Casual User - Software to remove Grain/Noise from old 8mm film

[skulks]

I have several old 8mm home movie films that I had someone else convert to digital several years ago. I am now editing the digital files to clean them up and add effects. I have Nero 11, and am comfortable with that, but it doesn't appear to have anything to remove grain. The little bit posted on this forum about Nero isn't generally positive towards it.

I am debating purchasing an upgrade to Nero Platinum 2021 (about $138), but I don't think this latest version has anything to clean up noise, either. Is there another product which may be better for a casual user like myself where I can better spend my money?

Thanks for any advice.
Deanna

[DB83]

Save your money.


Most on here will suggest you use avisynth and bespoke filters. However this comes with a steep learning curve - a road you may not wish to go down.


A free option is avidemux (do not worry about the avi bit) you load your video, select an output method other than copy, enter the video >> filters >> noise menu and select an option. Preview your video before saving it.


Be advised that ANY noise/grain removal comes at a cost of softening your video. Grain is intrinsic in film and often people leave it alone.

[super8rescue]

Film9 is free, it uses avisynth (windows pc only, no mac or Linux version)
I use for my cine film work all the time.

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

[jagabo]

Beware, with most apps small details will disappear along with the grain/noise. And smeary artifacts will be created when there is motion.

[skulks]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I will NOT buy the upgraded NERO, and will look that the solutions listed above and see what effect they make to the overall look of the video. Most of these films are 70 years old.

[jagabo]

Upload a sample if you want some seasoned users to give examples of what can be done.

[skulks]

Oh, that would be great! I'll try to upload a short video today.

[skulks]

Here is a short (under 30 second) video that has several problems.
https://files.videohelp.com/u/299067/Ramona%208MM%20tapes%20HM%2016%20Short%20clip.mp4


First, there are spots with double images. I doubt if there is much I can do about that.

Second, there are frames that appear to jump up. That is, it is the same picture as the frame before, but higher. The next frame goes back down to normal. Again, I suspect there is nothing to do about this.

Third, the graininess. It would be great to clean this up.

I downloaded Film9, and watched the tutorial link provided above, and think this may work for me. An initial comparison of a short clip showed a lot of dirt removed.
Original: https://files.videohelp.com/u/299067/Ramona%208MM%20tapes%20HM%2010%20short%20clip.mp4
Modified using Film9: https://files.videohelp.com/u/299067/Ramona%208MM%20tapes%20HM%2010%20Colorado_V0.mp4

The burned film is a loving testament to how many times the film was watched on a projector over the years, unfortunately.

[super8rescue]

Here is a short (under 30 second) video that has several problems.


First, there are spots with double images. I doubt if there is much I can do about that.

Second, there are frames that appear to jump up.

What scanner are you using?

If it is a wolverine, I would suggest not using the take up spool and allowing the film to drop in to a bin of some kind.
This will eliminate any frame jitter

[skulks]

This is actually a digital copy of a film I paid to have digitized a few years back. So I realize I am at the mercy of the quality of that conversion. I did have one of the films converted over 10 years ago, and again with the whole batch of them with a different company a few years back, and noticed a considerable improvement on the newer ones, so there's that, at least!

[jagabo]

Here's a short segment with mild stabilization, color balance, levels, adjustments, motion compensated noise reduction. A little too dark?

[skulks]

That looks pretty good, considering the source, huh? Did you use Film9? and what do you mean be motion compensated noise reduction?

I am still learning Film9. For some reason, if I select 'Keep the dimensions for the Source Clip', it doesn't. It makes it more square. so I set it to 1920/1080, and that appears right. I also changed the capture type to WITH SYNCHRO and a speed of 17.6. without synchro and 18 was way too fast. I may adjust it further as I test longer clips.

[jagabo]

I used a short AviSynth script. With a little annotation:

LWLibavVideoSource("Ramona 8MM tapes HM 16 Short clip.mp4", cache=false, prefer_hw=2) 

Trim(49,428)  # just a short section that's easier to deal with

Crop(60,0,-60,-0) # remove black borders
TDecimate(mode=2, rate=17.0) # discard extra frames, 17 fps looks about right
deblock_qed(quant1=35, quant2=40) # reduce blocking artifacts
Stab(range=3, dxmax=4, dymax=30, mirror=15) # mostly vertical stabilization
TemporalDegrain(sigma=8) # moderate noise reduction
MergeChroma(aWarpSharp2(depth=5), aWarpSharp2(depth=25)) # sharpen luma a bit chroma more
Spline36Resize(768, 576) # fix 4:3 aspect ratio

ConvertToRGB() # color and levels
RGBAdjust(rb=-20, gb=-23, bb=-43) # fix black level and balance
RGBAdjust(r=245.0/228.0, g=245.0/198.0, b=245.0/160.0) # fix white level and balance
ConvertToYV12()
ColorYUV(gamma_y=50) # bring out a little shadow detail
Tweak(sat=1.5) # intensify colors

Temporal noise reduction works across multiple frames, not just within frame. Simple algorithms look at the same area from frame to frame. So a pixel at x,y is denoised against a pixel at x,y in the prior and next frames. Motion compensated noise reduction tracks motion of blocks from frame to frame. So a block is denoised against where things have moved to/from, not the same location in the frame. For example, during a shot where the camera is panning 4 pixels to the side per frame, a pixel at x,y will be be denoised against the pixel at x-4,y in the previous frame, and the pixel at x+4,4 in the next frame. This allows for stronger noise reduction without ghosting or motion blur.

[skulks]

Thanks for the script with the comments. I will play around with the video more and see what I can do.