newbie: script for NTSC to PAL

[Ragornette]

Hello,
I already left a little msg for my problem which is to convert a ntsc dvd in PAL (in another place of the forum).
Someone point me to this page: http://www.geocities.com/xesdeeni2001/StandardsConversion/index.html#NTSCVideoDVD2PALDVD

where there is a avisynth script:

LoadPlugin("MPEG2DEC.dll")
LoadPlugin("SmoothDeinterlacer.dll")
MPEG2Source("DRIVE:\PATH\VTS_xx_x.d2v")
SeparateFields()
Weave()
SmoothDeinterlace(doublerate=true)
ConvertFPS(50) # or ChangeFPS(50)
LanczosResize(720,576)
SeparateFields()
SelectEvery(4,1,2)
Weave()
ConvertToRGB()

my current problem is that I see on my render some kind of interlaced frames where I shouldn't get some.(the result isn't good enough)
According to you, is the script correct? Does the problem comes from my parameters in tmpgenc? Is the smoothdeinterlacer correct in the script?
Any others suggestions???
:confused:

Thanks in advance.

Ragornette

[sh0dan]

It seems fine. My personal preference is DgBob - it's faster and better IMO. The first separatefields()/weave() does nothing: try:

MPEG2Source("DRIVE:\PATH\VTS_xx_x.d2v")
dgbob(order=1, mode = 1)
ChangeFPS(50)
LanczosResize(720,576)
SeparateFields()
SelectEvery(4,1,2)
Weave()

You need to clarify your problem further. The output of this script is _supposed_ to be interlaced. Be sure to specify it as such in TMPGEnc. The material is Top-Field-First.

Otherwise I would recommend you to ask in the TMPGEnc section.

[Ragornette]

Thanks
just getting some problems to having it working
but I'll find the solution
I need to change my status from newbie to regular user
:p

If I'm lost, I call you back!!!

Thanks again

Ragornette

[Ragornette]

it freezes all the time tmpgenc

I uninstalled avisynth 2.08 and installed 2.52

any clue?

Thanks

[Ragornette]

found
thanks
wasn't using the correct mpeg2dec!!!!

seems to work now

[verabgd]

Originally posted by sh0dan
It seems fine. My personal preference is DgBob - it's faster and better IMO. The first separatefields()/weave() does nothing: try:

MPEG2Source("DRIVE:\PATH\VTS_xx_x.d2v")
dgbob(order=1, mode = 1)
ChangeFPS(50)
LanczosResize(720,576)
SeparateFields()
SelectEvery(4,1,2)
Weave()

... The output of this script is _supposed_ to be interlaced. Be sure to specify it as such in TMPGEnc. The material is Top-Field-First.



Shortly: I am from Europe; PAL system. I have more than 10 NTSC tapes and I’d like to make DVDs from them. VHS tapes are mainly second generation so captured files need filtering. They are already captured as NTSC MPEG-2, 8000 bps, audio – 48KHz, 384 Kbps, unfortunately mono. I didn’t capture by myself because I don’t have multi system VCR.

Well, I made a DVD producing DVD PAL MPEG-2 in TMPGEnc. The content is music concert + film about making the concert. I noticed that something is wrong, especially with the faster scenes; also the movie is of very bad quality. So I’ve searched the forum (where I can find all answers for more that year) and this seems as a solution for converting NTSC to PAL.

But I have few questions:

1. As I need filtering I am not quite sure is it OK to put denoising filters after given script?

2. Where to put Crop? In other words is it necessary to put LancrosResize as it is (if it is I’d like to know why) or I can put resizing at the end. I tried to put Crop as the first command but I got error message.

3. As “The output of this script is _supposed_ to be interlaced” should/can I put some pure deinterlacer after quoted script (TomsMoComp for example) as I used to do with PAL captures; according to most posts that I read up to now it is recommended to deinterlace captured material first, although it will be encoded as interlaced later, because deinterlacing removes lot of noise.

Here is the script that I am going to use if I didn’t make some big mistake:

+++++++++++++++++++
# SOURCE
MPEG2Source("DRIVE:\PATH\Concert.d2v")
#
# CONVERT NTSC -> PAL
#
dgbob(order=1, mode = 1)
ChangeFPS(50)
#
Crop(12,0,-15,-14) #OK to put Crop here?
#
LanczosResize(720,576)
SeparateFields()
SelectEvery(4,1,2)
Weave()
#
Undot()
#
# DENOISING - heavy noise
#
#ConvertToYVY2
#SpatialSoften(3,5,5,mode=2,scenechange=10)
#ConvertToYV12
Temporalsoften(4,8,8,mode=2,scenechange=10)
Convolution3d("movielq")
FluxSmooth(video,10,15)
#
# Is the order of the filters OK? SpacialSoften is commented because I use this filter when the captured material is of extremely bad quality.
#
# COLOR CORRECTION
#
saturation = 0.1
cu = - (1-saturation)*256
ColorYUV(off_y=2, gain_y=4, cont_u=cu, cont_v = cu, off_u=0, off_v=-4, opt="coring")
#Histogram()
#
#Maybe:
#
#Crop(12,0, -16, -14)
#AddBoders(14,7,14,7)
#LanczosResize(720,576) #Resize again or put resizing here?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thank you very much in advance.

[scharfis_brain]

please have a look at my automated NTSC -> PAL converter:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67161

It automatically detects film to convert it without fieldblending.
Video-sequences are converted the traditional way, by fieldblending.

[scharfis_brain]

1) Do your Filtering BEFORE applying any fieldbased-stuff (in this case: the NTSC -> PAL conversion)
- decide for one temporal and one spatial noisefilter or one combo-filter (like conv3d) but don't comine them.
- for 2nd generation VHS, a chromashift would be very nice
use chromashift(L=-4) for starting. (you have to DL the DLL first)


2) If not sure, when and with which numbers to crop correctly, place it at the end of everything.
- don't crop odd numbers.
- the best would be cropping dividable by 8 (8,16,24...) and then replacing the cropped area with black bars (addborder -command)

3) for achiving the best motion leave your converted Video INTERLACED.
deinterlacing after a NTSC -> PAL conversion WILL make the video getting jerky/stuttering motion. Just do an INTEKLACED encoding.

[verabgd]

Originally posted by scharfis_brain

- decide for one temporal and one spatial noisefilter or one combo-filter (like conv3d) but don't comine them.
I'd like to know WHY don't combine them?
BTW I've used Gordian Knot a lot and in the script that GK produces for "medium and heavy noise" there are two (or three) combo-filters and the results are very good? Ok, these are combo-filters but there are more than one. Actually for these second generation VHS captured videos it seems that Convolution3D isn't enough; adding FluxSmooth improves significantly the quality. Adding Temporalsoften improves more ???


- for 2nd generation VHS, a chromashift would be very nice
use chromashift(L=-4) for starting.

I am using Chromashift sometimes but in this particular VHS capture I cannot see that there is chroma shifting. Anyway I will try.


1) Do your Filtering BEFORE applying any fieldbased-stuff (in this case: the NTSC -> PAL conversion)

Yes, I tried this way. Then I read again carefully "Capture Guide" and found at the very end of the Quide how to filter interlaced video. So I've tried the following script but I'd like to know is this OK? Also is there a big difference between this two approaches (to filter NTSC video and than convert to PAL OR to filter separated fileds that will be weaved)?

+++++++++++++++
# SOURCE
MPEG2Source("DRIVE:\PATH\Concert.d2v")
#
# CONVERT NTSC -> PAL
#
dgbob(order=1, mode = 1)
ChangeFPS(50)
#
Crop(12,0,-16,-16)
LanczosResize(720,576)

SeparateFields()

even=SelectEvery(2,0) # 0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20, ...

#Spatio-temporal filters
even=Convolution3d(even,"movielq")

odd=SelectEvery(2,1) # 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19,21, ...

#Spatio-temporal filters
odd=Convolution3d(odd,"movielq")

Interleave(even,odd) # 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, ...

SelectEvery(4,1,2) # 1,2, 5,6, 9,10, 13,14, 17,18, ...

#Spatial filters

#Color Correction

ColorYUV(...)

Weave()

+++++++++++++++

Thank you very much for your answers. It is really kind of you. I hope that you will have enought time to answer this also.

[verabgd]

Originally posted by scharfis_brain
please have a look at my automated NTSC -> PAL converter:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67161

It automatically detects film to convert it without fieldblending.
Video-sequences are converted the traditional way, by fieldblending.

Thanks a lot. Seems very useful (and hard to understand).

This particular NTSC VHS tape (concert recording + film about making the concert) is from 1992. This is the copy of original DECCA release that is very hard to find, also very valuable for admirers of this particular artist. The concert recording and the film are separated on VHS tape, also captured separately because the whole tape is more that 100 min. long. So I can process the concert and the film separately. I suppose that I should try ITVC at least on the film material although it is very possible that the concert needs ITVC also. I am going to resolve this NTSC -> PAL conversion problem first and then to try ITVC, if it is possible to treat these two problems separately? BTW the concert was held in England, the film was recorded in Paris and Berlin (there is no subtitles) and I am wondering why the tape is NTSC? Who knows.