Voice of video file corrupt

[guggu]

Hi,
I had a function and the camera man really stuffed up my video. The picture is bad and so is the sound. I have attached a sample of the sound and I want to know if it can be fixed. I know it can not be 100%, but I want to know if it can be make to sound better.
So,
1)Can it be fixed
2)If so how
3) What package should I use
4)What settings will I need to use.

I hope someone can help as this is the church function for the christening of my daugter.
Kindest Regards,
George

clip%20011.mp3

[redwudz]

You could try the freeware Audacity or the payware Goldwave audio editors and experiment a little with the filters to see if you can get some improvements in the audio.

[jlietz]

Is this a MiniDV tape? Sounds like the "pixelation" problem. Was the tape shot in your camera or the the cameraman's? Sometimes this can be alleviated by simply playing the tape in an alternate device. However, if not, Video Interchange (http://www.videointerchange.com/price_list.htm) claims to be able to fix this type of error, but it is expensive. From their site (about 1/3 of the way down the page, under the "MiniDV" heading):

"Recover MiniDV Pixelating - Mosaic Video (per tape addl)*
Pixelating recovery pertains to NTSC SP Recorded Tapes only 125.00

* We are able to recover most damaged NTSC MiniDV SP tapes that exhibit pixelization - pixelating or mosaic pattern video."


How exactly they go about fixing it I'm not sure.

[Cornucopia]

Assuming it was originally recorded at 16bit, 48kHz, stereo (like it SHOULD have), and NOT expecting it to have compression artifacts expected from something like mp3, your main problem (and it's a BIG one) is that it was recorded WAY far away and it shows.

Lots of reverb (echoing).

This is near impossible to get out.

You can do things to help it a little (assuming using a good audio editing app w/ lots of FX and NR plugins)...

1. EQ (filter) the sound so that only the voice's frequency range is allowed (mainly 80Hz-8kHz).

2. Dynamic Range Expander (and/or "Noise Gate") w/ shorter than normal attack & release, to make "quiet" sounds quieter (since reverb is usually quieter than original sound).

3. Notch filter to remove any "feedback" modes.

These should be tried in various combinations and order, since that does affect the outcome.

Good luck,

Scott

[guggu]

Thanks I will try.
It was recorded in 16bit.
It was recorded by with a panasonic nv-gs400 and the perosn who downloaded it used a different camera to download to there laptop.
Then they uploaded it back to a mini DV and gave it to me as he said he stuffed it up. I asked for the originals and he said he had taped over them.

[redwudz]

Too bad about the video. You can play with the filtering on a audio editor and you may get some improvement. Cornucopia has some good advice on settings. With most audio editors, you can save out the results separate from the original and keep experimenting till you get the best results. The main rule on filters is not to overdo it. Too much filtering and it can sound like a bad telephone conversation. But you should be able to clean it up a little.