Need to improve old Sony 8MM Videos - Don't know where to start.

[stockxprt]

Hello everyone,

I have very old, 1986 era, Sony 8MM Video Tapes. These were the first of their kind at that time. I am about to convert them to digital to store on DVD. However, the image quality is poor - in some cases atrocious. I have downloaded the product, but frankly after reading everything I can find here, I still don't know where to start. If anyone has gone through this exercise and can guide me as to what steps to take, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks all!

[Dee Mon]

As I understand those video tapes carried analog signal, so first of all you need to find a way to digitize them and store as video files on computer. In this step it's very important to choose wisely digital format for it, so it doesn't degrade quality further. I guess most digitizers will produce DV signal which is ok. If it's MPEG, make sure it's MPEG4 or MPEG2 with high bitrate, but not MPEG1.

Then after you have some source files you can start to process video for better quality. Most probably the biggest issue is noise, so you'll need to use good denoising software. The best denoising plugin working in Video Enhancer is Neat Video, but it's not free. The best free one is probably MSU Denoiser.

There is no universal solution for all videos, so the best you can do now is to make a short video sample file and upload it somewhere so we can see what artifacts are present there and what filters can be used to make it look better.

[borov]

Thanks you very helps for me.

[Axel]

The best denoising plugin working in Video Enhancer is Neat Video, but it's not free. The best free one is probably MSU Denoiser.

1.Neat Video doesn't work for me (. "Abnormal program termination". May be because I use demo-version? I have put it in Program Files\Video Enhancer\plugins directory.
2.Does it matter which filter been loaded first, i.e  MSU Denoiser after SR or in versa sequence?
Thanks in advance for any help.

[Dee Mon]

Yes, the order of filters matter.
Super resolution considers its input as good signal and upsizes it all accurately, including noise. So a denoiser should be used before SR.

As for Neat Video, we'll look into this issue and tell how to use it a bit later.

[SeeingMole]

Did you try to run Neat Video from VirtualDub and see if it works?

You may need to initially run Neat Video from VirtualDub in order to configure the settings. The most current setting will then be used next time you use Neat Video.

In order to access the Neat Video parameters, you must add Neat Video in filter sequence in Video Enhancer, then press preview and just cancel the preview. You will then be able to access the Neat Video configuration screen.

[Axel]

I have tried to load demo NeatVideo.vdf from VirtualDub/plugins folder (NeatVideo filter cofigurated in VD on the same movie file). VE shutting down with alert message "Abnormal program termination" just after I press OK in NeatVideo pop-up window.
Alas, same message when I add NeatVideo.vdf from Video Enhancer/plugins directory .

[Dee Mon]

It turns out NeatVideo works in VE in Windows XP but doesn't work in Windows 7, at least 64 bit. We'll try to find the reason.