VDub and MainConcept - how to change encoded frame size?!?

[muddyshooz]

Hey everyone. I've searched the world over (i.e. scoured the posts) and can find no one else who's asked about this. I'm working with DV AVIs captured using Premiere 6 and the MainConcept codec. In VirtualDub (1.4.7), when I choose "video", "compression" and then select the "MainConcept DV Codec 2.04" from the list, in the "Format restrictions" section it says:

Width: unknown (320x240 worked)
Height: unknown (320x240 worked)
Valid depths: 24 32

I am only able to encode in 320x240 (there's nowhere to specify frame size), whereas in Premiere I can encode to the native DV's 720x480. I'd really love to be able to use DGraft's smart deinterlacer on the raw DV AVI (as the deinterlacer in Premiere leaves much to be desired) before I mess with choosing any other codec or output format.

Any ideas?

[muddyshooz]

In case anyone's interested, I actually emailed Avery and got back a response. He ROCKS! He said this:

"The above value is only an advisory. The way VirtualDub analyzes a codec is that it attempts to find some frame size that works, and then it expounds on that to figure out what the restrictions are. Usually, codecs are fairly liberal about what formats will work, and the restriction is simple like "width must be a multiple of 4." DV is a
special case in that there are only a few specific width/height size combinations that work, and I didn't want to have VirtualDub try tens of thousands of frame combinations to find a few sparse data points for codecs that are so restrictive. So when VirtualDub finds a codec
that appears to have complex restrictions, it reports at least one size so that you at least know *something* works.

You should be able to feed 720x480 imagery into the MainConcept codec without problems, despite what the dialog says."

Since his email, I did a little more investigation and discovered something I'd never seen. For all you newbies who might look at this (doubtful), there's a setting in MediaPlayer to look at. When you load a clip, under "Properties", "Advanced" there's a "DV Video Decoder" list item. Select it and then click on "Properties." You will then have the option of setting a "Quality" decoding resolution. SOMEHOW, mine had gotten set to "Half" (360x240) as the default. Don't ask me how. I didn't even know about the setting. But if you press Alt-2 in media player and you still get a small window, it might be this setting.

Duh .......