TMPGenc sharpening function

[mojo]

I'm encoding a DV file into an SVCD. The source is a bit grainy, so I'd like to put negative numbers into the edge sharpening tool to soften it up a bit (much faster than noise reduction and can often give good results).

The question is, if the source is interlace, should I always tick the 'field base' option inside the sharpening tool? What's the difference between sharpening with and without it?

More importantly, is there a manual or help file for TMPGenc somewhere that has a detailed description of every tool??

[LordKariya]

That's a pretty damn good question. However, I have never noticed Tmpgenc's sharpening filter actually doing much of anything. You might be better off using avisynth filters like spatialsoften and temporalsoften.

[SatStorm]

The sharpening tool is doing something, but it varies from version to version IMO. For example, latest version 2.59, it is better not to use it for CVD/SVCD 'cause it ads noise.

The 'field base' option is neccessary when you encode interlace material to interlace output at a resolution with 480/576 vertical lines (like CVD, SVCD and DVD). If you don't tick it, you gonna have a ghost - like picture
If you encode to 240/288 (with interlace output, it is possible going -x- or DVD) then deactivate it, is somehow better.

If the negative sharpness work well, please report it with the version of TMPGenc you used. On some versions it doesn't work well that way (I last tested it back to 2.53 plus version, I don't know with the current version, and it didn't work!)