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Quick Start Guide — Catalyst

This guide is for Neat Video v4 plug-in for Catalyst being used with Catalyst 2016.

If you use another Neat Video plug-in or another editing application, please select the corresponding quick start guide.

1. Installing the plug-in

To install the Neat Video plug-in for Catalyst:

  1. Make sure you have started Catalyst at least once before installing the plug-in. If you have not done that yet, start Catalyst and exit it.
     
  2. Download the installer of Neat Video for Catalyst:
  • if you already purchased the product and have a current license for the Home or Pro plug-in, please download the corresponding Home or Pro plug-in from My Products page
  • If you want to try Neat Video before purchase, please download the Demo plug-in from Download page
  1. Start the installer:

For Windows:

Double-click the downloaded EXE file to start the installer

For Mac OS X:

a. Double-click the downloaded DMG file to mount the volume
b. In the mounted volume, double-click NeatVideoCT.Intel.pkg to start the installer
    (you may be prompted to enter the Name / Password of the OSX administrator account)

  1. Proceed through the steps of the installation process. Use the default settings offered by the installer.
     
  2. Start Catalyst and find Reduce Noise v4 in the Plug-ins list (in the main Plug-ins section listing all available video effects).

In case the plug-in has not become available in Catalyst, please contact Neat Video support for assistance.

2. Running Neat Video on a sample video clip

Please download the test-kit prepared to help you start using Neat Video. Having downloaded, please unzip it to a new folder on the hard disk.

The test-kit includes a sample video clip: SampleClip.mp4. This is a typical video clip captured by a digital video camera in high-gain mode. Some technical information about the sample clip is available in the SampleClipInfo.txt file.

Please start Catalyst and go through the steps below to clean the clip using Neat Video.

2.1. Add the sample clip to the project

1. Create a new project in Catalyst  

Use the Project > New popup menu to create a project:




 

2. Add the sample clip file to the project

Use the Media Browser button in Catalyst to import the SampleClip.mp4 file into the project. Then drag-n-drop the clip into the Timeline window:




 

The Catalyst preview window will display the sample clip and you will see that there is strong noise in it. The task of Neat Video is to reduce this noise.



 

2.2. Add Neat Video effect to video clip

  1. Click the Plug-ins button to open the list of available video effects.
  2. Select Neat Video > Reduce Noise v4 in the list of video effects and drag-n-drop it to the clip in the Timeline:




 

Catalyst will add the Reduce Noise v4 effect to the Video Effects panel, which will list the available controls of the effect:




 

2.3. Configure Neat Video

1. Open Neat Video plug-in window
  1. Use the Timeline controls to select a frame with large flat featureless areas; the selected frame will be used for noise analysis in the next stages.
  2. In the Video Effects panel, unfold the drop-down menu inside Reduce Noise v4 and click the Prepare Noise Profile button.
    This will open the main window of Neat Video plug-in and display the current frame from the clip.
    (If you run the Demo plug-in, click OK in the popup splash screen of the plug-in to proceed further)



 

  1. At this point Neat Video will ask to specify the scan type of the clip. Please select Progressive.



 

2. Build a noise profile for the clip

To reduce noise in this frame and in the whole clip, Neat Video generally needs a noise profile describing the noise properties of the clip. You can prepare such a profile using the Auto Profile function:

  1. In the Device Noise Profile tab      click  

Neat Video will then automatically analyze the noise to build a new noise profile:

  1. Visually inspect the selected area — it should contain no visible details, only noise; otherwise the noise profile and subsequent noise reduction may be inaccurate.

If the selected area does contain any details, move the selection to a featureless area or simply draw a new selection in such an area (the selection must be at least 32x32 pixels large). Then click the Auto Profile button again.

  1. After that Neat Video is ready to filter the clip.

     
3. Check Preview
  • Switch to the Noise Filter Settings tab 

You will notice that Neat Video has already applied noise reduction based on the default filter settings and the preview shows a clearly visible difference: there is less noise than in the original frame.

You can try to adjust the filter settings and see how that affects the results. For example, try to adjust the Temporal Filter > Radius setting (in the Temporal tab in the Filter Settings box in the right part of the window) from 2 to 1 or to a higher value. This will apply weaker or stronger temporal noise reduction to the frame.




 

4. Apply the changes
 
  • Click     in the bottom of the plug-in window.

Neat Video will save the current settings and close its main window.
(If you run the Demo plug-in, it will also describe the limitations of the Demo version at this point).

Once this step is completed and Neat Video window is closed, the filter is ready for work.

The Catalyst's preview now shows the clip with noise reduction applied to it:




 

2.4. Render the video

To apply Neat Video noise reduction
  • Use the Project > Render… popup menu item in Catalyst.

This will automatically apply Neat Video noise reduction to the sample clip and save the result to a new video file on the hard drive. You will then be able to open this new file, evaluate the filtration results and adjust the filter settings if necessary.

Please see the User Guide document for more details about adjusting the filter settings and other aspects of using Neat Video. These Video Tutorials will also help you to get the most out of Neat Video noise reduction.