Virtualdub: NTSC-J to NTSC

[Foxhack]

Hello. I'm hoping people here can help me with this.

I'm capturing some video from a Japanese Playstation 2 game using my set-top Lite-On LVC-9016G DVD recorder. Now, the game was captured just fine, but the problem is that the game's output is programmed for NTSC-J mode... so captures end up looking darker than they should. Sources such as Wikipedia claim that Japanese TVs have an IRE of 0, while NTSC TVs have an IRE of 7.5. I have no idea what the hell is IRE supposed to mean, of course.

I'm trying to figure out what settings to use in VirtualDub to be able to properly boost the black / brightness level to NTSC standards. But short of just guessing, I have no clue what to do.

Can someone help me out? If you need something, like screenshots, please say so.

[edDV]

Hello. I'm hoping people here can help me with this.

I'm capturing some video from a Japanese Playstation 2 game using my set-top Lite-On LVC-9016G DVD recorder. Now, the game was captured just fine, but the problem is that the game's output is programmed for NTSC-J mode... so captures end up looking darker than they should. Sources such as Wikipedia claim that Japanese TVs have an IRE of 0, while NTSC TVs have an IRE of 7.5. I have no idea what the hell is IRE supposed to mean, of course.

I'm trying to figure out what settings to use in VirtualDub to be able to properly boost the black / brightness level to NTSC standards. But short of just guessing, I have no clue what to do.

Can someone help me out? If you need something, like screenshots, please say so.

Does the DVD recorder have a zero IRE or 7.5 IRE capture setting? If not it is probably 7.5 IRE default.

Otherwise you need to capture to a computer. Usually the capture program has a zero IRE or 7.5 IRE setting. If you cap NTSC-J with a 7.5 IRE setting, the blacks will be crushed and the picture will appear too dark. Only fix is to recapture with the correct settings.

BTW, to watch that Japanese Playstation, you will need to adjust the TV "brighness" up 7.5% for correct black level.

[Foxhack]

I've already adjusted my TV to display the image as close to correct as it can. I remember that when I used my Gamebridge, VirtualDub had an NTSC-J option, but I can't hook that up right now because the TV (and game systems) are too far away from the computer, and my family wouldn't appreciate me running cables through the kitchen and living room.

As for the recorder having a capture setting? It doesn't. This is a very basic system, good for simple stuff, but not much else, I'm afraid.

[johns0]

http://www.glennchan.info/articles/technical/setup/75IREsetup.html.

[manono]

http://www.glennchan.info/articles/technical/setup/75IREsetup.html

That dot at the end messes up the link. Interesting article. Thanks.

[jagabo]

I'm trying to figure out what settings to use in VirtualDub to be able to properly boost the black / brightness level to NTSC standards.

You will lose the darkest parts of the video if you use VirtualDub. But you can use the levels filter to get the rest back up to the right levels:



If your DVD recorder kept the darker shades you can adjust the levels and retain the darkest shades with AviSynth: Levels(0,1,255,16,255, coring=false)

[edDV]

We have been talking about this issue for years in reference to analog output on consumer DV camcorders. Any NTSC-J equipment will have the same issues. I comes down to adjusting luminance (brightness) 7.5%.