Users opinions of noise reduction....

[smileylives]

Hey boys and girls,

Just want some peoples opinions on the benefits or problems associated with noise reduction.

I myself am very wary of any process that alters the original content of the dvd source. I know that adding filters to remove noise can result in a more blurred image and can lose fine details, like skin details, etc.

I've been using tempgenc, but I've recently moved to cce which is great, but seems quite noisy on occasions.

Also I use an image quality priority of 22. Is this reasonable?

[Mac Sidewinder]

Also I use an image quality priority of 22. Is this reasonable?

Sounds right to me - I usually use between 22 - 24. Most people agree that tmpge is better for vcd and cce is better for svcd. What kind of "noise" are you having with cce? As long as you have a good enough bitrate and not try to stuff too much on a cd you shouldn't have any problems with noise.

Mac

[mrbass]

I also uncheck anti-noise filter...looks great to me.

[UltimateDBZ]

"Noise" is usually associated with too-low of bitrates, which is the user's fault, not the encoder's. Using the anti-noise filter is nice in some cases (like processing captured VHS), but it can also cause problems and CCE crashes in certain instances. Personally, I don't use it.

[smileylives]

okay, thanks for the help guys.

I think also, some dvd's actually have the noise in the first place, as most stuff is done on film... while other movies like cg movies, are digital so there's no noise to start with.

Thanks for your help.

[markrb]

Remember though sometimes noise is suppose to be there. It's like the director wanting a warmer more analog feeling to the movie. If you get rid of it you are altering the directors vision.

On the other hand if you are using filters then they can add noise and sometimes a noise filter is needed.
Also the lower you drop the bitrate the greater the potential for adding noise. So it's all really a guessing name, but for now I prefer a low number or not at all.

Mark

[chainsaw135]

Like markrb stated it really depends on the movie and how you like the look of a movie in general, its pretty much preference at best and if you wanna get in to the technical side of things, basically anything adding or altering the movie could be looked at as getting farther away from what the movie was supposed to look like. On the other hand some people might like the look of a smoother less noisy movie or a sharper movie ect best way to tell tho really and truly is to do small chapter tests yourself and see what you like the best.

[waldok]

As the others said, it really depends on the original movie. You sure don't want to alter the director's vision. As an example, I recently encoded the U2 movie "Rattle and hum". It starts black and white and very very grainy, which is of course intended by the director.
Giving noise filters a try would produce unacceptable "smoothing" of the picture, destroying the particular feeling of these sequences. So I guess it is quite tempting to "remove noise" and smooth out pictures, but sometimes noise is meant to be there, although it may give the encoder a hard time...

Just for my 2 cents (1.5 cents in fact)...

Waldok

[smileylives]

Thanks for the help guys. I've just done a whole heap of tests on the subject, as well as sharpening, and my tests indicate that, for me anyway, it's best to leave it alone and keep as close to the original source as possible.