RX4 Batch process

[Reckless Erik]

Not sure I understand you Mattias. Am I missing how RX works? How can the preset be the same size as the audio file you are processing? If, for example, I was using the spectral repair module to attenuate 3 narrow frequency bands and wanted to have that attenuation applied to other files as well, it seems that the frequencies I wish to be affected are not saved with the preset I create. Perhaps I am missing a step somewhere. I notice that there are some factory presets that list a centre frequency in their name but I don't see a selection in the spectral repair window (at that frequency) when the preset is applied to the file under process. It would be nice if RX guru Mike Thornton could spare a few words of wisdom here.

[Farhoof]

Removing freezer or equipment hums is actually fairly easy to do with the audiosuite denoise, but you'll need RX4 Advanced for it.

Specific steps and settings:
- Use the audiosuite RX4 denoise, not the standalone application.
- Get the noise profile (room tone with the hum present).
- Unlink the Noisy/Tonal reduction sliders.
- Set Noisy to 0dB reduction. Set Tonal to 40dB reduction (maximum).
- Set quality to D.
- On advanced settings (this is where you need RX4 Advanced), set the whitening to 0dB. This bit is very important, when whitening is set to default 5.0 your noise profile is smeared out, sort of speak. Set enhancement to 0 as well. (I have smoothing usually at 10 at any time).
- You'll notice the reduction curve not actually doing anything besides a few peaks. Those should be the hum frequencies. The background room tone is not affected (noisy slider set to 0) so you won't kill all life present in the scene. This doesn't work in the regular RX4 where the whitening slider is removed and always works at the default (since RX3, it worked in RX2).
- Remove focus from the audiosuite window, set to 'create individual files' and 'clip by clip', choose a handle length of your liking and keep this window open during editing. This way you can batch process an entire scene removing specific hums, without affecting the background noise or hearing any expansion, while keeping handle lengths. When a new hum arises, only load a new profile and you are good to go.

I use this all the time when editing dialogue and works a lot faster and even better on hums/equipment noise compared to spectral repair.

- Bonus : Sometimes I use a low frequency rolloff (with some smoothing) with the reduction curve, to get some low rumble out of the way. You can just checkmark it on or off to use it without changing its settings.

[Reckless Erik]

Wow. Thank you for pointing this one out Farhoof. I will give it a go.

[Mattiasnyc]

Originally Posted by Reckless Erik

Not sure I understand you Mattias. Am I missing how RX works? How can the preset be the same size as the audio file you are processing? If, for example, I was using the spectral repair module to attenuate 3 narrow frequency bands and wanted to have that attenuation applied to other files as well, it seems that the frequencies I wish to be affected are not saved with the preset I create. Perhaps I am missing a step somewhere. I notice that there are some factory presets that list a centre frequency in their name but I don't see a selection in the spectral repair window (at that frequency) when the preset is applied to the file under process. It would be nice if RX guru Mike Thornton could spare a few words of wisdom here.

I think I may have misunderstood you. When you wrote your post you said "the spectra frequencies that were selected", and I took that to mean that the content in that window, not just your selection of them and how they were to be processed, would be saved - i.e. the entire file.

But look at it differently:

The spectral repair module contains three parameters in one "window"; frequency, time, amplitude. That's what makes it different from an eq for example. The issue here is "time", since a selection you make exists in that loaded file in a specific slice of time. If you save your "treatment" of 2 seconds of a 4 second piece of audio, the next loaded audio file might be 8 seconds - so where will that "treatment" go?

So if you're using a "selection range" that covers the entire timeline from left to right (i.e. horizontal) then it'd make sense to save that, but since most of the others won't make sense to save (i.e. freehand selection or vertical selection) I'm betting iZotope just skipped it completely.

See what I'm getting at?

[Mattiasnyc]

Originally Posted by Farhoof

- On advanced settings (this is where you need RX4 Advanced), set the whitening to 0dB. This bit is very important, when whitening is set to default 5.0 your noise profile is smeared out, sort of speak. Set enhancement to 0 as well. (I have smoothing usually at 10 at any time).
- You'll notice the reduction curve not actually doing anything besides a few peaks. Those should be the hum frequencies. The background room tone is not affected (noisy slider set to 0) so you won't kill all life present in the scene. This doesn't work in the regular RX4 where the whitening slider is removed and always works at the default (since RX3, it worked in RX2).

Very good info. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Farhoof

I use this all the time when editing dialogue and works a lot faster and even better on hums/equipment noise compared to spectral repair.

- Bonus : Sometimes I use a low frequency rolloff (with some smoothing) with the reduction curve, to get some low rumble out of the way. You can just checkmark it on or off to use it without changing its settings.

Agreed.

[Reckless Erik]

So if you're using a "selection range" that covers the entire timeline from left to right (i.e. horizontal) then it'd make sense to save that, but since most of the others won't make sense to save (i.e. freehand selection or vertical selection) I'm betting iZotope just skipped it completely.

Indeed Mattias. It's those horizontal frequency selections that I want saved. They are not time specific.

Farhoof. Tried out your suggestions on a piece of dialog that contained the hums/tones I mentioned earlier. Worked very well indeed. Thank you for that

[simon.a.billington]

Originally Posted by Mattiasnyc

On the other hand, if it saved the frequencies wouldn't that effectively make each preset the size of the corresponding audio file + process data? I mean, if I understand you it'd be akin to an off-line compressor plugin saving the underlying audio file along with the compressor settings.

I would personally not expect that behavior nor would I want it.

Saving frequency selections for batch would work if you found you and to move a lot of mains hum from your audio for whatever reason. The same could be said for on-cam mics as well.

So there is an instance where that would work

[simon.a.billington]

Originally Posted by Farhoof

Removing freezer or equipment hums is actually fairly easy to do with the audiosuite denoise, but you'll need RX4 Advanced for it.

Specific steps and settings:
- Use the audiosuite RX4 denoise, not the standalone application.
- Get the noise profile (room tone with the hum present).
- Unlink the Noisy/Tonal reduction sliders.
- Set Noisy to 0dB reduction. Set Tonal to 40dB reduction (maximum).
- Set quality to D.
- On advanced settings (this is where you need RX4 Advanced), set the whitening to 0dB. This bit is very important, when whitening is set to default 5.0 your noise profile is smeared out, sort of speak. Set enhancement to 0 as well. (I have smoothing usually at 10 at any time).
- You'll notice the reduction curve not actually doing anything besides a few peaks. Those should be the hum frequencies. The background room tone is not affected (noisy slider set to 0) so you won't kill all life present in the scene. This doesn't work in the regular RX4 where the whitening slider is removed and always works at the default (since RX3, it worked in RX2).
- Remove focus from the audiosuite window, set to 'create individual files' and 'clip by clip', choose a handle length of your liking and keep this window open during editing. This way you can batch process an entire scene removing specific hums, without affecting the background noise or hearing any expansion, while keeping handle lengths. When a new hum arises, only load a new profile and you are good to go.

I use this all the time when editing dialogue and works a lot faster and even better on hums/equipment noise compared to spectral repair.

- Bonus : Sometimes I use a low frequency rolloff (with some smoothing) with the reduction curve, to get some low rumble out of the way. You can just checkmark it on or off to use it without changing its settings.

Wow never thought of using it that way!!... I think I just learned something

[bergj00]

Sorry for reviving an old thread...I'm just wondering if anyone has had any further experience with this? We are trying to use the batch process mode to remove frequency specific noise in numerous tracks. Currently, we are only able to process the entire clip. Has anyone had any luck with keeping a selection highlighted during a batch process?

[Reckless Erik]

I have to admit I haven't tried since the original disappointing failure.