Decomb, IVTC..is it always foolproof

[cjv]

After WarpEnterprises recently helped me clean up an old VCR capture with AMAZING results, i thought it looked so good that I went out and got an AIW in order to capture/restore/archive some old VHS favourites!

Captured to Huffyuv, zero frame drops, 29.97fps, NTSC VHS tapes, upper field first.

Seeing as these are originally motion pictures shot on film, "Conan the Barbarian", "Pumping Iron", etc., I am assuming they were telecined up to 29.97 NTSC, and importing the avi into virtualdub shows 3 regular frames, and 2 interlaced frames, with no interlacing anywhere else..always 3..2..3..2.
From searching the forum, it seems like this is a very simple case, and that telecide() along with decimate(5) should properly IVTC them back to 23.97..seems almost foolproof. The problem is that certain parts (in the same scene) become jumpy/jerky..but looking at those parts in virtualdub still show 3..2..3..2, so it is not a mix video/film. I have also tried telecide(guide=1), telecide(post=false,blend=false) and have tried both decomb3.8 and 3.9.
Separatefields() produces smooth (but terrible) quality, which leads me
to think its my IVTC process.
Any ideas on what I could try changing?

cjv

[theReal]

try ivtc.dll with different settings (search the forum - there's a thread about anime ivtc where there are some good settings for ivtc).

I've encoded a DVD made from Laserdisc recently, and ivtc was much better on that than decomb (although on another movie, decomb with standard settings was perfect while ivtc just couldn't fix it...).

To answer your first question: no, it's not foolproof, it's a pain in the ass! :)
Only encode movies like this if you really have no chance to get them as a film-ntsc DVD or progressive-frame PAL DVD...

[neuron2]

Try this:

Telecide(guide=1,gthresh=40)
Decimate(mode=0)

You could also post a small clip for me to examine.

[stickboy]

Nothing is ever foolproof...

[cjv]

Thanks for the suggestions, I have run into some problems however.
Test 1:
----------------------------
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\Plugins\Decomb.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\mpeg2dec.dll")
AVISource("capture.avi")
Telecide(guide=1,gthresh=40)
Decimate(mode=0)
crop(22,1,617,464)
TemporalSmoother(1,1)
BicubicResize(448,446,0,0.65)
AddBorders(16,17,16,17)
-----------------------------
CCE speeds over 10!!! (too good to be true, though)
Internal error: MMX state left on T:\projects\Virtualdub_old\main\VideoSource.cpp:1101
(Using decomb 3.9 from doom9's front page)

Test 2:
----------------------------
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\Plugins\Decomb.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\mpeg2dec.dll")
AVISource("capture.avi")
Telecide(guide=1,gthresh=40)
Decimate(cycle=5)
crop(22,1,617,464)
TemporalSmoother(1,1)
BicubicResize(448,446,0,0.65)
AddBorders(16,17,16,17)
-----------------------------
With Decimate(cycle=5) there is no crash...only visually glitches such as: http://members.shaw.ca/cjv99/telecide.jpg

Encoding interlaced MPEG2 does indeed keep the motion fluid, but I hate to waste that much bitrate if I don't have to.
Currently re-re-reading the threads on IVTC :)

cjv

[neuron2]

You can't crop like that!!!!!

I am so tempted to say DUH! But my friend Koepi would lose faith in me.

OK. Patient mode on. You should only crop by units of 4 and the width must also be a unit of 4.

Change your crop to (say) crop(24,4,616,464) and try again. That crazy JPEG, and probably your crashing as well, is due to your cropping, not Telecide/Decimate.

[cjv]

Perfect..no more crashes..and much smoother motion. Everything is working excellent now. I do spend a lot of time researching/testing before I post, but being a beginner, I do overlook the small things...yea I know its no excuse.
Anyways, I really appreciate your help and patience, thank you.

cjv