VirtualDub luma histogram: eliminating left red tail gives washed out video?
 

The workflow: EP VHS (7 hour tape) --> AG-1980 (in-line TBC ON) --> TBC-1000 --> BVP-4 Plus --> ATI TV WONDER 2.0 USB --> VirtualDub on Windows XP desktop. Connections are with S-video cables.

When I start with the BVP's IRE and PTP knobs at default 12 o'clock, the histogram has lots of red on the left, but when I tweak them a little to correct the histogram, the video looks too washed out. I've just barely nudged the red out of sight. I actually prefer the darker look associated with the "bad" histogram.

In either case I'm making the same use of color and fleshtone knobs on the BVP.

So who do I believe: the histogram or my lying eyes? Do I just have bad taste in luma?

Also attached is another "good" histogram example but with BVP's black restore on and cranked up - if anything, looks the worst to me - the suit looks grey instead of black, and the video is maybe grainier.

If the monitor is calibrated, eyes are accurate, computers are stupid.

I'm not on my video system now, can't look at sample yet.

I'm not an expert (rather far from it) but it looks to me like the frames are swapped, or reversed, or whatever it's called.
Note the right edge of the speaker's face when it moves sideways.
I can't recall how to fix this; I'm just restarting this after a long time away.

Yes, the video is bottom field first for some reason.

To the experts: looking at the histogram, the green channel is crushed. Is this a problem, and is it best fixed during capture by setting brightness above the point where the red disappears in the histogram? The VirtualDub Settings Guide doesn't say.

RE: bottom field first -- if I apply the swap fields filter in VirtualDub, then the interlacing looks way off to me. Shouldn't that filter have fixed it? See the attached AVI.

RE: the histogram -- is there a way to see the histogram in VirtualDub post-capture? I only know how to bring it up in live capture mode.

Usually, but it can be on the tape, or clipped by something in the capture chain as well, the video is going through several Analog->Digital->Analog conversions in this setup.

Swap fields won't change bottom field first to top field first. I'm not sure how to solve it in virtualdub, but with avisynth you can separate the fields and trim off the first one.

BFF? How did that happen? That workflow is TFF. :question:

Confirm VirtualDub version. TFF/BFF is a problem I've come across on VirtualDub2 captures.

VirtualDub 1.9.11 - my source is here. :wink2:

The VHS was made by a tinpot short lived company. Is it possible it's BFF at the VHS source? If that's the case, is there anything I can do via software with the capture I have? Capture again isn't possible as the VHS is no longer in my possession.

I captured a tape produced by a small production company like that, which had one segment that was BFF. I didn't fix it but I'll try hodgey's idea to use avisynth to separate the fields and recombine.