I got this footage I want to encode but it has this wired artifact. I think this is what people called "star stepping". When encoded it cause all picture to blur out and noisy. I can't get the original edited DV footage, so I have to find a way to work with the copy that was sent to me.

here is the example of the artifact. Please have a look because it might not be stair stepping:

http://207.44.160.90/~admin11/artifact.jpg

Any help is greatly appriciated!

This looks like standard interlacing. If you view the clip on a TV it should look fine. If you view it on a computer monitor, you will see the artifacts.

I don't know which NLE you use, but in Vegas a couple of options are Resample, and Reduce Interlace Flicker. You can also add a slight blur which frequently helps.

If your final result is going to be TV (i.e. VHS or CD) then test it there first to see if you REALLY have a problem.

Thanks Edward,

My final result is going to be computer and the file is going to be delivered via webpage. I use Vegas to compress this footage into .wmv (windows media video) as I have never sucessfully compressed video with quicktime. since the director has mac, i guess i should work on qt version as well just to be safe!

would you please tell me more about resample, and reduce interlace flicker options.

Just right-click the clip, choose Switches, and two of the options are Resample and Reduce Interlace Flicker. One, or the other, or both of these options combined *may* be enough to solve your problem. If not, also try setting the project to "progressive" (File - Properties) and see if that works better.

thanks Edward, you rawks :o)