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Simulating digital video corruption


Nick S

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I'm trying to simulate digital video corruption, much like the kind you get in a dodgy freeview reception area. If anyone knows of any tricks, plug ins (I'm a FCP / Aftereffects user), or the like I'd be grateful. Ideally I'd like to do both audio and video, so I'm guessing I could actually corrupt the video and record the output, but I don't know how I'd go getting the corruption in the first place...

 

Cheers!

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Export from AE with a low bit rate MPEG codec. to generate a "corrupt" version.

 

I tried that, but I'm really looking for the kind of digital mangling you get from a badly transmitted signal of a reasonable quality stream, if that makes any sense. I'll try streaming from a high quality MPG and minimise the bandwidth, see what happends. Cheers.

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I've just played a little - adding a combination of mosaic and chopped up still frames looks quite realistic. Take a sequence, copy it twice, line them up on the timeline on separate tracks - treat one to mosaic, chop up one into sections and still each one, then make a random new sequence out bits of each track. Quicker to do, than explain.
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Er, I had a response typed up but then had second thoughts. When you say "simulate" are you talking about just getting the visual effect, or do you actually want a sub-standard digital stream for testing components?

 

I'm watching Freeview through a not-so-good antenna right now (don't ask) and the most limited effects are extreme blocking on the picture (not just pixellation but lines of blocks in "wrong" colours). The next stage is a fraction of a second of freeze frame, followed by a flash of black screen, followed by a good picture again. The audible effects range from "splats" on the audio, up to complete loss of audio...and the sound returns a fraction of a second after the pics.

 

If my first instinct was right, I have some thoughts on degrading a digital signal too...just install my present setup!

 

Bob

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  • 3 weeks later...
Export the clean footage from FCP onto a cheap miniDV tape (or any other form of digital tape for that matter), open up the tape protecter casing and run your finger along the tape. This should do the trick very well! You may have to put some dust or something similar on your finger to get a good distortion, then re-capture the footare. Just remember to clean the heads after you have finished re-capturing. There is nothing better than the real thing!
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As a professional picture editor I would abhor the idea of deliberately putting dust into the machine. It gets there by itself enough times, and if you damage the tape the chance aare it wont run anyway! Do you not have access to proper editing. I am sure that Avid type editing has that type of distortion, and presumably other editing software does too. Failing that some where we have "old film" effects that mix with the picture. I used it when editing the inserts for Mack and Mabel a few years ago.
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