Log in

View Full Version : NTSC Scrolling Moire Bug


Emulgator
19th June 2012, 20:44
I guess this is a well-known fault,
but I saw this only a few times in NTSC footage and oops, there he is now on my table.

Maybe someone can help.

Attempted restoration of a NTSC-DVD 98,77% Film

Most prominent fault: Scrolling NTSC Checkerboard Moiré:

In encoded NTSC frames (pulldown ignored) in coloured parts a scrolling 2x2 checkerboard moiré becomes visible.

But the fault lies in Y plane only ! Greyscale() (forcing U,V to 127) keeps the fault, Forcing Y to 0 or 127 shows clean U,V planes.

This fault is moving vertically through the lines stepping height down by 1-2-1, so pattern is repeating every 4 frames:

Frame 0:
Y of lines 0+1 modulated into positive direction
AND Y of lines 2+3 modulated into negative direction
Frame 1: (Fault steps 1 line down):
Y of line 0 modulated into negative direction
AND Y of lines 1+2 modulated into positive direction
AND Y of Line 3 modulated into negative direction
Frame 2: (Fault steps 2 lines down, so pattern is reversed to Frame 1):
Y of line 0 modulated into positive direction
AND Y of lines 1+2 modulated into negative direction
AND Y of Line 3 modulated into positive direction
Frame 3: (Fault steps 1 line down):
Y of lines 0+1 modulated into positive direction
AND Y of lines 2+3 modulated into negative direction.

I get the impression as if strong U,V gradients are leaking into Y
and modulate Y-values of neighboring 2x2 squares checkerboardwise in opposite directions under certain conditions.
Y values are modulated in 2x2 pixel squares, one square has its Y-value modulated to (Y+F),
the surrounding squares have their Y-values modulated to (Y-F).

For a vertical border at a given x the arithmetical mean value of Y-values in lines (n,n+1) and (n+2,n+3)
would give the correct Y-values,
the affected vicinity around the vertical border is +-3 to +-4 pixels wide.

The colour of the border element (blue/red) influences the phase !
At right border: skyblue and orange wings trigger different line pairs !

Local Condition: A contour where saturation (U,V) rises/falls more than a certain amount per pixel.
In vicinity of U,V deviating more than +-30(?) from 127(?) the fault occurs and the stronger the saturation, the stronger is F.

A purely saturated area does not exhibit this fault.

A strong chroma signal change is needed to watch this fault.
Strong vertical black/blue or black/red or black/orange or black/green borders will show best how it behaves.

Black/Grey/White changes do not trigger the fault.

A short sample is here:
http://www.dvd-manufactur.de/files/TC_VTS_01_3a.VOB

TheSkiller
19th June 2012, 20:58
That's the infamous "dot crawl". Caused by Y/C separation of composite video prior to DVD encoding.
You may try TComb (http://avisynth.org.ru/docs/english/externalfilters/tcomb.htm) by Tritical.

Reel.Deel
19th June 2012, 21:01
Checkmate (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1571520#post1571520) always seems to be a good candidate.

Emulgator
20th June 2012, 07:02
Ah, dot crawl is the name to call.
Many thanks, playing with the suggestions now.

Emulgator
20th June 2012, 09:42
Yes, TComb and Checkmate do work a good bit,
but their temporal part does introduce artifacts on stepping movements and scenechanges.
.mp4guy's unbt helps in removing tiny dots while keeping details intact, but does not help when strong dots occur.

Luckily, in my case I seem to have a very deterministic behaviour of the dots regarding their modulation amplitude and location.
So I hope to find the U->Y and V->Y leaking coefficients for a straightforward spatial (no temporal) compensation sooner or later.
Then maybe find a saturation mask to safely exclude non-affected areas.