MPEG 1 - best treatment to improve quality?

RalphM wrote on 10/14/2005, 3:43 PM
I received an MPEG1 file and was asked to put it on a DVD. The source video tape is apparently unavailable.

The properties of the video are: 352X240 29.97fps progressive.

Any techniques that could be used to make this into a better looking video for play on a set top player would be appreciated.

Thanks,
RalphM

Comments

B.Verlik wrote on 10/14/2005, 6:00 PM
If your source is a CD, I don't think you can improve it very much. But most mpeg1 discs (CDs) play on almost all set top DVD players. Why does this need to be on a DVD? You can always play the CD on a DVD player and run it thru an A/D converter and make it an .avi and then re-encode to mpeg2. I can't imagine blowing that size up to a regular 720 x 480 and having it look very good.
If you received this as an internet 'send', then you can make a video CD for mpg1 that will play on a set top player or convert it to mpg2 for DVD. (Converting to mpg2, this is where you'll need to wait for somebody else to suggest a conversion method.)
Wait for more answers as I've given up on mpeg1. I hear that TMPGEnc at pegasys is a very very good mpg1 encoder, (and the mpg1 is free) but that isn't going to help turn it into an mpg2
fldave wrote on 10/14/2005, 6:30 PM
Agree with TheGr8Steve.
Most modern DVD players play MPEG1 CDs. If it needs to be MPEG2, then put the MPEG on timeline and select BEST Project setting with the BEST render setting. Since DVDA3 handles MPEG2 352x240 now, I would not resize it at all. Create the MPEG then author in DVDA3.

It will probably look worse than the original MEPG1, but it is probably the best you can do.

If you have a lot of time, you can render the mpeg1 to AVI uncompressed, then play with some of the video effects to improve/smooth out the artifacts.
RalphM wrote on 10/14/2005, 7:08 PM
Thanks for the input - this has to be ready by tomorrow night, and I still have some hopes that the original tape can be located.

So far, I've rendered it to an avi file in Vegas, then did some color enhancement, worked the sharpness with two layers/convolution filter, etc. It's not good, but since it has to co-habitate with a real MPEG2 on a DVD, it will have to do
farss wrote on 10/14/2005, 8:04 PM
Just make certain you render this at Best, probably not a whole lot in it but every little bit helps. Perhaps just tiny amount of sharpening might make it look better.
Bob.
musicvid10 wrote on 10/14/2005, 10:11 PM
"You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear" was my grandfather's enduring advice.
However, a program like Aviedit that uses Photoshop plugins may give you some limited relief from the overcompression and underresolution of typical mpeg-1 files.

Be forwarned -- you can't take something at 352x240 and make it look good at 720x480 under any circumstances.
Spot|DSE wrote on 10/14/2005, 10:25 PM
352x240 and make it look good at 720x480 under any circumstances.

Actually, you can, if the bitrate is high enough...but as a general rule, mpg1 is pretty rough to upsample.

You might try not only doing the upsample but also create a duplicate track at half opacity, and offsetting by a tiny amount (requires turning off quantize to frames) You'll need to zoom in quite deep to be sure you're less than half a frame off, and render to progressive. Try this on a small section. we've done a reasonable, although not stellar resample of low-bitrate footage using this method. Try a small amount of super sample and some sharpening and unsharp mask at the same time as well. Testing some high motion area should give you an idea. Just render it to RAM with preview set to Best.
johnmeyer wrote on 10/15/2005, 12:12 AM
You might find some useful ideas by clicking on these links:

VCD and SVCD to DVD

Convert your VCDs to DVDs without re-encoding the video

How to convert VCD/SVCD To DVD using TMPGEnc Plus

How to quickly convert VCD to DVD

There are about half a dozen other guides over a vcdhelp.com.
RalphM wrote on 10/15/2005, 5:02 PM
While trying to follow the suggestions I did come up with an improved version of the original file.

The video is from a son now deployed to Iraq congratulating his father on the 25th anniversary of his ordination (tomorrow). Dad will treasure it even if it's a little rough.

Thanks to all for the help.

Ralph