In TMPGenc, do I leave as Interlace or Non-interlace

[Rogue3]

I'm converting movies and tv shows from dvd to dvd-r. In the settings, what should I choose for 'encode mode' and 'video type'?

I read one guide that said always choose interlace. Is that correct? I've done a search but could not find a definative answer.

This is for an NTSC 29.97fps show/movie.

[damnim]

First you need to know about the source file. Get a demo of Bitrate Viewer at www.tecoltd.com. The demo will give you the imformation that you need in the lower window.

Here is a sample;

VBV buffer size: 112
Constrained param. flag: No
Chroma format: 4:2:0
DCT precision: 10
Pic. structure: Frame
Field topfirst: No
DCT type: Frame
Quantscale: Nonlinear
Scan type: ZigZag
Frame type: Progressive
Scene change detection: NOT FOUND
Variable GOP pattern: NOT FOUND

Set the options in tmpgenc to match what Bitrate Viewer finds. This is a short scan of the first vob of "The Exorcist". Notice it is progressive. I set my output to be interlaced and my source to be progressive. This is important in that it will effect the way the encode aspect turns out. Also make sure to set the GOP to 1 sequence header to 18 frames. You can go lower like 14 or 15 but I haven't gotten good results doing it this way.

[puertorican138]

If the source framerate is either 25fps or 29.97fps, then select Interlace for Encode Mode. :P

[puertorican138]

If the source framerate is 23.976fps, then select Non-Interlace for Encode Mode. :P

[rhegedus]

What if the source is DV avi?

Regards,

Rob

[Rogue3]

Good advice all. I already had bitrate viewer so that worked great.

[DJRumpy]

framerate is irrelevant to source. Use the bitrate viewer to be sure. If you want to learn how to identify it manually, look here:
http://www.lukesvideo.com
If your source is progressive, set your settings as such.

[rhegedus]

What if the source is DV avi?

Regards,

Rob

Sorry, I meant should I de-interlace?

Regards,

Rob

[SaSi]

Interlace sure is a subject of different opinions. In reply to the original question, I would like to post my experience.

I extract the video from the original VOBs into DIVx compressed AVI, using CBR @ 10.000kbps to avoid quality loss.

Deinterlacing the movie makes it quite shorter (e.g. 2.4Gb from 3.1Gb).

I have also seen the final MPEG stream become smaller using the same quality settings.

Apart from that, I have found that if is re-encode interlaced video as interlaced, the resulting video quality is ok. (If interlaced video is encoded as non-interlaced, comb-like artifacts occur whenever there is motion).

The bottom line is that I de-interlace (using VirtualDUB as a separate step) to make the movie even smaller in size and be able to re-encode to MPEG-2 at a higher quality level resulting in the same file size.

Anyone agree (or disagree) with the above?

[DJRumpy]

Deinterlacing will gain you nothing if our source is true interlaced. Save your time for something else, and encode as is.

What Sasi is referring to is commonly used for Telecined material, or progressive material at 23.976 frames per second, that has been telecined to 29.976 frames per second using pulldown flags embedded in the MPEG stream. Your DVD player reads these flags, and interlaces the video on the fly, to add additional frames. These additional frames increase the frames per second to the NTSC standard of 29.97 frames per second. By Inverse Telecining, you can ignore the pulldown flags in the MPEG stream, basically restoring the movie to it's original progressive framerate during the ripping process. This gains you a smaller file, saving size, and no interlacing, giving better quality. If your source is a true interlaced source, then this method will gain you nothing. Your TV is designed to display an interlaced signal.