High quality MPEG2 encoding tips? [De-interlacing, etc.]

[C_S]

I have a really short [about 4 min.] video piece I want to export out to MPEG2 [from FCP4] at the highest possible quality level.

At first, I used FCP's built-in MPEG2 encoder and set it to One Pass VBR [6.5 / 7.5, Motion detection: Best] and the results are only decent. It looks pretty good on an average TV, but, of course, it looks quite a bit worse on a computer monitor.

I tried Compressor next [60 min. High Qaulity encode setting], but I have yet to test this version out. I'm not very hopeful that it will look better on a computer.

The real problem is the interlacing... [Again, this is only noticeable on a computer monitor, of course.] How can I eliminate the interlacing and still retain a high quality MPEG2 encoding?

I just downloaded BitVice, and there are built-in options for de-interlacing. Should I be using the de-interlacing filter within FCP itself BEFORE I export, or should the de-interlacing be part of the actual encoding process?


Teach me...

[edDV]

Doesn't Mac have the equivalent of a sophisticated deinterlacing MPeg viewer like Cyberlink's PowerDVD for the PC?

http://www.gocyberlink.com/multi/products/product_main.jsp?ProdId=1&lang=enu

For TV & HDTV display, keep it interlaced. Progressive deinterlacing is done best in a quality DVD player hardware deinterlacer. Both interlace and progressive outputs are provided by the DVD player.

If you goal is computer display only, then a software deinterlacer should be used, or you could encode a separate deinterlaced MPeg2 optimised for RGB, more linear gamma, progressive computer display.

[lordsmurf]

Isn't iDVD also a player?

[AntnyMD]

VLC deinterlaces. However I too recommend using interlacing for television display.

[Gillies]

regardless, u should use 2-pass encoding for better image quality.