Interlaced or Progressive Clip

Matthew Weitz · April 23rd, 2005, 02:56 PM

Hi. I'm new to digital video editing.

I currently use Adobe Premiere 6.02.

Is there a way to determine if a clip I'm working with is interlaced or progressive? Like I have a few .avi and .mpg files, and I want to know if they were filmed with a camera that had its settings on interlaced or progressive.

Boyd Ostroff · April 23rd, 2005, 04:02 PM

Pick a section of the video that has some kind of fast motion, like a person running, a car passing, etc. Look at a few still frames in your NLE. If it's interlaced it should be very obvious, the edges of moving objects will have a comb effect where each of the 60i fields were captured. If it's true progressive you will see a blurred image in the moving parts, but the edges won't have the comb effect.

Have a look at this site for some examples: http://www.100fps.com/

Matthew Weitz · April 24th, 2005, 03:19 PM

Thanks.
What does NLE stand for?

Brandon Greenlee · April 24th, 2005, 07:48 PM

From DVDictionary:

NLE - Non-Linear Editing

non-linear – computer-based editing which permits video clips, sound, edits or special effects to be removed, replaced, moved or modified at any time without changing or overwriting the original clip.

Boyd Ostroff · April 24th, 2005, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew Weitz

What does NLE stand for?

In your case... Adobe Premiere 6.02 :-)

Matthew Weitz · April 26th, 2005, 07:59 PM

I think I got it. I used the following technique to deinterlace my clips (Adobe Premiere 6.02):

- I select the clips in my timeline.
- I choose Clip > Video Options > Field Options
- I select Always Deinterlace
- I click OK.

Do you know if there is a better way?

My end result is to get a good quality DVD.

Christopher Lefchik · April 26th, 2005, 09:14 PM

Mathew,

Is there a particular reason you are deinterlacing your clips? You will lose quality by deinterlacing them. Usually the only reason you deinterlace video is to remove stuttering, or if you are striving for a "film look." But since you are removing one of the two fields from the video frame you will lose half of your resolution, which will be particularly apparent in interlaced (non-progressive) video.

If the video was filmed in progressive mode there is no need to deinterlace. It will already have the flicker associated with film.

Rob Lohman · April 30th, 2005, 03:37 AM

Christopher: the max resolution drop (in theory) is indeed 50%. HOWEVER,
with todays more advanced algorithms the drop shouldn't be so bad. To simply
proclaim you loose half the resolution is incorrect in my opinion.

(the following piece is not targeted to anyone specific, but just my feel
on some of the technical details people can get hung up on!)

Personally I don't even care, even if I did loose 50% resolution. I care how
the end result looks and how well the movie has been crafted together
(story, visuals, editing, music, sound effects, acting etc.), not how many
"lines" of resolution it has.

Christopher Lefchik · April 30th, 2005, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Christopher: the max resolution drop (in theory) is indeed 50%. HOWEVER, with todays more advanced algorithms the drop shouldn't be so bad. To simply proclaim you loose half the resolution is incorrect in my opinion.

Well, that's good to know. But would that apply to the software he is using, Premiere 6? It's over five years old now.

I do know that from my own experience with a project I rendered out of After Effects (version 5.5, I believe), where my source was interlaced and my render settings were for deinterlaced, that there was a definite loss in quality. Sure, it had the filmic "flicker," but very unfilmic digital jagged edges.

Matthew Weitz · April 30th, 2005, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christopher Lefchik

Mathew,

Is there a particular reason you are deinterlacing your clips? You will lose quality by deinterlacing them. Usually the only reason you deinterlace video is to remove stuttering, or if you are striving for a "film look." But since you are removing one of the two fields from the video frame you will lose half of your resolution, which will be particularly apparent in interlaced (non-progressive) video.

If the video was filmed in progressive mode there is no need to deinterlace. It will already have the flicker associated with film.

I was under the mistaken assumption that I wouldn't lose any quality.

Gotcha. Thanks.

April 23rd, 2005, 02:56 PM	#1
Matthew Weitz Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 42	Interlaced or Progressive Clip - How to Tell? Hi. I'm new to digital video editing. I currently use Adobe Premiere 6.02. Is there a way to determine if a clip I'm working with is interlaced or progressive? Like I have a few .avi and .mpg files, and I want to know if they were filmed with a camera that had its settings on interlaced or progressive.

April 24th, 2005, 07:48 PM	#4
Brandon Greenlee Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: North Alabama Posts: 242	From DVDictionary: NLE - Non-Linear Editing non-linear – computer-based editing which permits video clips, sound, edits or special effects to be removed, replaced, moved or modified at any time without changing or overwriting the original clip. __________________ Brandon Greenlee

April 30th, 2005, 03:37 AM	#8
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Christopher: the max resolution drop (in theory) is indeed 50%. HOWEVER, with todays more advanced algorithms the drop shouldn't be so bad. To simply proclaim you loose half the resolution is incorrect in my opinion. (the following piece is not targeted to anyone specific, but just my feel on some of the technical details people can get hung up on!) Personally I don't even care, even if I did loose 50% resolution. I care how the end result looks and how well the movie has been crafted together (story, visuals, editing, music, sound effects, acting etc.), not how many "lines" of resolution it has. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

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April 23rd, 2005, 04:02 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Pick a section of the video that has some kind of fast motion, like a person running, a car passing, etc. Look at a few still frames in your NLE. If it's interlaced it should be very obvious, the edges of moving objects will have a comb effect where each of the 60i fields were captured. If it's true progressive you will see a blurred image in the moving parts, but the edges won't have the comb effect. Have a look at this site for some examples: http://www.100fps.com/

April 24th, 2005, 03:19 PM	#3
Matthew Weitz Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 42	Thanks. What does NLE stand for?

April 26th, 2005, 07:59 PM	#6
Matthew Weitz Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 42	I think I got it. I used the following technique to deinterlace my clips (Adobe Premiere 6.02): - I select the clips in my timeline. - I choose Clip > Video Options > Field Options - I select Always Deinterlace - I click OK. Do you know if there is a better way? My end result is to get a good quality DVD.

April 26th, 2005, 09:14 PM	#7
Christopher Lefchik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: US Posts: 1,152	Mathew, Is there a particular reason you are deinterlacing your clips? You will lose quality by deinterlacing them. Usually the only reason you deinterlace video is to remove stuttering, or if you are striving for a "film look." But since you are removing one of the two fields from the video frame you will lose half of your resolution, which will be particularly apparent in interlaced (non-progressive) video. If the video was filmed in progressive mode there is no need to deinterlace. It will already have the flicker associated with film.