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Methods Used in Restoring OTR |
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When audiophiles wanted to
put their prized LP collections onto CD, there were plenty of software
programs which allowed for such things - they had buttons to "Reduce
Hiss", "Remove Pops & Crackles" etc. Anyone that used these (one
button fixes all) techniques were almost always disappointed - the reason
being that such techniques removed a lot more than hiss, pops & crackles
- they took out vital elements of the music - as such the CD thus formed was
lacking in "depth" & "richness" (for want of better
words). About 18 months ago
high-end software started to appear which didn't have such buttons. They
relied on the user to determine what they wanted to do - slide controls often
numbering in the 100s became available & were the norm - for this new
breed of software, the very latest high speed computers were needed to enable
such things to occur (in reasonable time). From the point of view of OTR,
these programs allowed the user to magnifying (incredibly) the individual words
& conversations and to isolate noise which may be in evidence during a
dramatic pause - note that noise which exists between sentences given by the
one person sequentially also includes that person drawing breath - as such
isolation of the former rather than the latter noise is the way forward. A
slide control can then be used to "reduce" said noise - when an
acceptable level is reached, such reduction can then be
applied across the entire program with startling results. Slow but very effective and
in experienced hands a plethora of other steps are also available which can
dramatically improve the audio quality of the original without compromising
"depth" & "richness" (just like they do on CSI). |