apologies, need help with variable sound levels from ancient VCR recording

[barocca.x]

I have a VCR recording long ago converted to AVI,
the tape was apparently worn and the audio volume is quite variable, (deafening to quite as a mouse and back again)
how do i even out the sound level and what would i use to do so?

thank you
B.

[hech54]

"AVI" is a container.
What KIND of AVI?

[barocca.x]

does this help?
from media info

Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
File size : 328 MiB
Duration : 43mn 7s
Overall bit rate : 1 065 Kbps

Video
ID : 0
Format : MPEG-4 Visual
Format settings, BVOP : 1
Format settings, QPel : No
Format settings, GMC : No warppoints
Format settings, Matrix : Default (H.263)
Muxing mode : Packed bitstream
Codec ID : DX50
Codec ID/Hint : DivX 5
Duration : 43mn 7s
Bit rate : 1 000 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 3:2
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.097
Stream size : 309 MiB (94%)
Writing library : DivX 5.1.1 (Maupiti) (UTC 2003-11-19)

Audio
ID : 1
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Layer 3
Mode : Joint stereo
Mode extension : Intensity Stereo
Codec ID : 55
Codec ID/Hint : MP3
Duration : 43mn 7s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 56.0 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 24.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 21ms
Stream size : 17.3 MiB (5%)
Alignment : Split accross interleaves
Interleave, duration : 967 ms (28.99 video frames)

B.

[Baldrick]

Have you tried any audio editor like audacity, goldwave etc? Try for example a normalize filter.

Extract the audio from the avi with a demuxer like Pazera Free Audio Extractor. Goldwave might be able to open the avi directly.

[hech54]

That's a Divx file with MP3 audio.....and NTSC.
Drag the file into GoldWave. It will decompress the MP3 to .wav automatically.
Highlight sections of the audio and adjust the volume(s) accordingly.
When your adjustments are done just save it as MP3 but to a different location.
Remux the new MP3 to the old video in AviDemux.

Be careful, that thing has a nasty offset of +967 milliseconds(?).
Check the audio sync in AviDemux and adjust if necessary.

[barocca.x]

ok, avidemux extracted the audio,
i may have to run it through audacity a few times, the first run improved the volume quite well,

BUT I cannot figure out how to get the audio back into the video (avidemux complains "something has gone wrong")

B.

[hech54]

At the top of AviDemux, select AUDIO.
Main Track
Audio Source - External MP3
OPEN - (to find your file)
OK
Video - COPY
Audio - COPY
Format - AVI
Name your new file/video and place .AVI at the end.

[barocca.x]

hmm - the version of AviDemux here is 2.6.1(portable), not as intuitive it seems, but thanks to you i got there, AviDemux then inserted the audio, sadly the result is extremely jerky video and by halfway through very much out of sync...

I will have at a look at GoldWave to edit the audio and see if AviDemux can work with the result,
(a couple of very flat spots in the audio track that audacity is not bringing up to normal)

thanks,
B.

[hech54]

I don't like Audacity. GoldWave is much easier.
Many people who recommend Audacity are sadistic pricks who themselves do not know how to use Audacity.