This is amazing stuff! I'm hoping Patrick Feaster is on-list for this discussion.

Question -- is there an algorhythm to remove the modulation noise behind the voice? It seems to be
repeated modulation, just like if a disk were played and the groove was "listing" to one side, sort
of a woosh-woosh-woosh. Because it's a relatively uniform modulation, I'm wondering if it can be
"zero'd out" to improve voice audibility?

In any case, very impressive indeed! For the record collector, does this preview a time when we can
put our scratched or poorly pressed records on a scanner, grab an image and then use software to
"play" the groove and correct things like rough material in the groove (what I call "grit
distortion"), overcut grooves (usually heard as fuzz distortion), bad scratches (requiring software
to "guess and repair" the damaged groove walls) and pressed-in "pimples" (again requiring "guess and
repair")?

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message -----
From: "Casey, Michael T" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 5:39 PM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] audio from pictures


For those of you following Patrick Feaster's work on the earliest sound recordings, you might be
interested in his recovery of the voice of Emile Berliner from a picture in a periodical.

There is a news release from Indiana University here
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/22508.html

A summary version on our blog with an audio clip
http://mediapreservation.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/extracting-audio-from-pictures-summary/

Patrick's description of this project
http://mediapreservation.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/extracting-audio-from-pictures/


Mike

------------
Mike Casey
Director of Media Preservation Services
Media Preservation Initiative
Indiana University Bloomington

(812)855-8090

http://www.indiana.edu/~medpres/
http://mediapreservation.wordpress.com/