This thread was started to discuss general techniques for archiving and restoring failing laserdiscs, namely:
- Analog sampling of video and audio
- Digital sampling of audio from laserdisc
- Post-processing techniques for cleaning up audio and video (laserdisc rot, proper deinterlacing methods, etc.)
I'll start with my process:
- Pioneer CLD-D606 -> Y/C -> Blackmagic Intensity Pro -> 10-bit 4:2:2 .AVI. This is done using the Media Express software and software version 10.11.4 (Windows), a combination that produces perfect sync. (Later versions have issues with sync drift, loss of video sync, or both.) I capture everything at 0 IRE so that I have more flexibility in post (and also because I've caught some laserdiscs mixing 0 IRE and 7.5 IRE content, mainly music videos that have paintbox effects).
- Depending on the source material, I sometimes choose to eliminate noise introduced by the capture process by capturing the same material 3+ times, then if all captures are frame-accurate, I'll combine them by overlaying them in Premiere and averaging them using the Blend effect. Think of this as a video version of "oversampling". (This is a tremendous help with VHS sources too, but capture of longer sources almost never line up exactly even when using a line TBC feeding into a Frame TBC (all it takes is one delayed field to throw things off), so there aren't always opportunities to use this technique with VHS.)
- I then bring the footage into Premiere Pro and correct black and white levels (capturing 10-bit allows this without clipping during the original capture or during processing), and use NeatVideo (carefully and judiciously!!) for noise reduction and fixing dropouts/rot. If the audio needs some repair, I export the final audio and process it with izotope RX, then import it back into Premiere and use that for the audio. All video processing is done internally 32-bit. Noise reduction occurs before level correction in the filter chain. I then export 10-bit again. All of this takes place in the interlaced domain.
- For final output and deinterlacing, I use avisynth with QTGMC for deinterlacing (I use different settings for different sources, but the quick answer is that I use preset "very slow" for sources with a hint of noise still left in them, and SourceMatch/Lossless settings for anything where I was able to remove most of the noise previously). If needed, nnedi3_rpow2 + spline36resize for upscaling after the deinterlacing stage. Finally, the avisynth script is fed into FFMPEG for h.264 or h.265 encoding.
The entire path, from capture(1) to edit to export to avisynth to ffmpeg to final output compressed files, is 10-bit. It took me a long time to get avisynth verified working with 10-bit colorspaces(2) but the end result is definitely better viewing on my OLED TV than when I was doing everything 8-bit.
For especially noisy footage, or for being paranoid about the capture process introducing noise, I will sometimes capture the same footage 3 or more times, and combine them in Premiere using the Linear Dodge (add) compositing method, with the opacity % set to 100/N where N is the number of captures I'm combining. This only works if every capture is exactly frame-perfect, so inspection is necessary to ensure every frame is lining up. The end result effectively averages out all transient noise, leaving only the signal.
One sample result of all these processes: https://youtu.be/1dtVWr19L8I?t=807
The use of NeatVideo's artifact removal and dust/scratches removal can be beneficial in cleaning up laser rot -- but only if you don't over-apply them, since over-application can remove fine detail in the picture you want to preserve. Here's a badly rotted disc (The Motels, 8"):
...and here's what (careful!) NeatVideo processing in Premiere can do to recover it:
(1)The Pioneer uses an 8-bit digital TBC but I still capture in 10-bit for the headroom.
(2)hint: Use ffmpegsource for import, as avisource converts everything to 8-bit... another hint, use avisynth+ which supports YUV422P10 colorspaces)
Thankfully, my investment has only been about $200 thus far (all discs, I got the player for free in exchange for doing a professional transfer of a rare disc for a client).
