Converting DVDs: Suggestions for an absolute newbie willing to learn

[jagabo]

There's no definitive answer to that question. You would have to look for something of known aspect ratio in the video and measure it. But the reality is, you will rarely notice either way.

[MGRV]

Thanks, I'll have a look to see if I can find something that helps me compare, but as you say it would rarely be noticeable anyway.

I do have another problem with one of these DVDs. The MKV file I created is listed as Interlaced, as are the rest of the DVDs, but this one clearly isn't. No signs of interlacing artifacts, and as I didn't realize it until it was too late, my QTGMC output is, as one would expect, duplicating each frame. Some apparent bobbing in the original DVD makes me suspect this could have originated from an interlaced source, but I don't know. I'll make a sample later when I'm able if it helps, just let me know. I don't expect to make the original video 'better', my main reason for converting these DVDs was to get rid of the interlaced source. In this case, the video is listed as interlaced but doesn't look to be. Should I try converting it to progressive somehow? Could it be just badly reported? This is the MediaInfo for the file I extracted with MakeMKV:

General
Unique ID                                : 20167917111741278134833159412687806590 (0xF2C33159648D6D1EA1420148F9FA07E)
Complete name                            : C:\Videos\14\title_t00.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 3.61 GiB
Duration                                 : 2 h 49 min
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 3 049 kb/s
Encoded date                             : UTC 2019-02-11 05:59:27
Writing application                      : MakeMKV v1.14.2 win(x64-release)
Writing library                          : libmakemkv v1.14.2 (1.3.5/1.4.7) win(x64-release)

Video
ID                                       : 1
ID in the original source medium         : 224 (0xE0)
Format                                   : MPEG Video
Format version                           : Version 2
Format profile                           : Main@Main
Format settings                          : CustomMatrix / BVOP
Format settings, BVOP                    : Yes
Format settings, Matrix                  : Custom
Format settings, GOP                     : M=3, N=12
Format settings, picture structure       : Frame
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG2
Codec ID/Info                            : MPEG 1 or 2 Video
Duration                                 : 2 h 49 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 2 852 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 8 671 kb/s
Width                                    : 720 pixels
Height                                   : 576 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 25.000 FPS
Standard                                 : PAL
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Interlaced
Scan order                               : Top Field First
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.275
Time code of first frame                 : 00:00:00:00
Time code source                         : Group of pictures header
GOP, Open/Closed                         : Open
GOP, Open/Closed of first frame          : Closed
Stream size                              : 3.38 GiB (94%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : DVD-Video

Audio
ID                                       : 2
ID in the original source medium         : 189 (0xBD)128 (0x80)
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 2 h 49 min
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 192 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 233 MiB (6%)
Title                                    : Stereo
Language                                 : English
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : DVD-Video

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : en:Chapter 01
00:06:57.560                             : en:Chapter 02
00:32:11.800                             : en:Chapter 03
00:48:26.800                             : en:Chapter 04
01:02:16.720                             : en:Chapter 05
01:33:28.400                             : en:Chapter 06
01:51:50.800                             : en:Chapter 07
02:14:30.080                             : en:Chapter 08

[manono]

The MKV file I created is listed as Interlaced

Almost all PAL DVDs are encoded as interlaced. That's what you're being shown - how it was encoded. It says nothing about the actual content of the video. There's a big difference. If, when looking at the frames, you don't see interlacing, it's not interlaced and it can be treated as progressive. In any event, there's no need for QTGMC when working with a progressive source.

The MKV file I created...

Why? That's a mistake, too. Why not use DGIndex on it to create a D2V project file followed by using MPEG2Source to open the video for examination?

Some apparent bobbing in the original DVD makes me suspect this could have originated from an interlaced source...

If it's a movie, by definition it's progressive, although DVD makers have ways to screw that up so it appears to be interlaced.

[MGRV]

In any event, there's no need for QTGMC when working with a progressive source.

Yeah, the reason I didn't notice before running QTGMC was that I was leaving my PC for a long while and figured it would be good to leave it encoding something, so (having so far had only interlaced material) I was careless and didn't check before.

Why not use DGIndex on it to create a D2V project file followed by using MPEG2Source to open the video for examination?

I've been using Avisynth to test the different QTGMC presets and a few other things, but due to some audio sync problems I finally went back to StaxRip for encoding, which has been working fine. I wouldn't really know much what to examine on the source, other than whether it's interlaced or not (which I can usually see just by playing the DVD, but didn't do it in this case). I just figured it would be easier to have the source in a MKV file, but what do I know!

If it's a movie, by definition it's progressive, although DVD makers have ways to screw that up so it appears to be interlaced.

It's an old sports commercial DVD, so I'm fearing all sorts of voodoo might have been inflicted on it.

So, from what you said, I guess I don't have to do anything with this file, i.e. it being encoded as interlaced should not be a problem, right?

[manono]

So, from what you said, I guess I don't have to do anything with this file, i.e. it being encoded as interlaced should not be a problem, right?

That's right, assuming it really is as you say, that its content is progressive. That assumes you're testing with something that's not deinterlacing on the fly. I open my DVD sources in VDub (using MPEG2Source on them) to examine the frames and perhaps the bobbed fields to check how the DVD should be handled. I'm in NTSC land, but the process is the same.

I wouldn't really know much what to examine on the source...

I don't use it, but I assume StaxRip makes the AVS script available to you. You can comment out any filtering such as QTGMC and open that script in VDub to examine the unfiltered frames.

[MGRV]

That's right, assuming it really is as you say, that its content is progressive. That assumes you're testing with something that's not deinterlacing on the fly. I open my DVD sources in VDub (using MPEG2Source on them) to examine the frames and perhaps the bobbed fields to check how the DVD should be handled. I'm in NTSC land, but the process is the same.

Since I started dealing with these interlaced videos, I disabled the Deinterlace option in my go-to player (it used to be set to Auto) so I notice right away (I just never got to play this one before I ran QTGMC on it).

I don't use it, but I assume StaxRip makes the AVS script available to you. You can comment out any filtering such as QTGMC and open that script in VDub to examine the unfiltered frames.

I tried your suggestion but I'm obviously doing something wrong, as VirtualDub threw error messages for pretty much every line in the script. But I went ahead and did as you guys taught me before: I used DGIndex to open the resulting file in Vdub. There are no interlaced frames as far as I can see, and there is some bobbing, particularly visible on the top edges of onscreen graphics.