Soccer matches - CBR vs VBR decision

[davexnet]

Can you give me some recommendation what software are the best for each processing part in case of soccer matches? I have in mind de-interlacing, motion interpolation, and the rest. Processing time is not important, I'm ready to wait as much as it is necessary to get the best possible quality.

It's best if you provide a copy of your new source when it's available. 30 seconds to a minute should be enough

[Santuzzu]

Can you give me some recommendation what software are the best for each processing part in case of soccer matches? I have in mind de-interlacing, motion interpolation, and the rest. Processing time is not important, I'm ready to wait as much as it is necessary to get the best possible quality.

It's best if you provide a copy of your new source when it's available. 30 seconds to a minute should be enough

Do you mean an original source feed in 1080i 25fps?

[jagabo]

Can you give me some recommendation what software are the best for each processing part in case of soccer matches? I have in mind de-interlacing, motion interpolation, and the rest. Processing time is not important, I'm ready to wait as much as it is necessary to get the best possible quality.

AviSynth: QTGMC() for deinterlacing, Interframe() for the frame rate change.

[Santuzzu]

Can you give me some recommendation what software are the best for each processing part in case of soccer matches? I have in mind de-interlacing, motion interpolation, and the rest. Processing time is not important, I'm ready to wait as much as it is necessary to get the best possible quality.

AviSynth: QTGMC() for deinterlacing, Interframe() for the frame rate change.

Thanks for recommendation. I see that there are many parameters for QTGMC, are all of them important or I should pay attention only to specific ones?

[jagabo]

Given how slow QTGMC is, start with QTGMC(preset="fast"). If you're not happy with that try a slower preset. Then start looking at other parameters. If the source is already sharp I turn the sharpness setting down a little, Sharpnes=0.7. If you want light denoising EZDenoise=1.0, DenoiseMC=true.

[Santuzzu]

Here is the source video:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/exy6dtae1zxjn7a/20190306-PAR-MNU-UCL_1DE.ts.mkv/file

[jagabo]

So your main interest is the players milling about in the locker room before the game?

[Santuzzu]

So your main interest is the players milling about in the locker room before the game?

Of course not, this is just a sample video because someone asked to post it and maybe someone could recommend specific processing settings for a given quality.

[jagabo]

A sample that's representative of the part of the video you're most interested in would be better. And something you can compare to the earlier samples you uploaded -- the same section of the game. But FWIW:

AviSynth script:

LWlibavVideoSource("20190306-PAR-MNU-UCL_1DE.mkv") 
AssumeTFF()
QTGMC(preset="fast", sharpness=0.7) # deinterlace to 50p
InterFrame(tuning="weak", cores=4, NewNum=60000, NewDen=1001) # convert to 60p, bias toward blending with complex motions
Spline36Resize(1280,720)

Note that this script and x264 encode at about 12 fps on my quad core Intel i5 2500K. So a 2 hour game will take about 10 hours to encode.

x264 preset slow CRF 20:

[Santuzzu]

I wanted to cut the same 30 secs as in the previously uploaded samples, but didn't have a software to cut it without re-encoding. This uploaded source sample is actually a temporary file I was downloading, so I copied and uploaded it after 200-250 MB were downloaded.

[Santuzzu]

A sample that's representative of the part of the video you're most interested in would be better. And something you can compare to the earlier samples you uploaded -- the same section of the game. But FWIW:

AviSynth script:

LWlibavVideoSource("20190306-PAR-MNU-UCL_1DE.mkv") 
AssumeTFF()
QTGMC(preset="fast", sharpness=0.7) # deinterlace to 50p
InterFrame(tuning="weak", cores=4, NewNum=60000, NewDen=1001) # convert to 60p, bias toward blending with complex motions
Spline36Resize(1280,720)

Note that this script and x264 encode at about 12 fps on my quad core Intel i5 2500K. So a 2 hour game will take about 10 hours to encode.

x264 preset slow CRF 20:

Thanks for the information. Please, can you process this video below as well? It also needs de-interlacing and I would like to see it in 60fps. At this moment I'm trying to fix some issues with AviSynth plugins, so I'm not able to try it myself.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/1pl9q4hjo45pajj/CHL-BAR-2005.mkv/file

[davexnet]

I had a go myself, except I used yadif instead of QTGMC
Encoded at the Fast preset, CRF=19

Load_Stdcall_plugin("J:\StaxRip_1.1.7.2\Applicatio ns\AviSynth plugins\Yadif\Yadif.dll")
loadplugin("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth\plugins\InterFrame-2.8.2\Dependencies\svpflow1.dll")
loadplugin("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth\plugins\InterFrame-2.8.2\Dependencies\svpflow2.dll")
import("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth\plugins\InterFrame-2.8.2\interframe2.avs")
dss2("C:\Users\davex\Desktop\CHL-BAR-2005.mkv")
yadif(mode=1,order=1)
InterFrame(tuning="weak", cores=4, NewNum=60000, NewDen=1001)
sharpen(0.1)

[Santuzzu]

I had a go myself, except I used yadif instead of QTGMC
Encoded at the Fast preset, CRF=19

Load_Stdcall_plugin("J:\StaxRip_1.1.7.2\Applicatio ns\AviSynth plugins\Yadif\Yadif.dll")
loadplugin("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth\plugins\InterFrame-2.8.2\Dependencies\svpflow1.dll")
loadplugin("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth\plugins\InterFrame-2.8.2\Dependencies\svpflow2.dll")
import("C:\Program Files (x86)\AviSynth\plugins\InterFrame-2.8.2\interframe2.avs")
dss2("C:\Users\davex\Desktop\CHL-BAR-2005.mkv")
yadif(mode=1,order=1)
InterFrame(tuning="weak", cores=4, NewNum=60000, NewDen=1001)
sharpen(0.1)

Thanks man, looks good. I'm curious how would this video look to upscale it to 720p for example... I don't expect much, but if you have a time please try it.

[KarMa]

Is 60fps a must have? Why not just go with 50fps, which is what the video is designed to be viewed at?

[Santuzzu]

What do you mean by "designed to be viewed at"? 50fps is also fine for soccer videos, I don't have problems with that, but recently I saw on YouTube some footages from Korean TV stations in 1080p 60fps and it looked incredible. If source video is 25fps I would probably go with 50fps, for NTSC 29.97fps I would try 60fps.

BTW, I have this annoying error when using AviSynth. I succeed to run InterFrame script, but QTGMC is problematic. I get an error "mt_lutxy doesn't have a named argument "use_expr"". I'm using a 32-bit version. Can someone upload all compatible plugins? I guess that would be the most efficient way to solve this problem.

[KarMa]

29.97fps interlaced is designed to be viewed at 59.94fps. 25fps interlaced video is designed to be viewed at 50fps. This InterFrame() is creating more frames to convert 50fps to 60fps, which probably isn't as good as true 60fps. So if you are find with 50fps then I'd just not use Interframe().

Post your complete avisynth script containing QTGMC and the separate error message. Be sure all the core requirements for QTGMC are installed. http://avisynth.nl/index.php/QTGMC Only use 32-bit stuff, at least until you get more advanced for compatibility reasons.

[jagabo]

It's best to view 25i or 50p material at 50 Hz -- if your TV/monitor has that ability. If you view it at 60 Hz every 5th frame is duplicated and the video suffers from 10 little jerks every second (ie, 4 frames are displayed for 1/60 second then 1 is displayed for 2/60 second). On the other hand the artifacts that motion interpolation creates can be very ugly. So you pick your poison.

Here's your chelsea video deinterlaced to 50p and upscaled to 1080p. If you're watching on a 60 Hz display you'll see the little jerks.

[davexnet]

This is one QTGMC package that I know of:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/nm188lh2oam487m/QTGMC+32-bit+Plugins.zip

My PC is too slow for the 720 upscale; adding
NNEDI3_rpow2(rfactor=2,cshift="lanczosresize",fwid th=960,fheight=720)
to the script reduces the speed to only 4 frames per second. Perhaps somebody else can try it

[Santuzzu]

Thanks everyone for the effort, but problems are solved with AviSynth plugins. I downloaded the oldest available plugins instead of the latest ones because I thought they are located on the bottom of the GitHub page...

This upscaling to 1440x1080 looks better than I expected. BTW, there is one footage from the European Championship 2004, first match broadcast in HD ever at European Championships. I see that this video file is (1440x)1080i 12.5 fps but it seems someone re-encoded it at 50 fps. I will upload a sample soon so you all can see what's going on with that video.

[Santuzzu]

When you look at properties of this video you can see that frame rate is 50.04fps, but original frame rate is 12.5fps. I thought that this video might be re-encoded at 50 fps but I don't see any improvements in the video quality. I would say that this video has 12.5fps. And hope someone is willing to re-encode it to 1080p (4:3) 50fps to see the quality.

[Selur]

I would say that this video has 12.5fps

Based on what data?
Looking at the sample and applying a bob filter to view interpolated field I can see that each field contains unique motion without blends and stuff so to me this seems like real 50i content not some upsampled content.
To convert this to 1080p@50fps you would just need to:
a. deinterlace the content using a bob-deinterlaced
b. convert the anamorphic source to square pixel

Here are examples using Vapoursynth:

# Imports
import os
import sys
import ctypes
# Loading Support Files
Dllref = ctypes.windll.LoadLibrary("I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/libfftw3f-3.dll")
import vapoursynth as vs
core = vs.get_core()
# Import scripts folder
scriptPath = 'I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsscripts'
sys.path.append(os.path.abspath(scriptPath))
# Loading Plugins
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/GrainFilter/AddGrain/AddGrain.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/DenoiseFilter/FFT3DFilter/fft3dfilter.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/DenoiseFilter/DFTTest/DFTTest.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/EEDI3.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/ResizeFilter/nnedi3/vsznedi3.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/libmvtools.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/temporalsoften.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/scenechange.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/fmtconv.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/SourceFilter/LSmashSource/vslsmashsource.dll")
# Import scripts
import havsfunc
# Loading C:\Users\Selur\Desktop\GRE-CZE-2004.mkv using LWLibavSource
clip = core.lsmas.LWLibavSource(source="C:/Users/Selur/Desktop/GRE-CZ~1.MKV", format="YUV420P8", cache=0)
# making sure input color matrix is set as unspec
clip = core.resize.Point(clip, matrix_in_s="unspec",range_s="limited")
# making sure frame rate is set to 50/1
clip = core.std.AssumeFPS(clip, fpsnum=50, fpsden=1)
# Setting color range to TV (limited) range.
clip = core.std.SetFrameProp(clip=clip, prop="_ColorRange", intval=1)
# setting field order to what QTGMC should assume
clip = core.std.SetFrameProp(clip=clip, prop="_FieldBased", intval=2)
# Deinterlacing using QTGMC
clip = havsfunc.QTGMC(Input=clip, Preset="Fast", TFF=True)
# resizing clip to 1920x1080
clip = core.fmtc.resample(clip=clip, kernel="spline16", w=1920, h=1080, interlaced=False, interlacedd=False)
# adjusting output color from: YUV420P16 to YUV420P8 for x264Model (i420)
clip = core.resize.Bicubic(clip=clip, format=vs.YUV420P8, range_s="limited")
# Output
clip.set_output()

using Avisynth:

LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\LoadDll.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\LSMASHSource.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\AddGrainC.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\dfttest.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\EEDI2.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\eedi3.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\FFT3DFilter.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\masktools2.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\mvtools2.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\nnedi.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\nnedi2.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\SSE2Tools.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\TDeint.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\VerticalCleanerSSE2.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\PlanarTools.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\MedianBlur2.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\nnedi3.dll")
LoadPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\RgTools.dll")
LoadCPlugin("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\yadif.dll")
LoadDLL("I:\Hybrid\32bit\AVISYN~1\libfftw3f-3.dll")
Import("I:\Hybrid\32bit\avisynthPlugins\QTGMC.avsi")
Import("I:\Hybrid\32bit\avisynthPlugins\SMDegrain.avsi")
Import("I:\Hybrid\32bit\avisynthPlugins\AnimeIVTC.avsi")
SetFilterMTMode("DEFAULT_MT_MODE", MT_MULTI_INSTANCE)
# loading source: C:\Users\Selur\Desktop\GRE-CZE-2004.mkv
#  input color sampling YV12
#  input luminance scale tv
LWLibavVideoSource("C:\Users\Selur\Desktop\GRE-CZE-2004.mkv",cache=false,stacked=true,format="YUV420P8")
# current resolution: 1440x1088
# deinterlacing
AssumeTFF()
QTGMC(Preset="Fast", ediThreads=2)
# filtering
# scaling
Spline36Resize(1920,1080)
# current resolution: 1920x1080
PreFetch(16)
return last

to deinterlace and resize to compensate the PAR change using QTGMC for the bobbing and spline16/Spline36Resize for the resizing.
Didn't have time to encode the content,..

[Selur]

Ahh,... got it container flag says 50i, stream flag says 12.5 fps.
So the simply encoding the source with 25fps and 50fps and seeing which one is synch should show whether the stream or the container tag is right.

[Selur]

Encoded the clip with 50fps and saw that it was async, so the stream fps is correct. (changing the tag to 25fps and the output is synch again)
So to create 1080p@50fps from this clip we need to interpolate the additional frames.
For example using Interframe/SVP.

# Imports
import os
import sys
import ctypes
# Loading Support Files
Dllref = ctypes.windll.LoadLibrary("I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/libfftw3f-3.dll")
import vapoursynth as vs
core = vs.get_core()
# Import scripts folder
scriptPath = 'I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsscripts'
sys.path.append(os.path.abspath(scriptPath))
# Loading Plugins
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/FrameFilter/Interframe/svpflow2_vs64.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/FrameFilter/Interframe/svpflow1_vs64.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/GrainFilter/AddGrain/AddGrain.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/DenoiseFilter/FFT3DFilter/fft3dfilter.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/DenoiseFilter/DFTTest/DFTTest.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/EEDI3.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/ResizeFilter/nnedi3/NNEDI3CL.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/libmvtools.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/temporalsoften.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/scenechange.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/Support/fmtconv.dll")
core.std.LoadPlugin(path="I:/Hybrid/64bit/vsfilters/SourceFilter/LSmashSource/vslsmashsource.dll")
# Import scripts
import havsfunc
# Loading C:\Users\Selur\Desktop\GRE-CZE-2004.mkv using LWLibavSource
clip = core.lsmas.LWLibavSource(source="C:/Users/Selur/Desktop/GRE-CZ~1.MKV", format="YUV420P8", cache=0)
# making sure input color matrix is set as unspec
clip = core.resize.Point(clip, matrix_in_s="unspec",range_s="limited")
# making sure frame rate is set to 1250000/100000
clip = core.std.AssumeFPS(clip, fpsnum=25, fpsden=2)
# Setting color range to TV (limited) range.
clip = core.std.SetFrameProp(clip=clip, prop="_ColorRange", intval=1)
# setting field order to what QTGMC should assume
clip = core.std.SetFrameProp(clip=clip, prop="_FieldBased", intval=2)
# Deinterlacing using QTGMC
clip = havsfunc.QTGMC(Input=clip, Preset="Fast", TFF=True, opencl=True)
# adjusting frame count with Interframe/SVP
clip = havsfunc.InterFrame(clip, NewNum=50, NewDen=1, GPU=True)
# Output
clip.set_output()

[jagabo]

This gave me 50p motion with all unique frames and the same length as the source:

LWLibavVideoSource("GRE-CZE-2004.mkv") 
Yadif(mode=1, order=1)
Spline36Resize(1920,1080)

So the video is 25i and there's no need for motion interpolation.

[Selur]

@jagabo: Seems like something seems to be 'off' with my setup here :/

When using Vapoursynth I get

• 3149 frames using DGSource:
  

  core.dgdecodenv.DGSource("E:/Temp/mkv_39de6078dc609a13bd49d25b46a36087_853323747.dgi",fieldop=2)

• 3150 frames using LWLibavSource:
  

  clip = core.lsmas.LWLibavSource(source="C:/Users/Selur/Desktop/GRE-CZ~1.MKV", format="YUV420P8", cache=0, fpsnum=50))

• 6295 frames using ffms2k:
  

  clip = core.ffms2.Source(source="C:/Users/Selur/Desktop/GRE-CZ~1.MKV",cachefile="E:/Temp/mkv_39de6078dc609a13bd49d25b46a36087_853323747.ffindex",fpsnum=50,format=vs.YUV420P8,alpha=False) # FFMS2k

• 6295 frames using ffms2:
  

  clip = core.ffms2.Source(source="C:/Users/Selur/Desktop/GRE-CZ~1.MKV",cachefile="E:/Temp/mkv_39de6078dc609a13bd49d25b46a36087_853323747.ffindex",fpsnum=50,format=vs.YUV420P8,alpha=False) # FFMS2

When using Avisynth I get:

• 3149 frames using DGSource:
  

  DGSource(dgi="E:\Temp\mkv_39de6078dc609a13bd49d25b46a36087_853323747.dgi",fieldop=2)

• 3150 frames using LWLibavSource:
  

  LWLibavVideoSource("C:\Users\Selur\Desktop\GRE-CZE-2004.mkv",cache=false,stacked=true,format="YUV420P8")

• 3150 frames using FFMS2:
  

  FFVideoSource("C:\Users\Selur\Desktop\GRE-CZ~1.MKV",cachefile="E:\Temp\mkv_39de6078dc609a13bd49d25b46a36087_853323747_1_0.ffindex",fpsnum=50)

• 3150 frames using FFMS2K:
  

  FFVideoSource("C:\Users\Selur\Desktop\GRE-CZ~1.MKV",cachefile="E:\Temp\mkv_39de6078dc609a13bd49d25b46a36087_853323747_1_0.ffindex",fpsnum=50)

(Yes: applying a bobber the frame counts double.)

Since the play length of the clip is ~2:05min there should be 125*50 ~ 6250 and since MediaInfo reported 6296 frames for the input the frame counts I get baffle me a bit. :/
How many frames do you get when looking at the script (no deinterlacing applied)?

[jagabo]

With LWlibavVideoSource() I get 3150 frames before bobbing. With ffVideoSource() I get 6300 frames -- with each interlaced frame doubled, and a frame rate of 50 fps. ffVideoSource(fpsnum=25000, fpsden=1000) gives the correct 25i but only 3147 frames. I don't know why some files like this are so hard to parse correctly. I think it has something to do with some programs flagging the field rate and others flagging the frame rate.

[Santuzzu]

What is a difference between LWlibavVideoSource and ffVideoSource functions? As far as I know, first one doesn't create index files when reading video files. Is there any other difference? Clearly there is since in this case first one reads correctly and second one reads doubled frames...

@jagabo why did you use Yadif filter instead of QTGMC script as before?

And finally, why the stream frame rate is 12.5fps, is it just a wrong information?

[jagabo]

What is a difference between LWlibavVideoSource and ffVideoSource functions? As far as I know, first one doesn't create index files when reading video files. Is there any other difference? Clearly there is since in this case first one reads correctly and second one reads doubled frames...

They are different third party source splitters/decoders. ffVideoSource isn't updated much any more. LWlibavVideoSource() creates an index file. LSmashVideoSource() doesn't -- but it only reads mp4 and mov files. Sometimes one filter works where the other doesn't. Sometimes remuxing into another container help. Or demuxing to an elementary stream.

@jagabo why did you use Yadif filter instead of QTGMC script as before?

Because I didn't feel like waiting for QTGMC.

And finally, why the stream frame rate is 12.5fps, is it just a wrong information?

I don't know. ffprobe shows that there are 3150 frames. And it shows the very first frame has a duration of 20 ms (50 fps) but all the rest have a duration of 40 milliseconds (25 fps). It's probably related to that.

[Santuzzu]

Thank you @jagabo for your answers.

The video I attached to this post is supposed to be 720p by default. Can someone confirm that it wasn't upscaled to 720p?

[Selur]

LWlibavVideoSource() creates an index file.

noteworthy might be that you can use 'cache=false' so that the index file will be created inside the RAM and so no actual file is written to your hdd.

Can someone confirm that it wasn't upscaled to 720p?

I would suspect it is probably upscaled based on the lack of detail. Suspect because that lack of detail could also be caused by low bitrate encoding,...