Encode x264 Interlaced from VirtualDub

[skatingrocker17]

I'm currently working on encoding some of my uncompressed VHS captures. With Avidemux, encoding interlaced x264 is easy as there's some interlace/progressive options under the frame tab. From here I've been able to add multiple jobs and run them at once, usually overnight since encoding can take some time.

I've recently discovered VirtualDub2, which also can queue multiple jobs. I'd prefer to work in VD but I'm having some trouble encoding interlaced. From the generated error, it appears that I have the right syntax. However, it looks like the combination of the weightp parameter and interlace isn't possible together. From the media info, I can see that weightp=2 but it's automatically being set.

I know that I could do this from command line entirely outside of VirtualDub but I'd like to stick to using it, if possible, because I feel like it's the easiest and fastest way to encode the video and perform corrections.


[Attachment 45895 - Click to enlarge]

[Attachment 45896 - Click to enlarge]

Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:2
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 3.562
Stream size : 34.2 MiB (96%)
Writing library : x264 core 152 r2851bm ba24899
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=6 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc=cqp / mbtree=0 / qp=0

[LigH.de]

Please, everyone, stop panicking at the word "Warning". It means in general (independent of a specific application) that something had to be fixed to make it work, but it works. You just need to think about the change, if this makes the result not matching your expectations or requirements.

In this case, "weightp=2" (among many other single options) may have been enabled by the selected preset, but enabling an interlaced mode disables this one single option, in contrast to the whole preset. IMHO, this is a minor flaw, x264 will still work pretty efficiently.

Your MediaInfo report is confusing, though. If this are the attributes of your finished encode after adding "--tff" to the custom parameters, then x264 did not encode in interlaced mode, according to "Scan type : Progressive". I would expect "Scan type : MBAFF" instead.

I did a quick test, and in my result, there are several hints about MBAFF interlacing mode and scan type. Including "interlaced=tff" as part of the encoding settings.