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  1. Newbie Enthusiast PixelHunter's Avatar
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    I did do a number of searches on this subject, but the results were poor. Maybe my parameters were wrong. Anyway, here is my query.

    A while back I managed to restore, quite successfully, some old family photographs using very old versions of PaintShopPro and Photoshop. It occured to me later that I had some old Science Fiction films, of poor digital quality, that could also do with improving. Thus began my foray into the world of video restoration.

    I collect old Sci-Fi films and, where possible, I try to obtain the best quality version I can, but more often than not, there are no better quality versions available. (I have a limited budget.)

    I use a variety of software from PowerDirector to XMedia Recode to Handbrake and a couple (DaVinci Resolve and Lightworks) I haven't got round to.

    So, my question is this: Are there any good guides - do' & don'ts, tricks & tips etc to digital media restoration out there?

    The thing I am trying to understand at the moment is cross processing.

    I have learned that you can't restore data that does not exist and, when applying filters, less is often better than more.

    Any advice/guidance much appreciated.
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  2. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    Avisynth!

    Scott
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  3. Originally Posted by PixelHunter View Post
    Any advice/guidance much appreciated.
    Learn AviSynth.
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  4. Yes, AVISynth. Here is the long thread (with over half a million views) that you should start with:

    The power of Avisynth: restoring old 8mm films


    "VideoFred" started it, but I have contributed quite a bit, including building and posting my own separate version of his script which I optimized for speed, but did less with sharpening (bad for old film, good for pristine film) and less with automatic grading (better done in your NLE, IMHO).

    Because that thread got so long, VideoFred started another thread to concentrate on improvements he made. Here is that thread:

    Capturing and restoring old 8mm films

    Finally, here are some before after shots from some of the hundreds and hundreds of reels I've transferred for friends, family, and the occasional paying client:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBAHzO7rJS0

    You can read, at the beginning of the video, the individual, separate things I do, both in my NLE (Vegas) as well as with the script. I keep refining my technique and can now do even better work than this, using more or less the same technology, but with a few tweaks here and there.

    Restoration is never completely finished.
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  5. Newbie Enthusiast PixelHunter's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by johnmeyer View Post
    Yes, AVISynth. Here is the long thread (with over half a million views) that you should start with:

    The power of Avisynth: restoring old 8mm films
    Thank you all for your suggestions. The pics below are, genuinely, my first attempt at colour correction.




    Sorry for the mis-match of size, this forum won't let me upload pics from my computer for some reason, had to use online images I posted elsewhere.

    What I am trying for is sharpness/delineation between colour elements in a film to make a blurry/over-deblocked film get its edges back. I can do it on each frame using a graphics editor, but there seems to be no filter that can. I have been experimenting with extreme sharpening and then smart blur, with some success, but not as good as I would like.

    I know you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but you have to try.

    I am a little afraid of avisynth, I am not very conversant with all the command line parameters.

    I like the challange, so thank you all for helping me. Much appreciated.
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  6. Your attempt isn't so good. However, no one wants to see pictures to work on. Please upload 10 seconds or so of untouched video from the source. No reencoding, no YouTube crap.
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  7. I downloaded the image you posted and did basic color correction in my photo editor. This is the same thing you could do with Colormill. There is still a blue-green tint, so I'm not entirely happy with it, but I think it is a little better than what you posted.

    Image Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version

Name:	990_1000.jpg
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Size:	78.6 KB
ID:	49738  

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  8. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    If it's already MP4, chance are it's already screwed quality-wise.
    Especially anything from Youtube.
    Want my help? Ask here! (not via PM!)
    FAQs: Best Blank DiscsBest TBCsBest VCRs for captureRestore VHS
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