Blurry Edges with DivX5

[bman1]

Okay here's my settings:
DivX 5 Pro (Pay Version)
2 Pass, 950 bitrate
Bidirection, GMC
PreProcessing - Light

Look at the attached file. Check out his shoulders or his head, I shouldn't be getting that at 950 bitrate, should I??

Has anyone else experienced this?

[Alain_French]

What's your quality level in the 3rd part of DIVX configuration pannel ? Advanced Parameters

Performance/Quality = Slowest fot best results
If you have fastest, this is your pb

++
Alain

[Awatef]

you always get mosquito noise no matter what you do, and 950 is not as high as you may think.

[Big_Berny]

1. disable GMC (it doesn't safe space)
2. Check you decoder settings (Best quality)
3. Read the post of bman1

Big_Berny

[BoNz1]

What is the resolution that you are encoding at? Of course this makes a big difference. If you are encoding at the same resolution of the image you posted which looks to be about 450x250 or so this shouldn't be a problem but if it is really big then you are going to have problems. It would be helpful if you gave more information about your encode. 950kbps isn't going to be enough for a resolution of 704x400 for example. As opposed to the last person who posted I would suggest you turn off your post-processing to see if the problem is actually with the actual video or that your are using way too much post-processing and that is blurring your video way too much. Then adjust it till it doesn't blur so much. This may not be the problem though. What is the source like that you are encoding from? If your source is crappy then it is no wonder the final result is no good. ;) I also wouldn't use the preprocessing in the codec, I would prefer avisynth filters, but I suppose you could argue that this is a matter of personal preference.

[leadman584]

Hi,

Bonzi brought up most of the important points to consider regarding this video problem. Video encoding is an art, not a science. I am going to assume that you haven't been encoding for years and be a touch more specific on a couple of important issues. Please don't be offended, but somebody, maybe even you, will find this basic info helpful.

First, to ensure that you have clean source data being fed to the codec, watch your .avs file in Zoomplayer. Yes, if you select "all files" in the bottom dropdown menu of zoomplayer, you can select your .avs file. I use this method on every encode to make adjustments to the filters I use within .avs file. Select full screen playback. You can really see the effects of your filters. It is important that you be using Avisynth version 2.50 or higher, and that all your filters are YV12 compliant. You can get them at the Avisynth web page.
One filter I can't stress enough is UnDot. The compressibility gains are great. I typically keep Unfilter, Convolution3DYV12, and Lumafilter(filter is built in feature of MPEG2DEC3, no seperate .dll required) at the ready. Here's a sample of an .avs I used on a high quality source SWE2:

mpeg2source("C:\W.d2v",cpu=6,idct=5)
trim(0,195563)
crop(92,58,534,364)
UnDot()
LanczosResize(640,480)
Lumafilter(10,1.2)
UnDot()

The trim option is your friend. By selecting a portion of the video you wish to test(first number is start frame, second is end frame), you can see the effects of PV or other options without encoding the whole video. Encode your segment and see what it looks like, adjust as needed.

When you encode your videos, try to avoid converting colorspace back and forth(avoids rounding errors, which can be huge). I still use VDub with fast recompress, and yes it works with just VDub. Try to do your audio separate so you don't slow down the video encoding process.

It is very possible that you know all of this, don't sweat it, somebody else may be enlightened by reading this post. I was in the mood to practice my typing....lol.

[mikeson]

@leadman584:
Here's a sample of an .avs I used on a high quality source SWE2
I assume that SWE2 is Star Wars Episode 2, isn't it? DVD for this movie is one of the cleanest I've ever seen. So it doesn't need so much filtering as you've specified IMHO.

mpeg2source("C:\W.d2v",cpu=6,idct=5)
cpu=6 - why so much preprocessing on clean source?
idct=5 - doesn't it benefit just from P4 CPUs? I would suggest 3.

LanczosResize(640,480)
If this is really SWE2 DVD, I'm pretty sure it is 16:9, but anyway 640x480 isn't 16:9 neither 4:3 IMHO.

Undot()...Undot()
Why double use of this filter (which anyway isn't necessary with cleand DVD like that IMHO)?

I agree with everything else... :)

[AS]

anyway 640x480 isn't 16:9 neither 4:3 IMHO.

640*480 is 4:3, 640*360 for 16:9

[leadman584]

Double UnDot is just force of habit, and in this particular case bits/pixel being encoded is .172, touch low, but I'm using it to test
Divx5.04 Beta 4. I removed both instances in next 3 pass encode to see difference in codec capability.
Video is widescreen version I am changing to 4:3 in my encode. Lanczos is great for changing from 534x364 to 640x480.
CPU=6, idct=5 are both personal force of habit for me. You have to find what works best for you.
Yes this is by far one of the cleanest source DVD's you can possibly use. It gives you the option to select and unselect various tools when testing a beta codec.

[mikeson]

@AS:
640*480 is 4:3, 640*360 for 16:9
640x352 is 16:9, 640x464 is 4:3 (at least according to Gordian Knot)

[BoNz1]

640/480 = 1.333 so that is 4/3, probably you have the Follow ITU-R BT.601 Standard checked. I don't want to get into the discussion as to what is right or wrong, but probably if you are playing on the computer you should uncheck the Follow ITU-R BT.601 Standard or if you are watching on the TV then check it at least this is what I understand. As for what is right or wrong there seem to be a lot of different opinions.

[NeVeRLiFt]

I always use this.....

1:2.35 movies: 720x304, 640x272, 576x240, 512x224, 480x208, 400x176
1:1.85 movies: 720x384, 640x352, 576x304, 512x272, 480x256, 400x224
1:1.33 movies: 720x544, 640x480, 576x432, 512x384, 480x368, 400x304