Couple newb encoding questions, need CCE help

[liverkick]

Im trying out CCE on a recommendation, Doom9's excellent faq is helping a lot since most of it is way over my head, but Im stuck on a few things and could use clarification. Im still rather new to video/encoding in general so bear with me.

My main source of confusion is how to tell if my source files are interlaced or progressive, and what options to pick accordingly in the template.

For instance Offset line, the FAQ says...

"It should always be set to 0, unless you're dealing with interlaced bottom field first content (in which case it should be set to 1)."

And for Block Scan Order...

"For progressive content, set the Block scanning order to Zigzag, and check the Progressive frame flag. For interlaced content, you'd set the Block scanning order to Alternate and would uncheck Progressive frame flag."

I have no idea what the source file is, what do I do here?

And on a different tangent, using Multi-pass VBR the faq says... "In Multipass VBR mode, you can also configure the V/C option. This option can best be described as bitrate variability. The lower the value, the more is the bitrate allowed to fluctuate. The higher the value, the less fluctuation is allowed, with 100 creating a CBR stream."

Is there a recommended value here depending on ave bitrate or should I just leave it at default (30)?

Appreciate any help with this, thanks a bunch.

[daamon]

My main source of confusion is how to tell if my source files are interlaced or progressive, and what options to pick accordingly in the template.

I have no idea what the source file is, what do I do here?

What, or where, is the source file from? Is it from your camcorder or downloaded? What format is the source file? Use Gspot (v2.52 beta) or AVICodec...


I can't answer your second question, as I don't use CCE.

[redwudz]

Very generally, AVI is likey non-interlaced. This would usually be Xvid or Divx, for example. DV AVI is usually interlaced.

It's not easy to tell interlaced from progressive in many cases. Sometimes you can put it into VirtualDub and examine an individual motion frame to look for interlace artifacts.

Usually MPEG is interlaced. If a video is interlaced, best to leave it that way for encoding.

But as daamon mentioned, without knowing exactly what kind of video you are talking about, it's hard to give much information.

[liverkick]

I knew I was forgetting something. Its mostly Xvid files Im dealing with (and some Divx). So go for the progressive options most likely? FWIW I also forgot to mention I dont have a progressive scan TV, does that factor into things? I wanted to make sure I was encoding properly for the source file but I didnt consider playback...

[manono]

Hi-

"It should always be set to 0, unless you're dealing with interlaced bottom field first content (in which case it should be set to 1)."

Yeah, as stated, if AVI (and almost always if the source is DVD as well) keep it at 0.

And for Block Scan Order...

For AVI and Progressively encoded DVDs, zigzag.

Is there a recommended value here depending on ave bitrate or should I just leave it at default (30)?

I like full VBR encoding, and have mine set for 0. Lots of different opinions on that one, though.

I also forgot to mention I dont have a progressive scan TV, does that factor into things?

No.

And for best quailty, you'd best frameserve that AVI using AviSynth with ConvertToYUY2() added as the last line. If you just drop the AVI into CCE (in addition to getting bad AR), or frameserve using a VFAPI, you're liable to get a screwed up color conversion.