dvsd codec

[SimonSez07]

so in order to encode a dv avi with cce i need a vfw dv codec installed. in the past i have tried panasonic and mainconcept's dv codecs but i have had the best results with using ffdshow set to decode dsvd with vfw. to do this i install ffdshow and go into vfw configuration and set dsvd to libavcodec, but on some computers i do all this and still virtualdub or avisynth will not open dvsd avi's. i look in the registry at hklm\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\drivers32 and i even set vidc.dsvd to c:\program files\ffdshow\ffdshow.dll but virtualdub will not allow me to open dsvd files. what am i doing wrong here?

[stickboy]

Does it happen with all files? Might it be a type-1 versus type-2 issue?

[SimonSez07]

yes, all my avis are type-2 dv. thx anyway. im thinking about giving up on ffdshow as dv codec. if so, i need a fast, hq, vfw decoder that will decode to yv12 and yuy2 where needed.

after reading hours of threads i have compiled the folowing list of codecs (most common first)

Panasonic (RGB24)
MainConcept (YUY2)
Canopus (YUY2)
Sony (RGB24)
Pinnacle (RGB32)
Matrox
Fast DV

canopus has YUY2->RGB problem with luminance range 16-235 (fog effect)
canopus uses "CDVC" fourcc instead of "DVSD"
canopus has chroma upsampling bug

panasonic supports RGB color space only

canopus sharpens least
panasonic sharpens some
mainconcept sharpens most

[stickboy]

Originally posted by SimonSez07
canopus has YUY2->RGB problem with luminance range 16-235 (fog effect)
canopus uses "CDVC" fourcc instead of "DVSD"
canopus has chroma upsampling bugIf you use AviSynth, you can use:
AVISource("DV.avi", pixel_type="yuy2", fourCC="CDVC")to force the file to open in YUY2 mode (so it should avoid any RGB conversion by the codec) and to treat the file as if it had a CDVC fourCC (so you can open existing DVSD files).

As for the chroma upsampling issue... won't Reinterpolate411/Reinterpolate420 fix that?

[SimonSez07]

wow, that seems easy. will it also work like this with SegmentedAVISource ?

i am not familiar with Reinterpolate411/Reinterpolate420 nor am i clear on under what circumstances the chroma bug occurs. i have not actually experienced this problem, only read about it. so when would i need to use these commands and what would my script look like?

thanks again for all your help

- simon

[stickboy]

Originally posted by SimonSez07
wow, that seems easy. will it also work like this with SegmentedAVISource ?Yes.
i am not familiar with Reinterpolate411/Reinterpolate420 nor am i clear on under what circumstances the chroma bug occurs. i have not actually experienced this problem, only read about it. so when would i need to use these commands and what would my script look like?AVISource("someDVfile.avi", pixel_type="yuy2", fourCC="CDVC")
Reinterpolate411()

[tulikanuj]

use this function in Avisynth:
FixBrokenChromaUpsampling

[troy]

In your post you reference dvsd and dsvd. Are you sure these are correct.

[North2Polaris]

use this function in Avisynth:
FixBrokenChromaUpsampling

Please see Wilbert's comment in the following thread:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=693316#post693316

FixBrokenChromaUpsampling doesn't fix this chroma problem. You should use Reinterpolate411 here, because it reinterpolates the duplicated chroma lines (duplicated by the codec in YV12->YUY2).

[Wilbert]

Please see Wilbert's comment in the following thread:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=693316#post693316

uhm. I messed up there very much. One of the bad days you have once in a while :) I edited my post later as you can see (i will edit it again because it is Canopus and not MainConcept). It happens with the free Canopus decoder, and doesn't seem to happens with more recent (non-free) versions.

[North2Polaris]

uhm. I messed up there very much. One of the bad days you have once in a while :) I edited my post later as you can see (i will edit it again because it is Canopus and not MainConcept). It happens with the free Canopus decoder, and doesn't seem to happens with more recent (non-free) versions.

@Wilbert,

Thanks. I had not checked that thread in a few weeks. Do you recommend using Reinterpolate411 along with FixBrokenChromaUpsampling when using the free Canopus decoder, or is FixBrokenChromaUpsampling sufficient?

North

[henryho_hk]

@Wilbert,

Thanks. I had not checked that thread in a few weeks. Do you recommend using Reinterpolate411 along with FixBrokenChromaUpsampling when using the free Canopus decoder, or is FixBrokenChromaUpsampling sufficient?

North

There is no easy answer to this question.


FixBrokenChromaUpsampling is useful when your DV decoder generates its chroma outputs incorrectly in the vertical direction (NTSC and PAL DV are both interlaced but their chroma samplings are performed differently). It corrects the position of the incorrecly placed chroma lines. Apply this function only when necessary (e.g. free canopus's YUY2 on PAL & ffdshow's RGB on PAL).
Reinterpolate420 is useful for PAL DV clips when your DV decoder generates its chroma output uglily by simple duplication in the vertical direction (PAL DV's chroma is sampled at 1:2 both vertically and horizontally). It improves the vertical transition of color by interpolation. I don't think you need it if you will apply ConvertToYV12() later.
Reinterpolate411 is useful for NTSC DV clips when your DV decoder generates its chroma output uglily by simple duplication in the horizontal direction (NTSC DV's chroma is sampled at 1:1 vertically and 1/4 horizontally). It improves the horizontal transition of color by interpolation.


I vote for Mainconcept for sharp outputs and FFDShow for less-sharp (but not soft!) outputs. Always ask them to output in YUY2 (the fourcc option in avisource). If you need YV12 (avisynth = mpeg2 = mpeg4 =/= DV), use the wonderful AVISynth functions for conversion.

[North2Polaris]

Thanks!

[tulikanuj]

I vote for Mainconcept for sharp outputs and FFDShow for less-sharp (but not soft!) outputs. Always ask them to output in YUY2 (the fourcc option in avisource). If you need YV12 (avisynth = mpeg2 = mpeg4 =/= DV), use the wonderful AVISynth functions for conversion.

b) I think both of these codecs are not free. If someone is looking for a free codec (or anything which is upto $20 or so) which one will you suggest?

[henryho_hk]

b) I think both of these codecs are not free. If someone is looking for a free codec (or anything which is upto $20 or so) which one will you suggest?

Mainconcept worths the money (USD 49). They are so generous that I don't find any watermark when _decoding_.

FFDShow is free. It's for decoding only.

And there is always a great open source DV codec. Please check the first sticky thread.

[Peter1234]

Panasonic DV codec decodes and encodes type 2 DV files and is free.