I have Soundsoap, SF noise reduction, and the extremely expensive Waves Restoration bundle. I had a bad experience with the Waves Pace copy protection and am afraid to even put it on my system now so I don't recommend that. Soundsoap and SF noise reduction are both equally good.

I have Izotope RX on order because of some of the recommendations in this forum.

If I was to buy only one noise reduction package and if I could do it now with what is currently available, I would go with http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/iZotope-RX-Audio-Restoration-Software?sku=703104Izotope RX[/link].

Audacity (free) will do soundprint-based noise reduction, but my understanding is that it is not as good as the solutions others have mentioned. It is free, though.

There is a stand alone Noise Reduction 2 listed by Sony.
Is this what you mean or are you referring to the general noise reduction capability of Sound Forge?
Does SF "learn" unwanted frequencies in the same way as SoundSoap or Izotope?
If not, how do I isolate the frequency of the AC hum in SF.
I don't want to buy a puzzle, no joy in that with a deadline staring.
I need something that is easy as well as effective.
Is that possible?

>>...There is a stand alone Noise Reduction 2 listed by Sony...

It's not stand-alone. It is a plug-in for Sound Forge.

Sound Forge, itself, does not have noise reduction removal, per se. When people talk of using Sound Forge for noise removal, they generally mean in conjunction with NR2.

>>...Does SF "learn" unwanted frequencies ...

Yes.

Sony Noise Reduction also plugs into Vegas. I normally use it directly from there.

Sound Forge isn't necesarry for SNR to work, or even to be installed on your editing computer, so if you don't have Forge, no worries!

Greg

The Sony (Sonic Foundry) Noise Reduction can do notch filtering if the "AC" your refer to is Alternating Current (line/mains buzz). If you are referring to Air Conditioning, then the Noise Reduction plug-in's "noise reduction" feature can "learn" the signature of the noise and use that to subtract that background noise from the audio you wish to preserve. Izotope RX also has the same noise reduction feature, but does not have the notch EQ. In place of the notch filter, it has a dedicated Hum Reduction filter. It can work well, although it tends to "breath" so that there is some residual hum immediately after any silent sections in your audio. However, it can absolutely kill mains buzz as long as it only extends up a few harmonics from 50/60 Hz.

Yeah, sorry was referring to air conditioning noise.
Downlaoded free Audacity thing, but darned if I can figure our how to to use it to remove the AC noise.
Free isn't much good if you can't figure it out.
Maybe I'll try Izotope maybe.
Thanks

Maybe I'll try Izotope maybe

Free demo download, and they also have demos on their site that show you exactly how to use it. You'll be up and running in under ten minutes.

Thanks for advice and suggestions on noise reduction software.
iZotope RX wins, hands down.
This tool removed noise from a courtyard shoot where AC was roaring all around.
iZotope conquered the problem.
And so for that reason, and also because of Grazie's glowing recommendation, (anything Grazie does is just right!), I purchased the software.
As a plug-in should iZotope RX not come up with a right mouse click.
Not happening for me.
What am I missing?