Improve the quality of video animation

[SB4]

thanks poisondeathray i appreciate you help ^_^


Can you upload all the other filters used in above code becouse there another error massage and this one for santiag filter which i don't have it

[poisondeathray]

I usually don't like uploading plugins/dll's because you should really get them from the original source with original documentation. This ensures that you get the most recent plugin with bugfixes, and that there is no mixups etc...

People modify functions and filters (for example I modified santiag to use NNEDI2 instead of NNEDI3, I've modified my LSFMod defaults as well) , and when people distribute filters on their own, you end up with problems that multiply when you try to debug - because you can't tell if the function was modified or not when they *think* they are using the same version. So it's very poor form to distribute filters on your own, when you have modified them. Many of the filters I used have been modified , so I recommend getting them unaltered from the original sources, with original documentation. I'm sorry but I'm pretty strict about this - it really contributes to problems later on if you don't follow these rules

If you can't find a filter by searching google , then I'm more than happy to help you find the original source

Here is the original thread, this is the original Santiag function:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1392938
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1393006#post1393006

Function santiag (clip c, int "strh", int "strv")
{
strh = Default (strh, 1)
strv = Default (strv, 1)

c
(strh >= 0) ? santiag_dir (strh) : last
(strv >= 0) ? TurnLeft ().santiag_dir (strv).TurnRight () : last
}

Function santiag_dir (clip c, int strength)
{
c
w = Width ()
h = Height ()
santiag_stronger (strength)
Spline36Resize (w, h, 0, 0.5, w, h * 2)
}

Function santiag_stronger (clip c, int strength)
{
c
(strength <= 0)
\ ? NNEDI3 (dh=true, field=0)
\ : santiag_stronger (strength - 1)
\ . NNEDI3 (dh=false, field=(strength % 2))
}

If you copy & paste that function into notepad, and rename extension to .avsi , put in plugins folder it will autoload. Another way is if you copy & paste function into the bottom your script, it will define that function

[SB4]

This is your right and thanks for the link ^_^. I saved satiag.avsi file into plugin folder of Avisynth program but my best friend error massage show up again and it is says:

Avisynth open failure:
Script error: there is no function named "NNEDI3"
(santiag.avsi, line 26)
(santiag.avsi, line 26)
(santiag.avsi, line 26)
(santiag.avsi, line 16)
(santiag.avsi, line 7)
(C:\Users\Animation\Desktop\sample.avs, line 4)

[poisondeathray]

just google for nnedi3 , the links are in the original thread . If you download the .dll and place in plugins folder it will autoload. Otherwise load it manually ... LoadPlugin()

search terms to use are "doom9 nnedi3" , or " avisynth nnedi3" etc... you can do that with any filter or error message you get (just replace the search term "nnedi3" with whatever filter you're missing .) Many of the programmers post at doom9 forums, so it's a good place to start

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=147695

[SB4]

I was able to solve all the problems except one problem with Toon plugin it says aWarpSharp isn't loaded. This plugin need Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Package but i already have Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate and i can't install MC++ 2005 SP1 RP, So what should i do ?!


I search for a long time but i can't fix it

[poisondeathray]

If you recall earlier, I said there were 2 versions of awarpsharp, and to keep them in separate folders. Toon relies on the older awarpsharp (not awarpsharp2) as a dependency

You can find the link on the mediawiki page
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Toon

That link appears to be down, so try here
http://avisynth.org.ru/docs/english/externalfilters/awarpsharp.htm
or download it from here
http://avisynth.org/warpenterprises/

I know it can be frustrating, but believe me, once you get things sorted out, avisynth is a very powerful tool. I doubt you will find any other software - free or retail - that could do things that it can do.

[SB4]

thanks poisondeathray

I do want you say, i put aWarpSharp & aWarpSharp2 in separate folders and download the older version of aWarpSharp (awarpsharp_25_dll_20030203).

Finally, the problem disappeared

Now i will do some test on other video and play with some plugin to see the result with AvsP


Best Regards,
SB4

[lordsmurf]

Thanks poisondeathray, this is an interesting thread.

I'll have to remember this method for the future, should I need to do anything like this again.

[lordsmurf]

Why?

AVISource("c:\sample.avi")
ConvertToYV12()
AwarpSharp(depth=6)
santiag(strh=2,strv=2)
AAA()
Toon(strength=0.6)
DFTTest() 
LSFMod(strength=50)
Levels(0,1,245,0,255,false)

   C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\
   =====================================
   AAA.avsi                                 1 KB    6/23/2011 04:17:54 PM      a 
   avisynth_c.dll                          56 KB    9/10/2003 12:58:10 AM      a 
   avss.dll                                91 KB    5/19/2010 03:57:26 PM      a 
   aWarpSharp.dll                          28 KB     2/3/2003 09:58:04 PM      a 
   aWarpSharp.dll (new)                    14 KB    6/30/2009 08:03:08 PM      a 
   colors_rgb.avsi                          6 KB     7/5/2005 02:04:18 PM      a 
   CondTemporalMedian-gen.dll              35 KB    9/27/2003 03:08:40 AM      a 
   CondTemporalMedian-isse.dll             35 KB    9/27/2003 03:06:52 AM      a 
   Decomb521.dll                           84 KB    5/18/2004 07:17:50 PM      a 
   Deen.dll                               240 KB     6/7/2004 07:02:44 AM      a 
   DePan.dll                              136 KB    1/27/2008 08:47:28 PM      a 
   DePanEstimate.dll                       96 KB    3/25/2007 10:14:36 PM      a 
   despot.dll                              80 KB    9/25/2009 05:32:32 PM      a 
   dfttest.dll                            184 KB    6/22/2010 11:43:46 AM      a 
   DGDecode.dll                           216 KB    7/20/2006 08:36:24 PM      a 
   DGIndex.exe                            444 KB    7/20/2006 08:37:32 PM      a 
   DGVfapi.vfp                             60 KB    7/20/2006 08:38:26 PM      a 
   DirectShowSource.dll                    26 KB    4/25/2009 03:13:08 AM      a 
   ffavisynth.dll                           5 KB   10/12/2004 01:47:06 AM      a 
   FFMS2.avsi                               3 KB    5/27/2010 01:17:20 AM      a 
   ffms2.dll                             6621 KB    5/27/2010 02:08:36 AM      a 
   ffmsindex.exe                          146 KB    5/27/2010 02:08:40 AM      a 
   fftw3.dll                             1589 KB    1/30/2004 10:44:56 AM      a 
   libfftw3-3.dll                        1539 KB    7/18/2009 07:08:10 AM      a 
   libfftw3f-3 old.dll                   1491 KB    6/21/2010 11:12:16 AM      a 
   libfftw3f-3.dll                       1491 KB    7/18/2009 07:08:46 AM      a 
   libfftw3l-3.dll                       1014 KB    7/18/2009 07:09:12 AM      a 
   LSFmod.v1.9.avsi                        31 KB    6/23/2011 03:36:14 PM      a 
   LSharpAAF.v1.2.avsi                      9 KB    6/23/2011 03:28:20 PM      a 
   MVTools.dll                            260 KB    1/19/2005 08:27:50 PM      a 
   nnedi2.dll                             260 KB    5/16/2010 11:41:02 AM      a 
   nnedi3.dll                           13421 KB    6/10/2011 01:53:14 PM      a 
   nnedi3_64.dll                         6777 KB    6/23/2011 04:14:46 PM      a 
   RemoveDirt.dll                          17 KB     5/7/2005 02:26:34 PM      a 
   RemoveDirtS.dll                         60 KB     5/7/2005 02:26:08 PM      a 
   RemoveDirtSSE2.dll                      18 KB     5/5/2005 10:16:08 PM      a 
   SangNom.dll                             32 KB    1/18/2004 03:27:52 PM      a 
   santiag.avsi                             1 KB    6/23/2011 04:13:24 PM      a 
   STMedianFilter.dll                      56 KB    1/30/2005 08:19:36 PM      a 
   TCPDeliver.dll                         110 KB   12/21/2008 11:46:20 PM      a 
   Toon-v1.0.dll                           13 KB    6/23/2011 03:33:34 PM      a 
   UnDot.dll                               52 KB     6/7/2004 07:02:46 AM      a 
   UnFilter.dll                            76 KB    1/16/2003 10:07:54 PM      a 
   yadifmod.dll                            60 KB    9/15/2007 02:11:38 PM      a

[poisondeathray]

awarpsharp2 is different than awarpsharp. Download it from the link in this thread (2009.06.16 is the most current one)
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=147285

Load the plugin manually in a subfolder in the plugins directory or some other folder , because some filters rely on the old awarpsharp e.g. LoadPlugin("PATH/subfolder/awarpsharp.dll")

Download AAA is here
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/AAA

If you rename extension .avs to .avsi, they are autoloading when you place them into plugins directory. Or you can use Import("PATH/filter.avs")

[lordsmurf]

Yes, I caught myself on that after guessing about the avsi, and then reading again about awarpsharp.

I was in the process of editing my post for new errors when you left the reply.
See my previous post now.

[poisondeathray]

put the .dll in the system directory

windows\system32 for 32bit os
windows\syswow64 for 64bit os

[lordsmurf]

That did it. (Well, that and reading a lot at Avisynth wiki, and loading more filters.)

What's odd is this worked last year, when I tested it. Must have done it on another computer.
Though I generally test on this system. Hmmm...

Would you look at this file: http://www.lordsmurf.com/sample.avi (273MB, Huffyuv AVI, 30 seconds footage)
The sample has quite a few scenes in the 30 second span, so good sample.

Any tweaks to maybe remove even more edge noise?
I pushed the depth=6 to depth=16, and it seems to have helped.
However, I'm not sure if other harm is being done. Granted, the source sucks. (Not my fault.)
But as I understand it, the filter "thins" content to aid the antialiasing filter. Might that remove detail?
Or maybe the low quality (VCD-like, but not quite as bad) is already lacking in details?

Color needs work, too, if you have suggestions via Avisynth. (I generally use VirtualDub.)
The luma or gamma is pushed too high, and it's all washed out.

Appreciate the assist, poison. It's not often I get to ask others for help AND they have answers!

[poisondeathray]

Would you look at this file: http://www.lordsmurf.com/sample.avi (273MB, Huffyuv AVI, 30 seconds footage)
The sample has quite a few scenes in the 30 second span, so good sample.

Any tweaks to maybe remove even more edge noise?
I pushed the depth=6 to depth=16, and it seems to have helped.
However, I'm not sure if other harm is being done. Granted, the source sucks. (Not my fault.)
But as I understand it, the filter "thins" content to aid the antialiasing filter. Might that remove detail?
Or maybe the low quality (VCD-like, but not quite as bad) is already lacking in details?

Yes it can be harmful, and the awarpsharp/antialiasing stack isn't for "edge noise", it's more for fixing broken lines

All AA filters remove fine detail, but you could argue that this animation barely has any real details. AAA() adds a blur through unfilter, so you want to be careful with that one , unless "softer" is the wanted effect (this is usually ok for simple animations, but might not be for modern, higher quality , high resolution animation)

Awarpsharp2 thins the line width, so when stacked with AA filters, the AA filter can "detect" poor animation lines ; In some animation, thicker lines may have evaded detecting, but in this way you can sometimes "fix" these broken lines that either have been wrecked by poor compression or bad processing (deinterlacing). Be careful about lines that are thin already, they will be destroyed. This is why sometimes people apply it in multiple stages with low settings , darken/thickening the lines between each stage with fastlinedarken or toon. If you've raised the "depth" setting make sure you check in other scenes, where thin lines might have been destroyed. Unlike the example at the beginning of this thread, I don't think they need to be thinned much here to fix the jaggies, santiag or other comparable filters should fix the aliasing . The lines are fairly thin to begin with in this source, and IMO stacking the same filters is more destructive in this case

But you're referring to edge noise , correct? ie. the MPEG compression artifacts, mosquito noise, gibbs effect, dct ringing etc.... not the aliased or broken lines which are handled ok by santiag (or other AA filters) ?

MCTD has an edge cleaning mode that targets this area through masks (edgecleaner is another filter that attempts to target noise around edges only), and you can use TTempSmooth to stabilize the background fluctuating noise

AVISource()
ConvertToRGB24() #source was RGB32 with dummy alpha
Santiag(2,2)
ConvertToYV12()
Toon(0.5)
MCTemporalDenoise(settings="medium", EdgeClean=true, ECMode="dfttest().dehalo_alpha()", strength=25, chroma=true)
TTempSmooth(maxr=4, lthresh=16, cthresh=4, strength=4)

Notes: the "strength" in MCTD refers to the contra-sharpening strength, not the denoising strength. I suggested a lowish value, because there are oversharpening/halo artifacts in the source, so you can add a general dehalo filter, but that will blur away even more details. MCTD has TTempSmooth aslo (it's a mega function), but I prefer to break it out, so you can control the parameters better. If you might find chroma noise still bothersome, you can stack a chroma noise filter

Color needs work, too, if you have suggestions via Avisynth. (I generally use VirtualDub.)
The luma or gamma is pushed too high, and it's all washed out.

It's blown out in most white areas, not sure if I can suggest anything. You can bring the black level down a tiny bit (if you assume that things like the gloves and boots are "black"). I find color work in avisynth difficult , it's much easier in other software , and you have more tools, but you already know this.

You can also ask at Doom9 there are quite a few folks who deal with anime restoration there, you may get better suggestions

[jagabo]

Something like?:

AviSource("sample.avi")
ConvertToYV12() # some filters require YV12
Deblock() # remove macroblocks
ColorYUV(cont_u=50, cont_v=50) # increase saturation
ChromaShift(C=-2) # shift chroma left by two pixels
AAA() # clean up some thin lines
Santiag() # clean up more thin lines
Deen() # remove edge noise
MergeChroma(awarpsharp2(depth=48)) #sharpen chroma

Before on left, after on right:

[lordsmurf]

isn't for "edge noise", it's more for fixing broken lines

That's what I meant. I wanted to know if the jaggies could be further removed with script tweaks.

AwarpSharp thins lines so the AA filters pick it up.
The over-thinning of already-thin lines, thereby creating loss of detail, was what I was worried about.

Thanks for the detailed explanations of each filter. Much appreciated.

Thanks jagabo, for the added suggestions. That will help.
Also like the descriptive comments in the script.

[lordsmurf]

If you might find chroma noise still bothersome, you can stack a chroma noise filter

I always dislike chroma noise. Because of color damage, I'll run this into VirtualDub for some color work, and while there, I could opt for several NR filters or the chroma filter. Is there a chroma filter that performs better in Avisynth, as opposed to the one available in VirtualDub? The VDub filter is either too strong, or not strong enough. It's good, but not entirely accurate. There's no "just right" type middle setting.

[poisondeathray]

If you might find chroma noise still bothersome, you can stack a chroma noise filter

I always dislike chroma noise. Because of color damage, I'll run this into VirtualDub for some color work, and while there, I could opt for several NR filters or the chroma filter. Is there a chroma filter that performs better in Avisynth, as opposed to the one available in VirtualDub? The VDub filter is either too strong, or not strong enough. It's good, but not entirely accurate. There's no "just right" type middle setting.

All chroma noise filters essentially blur Cb and Cr so you may want to sharpen the chroma after that jagabo suggested (e.g. use mergechroma(awarpsharp2(some settings)) ; there is some chroma bleeding in your source to begin with another reason to use this.

A chroma noise filter that works fairly well in avisnth is fft3dfilter used on the chroma planes (plane=3 means Y' is not touched) . Change the sigma value for the strength. Higher values are stronger. Start low and work your way up. You can use avspmod to preview your scripts (push f5), and there are sliders available (closest thing to a "GUI" for avisynth) , and you can preview different scripts in multiple tabs & shift between them with the number keys. It's a hellva lot faster than making a change, saving it, opening up in vdub, repeat... etc...

e.g.
FFT3DFilter(sigma=4, bt=3, plane=3)

[lordsmurf]

I think I've settled on this:

AVISource("c:\sample.avi") # video source path
ConvertToYV12() # some plugins require YV12 source
Deblock() # remove macroblocks
AwarpSharp(depth=24) # thin lines to allow better AA
santiag(strh=2,strv=2) # anti-alias
# AAA() # more anti-alias
Toon(strength=0.6) # increase cartoon edge darkness
# DFTTest() # denoiser
# LSFMod(strength=50) # sharpener
Deen() # remove edge noise
FFT3DFilter(sigma=4, bt=3, plane=3) # suppress chroma noise
# ColorYUV(cont_u=50, cont_v=50) # increase saturation
ChromaShift(C=-2) # shift chroma left by two pixels
# MergeChroma(awarpsharp(depth=48)) # sharpen chroma
spline36resize(352,480) # resize to HalfD1 for DVD

May tweak a bit more on settings, but that's the general idea.
Leaving some filters out, but # out in case I need it for other episodes.

And then color correct via VirtualDub.
Also mask overscan, re-center crop. (Yes, I know I can do that via Avisynth, but forget scripting.)

Thanks for the tips.

Update:
Getting all of 2.2fps in VDub to Huffyuv AVI, on single core 1.8Ghz AMD Turion. Yippeee!
Definitely a project to put on a real system, not a travel laptop.

[unclescoob]

Old thread, I know but very insightful. Please correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't the AA commands go at the end of the script? And I only point that out because Toon and the Line Sharpener cause some aliasing as it is. If you're going to AA in order to correct the error in the original content, might as well place the commands in the end so that it can AA the original errors PLUS the aliasing caused by LSFmod and Toon.

[ConverterCrazy]

This is an old thread.

I want to do the same:
— sharpen animations,
— improve appearance (brightness & contrast) and
— convert audio to [1] as is,
and [2] AC3.
— add subtitles in SRT and/or DVD type where available
— Preferred container Matroska.

I can't learn Avisynth. (Too old for that).

Do I have a choice?

Thanks.