Getting a clean source on an old, crappy file...

[jekins]

Hey folks,

I'm using FCPX to index all my video "events". Things were sailing along nicely until I came up against an old file of my wife's graduation ceremony. At some point years ago, I converted the original .dv file into one giant 6GB .mpeg file, which seems to be identified as an Mpeg Program Stream, some kind of mpeg-2 wrapper.

The big problem is that it's interlaced, although I'm not sure if the interlacing is real 60i interlacing anymore, or - I suspect more likely - it's down to 30p with interlacing artifacts left over from how I converted it. Unfortunately, I don't have the original .dv file anymore, so I need to produce the cleanest source possible for this thing...

Here's the weird thing: If I run it through compressor and choose the video output as DV/DVCPRO, progressive, and choose the best de-interlacing, the resulting file opens with Quicktime and looks really good, with very little remaining interlacing artifacts. But then when I import it into FCPX, I still see very bad interlacing artifacts, like the trip through the Compressor did no good at all.

Any ideas?
Thanks,
Justin

[Janke]

Have you tried swapping fields?

Another solution would be to de-interlace.

[Janke]

Another solution would be to de-interlace.

You said you tried it - in Compressor. Can you do it in FCPX before outputting?

[jekins]

Like I said, I did de-interlace already. The resulting file is supposedly de-interlaced.

[jekins]

Sorry - looks like we cross-posted.
No, I can't put it in FCPX before outputting -- that's my dilemma. Because FCPX won't take in the .mpeg file. I tried wrapping it with ClipWrap, but ClipWrap won't take it either. I also tried Mpeg StreamClip, but got the error that I need to buy the Apple mpeg2 playback component.

[Janke]

Have you tried ffmpegX or JES Deinterlacer? Both are free.

[cgbier]

Do you still have the file that you ran through Compressor? This "original" file will not ingest into FCP X? If not, run it through Compressor again, but produce an INTERLACED DV/DVCpro file. Bring that file into a progressive FCP X timeline, and, on output, your problem will be solved.

Don't forget that FCP X is not based on Quicktime anymore. It has a different player engine now. That's where your differences may come from.

[jekins]

cgbier- you nailed it, thanks. The interlaced one is properly then de-interlaced in FCPX.