Hi,

I am a beginner videographer, and I have a problem with a project I am working on. I have too much background noise or humm in my audio channels. It sounds like sssssssss... I am using Vegas 7 to edit my videos, but I cant find the right FX for audio that would take care of the problem. Any ideas?

Does it sound like "Hiss"?

What camera did you use?

What microphones?

What other audio gear did you use?

Hum can be removed more easily that other noise.

For example, road noise is very difficult to remove.

Sony Noise Reduction 2.0, an add-on for Vegas, will take a snapshot of your noise and then remove those frequencies.

In some cases, this works great, in others, the frequency range of the noise is such that too much of your actual audio has to be removed.

Izotope( www.izotope.com ) just released a denoiser/declicker called RX. If you haven't played with the demo version, it really does some amazing things. The denoiser works very much like the Sony Noise Reduction plug, but, much better.

There is also Bias' SoundSoap for such things. You have to be careful because sometimes you do as much damage to the audio using these tools as you do fixing them.

But try some of these tools on broadband noise and see if that helps.

Wayne

I really like Adobe Soundbooth -- Its a bit more expensive than other tools, but I really enjoy a lot of the features that it has.

I have too much background noise or humm in my audio channels. It sounds like sssssssss...

Most likely the "hiss" is caused by the gear you used to shoot your video.

There might be a simple fix. Can you list the exact gear you used to shoot your video?

If you want a very inexpensive solution, how about free?
http://www.wavosaur.com
http://www.wavosaur.com/tutorials/how-to-remove-noise.php

It works very well. But as someone said, take it easy with the adjustments or the lower lever sounds that are close to the noise floor sound very strange.

Thank to all.

I was forced to use the audio of my camcorder, because something happened with my sony mics and my laptop recorded load of crap. My camcorder is a crap as well in comparison to what some you have around here. I have downloaded a trial of Sony Noise Reduction 2.0, but I am not willing to fork over $250 to get rid of the beeps (not yet at lease). It worked well, but too expensive. I will try to use the other suggested softwares / fixes.

-Peter

Dear Peter,

Most members of DVInfo.net are interested in helping others.

It does not matter if you have entry-level equipment, or the best equipment in the world.

What does matter is the techniques and skill it takes to get the best out of what you have on hand.

For example, the techniques to avoid hiss can apply to entry-level gear as well as broadcast quality equipment.

We are here to help.

i have also had good luck with just some simple EQ tweaking. For instance i filmed and interview at an indoor pool and was able to remove most of the A/C with a few moves of the sliders.

Worth a shoot.

Yes, I have tried that too, but I cant seem to find a right balance

Yes, I have tried that too, but I cant seem to find a right balance

Can you post a sample of your video at www.mediafire.com so we might be able to point out some possible solutions for you.


- Guy

I've had some success using a parametric EQ to dial in and reduce offending frequencies. Camcorder noise is often at paricular frequencies. If you can reduce just those frequencies, the audio becomes more usable. You may need to use the parametric EQ FX 2 or 3 times to eliminate the loudest offending frequencies and then use some noise reduction to further clean up the sound.