Best AVISynth 59.94 decimator?

[csdesigns]

I have a 720p HDTV capture clip that has been giving me lots of trouble. The clip in question can be downloaded in a post below:

I have tried numerous scripts, filters, and methods to bring this clip back to its original frame rate. The problem is that the footage (720p60 MPEG-2 from HDTV capture) was originally shot at 24p, then brought to 59.94, and then had some effects added and was edited at 59.94, so the cadence is all over the place in this source. I have tried 1, 2, and even 3 pass scripts but have thus far been unable to find anything that is "perfect" (I understand that this may not be possible, but...).

The best that I have been able to achieve is the following:

dgdecode_mpeg2source("F:\Redemption.d2v",info=3)
tdecimate(mode=7,vfrdec=0,hint=false,nt=2,dupthresh=3,vidthresh=5)

The primary sections that I have had trouble with are frames 115-218, and frames 465-610. I think the above script handles 465-610 pretty well, but in 115-218, there are still a number of repeated frames that remain.

Any help that could be provided in creating a better script would be greatly appreciated. Even a VFR script is OK if that is the only way for the motion and action are to remain smooth. Thanks.

[manono]

You're kidding, right? 70 minutes to get a 243MB file?

[csdesigns]

OK, understood. I have now uploaded a smaller version of the previous source. This is just the first 15 seconds, but it is the part that I am most concerned with:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/a014gh5/n/Redemption-intro_mpg

[thymej]

Since you know what frames are the problem parts, don't use a script that uses the same decimation settings for the whole video.

Change your script to use different decimation settings for each section of the video

Such as for frames, lets say,
-0-400 use decimation setting A
-401-1000, use decimation settings B
-1001-end use decimation C
-blah blah blah

[thymej]

Script might look something like this:

dgdecode_mpeg2source("F:\Redemption.d2v",info=3)

part1 = Trim(clip, 0,114)
part2 = Trim(clip, 115,218)
part3...
part4...

part1 = tdecimate(clip=part1,mode=7,vfrdec=0,hint=false,nt =2,dupthresh=3,vidthresh=5)
part2 = tdecimate(clip=part2,mode=2,vfrdec=0,hint=false,nt =2,dupthresh=3,vidthresh=5)
part3...
part4...

part = part1+part2+etc...

Just use the tdecimate settings best for each section and use as many parts as you will need

[csdesigns]

thymej,

Thanks for the tip, but while I have used AVISynth quite a bit in the past, I have never written a script that changes settings based on set frame ranges. Could you please provide an example to how I can accomplish this?

Also, even with the a script that adjusts based on frame ranges, I still have a problem on what the best script would be for decimation. For instance, for frames 115-218, the repeated frames pattern is 22221111112132534343434343525321112112211212 (!!!) So the greater problem as I see it is finding a script that can accommodate this beauty. Thanks again.

[csdesigns]

Ah, I see we were each in the middle of composing responses just now. Thanks for providing an example!

[jagabo]

nevermind

[jagabo]

For instance, for frames 115-218, the repeated frames pattern is 22221111112132534343434343525321112112211212 (!!!)

That section is supposed to have duplicate frames. A slow motion effect (by duplicating frames) was added before converting to 60 fps broadcast.

[manono]

Yeah, it's a tough one, all right. While there are some few and short sections of the smaller sample that are really 59.94fps, you can safely start with a SelectEven to cut it down to 29.97fps with no noticeable problems. After that you have some real 29.97fps parts, and mostly 23.976fps parts, with a lot of cadence breaks. The parts that seem to have an even slower framerate are like that on purpose. That is, even after decimating to 23.976fps, there are still supposed to be many duplicate frames in certain sections, as those are the slow motion parts.

So, what to do? If you're sticking them in some container that allows for VFR, then you could do that - some 23.976fps and some 29.97fps. You could leave it at 29.97fps but have parts of it (most of it?) play with a slight stutter because of the extra dupe frames. You could get it to 23.976fps and blend the 29.97fps parts using TDecimate's or Decomb's blend decimation. That's probably what I'd do, as I'm not real anal about this kind of thing. And finally, since this thing has a lot of similarities with anime and seems to be a true hybrid, what with all the dupe frames, the different framerates, and the broken cadences, you could try AnimeIVTC. It'll use a better (and much slower) method to convert the 29.97fps sections to 23.976fps. I don't know if you're familiar with it or not, but here's some information:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=138305

I have tried numerous scripts, filters, and methods to bring this clip back to its original frame rate.

But there is no "original frame rate" Sure, most of it was shot on film, but it has computer generated sections that seem to me to have been created as progressive (or interlaced) 29.97fps. If this is for DVD you could always reinterlace it and not lose much of anything in the process. After all, you can bet that's how it'll be done for the retail DVD:

AssumeTFF()
SeparateFields()
SelectEvery(4,0,3)
Weave()

[csdesigns]

Thanks for the suggestions and comments guys. I always like to enhance my AVISynth knowledge, even after all this time of using practically everyday.

I will be transcoding this source to a MP4, so VFR is OK (I figured that this really would be my only option, but wanted to to check just in case someone knew of anything "magical"). But therein lies my main problem... Finding a good script for VFR? If anyone has any suggestions or knows of good examples for VFR decimation scripts and sources of this type, I'd really appreciate it. Also, I'll look into AnimeIVTC. Thanks for the link manono.