Noise Reduction
Definition
Any processing technique applied to reduce unwanted noise in an audio signal. Includes broadband de-noising, hum removal, click removal, and spectral repair. Widely used in dialogue editing, archival restoration, and location recording cleanup.
In Simple Terms
Any process that reduces unwanted noise in a recording — hum, hiss, room sound, or other artifacts. Modern tools are remarkably good, but push them too hard and your audio starts sounding metallic and artificial.
In Practice
A spectral noise reduction plugin is applied to a podcast recording to remove HVAC hum and broadband room noise captured during recording, improving intelligibility before the episode is published.