MLV App 1.14 - All in one MLV Video Post Processing App [Windows, Mac and Linux]

[IDA_ML]

Masc,

You say that the Dual ISO algorithm runs single threaded and needs much CPU power.  Isn't it possible to make it run multi threaded?  This would be a game changer for this fantastic feature.

[masc]

For that someone must completely understand this algotithm. I tried to multithread it just by analysing the code and failed several times very hard. It was fast then, but the result very wrong.

[theBilalFakhouri]

@IDA_ML

Old versions of MLVApp used to support multithreaded Dual-ISO processing, however in later versions it was disabled due to some artifacts happening in some frames when the multi-threaded code is enabled.

e.g: MLVApp v1.1 has multithreaded Dual ISO processing, quick test on my machine:

A Dual ISO MLV clip which has 265 frames (1736x976 14-bit uncompressed, exported to C-DNG uncompressed) took:

-58 seconds to process using MLVApp v1.1
- and 2:22 minuets using MLVApp v1.13

That's because MLVApp v1.1 is utilizing more threads.

[IDA_ML]

Ha, that's very interesting, Bilal, thanks for the tip.  Haven't paid attention to that before since I haven't used Dual ISO much in the past.  But now that I have played around with Dual ISO quite a lot and am aware of the fact that it can greatly improve dynamic range and image quality in low-light high-contrast scenes in real life filming situations, I have to retry Dual ISO on one of the older versions of MLVApp.  Hopefully, I will not end up with some ugly artefacts.  One nice feature of v. 1.13 is that I am quite satisfied with the image quality of Dual ISO files, especially in the 1736x2928 full sensor width resolution that provides enough vertical resolution for Dual ISO.  Even occasional flickering does not seem to be that big of a problem.  In my experience, Dual ISO is a real life saver in many real world low-light scenarios, especially for cameras such as the EOS-M, 650D and 700D that do not shine with good low-light performance.

Masc,

It would be very interesting to compare image quality and render times of your Elgersburg workflow (high ISO, Darkframe subtraction, RBF noise reduction, etc.) to Dual ISO 200/1600 or 400/3200 or even 1600/6400.  If you have performed such comparative tests, could you please share a few thoughts on that?   

[masc]

is there a file rename function that i dont see in mlvapp? if there isnt one, is it possible to add one?
i load all my footage to the session so i can see the content of the individual files only to change the ml standard filenames (Mxx-xxx.MLV) to filenames so i can directly identify the footage.
but for that i have to go to file explorer and before renaming close mlvapp because it locks the file or jump in the mlvapp instance to the next file. jumping files is sometimes confusing.
then i load mlvapp again with the renamed files and export the footage.

so a right click menu for file renaming in session view would be perfect solution

or does someone have a workaround for me?

I added this feature to MLVApp. Please test. On macOS it seems to work fine. On Windows I am not very sure about that... (have no Windows here).

[masc]

Masc,

It would be very interesting to compare image quality and render times of your Elgersburg workflow (high ISO, Darkframe subtraction, RBF noise reduction, etc.) to Dual ISO 200/1600 or 400/3200 or even 1600/6400.  If you have performed such comparative tests, could you please share a few thoughts on that?

No, I did not do such tests. I almost never use dualiso. But I expect render times for dualiso to be much longer compared to darkframe+RBF.

Edit: Tested for you:
-> 6sec of 5.7K dualiso 400/3200 to ProRes4444 -> 5:10min
-> 6sec of 5.7K + Darkframe + RBF luma&chroma to ProRes4444 -> 1:33min
-> 6sec of 5.7K default settings to ProRes4444 -> 1:31min
M1 is warm now.

[IDA_ML]

Thanks a lot, Masc.  These are quite impressive render times, indeed.  If you have not deleted the test files yet, could you take a look at 100% magnification?  Is the image quality for Dual ISO much worse compared to the Elgersburg workflow?

[masc]

The Elgersburg clip (some frames of it - ISO1600) still exists. You can have a look yourself (my receipt included):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p2j112gyph5ywzu/ElgersburgBHF.zip?dl=0

For a nice dualiso clip you might have better clips then I have.

Edit: There is a bug in the receipt: switch darkframe to "Int" manually after loading.
Edit2: Fixed.

[IDA_ML]

Thank you again, Masc.  I have downloaded your clip and will take a look.

Here is a Dual ISO clip that I have shot on the 700D:

https://we.tl/t-psETTga5hW

A sample .MLV is also enclosed.  I have downsized the clip to 2560x1440 resolution since the 5,2K file does not play smoothly on my PC.

[ML700D]

Thank you again, Masc.  I have downloaded your clip and will take a look.

Here is a Dual ISO clip that I have shot on the 700D:

https://we.tl/t-psETTga5hW

A sample .MLV is also enclosed.  I have downsized the clip to 2560x1440 resolution since the 5,2K file does not play smoothly on my PC.

nice.. I always get very dark image when using 100/800 with f/4 😊

[IDA_ML]

nice.. I always get very dark image when using 100/800 with f/4

ML700D,

You need to learn how to expose to the right (ETTR) properly, also with Dual ISO!  In this particular shot I increased the exposure until zebras started appearing on the window of the store on the left.  Then I dialed it down by 1/3 of a stop and started recording.  I could have used F2.8 but in that case, zebras started showing up on the brightest areas, that is why I had to dial the aperture down to F4. 

If the light is not enough, you can try playing around with the Dual ISO numbers until the camera allows you to perform the above procedure.  Instead of 100/800, use 200/1600 or 100/1600 or even 400/3200, etc.   Just make sure you do not blow up the brightest areas since this really looks ugly.  Sometimes, the scene gets even too bright to look natural.  As I said, before asking questions, practice, practice, practice until you like what you see and after analyzing the results on your computer you will very quickly get the feeling for it.  Nobody else is going to do that for you!  MLVApp is such a wonderful tool in giving you all the metadata of your shots.  Why don't you just write down on a piece of paper the settings that work best for you and use them as a starting point in your future shots?  After some practice you will be able to tell if your exposure is right just by looking at the image on your camera screen.

And most importantly, just don't expect miracles!  They don't happen, even with the most expensive cameras.  But if you get things right you can produce some very beautiful high image quality shots even with such low-end cameras as the EOS-M or the 700D.  I always admire Zeek's work.  All his videos are technically close to perfection simply because he has learned how to squeeze the very last bit of image quality out of his EOS-M.  Just watch them all, you will have a lot of fun and learn a lot!

[ML700D]

I see, I just feel a bit jealous ha.ha. 😄

[ML700D]

using masc method still got good result in very low light condition I think, plus a bit detail in the shadow that I couldn't see in actual condition.

this video recorded only use ambient light that goes trough the window at iso 3200 f/1.8 50mm, crop_rec 1x3 4K.
Edited in MLVapp using Dark Frames + RBF Denoiser export to h.265 4:4:4 2560x1280

[ML700D]

masc,
in windows version there is no reinhard tonemapping function like yours

[masc]

The profile section got a big update a year ago - the tutorial is older. But you can get identical results. Reinhard is auto selected in background if you choose preset "Tonemapped" now. And with "Film" you select 3/5 Reinhard. (my new favorit)

[ML700D]

oh.. I see, thanks.

[lil4ml]

I added this feature to MLVApp. Please test. On macOS it seems to work fine. On Windows I am not very sure about that... (have no Windows here).

thanks masc
now need to learn how to compile with this ide 
unless there is someone who could make a new version
op is not active anymore?

[masc]

@lil4ml: what OS do you use?
I could send macOS versions (M1 or Intel). On Windows I found out, that it doesn't work as expected... Here it becomes way more complicated (as usual). What do you mean with "op"?

[ML700D]

Reinhard Tonemapped Iso 100 f/4.0 50mm, crop_rec 1x3 4K
I think 50mm fix lens has limitation in certain situtation, better in close up.

[lil4ml]

@lil4ml: what OS do you use?
I could send macOS versions (M1 or Intel). On Windows I found out, that it doesn't work as expected... Here it becomes way more complicated (as usual). What do you mean with "op"?

i use win10 64bit

by op i meant original poster and i assumed that ilia3101 did the last builds for all the os...but later i saw that the last builds were made by you masc. sorry for the confusion

bummer that windows behaves different with the renaming function. still doable?

going to try to set up the qt ide
is this still the way to go?

Qt App Windows
install Qt5 (Win32: minimum 5.6, Win64: minimum 5.13.2) with MinGW32/64 compiler
unpack ffmpegWin.zip in platform/qt/FFmpeg (and copy it later into build directory)
open platform/qt/MLVApp.pro in QtCreator
Build and Start

my workstation is offline only. the last offline qt setup ver. is 5.13.2. so win64 compiling should be possible.

[masc]

@ lil4ml: Seems I got it working now also for windows. But would be cool, if you could test on your side. If you have a Qt 5.13.2 mingw64 installed, compiling is very easy. Just load the .pro into QtCreator, select "Release" and hit compile button.

[bouncyball]

Hi guys!

I can confirm windows version works and linux version too.
Great job @masc! (as usual)

Here is latest static 64bit windows build if anyone needs it but can't compile. Just unpack and put the binary to mlvapp folder.

regards
bb

[dream951]

@IDA_ML

Old versions of MLVApp used to support multithreaded Dual-ISO processing, however in later versions it was disabled due to some artifacts happening in some frames when the multi-threaded code is enabled.

e.g: MLVApp v1.1 has multithreaded Dual ISO processing, quick test on my machine:

A Dual ISO MLV clip which has 265 frames (1736x976 14-bit uncompressed, exported to C-DNG uncompressed) took:

-58 seconds to process using MLVApp v1.1
- and 2:22 minuets using MLVApp v1.13

That's because MLVApp v1.1 is utilizing more threads.

It doesn't give any performance for me. Render time is the same

[dream951]

using masc method still got good result in very low light condition I think, plus a bit detail in the shadow that I couldn't see in actual condition.

this video recorded only use ambient light that goes trough the window at iso 3200 f/1.8 50mm, crop_rec 1x3 4K.
Edited in MLVapp using Dark Frames + RBF Denoiser export to h.265 4:4:4 2560x1280

Hi
What's the masc method? Can you tell me in two words?
And what is the dark frames? Like in a astrophoto, denoising frames, right?
Just sorry for my english

[ML700D]

Hi
What's the masc method? Can you tell me in two words?
And what is the dark frames? Like in a astrophoto, denoising frames, right?
Just sorry for my english

RBF denoiser from MLVapp
yes, dark frames like denoising frames. you can read here from masc

MLVApp offers to reduce the static noise from your clips using dark frames. https://github.com/ilia3101/MLV-App/wiki#darkframe-subtraction

and YT compression if you upload to youtube

Have you tried uploading the same video to youtube but without denoiser? It will be interesting to compare. I found that youtube heavy compression algorithm acts like a denoiser to some extent