Changing luminance/colour intensity in a *.mpv file.

[MheAd]

Hi,
I have this LaserDisc>mpv transfer of this old video. The quality is great but I feel that the luminance / colour settings of the encoded video file are slightly too high. Of course, when playing back the video, I can fix this easily by readjusting quickly my TV/DVD-player picture settings but I don't feel for doing it all the time. What I'm wondering is which (and whether there) is an easy way to simply process the mpv file through a program and lower the color/luminance settings and save it that way? Which program should I use? Are there any cons of doing this, eg. the re-encoded video would get any artifacts, get damaged etc? Thanks in advance!

[redwudz]

Any time you re-encode you will get some losses. How are you converting from the laser disc video output to .mpv format? You could run it though a video processor before you convert. Or do you have a file someone already converted? If you do any adjustments in software filtering/adjusting you would need to re-encode.

If I have to make those type of adjustments in software, I use TMPGEnc encoder and the adjustments there, then encode it. (Setting>Advanced>Simple or Custom color correction.) You may need something like the TMPGEnc MPEG2 Plugin for the program to accept your file.

Don't overdo the adjustments. If the final destination is a video for TV, it will generally be brighter on a TV than it is on a computer monitor. It's always best to do a representative clip of about 5 to 10 minutes in length and burn it to RW disc to see what the final output will look like on a TV before you commit yourself to the full encode.

[MheAd]

Well, I didn't do this myself. I got it from this guy and don't want to bother him anymore as this took some time for him to do it. I don't want to be ungreatful for his effort.

So what I have here is a DVD with mpv + wav stream that I authored as normal DVD. I still have the original source (the mentioned files) so I figured I would change brightness/color settings only slightly. That's why I'm asking which program would be best for this...
If you have no more suggestions, I guess I should try it out with TMPGEnc...

[vhelp]

Afternoon guys,

If you post a couple of sample images (unprocessed, that is) we
might be able to see if there is anything that we can add in
terms of color filter settings.

Also, if you do post some pics, please consider showing those
that have some black in them, as well as some white. The reason,
is so that we can measure the images levels to see where they fall.
It might help to advice on the exact amount of color filter to use.

In fact, cutting a small piece of the MPEG and uploading it to this
forum (or choose rapidshare.com to upload there, and give us the url link)
we can examine more thourghly and better advice, perhaps.

Otherwise, try redwudz's advice

Best of luck to ya,
-vhelp 4114

[lordsmurf]

Hot luma really kills image quality, and the only real way to truly fix it is to re-capture with correct equipment. Use a TBC and maybe a proc amp. It may be something to do with wiring. Usually s-video is required to avoid these errors, but with Laserdisc, it could be the other way around, and you should use the composite. Only way to tell is to test.

If you're stuck with your source, not much can be done.

Are you sure it's luma and not IRE?

[edDV]

As vhelp suggested, a screen cap would tell the story. It could be a level 32 wash out from a DV camcorder passthru capture. We are just guessing without some samples.

[MheAd]

Well, I don't understand why you want me to upload images.
All this is more of subjective rather than technical nature.
Even if you say it looks normal - I won't think so

Ok, I'm sending the images...

Also, a background. This is a commercially released Freddie Mercury Tribute on LD that I bought few months ago on eBay. I have the worn out VHS myself and since the more recent DVD release didn't feature the entire thing I figured I would get my hands on the best digital (complete) source avaiable - which was the out-of-print LaserDisc. Of course, the problem is that I never owned a LD-player in my entire life so I sent the discs to a guy I know in the States who did this LD>DVD transfer for me. So, now you know what it's all about...

[MheAd]

Another one...

[MheAd]

And the last one...

As you can see...especially looking at red, green and even darker areas (that look here more blue-alike), it's a positive sign that the color is too strong.

Due the digital source, it's not disturbing whatsoever. There is no "color-bleed", only it's a bit higher than usually. The video is pleasant to watch with high bit-rate etc.
Yet, I would like to lower the colour slightly. What do you think?

[lordsmurf]

Do you still have the Laserdisc?

Do you know what hardware and software was used to make your DVD? Capturing hardware/software is most important, but others can be too.

Some filtering could probably clean it up some.

Check your PMs too.

[MheAd]

I don't have LDs right now in my hands. I live in Sweden and they are going to be sent back to me later on by this guy. As for his capturing eq., I think it's "good". I can check it out. However, asking him to re-do the transfer for me is out of question. I really appreciated his effort. He's not even a physical friend - just a guy I know over the internet. So I don't want to be too maintaining and a-hole. I'm very grateful for what he did. Also, he might be able to do same kind of LD>DVD transfers for me in future. So, I'm all alone on this task. The video is not bad though. Looks much better as motion picture than screenshots...