Pixelated titles when de-interlacing

Matt Agnello

Matt Agnello

Member
I've noticed in a couple projects that when I de-interlace the footage using Compressor, the titles end up looking really messed up -- almost as if I had de-interlaced footage that was never interlaced to begin with. Since the result is very pixelated, I thought it might've just been bad choice in font or a font that didn't have anti-aliasing support for some reason, but it's happened with every font I've chosen and every title. The rest of the footage de-interlaces with no problems, but the titles don't.

Is there a way to deal with this? I'd like to make some of my projects available on the web, but I can't de-interlace without messing up the titles.

My project is shot in HDV on a Canon HV20 in 24p. It's important to note that the HV20's 24p mode records in a 30i data stream, and I edit it as interlaced footage for convenience. I'm using Final Cut Pro 6 and Compressor 3. The deinterlace filter is set to Odd, which matches the sequence presets.

(I'll try to get some screenshots up if I can once I find somewhere to host them.)
 
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What if you deinterlace your footage in FCP but not the text and export the video without deinterlacing it in compressor? Have you also tried opening it up in quicktime and gone thru movie properties under video and check high quality? Just a thought.
 
My workflow is to complete the edit in FCP and export an uncompressed version using Export->QuickTime Movie with "Make movie self-contained" checked. I then take the uncompressed file and use Compressor to make the variety of formats I need.

I know the culprit isn't QuickTime, because I have the high quality box checked, and I've watched other footage I compressed before upgrading to Compressor 3 and the titles look fine. I'm also not sure what you mean by deinterlacing in FCP. Do you mean deinterlace when capturing the footage, or when I export the uncompressed file?

I've done a couple tests. The source was two titles generated in FCP using the Text generator as HD with field dominance set to "Upper (Odd)". I made an uncompressed file, and the titles look pristine. But after compressing for H.264 at 3 mb/s video through the de-int filter set to Odd, the titles look crummy. I tried again, this time setting "Frame control" on and using the following settings instead of the deint filter:

Resize filter: fastest
Output field: Same as source
Deinterlace: Fast
Adaptive details: Checked
Anti-aliasing: 0
Details level: 0

The result was less pixelated and ugly when displayed at my Macbook Pro's 1440x900 screen size, but the titles still had some pixelation at full res. I tried a couple different settings: anti-aliasing set to 1, deinterlacing set to "better," output field set to "progressive." Each option gave me lower quality than the one before it, with anti-aliasing producing the best results but with the longest processing time.

The Compressor manual says setting output field to "progressive" is basically the same as the legacy deinterlacing filter but higher quality. My experience was that it produced the same title pixelation as the legacy filter. However, the footage I've compressed using Compressor 2 and the deinterlacing filter looks fine.

I feel like I shouldn't have to anti-alias all of my footage to get the titles to look good, and on my older Macbook Pro it takes about 4-5 minutes to anti-alias a second of footage. Is there something else I'm missing here?
 
What FreshStep meant is that you apply FCP' de-interlace filter to the footage (but not the text) in your sequence before exporting. Not sure if that'll help though.

Check to make sure that your sequence preset (and export settings) all match. Maybe post a screenshot as well.
 
For exporting the uncompressed version, I use Export->QuickTime Movie, export settings set to "current settings" and "make movie self contained" checked, so the settings should (hopefully) match.

I could apply a deint filter to every single shot, but that doesn't scale to larger projects where I don't have time to do something like that over hours of footage. And I'll have to re-interlace for anything I want to put on DVD, creating more work for my poor little processor.
 
Here's a screenshot of the problem and the result of some of my tests:
1198167798.jpg
 
You'd be better off managing your project, doing a batch inverse telecine of your trimmed clips using JES to convert them to true 24p clips, and paste your sequence into a 24p timeline. From there, export as 24p and save yourself a ton of hassles.
 
Matt Agnello said:
For exporting the uncompressed version, I use Export->QuickTime Movie, export settings set to "current settings" and "make movie self contained" checked, so the settings should (hopefully) match.

I could apply a deint filter to every single shot, but that doesn't scale to larger projects where I don't have time to do something like that over hours of footage. And I'll have to re-interlace for anything I want to put on DVD, creating more work for my poor little processor.
Click to expand...

Before adding the titles, nest your master sequence in a new sequence and add the de-interlace filter to that. That way, you don't have to add it individually to each shot.
 
pixelated titles

pixelated titles

Granted I am new to FCP but it seems like a poor workflow to me that I have to go to Titler outside FCP and then import the titles after I make them. Any other editing program wll let you do titles right in the footage...I dunno, sigh. Anyhow, when I make the titles I pick the same resoluton as the HD footage and the titles come in blocky..Simple white titles on black. I think I need tutoring:(
 
Batutta said:
You'd be better off managing your project, doing a batch inverse telecine of your trimmed clips using JES to convert them to true 24p clips, and paste your sequence into a 24p timeline. From there, export as 24p and save yourself a ton of hassles.
Click to expand...

That helps for editing in 24p -- at least as far as getting a decent copy for LCD and projector screens. But I'm also getting title problems in SD interlaced projects where I can't convert the footage beforehand. For those, using the "better" deinterlace option under Frame Control seems to produce the best results. The "fast" option is quick, but very dirty.
 
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