was what I think you were trying to accomplish. You could also have tried to conform the v to the a instead by doing an 'assumefps' in avisynth.

    Scott
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    No, I wouldn't want to go to an unstandard sampling rate. The process of pitch shifting would result in a resampling. I suppose using my analogy of doing the equivalent of playing a tape faster would suggest keeping the same samples but adjusting the rate...but ultimately I do want to end with a conventional sampling rate...which yes, would mean digitally processing the file. But, I guess what I was trying to get at is that a pitch shift will not mess with the performance, but just line it up with the video, while a time compression is....I don't know....more unnatural? That's how I feel about it anyways. I mean, adjusting the pitch, there's a chance that it's going to end at the exact right speed that it was originally recorded at....while time expansion or compression means you're modifying it to definitely be different from what was originally recorded.
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  7. Is anyone else completely baffled by this conversation? Pitch shifting and time compression/expansion both mess with the original performance. A minor adjustment in pitch is far more damaging generally, especially to folks with perfect pitch. Adjusting the tempo on the other hand, is an ordinary part of performing music.
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    But when you have 2 sources that are slightly different from one another, who's to say which one is pitched right? Things that were originally recorded in the analog domain result in minor differences in tape speed playback, turntable playback, and such. I think there was a big ordeal over the playback speed of The Doors - Light My Fire, where it was found that the tape had been played back fast all this time, and then they corrected it on the latest reissues. The original issues have the recording as everyone had heard it all these years, the latest remaster had it at the speed that is the original performance....which one is right? That was subjective, there were people that were annoyed that it sounded different from what they were used to. Of course, when syncing a different audio source to a video, we're talking about minor adjustments that are barely audible, if audible at all. I just consider a pitch shift to be like making a minor adjustment on a tape machine in playback for the purpose in keeping that playback in sync with the video it needs to sync up to, which the video was mimed to the original recording, which basically means the source I have is played back ever so slightly differently from the playback they mimed to....while time compression is definitely messing in the audio in a way that it wouldn't have ever been messed with back then.
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  9. Member hech54's Avatar
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  10. Originally Posted by Jon.G View Post
    who's to say which one is pitched right?
    The one that's in tune -- especially if there's a normal piano or an orchestra.
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  11. Member racer-x's Avatar
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    Is anyone else completely baffled by this conversation?
    Yeah, me. Vegas was an audio editor long before it was a video editor. Control-dragging in my opinion produces the best results. To me Tempo is far more effective than pitch.

    But if it makes the OP happy, then who am I to judge..............
    Got my retirement plans all set. Looks like I only have to work another 5 years after I die........
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    Well, this was a rock band, not orchestra, and the pitching was 3 cents. Who knows, perhaps the band were even out of tune when they were performing. I have a good ear, but if you played me 2 files, and asked me to pick between the 3 cent difference which one was pitched higher, I don't know that I'd detect it.
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    Ok, to contribute further to this thread since everyone seems to be liking to turn this technical question that has been resolved hours ago into a discussion of pitch and time expansions/compression.....I have an example of awful pitch shifting. The official DVD of Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii. Due to framerate differences between the UK and USA, the USA releases, including the official DVD, are pitched about a halfstep higher....which is god awful. Had to make my own version of it to fix it. Fixing it meant doing some video processing that those that care more about video than audio would probably frown at....but it's a concert video, what use is it if the audio is screwed up? But, when the difference in the audio is 3 cents, and it's questionable which pitch is correct, I think it's generally better to pitch the audio to the video, than to mess with the timing of the video which would mean adjusting frames and all that stuff. But, what do I know, I'm just an audio guy that dabbles in video.
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  14. Member racer-x's Avatar
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    No one questions your choice. Everyone has an opinion, but always remember that your's matters most......
    Got my retirement plans all set. Looks like I only have to work another 5 years after I die........
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  15. Originally Posted by racer-x View Post
    if it makes the OP happy, then who am I to judge..............
    Wholeheartedly concur.
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