Color flicker, how can I get rid of it?

[dvd_master]

Finally I've had a VHS transferred to DVD for me, (it's a cartoon, NTSC) and it looks generally great, but quite often the color will flicker.

What I'm talking about is in scenes (even with non movements) the colors change quickly and breifly.

Like in this one scene, it's the same picture the entire scene, just slowly zooming out while the person speaks, the color of his air (black and purple) will suddely change to alot paler colors then snap back after 1/2 a second or maybe 1 second. This occurs alot, usually only in areas like the top screen, etc.

I tried that deflicker filter from Donald Graft but that turned my video entirly black (I must be doing something wrong). I always do everything in VDub then send it to TMPEG, so how can I fix this, prefereable first in Virtual Dub, but if Tmpeg has something, I would like that too.

[Arky]

To be honest, the symptoms you describe sound remarkably similar to those one would experience if attempting to record a DVD onto a VCR without first disabling Macrovision - did the person doing the transfer definitely disable Macrovision?


Arky ;o)

[TRILIGHT]

Also sounds like what would happen if they used a cheap-o solution for disabling the Macrovision. I built my own before and it got rid of most anomalies but there were weird color problems as you describe. Are you certain the original did not have any problems that would be accentuated by the transfer? If not, I would have whoever did the transfer for you do it again. Incidentally, what process did they use to do the transfer?

[dvd_master]

It's not macrovision, because you can still easily watch the video, it's just the colors change every now and then.

I think it's from a shaky VHS transfer. The video itself never gets distorted or anything, just colors occaisionally.

Can this be fixed through filters?

[TRILIGHT]

Originally posted by dvd_master
Can this be fixed through filters?

Yes, if you feel like pulling it all through Adobe Premiere and you attempt color correcting every individual section that needs correcting. That being said, I would highly recommend you don't even bother trying! It's a massive pain in the ass (I've had to do it before for a friend's wedding video where all shots from a certain camera were color shifted). Aside from the fact that it's a pain in the ass, the quality will not even be close to what you might expect depending on your original video. In my case, the original video was screwed and it was a bad recording anyway so there was not a lot that I could do. In your case, you know the original does not have this problem. Don't waste your time trying to correct this anomaly. You need to do the whole transfer over and make sure it's correct to begin with.

[Arky]

Perhaps your friend's VCR is to blame - are the heads clean and the tracking correctly alligned? Also check all connections between DVD player and VCD are clean and tight (OK, so I'm clutching at straws now, but it's worth checking!)

I agree with Trilight's advice - it really is a considerable waste of your efforts to correct a flawed transfer, when you know that the original does not suffer the described anomalies.


Arky ;o)

[dvd_master]

I had to send the tape away for about a month to get it transferred, and then he sent the tape and it on DVD back to me, so its alot of trouble to have it redone.

And this is a fansub, and already tons of people are waiting for me to finish it, so this color thing is worse then just me having to deal with it.

How can I do that color correction thing with Preimiere?

[TRILIGHT]

Do you live in a jungle somewhere?? Since when does it take a month to send something somewhere and get it back? It sounds as if you have no way to capture video into your system. If that is the case, you're screwed anyway because Premiere does not natively edit MPEG video and from the sound of it, you have MPEG video off of the disc this person sent you. I have no idea what a "fansub" is but you make it sound like "time is of the essense". If that is the case, I guarantee you, especially considering you're not proficient with Premiere, you will spend more time for worse quality than if you were to just send the tape back and get your buddy to do it right the first time. I certainly hope you didn't have to pay for this crappy transfer. If I were you, I would be bitching to the person who did the transfer for you because anyone who even gave the slightly damn about the work they were doing, would have checked the video before they sent it to you and noticed that it was a bad transfer to begin with.