Hi Jef,

Can you tell me more about why converting from interlace to progressive is bad?  The eventual goal for this project is to be shown on CRT monitors as it was originally in 1977.

Thanks,

marluc

Traveling. Short answer- you generally lose up to half of your vertical resolution. Google deinterlace. 

marluc:

Hi Jef,

Can you tell me more about why converting from interlace to progressive is bad?  The eventual goal for this project is to be shown on CRT monitors as it was originally in 1977.

Thanks,

marluc

If its going to be shown on CRTs it will probably need to be interlaced. Interlacing was invented to allow CRT displays to show smooth images. 

Converting interlaced to progressive poses issues re quality. Ideally you want to go double the framerate retaining each field as a frame (each frame is only half the resolution of course) if you retain the source frame rate each frame now has 2 different moments in time and that causes interlacing jaggies. The de interlacing solutions are varied (and external 3rd party tools can do a better job than Avid) with losing half the vertical resolution or blending the odd and even lines (which also softens the content. 

Pat - IIRC, interlacing was the solution to the inablity of early TV systems to send sufficient data to create an entire frame in one pass. On TV, I like interlacing. I also had fun explaining to students that just shooting at 24 fps does not make it look like a film. I created a crude animation (in Marquee!) showing how the flicker rate was reduced by showing each film frame twice (or possibly thrice, depending on the shutter) (writing as an old film editor who laced up many projectors).

OK, gentlemen, you have all been extremely generous with your time and experience.  However, I end up with this basic problem:  On Mac OS Catalina 10.15.7 running Media Composer 2022.7, I cannot edit or output interlaced files, correct?

How do I proceed with this project?  It must be shown on CRT monitors, therefore it must be interlaced. Can someone--anyone--please outline a workflow that will enable me to do this?  

Do I have to erase my computer and go back to an older OS and MC? I would be terrified to do that!

Are there any Avid technicians who travel?  I am in the lower Catskills of NY State, close to PA and Delaware River  and would welcome a knowledgable person who can help me solve this problem.

Thanks to all,

marluc

Well, if you can get the video iinto Media Composer, you can certainly edit and export as interlaced. I have a load of old PAL footage that I captured as 3:1. In a short test, I exported as MXF OP1a - not usable as it stands but you can re-encode in something like Adobe Media Encoer or Shutter Encoder. . There's a problem with the audio but that's another thing ...

Roger, thanks. I have heard similar advice from another source and am game to try it.  What is the problem with audio?  The sound is crucial in this piece.

marluc

I think my clips were captured with an old OS. The audio throws an error on my Big Sur installation. They play fine on a Windows box. I will check with a Mojave system later. Good luck.