Alternatives to "Colourlike", automatic color matching?

[jrodefeld]

I am working on creating hybrid Blu Rays of some old Jackie Chan films. I am using the new Japanese HD transfers, combined with new English subtitles and (if needed) PCM Cantonese audio synced up from another source. I am pretty good at this by now but I want to improve.

The sources are genuine HD but the colors look off, too pale, sometimes washed out, too green or blue, etc. What I want to do is color correct them using the Fortune Star DVD as a source.

I am not skilled enough to do color timing by hand I don't think. But I've been experimenting with the Colourlike filter where I can match the color of a video to a source clip automatically.

Are there any alternative methods of automatic color correction? I also use Adobe Premiere for video editing, so I am open to any Premiere filters also.

I am really hesitant to just start messing around with color levels and things like that without adhering to an accurate reference.


Also, is there any way to export my Premiere timeline to an AVIsynth script where I can add filters and then frameserve to MainConcept Reference encoder?

I don't like to create these huge lossless AVI files between steps.

I just want to encode my timeline to a blu ray compatible x264 file but add in the AVIsynth command such as Colourlike in between.

I don't know if this is possible.


Is there a better way to do what Colourlike does? Or is there a way to do something similar or better in Premiere itself so I can save a step?

[Reel.Deel]

Another alternative is V. C. Mohan's HistogramAdjust (http://www.avisynth.nl/users/vcmohan/HistogramAdjust/HistogramAdjust.html).

[poisondeathray]

Also, is there any way to export my Premiere timeline to an AVIsynth script where I can add filters and then frameserve to MainConcept Reference encoder?

I just want to encode my timeline to a blu ray compatible x264 file but add in the AVIsynth command such as Colourlike in between.



Frameserve options out of premiere are debugmode frameserver, advanced frameserver

Not that it matters, but on one hand you mention Mainconcept, on the other you mention x264 ?



Is there a better way to do what Colourlike does? Or is there a way to do something similar or better in Premiere itself so I can save a step?

Not for avisynth within premiere. If you're asking about retail options, a few were covered already in your videohelp thread

[smok3]

For premiere there are manual techniques (A lot of them on youtube under "color match"), there are certain plugins that look promising for your specific requirements (can match frame by frame as well), like;
http://www.revisionfx.com/products/rematch/
(They seem to have a demo, not tested by me).

[wonkey_monkey]

Can you upload somewhere a sample frame (the same frame) from each transfer?

[jrodefeld]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will stick to ColourLike for now and see if it gives me good results. I am having a different problem now.

I exported my entire Adobe Premiere project of the final edit in lossless AVI (lagarith). The file is like 180gb.

Now I want to generate a histogram file using Colourlike and then match the color using AVISynth.

I usually write a basic script and then load that AVS file in VirtualdubMod. But the program keeps crashing.

I can watch the video just fine. I can even open the AVI file in Virtualdub directly. But if I use it in an AVIsynth script, virtualdub crashes, MainConcept Reference crashes, etc.

I don't know what I am doing wrong?

I am just using AVISource(), then the colourlike commands.

What could be causing the crash? Maybe the file size is giving Avisynth problems somehow?

[poisondeathray]

Does AVISource() alone cause a crash , without colourlike ?

If it does, another option is to open with FFMS2 , FFVideoSource(), or L-smash

[jrodefeld]

Does AVISource() alone cause a crash , without colourlike ?

If it does, another option is to open with FFMS2 , FFVideoSource(), or L-smash

I just tried it and it loads up just fine. So it must be the Colourlike plugin that is causing the problem. I have no idea how to make it work.

My script looks like this:

AVISource("D:\Videos\Police Story Revised Blu Ray Project\PS_HK Edit_Final_Uncompressed.avi")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth+\plugins+\ColourLike_25Aug05.dll")
ConvertToYV12()

WriteHistogram("D:\Videos\Police Story Revised Blu Ray Project\Fortune Star DVD Best Colors\Histograms\PS_BluRay.txt", 3)


Does this look right to you?

[poisondeathray]

It looks ok (you shouldn't need ConvertToYV12(), unless you exported RGB from premiere ?)

What avisynth version?

Try colourlike on another random video, like a youtube video, does it crash ?

[creaothceann]

AVISource("D:\Videos\Police Story Revised Blu Ray Project\PS_HK Edit_Final_Uncompressed.avi")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth+\plugins+\ColourLike_25Aug05.dll")
ConvertToYV12()

WriteHistogram("D:\Videos\Police Story Revised Blu Ray Project\Fortune Star DVD Best Colors\Histograms\PS_BluRay.txt", 3)


Do you really need the LoadPlugin call?

[StainlessS]

Here, re-compile of ColorLike 25 Aug 05, compiled with Avisynth.h Version 3 (current for v2.58, was 2).
Fixed a few 'variable redefinition' errors (Microsoft complier issue with older code, legal in most compilers).

Original and current source in zip.

EDIT: Link removed. See Colorlike thread instead: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=96308&highlight=colorlike&page=3

EDIT: Other mg262 (author) source here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=118430

[feisty2]

Here, re-compile of ColorLike 25 Aug 05, compiled with Avisynth.h Version 3 (current for v2.58, was 2).
Fixed a few 'variable redefinition errors (Microsoft complier issue with older code, legal in most compilers).

Original and current source in zip.

EDIT: Link removed. See Colorlike thread instead: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=96308&highlight=colorlike&page=3

I found a bug in this plugin long time ago, but never reported it, the analyze pass requires the resolution of the input clip to be quiet "standard", 720x480 is okay, 720x352, a perfectly legal yv12 resolution will make the plugin crash miserably, so I have to resize the clip to 720x480 or 640x480 kind of resolution before running the analyze pass, has the bug been fixed in your version?

[StainlessS]

Simply a re-compile, so probably not.

[StainlessS]

Feisty, can you be more specific, I can take a brief look at source but am very busy and cannot spend too much time.
Where is the analyse pass ?, (I have not used for quite some time and dont want to waste time figuring it all out).

If I can get it to crash, then I'll try to find bug, if not then I shall just leave be.

from source:

extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) const char *__stdcall AvisynthPluginInit2(IScriptEnvironment *env)
{
env->AddFunction("WriteHistogram", "cs[every]i", WriteHistogram, 0);
env->AddFunction("WritePolarHistogram", "cs[every]i", WritePolarHistogram, 0);
//sj
env->AddFunction("CopyHistogram", "ss", CopyHistogram, 0);
env->AddFunction("CopyPolarHistogram", "ss", CopyPolarHistogram, 0);
env->AddFunction("WriteColourLikeCurve", "sss", WriteColourLikeCurve, 0);
env->AddFunction("ColourLike", "css[affectfirst]b[affectsecond]b[affectthird]b", ColourLike, 0);
env->AddFunction("PolarColourLike", "css[affectfirst]b[affectsecond]b[affectthird]b", PolarColourLike, 0);
env->AddFunction("ApplyAMP", "cs", ApplyAMP, 0);
env->AddFunction("SaturationGamma", "cf[fixed]f", SaturationGamma, 0);
return "ColourLike plugin";
}


PS, you spell quite 'quite', not quiet, you do it a lot. (I'm a rotten speeller two) :)

EDIT: with this:

avisource("D:\avs\avi\ap1.avi")

BilinearResize(720,480)

DVD=Last
VHS=Coloryuv(off_u=10,off_v=100)

dvd.WriteHistogram("dvd hist 100.txt", 100) # <<<<<<< Line 8
vhs.WriteHistogram("vhs hist 100.txt", 100)

return Last


I'm gettin
Evaluate: System Exception - Stack OVerflow : Line 8
Is also happening at 720x480, Is that the same problem ?

[feisty2]

352 works, I didn't remember the invalid resolution clearly, my bad
analyze pass, I mean "WriteHistogram ()"
to reprise the issue

xxxsource ("720x480 yv12 clip")
WriteHistogram ("color.txt",1)

everything works out right

xxxsource ("720x480 yv12 clip")
bicubicresize (706,350)
WriteHistogram ("color.txt",1)

now avisynth crashes

you spell quite 'quite', not quiet, you do it a lot
yeah it happens, you know what, I'm QUIET convinced I'm not the only one who always does shit like this, those 2 words are so goddamn alike, I f**kin messed them up all the time :)

[poisondeathray]

There is a mod4 restriciton for this one, isn't there?

His BD and DVD will be mod16, unless he's done other manipulations cropping, resizing, etc...