flicker on TV using VS9

[mediumwolf]

When I make a DVD and play back on a TV (PAL) there is a great deal of flickering of straight lines when zooming slowly and panning plus interference patterns on some areas of background presumably for the same reason. From the posts, this problem is generally attributed to non-interlacing and the suggested problem is wrong field order. I am on my third project now with no success in solving this despite trying every piece of advice on this forum... I must be missing something! So I will very much appreciate any further advice.

I have followed the workflow scheme suggested by sjj1805:

Capture to DV/AVI
edit
Create Video File (MPEG2)
Create Disc using the MPEG2 file

I have found that the Field Order does not affect this problem although I have recently stuck to Lower Field First as suggested in other posts.

The video plays back on the TV fine when the camera is connected directly to the TV.

Properties of your source files (from Properties):[/color]

Input file (from Sony DV): Microsoft AVI files--Open DML
Field order set to LFF
File size: 21,539KB (a small test file)
24.844 Frames/sec
949.64 kbps
Video comp: Microsoft YUV
16 bits, 320x240

What devices are involved and their mode of connection?: Sony HandyCam DV camera DCR-HC18E connected directly via USB to computer.

After rendering (from Properties of MPEG2 file):

PAL DVD
67,150 KB
MPEG-2 video, Lower Field First
24 bits, 720x576, 4:3
25 frames/sec
variable bit rate (max 4000 kbps)

Perform non square pixel rendering is ticked.

TV: PAL (I am in the UK)

Product Version: VS 9.00


Maybe this is the best I can expect from this system but I am not sure why there is such a degredation in quality from playing back through the camera directly to the TV and making the DVD.

Thanking you very much.

[Ken Berry]

Your captured video properties look rather strange to me. How do you have your camera connected to the computer? To capture high quality "correct" DV from it, it *MUST* be connected via Firewire cable from the Firewire port (called i-Link by Sony) in the camera, to a Firewire card in your computer. And if you don't have one of these, then you absolutely must buy one. They are cheap these days and usually come with a cable (in your case, the cable needs to be a 4 pin [camera end] to 6 pin one).

As it is, I suspect you are capturing using either USB or analogue RCA connections and are only getting low quality streaming video. To compound that, you are converting it to mpeg-2 which is using a bitrate of 4000 kbps which will give only average quality at best (though will allow about 2 hours of video to be burned to a single layer DVD).

[mediumwolf]

Thank you very much Ken - a was connecting via the USB port. I was beginning to wonder whether it was the capture end of things! Yes, Firewire ports are very cheap.

[Ken Berry]

Before buying one, make sure your computer did not come installed with one. Google for photos of Firewire ports and compare them to the ports on the back of your computer. Firewire ports could be there on a separate card (usually 2 or more, and with one small 4 pin port as well), or on the motherboard (normally only one) or on something like an analogue video capture card (though not all of them have these and they seem to have disappeared from digital/HD TV cards)...

If you have one, then you only need to buy a Firewire (4 pin to 6 pin) cable -- though pricing these days often means that the cable costs as much as, or sometimes even more, than a card/cable combo!! Believe me, I have paid as much as $30 for a cable, but in the past year have bought 2 firewire cards with relevant cable (for different computers) for $20 each...

[skier-hughes]

You can check in device manager to see if you have firewire installed, see "the pc" bit on this page
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/ProblemP ... apture.htm

[mediumwolf]

Thank you Ken and Graham for your further help and useful link. I have checked and my computer shows no sign of having a Firewire port so I have ordered one - so soon will have top quality DVDs! I have also discovered that many PC users with iPods are buying Firewire cards to download their music! Its amazing how long one can get along in life without knowing these things.

David

[Ken Berry]

All the iPods I have ever looked at (and I have one with 20 GB hard drive), only have a USB 2.0 port, so I don't see what use Firewire would be...

[skier-hughes]

Odd that you've not seen one with firewire Ken, as Apple having invented firewire, as I'm sure you know, did fit Ipods with firewire and they came with a nifty 4-6 pin adaptor. I've not bought one for ages, so not sure what they do now, but USB2 makes sense as firewire goes into oblivion with all the mpeg recording camcorders on sale now

[Ken Berry]

Nope, never seen one (and I've seen quite a lot, from my rather ageing one now, down to a nano bought only a couple of months ago (helping its owner set up i-Tunes etc...). Nor have I ever heard of one being fitted with a Firewire port. Happy to be corrected -- it's just that my own personal experience has never seen or heard of this.

Edit: just did a quick Google and found articles dating back to 2001 when the first iPods appeared. And yes, it seems that those were only fitted with Firewire. Since then, though, it does indeed seem that Apple changed its mind and now only has USB available: http://www.apple.com/ipodclassic/specs.html

[Clevo]

Going back to the original problem I get these problems on my TV while panning and zooming on what's essentially a slide show with the Ken Burns effect.

For example, someone wearing a shirt with fine lines where the lines are angled due to folds in the cloth.

Considering I see the same problem watching broadcast TV I put the problem down to my ageing CRT TV but the problem remains on a LCD TV as well.

I've always captured using firewire.

I figured this interlacing problem is common and it's why news-readers avoid wearing stripes till today.