Yesterday, we published Mel Martin’s excellent review of VideoSoap, a new iOS app that repairs many audio problems often encountered with iPhone video – unwanted background noises, hiss, low volume, and clipping. Most of the feedback we got from the review asked for before and after video to help justify the price. Click past the jump for A/B video samples and my thoughts on VideoSoap.
VideoSoap Sample Videos
Check out the two videos below for A/B comparisons. The first video was shot in a pretty loud setting (if you’ve ever been to a Farrell’s, you know what I mean). The second video demonstrates VideoSoap’s volume enhancing capabilities. It’s doing more than just turning up the volume — that would add hiss to the audio. It’s making the audio louder.
Results are not always perfect. My ear could pick up some audible artifacts the greater the settings. Still, with minimal time and tinkering, I was able to get audio that I felt was louder, better balanced, and more listenable than the original.
VideoSoap shares the same DNA as SoundSoap 4, which runs about $80 for the desktop version in the Mac App Store. I could find other Mac audio apps and plugins that could easily or with minor fuss make many of the fixes that these apps do, but generally most of those were more expensive and geared towards studio users.
Usually, I’ll skip over a $25 photo app, but apps like VideoSoap can command a premium like this for being able to rescue the audio in irreplaceable videos of once-in-a-lifetime moments or a poorly-shot video of a long-gone family member. It’s like recovering data off of a hosed hard drive. Yes. $25 for an app may seem pricey at first, but I’d ask myself how much are those moments worth to me?
I’ve got a ton of video of my dad that’s been shot in similar or worse circumstances. I was excited when Mel pitched his review to me and I gladly plunked down the $25 for this app.
On Twitter, LoFi reader @goodnewsbitches summed it up well… “Too costly for an impulse purchase, but good to know it’s there”.
App Store link: VideoSoap – Soundness
=M=
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