Hi Jeff,

I'm terribly sorry. Must be left-handed dyslexia or getting on in life. I even looked up the two references, said "Jeff" to myself, but my fingers typed "Peter."

Thank you very much for your excellent reply.

I tried 2 of the VirtualDub free filters (with MEP2014) and didn't notice any obvious change in the video. I downloaded and installed the 200 pack of filters and they are supposed to be 64bit, but they don't show up in VPX6, even after giving the path. So I guess that I will go with the NeatVideo. One thing that I like with them is that you can buy the Home version and if you want the Pro version later you just pay the difference; nothing complicated.

The image that I showed was my present wife in 1996 doing her first show without the group that she used to be with, and doing a completely different style of music (in French). I'm finally getting around to putting her videos together and I want to fix up the audio and video as best I can.

I have video of last Christmas and my wife kept the lights down so I had to use a lot of HDR gamma to bring up the lows and the video looks grainy. Since this is HD, I will probably just go for the Pro version and get everything done.

Did you notice much of a slowdown in previewing and working in VPX once NeatVideo was applied?

My understanding is that it is best to apply Neat Video first and then other effects afterwards. Did you follow this procedure?

In the video that I just started working on, the scene lighting came up just after the start of the show and everything went to a shade of red. The camera didn't adjust. I had to do some white balancing and colour/hue adjustment, along with some HDR adjustment, and I have done this first before applying (buying) Neat Video.

I'll let you know how NeatVideo turns out with these old VHS tapes.

Thanks again,

Hi John.  No need to apologise, I'm already well into my 60s!

Yes, the upgrade path for NV (Home>Pro) is good; because I was already using AVCHD footage I decided to go Pro from the start.

Yes, once NV is applied to a clip, VPX5 preview does slow down considerably!  However, I tend to "edit" first and apply NV as the last stage so not really a problem.  As to the order of applying effects, I've rarely, if ever, needed to apply NV at the same time as any other effect, I think, so no, I don't tend to apply (and export) with NV before then applying any other effect.  I know the general advice offered on the NV Support Forum is that NV should be applied first, especially if a complex series of effects is being used - there is much discussion about this ref PPro, AE and FCP(X), to name but three, where, apparently, effects are loaded in "slots" and the host "works through them in order", as it were!  Since VPX doesn't seem to "work the same way" I'm not sure whether "order of effects" is relevant?

Have to say, finally, I've never regretted buying Neat Video or Neat Image, they both do their jobs really rather well!  And the Support Forum is moderated by one of the developers so quick answers to problems posted is the norm!

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Aaah! For some reason I was logged out and my thread didn't post. Here I go again.

I'm more or less back after renovating my home office. Still have cleaning (throwing out stuff) to do.

Wow! You're in your 60's. I don't like to think about big numbers like that. I prefer to think that I was 21 again this year. This year I dragged a new tent trailer more than 12,000km across Canada. However, when I think about what to do for vacation next year and about my age, I keep hearing a tune in my head that says that I should be thinking about renting a cottage on the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear. More frightening, my wife just took up knitting for some unknown reason, and there we were the other day, sitting by the fire while she knitted. At least I don't have any grandchildren named Vera, Chuck or Dave. Hope I didn't give you an ear-worm with this. Now you should know my age.

Back to video improvement, I was looking at the Pixelan Smart Blur Pro and noticed that it looked very similar to the output of Neat Video. But Smart Blur Pro probably doesn't do the job as well, so I will go with the pro version of NeatVideo.

I just purchased it but haven't received the installation code yet.

I'll write tomorrow what I wrote before that didn't get posted, hopefully after trying NV. The text was about work flow with NV and other effects, and using an overall effect like RG Looks Builder or Pixelan Film Touch. To make it short, have you used an overall effect like the above in videos, which ones, and why?

More on RG and Pixelan tomorrow.

Thanks for your input on NeatVideo.

Regards,

Hi Jeff,

I not all there yet. Just started playing with NV as I hadn't noticed that the message was in my junk mail. I just installed it.

For others who are wondering, here is the site for Neat Video. It is important to view the tutorials, more than once.

The procedure was to uninstall the Demo version. I used REVO Uninstaller to do this.

Then install the new version. The user name and password were not obvious but are the only things that NV gives you, so that is what you put in.

In VPX6, I went to the project in which I had previously applied the Demo effect and updated it. The first time it asks to register and I used the same information that NV had sent me. The demo logo disappeared and I was away. The effect is great.

My email of last night had a work flow outline for incorporating NV. Here it is, simplified:

1. Cut up the file into obvious parts, especially where the lighting changes, like indoors/outdoors.

2. Apply the NV to the long tracks before any further cutting. Find the best profile for each type of lighting and save each with a descriptive name. When satisfied, remove the effect to be able to continue editing quickly. The NV effects can be placed quickly on sections at the end by loading the relevant saved profile.

3. Edit the sound, unless large parts are to be removed. I use Magix Audio & Music Lab 2014 Premium and I import the original video file, clean it, and export it to a wav file. Then I import this into VPX6 and cut it at the same locations as the video and group it with the video, after replacing the original audio track.

4. Edit the video - cutting out parts, adding effects, transitions, titles, etc.

5. Edit sound again - add effects, narration and music, if wanted.

6. When done, reapply the NV profiles to the relevant sections.

7. Finally, apply overall look from Pixelan if desired.

What did I miss? Of course there are things like chapters, but that is minor.

About RG and Pixelan:

I noticed that I have a RG PhotoLooks and was trying to figure out why. It is because it came with Xara Designer Pro X10 and it doesn't work in VPX6.

The version of Looks that came with VPX6 is very light. It contains only presets, unless I have missed something, and no way to fine-tune the look. I have another version with Pinnacle Studio 17 that has the tools for fine-tuning the presets, as does the PhotoLooks that came with Xara. Magix should have cut a better deal for us.

Anyone contemplating using looks should look at Pixelan Film Touch. This has a full complement of tools, much better and more powerful than RG in my opinion. It also has more presets and possibilities. It can be adjusted to not override other effects such as colour correction, and this, selectively. I haven't used it much yet. I need to fully play with the parameters to give me a better understanding as to how it all works. But my initial playing has shown me some of the power. I did not at all get the same feeling of power with any of the RG looks, even in Pinnacle.

Glad I bought Neat Video. The difference between the original and cleaned up VHS video is remarkable!

Thanks again,

Hi John.  Sorry about the delay in replying; just returned from a 10 day Mediterranean cruise (now to edit all the stills and HD footage in VPX 5!)

Delighted to hear you're now up and running fully with NV Pro.  It really is quite remarkable how good a job it does, albeit not a cheap purchase.

As to your workflow, my only "difference of approach" may be that I would tend to "edit" the video first, apply wanted transitions and FX, apply NV at that point wherever needed, then export the whole project as mpg (possibly lowered video resolution).  Then, because I have and use Adobe Audition CS6, along with iZotope RX4 Advanced noise reduction software, I will import the video to Audition and edit/clean/mix and export a new audio track (if needed) before inserting it into the original project and deleting the original audio.  Then final export to DVD/BD.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Mediterranean cruise. Lovely!

We woke up to snow on the ground here on Sunday, with more slushy snow yesterday, that is ice today.

I agree with your workflow with NV. What I was trying to fit in was getting the profile early for longer clips that have basically the same problem, then saving the profiles, noting where they would apply, then removing the effect from the clips. Then I would do everything else, only applying the NV effect at the end using the saved profiles. I noticed in the show that I was using as an example that there were a few distinct sections that had slighly different problems, likely due to lighting changes. In order to get a good sample, I needed to search through quite a bit to find places where I could sample, and then other places to fine-tune to cover all or most of the RGB problems. Applying the effect to the entire but similar long section showed that the profile was fine for it, but not for the next one. Keeping the clip together better allowed me to make the profile, which I then removed after saving the profile, then started cutting and editing. It's a minor point, but I didn't want to have to try to get a profile from shorter clips after cutting.

For the audio, I found that where the audio was fairly uniform, i.e. from the same mic/camera, I could do up everthing in the video editor, export it and clean and master it in AML (or ACL old version) at the end of the editing process and reimport the final product into the video editor for exporting the final product.

However, some of my projects had a different audio problem. One project, in particular, was an amalgam of audio from probably 10 or more sources, including VHS from different cameras, DV, AVCHD, old audio cassette recordings from different machines, recordings over the telephone onto my tablet, mp3 recordings, etc. Many of these needed to be cleaned first and I did them individually as the sound and cleaning process was usually quite different. Then I did the mixing in VPX6 followed by a final run through on AML for overall sound. So the method varies depending on the source material.

I omitted one item that I often overlook at the beginning and that is colour correction. I usually have problems with white balance and find that it is best to correct this before cutting up the parts. I'll add this to my own checklist.

I am curious about Audition CS6. You say that you use it because you have it, but what is the equivalent in your opinion, or at least the poor man's equivalent, in Magix?

I use Samplitude Music Studio or Magix Music Maker if I am recording anything complicated or dubbing more than just my voice. These allow me to add in my own music or creations from Soundpools and synths, and then use the effects to process the result. I can bring in the video as well into MMM which makes dubbing easier. However, if I make audio recordings, I would still proably have to export them to AML if there were problems that could not be corrected in SMS or MMM. Finally I would master and export to result, and import it into the video editor. I started a tutorial on using MMM with MEP; maybe I should finish it.

I expect that you do the same process with Audition replacing SMS or MMM, and iZotope replacing AML, correct?

What do you do or would you do in each program?

For other users reading this, iZotope RX4 is sophisticated, one of the best, if not the best, audio repair and enhancement programs on the market. It is also quite expensive at 349USD for the regular version and 1199USD for the Advanced version. Watch for discounts if you want to buy it. Take a look at the video to see what it does. AML can do many of the same things, just not as well.

We got off-topic here but I think that the discussion has been useful. Maybe we should start a new thread sometime about audio processing for video and the use of the external tools. I think that the Magix documentation is weak in this area.

To wrap up, Neat Video is a memory hog and, as you say Jeff, it's best to apply it at the end. It does a very good job at cleaning up video noise that other tools do not seem to be able to do. It is more expensive, at 100$ for the Pro version, but the result is quite remarkable.