focusing

[rainboconnection]

I have avi and mpeg-2 files
they are badly focused - whenever objects move, they become out of focus
is there any program or whatever that can help me?
or is it just the video camera?

[mpiper]

I will try to help.

First, are they in focus while still, then blurred while they move, and then back in focus when they stop again?

Second, are the videos progressive or interlaced.

If the objects are focused, then become blurred and stay blurred, it is the camera. Not much hope.

If they are sharp, blur when moving and then sharp when they stop again, it is merely motion-blur. This is a standard effect of all video and film cameras. Objects move non-stop, but film and video grab a snapshot in 1/30 of a second and the movement will still be blurred. This is a normal effect and no one will even think about it when they see the videos on TV.

If the videos are interlaced, then the blur could be caused by the fact that you are seeing two pictures displayed at one time. interlaced video is actually 2 frames "weaved" together. Televisions display the even rows on the screen first, then go back and draw the odd rows. Computers and progressive TVs display all rows at one time.

Because of this, interlaced video, when displayed on computers, looks blurred for moving objects. Most video players have a built-in de-interlacing feature in the options. They are usually (1) bob - which takes only the odd lines and plays them twice as high to show a normal frame with no blur, (2) weave or adaptive - which uses the cpu to "guess" which lines to keep and give you the best image, (3) Blend - which mixes the interlaced frames, giving a double-exposure/blurred feel, and lastly (4) no De-interlace, which dispays the fields sharply, making the video look out of focus on movement.

If it is interlaced video and you want to watch it on PC, use either Bob or Weave deinterlacing. Or, read elsewhere at this site about Inverse telecine to rebuild the original progressive frames when possible.

If it is interlaced and the final product will be watched on TV, then don't worry about it, it will look fine on your TV when burned to DVD.

One option, if the blur is caused by the camera being out of focus, you can FAKE the focus by editing the video and using a sharpen filter or an Unsharp Mask filter. Sharpen will sharpen everything and make it look harsh if used to strong. Unsharp Mask only sharpens contrast areas, but can create freaky "edge" effects in overused.

If this is too much info, give me more detail on how and when the blur appears and I'll try to be more specific. Right now I'm using the shotgun approach.

Mike

[rainboconnection]

thanks
yea its just motion blur