DV -> DVD through AviSynth / CCE

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I'm familiar with backing up DVDs through AviSynth and CCE. I have never dealt with DV stuff, though. I've got 29.976 NTSC mpeg2 generated from pinacle. I usually would just create a DVD2AVI project for this, but aparently unless I force FILM to 23.9 fps, CCE won't import my avs file.

Is there a way to process this without deinterlacing the video stream? Really it seems that if I could process it in NTSC at its native 29.976 fps, I'd get the best results. Maybe I'm missing something, but to me it doesn't make sense to step down the frame rate and decomb just so I can step the frame rate back up and run pulldown after processing. It just seems I'd lose a lot in the process. Any help from someone with any DV experience in this department would be greatly appreciated.

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I am a *******. I changed the name of a directory after I created the .d2v. AVS pointed to the right directory, but the.d2v couldn't find the m2v file. My resultant thinking told me that cce was having issues with the 30fps (never used it before in cce); I was wrong.

Anyhow, I am having trouble figuring out whether this is telicined or true interlaced. Got the m2v from a guy who processed in in final cut from dv tape. Any hints?

[Wilbert]

To quote from this wonderful faq (http://www.doom9.org/ivtc-tut.htm):

"If, in every 5 frames, you see 2 interlaced frames and 3 non-interlaced (progressive) frames, then it has been telecined and can be IVTC'd (Inverse Telecined)."

Further in that faq:

"A TRULY INTERLACED SOURCE CANNOT BE IVTC’D. Unfortunately for us, DVD2AVI can not distinguish between bad telecining and genuine interlace. They will both appear in the statistics window as NTSC. One way of finding which is which is by using DVD2AVI to approximately find the NTSC parts of the film. Then use the following .avs to check the frames in Virtual Dub:

LoadPlugin("mpeg2dec.dll")
LoadPlugin("Decomb.dll")
MpegSource("clip.d2v")
Telecide(post=false)

You should look for an interlaced picture. They mostly come out with jagged edges, or the telltale fine horizontal lines in a scene with movement. If you only get 1 (or 2) with long irregular intervals of progressive (non-interlaced) frames, together with repeated frames (1 in 5) then you can safely use IVTC on the film.

If, however, almost every frame shows signs of interlacing then you must use a real de-interlacer instead."

Thus for example:

LoadPlugin("mpeg2dec.dll")
LoadPlugin("Decomb.dll")
MpegSource("clip.d2v")
FieldDeinterlace()

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Thanks a ton. As I've never worked with anything other than progressive frame DVDs in the past, it's become apparent that I didn't understand the difference between interlaced and telicined. It has sunk in. True telicine is only done when the original record media was actual film at 24fps, correct? So if my m2v in this case came from a dv camera and was processed in final cut, I've got 100% true interlacing; field deinterlace is the way to go.

I still see a 'blur' effect in high motion seens that appears to me to be the result of interpolation between combing lines when an object in one frame has moved significantly in the next frame resulting in a 'ghosted' double image. It's not really THAT noticable while playing, but if I freeze the frame it's blatent. Is there any way to decrease this effect?

[Wilbert]

True telicine is only done when the original record media was actual film at 24fps, correct?
If you mean that 'if' telecine is done on a clip, then the original clip was shot as 24fps. Then you are right.

So if my m2v in this case came from a dv camera and was processed in final cut, I've got 100% true interlacing; field deinterlace is the way to go.
DV is never telecined, but it need not be true interlaced either (at least this is true for PAL, and I assume also for NTSC). So first make the following script:

AviSource(...)
SeparateFields()

open in Virtualdub (enlarge 2x) and look whether the (most) fields look progressive. If that's the case you can use the following script:

LoadPlugin("decomb.dll")
AviSource(...)
Telecide()

If the fields contain interlace effects the clip is trully interlaced and you have to use FieldDeinterlace. You also should check whether those fields contain ghosting (it shouldn't) ?

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Awesome idea. I'll give it a shot. Thanks!

[Guest]

Originally posted by Wilbert
DV is never telecined Not true. For example, if I capture an HBO film via my Hollywood Bridge, I get a telecined AVI in DV format. Maybe you meant a DV camera never produces 3:2 output.

[Wilbert]

Yes that's what I meant, but thanks for the correction! Btw, what's "HBO film"?

[Guest]

Originally posted by Wilbert
Yes that's what I meant, but thanks for the correction! Btw, what's "HBO film"? HBO is Home Box Office, a popular content provider here in the USA and elsewhere.