IVTC problem with Russian film

[rromanov]

Okay, this is simply mind-numbing at this point, so here's the problem.. I have a DVD of an old soviet movie, that I know was shot on film (1979 movie - Moscow doesn't beleive in tears)

It's a region 1 DVD, so the movie is interlaced and on the DVD it's a 29.97 fps. My problem is, there seems to be no combination of Telecide() and Decimate() values that I use in order to IVTC it to 23.976! I keep getting a skipped frame every 20-25 frames and nothing seems to work. I've tried to deinterlace it first, then convert the fps, but alas. I know this may raise some flames, but I really need help here :(

I'd appreciate any pointers, please.

[N_F]

Originally posted by rromanov
It's a region 1 DVD, so the movie is interlaced and on the DVD it's a 29.97 fps. My problem is, there seems to be no combination of Telecide() and Decimate() values that I use in order to IVTC it to 23.976! I keep getting a skipped frame every 20-25 frames and nothing seems to work. I've tried to deinterlace it first, then convert the fps, but alas. I know this may raise some flames, but I really need help here :(

I don't know if you just wrote wrong in this post or if you have misunderstood the whole thing. If the DVD indeed is interlaced then you shouldn't use Telecide() or Decimate(), but simply a deinterlacer like for instance Fielddeinterlace().

[rromanov]

I did every possible deinterlace - but that results in a 29.97 fps video, which isn't what I want, since the original movie isn't 29.97 - so I'm losing quality for no reason? What I want as output (rightfully so, I believe) is a non-interlaced, non-jerky 23.976 fps video.. And not getting it!

[Asmodian]

Could you post some example scripts that you tried so I can get an idea of what settings you tried and what might help you?

[N_F]

Ahhh, ok. I've never even heard of that combination (film at 29,97 and interlaced) which is why I didn't quite understand you.

I won't be able to help you, but I hope someone will as I find these things very interesting.

(Just a small note/question: You are confident it's made at 24 fps film originally? (I know you said you are in your first post, but it can't hurt to doublecheck))

[manono]

Quite a few R1 NTSC DVDs made from PAL sources play more smoothly if you decimate by 6 instead of by 5, so you might try this instead to see if it works:

Telecide(Guide=3)
Decimate(6)

Edit: Is it Tarkovsky's Stalker by chance?

[rromanov]

Yes, I'm entirely sure.. it's a soviet film, shot in 1979, and it was shot on film. However, they made it into a NTSC 29.97 interlaced material for the american region DVD.

What I'm trying to do, is get it to become a deinterlaced, 23.976 fps XVID - simply deinterlacing it works, but i get 29.97fps material, which if I try to telecide to 23.976 fps I get jerky frames on (like I said, every 20 to 24 frames it skips a frame). If I just IVTC it, i get a 23.976 XVID that is also jerky.. Here are some of the scripts I've tried on it:
(I'm not including the cropping or resizing parts of the script)

# IVTC
Telecide().Decimate(5)
this results in a 23.976fps video, that skips a frame every now and then (1 for every 20-24 frames)

if I do this:
Telecide().Decimate(6)
I get a 24.975fps video that is not jerky, however 24.975 isn't a valid fps (I could still do it of course, but...)

p.s. the movie is Moscow doesn't believe in tears btw

[manono]

Hi-

however 24.975 isn't a valid fps

Oh? And in what way is it not valid? You're making an .avi aren't you, and any player will play it. It's just as valid as 23.976fps. However, I know what you mean, and when dealing with sources such as I described, I'll make it 25fps by doing this:

Telecide(Guide=3)
Decimate(6)
AssumeFPS(25)

However, that requires compressing the audio a bit, but AC3Machine can do it easily (convert to 24000, and NOT 25000). It was telecined off of a 25fps source, perhaps a videotape or laserdisc master, if it's what I believe it to be.

[rromanov]

Heh :)

Don't know how to thank you bro.
Now I'm content with the results :)

Rod

[manono]

You're welcome-

I was thinking later. You could return the video to 23.976fps or 24fps with the AssumeFPS command also. Or you could take the finished video and open it in VDub-Nandub and Direct Stream it and adjust the frame rate in Video-Frame Rate without reencoding. You could adjust the audio length in AC3Machine. Whereas before you would go from 23976 to 24000 (the way I suggested before, but was unclear) or 24975 to 25000 (same thing), if you slow it down from 24975 to 23976 or 24000, you may or may not notice the pitch change. If you want to do that, you might be better off converting to .wav and using a WAV Editor to keep the proper pitch as well as slow it down. Just some ideas.