De-interlacing DVDs

[MikeC]

Hi. I'm new here and I hope I'm posting this to the right forum.
I have many old SD DVDs that I compressed with Handbrake many years ago. I am re-ripping all of them since I now have newer A/V equipment that can upscale and take advantage of audio tracks that were not included back when i first did this. Also drive space is not a big issue as it was when I first ripped them, so I am not looking to compress them. These are all titles that I find to be fine watching in their current format and which I don't need to upgrade to BluRay or 4K.

I am ripping using MakeMKV and normally I would keep them just as they are as I do for my BluRay and 4K rips, but a lot of the titles I am ripping are interlaced. I am using a Plex server and using the Plex app on the Nvidia Shield pro to play them on my LG C5 OLED. I believe these need to be de-interlaced so that the Nvidia shield pro can upscale them, so I am looking for the simplest method to do this. I want to keep the best possible video quality during this process, and of course leave the audio track intact. I can sacrifice some drive space for quality, so I don't mind if the resulting MKV file is larger than the original, as long as it is within reason. Same with the time it will take for the encoding. I don't mind waiting a little longer if it means better quality. I'm basically looking for that sweet spot.

Can anyone recommend the best utility to do this and the proper settings when using this utility? I have Handbrake and Shutter Encoder already installed, but I am not sure these are the best tools or what settings I should be using if they are. I have a Windows 10 PC and if I there is a better program/utility to do this, please let me know. Something that is free or inexpensive would be desireable as I only have so many DVDs that I need to rip.

I used to have a lot more knowledge of this process back when I first created the video files, but like I said that was years ago and I think a lot of those brain cells have passed on. So please treat me like a rookie.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

[Columbo]

I'll just say that you have to establish for each title whether it is truly interlaced, telecined, hybrid, or field phase-shifted. There are different processes for each and if you apply the wrong process you'll ruin the result. I recommend some serious research before proceeding.

[MikeC]

Will MediaInfo be able to tell me that? I just started ripping and MediaInfo reported each of them to be interlaced

[Sharc]

Will MediaInfo be able to tell me that? I just started ripping and MediaInfo reported each of them to be interlaced

MediaInfo only reports how the DVD is flagged or how it has been encoded, which is usually "interlaced" as per DVD standard. The video stream may still be any of the formats like true interlaced, telecined, progressive (PsF) or field shifted - or even some mix of these. One has to manually analyze the fields sequence to find out what it really is.

[pandy]

I am using a Plex server and using the Plex app on the Nvidia Shield pro to play them on my LG C5 OLED. I believe these need to be de-interlaced so that the Nvidia shield pro can upscale them

Personally i would test if your assumption is correct - try to stream native DVD MPEG-2 - it should be supported by NVidia.

[The_Doman]

I am using a Plex server and using the Plex app on the Nvidia Shield pro to play them on my LG C5 OLED. I believe these need to be de-interlaced so that the Nvidia shield pro can upscale them, so I am looking for the simplest method to do this.

You could also try streaming directly to your LG C5 using Plex?
The TV should by itself de-interlace correctly.
If there is no Plex support directly you can use the PLEX DLNA server option.
Using DLNA streaming is the easiest option for sharing/streaming media to TV's or other devices which support this.
Google: DLNA Server

[VWestlife]

MPEG2 is an industry standard and any self-respecting media player should support it with no need to convert. De-interlacing should be automatically done by the media player as well.

[Alwyn]

Just try it. I ran an NTSC MPEG (from a VOB, ripped by MakeMKV IIRC and re-containered to MPG with AVIDemux) to my LG TV with no jaggies (using Serviio as my media server). MediaInfo reported it as Progressive 2:3 Pulldown.

I then upscaled it with Handbrake to 1920x1080, used the Deinterlace "Decomb" video option to output an MP4 (8000kbps) and passed through the AC-3 audio. It too came out nicely on my LG TV.

[MikeC]

Duplicate see next thread

[MikeC]

Thank you for all the feedback. Fortunately so far most of the DVDs I own are progressive scans. For the ones that are not, I have found a simplified process that has worked very well for my needs. This has allowed me to keep all my titles in an MKV container and play them all through the Plex app on the Nvidia shield without having to switch back-and-forth with the Plex app on the LG.

I rip each title with MakeMKV. If the scan type is progressive, I’m all done and I just add the movie to the Plex server. If not, I encode the file through handbrake, leaving it in MKV format and using the following settings:
Filters: Detelecine Default, all other filters off.
Video: Encoder H.264 (x264), Framerate 23.976 Constant, Encoder Preset Slow, CQ 18
Audio: AC3 Passthru

This has worked perfectly so far, and the quality of SD videos with the Shield AI enhancement set to medium is as good as the LG upscaling, at least to my eyes. I do find the LG C5 upscaling to be superior for Blu-ray movies, so I do change a setting in the Plex app that allows LG do the upscaling. Note that the reason I prefer using the Plex app on the Shield is due to the DTS audio limitation of my Sonos soundbar, and its capability of handling PGS subtitles. I am able to use DirectPlay for all movies eliminating any transcoding on the server.

Thanks again! The provided info may come in handy if my method does not work for some titles.