How can I prepare these interlaced MOD video files for editing?

[archiveresearch]

I have a number of video files from a JVC GZ-MG130U that my NLE (Videopad) is having trouble with. The raw files look choppy when dumped directly into the timeline, (why on earth? 640x480 with 16GB of RAM and an i5? haven't had this problem with other SD footage at all) and each of the deinterlacing options I have tried in both VLC and Handbrake only degrade the overall sharpness without giving me the smooth, flowing motion that I want.

Here is an example of what I am working with: https://www.mediafire.com/file/qdp7bxzhzkvy3kv/MOV04D.MOD/file I'm pretty sure this is an MPG "under the hood" but I haven't checked to see if my memory is correct. For whatever reason it seems like a number of mid-2000s lower end camcorders spit out these MOD files - I had a Canon FS200 that did the same, albeit at noticeably worse quality (some kind of awful proprietary variable bitrate thing).

Do I need to break out the big guns (QTGMC)? I'm not expecting 8k ultra surround cinema George Lucas quality out of the thing, but it would be nice to know that I'm editing files that are "the best I can get" from what it gives me.

[Selur]

according to MediaInfo it's mpeg-ps container, so the extension probably should be .mpg instead of .MOD and why is qtgmc 'big guns' instead of the default for interlaced content?

[archiveresearch]

You make a fair point. I just don't want to have to batch rename all the file extensions, given that there are several levels of folders in my organizational system. But if I must I must.

In answer to your other question, I meant that phrase with a touch of reverence - I'm still learning my way around QTGMC. It's clearly very capable, but the learning curve is there even for a guy who's been working with video for 11 years. Up until now I've been doing my deinterlacing in Shotcut, since it allows me to apply yadif etc to a rendered file (has replaced Videopad as my main NLE since the original post was made). But that will sometimes generate huge files (22GB anyone?)

[Sharc]

In answer to your other question, I meant that phrase with a touch of reverence - I'm still learning my way around QTGMC. It's clearly very capable, but the learning curve is there even for a guy who's been working with video for 11 years. Up until now I've been doing my deinterlacing in Shotcut, since it allows me to apply yadif etc to a rendered file (has replaced Videopad as my main NLE since the original post was made). But that will sometimes generate huge files (22GB anyone?)

The huge file size has little to nothing to do with the deinterlacer. In Shotcut or with any other NLE or encoding tool you have to select the export format (codec and compression strength, like x264 with CRF=18, for example).

[4kblurayguru]

original question
How can I prepare these interlaced MOD video files for editing?

my answer - convert them to prores (or other lossless codec), edit then export to prores
then deinterlace using handbrake

[Bwaak]

MOD files are just mpeg-ps files. No need to deinterlace for editing. No need to convert to another format either, unless your NLE cannot edit them directly, in which case you can either switch to a more capable NLE or convert them into a format that your NLE understands. It was customary for some NLEs back in the day to convert all original footage into an intermediate format for editing, Apple products used to do this, this was one of the reasons I have never touched Apple's products with a ten-foot pole. Other NLEs (like Vegas, which I use) would edit the original files and would navigate the timeline at realtime speed with no hiccups.

Intermediate codecs have their place if the NLE cannot handle source format or if many edits are done on the same video, possibly by different editors, OTOH MPEG-PS is such an old format that I expect any half-decent NLE to be able to edit it natively. Of course, if you want to edit on a progressive timeline, you can deinterlace first, this may be useful if you need to intercut between interlaced and progressive sources. Visually lossless intermediate codecs usually take 30-100 Mbit/s for SD resolution, uncompressed is higher. Disk space is cheap nowadays, and this is not a distribution format anyway.