Need suggestions for restoring an old DVD9

[canuckerfan]

I'm backing up an Indian movie to a DVD5. It's pretty old, and could use some restoration. I know very little about AviSynth. But I know it is a very powerful tool when used properly. I've been using some filters here and there for my DVD-RB encodes, but nothing to heavy. I would like to make backup look as best as possible since I'm already going to be re-encoding it. Some suggestions on filters to use would be wonderful. I've posted some screens below to give an idea of the source. If a video sample is required, I can also arrange that.

http://www3.telus.net/canuckerfan/screens/

Right off the bat, I notice an AR issue. Some of the scenes seem darker than they should be and there is a little blockage. But hey, I'm not the expert.

If anyone can lend a hand, I greatly appreciate it :D

PS: I hope I put this in the right board.

[krieger2005]

For me the quality looks fine. Littlebit sharpen should be done (SeeSaw or LimitedSharpen). I would also clean it with MVDeGrain (great MV-Denoiser. Thanks to Fizick!).

I think also the color and luma should be adjusted. This can be done with Tweak (or TweakColor). And to remove the "pink"-Touch of the picture i would use "RGBAdjust" to lower the red-component of the picture.

[canuckerfan]

Thanks alot!!:)

I'll try fooling around with some of those filters. What about the black trims on the side? Any ways to get rid of them?

[krieger2005]

All DVD's have this black borders. You can crop away them but there is a reason, why all DVD's have this border: These parts are not visible on TV's (I think on the new Flat-TV's they are visible).

[canuckerfan]

Could someone give me a hand with some scripting? I know very little, but ventured for a couple hours with the plugins and haven't had much success:(

[manono]

Hi-

I'm backing up an Indian movie to a DVD5. It's pretty old, and could use some restoration.

Old? 1975 is old? I must be getting old. Most of the Indian films I work with are from the 50s and 60s. Sholay isn't that old. But the DVD is horrible, as is true for most of the DVDs of classic Indian films. I can't remember all I did for Sholay, but I think I had to IVTC it. It's loaded with Edge Enhancement, and I used BlindDehalo3 on it followed by LimitedSharpenFaster afterwards. I also saturated the washed out colors a little bit using the Tweak filter, and tried to get some light into the too dark areas using Didee's YLevelsS function. In addition, because this thing is nearly 3.5 hours long, getting it to a single DVD5 with any sort of decent quality took some serious work. I used CCE's Very Low Bitrate Matrix. But the best thing I did to make it more compressible was to return it to widescreen.

Although originally filmed in Academy Ratio ("fullscreen"), the top and bottom were matte'd off and it was shown in theaters as 2.35:1. That DVD isn't a Pan-And-Scan, but the original framing before the "crop" took place. This DVD comparison explains a bit about it with pics:

http://www.zulm.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=103

So, I did this and encoded it for 16:9:
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/6857/sholayrx5.th.jpg (http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sholayrx5.jpg)
It's still pretty hopeless, though.

Right off the bat, I notice an AR issue.

There's no AR issue. You gave us the 4:3 720x480 DVD pic, before the resizing to 640x480. I gave you the 16:9 720x480 pic of my encode of it before the resizing to 854x480.

Are you sure you want to tackle this one? Maybe you've heard the expression, "Walk before you run"? Working with older Indian films (and many of the newer ones as well) isn't for the inexperienced.

[canuckerfan]

Yea, I'll give it a shot for sure. Nothing is ever easy. One quick question, can all of these filters be enabled via DVD-RB?

[krieger2005]

yes. But i would not recommend do this there, becaus it will make it in 2 passes. in such cases i would save it first in an other file compressed by Mjpeg or equal. The encode directly via CCE or with DVDRB

[manono]

I agree, and if you're asking me, I'd skip DVD-RB entirely. Technically, you can do it in DVD-RB, but you're going to have to test out your script first, and that will mean making a D2V and then a complete script for opening and testing in VDub(Mod). If you go that far, you might as well go all the way and encode it yourself.

In addition, some of those functions (if you decide to use them) are fairly slow, and combined they'll make the encoding even slower. I made an uncompressed Lagarith AVI first. If you decide to go that route, you won't be able to use DVD-RB anyway.

[~bT~]

Bro, Ive been messing about lately with the samples. Heres the link to both vobs joined up: http://www.sendspace.com/file/kv07gl

This isnt final, Im still messing about with it... Lemme know what u think...

Old:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/1534/oldvf5.jpg
New:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4585/snapshot20060824133440au2.jpg
Old:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/1842/snapshot20060824133638pu8.jpg
New:
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/336/snapshot20060824133737sy8.jpg

[canuckerfan]

All right. I'm a total newb at this, so please, bare with me. However, I've recently dived into the world of AviSynth in the hopes of bringing this backup to life (at least, somewhat). So far, here is my script:

SetMemoryMax(256)
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.601->Rec.709",hints=true)

SeparateFields()
HDRAGC()
Weave()
DeHalo_alpha()
backward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
backward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
forward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
forward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
a = last.MVDegrain2( backward_vec1, forward_vec1, backward_vec2, forward_vec2, thSAD=400, idx=1 )
b = a.RemoveGrain(mode=11)
SeeSaw( a, b, NRlimit=4, NRlimit2=5, Sstr=1.5, Slimit=9, Spower=9, Szp=16, sootheT=80, bias=40 )

If someone could critique this (I know I've probably done some things incorrectly), that'd be great.

[Boulder]

Is the video interlaced? If not, remove the SeparateFields and Weave calls. If it is, you need to do some work to get that script from destroying the interlacing structure.

EDIT: the script also looks like a bit of Filteritis has struck again :p

[canuckerfan]

Well, it's an old DVD9, so I'm assuming it is. Any concrete way of finding out?

It's still a wip, so if I can simplify it, that'd be good. Source is real bad as well.

Told ya i'm a newb:o

[Boulder]

As manono said, it should probably be IVTC'd. You should always first determine the nature of your source because the contents of the script will depend on that.

http://www.doom9.org/ivtc-tut.htm

[canuckerfan]

Well, it's NTSC 29.970 fps. I intend to backup this up to a DVD5, not an XviD.

[Boulder]

Then you should search for threads that discuss handling interlaced material. Your current approach will destroy the interlacing structure.

[canuckerfan]

Ok, thanks for the tip. I think I got it. The source is purely interlaced. There are no progressive frames. So IVTCing this is out of the question. And I guess there's no point in de-interlacing this because it's going to be viewed on a television always. I hope what I said makes sense.

[canuckerfan]

I simplified the script a little. This is what I have so far:

mpeg2source("E:\VIDEO\HINDI MOVIES\TEMPORARY\D2VAVS\V01.D2V",idct=4)
trim(112599,119828)

ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.601->Rec.709",hints=true)

Crop(16, 0, -6, -0)
LanczosResize(700,480)

TDeint()

DeHalo_alpha()

Levels(0, 1.3, 255,0, 255)
Tweak(cont=1.0,sat=1.18,bright=0,hue=0)

ConvertToYUY2(interlaced=true)
AudioDub(BlankClip())

[manono]

You'd better put up a sample. It's not pure interlace. There are several DVD versions out of the film (I know of 3), but I just had a look at mine, and I IVTC'd it and it's now 23.976fps progressive.

You can keep it interlaced 29.97fps, as that's the way it is on the dvd, but that will hurt compressibility and the resulting quality, as you're squeezing a 3 and a half hour film onto a DVD5 at a bitrate of ~2500.

[canuckerfan]

The audio would have to be re-worked as well with an IVTC, right?

Oh, and I uploaded 2 samples:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/m8gavk
http://www.sendspace.com/file/oh49bp

[Boulder]

If you IVTC, there's no need to touch the audio.

[manono]

Hehe, now I remember. Yes, the base framerate is 23.976fps, but you can't get there with a straight IVTC. It's field-blended all to hell and back, and you have to use an unblender on it. Or keep it interlaced and encode it as-is. But I hate to do that.

Because the length of the video doesn't change, the audio doesn't have to be stretched.

[canuckerfan]

I think I might have to IVTC this after all. It'll probably be of better quality, as manono stated. Unblending...? I'll have to look into that. Damn, I wish I had access to a better source for this thing.

Oh, and those black strips on the side, they're not shown on a 4:3 TV. However, would anyone know if they would appear on a widescreen TV (16:9)? Because I don't want to crop unnecessarily...

[manono]

The thin black strips don't show up on a 4:3 TV because of the overscan. They will on a 16:9 TV. They may or may not be visible against the player generated pillarbars depending on how good the black levels are on your TV set. I can barely see that sort of thing on my DLP, and it doesn't bother me.

[canuckerfan]

All right, so I'm running this script through DVD-RB. What's a better option for IVTCing, considering my source, Decomb or TIVTC? I'll experiment with them. Oh, and does Decomb havve a built-in unblender?

So far, here is the script:
mpeg2source("E:\VIDEO\HINDI MOVIES\TEMPORARY\D2VAVS\V01.D2V",idct=4)
trim(112599,119828)

ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.601->Rec.709",hints=true)

AssumeTFF()
Telecide(blend=true,guide=0,post=2,dthresh=6,vthresh=80)
Decimate(cycle=5)

RemoveDirt()

backward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
backward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
forward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
forward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
a = last.MVDegrain2( backward_vec1, forward_vec1, backward_vec2, forward_vec2, thSAD=400, idx=1 )
b = a.DeGrainMedian( mode=1 )
SeeSaw( a, b, NRlimit=4, NRlimit2=5, Sstr=1.8, Slimit=9, Spower=11, Szp=16, sootheT=80, bias=50 )

DeHalo_alpha(rx=2.15, ry=2.15)

Tweak(hue=-12, bright=3.5, cont=1.2, sat=1.2)

ConvertToYUY2()
AudioDub(BlankClip())

[manono]

You don't IVTC or change the original framerate in any way when using DVD-RB. You'll have to encode it manually. Neither Decomb nor TIVTC unblend. I used Restore24.

[canuckerfan]

How would I use Restore24 in conjunction with Decomb's IVTC method? Would I call it after or before IVTCing? Or will Decomb be used in the parameters of Restore24?

[manono]

When using Restore24, you don't use an IVTC, with the possible exception of the Decimate portion. Because I couldn't get smooth playback on Sholay with just Restore24, I think I used this:

Restore24(numr=1,deno=2)
TDecimate(Mode=0,cycle=30,CycleR=6)

Perhaps scharfi, Didée, MOmonster, or some of the other resident unblending geniuses will have better ideas.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=774197#post774197

[canuckerfan]

K, got something like this which I got working finally...

#------------------
# AVS File Created by DVD Rebuilder
# VOBID:02, CELLID:07
#------------------
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\DGDecode.dll")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\SeeSaw.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\DeHalo_alpha.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveNoise.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Restore24.avs")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RepairSSE3.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\MaskTools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\mt_masktools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\mvtools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\SSE3Tools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\ColorMatrix.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Decomb.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\degrainmedian.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveDirtSSE2.dll")
LoadCPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\SmartDecimate.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\TDeint.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\TIVTC.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\LeakKernelDeint.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveGrainS.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveGrain.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\avisynth_c.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\warpsharp.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\ReduceFlicker.dll")

mpeg2source("E:\VIDEO\HINDI MOVIES\TEMPORARY\D2VAVS\V01.D2V",idct=6)
trim(112599,119828)

#ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.601->Rec.709",hints=true)

AssumeTFF()
Restore24(numr=1,deno=2, r24deint=3)
TDecimate(Mode=0,cycle=30,CycleR=6)

#Tweak(hue=-12, bright=2.0, cont=1.2, sat=1.2)

#RemoveDirt()

#backward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
#backward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
#forward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
#forward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
#a = last.MVDegrain2( backward_vec1, forward_vec1, backward_vec2, forward_vec2, thSAD=400, idx=1 )
#b = a.DeGrainMedian( mode=1 )
#SeeSaw( a, b, NRlimit=4, NRlimit2=5, Sstr=1.8, Slimit=9, Spower=10, Szp=16, sootheT=80, bias=50 )

#DeHalo_alpha(rx=2.15, ry=2.15)

ConvertToYUY2()

One questions, however... does the combination of restore24 + tdecimate de-interlace frames as well? Do I also need to call out AssumeTFF?

[manono]

No interlacing remains whether or not you use TDecimate. Not supposed to, anyway. I don't know about the AssumeTFF(). I don't guess it hurts anything, unless it's really BFF.

[canuckerfan]

Thanks for the quick reply.

It's TFF. I made sure of that. One more question... Is there really an advantage to unblending? I guess it makes the video seem less "jittery", am I right?

[manono]

There's always compression efficiency as a reason. I prefer to encode at progressive 23.976fps rather than 25% more mostly interlaced frames. You'll have to be the judge. A lot of bobbed fields are going to be used in the output. As I said at the beginning, this is a nearly impossible task, and I am far from pleased with my outcome. When done, check your average quant (Q-Level) in BitRate Viewer.

[canuckerfan]

Yea, that makes sense. I guess I'll just have to test it and see which output is most pleasing. I wasn't expecting miracles in this backup process, but I feel it might turn out better than I initially thought. Have this script now...

#------------------
# AVS File Created by DVD Rebuilder
# VOBID:02, CELLID:07
#------------------
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\DGDecode.dll")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\SeeSaw.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\DeHalo_alpha.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveNoise.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Restore24.avs")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RepairSSE3.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\MaskTools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\mt_masktools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\mvtools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\SSE3Tools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\ColorMatrix.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Decomb.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\degrainmedian.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveDirtSSE2.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\TDeint.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\avisynth_c.dll")

mpeg2source("E:\VIDEO\HINDI MOVIES\TEMPORARY\D2VAVS\V01.D2V",idct=6)
trim(112599,119828)

ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.601->Rec.709",hints=true)

AssumeTFF()
Restore24(numr=1,deno=2, r24deint=3)
TDecimate(Mode=0,cycle=30,CycleR=6)

Tweak(hue=-12, bright=1.85, cont=1.2, sat=1.2)

RemoveDirt()

backward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
backward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
forward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
forward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
a = last.MVDegrain2( backward_vec1, forward_vec1, backward_vec2, forward_vec2, thSAD=400, idx=1 )
b = a.DeGrainMedian( mode=1 )
SeeSaw( a, b, NRlimit=4, NRlimit2=5, Sstr=1.7, Slimit=9, Spower=9, Szp=16, sootheT=80, bias=50 )

DeHalo_alpha(rx=2.15, ry=2.15)

ConvertToYUY2()

Since the source is being de-interlaced, I can safely remove interlaced=true part from ConvertToYUY2, right? Currently, this script is kind of slow. Any chance of any speed ups? And how's the order of the script? I know certain things are preferred in certain locations throughout the script. Thanks for all this advice, manono. It's been appreciated.

[canuckerfan]

Okay, I've been running some test clips through CCE and running into a snag. Sometimes, out of nowhere, CCE will just randomly close. No error message, nothing, it just shuts down and sometimes there is no output file and sometimes there is a partial one. Kind of weird, my speeds are ~0.9. I'm using CCE SP2 1.00.00.04. Here is my script:
mpeg2source("E:\Video\Hindi Movies\Sholay stuff\more things\VTS_01_3.D2V",idct=3)

ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.601->Rec.709")

AssumeTFF()
Restore24(numr=1,deno=2, r24deint=3)
TDecimate(Mode=0,cycle=30,CycleR=6)

Tweak(hue=-14.8, bright=2, cont=1.23, sat=1.27)

DeSpot(pwidth=45,pheight=80,p1=15,p2=8,mthres=8,color=true)

#backward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
#backward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = true, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
#forward_vec1 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 1, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
#forward_vec2 = last.MVAnalyse( isb = false, delta = 2, pel = 2, overlap=4, sharp=1, idx = 1 )
a = last
b = a.DeGrainMedian( mode=0, limitUV=8 )
SeeSaw( a, b, NRlimit=4, NRlimit2=5, Sstr=1.8, Slimit=9, Spower=11, Szp=16, sootheT=80, bias=50 )

DeHalo_alpha(rx=2.15,ry=2.15)

ConvertToYUY2()

BTW, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but since this relates to the script and the entire restoring process, I thought I would post it here first.

[canuckerfan]

Okay, I got over my CCE problems. However, now I plan on doing this without Rebuilder. I've got all the settings down and packed, but some still puzzle me.

1)How can I specify sectors in CCE so that the outputted movie file will be of a certain size?
2)If I split the movie using the trim function into chapters, how would I specify an average bitrate?

This is the script:

LoadPlugin("E:\Kartick's Stuff\Tools\video tools\dgmpgdec148\DGDecode.dll")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\LimitedSharpenFaster.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\DeHalo_alpha.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Restore24.avs")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\MaskTools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\mt_masktools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\mvtools.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Decomb.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\degrainmedian.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\TDeint.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\UnDot.dll")

mpeg2source("E:\Video\Hindi Movies\Sholay stuff\more things\VTS_01_3.d2v",idct=5)

setmemorymax(512)

AssumeTFF()
Restore24(numr=1,deno=2, r24deint=3)
TDecimate(Mode=0,cycle=30,CycleR=6)

Crop(18,0,-6,0)
LanczosResize(704,480)

Tweak(sat=1.15)

DeSpot(p1=35, p2=14, pwidth=70, pheight=70, mthres=25, mwidth=20, mheight=15,
\ p1percent=0,dilate=0,color=true)

UnDot()

DeGrainMedian(mode=1)

DeHalo_alpha()

LimitedSharpenFaster(Smode=4)

ConvertToYUY2()

[steptoe]

Try using CCE basic or a trial version of CCE SP as CCE SP2 support is still being tested in DVD-RB Pro as its likely to have strange faults or errors using CCE SP2

I can run basically any filter chain or functions with no problems, other than working out what filters need to function as they should

You're encoding speed is entirely dependant on your computer and especially what filters you are using, I have a script that crawls along at 0.07 to 0.12 but it does what I set out to do

Also bear in mind that CCE is very CPU intensive, so if you're system is overclocked then if it fails when running CCE you need to drop back you're overclocking a couple of notches and try again

[canuckerfan]

Try using CCE basic or a trial version of CCE SP as CCE SP2 support is still being tested in DVD-RB Pro as its likely to have strange faults or errors using CCE SP2

I can run basically any filter chain or functions with no problems, other than working out what filters need to function as they should

You're encoding speed is entirely dependant on your computer and especially what filters you are using, I have a script that crawls along at 0.07 to 0.12 but it does what I set out to do

Also bear in mind that CCE is very CPU intensive, so if you're system is overclocked then if it fails when running CCE you need to drop back you're overclocking a couple of notches and try again

Think you might have missed my idea. Sorry if I was unclear, but I plan on doing this encode now without rebuilder using CCE SP2. I got over the CCE issues, so it doesn't crash anymore. The script I posted above goes around 0.09, not that fast, but I'm willing to wait. My questions were how do I specify sectors for size output in CCE and if I encode each chapter separately, how can I compute the bitrate?

Oh, one more question... once the fps has become 23.976, does the average bitrate change for CCE? Or does that need to be adjusted for the new fps?

[manono]

I plan on doing this encode now without rebuilder using CCE SP2.

You can't use DVD-RB on it even if you wanted to, as you're changing the framerate.

The script I posted above goes around 0.09, not that fast, but I'm willing to wait.

As mentioned earlier, you'd be better off making an uncompressed AVI and then using that as a source (also via AviSynth) to feed CCE.

My questions were how do I specify sectors for size output in CCE

Why would you want to specify sectors? It's an inferior way to encode anyway (in my opinion), but necessitated by the way DVD-RB is designed. Just use a bitrate calculator to get the bitrate, which directly correlates with file size.

...I encode each chapter separately, how can I compute the bitrate?

Again, why do that? Encode the entire movie and set the chapter points when authoring.

once the fps has become 23.976, does the average bitrate change for CCE?

No.

[canuckerfan]

Sorry, I've been really unclear. I was aware that Rebuilder's muxing process alters the frame-rate, therefore I had to avoid using it. Instead I have to use CCE manually now. Hopefully that clears up that statement. I used the bitrate calculator at videohelp (http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm), hopefully that works well. About splitting the .AVS files into chapters, I was thinking about doing that because some segments of the movie need to be tweaked (in terms of colour) differently than others. However, that's no big deal, it's only for a couple chapters. I'll skip it if it saves confusion/complication. So.... I encode using cce, I get a raw MPEG2 stream, then I author the stream, with the AC3 audio stream. So far it makes sense.

EDIT: Quick question, since the framerate will now be 23.976, and it will be dependent upon the player to perform the 3:2 pulldown, do certain "flags" need to be set in the mpeg2 stream? Oh, and timings won't change, will they for this conversion?

[foxyshadis]

If you need to split them up, chap1=trim(...) chap2=trim(...) etc, run your separate filters on each, then just end the script by merging them back together: chap1+chap2+chap3+....

As the final step you'll need to use dgpulldown before muxing, which will take care of the flags.

[canuckerfan]

If you need to split them up, chap1=trim(...) chap2=trim(...) etc, run your separate filters on each, then just end the script by merging them back together: chap1+chap2+chap3+....

As the final step you'll need to use dgpulldown before muxing, which will take care of the flags.
Thanks for the tips. Perhaps I will do that, for now I'll just stick with something simple. One more questions, does changing the resolution from 720 x 480 to 704 x 480 alter the aspect ratio?

[canuckerfan]

Might be slightly off-topic, but I'm correct to assume that all DVD players perform real-time pulldown, right?

[manono]

Yes, rest assured that at whatever framerate it's stored on the DVD, it'll always be output for NTSC at 29.97fps, or actually 59.94 fields per second. That's the function of the flagging, to tell the player how to do it.

[canuckerfan]

With my encoded stream, since it is now progressive, do I need to change the flag in the stream to indicate that? And will resizing from 720 x 480 to 704 x 480 alter the aspect ratio?

I know these are slightly off-topic, but hopefully they're just quickies

[manono]

Well, if you're encoding for 23.976fps progressive then you have to apply pulldown, either during encoding or afterwards. You won't be able to author it otherwise.

I don't want to tackle your resizing question. Too controversial. I did mine for 720x480.

[Mug Funky]

officially:

720 = D1

704 = D1 cropped

so, don't resize to 704, rather crop 8 pixels off each side. then aspect should be the same.

[canuckerfan]

yea, i cropped off 12 from the left and 4 from the right.. same thing, right?

[canuckerfan]

Got one more quick question. Don't want to create a new thread, so I'll just ask here. Hope that's ok. Sometimes it can be kind of tricky whether source material (MPEG2) is 29.97 fps or 23.976 fps because of the flags. Therefore, knowing whether IVTCing is an option or not can be difficult. Anyway to figure out definitively the framerate of a source (ignoring flags)?