[MEncoder-users] HD-PVR video conversion

[Andrew Berg]

belcampo wrote:
> Doesn't crash on your file.
Could be a problem with MEncoder then. I will try an AviSynth script
with DirectShowSource and see what happens.
>  What I seem to see is that the source 
> although 'advertised' as 1080i HD, which it is, looks like upconverted 
> lower resolution. See the lack of detail in the picture in the attached 
> screenshot.
>
> There are very high amounts of bits needed because of all the artifacts.
>   
> Transcoding this file with -qmin 22 -qmax 24 needs more then twice the 
> amount of bits compared to a realy clean and very detailed HDPVR source.
I don't think it's upconverted. There is a noticeable difference between
this show, which is broadcast in 1080i and Smackdown (another WWE show),
which is broadcast in 720p (all WWE shows are recorded in 1080i). It
didn't take me long to realize that pro wrestling shows (especially with
lots of pyro and lighting effects) need a lot of bits, and WWE shows
almost never get enough when broadcast, which means softness and
artifacts. It's particularly noticeable during wrestler entrances (some
are so bad, the wrestler's face is blurred out). It's also obvious in
their DVDs - they use the maximum bitrate and still many look bad (and
I've haven't seen /any/ without obvious artifacting).