I think in the end I preferred VDub's de-interlace using Yadif algorithm the most (and 60fps is freaking beautiful, but unfortunately impossible to record directly to on poverty hardware, and not worth doing post-record encoding from lossless due to size issues). It's using Brawl footage, but you can see the final results of my experimentation here:
http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=129304
Iiii... basically came to that same conclusion myself last night, I rendered double frames with Yadif and was like "hooooly smokes how did i not know this before." (all my original files have been deleted save for ten.) I did a bunch of other renders as well. But first a comment about 60fps.
You're right, standard deinterlacing drops a frame, and keeps the data for another. However, we normally see the game at 30fps, though we're seeing 60 different fields ('half-frames'). This looks messy when captured though, because we're seeing both fields interlaced together at 30fps, instead of one half of a frame every 60, which is what a tv is displaying. So, deinterlacing by separating the field data and producing/interpolating a frame for each field will preserve that original '60fps' fluidity while solving the messy interlaced effect we see. If I understand all this correctly.
However, this also means... that we don't actually see a 'full' frame in Smash when we play, we see two fields from two different frames every 1/30 of a second's time. So, deinterlaced and 'double'd' footage is actually giving us more detail than what we normally see (created from interpolation). Just an interesting point. And considering, as you pointed out, that Youtube doesn't support 60fps... it might be better overall to go with 30fps.
But with which filter?
I actually can't figure it out. :/ Sometimes the smart deinterlace edge-directed looks slightly better, sometimes it doesn't look as smooth and has more grain. So, because the differences are so, so minute... I think I'm just going to stick with this Yadif algorithm. Yessss.
Results
Honestly, you can't really see any differences unless you zoom in and compare section by section, save for the very first image, which has jaggy edges due to no real field interpolation being applied.
Code:
Source: Huffyuv 2.1.1 S-video
For these first few, I rendered double frames via field duplication, then applied the smart deinterlace filter with edge-direct interpolation, then rendered h.264.
Code:
Output: ffmpeg x264 jan '11 build, high profile, animation tune
normal speed, single pass, default CRF setting
59.94fps
Double frames, duplicate fields
Double frames, duplicate fields, edge-direct
Code:
Output: ffmpeg x264 jan '11 build, high profile, animation tune
normal speed, multi pass, 4500 avg bitrate
59.94fps
Double frames, duplicate fields, edge-direct, 2pass render
Then, I used the Yadif algorithm. First, just Huffyuv, then a slow-speed 2pass h.264 render, same settings as before.
Double frames, duplicate fields, Yadif, Huffyuv (lossless)
Double frames, duplicate fields, Yadif, 2pass render
I also did a same-setting 2pass render only using the smart deinterlace filter, edge-direct setting (so, 30fps).
Smart deinterlace, edge-direct//motion threshold=11, 2pass render
Same order of pictures, alternate frame: x2-duplicate; x2-edge; x2-edge-2pass; x2-yadif-lossless; x2-yadif-2pass; x1-edge-2pass. Click to view.
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/602/fcdf2.png
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/9896/fcdfedge2.png
http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/1653/dfedge2pass2.png
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/6046/yadifuncompressed2.png
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3631/yd2p2.png
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2627/fcsfedge2pass2.png
Conclusion
The Yadif double frame deinterlace method looks great and works fast. Yadif itself does very well, and though it was a bit smoother and slightly less noisy than the smart deinterlace edge-direct interpolation, it's not as customizable... and really, no one's going to care the difference is so small. Yadif looks great. Plus, you can switch between 30 and 60 fps right there, and it's actually been updated within the last 5 years.
New winner = yadif. But I'm still going to stick with 30fps for now
/done with VirtualDubX
