The power of Avisynth: restoring old 8mm films.

[johnmeyer]

Originally Posted by bassquake

If anyones interested, I posted a video showing the different stages of post-processing.

Very nice!

What software did you use for dirt removal? If you used RemoveDirtMC, what settings did you use?

All your other steps look really, really good, but I think you might be able to get better dirt removal.

[edit]Here is one of my "before/after" comparisons, using the scripts I've posted. I have it queued up to a section where there is a lot of dirt removal. I'm not doing this to get into a "who's script is better" discussion, but merely to point out that I think you can get better dirt removal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBAHzO7rJS0&t=1m6s

and here is that same clip queued up to the point where the amount of dirt removal hits "ludicrous speed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBAHzO7rJS0&t=3m51s

[bassquake]

Thanks johnmeyer!

Cheers for a look at dirt removal comparisons.

Yes, was RemoveDirtMC for dirt removal and a smidge of sharpening for the final touch.

I prefer to keep film grain which is why I don't use DeNoise, and kept dirt removal to a setting of 20 for the variable dirt_strength. I guess I could go higher but I like a bit of "character" on the film

[johnmeyer]

Originally Posted by bassquake

Yes, was RemoveDirtMC for dirt removal and a smidge of sharpening for the final touch.

I prefer to keep film grain which is why I don't use DeNoise, and kept dirt removal to a setting of 20 for the variable dirt_strength. I guess I could go higher but I like a bit of "character" on the film

Hmm ... If you are using the same version of RemoveDirtMC that I use, 20 should have given you a little more dirt removal (it is almost exactly what I use). However, I think the numerical setting interacts with the resolution you use. I do most of my film work at the NTSC SD resolution of 720x480 (non-square pixels). If you are doing your work at 720p or higher resolution, you might need to use a larger value in order to get the same level of dirt removal.

The two big downsides to using larger values of RemoveDirt are the disappearance of objects you want to keep (a thrown ball will almost always disappear, for instance), and the introduction of "gooey" artifacts where objects begin to morph instead of move.

[bassquake]

However, I think the numerical setting interacts with the resolution you use.

Probably. I create 1440 x 1080 videos! Looks great on a 55" tv

I might play around with upping settings more, but I do like some of the charm of flawed film!

[johnmeyer]

Originally Posted by bassquake

... I do like some of the charm of flawed film!

Then why restore it at all? Along these same lines, many people prefer leaving the gate weave (the residual bounce) because that is an inherent quality of movie film, but you've removed that. What's the difference between removing all the gate weave, but only some of the dirt?

I got my start in media restoration by restoring 78 rpm recordings. I heard many of the same arguments back then, that removing the residual hiss and pops took away much of the "life" and "authenticity" of the original medium.

OK, that's a fair criticism, but I do have this to say: listening to restored shellac or vinyl recordings, or watching completely restored film sure is a lot easier on the ears and eyes, and lets you concentrate on the content of the media.

[bassquake]

Some dirt removal is better than none but I don't want to go overboard due to the issues you listed.

[minusthebear]

Originally Posted by SnillorZ

@Bear did you see the earlier posts?

AVS+ Script Unsharpmask function

Warpsharp x64 DLL

Interested to see what your numbers are like on GPU vs CPU processing (based on these scripts)

Thank you! will incorporate this.

[minusthebear]

Ok, so here is my mod.

This is a 64-bit GPU enabled version of Fred's filter.

This requires AviSynth+ btw, if you want to use the prefetch enhancements,

If you don't want the prefetch, just comment out that line and you can use AviSynth.

Obviously needs virtualdub64 or another 64 bit program to capture.

You will most likely have to put the FFT3dGPU.dll and fft3dfilter.dll plugins in your system32 folder. If you have 32 bit versions there you will have to rename them with .bak and replace. Can't have both as far as I can tell.

There are 2 versions I created;

1. Fred 64 with MDegrain - This uses a GPU enabled SVPflow motion flow. The rest is 64-bit but CPU.
2. Fred 64 with GPU MDegrain - This utilizes the SPVConvert function to utilize the CPU with the MDegrain denoising filter. However it has artifacting and doesnt work properly. Maybe someone can fix it.

I will be honest, the speed enhancements are marginal at best, unfortunately there are many functions that the GPU is waiting for while the CPU handles them. Especially the AutoAdjust plugin.

However this is 64-bit now, meaning you will not have any issues with Ram overflow etc. The skys the limit, 4k, 8k, whatever you want.

Enjoy.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O-A...ew?usp=sharing

[Groucho2004]

Originally Posted by minusthebear

You will most likely have to put the FFT3dGPU.dll and fft3dfilter.dll plugins in your system32 folder. If you have 32 bit versions there you will have to rename them with .bak and replace. Can't have both as far as I can tell.

Firstly, these DLLs are plugins and should therefore be in the appropriate plugin directories. Secondly, on 64 bit Windows there are dedicated system directories for DLLs that need to be within the reach of the standard Windows search hierarchy (System32 for 64 bit, SysWoW64 for 32 bit). No renaming necessary/recommended.

[Natty]

Originally Posted by minusthebear

1. Fred 64 with MDegrain - This uses a GPU enabled SVPflow motion flow. The rest is 64-bit but CPU.

can u pls give a basic example?

[videoh]

@minusthebear

You are distributing one of my DLLs without my permission (DGDecodeNV.dll). It is not in the public domain. I demand that you remove it from your distribution. If you do not, I will ask the mods to take appropriate action.

[minusthebear]

Originally Posted by videoh

@minusthebear

You are distributing one of my DLLs without my permission (DGDecodeNV.dll). It is not in the public domain. I demand that you remove it from your distribution. If you do not, I will ask the mods to take appropriate action.

Oh shoot, I didnt realize.

Its gone.

[minusthebear]

Originally Posted by Natty

can u pls give a basic example?

I'm not sure what you mean?

Do you want like a before and after type clip?

The end result is almost identical to the 32-bit FRED version.

This is just using 64-bit and GPU

[videoh]

Originally Posted by minusthebear

Oh shoot, I didnt realize.

Its gone.

Thank you, Sir.

[SnillorZ]

Originally Posted by minusthebear

I'm not sure what you mean?

Do you want like a before and after type clip?

The end result is almost identical to the 32-bit FRED version.

This is just using 64-bit and GPU

Looking to see what your performance numbers are?

e.g. from @Groucho2004's AVSMeter to compare the CPU based script & plugins vs GPU ones

[SnillorZ]

Originally Posted by johnmeyer

Here is one of my "before/after" comparisons, using the scripts I've posted. I have it queued up to a section where there is a lot of dirt removal. I'm not doing this to get into a "who's script is better" discussion, but merely to point out that I think you can get better dirt removal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBAHzO7rJS0&t=1m6s

John in this example of yours, there are a lot of vertical lines along with the dirt spots that you've managed to remove in the "after" clip.

Interested to know, was this all achieved with RemoveDirt?

I have some footage with vertical lines (some static, some with frame weave) that I was thinking would need another method for removal, including possibly frame by frame by hand for the "static lines".

[johnmeyer]

Originally Posted by SnillorZ

John in this example of yours, there are a lot of vertical lines along with the dirt spots that you've managed to remove in the "after" clip.

Interested to know, was this all achieved with RemoveDirt?

Amazingly, RemoveDirt can sometimes remove gigantic spots (you'll easily see that in the beach scene) and even a few scratches, but only if the scratches move around a lot. Unfortunately, normal vertical scratches really cannot be removed by any automatic methods because they persist from frame to frame and don't move around much. As a result, automated algorithms really can't tell the difference between a scratch and a normal thin vertical line (fence, wallpaper, etc.). RemoveDirt, and other similar plugins like Despot, rely on the artifact lasting for only a single frame.

About the only way I know of to truly remove film scratches is to do it during transfer using a "wet gate," which involves putting a lubricant on the film, prior to transfer, which fills in the scratch and causes them to almost perfectly disappear. Your transfer equipment has to be able to accommodate wet film, which mine does not, in order to be able to take advantage of this "trick." Also, it involves extra steps, thus making the transfer take longer.

The man who started this thread, "VideoFred," uses a wet gate and has posted about it several times, both in this thread and elsewhere. Do a forum search on "wet gate" and his user name to learn more.

[bassquake]

Maybe try the DeScratch tool for AVISynth to remove vertical scratches. Haven't tried it myself yet.

[SnillorZ]

Originally Posted by johnmeyer

The man who started this thread, "VideoFred," uses a wet gate and has posted about it several times, both in this thread and elsewhere. Do a forum search on "wet gate" and his user name to learn more.

Thanks John, yes I had researched wetgate transfers for emulsion damage. I'll revisit the footage I have to see if the amount that would benefit justify the cost of a rescan with wetgate.

Originally Posted by bassquake

Maybe try the DeScratch tool for AVISynth to remove vertical scratches. Haven't tried it myself yet.

Think I had previously stumbled across Fizicks DeScratch plugin, but bypassed it in the pursuit of x64 bit plugins for Fred's/John's scripts. Will take another look and do some (x32 script) testing.

[johnmeyer]

I was never able to get ANY positive results from Descratch, but you should try it, just to see if you have better luck.