Techniques for cleaning up Black and White

[davexnet]

Hello,
I've got a 700 MB B/W divx avi file, I'm wondering if there are
any preferred techniques (I assume it's simpler and easier
than color) to minimizing the effects of a poor print,
such as dirt, tramlines, specks, scratches, etc,etc.

I've used a few filters in Virtualdub with mixed results,
such as NRS.

I get the feeling NRS is quite good, but I'm not yet acquainted
with all the settings.

Also, I'm a relative newbie at avisynth, I know how to use it
at a very basic level, I'm not familiar with all it's options
or possible third party add-ons but willing to try it if it helps.

My plan at the moment, is just to reencode it to another avi,
in as restored a state as I can get. If the results are
pleasing, I may even try going to a DVD, for my own
enjoyment.

Appreciate any tips.

[setarip_old]

Hi!My plan at the moment, is just to reencode it to another avi, in as restored a state as I can get.Applying filters to an already-created .AVI (which requires reencoding) will result in reduced quality.

I'd suggest you use the original source material (presumably a DVD) to create a new .AVI, with appropriate filters applied at this time.



If the results are pleasing, I may even try going to a DVD, for my own enjoyment.BTW - What is the original source material? If it's a DVD, why don't you just make a backup copy?

[davexnet]

Nothing imperative about this particular movie.
I like restoring old black and white film as a hobby.

The films I'm using are very poor quality, public domain films,
from the 1930's and 40's,
available for download from various sources.

Buying the DVD defeats the purpose; I'm interested in learning
the tools that help me in my aim, the technique is as important
as the result.

Secondly, many of these old films are not available on DVD,
even if they were, it would be a budget label, with the same
quality as the one I downloaded.

Thirdly, some of these films are fun to watch and that's
a bonus !

So that is why I posted here, a hobbyist wondering if anybody
has any tips and tricks to share in this kind of work.
regards,
Davexnet

[setarip_old]

Thanks for providing the additional, enlightening background information ;>}

I'd suggest you read the postings and "stickies" in the "AVISynth Usage" sub-forum here...

[Guest]

@davexnet

We do not allow discussion of downloaded movies unless you can convincingly show that they are legit. So, what is the movie and where is the download link so that I can check it?

[davexnet]

Hello,
I'm currently looking at "Topper Returns", available from
http://www.publicdomaintorrents.com/

I am not a lawyer, nor have I researched the copyright
status of this particular movie. However, the website
seems legit that these are public domain movies,
freely available to do with as one pleases - and I'm taking
that claim in good faith.

There are a bunch of testimonials from various publications that
seem to attest to the websites legitimacy:

http://ads.publicdomaintorrents.com/display.testimonials.indexed.html

Ironically, "Topper Returns" is in surprisingly good condition,
buit that's besides the point.

[Guest]

OK, thanks. All appears legit.

Your initial post is overly broad, though. You'd get better help if you posted a link to a specific source scene that you would like to clean up.

[davexnet]

Here's a short clip from the early 1920's film
Nosferatu (also public domain)
http://www.archive.org/details/nosferatu

You can see some of the issues I'm talking about.
Clip 2 is kind of extreme in it's wear.

It's mostly random noise caused by dirt and scratches.
Some I've seen previously also exhibit tramlines, which is a solid
line close to either edge, usually caused by projector damage.
Could last for seconds, or many minutes.

Please take a look and see what you think,
appreciate any feedback

http://www.savefile.com/files/1459158 << 5MB
http://www.savefile.com/files/1459160 << 2 MB

[davexnet]

Well no response yet; I must admit the clips
I provided were worse than I normally see,
and in that sense is a bit of a challenge.

I've been playing around with the spotremover V3.55 plugin
for Virtualdub by Konstantin Khlopenkov.
http://konstant.freeshell.org/
It looks very promising. There are many adjustments, so a bit
of a learning curve.

If I get an acceptable result, I'll post a link.
cheers,
davexnet

[Pookie]

Old B&W footage often suffers from terrible flicker. Use a deflicker plugin before applying noise reduction.

[davexnet]

The deflicker filter is indeed a good first step.

I emailed the author of Spotremover,
he said that such an old film, probably shot at 18-20
FPS, in a 29.97 fps avi - made up of many duplicate
frames is a problem.
His tool as it now is doesn't deal with it properly.
He plans to implement duplicate frame detection in a
later release.

I attempted to reduce the frame rate using Tmpgenc 2.5
inverse telecine/non-interlace source/frame decimation. It worked, but it wasn't perfect.

If I can get something better over the next few days,
I'll post the result.

[davexnet]

Here's my 1st attempt.
I used Deflicker in Virtualdub (Donald Graft)
and Mvtools, Despot in Avisynth.

http://www.savefile.com/files/1474811

I think it could be improved more. There's a bunch of fine tuning
with the Avisynth filters. that I've barely explored.