TV show to CD

[j1d10t]

I'm capturing a TV show, then I'm burning it to CVD. But the question I have is; when I'm capturing I capture to 30fps, and have been converting to mpg as 29.97fps and it looks OK - I get a few lines after I convert to mpg (in a few frames it looks like someone has taken a comb and run it across the video). Should I be encoding to mpg with 24fps, since the original was shot at 24fps? Would I use the Inverse Telecine and the 3:2 pulldown in TMPGEnc? Or just stick with what I have? Some opinions here would be nice

[DJRumpy]

I would definately perform inverse telecine on it. The reduction in framerate, and the removal of those combing artifacts is worth it. TMPGenc is pretty slow as is. I would suggest you use VirtualDub to restore your capture to 23.976 fps, and then use the Pulldown option in TMPGenc (Video Tab - Encode Mode - 3:2 pulldown when playback). If your not sure, just try it on a small clip.

[Gazorgan]

I would not IVTC it, since it's not 24fps source. IVTC only works for FILM that's been Telecined. The resulting field order tends to be specific, so reversing it isn't too hard. However, if it's a try 29.97 fps source, going IVTC just results in clipping 12 fields out of the 60 every second, and it tends to look jumpy.

What you are seeing is interlacing artifacts. How does it look on your TV? It may look like major crap on you PC, but look great on TV. You TV is interlaced and you PC is not, that's normal.

[j1d10t]

I'm not sure if it's just the fact that it's interlaced that is causing the combing effect, because it only looks that way every few frames, not in all of them. If the show was shot in 24fps, then captured in 30, would it mess it up to IVTC it? Does cable TV telesinc a show when it broadcasts it? Or since I'm capturing it at 30 fps, am I telesincing it when I capture it? It does look OK on my TV, and I don't really notice the combing effect (only once in a while in a scene that has a lot of white in it) on my TV. I do notice it a lot on my computer though. I want the best picture I can get, so any more advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[DJRumpy]

Gazorgan, most NTSC television shows are telecined. Things like the news, and sports events typically aren't. Chances are, it can have IVTC performed on it. Just because a source was originally shot at 23.976 fps, doesn't mean it's broadcast that way. They are telecined for broadcast, just as DVD's are telecined for playback.

I'm not sure if it's just the fact that it's interlaced that is causing the combing effect, because it only looks that way every few frames, not in all of them.

j1d10t, this can indicate a telecined source, but you should verify if it's telecined first. Load your capture into VirtualDub. Step through each frame (Use the Double Right Arrow button on the bottom of the gui). You should see a patter of 3 progressive frames, and 2 interlaced frames (3,2,3,2,3,2,etc). I've found pretty much everything is telecined lately, except for the ones I noted above. You should also be aware of foreign content, produced in odd places, like Australia (farscape). These will have an odd telecine pattern.

If you want more information, you can find it here under the Telecine section: www.lukesvideo.com

It's an excellent source for video facts.

The rate that you capture it can also affect the IVTC process. You indicated that you captured at 30fps. I'm not sure if you meant 29.97, or you really set your capture rate to 30. Verify the framerate with VirtualDub ( FILE | FILE INFORMATION). You should capture NTSC broadcast television at 29.97 frames per second. Don't worry though, this won't ruin your capture. Just perform inverse telecine, and then shrink your video by .3 frames per second (you can do this with VirtualDub, or AVISynth).

The easiest way for a beginner to IVTC is to open the file in VirtualDub. Under the VIDEO | FRAME RATE menu, select the following:

Source Rate Adjustment: No Change

Frame Rate Decimation: Process All Frames

Inverse Telecine: Reconstruct From Fields - Adaptive

Your output should be around 23.976, or 24 fps.

Save your file as a new AVI (or frameserve it if you prefer). Remeber to verify your output framerate.

[j1d10t]

Cool. I opened the file in VirDub, and it is 29.97fps. Thanks for the help. I'm going to try to IVTC it, and see how it looks.

Thanks again

[j1d10t]

DJRumpy, would you recommend IVTC-ing it in VirDub, or just IVTC-ing it when I convert it to .mpg in TMPGEnc? Which gives the best results?

Thanks

[DJRumpy]

I hear good things about the IVTC filter in TMPGenc. They say it does an excellent job. I've never used it. I'd suggest you pick a busy 5 minute scene, and do a small clip in both to see which you like best.

Were you able to verify if your source was telecined? You might need a scene with a decent amount of motion to spot it. After your used to looking for it, you can spot it easily on a low motion frame.

[j1d10t]

Yeah, it was telecined. There were 3 frames that looked perfect, and then 2 that looked interlaced, with the comb effect though them. I think VirDub did the best IVTC. It took it about an hour and a half to do 43 minutes, but it looks better than what TMPGEnc did. I did a test on about 3 minutes of video, and it looks better when I did the IVTC in VirDub. When I had TMPGEnc IVTC it, there were still a few frames that looked interlaced, and it looked a little jumpy. But with VirDub doing the IVTC it looks great. Thanks for help!

[DJRumpy]

The VDub adaptive filter is pretty good. So are the filters for AVISynth. Your probably the first person I've heard to say the TMPGenc filter didn't look as good. I've never compared the two. I just prefer to do all of my editing outside of the encoder anylike (AVISynth for me).

Keep the www.lukesvideo.com url handy. Now that your getting into the whole telecine/interlace/IVTC side of things, you'll want if for reference until your comfortable with everything.

[sync]

When you IVTC and then encode, don't you have to somehow get the mpg back to 29.97 frames per second before you burn it?