Doctor Who progressive or interlaced? How to record it digitally.

While I was editing the current episode of Andromeda on ITV4 in order to
test out my new AVI/DivX/Xvid capture and editing software (VirtualDub-MPEG2
1.6.15) which I recorded using the Xvid real time Codec set to interlaced, I
noticed that the episode seem to have been either deintelaced at source, ie.
by the broadcaster, since there is no motion blur in any of the frames where
you would expect them to be such as rapid arm or hand movements.

Now the question is was Andromeda originally filmed as progressive (this is
a 4/3 ratio episode from series 3 so I about it has been converted from a
high definition 50p source) and is Doctor Who transmitted as progressive ie.
every odd field is part of the same image as the even field or is it
interlaced? Also is it recorded as progressive?

I need to know this since I am planning to record it on Saturday and need to
know how to set the Xvid encoder to get the best quality possible. The DivX
codecs for some reason do not seem to appear in VirtualDub so I can't record
with them, therefore in order to archive the recording I need to record
using Xvid (which I think uses less resources than DivX anyway from when I
tested it last year) then covert to DivX so I can play the files back on my
DVD player by putting them them on either a 700 MB CD-R or fit 6 episodes on
a single DVD. (This information may also be useful to people with DVD
recorders that also want to record Doctor Who.

I've been forced to go digital since I can no longer find and good quality
video tapes in the shops.

For some reason or other when recording everytime I open a new folder or
start an application such as Task Manager the encoder keeps dropping frames
(1 or 3 normally, sometimes more), so I am wondering if this is because of
Windows XP not prioritising things or because of the encoder of
VirtualDub-MPEG2. VirtualDub 1.7.x.x for some reason uses up more system
resources then the Virtual-MPEG2 when recording. Or do I need a faster
processor (using 3.2 GHz P4 at 800 MHz FSB at the moment). Normally it is
using 75-100% of the resources as measured by VirtualDub-MPEG2 or 38-50% as
measured by Windows XP Task Manager.

Do stand alone DVD recorder also suffer from losing frames and audio sync
problems? Oh and that reminds me. The AC97 drivers for my built-in Realtek
sound card are causing serious trouble syncing the audio. Sample rates at
44.1 KHz won't sync with the video source even if I record the audio stream
uncompressed, so I have to use 48 KHz, but even that isn't all that good. If
I use the audio drivers that come with Total Recorder (which are supposed to
be better, so it claims) then it's almost perfect.

Anyway the quality of VirtualDub-MPEG2 (freeware) using Xvid (also freeware)
is 100 times better than WinDVR 3 which has audio sync problems which are
even worse and causes the audio to wow and flutter and sometimes be several
seconds out of sync, and which de-interlaces everything even if its not
interlaced which reduces the picture quality (and is the reason I don't know
if episode 1 was progressive or not).

Oh and finally deoes anyone know if I can use VirtualDub to process out PAL
fringes and other artefacts from recordings I've made, and if so how? Are
there any plug-in's?

(Yes, I could record using an S-Video source but my Sony STB which says it
has S-Video out on both SCART's will only let me use one of them unless I
connect it up to a S-VHS video recorder which I don't have an no longer
exist. Are Sony ever going to sort this problem out?)

F**king hell,

you need to get a life matey.

Mel.


"Agamemnon" wrote in message
...
While I was editing the current episode of Andromeda on ITV4 in order to
test out my new AVI/DivX/Xvid capture and editing software
(VirtualDub-MPEG2 1.6.15) which I recorded using the Xvid real time Codec
set to interlaced, I noticed that the episode seem to have been either
deintelaced at source, ie. by the broadcaster, since there is no motion
blur in any of the frames where you would expect them to be such as rapid
arm or hand movements.

Now the question is was Andromeda originally filmed as progressive (this
is a 4/3 ratio episode from series 3 so I about it has been converted from
a high definition 50p source) and is Doctor Who transmitted as progressive
ie. every odd field is part of the same image as the even field or is it
interlaced? Also is it recorded as progressive?

I need to know this since I am planning to record it on Saturday and need
to know how to set the Xvid encoder to get the best quality possible. The
DivX codecs for some reason do not seem to appear in VirtualDub so I can't
record with them, therefore in order to archive the recording I need to
record using Xvid (which I think uses less resources than DivX anyway from
when I tested it last year) then covert to DivX so I can play the files
back on my DVD player by putting them them on either a 700 MB CD-R or fit
6 episodes on a single DVD. (This information may also be useful to people
with DVD recorders that also want to record Doctor Who.

I've been forced to go digital since I can no longer find and good quality
video tapes in the shops.

For some reason or other when recording everytime I open a new folder or
start an application such as Task Manager the encoder keeps dropping
frames (1 or 3 normally, sometimes more), so I am wondering if this is
because of Windows XP not prioritising things or because of the encoder of
VirtualDub-MPEG2. VirtualDub 1.7.x.x for some reason uses up more system
resources then the Virtual-MPEG2 when recording. Or do I need a faster
processor (using 3.2 GHz P4 at 800 MHz FSB at the moment). Normally it is
using 75-100% of the resources as measured by VirtualDub-MPEG2 or 38-50%
as measured by Windows XP Task Manager.

Do stand alone DVD recorder also suffer from losing frames and audio sync
problems? Oh and that reminds me. The AC97 drivers for my built-in Realtek
sound card are causing serious trouble syncing the audio. Sample rates at
44.1 KHz won't sync with the video source even if I record the audio
stream uncompressed, so I have to use 48 KHz, but even that isn't all that
good. If I use the audio drivers that come with Total Recorder (which are
supposed to be better, so it claims) then it's almost perfect.

Anyway the quality of VirtualDub-MPEG2 (freeware) using Xvid (also
freeware) is 100 times better than WinDVR 3 which has audio sync problems
which are even worse and causes the audio to wow and flutter and sometimes
be several seconds out of sync, and which de-interlaces everything even if
its not interlaced which reduces the picture quality (and is the reason I
don't know if episode 1 was progressive or not).

Oh and finally deoes anyone know if I can use VirtualDub to process out
PAL fringes and other artefacts from recordings I've made, and if so how?
Are there any plug-in's?

(Yes, I could record using an S-Video source but my Sony STB which says it
has S-Video out on both SCART's will only let me use one of them unless I
connect it up to a S-VHS video recorder which I don't have an no longer
exist. Are Sony ever going to sort this problem out?)

Mel wrote:
snip
And a girlfriend?

"Agamemnon" wrote in message
...
While I was editing the current episode of Andromeda on ITV4 in order to
test out my new AVI/DivX/Xvid capture and editing software
(VirtualDub-MPEG2
1.6.15) which I recorded using the Xvid real time Codec set to interlaced,
I
noticed that the episode seem to have been either deintelaced at source,
ie.
by the broadcaster, since there is no motion blur in any of the frames
where
you would expect them to be such as rapid arm or hand movements.

Now the question is was Andromeda originally filmed as progressive (this
is
a 4/3 ratio episode from series 3 so I about it has been converted from a
high definition 50p source) and is Doctor Who transmitted as progressive
ie.
every odd field is part of the same image as the even field or is it
interlaced? Also is it recorded as progressive?

I need to know this since I am planning to record it on Saturday and need
to
know how to set the Xvid encoder to get the best quality possible. The
DivX
codecs for some reason do not seem to appear in VirtualDub so I can't
record
with them, therefore in order to archive the recording I need to record
using Xvid (which I think uses less resources than DivX anyway from when I
tested it last year) then covert to DivX so I can play the files back on
my
DVD player by putting them them on either a 700 MB CD-R or fit 6 episodes
on
a single DVD. (This information may also be useful to people with DVD
recorders that also want to record Doctor Who.

I've been forced to go digital since I can no longer find and good quality
video tapes in the shops.

For some reason or other when recording everytime I open a new folder or
start an application such as Task Manager the encoder keeps dropping
frames
(1 or 3 normally, sometimes more), so I am wondering if this is because of
Windows XP not prioritising things or because of the encoder of
VirtualDub-MPEG2. VirtualDub 1.7.x.x for some reason uses up more system
resources then the Virtual-MPEG2 when recording. Or do I need a faster
processor (using 3.2 GHz P4 at 800 MHz FSB at the moment). Normally it is
using 75-100% of the resources as measured by VirtualDub-MPEG2 or 38-50%
as
measured by Windows XP Task Manager.

Disk access time man! you can't load a program into memory without reading
it from the hard drive. you can't have your head in two places at once if
your caputure buffer is full you're gonna drop data.

Do stand alone DVD recorder also suffer from losing frames and audio sync
problems? Oh and that reminds me. The AC97 drivers for my built-in Realtek
sound card are causing serious trouble syncing the audio. Sample rates at
44.1 KHz won't sync with the video source even if I record the audio
stream
uncompressed, so I have to use 48 KHz, but even that isn't all that good.
If
I use the audio drivers that come with Total Recorder (which are supposed
to
be better, so it claims) then it's almost perfect.

Anyway the quality of VirtualDub-MPEG2 (freeware) using Xvid (also
freeware)
is 100 times better than WinDVR 3 which has audio sync problems which are
even worse and causes the audio to wow and flutter and sometimes be
several
seconds out of sync, and which de-interlaces everything even if its not
interlaced which reduces the picture quality (and is the reason I don't
know
if episode 1 was progressive or not).

Oh and finally deoes anyone know if I can use VirtualDub to process out
PAL
fringes and other artefacts from recordings I've made, and if so how? Are
there any plug-in's?

(Yes, I could record using an S-Video source but my Sony STB which says it
has S-Video out on both SCART's will only let me use one of them unless I
connect it up to a S-VHS video recorder which I don't have an no longer
exist. Are Sony ever going to sort this problem out?)

In article ,
Agamemnon wrote:
I've been forced to go digital since I can no longer find and good
quality video tapes in the shops.

Wouldn't it be easier to just get a Topfield or similar?

--
*I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

What on God's Earth are you all talking about?!?

On Tue, 3 Apr 2007 05:39:47 +0100, "Agamemnon"
wrote:


I've been forced to go digital since I can no longer find and good quality
video tapes in the shops.

That seems a strange reason. Didn't the reliability, speed of access
and storage capacity of disk based systems have anything to do with
your choice? Even if there were good quality tapes in the shops, I
wouldn't want them.

Rod.

This is an interesting question. Since I live in the USA, my only way
to watch Dr.Who is by downloading the torrents off of the internet.
but I have noticed that the video appears to be progressive scan.
Either that, or whoever is encoding these things has a wicked de-
interlacer, of the likes I've never seen before. I've done a lot of
video capture in my time, along with encoding, and editing.. and I
have a pretty good eye for that kind of thing. And it sure looks to
me like Dr.Who is being broadcast as progressive.....

And I agree with what somebody else said.. If you are having so many
problems, why not just download it yourself? Somebody else has
already saved you the trouble of recording it and put it up on the
internet. I usually go to www.xtvi.com and do a search for Doctor Who.

"Agamemnon" wrote

Doctor Who transmitted as progressive ie. every odd field is part of the
same image as the even field or is it interlaced? Also is it recorded as
progressive?

DW is recorded interlaced at 50 fields per second, but digitally converted
to 25 frames per second. It is transmitted interlaced, but for your purposes
you can treat it as a progressive image, as both fields ostensibly now
originate at the same point in time. Having said that, the end credits
roller is probably 50 field interlaced, so if you record that as progressive
it will probably screw it up.

Sample rates at 44.1 KHz won't sync with the video source even if I record
the audio stream uncompressed, so I have to use 48 KHz, but even that
isn't all that good. If I use the audio drivers that come with Total
Recorder (which are supposed to be better, so it claims) then it's almost
perfect.

You should be using 48KHz for any video work. 44.1KHz is an audio CD sample
frequency, 48KHz is used in broadcasting and DVD.

Oh and finally deoes anyone know if I can use VirtualDub to process out
PAL fringes and other artefacts from recordings I've made, and if so how?
Are there any plug-in's?

It's a complete waste of time you going to all this trouble if you are
recording composite. As another poster has already pointed out, buy a
Topfield PVR and then you can record the Freeview MPEG stream directly and
extract it via USB2 into your PC.

Steve

"Edster" wrote in message
...
"Agamemnon" wrote in message

While I was editing the current episode of Andromeda on ITV4 in order to
test out my new AVI/DivX/Xvid capture and editing software
(VirtualDub-MPEG2
1.6.15) which I recorded using the Xvid real time Codec set to interlaced,
I
noticed that the episode seem to have been either deintelaced at source,
ie.
by the broadcaster, since there is no motion blur in any of the frames
where
you would expect them to be such as rapid arm or hand movements.

Now the question is was Andromeda originally filmed as progressive (this
is
a 4/3 ratio episode from series 3 so I about it has been converted from a
high definition 50p source) and is Doctor Who transmitted as progressive
ie.
every odd field is part of the same image as the even field or is it
interlaced? Also is it recorded as progressive?

I need to know this since I am planning to record it on Saturday and need
to
know how to set the Xvid encoder to get the best quality possible. The
DivX
codecs for some reason do not seem to appear in VirtualDub so I can't
record
with them, therefore in order to archive the recording I need to record
using Xvid (which I think uses less resources than DivX anyway from when I
tested it last year) then covert to DivX so I can play the files back on
my
DVD player by putting them them on either a 700 MB CD-R or fit 6 episodes
on
a single DVD. (This information may also be useful to people with DVD
recorders that also want to record Doctor Who.

I've been forced to go digital since I can no longer find and good quality
video tapes in the shops.

For some reason or other when recording everytime I open a new folder or
start an application such as Task Manager the encoder keeps dropping
frames
(1 or 3 normally, sometimes more), so I am wondering if this is because of
Windows XP not prioritising things or because of the encoder of
VirtualDub-MPEG2. VirtualDub 1.7.x.x for some reason uses up more system
resources then the Virtual-MPEG2 when recording. Or do I need a faster
processor (using 3.2 GHz P4 at 800 MHz FSB at the moment). Normally it is
using 75-100% of the resources as measured by VirtualDub-MPEG2 or 38-50%
as
measured by Windows XP Task Manager.

Do stand alone DVD recorder also suffer from losing frames and audio sync
problems? Oh and that reminds me. The AC97 drivers for my built-in Realtek
sound card are causing serious trouble syncing the audio. Sample rates at
44.1 KHz won't sync with the video source even if I record the audio
stream
uncompressed, so I have to use 48 KHz, but even that isn't all that good.
If
I use the audio drivers that come with Total Recorder (which are supposed
to
be better, so it claims) then it's almost perfect.

Anyway the quality of VirtualDub-MPEG2 (freeware) using Xvid (also
freeware)
is 100 times better than WinDVR 3 which has audio sync problems which are
even worse and causes the audio to wow and flutter and sometimes be
several
seconds out of sync, and which de-interlaces everything even if its not
interlaced which reduces the picture quality (and is the reason I don't
know
if episode 1 was progressive or not).

Oh and finally deoes anyone know if I can use VirtualDub to process out
PAL
fringes and other artefacts from recordings I've made, and if so how? Are
there any plug-in's?

(Yes, I could record using an S-Video source but my Sony STB which says it
has S-Video out on both SCART's will only let me use one of them unless I
connect it up to a S-VHS video recorder which I don't have an no longer
exist. Are Sony ever going to sort this problem out?)



I don't know about Sky, but ITV4 on Freeview is a smaller frame size
than most of the other channels. I can't check right now because it's
off air, but it will probably be deinterlaced because of that.

Why don't you just buy a Freeview receiver for your computer, or
download Dr Who instead of all that messing about? It's all over the
internet within minutes of broadcast anyway.

An even better idea is to buy the official DVDs when they are released.