Tests and thoughts about de-interlacing footage using Premiere Pro and aviSynth

I’ve made quite a few notes over on this thread on DVinfo.net. The main observations are:

  • Tests with a resolution chart show that Premiere Pro 2 does indeed reduce the vertical resolution (as expected). However, I'm hard pressed to see a difference in "real" footage.
  • It is possible to import aviSynth scripts into Premiere Pro 2 but playback is non-real-time with HDV footage and the system becomes a little unstable. Playback judders a little even if the aviSynth script does nothing cleverer than simply loading a video (even if the Premiere Pro aviSynth importer is set to "fastest")
  • My preferred work flow for dealing with interlaced footage destined for non-CRT screens is this:
    • - Shoot 1080/50i - Edit 1080/50i - Export from PPro as "Microsoft AVI", compressor=none, don't de-interlace - alternatively [frameserver from PPro to aviSynth](http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/AviSynth_FAQ_Section_2) - Use aviSynth to de-interlace to produce either 1080/50p, 1080/25p or 720/50p - Import into PPro to render out as WMV9

Notes on installing aviSynth

  • Install aviSynth
  • Install the MT mod (to allow multi-threading on some filters
  • Install the Premiere Pro import plug-in
  • install yadif, MVbob and MCbob

Some sample aviSynth scripts

Load_Stdcall_plugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\yadif.dll")

# export from PPro as "Microsoft AVI", compressor=none

DirectShowSource("interlaced.avi", fps=25, audio=false, video=true)

# AviSource("uncompressed_50i_none.avi")
# AviSource seems buggy

# http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Convert
# I still have to test the colour matrix settings

ConvertToYUY2(matrix="PC.709", interlaced=true)

# DGDecode_mpeg2source("resolution_tests.d2v")

# http://avisynth.org.ru/yadif/yadif.html
mt("yadif(mode=0)",threads=4)