Removing Hiss

[meeshu]

Attempting to remove hiss from audio track off a video.

I'm aware that one (and maybe the best) technique is to 'learn' hiss on a section of audio which ONLY has hiss and no other sound using an audio editor. This 'learning' creates a mask which is then applied to other parts of the audio which contains hiss and other sounds (voice, music, effects). The mask then effectively removes the hiss leaving only the wanted sounds such as voice, music and effects.

However, in my case here, there is no section of audio which contains the hiss ONLY to 'learn' as a mask. So using the mask technique is not really an option here.

So, how to remove hiss only from audio that also has other (wanted) sounds?

Sample audio enclosed. The clip has music and some effects as well as the hiss. Want to remove the hiss only from the sample clip.

_sample.wav

[davexnet]

The music is buried pretty deep in the noise.

Deconstruct in Izotope RX divides the signal into "tonal" and "noise", used it here to reduce the noise,
no noise print necessary

[meeshu]

Thank you very much!

The result is pretty good!

Any particular settings in Deconstruct, or just use the default settings?

[davexnet]

Thank you very much!

The result is pretty good!

Any particular settings in Deconstruct, or just use the default settings?

Approx. Tonal/Noisy balance -1.7 and Noisy Gain [db] -12

[meeshu]

Thank you very much again!

[timtape]

What is your source format, for example, a digital file, a VHS tape?

[meeshu]

Digital, mp4 video from a B&W film recorded in the 1920's .

[timtape]

OK, is the movie noisy like that from start to finish?

[meeshu]

No. Most of the film is (relatively) clear. There are only a few brief parts where a hiss is noticeable.

[timtape]

Thanks. Out of interest, what is the title of the movie and when was it made?

[meeshu]

For the moment, the film title and production year are classified, as I'm in the process of cleaning up the video for uploading to my YouTube channel.

After I've uploaded the video to YouTube, I'll then supply further details.

I have already cleaned up the imagery side of the video, with cleaning up the audio still in progress.

[timtape]

OK, it sounds like a 78 acetate or shellac disc recording. If it was released commercially it would probably have sounded a lot better than the upload. I would be looking for a better source, or at least a better playback of whatever analog source media and there may be consumer copies still available.

There are definite limits to what restoration software can do with a poor source or poor playback of a good source. The pro's know this and if possible they choose a good, clean original source disc or tape, and transfer it well.

To my ears it sounds like a disc played back with the wrong stylus. That's usually an easy fix.

[timtape]

Here's an old 78 disc short excerpt (Two Black Crows 1928) first played with a stylus too small for the groove, then played with the correct stylus. Notice the reduced hiss when played with the correct stylus.

[cholla]

@ tintape ,I remember way back a cousin of mine had an old Victrola cabinet model.(wind up type)
It had steel needles that could be changed.
I didn't even think there might be a diameter difference in the needles.
He had a stack of old 78 records & most of them sounded scratchy & hissy.

For something completely off-topic:
I was at an Alice Cooper concert. The Billion Dollar Babies tour in 1973.
Someone brought a box full of 78 records & began to throw them like frisbies down into the pit.
Of course that started people in the pit to throwing them back.
There were some injuries & it was a wonder no serious injuries
By pit I mean ground level in a stadium type auditorium.