[MEncoder-users] Weird DVD with shifting framerates

[Scott W. Larson]

On 06/08/2013 10:10 PM, Andrew Udvare wrote:
> I have a DVD that seems to be consistent in shifting framerates from
> 29.970 to 24000/1001 over and over as the video plays.
This is actually pretty common. Many American television shows in the 
late 80's and 90's were filmed but then edited on videotape. When they 
are transferred to DVD, they try to inverse-telecine it back to 24 fps 
but there are spots where this isn't possible. Many edits ended up 
between fields so an interlaced frame slipped through. This one frame 
will momentarily switch the DVD to the video frame rate. Very often the 
credits were done in video so the inverse-telecine reverts back to video 
frame rates when the text changes.

This is also happens with material that was shot and edited on film but 
transferred to videotape. The edited film from television episodes from 
the 60's and 70's is sometimes lost or damaged so they try to 
inverse-telecine the broadcast tapes back to 24 fps. The success depends 
on the quality of the tapes. The frame rate will switch as it succeeds 
and fails. Even the original film prints from theatrical releases only 
exist on video tapes now like Orson Wells' "The Trial".
> It almost seems this is impossible to rip. With mencoder, I have tried
> options with filmdint, yadif, pullup+softskip. The video is seen as
> 29.970 by mplayer.

I've had reasonable success with filmdint. An interlaced frame will 
sometimes slip through during an edit but almost all of the time it's 
able to convert most of it back to 24 fps.