How do I normalize audio for Music Videos
#1
I am using Frodo.

I have searched the forums and can't find a good answer although I did see an old unanswered request on the same subject.

Since that request, it looks like replaygain has been added to xbmc and for music that works. One has to edit their MP3 files and MP3 gain seems to be the software of choice for doing that.

However, it doesn't work for video files like music videos.

I did find a product called MP4gain that claims it can adjust video including FLV, MP4 etc. It has a price; it is new; it claims to be the logical replacement for MP3Gain. I don't mind the price if it works. Does anyone have any experience. I am particularly concerned about video quality loss. I could live with a small amount of audio quality loss.

I checked my amplifier to see if there was a solution there. I have a Yamaha RX-V671. I didn't see anything that would work.

Some of my music videos blow me out of my seat when they fire up. Hopefully, someone has a solution.
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#2
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#3
Looks like you can get a free trial of MP4Gain

http://www.thewebernets.com/2013/04/21/n...h-mp4gain/

You could explore other video editing tools, I would think some would be able to manipulate the gain on the audio track. One comment on the link says
"I use ddvideo video to mp4gain to normalize my video and audio files.usually i set 90db.it works great for me."
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#4
(2013-09-20, 17:23)whitebelly Wrote: Looks like you can get a free trial of MP4Gain

...You could explore other video editing tools, I would think some would be able to manipulate the gain on the audio track. One comment on the link says

Done. I am doing some experimenting with both and will report back. I would be curious what anyone else is doing.

Thnx.
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#5
Reporting back. There are two products. I bought and tried them both. Both products will work with most any file type XBMC uses. There are also some ancillary products that might be useful. MV= Music Video for this post.

DDVideo to MP4 Gain

This product works and is $26. Select a video and it will tell you the current dB level. Set the level for what you want and the dB level will be whatever you specified.

You get an unlock code upon purchase. Until then you can only download half a MV. I bought a new computer and reloaded the software. The same unlock code worked with no issues.

Customer service was good. I had a lot of early questions and got quick answers. You won’t need a lot of customer service for these products. They are pretty easy to use.

This product will convert M4V files (iTunes) and that is important. There are few MV vendors. So it is likely a lot of XBMCers will end up with M4V files. However, you have to select “all files” when adding an M4V – not “media files”.

MP4Gain

This product works and is $40. It doesn’t tell you what the dB level is. The interface is easy but doesn’t provide a lot of info. After conversion the file will generally be somewhere between 95 dB and 100 dB. Most of my files were converted with this product and I don’t have a need to adjust volume between videos.

You get an unlock code after purchase by email. It seems to be good one time only. If you buy a new computer, you have to ask for a new unlock code. I am told this is free. I have asked for one but not received it yet. I will follow up in a final post. [edit - I did receive a new username and new sign on code].

This product will convert M4V files but their customer service doesn’t know that. I mentioned it to them. If you just type in the name of the file with the M4V extension, the conversion will error out. However, if you change the extension from M4V to MP4 and then run the conversion, the file will be good.

I ran test using the same file from both products. Generally, I liked the MP4Gain better. But the other product was fine.

Ancillary products

I might as well mention a few other products that do other things.

Avidemux is good for cutting MP4 MVs. The best quality MVs are often cut from the middle of a HD Movie. Avidemux works great if the movie is an MP4.

You can change an MKV movie to an MP4 if needed using rebox.net. If you want to cut an AVI, use VirtualDub.

Getting good quality videos is a challenge. Just because you buy it from iTunes doesn’t mean the quality is good. And often the video isn’t on iTunes. You can capture a streaming video with Freemake Video Downloader. And it clearly labels the quality of the video file so you can grab the best quality. Careful – freeware often comes bundled with nuisance-ware so always choose custom install; then you can decline all the toolbars and other offers that come with the freeware.

To all of those building a music library, I hope this helps. Good luck.
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#6
What I have done is use Audacity with ffmpeg plug-in. Audacity will extract the audio and there is a replaygain filter within the program (IIRC requires a separate download) which will use the replaygain algorithm to determine the "average" perceptual volume and then normalize to 89 db or other level as set as an option (this is not the same filter as the normalize filter). I then export as aac/m4a and I have simple script which muxes the normalized m4a back into the original video. More steps but the price is right. I have all the music videos in mp4 format, typically AVC/AAC encoded. I don't know but assume a variation of this workflow would work with other formats, as long as ffmpeg can read it.

scott s.
.
maintainer of skin  Aeon MQ5 mods for post-Gotham Kodi releases:
Matrix see: Aeon MQ5 Mod Matrix release thread
Nexus see: Aeon MQ5 Mod Nexus release thread
Aeon MQ 5 skin and addon repo 11.1.0
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#7
Do these solutions re-encode the audio or do they tag the files with ReplayGain values? Does XBMC even support ReplayGain for videos?
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#8
I use MP3Gain - free and functional
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#9
(2013-11-18, 08:40)danotime Wrote: I use MP3Gain - free and functional

MP3Gain works for music videos? How does it work on say a MP4 or FLV file?
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#10
(2013-11-17, 02:37)sialivi Wrote: Do these solutions re-encode the audio or do they tag the files with ReplayGain values? Does XBMC even support ReplayGain for videos?

AFAIK, there is no support in XBMC for MP4 tags (or other video file containers) nor replaygain in video files. There might be solutions for some audio encodings that can adjust levels without full encode, but in my case for AAC all I could do is re-encode.

scott s.
.
maintainer of skin  Aeon MQ5 mods for post-Gotham Kodi releases:
Matrix see: Aeon MQ5 Mod Matrix release thread
Nexus see: Aeon MQ5 Mod Nexus release thread
Aeon MQ 5 skin and addon repo 11.1.0
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#11
The way I do it is long and drawn out, but I've been doing it for over a decade. I first convert or capture the video and then use wave files and sync them to videos, adjusting the gain as needed, then mux in which container is required.
Please read the online manual (wiki) & FAQ (wiki) before posting.

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#12
I use DDVideo Video to MP4Gain,It works great for me. Only $25.95.economical and practical.Their customer service is very good.
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#13
(2014-04-15, 02:59)richarder Wrote: I use DDVideo Video to MP4Gain,It works great for me. Only $25.95.economical and practical.Their customer service is very good.

Good to know. I am interested in what others are doing. My music videos have turned out to be one of my favorite things.
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#14
I wonder if there is any plan for xbmc/kodi to recognize tags on MP4 files. For music & videos I use Foobar to add the ReplayGain tag, which works great for music, but the tag is ignored for MP4's.
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