ok, i know WHAT interlaced is, but how do you know if the source avi is in fact interlaced, and if it is, why should it be de-interlaced when transfering to dvd? thanks for your comments.
Well if you use Tmpgenc"s "Wizard" it will scan your File and set the Interlaced setting to the correct setting.... Most Video that is 29.976fps will be Interlaced but most other Video (23.976fps/25fps) will be Progressive, Generally you should NOT Deinterlace when encodeing to DVD because your TV set is Made for Displaying Interlaced Video.....
but doesnt "progressive" provide better quality (is this the same thing as selecting progressive output through component, or is it composite, cables from a dvd player?)
Progressive Scan on your DVD Player Just Removes 3:2 Pulldown so the DVD Plays at it"s original 23.976fps Film Rate but 29.976fps Interlaced Video doesn"t nescessarilly come from a 23.976fps Source and there is no 3:2 Pulldown flag for the DVD Player to Remove so it can not use it"s Progressive Scan on this Type of Material.... DeInterlaceing will usually make the Video look More Blurry and Loose some Sharpness, this is Because Deinterlaceing will usually Remove one Field and Buplicate the Other Field to make a Progressive Frame which means half of the Original Video information is Disguarded so that is why it isn"t good to deinterlace but if you were only going to watch the Video on your PC then you should deinterlace ,This is because your Monitor can not properly display Interlaced Video..... Cheers