1080p DVR -> 480i DV -> Avisynth filters -> AVStoDVD - Suggestions?

[ogrgkyle]

I've recorded a documentary series on my DVR and outputted it through Firewire into DV-AVI files (480i, NTSC). From here I want to run them through Avisynth, then through AVStoDVD to make a DVD.

Any filter suggestions (specifically for output to DVD)? I want to remove the logo if possible. In a test, I was able to deblend the transparent part, which is most of it.

AVStoDVD/HCenc suggestions? Which matrix? AC3 audio?

I want the best settings, even if they are slow.

Each episode is about 90 to 120 minutes long. I want one episode per DVD.

Current Avisynth script:

FFmpegSource2("C:\myvideo.avi", atrack=-1, colorspace="YV12")
DoubleWeave().SelectOdd()
AssumeTFF()
Crop(4, 0, 712, 480, align=False)
BicubicResizeMT(720, 480)

This changes the field order to TFF in preparation for an interlaced NTSC DVD. I assume I can crop the left and right borders without messing up the interlacing.

AVStoDVD settings: Highest MPEG2 video bitrate possible with AC3 448kbps stereo audio.

HCenc settings (from AVStoDVD):

*INFILE C:\Users\myuser\AppData\Local\Temp\DVD_1_test_1.avs
*AVSRELOAD
*OUTFILE C:\Users\myuser\Videos\DVD_1_test.m2v
*LOGFILE C:\Users\myuser\AppData\Local\Temp\DVD_1_test.HCenc.log
*MAXBITRATE 7964
*BITRATE 5637
*PROFILE BEST
*ASPECT 16:9
*INTERLACED
*TFF
*BIAS 60
*DC_PREC 10
*MATRIX MPEG
*AQ 1
*LUMGAIN 1
*SMP
*PRIORITY NORMAL
*DBPATH C:\Users\myuser\AppData\Local\Temp
*WAIT 2
*CHROMADOWNSAMPLE 1
*LASTIFRAME
*INTRAVLC 2
*AUTOGOP 15

HERE is the 8-minute sample (1.69GB) (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9eUF3WCwbSteUVBRENvTnhld2M) of the most common type of clips in the documentary.

[johnmeyer]

1. Try to output at higher resolution than 480i, unless the documentary was originally 4:3 SD video. I assume that your DVR recorded in HD resolution.

2. Delogo in VD for removing the logo (there are other similar tools). Here is my tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z12TutFSg8c) for removing solid logos and dust spots (same applies to both) using Delogo.

3. 120 minutes on one single-layer, single-sided DVD is pushing things. Even with a $1,000 pro MPEG-2 encoder, you are going to see quite a big of artifacting. 90 minutes is a much better target.

4. Use any of the dozens of bitrate calculators to determine what bitrate to use for any given video (and audio) length. This is a link to my own bitrate calculator (https://www.mediafire.com/file/9lfjfzlx1fstdsr/MpegCalculator_JHM.xls). It works in Excel.

[ogrgkyle]

Let's say I have to have 480i. Do you consider DV-AVI to be high quality (considering that resolution)?

Yes, it is originally HD, but I'm prevented from outputting HD by the DVR.

I think 480i video can be encoded to Blu-ray, right? If I did Blu-ray, should I deinterlace/IVTC or upscale?

[manolito]

Like johnmeyer pointed out, you'd be better off to capture your DVR recording to your PC without reencoding. If you really need to capture the recordings over FireWire, maybe you can avoid using the DV format and go for a lossless codec instead.

I analyzed your uploaded sample, and I can hardly believe that the original DVR format was 1080p - which means PROGRESSIVE. The sample you uploaded is very HYBRID instead. The newer commentaries seem progressive (they show no combing), but the older film parts are either blended, a lot of them are 3:2 telecined, and some others are completely interlaced.

If your target format is DVD, then AVStoDVD is an excellent choice. But I do have a few comments about your settings:

First of all I am not talking about any enhancement filters. This is a very different playground. All I am talking about is how to convert your source to the desired target format in the most faithful way.

In your AVS file the "DoubleWeave.SelectOdd" command is useless. A DVD which is Interlaced BFF is perfectly legal, but of course you can also reverse the field dominance to make it TFF. And cropping off left or right borders followed by resizing to the original frame size is also questionable. You could instead just crop off 8 pixels fom the left and the right. The resulting frame size of 704 x 480 is perfectly legal for a DVD, and nobody will be able to detect the slight aspect ratio error.

In your HC.INI settings the *CHROMADOWNSAMPLE instruction is useless. AVStoDVD always adds the command "ConvertToYV12(interlaced=true)" for interlaced sources, this command takes care of the chroma subsampling to 4:2:0 already. No need whatsoever to repeat this in HCenc.

I uploaded a AVStoDVD conversion of your uploaded samples, the HC.INI and AVS files I used are included. Tell me what you think...

https://we.tl/DJTQAMd25T


Cheers
manolito

[johnmeyer]

If your DVR has component output (i.e., three round, colored cables) you can capture in HD using a fairly inexpensive Hauppauge recorder. I do it all the time.

[ogrgkyle]

Thanks, manolito. I didn't know a 704X480 BFF DVD was acceptable. I don't know anything about the matrices. What's the reason for this matrix?

Realistically, I'll probably encode these all to individual DVDs. I care about quality, but this will be very convenient and I think good enough.

johnmeyer, interesting, never thought of capturing to HD with component. Although my setup is DV and I already have these all outputted, and I think I will end up using these DV files.

So I'm just looking for minor tweaks, if any, you all might suggest. Specifically I'm wondering if de-logo is even worth it. I may not bother.