Whenever I play certain DVDs on VLC player, the image quality is terrible. These same problems seem to occur with most if not all (I haven’t tested them all yet) discs of this show, so I think the problems are probably not related to physical defects on the discs. When I used to play these same discs via a DVD player and a CRT TV, I do not believe that any of the issues occurred which I describe in this post.
However, I have discovered that these issues are not specific to the VLC player. When I play the same DVDs on the same computer using a non-VLC media player, the image quality problems that occur in that player are identical to the ones that occur in the VLC player.
In other words, I suspect the quality of the disc source material is one of the main reasons for the image quality problems.
But if possible, I would still like to configure VLC player in such a way as to reduce or eliminate these problems.
In case this info is relevant, I believe the resolution of the source material is 720x480. I assume that VLC player’s default settings are blowing up the image to some extent; perhaps that is one factor that plays into these issues?
Here are three images that hopefully illustrate what I am talking about:
My perceptions about the issues could be inaccurate since I do not understand what exactly is going on. But here are my impressions:
Impression 1: I believe the DVDs are interlaced, because when I turn off deinterlacing, very noticeable horizontal lines often slice through the image. When I turn on deinterlacing, usually those lines no longer appear. However, none of the deinterlacing options do anything to correct any of the problems outlined in Impression 2 and Impression 3.
Impression 2: The image constantly flickers.
Impression 3: The image is full of black “fuzz”…it kind of looks like film grain, but I’m not sure if it actually is film grain. This fuzz itself also seems to be constantly flickering (although I cannot be sure if just the background behind the fuzz is flickering, or if the actual fuzz itself is flickering too).
I have tried changing the output modules. Changing them has had no effect on the problems outlined in Impression 2 and Impression 3, although some of the lower quality output modules caused additional flickering problems and in various ways made the image look worse overall.
I have read that DirectX (DirectDraw) is recommended for XP. That is the output module that was in use when I took the screenshots within this post.
I have also tried turning off "Accelerated video output" and "Overlay video output" - doing that didn't help either.
The only setting in VLC player I have found that did anything to reduce the flickering and black fuzz problems is under the “Advanced” tab of “Adjustments and Effects.” When I click on the checkbox for “Anti-Flickering,” and move the “Soften” bar about two notches to the right, that seems both to get rid of the flickering reduce the amount of black fuzz. Here is an image that shows how the image looks with the "Anti-Flicker" effect on and the "Soften" bar set two notches to the right.
However, turning on the "Anti-Flicker" effect causes additional problems: one, the image starts to become filled with ghost-like imprints of previous frames; and two, the horizontal lines that slice through the image come back, as if I had turned off deinterlacing, even though deinterlacing is still on. If I slide the “Soften” bar more than two notches to the right, the image becomes distorted worse than ever. Here is an image to show how the distortion looks with the "Soften" bar all the way to the right:
In summary, I am asking for help in how I can configure to VLC player reduce or eliminate all of these problems at the same time:
1. The horizontal lines that slice through the image.
2. The constant flickering of the image.
3. The black fuzz that permeates the image.
Also, I'd appreciate if you could give me technical explanations of what is causing these problems and why the solutions that you might offer can fix them.
