Field Order Output in MSP8

[DB83]

If this has already been answered then kindly accept my apologies for the duplication.

This post is from a MSP5 user who migrated to MSP7.

MSP7 did not originally allow you to alter the field order output for Mpeg-2 capture. But this was corrected in one of the updates.

Rightly or wrongly (someone pls tell me if I have this wrong) that I prefer to capture with the Upper Field first (Field B).

However, I see that the option is grayed out (non-selectable) in MSP8 and I have to use Lower Field First (Field A).

This does not appear to have been corrected or am I missing something ?

[Devil]

It depends from what you are capturing. Most analogue capturing is upper field first, DV "capture" is lower field first.

[Ron P.]

Are you trying to capture from a digital source, then it should be Lower Field First, unless you're talking about HD video.

It would seem that you are capturing via Firewire from a digital source. I just done a quick test to see if it can be changed. However MSP8 does not allow the field order to be changed, when capturing/transferring via Firewire from a digital source.

I even tried to create a capture template, that would use UFF, and no go.

[DB83]

Yes, it is a digital capture via Firewire.

I use a Canopus ADVC300 to do an analogue to digital conversion prior to capture.

I just thought it strange. MSP7 allowed me to select Upper Field first(or even a frame-based output). If this does not impair on the quality of the capture (I know I should use DV instead of MPEG-2) then I can live with it.

[Ron P.]

If your source coming into MSP is digital, then the field order should be LFF, not UFF. Reversing this can cause problems.

...Upper Field first(or even a frame-based output)...

Capturing is input, where Rendering, Creating a video file is considered output. So if you want to output a Frame-Based or UFF video, you can. However the UFF video will most likely be jerky.

[DarrenD]

The best way to see if your field order settings are correct is to pick one order, create an MPEG2 video file of a small section of your project, burn it to a DVD-RW and try it on your TV. If the motion is jerky you have the wrong order. Try the other order setting and repeat. The playback should now be smooth.

Use a small section to keep the test video file render quick.
Use a DVD-RW or DVD+RW so as not to waste a DVD.

Sometimes practice is quicker/easier to calculate than theory.

I once heard the quote "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice..."

Hope that helps
Darren

[Gorf]

The best way to see if your field order settings are correct is to pick one order, create an MPEG2 video file of a small section of your project, burn it to a DVD-RW and try it on your TV. If the motion is jerky you have the wrong order...

It's just a shade more complicated than that. It's possible to have the jerkiness (actually more of a flicker) in just the transitions, with the rest of the video being OK. That indicates that both the clip field order and the project field order are wrong. The two wrongs cancel each other out, except on transitions where only the project field order is used.

The easiest way to see if your field settings are right is to slow a clip to 50% and blip through it one frame at a time. If they appear consecutive, then it's OK. If it's two steps forward, one step back, then the field settings are wrong.

[DarrenD]

Gorf

Thanks for the tip. I'll bear that in mind next time I get mixed format files. Things are so much easier now I have moved over to mini-DV tapes. I remember using AVI-IO to keep my MJPEG pictures and sound in-sync, upper/lower (or was it A/B) and other horrible combinations!

Darren