Too bad audio-files from VHS Tapes

[Johnny_Deep_Down_Below]

Hey, could you please help me to improve to audio-files?
They are from 15-year-old VHS tapes.

The first one is here (killerants):
http://mitglied.lycos.de/rolfmayer1/samplekillerants.mp3

The second one is here (blackgold):
http://mitglied.lycos.de/rolfmayer1/sampleblackgold.mp3

Both are 48000Hz, Stereo, 16 bit
(MP3-Compression: 192 kbit/s)

The first one is too loud, the second
one is too dull.

Please give me some tips.

Thank you.

[scharfis_brain]

1st one seems to be okay, but the 2nd one is recored with a low sampling frequency and low sampling resolution (8bit).

please only record your audio at
44100 or 48000 Hz, 16Bit and stereo.
The Volume can be adjusted by the Windows-Sound-Control or the Slider Provided by VirtualDub.

[Johnny_Deep_Down_Below]

No, both have been recorded with exactly the same settings.

The second tape HAS bad sound, you hear that on tv, too.

Isn't there any possibility to improve it?

[jkwarras]

Capture it to PC as uncompressed WAV. Open it into Cool Edit Pro and use noise reduction (for bad sound due to noise background) or channel mixer to try to improve a "flat" sound. Noise reduction is really easy to do, trying to improve a flat sound is more difficult.

Don't know if this is what you're looking for, but hope it's help.

Regards

[Johnny_Deep_Down_Below]

The original IS 48KHz 16bit Stereo Wave, this is just a short sample.

Could you give me tips for channel mixer ?

Is there also such a funtion in Steinberg Wavelab?

[scharfis_brain]

if this tape sound really that bad, it must be a selfmade one, because I cannot imagine, that a TV-recording or a bought Tape sounds taht bad....

[Johnny_Deep_Down_Below]

It IS a bought one, it has been made in the late 80's by CIC Video GmbH.

I've played a bit around with the channel mixer, but it does not improve the quality...

[scharfis_brain]

then I maybe know what's went wrong:

the first Tape is recorded with FM-Stereo (modulated in the Video-sgnal)
It is that loud, because the Sound of MacGyver had been heavy compressed in dynamics...


and the 2nd Tape is recorded using only the Mono-Sound-Track, which has a bandwidth limitation to lower than 8kHz.
It also may be that your VCR isn't able to handle this Mono-Track correctly, so that this ringing occurs...

[jkwarras]

Originally posted by Johnny_Deep_Down_Below
I've played a bit around with the channel mixer, but it does not improve the quality...

Sorry, but i don't really know about improving bad sound, it's a very difficult task. As i said, removing sound it's easiest and simple. I've tried sometimes improving my own DV films but it's not easy if you don't know what you're doing. Try mixing or apply quick filters (change bass, presence, etc... like if you were doing it in your Hi-fi). but I guess there are better places to ask over the net for that purpose :) Check out tutorials for cool edit pro in their webpage, or try to do a search over the net, i'm sure that such information exist. Good luck.

Regards

[scharfis_brain]

@Johnny_Deep_Down_Below:
http://hydrogenaudio.org/ will be a good place for you audio-problems. I think, they can give you some good tips!