Thanks, Musicvid

I realize now that I shot these in very poor lighting conditions. There is very little color, it’s dark and grainy. Just as a guess, what I’ll need to improve them is:

·         An 8mm vhs->dvd deck

·         Vegas Pro 15 (downloaded free from CNET)

·         NeatVideo plugin that can be used in Vegas (where can I get that?)

And here’s a list of filters that were cited in the 2003 discussions. Should any of these be used, and how?

·         VirtualDub

·         AVISynth noise reduction filter

·         Peachsmoother noise reduction filter

·         Dust noise reduction filter

·         SpotRemover temporal cleaner

·         Flaxen VHS plugin (combination of several filters (chroma, temporal denoise, spatial denoise, and more))

·         Video DeNoise plugin (http://www.risingresearch.com/en/denoise/index.shtml)

·         VirtualDub to clean up VHS captures

·         Dynamic Noise Reduction

·         DeNoise plugin

·         NRS (TS 6-10-100) plugin

I’ll bet that many of these are obsolete, so what’s the current (hopefully free) software that would be recommended today?

As you can tell, I really am a novice on this. What I’ll need is a step-by-step of what to use and how to use it.

The absolute best audio cleanup (if that is part of your requirements) I find is a very experienced SpectraLayers users with that software. It takes some advanced tinkering to get better results than other noise reduction plugins - but with advanced tinkering in place: nothing I've seen comes close.

Thanks, VolumetricMedia; I do need to also clean up the audio. Is there a very experienced SpectraLayers user out there?

Robert, no matter how important this project is to you, please don't try to make a silk purse out of a pig's ear. VHS is what it is.

Rest assured that I have no unrealistic expectations about this project. I will be satisfied that a reasonable amount of work will turn barely recognizable figures into recognizable figures; not an Oscar-winning production. If there's anything the Vegas group can do to help me along that path with the latest, greatest, cheapest and easiest approach, I will be extremely grateful.

Well golleez, robert.

We haven't seen even a single frame grab from your tape capture, so how could we help you with any of that?

As I said before, I shot these using 30 year old 8mm handycam technology, in very poor lighting conditions, resulting in very little color, dark and grainy. Given that as a typical baseline, what would you and your community do if they were your tapes? Just the basics of hardware, software and methodology. Thanks.

We would ask to see some frame grabs, Robert.

I'll second Neat Video although I bought the Virtualdub version as I tend to process files on vdub before exporting out to Vegas (using cineform as an intermediary codec).

Read up on qtgmc (used w avisynth) if you plan to make a progressive video. It's the best deinterlacer. I'd recommend Izotope RX over spectral layers personally since it's easier/more straightforward but this is a magix/Sony board.

Also make sure you accurately set pixel aspect ratio for your captured files (probably 720*480).

There is a free program made by French restoration enthusiasts that you should try.

http://contact41766.wixsite.com/film9/home-1

+1 QTGMC. Apart from deinterlacing, it does some denoising by default.

jay_bee, juan_rios & Nick Hope

Thanks for the useful information. I'll look at your recommendations and get back to you with questions, I'm sure.

There is a free program made by French restoration enthusiasts that you should try.

http://contact41766.wixsite.com/film9/home-1

That software package installs the K-Lite Codec Pack which many do not recommend be installed.

It's probably a local, not system codec installation, so not as much worry.