50fps video and TS files

All hardware and software related discussion topics here. Advice, discussion and opinions on either topic are welcome.
User avatar
Night457
Global Moderator
Posts: 5217
Likes:
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 3:44 pm

50fps video and TS files

Post by Night457 »   0 likes

David32441 wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 3:07 pm The video has some awful edge moire patterns going on
[...]
The video release is 25fps (not interlaced 50fps source) - so sadly it appears baked into the original video and I'm sure it can't be removed now. I tried a few interlace settings in Topaz that's normally quite good with interlace lines - but Moire patterns on objects it can't handle.
[...]
But it was 6-7 years ago!

If anyone has the original 50fps video (this was a .TS implying a digital TV rip maybe?) we could fix it.
I am confused. I don't have access to European television broadcasting, but my understanding was that the norm was 25fps, and that 50fps was used only recently for sports broadcasting (slow motion instant replays) and 4k. Am I behind the times? Was 50fps used on TV 6-7 years ago?

Also I assumed that a .ts file was any streaming video, and that it was also the ORIGINAL video. That would be the file to work from if it is available, and here it is. Streaming downloader software either automatically or optionally converts the .ts stream to an .mp4. I don't do any of the advanced AI enhancement that others do as I lack the software and knowledge, although sometimes I have managed to deinterlace a video. I do always reprocess a .ts file to .mp4 or .mkv because it makes playback smoother.

Any tech nerd care to provide a little education on the subject? I am not looking for a software tutorial but merely an explanation of terms. Google search has not given me anything that is altering my thinking.
User avatar
ghost
Site Admin
Posts: 8460
Likes:
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 1:00 am

Re: 50fps video and TS files

Post by ghost »   1 likes

TS files (=transport stream) is used by television broadcasting

The public TV stations in Germany broadcast at 50 fps. I can't remember exactly, but I think the reason is to save bandwidth. Don't ask me how that works exactly. You can't see any difference when you convert it to 25 fps.

They don't want to make it look smoother. ;)
User avatar
mimzy
Posts: 1434
Likes:
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:00 am

Re: 50fps video and TS files

Post by mimzy »   2 likes

Not sure about German television, but Interlaced video used to be 50 *fields* per second, where one field contains either even or odd rows of the frame. PAL standard used 50 fields per second for decades ;)

Main difference between TS and mp4/mkv/etc is that the latter has metadata in the beginning or end of file, so you cannot watch the file if the beginning (or end) is missing. TS is a stream of small packets you can start watching from any point onwards. All digital broadcast systems (DVB, IPTV, cable) use TS format.
User avatar
Night457
Global Moderator
Posts: 5217
Likes:
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 3:44 pm

Re: 50fps video and TS files

Post by Night457 »   0 likes

Aha! Things are starting to click in my head. Thanks, you two!
David32441
Posts: 799
Likes:
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 2:48 am

Re: 50fps video and TS files

Post by David32441 »   1 likes

I recall ripping recordings from my "old" Humax PAL (non HD) box. The original one that rips from a TV aerial had a convenitent USB-1 connection. You could connect it to a PC with the right USB cable and pull off the saved TS files! You could then use free software to convert them to mpeg2. This was done at super-fast speed, about 1hr video in under 30 seconds -basically as fast as the HDD could read/save. This was an obvious clue that the TS file was just a "package" that was still mpeg2 video.
I presume because people can change channels and video can break up due to weather and other issues - so it's important the stream be playable from any point in the video where someone changes channel (probably to the nearest "i" video frame, which in mpeg2 occurs twice a second usually). The saved file it gave me was an interlaced 50fps, mpeg2 at 720x576 usually (although a few channels broadcast at 480x576 a reduced horizontal resolution). I think all European TV on PAL or SECAM (France) was 50fps interlaced.
I read on a forum Humax were not allowed to include this "feature" when they started selling the next gen boxes that could record HD off European satellite TV and the saved files were also hardware encrypted - so even if you took out the HHD the entire hdd was scrambled! These boxes had further issues where the HDD's used a nasty brand that failed after 3-5 years - just outside the warranty window!
Post Reply