Cinema Craft Enc. Image Quality Priority vs Bias?

[postul8or]

I was taking a look at the Cinema Craft Encoder Image Quality Priority setting vs. the Bias setting.

The definition of each sounds the same to me. If you assign a lower number to it, it is more aggressive at assigning bits to complex frames vs. simpler frames.

In my case, I'm using CCE in DVD2SVCD to encode a capture where I have black text on a white background. What happens is that the encoder is too aggressive and assigns too low a bitrate to these frames. Around the black letters is a bunch of fuzzyness as it transitions into the white. My thinking is to make the bit allocation less aggressive so that these frames look better.

What I don't know, is do I play with the Image Quality Priority or the bias setting?

[pijetro]

I've never had to fudge the bias..
If i remember the documentation correctly, the bias is more like a "parameter" tweak within the encoder..

Image Quality Priority setting vs. the Bias setting.

This is a unique question..
Usually, it's Image Quality Priority vs. Multipass..

What's your source, and what's your final output??

[postul8or]

I'm doing a DVD to DVD-R transfer. Don't fret, I'm not copying copyrighted material as I'm trying to make a copy of a conference video that my company put out.

When I view the output I created I have 2 issues, and I'm wondering if there might be an interlacing issue or something. I was thinking that I needed a setting to make it focus less on preserving detail, and more on getting the color transitions to work. I've encoded a few things before and have never seen this horizontal line thing from a DVD source.

1. On white screens with black text background the are artifacts on the transition from black to white....typical JPEG type problem when color transition is abrupt.

2. On this guy's suit jacket if he moves I see there horizontal lines. Again this tends to happen in areas where the color change is abrupt...navy blue jacket to a white/light colored shirt under the suit jacket.

[pijetro]

Don't fret, I'm not copying copyrighted material

You're kidding me right??

I've encoded a few things before and have never seen this horizontal line thing from a DVD source.

Can i assume you know what interlaced video, and progressive video are??

Is the original video also showing these effects??
Are you frameserving??
Do you need a simple straight copy??
Why are you reencoding??

On white screens with black text background the are artifacts on the transition from black to white....

Usually, i've found that artifacts exist due to low bitrate..
If you can afford more bitrate, then go for it..

What's your final viewing??
Standard Television, or Computer monitor...

[postul8or]

I'm actually not kidding, this is video done at my company, material that I can have a copy of.

I have heard of interlaced and progressive but don't know the difference. My impression is that if you get some weird horizontal lines it's usually a problem with interlaced.

All I want is a straight copy, but I'm using DVD2SVCD because the stuff in there is free....included in there is a frameserver. Anyway, if there is a way to copy this without re-encoding that would be great, especially if the tool is free. You are probably right, I'm not using the best tool but more or less it's one that I know and is free.

I was viewing it on a computer monitor. I suppose it might be worth burning a copy and putting it on the tv to see how it looks.

[lordsmurf]

Learn about interlace:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/capture/interlace.htm

[postul8or]

Thanks, I gave that site a read and interlacing was as I remembered.

I have 2 comments:

1. How do I figure out if the source is interlaced. If I recall, DVD2AVI does a test to figure it out, but is it ever wrong? This is a conference video, not a film so in my case I don't know if it's done professionally (progressive) or if it's a kind of cheap camcorder that might have used some kind of interleaving. The lines to me say it's interleaving even though the source is DVD.

2. I would like to challenge that the software player has to handle it better in order to play it on a computer rather than a TV. I would think WinDVD or PowerDVD would have software ability to handle it properly and it is these programs that for years have always made it look crappy. Furthermore, any time it looks bad on my computer monitor it has looked bad on the TV set (thus I no longer waste the CD or DVD to burn it and try).

I think the issue might be the field that I'm starting from or something. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out if I really need to understand the technical details further, or if I should be able to throw the video clip at a piece of software and it does the work for me to make the thing look decent. I am in fact leaning this way.

[jyn999]

@postul8or, do you want to copy the whole DVD or a few segments? If you want the whole DVD, use DVD Shrink.

You never answered pijetro's question. If the faults are in the original DVD, you can't eliminate them by re-encoding.

[Heavensent]

why dont you use dvd shrink to copy the dvd ?
its free and eazy.

[pijetro]

Alrighty, as a fellow Canadian, here's one last shot...

I have heard of interlaced and progressive but don't know the difference.

Just know, that a tube TV is interlaced playback, and a computer monitor has progressive playback...
What you see as jagged lines on your computer, will not show up on your TV..
If you want to get rid of the interlacing that's being shown, WinDVD (or any other DVD software player) should have a built in Deinterlacer, so the effects aren't noticed on your monitor..

My impression is that if you get some weird horizontal lines it's usually a problem with interlaced.

No, these are not wierd lines..This is how your TV plays back. Unfortunately, the monitor refreshes so fast, that the lines show up. But again, WinDVD should get rid of this..

All I want is a straight copy

Drag, 'n' drop...Burn...
If it's copyrighted, look to the left for tools...

1. How do I figure out if the source is interlaced.

Jagged lines in Media Player, or in VirtualDubMpeg..

I would think WinDVD or PowerDVD would have software ability to handle it properly and it is these programs that for years have always made it look crappy.

The only reason i could see for crappy playback, is the fact that you need lots of horsepower to run those apps..Deinterlacing for good quality playback requires CPU power..

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out if I really need to understand the technical details further

Yes, but unfortunately the knowledge that you'll acquire, will have to be passed down to the next guy...Be carefull what you wish for.

http://www.100fps.com/
Read on, understand it, and then get back to us buddy...
Good luck!!!

[postul8or]

@postul8or, do you want to copy the whole DVD or a few segments? If you want the whole DVD, use DVD Shrink.

You never answered pijetro's question. If the faults are in the original DVD, you can't eliminate them by re-encoding.

The faults are not in the original source. Sorry for not answering.

[postul8or]

why dont you use dvd shrink to copy the dvd ?
its free and eazy.

Alright I will give that a shot next, thanks for the suggestion.

[postul8or]

Alrighty, as a fellow Canadian, here's one last shot...

Yes, but unfortunately the knowledge that you'll acquire, will have to be passed down to the next guy...Be carefull what you wish for.

http://www.100fps.com/
Read on, understand it, and then get back to us buddy...
Good luck!!!

Thanks a lot for your patience. I will try to take what I have and watch it on my TV to see if it goes away. Many of the movies I watch I do watch on the computer so it would be nice to have everything looking good on my computer monitor as well though.

Anyway, let me try some things out this week and I'll keep posting here if I'm still having issues.

Thanks again.