How to fix Telecined DVD

[MysteryX]

You can use the defaults but there is no way to call DGIndex "optimally" for every video it supports.

Filters can request frames out of order too which can sometimes generate odd results with DSS.

Generally DirectShowSource might work but no one can say for sure it will be OK. Other options are preferred for reliability.
That's why I first convert to AVI and then use AviSource. It avoids all these inconsistencies. An additional issue I would have otherwise is getting the proper pixel aspect ratio of the source video to calculate the proper width. MediaInfo.dll doesn't always return the right value, it still has a bunch of bugs in it. For AVI format, however, MediaInfo.dll always gives me the right pixel aspect ratio, and FFMPEG always converts properly.

However, I tried encoding a 2h20 480p DVD and it generated a 40GB temp file! One modification I'll do to my software is to be able to re-encode with different settings without having to reconvert to AVI, because that first step does take a while (and the overall 1080p re-encoding took 15 hours!) If I can convert it once to AVI and then make several test encodes from there, that will be perfect.

Hope I'm not the only one who decided to dive into this oddball source. But IMO it looks better as-is on a good player. I saw no benefit from upsizing. The original just doesn't seem to have enough data for SD to HD, which is often the case.
Actually your version looks pretty good! But yeah, probably best to simply play it in Windows Media Player. It's an interesting video to play with for academic purposes. It does raise a few unanswered questions.

[LemMotlow]

Your DVD/MKV source video plays with a 4:3 display aspect ratio. Usually one works with the image or display aspect ratios, not with pixel aspect ratios, because the ultimate display aspect ratio is usually known and standard definition video as DVD or BD/AVCHD SD can be encoded only at certain frame sizes. But anyway, the pixel aspect ratio of 720x480 DVD that displays at 4:3 is 12:11. 720x480 NTSC video that displays at 16:9 has a 40:33 pixel aspect ratio. The same frame size and pixel aspect ratios apply to 720x480 standard-def BluRay/AVCHD at 4:3 and 16:9 DAR.

If you start with a 4:3 image and you want 1080 pixels in height, that means a width of 1440 for a 4:3 frame (1440x1080 is a 4:3 display aspect ratio and a 1:1 pixel aspect ratio). Standard DVD, whether it plays at 4:3 or 16:9, is never encoded at 1:1 pixel aspect ratios.

4:3 is the same thing as 4 divided by 3, or 1.3333333:1, so the 4x3 aspect display is also stated as 1.33333:1. A height of 1080 will be the "1" in the 1.3333:1 ratio. If you multiply the 1080 height by 1.33333, you get a width of 1439.999. No way anyone would encode to 1439.999 width, so it's rounded to 1440. Another little rule to be aware of is that most encoded video frame sizes require dimensions that are mod-8 in all directions. 1440 and 1080 are numbers that can be evenly divided by 8. 1920, 1280, 720, and 480 are mod-8 as well.

Whether you go from MKV to AVI or not, your mkv has to be decoded before it can be re-encoded to a different frame size or different codec. Whether you decoded to lossless AVI or whether it's decoded internally by conversion software, it's still decoded before it's re-encoded.

[LemMotlow]

OK, so taking advice from earlier posts by people whom I feel know what they're doing, for 2 days I've given 2.6 another try. This time, with 2.6-A5. Not having 100% faith in this, I made an image backup of the OS partition. I have the 2.5.8 program folder on a separate drive, so I made a copy of that and a copy of the new 2.6 version of that program folder.....and a copy of the 2.5.8 dll. So if lightning strikes with 2.6, I can overlay the Avisynth program folder back and forth with 2.6 and 2.5.8 versions if need be.

Also removed some specified 2.5 plugins with 2.6 models. A little problem there. Seems 2.6 tells me that the new DirectShowSource and NNEDI3 don't exist and are not Avisynth plugins, and RemoveGrain/Repair don't exist either. So the 2.6 versions on referenced plugins update pages go back into storage and the handful of old guys are reinstated. That works. The remaining 2.6 update plugins including dither are OK...so far.

One problem noted is scripts going back 3 to 5 years that use QTGMC in YUY2. So I have to explicitly load that specific 2.5 masktools (or is it mvtools, I forget) because those scripts work in YUY2 from start to finish and I'm not one for changing YUY2/YV12 back and forth. Tried that, works OK. Pain in the butt, though, pasting a LoadPlugin line in over 200 old scripts. I tried a couple of real oldies that use a bunch of ancient plugins, and they ran OK too. Surprise, surprise.

So we'll see how v2.6-A5 goes, the A2 version being the last one I tried. There's always that C-drive image backup......

[StainlessS]

Still one step behind: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=171668

EDIT: And dont overwrite any plugins written by v2.6RC1 with your old ones from v2.58.

EDIT: You can just install official v2.6RC1 over previously installed v2.58, or v2.6A5, there should be no problem.

And Groucho2004 version Intel ICL compiled dll (overwrite in system32, or SysWOW64): http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=167358

[LemMotlow]

Thanks. Will do some more check and cleanup tomorrow. Lotta plugins in there!

[LemMotlow]

Went back to the previous OS backup and started from scratch. But not before I noticed that when I ran the 2.6 installer, I got in a rush and took the default location C:\Program files\Avisynth 2.5. But I had Avisynth on drive D at D:\Avisynth 2.5, not on drive C.
:eek:

Working now, including the plugin updates. Tried some old scripts from 2007 in an old project I keep reviving. Runs good, as they say. Uses up somewhat less RAM, too.

This time it was certainly less of a nightmare than 2.6-A2. Many thanks.

[MysteryX]

Why are you guys not using AviSynth+?

After making all kinds of tests, I ended up using AviSynth+ for making previews of script in Windows Media Player as it is the most stable, and using AviSynth 2.6 MT for final encoding with x264 as it is the fastest.