Best Consumer Video Editing Software for $100

[poisondeathray]

Thanks,

I took a quick look , and I don't know what the underlying cause is for those colored streaks (they're not regular dropouts in the traditional sense), but removedirtmc takes care of them nicely because of their random nature & distribution . The MC (motion compensated) version is more selective (narrows down on spots instead of making the entire frame blurry, and even takes care of the real drop outs ,and the big vertical rainbow streaks if you set the strength high enough) , so I would recommend using it.

If you haven't tried already, I would suggest using avspmod to do your script edits. You can push f5 to get a preview, and compare multiple scripts in different tabs, and switch between them using the number keys

I'll have a more detailed look and suggest some other things you can try or add to your workflow tomorrow


(I think this last 1/2 of this thread should be split off , because it doesn't necessarily have to do with editing software)

[jagabo]

would this be better for deinterlace

interp=nnedi2(field=1)
yadifmod(order=1, field=-1, mode=0, edeint=interp)

I'd use QTGMC().

The sample you uploaded was already deinterlaced. You should upload an unprocessed sample.

[poisondeathray]

The sample you uploaded was already deinterlaced. You should upload an unprocessed sample.

sample.avi ?

it's interlaced

maybe you downloaded something different? browser cache or something ?


I agree QTGMC is a better choice

[jagabo]

The sample you uploaded was already deinterlaced. You should upload an unprocessed sample.

sample.avi ?

it's interlaced

Yes, you're right. It was late and I guess I just wasn't seeing clearly!

[magillagorilla]

I finally got RemoveDirt to not throw an error............... now understanding the parameters is another hill of beans. I've never used QTGMC. I played with double frame rates lastnight using NNEDI3 with some good results.

[budwzr]

There's not enough range in the blue channel.

[magillagorilla]

budwzr, I noticed that too. I had some success correcting itn in Vegas though. Used a white balance and a color corrector to punch the blue. I don't usually mess with the gain too much because I don't trust my monitor and PC monitors are generally darker than TVs. I may bump the brightness up a pinch though.

[budwzr]

Blue information is missing above 128 and therefore the complementary colors are showing as strange hues only in that missing range between 128-255.

AFAIK, the other two color channels are intact, so I'm trying to figure how to combine them and substitute blue into the affected range and see if that will composite as an "add".

[magillagorilla]

My method of simply boosting the blue channel is crude at best. If you come up with something effective I would love to hear about it. Sometimes if I have a really weak color I'll lower the strength in the other two channnels to balance the overall color saturation. This obviously dims the over all color but can help. I have some footage with missing channels I will have to convert to B&W. This Sample footage is recoverable though, I think.

[jagabo]

You can make any non-linear adjustments you want to the color primaries using Gradation Curves in VirtualDub.

[poisondeathray]

So did you get everything sorted out?

The colored streaks can be treated with removedirtmc , you can use various denoisers or neat video , you can use qtgmc or various deinterlacers, of course adjust everything to your tastes

Color correction sucks for the most part in avisynth, but you can use photoshop & gimp curves with gicocu. Vegas is more intuitive and has better tools (I don't think the studio version has scopes, waveforms, histograms), and with vdub you have colormill and gradation curves with trevlac's colortools for monitoring

If the left blue edge is a persistent defect , you can use an "opposite color" feathered overlay mask to treat it. Do this to even out the frame before your white/black balancing or color corrections . If it's not persistent, you can keyframe it in vegas

The color bleeding is difficult to treat, the underlying problem is the channels don't match up. When you take care of chroma noise, it blurs the color edges even more, exacerbating the issue. I'm not sure you can do much about it

[jagabo]

I think the chroma channels need to be shifted to the left too. Around 6 pixels.

[poisondeathray]

I think the chroma channels need to be shifted to the left too. Around 6 pixels.

were you able to treat it with just a chroma shift (either in Y'CbCr or RGB)? there seems to be some defects in the channels (they don't overlap nicely)



the blue channel is messed up, not just a 0-255 range issue ; one approach is to swap out the channel for either red, green or luminance, but your colors get funky and it's tough to get it looking back to "natural"

[magillagorilla]

OK, you guys gave me a lot to chew on. Which VDUB filter shifts chroma (left, right, etc.), I don'e remember? Also, what is the recomended order; deinterlace first or last? Are some of the mentioned filters better before or after deinterlace, I guess is the question.

[poisondeathray]

it depends on the filter and scenario , you maybe get slightly different results as in this case

some frames may end up looking better when you apply in filters in a specific order e.g. before vs. after interlace

if the filter doesn't have an interlaced mode , then you can apply to even/odd fields to preserve the interlacing

in general, filters work better on progressive material

not sure about the corresponding filter in vdub, but in avisynth you have chromashift and chromashiftsp (for subpixel) . I couldn't get the channels to match up just by shifting, maybe jagabo had better success

the swapping out channel technique can work to treat the major channel defects and bleeding, but it takes some serious work to get it back looking similar colors - it's hard to do unless you have a reference picture of what it's supposed to look like or you were actually there (e.g. are those colors similar to what are suppoed to be, or is there a color cast? is the light from the "resonant rings" supposed to be yellow or hite)

[magillagorilla]

I thought the filters looked better after deinterlace, but what do I know You guys have turned a few things I thought I knew on their side, in a good way. The blue channel problem is far less bothersome to me than the noise. I can tweek it in Vegas.

" or you were actually there " huhu, ya, the sample is me 26 years ago. I've killed too many brain cells since then to recall color.

I'll give these things a go tonight when I get a chance and report back. Thanks for all the help.

[jagabo]

I'm not sure what the colors are supposed to look like. It looks to me like there is some colored lighting so odd colors are to be expected. Earlier I used Flaxen's VHS filter in VirtualDub to shift the chroma channels left. But you can use AviSynth's ChromaShift(). I also fiddled with ColorYUV() a bit. Try this:

ColorYUV(gain_y=10, off_y=-10, cont_v=75, cont_u=-60)
ChromaShift(C=-4)

Actually, it looked to me like the two fields needed slightly different chroma shift values.

You may have to separate the U, and V components (using UtoY() and VtoY()) for RemoveDirtMC() to work well on those pink and blue spots. Then merge them back together.

Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveDirtMC.AVS")

AviSource("sample.avi")
AssumeTFF()
ColorYUV(gain_y=10, off_y=-10, cont_v=75, cont_u=-60)
ChromaShift(C=-4)
ConvertToYV12(interlaced=true)
Yadif(mode=1,order=1) # or QTGMC()

V=VtoY().RemoveDirt(20, false)
U=UtoY().RemoveDirt(20, false)
Y=RemoveDirt(20, false)
YtoUV(U, V, Y)

You should fine tune the RemoveDirt() arguments.

[poisondeathray]

I found setting it to 40-50 takes care of all the little blue/pink spots in interlaced mode, and fills in the gaps , at least for that clip

I strongly recommend the MC variant, it detects and repairs the splotches much more successfully

eg.
ConvertToYV12(interlaced=true)
AssumeTFF()
SeparateFields()
f1=SelectEven().RemoveDirtMC(50,false).FFT3dfilter (sigma=12,plane=3,bt=2)
f2=SelectOdd().RemoveDirtMC(50,false).FFT3dfilter( sigma=12,plane=3,bt=2)
Interleave(f1,f2)
Weave()
#some deinterlacer

I also added a some chroma denoise , remove it if you're going to use neatvideo's chroma denoise instead . Add the chroma shift if you want

The left blue margin will be more difficult to treat in avisynth , but the feathered overlay approach does work

[magillagorilla]

Sweet, you guys rock! I am blown away by how well removedirt is working. Those weird chroma blips are all over my footage. Removedirt gets rid of them. Lil'bit more help here. I'd really like to try QTGMC I don't like the "ants" around the edges YADIFMOD is leaving. I keep getting error - script error: there is no function named "mt_makediff". Does QTGMC need a .AVS to call on in my plugins folder?

[poisondeathray]

mt_makediff is from masktools ; you're probably missing the .dll

if you open the qtgmc avsi, it lists the prerequisites

# Core plugins
# MVTools2 (2.58 or above)
# MaskTools v2 (recommend 2.0a45 or above)
# NNEDI3 (recommend 0.9.2 or above)
# RemoveGrain + Repair

[magillagorilla]

Got them all, now getting removegran invalid mode 20 error

p.s. sorry I didn't RTFM (read the f***ing manual) at the top of the QTGMS it tells me the filters I need...... brain fart


UG, no dice............. I'm cashin in for the night

[poisondeathray]

Try the remove grain pre-release version

http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Removegrain
http://home.arcor.de/kassandro/prerelease/RemoveGrain-1.0.rar


Only use the .dll's that apply to you (ie. don't unzip everything, don't use every .dll). IIRC, I believe the either or both of the SSE2 and/or SSE3 versions might be buggy. (I only have removegrain.dll in my plugins folder , not the SSE2 or SSE3)

[magillagorilla]

Had time to tinker tonight. I got QTGMC to work. It's pretty sharp. Now Removedirt says no function named "Clense".......... I fixed one and broke the other. Any help on this removedirt error?

[poisondeathray]

maybe i linked the wrong package, i think it's in the beta not the pre-release . Clease is in either removegrain or removedirt sse2 , I can't remember

[jagabo]

Clense() is part of the RemoveGrain package.

[magillagorilla]

OK, I replaced, and F'd with so many versions of DLLs now I don't know what version of RemoveGrain is in my plugins folder. What version of removegrain does removedirt need?

My plan is to make one monster script for 90% of my needs. I will hash out most filters and flip them on/adjust as needed. This is strictly for my VHS tape restoration. The sample I posted is middle of the road quality. Some is way worse and some will need almost no filters.


So far my planned process is

AVISYNTH

Import("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveDirtMC.AVS")



ConvertToYV12(interlaced=true)
AssumeTFF()
SeparateFields()
f1=SelectEven().RemoveDirtMC(whatevervalueworks,fa lse).FFT3dfilter (sigma=12,plane=3,bt=2)
f2=SelectOdd().RemoveDirtMC(whatevervalueworks,fal se).FFT3dfilter( sigma=12,plane=3,bt=2)
Interleave(f1,f2)

#ColorYUV(gain_y=10, off_y=-10, cont_v=75, cont_u=-60) #adjust when needed
#ChromaShift(C=-4) #adjust when needed

Weave()


QTGMC()

------------->VIRTUALDUB
Camcorder Noise Removal (gets rid of the rest of the chroma noise)
Neat Video

------------->VEGAS
Final Color correction
Final Brightness/Contrast
Final cuts ..........
Audio levels
Black border

Export to Mainconcept MP4
6Mbps Average
7.5Mbps Max
Two Pass
Retain pixel size and frame rate

48k 256Kbps audio

............. done



Does any of that sound like a horrible idea?

[budwzr]

As a side note, in Vegas I had three tracks (RGB) compositing using the ADD operator, and I was able to adjust the blue channel to eliminate the "splotches" by going toward green.

Of course, the shirt turned green too, so I used the color corrector to set the hue back to where the shirt was blue again, and the "splotches" did not come back, which is strange to me, so I assume the entire color balance went awry..

But anyway, trying to do something at the channel level has the downside of messing up the entire color balance and it's too labor intensive, so I abandoned that approach.

I was thinking in the beginning to find a process that could be applied across the board to all the footage, that wouldn't disturb it too much.

EDIT: Wait a minute! Hold the fort. I just had an epiphany...

Since the blue channel affects the green splotches, and the main color corrector brings back the proper hue, then that's the solution. I'll be back.

[magillagorilla]

uuuuuug, can anyone help with this no function "Clense" problem. RemoveDirt was working most perfectly on my footage. Now I have some DLL version s**t storm going on in my plugins directory. I'm going around in circles on 5 year old posts trying to find the magic DLL combo.

Nevermind......... If anyone is having the same problem make sure to use the v1.0b "beta" release version of removegrain.


poisondeathray I was trying your removedirt script with the :
f1=SelectEven().RemoveDirtMC(whatevervalueworks,fa lse).FFT3dfilter (sigma=12,plane=3,bt=2)
f2=SelectOdd().RemoveDirtMC(whatevervalueworks,fal se).FFT3dfilter( sigma=12,plane=3,bt=2)

but alas U get error cannot load FFTW3.dll error. I have the latest one... I think

[jagabo]

With 32 bit AviSynth under 32 bit Windows FFTW3.DLL goes in C:\Windows\System32.

If you're using 32 bit AviSynth under 64 bit Windows it goes in c:\Windows\SysWoW64.

[rgs_uk]

One option is to use the free plug-in from Debugmode that lets you use VirtualDub filters in Vegas. Though I don't know if it works in the cut-down versions of Vegas.

Another option, especially if your project is fairly short, is to render the project to an AVI compressed with HuffyUV or Lagarith, process that in VirtualDub.

A further option to avoid one rendering might be to use the Debugmode frame server to serve the Vegas timeline into VirtualDub. I haven't tried that but I use the frameserver to serve from Vegas into Super sometimes. VirtualDub has a frameserver too. Maybe you could frameserve from Vegas to VirtualDub and from there to Super all in one process? I haven't tried that.

You definitely made the right choice with Vegas. I haven't found any free software for advanced editing that I find satisfactory. Though there are many great free tools around, such as VirtualDub, Womble EditVCR and so on for specific tasks and sometimes people confuse these with 'editing'.