questions about a interlacing problem

[bigsteeljack]

I am a noobie, got a DV camera a couple of weeks ago. i have searched this site and others and not found the answer that i have been looking for. i currently have a Panasonic PVGS300 with firewire to a pci firewire card. My computer is a 2.0 celeron and 1 gig ram. My software is many. I have tried several different programs to copy the DV from my cam to my pc. They all give me a interlace problem. I have updated to the latest version of direct x. I don’t have a screenshot, but will try to get one up later. I know I can use virtual dub to clean it up, that will bring up another question later.

Question 1: First is there something I am missing when I am capturing the DV off my cam?
Question 2: Would it really be better to get a video capture card?

I have burnt the video to a dvd to see if it would follow through to the dvd then to the tv and it does, so I know its not the resolution of the monitor. Now if virtual dub is my only option this brings up another question. when I am saving to the avi file it gives me several options, and defaults to uncompressed, but the uncompressed file is slow to work with in adobe premiere.

Question 3: should I be using one of the codecs that it offers to compress to, and which one is best to work with?

I am going to play with them tonight, didn’t have a chance to last night. Just hoping for some help to see if I am headed in the right direction.

[guns1inger]

If you are heading for DVD, then leave it interlaced. Yes, most players show the lines on your PC - because it has a progressive display - but on your TV it will be fine. The only time it would look odd on your TV is if you either a) mixed up the field order, or b) tried to deinterlace using software.

[bigsteeljack]

i did burn a dvd and play it on my tv and the interlacing was very obvious. if it was only a small amount of interlacing and didn't show up on the tv i would leave it alone. i will try agian with burning a dvd. i am one that doesn't usually ask things. i have working on this almost everynight for about 2 weeks. the footage that i am working with is 1/2 hr long and is made up of different shots. some heavily backlit, some shot in the woods, and some indoors. basically to see if different lighting changes the effects. the interlacing shows up in all of them. i am working mostly with one of my kids in the late evening with the sunset in the background. i figure start with the worst scenario and go from there. thank you for your response.

[thecoalman]

Make sure the encoder is set to Bottom Field first.

If you take a DV-AVI and encode it directly to MPEG using BFF @ 720x480(or PAL equivalent) using a bitrate of 6000 to 8000 it should look nearly identical compared to it being played from the cam.

Get your self a RW and use a short section with a lot of motion for testing

[jagabo]

And be sure not to crop or resize the frame vertically.

[bigsteeljack]

thanks guys for the suggestions. here is another question. i don't have this panasonic dv codec installed. would that help? i have read about it, and seen that there is a potential for problems. i will probably try it out anyways, but thought i would ask before i try. i usually use the softwares defaults when capturing. i have used multiple pieces of software. i have used windv, adobe premiere, windows movie maker, and 2 others that came with the cam. all with the same results. again thanks for the help

[jagabo]

The Panasonic DV Codec will not help with your current problem.

[edDV]

What version of Premiere are you using? Premiere should work directly with DV (720x480 29.97 fps DV project setting). Premiere should handle the DV transfer with no loss. What MPeg2 encoder are you using?

If you are seeing problems when the DVD is played to the TV, it could be due to deinterlacing (don't), resizing, incorrect field order or other.

Show us frame caps with the problem.

Virtualdub with Panasonic DV codec works but is lower quality than Premiere. Try to make Premiere work first.
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=298034

[bigsteeljack]

I am using premiere 2.0. when i start up 2.0 it gives me several options for capturing i assume. some sayinterlace and some don't. also some say widescreen and some standard. i have been trying all of them. some of the clips i shot were in both wide and standard. should i be focusing on the standard when i select the capture settings? thank you

[edDV]

I am using premiere 2.0. when i start up 2.0 it gives me several options for capturing i assume. some sayinterlace and some don't. also some say widescreen and some standard. i have been trying all of them. some of the clips i shot were in both wide and standard. should i be focusing on the standard when i select the capture settings? thank you

I don't have V2 but all the other Premiere versions list DV format project settings for NTSC or PAL, 4:3 or 16:9, 44KHz or 48Khz audio. Normal choice would be DV NTSC, 4:3, 720x480, 48KHz audio.

In capture settings DV should be a clear choice. If you do this correctly, there is no loss in the transfer. Data is streamed and your DV file should be first generation quality.

For MPeg2 encoding start with the DVD defaults and make sure bottom field first is selected. Premiere uses low VBR bitrates as defaults. Consider upping average bitrate to or above 8000 Kb/s. I think they default to 6000 Kb/s which is too low to maintain DV quality.

[bigsteeljack]

well i think i fixed my problem. don't know what i did, but the issues are gone. i did install the panasonic codec. don't know if that was what helped or not. thanks for all your help.

[edDV]

well i think i fixed my problem. don't know what i did, but the issues are gone. i did install the panasonic codec. don't know if that was what helped or not. thanks for all your help.

Premere Pro v2 will ignor the VFW Panasonic codec.