[MEncoder-users] Encoding to DVD: to deinterlace or not?

[Moritz Barsnick]

Hi,

On Mon, Oct 08, 2007 at 19:03:26 -0700, RC wrote:
> On Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:53:38 -0500
> James Hastings-Trew <jimht at shaw.ca> wrote:
> 
> > You can't buy CRT tvs anymore, at least not around here. 
> 
> I find that extremely hard to believe.  The big expensive LCDs and
> Plasmas may be most prominently displayed, but CRTs aren't going away
> for a long time.  Direct-view CRT is the least expensive technology that
> can do HD, and CRT tubes remain the best (and least expensive)
> technology for projection TVs.  CRTs are still the most popular tech
> for new TVs here in the US.

Interesting. Though I am the one who pledged for "basically leave the
content interlaced", I must report the following observation:

1.5 years ago, my CRT TV almost broke. I went looking around, and it
was possible to get new CRTs, though about half of them were cheap
no-name "brands", and all were in the 15 to 30" range. And most display
like a piece of sh*t, IMHO. It seems today, 1.5 years later, there are
only very few CRTs left on the market here in Germany.

BTW, there's a very large consumer fair here in Berlin every year
called IFA (used to be "Funkausstellung"), presenting mostly broadcast
type consumer media products. Reports say that already last year, there
was not a single CRT to be found.

Coming back to the original question:
But what about:
a) "user penetration" - all those CRTs still in the homes, and bound to
   be there for the next - say - 10 years or so?
b) All those non-progressive DVD players hoooked up to the
   LCDs/TFTs/Plasmas via analog (yuck!)?
That should make a large percentage of viewers, definitely the majority.
All these could still make "good use" (sorry for the term) of
interlaced material.

And is a progressive DVD player's deinterlacer worse than any of
mencoder's algorithms? Any comments, experience?

> > I'm of the opinion that interlaced video should go the way of the dodo
> > bird - it has outlived its welcome.
> 
> I'd be happy to get rid of it too, but with 1080i being the highest
> standard resolution for broadcast HD, it's clearly going to stay around
> for a very long time.

Oh, darn.

Moritz