Filter suggestion for avisynth/VirtualDub2 of source with "fata morgana"

[stormy1777]

Got a sample clip:

https://anonfile.com/C7Ffyar1n7/Filter_Movement_mp4

of landscape in "movement" that appears from hot air I think.. sort of "Fata Morgana".. (above is not the source, it is encoded in x264 8bit, which is also my target encode)

would love to get some ideas on what kind of builtin filter (VirtualDub2), or avisynth script can be used to "process" this and reduce file size a bit yet maintain quality.

Thanks for any possible tips.

Source material is:

Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID                                 : mp42 (mp42/avc1/CAEP)
File size                                : 2.34 GiB
Duration                                 : 5 min 40 s
Overall bit rate                         : 59.0 Mb/s

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L5.1
Format settings                          : CABAC / 2 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, RefFrames               : 2 frames
Format settings, GOP                     : M=3, N=24
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 5 min 40 s
Bit rate                                 : 58.9 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 50.000 FPS
Standard                                 : Component
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.568
Stream size                              : 2.33 GiB (100%)
Language                                 : English
Color range                              : Full
Color primaries                          : BT.709
Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709
Codec configuration box                  : avcC

[StainlessS]

Getting warning about a deceptive site from your link, I aint gonna download it.

[Groucho2004]

Originally Posted by StainlessS

Getting warning about a deceptive site from your link, I aint gonna download it.

I just dl'd it, no problem, no complaints.

[StainlessS]

Warning from fireFox 66.xx, Settings : Security : Deceptive Content and Dangerous Software Protection
(via some Google service about deceptive content). Might just have been because of the AnonFile.com name.

Although I was a little sceptical myself about a 1920x1080@50.0FPS of duration 5:xx minutes (which is what source file seemed to be) and with output file size of about 3.5 MB.

EDIT: Firefox "Learn About" page on the Deceptive content stuff:- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb...urce=inproduct

[stormy1777]

*Stainless*, original source is:

File size : 2.34 GiB

I clipped just a short segment and encoded it down to 3.5MB, just to give you an idea of the "movement" or "flickers" that appear in the sky/wires..

any idea on which filter/avisynth script would handle it best?

[StainlessS]

I went back to have another go, downloaded the named file (which turned out to be an html file, could not find real file name embeded in the html),
went back again for yet another go, and the constant refreshing of page made me shy off from download.
I guess that I'm just not as courageous as the brave yet grouchy one.



Stormy, suggest that you use another file host in future, that one is just a little too scarey.

[I tend to get alarmed whenever anything unusual happens, eg when you try leave site and it will not let you until you
click "Are you sure ?", "Leave Page" button, I tend to pull plug on connection and force kill the browser just to avoid pressing the button that it seems desperate
for me to press. Paranoia rules OK].

[manolito]

I am under WinXP and using good old Opera 12 with a custom hosts file from winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm.

The only annoyance with this site is that after the first click on the file I get redirected (opening a new tab) to some advertising site. Clicking on the file for a second time downloads it without any issues. So I believe this is a little too much paranoia...

[mariush]

I made a copy of the video here, for those reluctant: http://savedonthe.net/download/2427/..._Movement.html

[stormy1777]

Thanks Mariush

so sorry, I run no-script (firefox addon), and so all these noisy things do not really appear, anyways, I can also upload the original SOURCE, not the encoded, but it's pretty much the same video, just much much larger.. the question is there any "encoding" scheme that can "cope" with such almost "watery" or "vapory" movement in the sky
Thanks...

[shekh]

Just saw Neat Video post and they claim to deal with "heat haze". https://blog.neatvideo.com/post/nv5-overview
No idea if this is available from plugin.

[StainlessS]

I overcame my cowardice and bravely downloaded, thanx Mariush.

So basically 'Heat Haze'. [I'de never heard the term Fata Morgana, looked Heat Haze up and it got me to Wikipedia Mirage:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage].
I would not have any idea how to simulate heat haze.

Regarding the wikipedia Mirage link, Fata Morgana paragraph, "atmospheric duct" hilited popup, I think I once experienced that myself.
Back in 1981, I was stayng at a guest house in Bedfordshire countryside, about 5 of us were watching an Italian movie on analogue TV.
Due to weird atmosperic conditions, we could not pick up UK TV, only a single Italian TV station (maybe due to 'atmospheric ducting' which
probably acts similar to microwave WaveGuide used in Radar and microwave communications). the Italian movie of course had no subtitles
(as it was broadcast for Italians, not Brits), so we asked the Swiss girl with us to translate (she spoke Swiss German, Italian, French and English),
and we all sat there transfixed as she translated for a good 10 minutes, at which point she realised that nobody was watching the movie,
we were all fixed upon her. I said something like, "Enough of the French, how about giving it to us in English".
Some additional quite strange linguistic ducting had occurred.

EDIT:
Maybe some kind of +/- random number generation per pixel (vertical I think), and then run some kind of 'centered moving average' (to keep results
coherent), would also need some kind of 'centered moving average' horizontally and temporally too.
When all numbers crunched, then get pixel from Y coord +/- random sourced result.
Not really sure, but something like above (maybe).

EDIT from later post: Oh crap, I thought you wanted to synthesize Heat Haze, my bad.

[stormy1777]

Oh, wait a sec.. Is that "shekh"? the developer of VD2 telling us to purchase a software package to encode.. hmm.. should we be worried ??
Thanks for the link, it mentioned "in-camera noise reduction", not sure I can find anything on that, it really appears to move, even to naked eye, so not sure camera is at fault here..

The term "Heat haze" is exactly right.. hopefully someone has some experience with encoding such content; almost looks like water/movement fuzzy shifting

Stainless, I think you posted sober this time around (at least BEFORE the EDIT), nice story, and with a happy "ending", did anyone end up marrying the girl

[StainlessS]

did anyone end up marrying the girl

Alas, yep, but not any of us watching TV. [I did keep in touch for a decade or so, and visited her in CH several times, and she re-visited here too].

I think I may try play with daft edit idea, but might take some time before I get around to it.

Tracking particals in meteorology, or as water goes over a waterfall (or even out of a tap/faucet) is an incredibly intractable problem, this is no easier probably (hence daft random number thing).

EDIT: Oh crap, I thought you wanted to synthesize Heat Haze, my bad.

[Groucho2004]

I wouldn't do anything apart from some light de-noising. Just tried with "KNLMeansCL(d = 1, a = 2, h = 2.0, s = 2)" and the bitrate went from 5500 to 3000 @CRF18. At 1080p, this is already a very low bitrate.

If you want more comprehensive advice, upload a piece cut directly from the source.

[shekh]

Originally Posted by stormy1777

Oh, wait a sec.. Is that "shekh"? the developer of VD2 telling us to purchase a software package to encode.. hmm.. should we be worried ??

It was funny to see the term "heat haze" in 2 unrelated places in one day, I thought it won't hurt to link

[stormy1777]

Groucho,

Sorry, wasn't thinking, naively thought answer is easy

here is part of original clip: https://anonfile.com/G30bHardn8/Heat_Haze_Original_mp4

roughly 46MB, not too bad... The idea is that the reencode would not be apparent to human eye, or add artifacts that are not in the original already...

Stainless, here's your second chance no worries, your company is enough sometimes

Stormy.

[stormy1777]

Originally Posted by shekh

It was funny to see the term "heat haze" in 2 unrelated places in one day, I thought it won't hurt to link

some say, there is a REASON (for everything), and that we're all really "connected" somehow.. Matrix??

yeah, certainly funny chance to see such a rare phrase appear in two places

[Groucho2004]

Originally Posted by stormy1777

The idea is that the reencode would not be apparent to human eye, or add artifacts that are not in the original already...

The original is 59 Mbps. I encoded your chunk with x264 (CRF 16, tune film) and the resulting bitrate is 9 Mbps. That's 15%. I you use some light de-noising you can reduce it even further.
At CRF 16 I highly doubt that you will see a difference between the original and the re-encoded file.

At CRF 18, the encoded file has 5.5 Mbps (9.3% of the original).

So, how much reduction do you have in mind?

[stormy1777]

thanks so much, i went up to CRF17, but fear to go higher, yeah, 10% is great, was wondering which filter/syntax to use for 'denoising' for this particular clip given the "movement", did not find anything in the provided filters for VirtualDub2 (with noise in the name).. do u still recommend: "KNLMeansCL(d = 1, a = 2, h = 2.0, s = 2)" for this clip? I can give it a try on the full source and see...

[Groucho2004]

Originally Posted by stormy1777

was wondering which filter/syntax to use for 'denoising' for this particular clip given the "movement", did not find anything in the provided filters for VirtualDub2 (with noise in the name).. do u still recommend: "KNLMeansCL(d = 1, a = 2, h = 2.0, s = 2)" for this clip? I can give it a try on the full source and see...

Give KNLMeansCL a try, it's quite useful in many situations.

Another option:

function MCD(clip video, int "threshold")
{
  last = video
  threshold = default(threshold, 200)
           
  bs = (width() > 960) ? 16 : 8 
  sc = MSuper(pel = 2, sharp = 1, hpad = 16, vpad = 16)
  backward_vector = MAnalyse(sc, isb =  true, delta = 1, blksize = bs, overlap = bs / 2, sadx264 = 4)
  forward_vector =  MAnalyse(sc, isb = false, delta = 1, blksize = bs, overlap = bs / 2, sadx264 = 4)
  backward_vector = MRecalculate(sc, backward_vector, blksize = bs / 2, overlap = bs / 4, thSAD = 100)
  forward_vector =  MRecalculate(sc, forward_vector , blksize = bs / 2, overlap = bs / 4, thSAD = 100)
  MDegrain1(sc, backward_vector, forward_vector, thSAD = threshold)

  return last
}

This is basically a function that StainlessS posted some time ago, can't find it right now so I posted my modified version. Try 'threshold' 200 ~ 300.

Also, watch out for banding if you use a de-noiser.

I usually stick with 'less is more' and use filters (particularly de-noisers) as little as possible.