I am working on some Video8 captures. Footage is interlaced and codec is Huffyuv. The restoration includes using Avisynth/VirtualDub and deinterlacing with QTGMC and adjusting black/white levels. All of this is happening in the 4:2:2 colorspace.
From my understanding it is recommended to use NEAT video prior to deinterlacing, but I am inclined to do it at the end (after deinterlacing and levels adjustment). Only because using Neatvideo with virtualdub means convert from YUV to RGB and back to YUV. So there is a loss of information. I think I am better of leaving the conversion to RGB until the very end.
Is the recommendation from Neatvideo (NV) to still do NV first, considering the above?
NEAT Video and QTGMC
Re: NEAT Video and QTGMC
1. It is usually easier to manage noise profiles and filter settings of Neat Video when NV goes first, but this does not require to use NV first. It can be used second or last too. Just make sure you re-build the noise profile and possible readjust the filter settings after you change the order of effects applied before NV or change their settings, as those affect the frames received by NV including the noise contained in those frames.
2. It is best to actually test both scenarios, NV first and NV last, and choose the scenario that delivers the best overall results. This may depend on the quality of deinterlacing applied, on the brightness range of the actual frames that you adjust via levels either before or after NV. So it is worth testing it both ways, as there may be difference in the overall quality of the results produced by the whole workflow.
3. I think that the losses due to YUV-RGB conversion will be significantly smaller than losses that can be caused by suboptimal order of effects. So I would look for quality of the final image (sufficient reduction of unwanted elements (noise, dust/scratches, flicker, etc.) and preservation of details) as the main criteria.
Hope this helps,
Vlad
2. It is best to actually test both scenarios, NV first and NV last, and choose the scenario that delivers the best overall results. This may depend on the quality of deinterlacing applied, on the brightness range of the actual frames that you adjust via levels either before or after NV. So it is worth testing it both ways, as there may be difference in the overall quality of the results produced by the whole workflow.
3. I think that the losses due to YUV-RGB conversion will be significantly smaller than losses that can be caused by suboptimal order of effects. So I would look for quality of the final image (sufficient reduction of unwanted elements (noise, dust/scratches, flicker, etc.) and preservation of details) as the main criteria.
Hope this helps,
Vlad
Re: NEAT Video and QTGMC
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think I will try both, but lean towards denoising first.
I have a follow up question - I have around 20 Video8 tapes to get through and unfortunately do not have the time to go scene by scene. However I was planning to break down each tape into:
Indoor scenes
Outdoor scenes
Outdoor night scenes
Then apply noise settings individualized to those categories. Is that a reasonable breakdown?
I have a follow up question - I have around 20 Video8 tapes to get through and unfortunately do not have the time to go scene by scene. However I was planning to break down each tape into:
Indoor scenes
Outdoor scenes
Outdoor night scenes
Then apply noise settings individualized to those categories. Is that a reasonable breakdown?
Re: NEAT Video and QTGMC
Possibly. It all depends on the noise in different scenes. If is more or less the same in strength, texture and color, then it should be fine. If it is very different, then going one by one would work better.