Video8 capture noise, color bands?

[chrisbati]

Hello,

I started to capture my V8 tapes, in a first time just to have a 1:1 numeric copy, so archiving.
I followed this tutorial with Huffyuv export.

So my wf is:
- Sony TRV66E (TBC on)
- Avermedia USB capture card (Svideo)
- Virtualdub2 tuned as seen on the tutorial (so is Huffyuv)

I would like some feedback on the picture quality (I mean for a "raw" copy without improvment like Denoise, Deinterlace,...) to know if I can do better.

Also, I have two main issues with the result:

1. a bottom "scratched band", but I think it's overscan that I have to crop, correct ?
2. on the right of the picture, I always have a vertical colored band (overall pink and green), but I don't know if it's "normal" and I just crop it or if it's a problem with my camera or my capture?

Thanks in advance for any help.

-- merged --

any idea ? overall about the bottom and right side issues ?

Chrisbati

[keaton]

Hello

Regarding capture quality, the forum boasts of a certain genre of ATI capture cards with a particular chipset that is excellent at capturing analog video. I followed that advice and cannot imagine a capture card with better quality. I've never used Avermedia devices for capture, so I can only guess that it may give you better results.

Regarding your 2 questions, they are both addressed by the following avisynth scripting:

The bottom noise of about 12 pixels can be masked over and recenter your video vertically by cropping the bottom 12 pixels and adding 6 pixel borders to top and bottom (the last line in the first sample script below).

The color issue on the right edge is a chroma shifting issue. If you do a ChromaShift(C=12) call, which shifts the chroma 12 pixels to the right with respect to the luma, you'll see the color issue on the right edge go away. However, you'll then see a similar issue appear on the left edge of the video. So my thought was to take a chroma shifted version, then overlay the original video's left edge over the chroma shifted version. Not sure if this will resolve all your video, but it certainly seems to mask the issue for this sample clip.

v=AVISource("USA2 - Copieb.avi")
AssumeTFF(v)

a=last  # Keep a copy of the original video in variable a
b=ChromaShift(C=12) # Make a chroma shifted copy of the video and store to variable b
c=a.crop(0,0,-680,0)  # Crop off the right-most 680 columns, leaving only the 40 left-most columns of the video, and store to variable c
Overlay(b,c,0,0,opacity=1.0) # Overlay the left-most 40 pixels of the original video (c) over the Chroma Shifted video (b) at full opacity

crop(0,0,0,-12).addborders(0,6,0,6) # crop bottom 12 pixels, then add 6 to top and bottom to re-center the video

Another option is to crop more of the right edge of the video off (the dark right edge of 12 pixels + the 12 pixel color stripe) by using the following

v=AVISource("USA2 - Copieb.avi")
AssumeTFF(v)

crop(12,0,-24,-12).addborders(18,6,18,6) # remove 12 pixels on left edge, 24 on right edge, and 12 on bottom edge, then center video horizontally and vertically

-- merged --

A correction to my previous post. The first option to correct the right edge is not correct. With that approach, there is a much larger blue color problem in the left side of the rocks. There is an issue already from the original video. However, the approach above makes it much larger.

Instead, the following script would be the correct approach using the same principles of ChromaShift and Overlay. It doesn't correct the original color issue around the rock edges, however, it does not inject any new issues with respect to the original video, while getting rid of the right edge issue.

v=AVISource("USA2 - Copieb.avi")
AssumeTFF(v)

a=last # save current video for use later

# Shift original clip chroma (both U and V channels) right 12 columns, then keep only the right most
# 24 columns (the 12 with the color issue and the 12 black columns to the right of that), fill the
# remaining columns to the left of that as black
b=ChromaShift(C=12).crop(696,0,0,0).addborders(696,0,0,0)

# Make a copy of the original clip with the right most 24 columns cropped off
c=a.crop(0,0,-24,0)

# Overlay the copy of the original (c) on top of the Chroma Shifted copy (b) with full opacity
Overlay(b,c,0,0,opacity=1.0)

# Crop off bottom 12 rows to remove head switching noise, then add 6 rows on top and bottom to preserve the correct resolution and center vertically 
crop(0,0,0,-12).addborders(0,6,0,6)

[chrisbati]

Hello,

thanks for your help.
About the chroma issue, I have that on all my tapes (a right edge color issue).
So I'm wondering if it can come from my camera player (sony trv66e) or if it's on all the tapes ?

I can't check on another camera or video8 player, I only have that one and checked my neighnourhood without any success.
Before going on I would like to be sure that the issue is not coming from the player.
Is it possible ?

Thanks in advance

Chrisbati

[lordsmurf]

Don't crop, mask.

The right side is chroma, either the tape or camera. Usually tape. Mask it.
Only way to test is to compare against another camera.

The bottom is overscan. Mask it.

Mask all noise, re-center.
This can be done in Avisynth using Crop+AddBorders.
Or with VirtualDub using resize+crop (see guide), or using the kNRC filter (use even values, never odd).

If this is the worst issue you have, then you have it easy. Because this is easy.

I'm more concerned about lack of frame TBC, and the Aver card. Several are low-end Easycap (Easycrap) cards, or those Chinese "grabbers". Quality issues of all kinds, especially with overexposures and blown color. In your sample, I see what could be dropped frames, and the blue hue is a tad hot. Hard to tell from a short clip.

[chrisbati]

@lordsmurf,

thanks for your advices.
What do you mean by "lack of frames TBC" (sorry english is not my native language) ?

Also, about the capture card, I'm looking for an ATI 600 usb to replace my avermedia, but can't find one, do you know where I can buy one from Europe ?

You also tell about a guide to mask the different issues, where is that guide ?

Thanks in advance

Chrisbati

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisbati

What do you mean by "lack of frames TBC"

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...time-base.html

Quote:

Also, about the capture card, I'm looking for an ATI 600 usb to replace my avermedia, but can't find one, do you know where I can buy one from Europe ?

Always remember to check this site's marketplace subforum.
http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/marketplace/

At times, I, and maybe sometimes others, have some available. I ship to Europe.

Quote:

You also tell about a guide to mask the different issues, where is that guide ?

The guide seems broken. I'll fix.

[chrisbati]

Quote:

Originally Posted by keaton

v=AVISource("USA2 - Copieb.avi")
AssumeTFF(v)

a=last # save current video for use later

# Shift original clip chroma (both U and V channels) right 12 columns, then keep only the right most
# 24 columns (the 12 with the color issue and the 12 black columns to the right of that), fill the
# remaining columns to the left of that as black
b=ChromaShift(C=12).crop(696,0,0,0).addborders(696,0,0,0)

# Make a copy of the original clip with the right most 24 columns cropped off
c=a.crop(0,0,-24,0)

# Overlay the copy of the original (c) on top of the Chroma Shifted copy (b) with full opacity
Overlay(b,c,0,0,opacity=1.0)

# Crop off bottom 12 rows to remove head switching noise, then add 6 rows on top and bottom to preserve the correct resolution and center vertically 
crop(0,0,0,-12).addborders(0,6,0,6)

@keaton,

I tried your script but I get an error.
First I tried in avysinth+64, but the chromashift plugin is only available in 32bit, so I had an error: cannot load a 32bit dll in 64bit avisynth.

Then, I tried with 32bit avisynth, but I have an error message on the input file: " couldn't locate a decompressor for fourcc HFYU"

I checked in System32, SysWow64, and also in the plugins+ folder and I have the huffyuv.dll in each one.

So, how do you manage to process the file ?

Thanks in advance

Chrisbati

[bookemdano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisbati

@keaton,

I tried your script but I get an error.
First I tried in avysinth+64, but the chromashift plugin is only available in 32bit, so I had an error: cannot load a 32bit dll in 64bit avisynth.

Then, I tried with 32bit avisynth, but I have an error message on the input file: " couldn't locate a decompressor for fourcc HFYU"

I checked in System32, SysWow64, and also in the plugins+ folder and I have the huffyuv.dll in each one.

So, how do you manage to process the file ?

Thanks in advance

Chrisbati

Is it the 32-bit huffyuv.dll though? You need the 32-bit version of the dll in the syswow64 folder.

[keaton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookemdano

Is it the 32-bit huffyuv.dll though? You need the 32-bit version of the dll in the syswow64 folder.

@chrisbati

I am working in 32-bit Windows land, so I would suppose the same thing as bookemdano. I use Avisynth 2.6, which is 32-bit, so I would presume only the 32-bit version of huffyuv will work with that.

Be sure to have the 32-bit huffyuv installed, which can be obtained here http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide....html#post9485 Also, there's a note in that post for how to install 32-bit huffyuv for a 64-bit Windows (see here http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...html#post11627).

I don't have a 64-bit windows to play around in, but it sure seems like you have a 32-bit vs 64-bit issue. 32 cannot use 64, but 64 can sometimes use 32. It's unfortunate when 64-bit tools don't have a backward compatible option to use 32-bit tools. Poor software design.

Best of luck to you.

[chrisbati]

@keaton,

Ok, It was a known problem with avisource, I was unable to read nothing. I change it to directsource, and all is ok.

I try your script, but it remains a thin red line on the right (see attachment), between the original image and the mask, is it normal ?
I tried to change some values but I can't get rid of it.

Thanks in advance

Chrisbati

[keaton]

You have a keen eye. I see it as well. Here's a tweak from the previous example to move the mask to the left a couple more pixels. Adjust as much as you want, so long as the numbers add up to 720, in this case 694 and 26. This also increases the value in ChromaShift from 12 to 14. It would probably be best if you kept the chroma shift value and the right edge crop value offset by 12 (i.e. shift of 14, so crop value of 26), since the right edge is about 12 black pixels wide.

v=AVISource("USA2 - Copieb.avi")
AssumeTFF(v)

a=last # save current video for use later

# Shift original clip chroma (both U and V channels) right 14 columns, then keep only the right most
# 26 columns, fill the remaining columns to the left of that as black
b=ChromaShift(C=14).crop(694,0,0,0).addborders(694,0,0,0)

# Make a copy of the original clip with the right most 26 columns cropped off
c=a.crop(0,0,-26,0)

# Overlay the copy of the original (c) on top of the Chroma Shifted copy (b) with full opacity
Overlay(b,c,0,0,opacity=1.0)

# Crop off bottom 12 rows to remove head switching noise, then add 6 rows on top and bottom to preserve the correct resolution and center vertically 
crop(0,0,0,-12).addborders(0,6,0,6)