Recognising interlaced v progressive

[mogre1]

Hello all,

I was hoping someone might be able to help with a little problem I am having with dvd2avi. All of my DVDs are PAL and when I run the dvd2avi preview in most instances the settings box tells me the video is interlaced, even when it is in fact progressive (most of you will be familiar with that one). This is not a problem.

Two particular DVDs ARE causing me a problem though, namely 'Casino' and 'Four Weddings And A Funeral'. As per usual dvd2avi tells me they are interlaced, and sure enough they look different from all the others. The excellent guide at http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvd2avi.htm tells me to look for black horizontal lines. What I have are horizontal lines ok (about five equally spaced throughout the frame) but they are not black, or any colour for that matter. They are just there, if you know what I mean.

So I 'Swap Field Operation', preview again and the lines have gone. Great, it must be an interlaced video. So I save the project file and carry on, lastly checking 'Fast' or 'Smart Deinterlace' before encoding my movie (I am using Gordian Knot by the way). Problem is when I play my finished avi it stops and starts and then freezes up.

So I start over, this time treating the video as progressive. Now the finished avi plays ok, but I have what look like tiny black horizontal lines all around the outlines of moving objects. Was the video interlaced after all? And if so, why won't the avi play when I encode it as such?

I would be extemely grateful for any views, and apologise for such a long post.

Thanks and regards,

Mogre1.

[Zhnujm]

if you can use "swap field operation" to correct the movie ,its not interlaced. are you sure you have enabled "swap field operation" the second time you encoded the movie ?
but your playback problems must have another reason. not important if you use or not use a deinterlacer or swapped fields option, in the end you get a playable avi. (well, most times ;) )

[mogre1]

Thanks Zhnujm for your swift response. I am afraid I have misunderstood the Guide thinking that the presence of lines automatically means the video is interlaced. May I ask, is there actually any such thing as a DVD with interlaced video? I have ripped a considerable number of movies, and have yet to come across one.

Thanks again,

Mogre1.

[Guest]

Take a look at the special features on some disks, like "The Making of.." or "Behind the Scenes" fluff material. This is often shot as straight 30fps video. Also, some DVDs mix 24fps film and 30fps nonfilm material. The Lain and Cowboy Bebop anime series are two that I know of.

[Zhnujm]

dvds with tv-shows or tv-series are also often interlaced, but you can be sure a movie from cinema is not interlaced.
simple reason is that there is no way to really "interlace" a progressive source.

[mogre1]

Thanks Zhnujm and neuron2,

Now I know the difference. It is a pity I got interested in ripping movies after all the hard work had already been done - being lazy I have taken the easy option using all-in-one rip packs with the result that I don't really understand what it is that I am doing. Perhaps it is time I went back to basics (lol). Anyway I have now successfully ripped Four Weddings and am about to have another go at Casino (take 5 I think).

Thanks again for the assistance, it is much appreciated,

Regards,

Mogre1.