Blinking line of thin white dashes at top of screen

[turbines]

When I record old 4:3 classic movies from TV tuner I often get these. Is there a way to avoid this? Can they be removed after recording with apps like Handbrake?

[hech54]

Have you ever used Handbrake before? Do you know what Handbrake is or does exactly?

[turbines]

Yes

[usually_quiet]

It is called overscan, and you could get rid of it, but I think you would need to use a program other than Handbrake to do it. You need something that can replace the unwanted lines with a thin black border at the top of the screen. You'd still need to re-encode your recordings of course. Overscan is so ubiquitous with DTV that I've learned to ignore it. IMO removing it takes too much time and it is too much trouble to go to unless you plan re-encode anyway for some reason.


[Edit] Forget this it fixes a different overscan problem {The advice I remember seeing said to use FitCD to generate an avisynth script to use with your favorite encoder. I have never tried it, but the person who suggested it is very skilled in such matters.

There is a short beginner's guide to FitCD here: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/237369-xvid-to-DVD-resolution-and-aspect-ratio-woes} [End Edit]

[chrchr]

I often use Avidemux.
I can delete the lines in the "crop option".
And "resize" after to the resolution i want.
(Script is not needed)

[usually_quiet]

I finally found the post where I saw this advice for using FitCD and Avisynth to correct overscan but it was for fixing a different overscan problem.

Cropping and resizing is not the best way to fix your problem because it will distort the video slightly. Masking the overscan lines won't introduce that defect. I just can't seem to find the instructions for doing it. I will keep looking unless somebody else types them first.

[chrchr]

"...because it will distort the video..."



Is there a way for having this problem fixed, WITHOUT any kind of... "reenconding"?
I'm always curious, and i always like to learn.

[jagabo]

Is there a way for having this problem fixed, WITHOUT any kind of... "reenconding"?

Not if it's already captured. Some capture devices have the ability to crop the frame before saving the data.

By the way, the flickering lines at the top of the picture are the "line 21" data. That includes closed captioning and other data. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIA-608

[usually_quiet]

To remove the unwanted lines and replace them with a black border using an Avisynth script, you would use the "Crop" function and then the "Add Borders" function. I would guess the "crop" filter and "add black borders" filter would do the same if you prefer to use avidemux. Test parameters on a short clip until you get something that looks right. If the masked area is too obvious, you could split it. (Add part at the top and part at the bottom.)

[chrchr]

To remove the unwanted lines and replace them with a black border using an Avisynth script, you would use the "Crop" function and then the "Add Borders" function. I would guess the "crop" filter and "add black borders" filter would do the same if you prefer to use avidemux. Test parameters on a short clip until you get something that looks right. If the masked area is too obvious, you could split it. (Add part at the top and part at the bottom.)

I know the little things, I have to know in avisynth for MY needs!
And i hate borders.
However, i wouldn't start a hobby with scripts-learning.
Do you agree?

[usually_quiet]

To remove the unwanted lines and replace them with a black border using an Avisynth script, you would use the "Crop" function and then the "Add Borders" function. I would guess the "crop" filter and "add black borders" filter would do the same if you prefer to use avidemux. Test parameters on a short clip until you get something that looks right. If the masked area is too obvious, you could split it. (Add part at the top and part at the bottom.)

I know the little things, I have to know in avisynth for MY needs!
And i hate borders.
However, i wouldn't start a hobby with scripts-learning.
Do you agree?

No, I wouldn't (and didn't) start with scripts either. I just began using them recently, in a small way.

However, like me the OP has been a member here since 2006. Perhaps he is also ready to learn about them, if he hasn't already tried using them.

[Edit] The borders that would be added are only going to be a few pixels high, especially if split. They just replace a very small part of the original picture with something that is less distracting. If you prefer mildly distorted video to a tiny, barely visible letterbox border, you can certainly continue cropping and resizing.

[Gavino]

To remove the unwanted lines and replace them with a black border using an Avisynth script, you would use the "Crop" function and then the "Add Borders" function.

Faster and easier is the Letterbox function, which combines Crop and AddBorders in one.

[usually_quiet]

I looked at a 480i ATSC recording that shows the flickering white dashes. They occupy the top four lines of the video in that recording.

Avisynth's "Letterbox" filter would work very well if someone just wanted to fill those 4 lines with black. If they wanted to get rid of the flickering white dashes and spit the border (add 2 black lines at the top and 2 black lines at the bottom), they would need to use the "Crop" filter and "Add Borders" filter instead.

I looked at the documentation for Avidemux again. It looks like the "Blacken Borders" filter would be equivalent to Avisynth's "Letterbox" filter, if someone wanted to use something equivalent for that software.

[jagabo]

Faster and easier is the Letterbox function

LOL. I never noticed that function.

Avisynth's "Letterbox" filter would work very well if someone just wanted to fill those 4 lines with black. If they wanted to get rid of the flickering white dashes and spit the border (add 2 black lines at the top and 2 black lines at the bottom), they would need to use the "Crop" filter and "Add Borders" filter instead.

That wouldn't work right with interlaced YV12.

[usually_quiet]

Avisynth's "Letterbox" filter would work very well if someone just wanted to fill those 4 lines with black. If they wanted to get rid of the flickering white dashes and spit the border (add 2 black lines at the top and 2 black lines at the bottom), they would need to use the "Crop" filter and "Add Borders" filter instead.

That wouldn't work right with interlaced YV12.

Which one(s) wouldn't work right? I assume you mean splitting the lines won't work. ...or are you also saying that replacing the 4 offending lines with 4 black lines is going to be unsuccessful as well?

What number of lines will work? The documentation for the filters doesn't specify a minimum, let alone a minimum based on the characteristics of the video.

[jagabo]

Sorry, I was referring to cutting 4 lines off the top the restoring the frame size with 2 lines at the top and 2 lines at the bottom. That will screw up the chroma channels of interlaced YV12 video. Always use Mod4 with interlaced YV12. So crop 4 at the top restore 4 at the top. If for some reason you cropped 8 lines at the top you could safely restore with 4 top and 4 bottom (although, if you're going with MPEG encoding using 8 at the top would be more efficient and would avoid DCT ringing artifacts at the sharp edge).