How to Filter a Vuvuzela

The vuvuzela became notorious during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Many viewers of the games' broadcasts found that the loud buzzing of these plastic horns overwhelmed the commentary and crowd noise. Fortunately, you can filter out the sound of the vuvuzelas using software on your computer. If you're watching the game on an Internet stream, just launch the software; if you're watching a television broadcast, connect your television set's "Audio Out" jack to your soundcard's "Line In" jack using an RCA-to-miniplug cable, then launch the program.

Instructions

    • 1

      Download and install the Devuvuzelator application from Stardock.com. Devuvuzelator filters out the sound of the vuvuzela in real time. Launch Devuvuzelator, check the box next to "Enable Filter," then select the filtering strength that you want to use from the "Strength" drop-down menu. The stronger the strength you select, the more vuvuzela sound the application will remove; however, it may also remove portions of the commentary or other audio. Devuvuzelator is free to download and use and runs on Windows XP and higher.

    • 2

      Use Prosoniq's free VuvuX Audio Unit plug-in to filter out the sound of the vuvuzela on a Mac. VuvuX analyzes the audio stream coming into your computer, differentiates between the sound of the vuvuzela and the commentary and crowd noise sounds, then automatically filters out the vuvuzela, leaving the rest intact. Turn the "Gain" knobs up to increase the filter effect. As VuvuX is based on the AU plug-in standard, you'll need to run it in a AU-compatible host program that supports real-time processing, such as Audio Hijack Pro.

    • 3

      Remove the vuvuzela sound from a broadcast using the National Instruments Vuvuzela Filter, which is available for both Mac and Windows. Vuvuzela Filter not only removes the main frequencies of the vuvuzela, but filters out the horn's harmonics as well. Launch Vuvuzela Filter, then specify the number of harmonics that you want to remove. Set the width of the filter notches, then click "Filter On" to filter out the vuvuzela.