Video Player With Motion Interpolation

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Courtland Boland

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Aug 3, 2024, 5:59:14 PM8/3/24

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Motion interpolation or motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI) is a form of video processing in which intermediate film, video or animation frames are generated between existing ones by means of interpolation, in an attempt to make animation more fluid, to compensate for display motion blur, and for fake slow motion effects.

Motion interpolation is a common, optional feature of various modern display devices such as HDTVs and video players, aimed at increasing perceived framerate or alleviating display motion blur, a common problem on LCD flat-panel displays.

A display's framerate is not always equivalent to that of the content being displayed. In other words, a display capable of or operating at a high framerate does not necessarily mean that it can or must perform motion interpolation. For example, a TV running at 120 Hz and displaying 24 FPS content will simply display each content frame for five of the 120 display frames per second. This has no effect on the picture other than eliminating the need for 3:2 pulldown and thus film judder as a matter of course (since 120 is evenly divisible by 24). Eliminating judder results in motion that is less "jumpy" and which matches that of a theater projector. Motion interpolation can be used to reduce judder, but it is not required in order to do so.[1]

The advertised frame-rate of a specific display may refer to either the maximum number of content frames which may be displayed per second, or the number of times the display is refreshed in some way, irrespective of content. In the latter case, the actual presence or strength of any motion interpolation option may vary. In addition, the ability of a display to show content at a specific framerate does not mean that display is capable of accepting content running at that rate; most consumer displays above 60 Hz do not accept a higher frequency signal, but rather use the extra frame capability to eliminate judder, reduce ghosting, or create interpolated frames.

Some video editing software and plugins offer motion interpolation effects to enhance digitally-slowed video. FFmpeg is a free software non-interactive tool with such functionality. Adobe After Effects has this in a feature called "Pixel Motion". AI software company Topaz Labs produces Video AI, a video upscaling application with motion interpolation. The effects plugin "Twixtor" is available for most major video editing suites, and offers similar functionality.

Motion interpolation on certain brands of TVs is sometimes accompanied by visual anomalies in the picture, described by CNET's David Carnoy as a "little tear or glitch" in the picture, appearing for a fraction of a second. He adds that the effect is most noticeable when the technology suddenly kicks in during a fast camera pan.[1] Television and display manufacturers refer to this phenomenon as a type of digital artifact. Due to the improvement of associated technology over time, such artifacts appear less frequently with modern consumer TVs, though they have yet to be eliminated "the artifacts happens more often when the gap between frames are bigger".[citation needed]

As a byproduct of the perceived increase in frame rate, motion interpolation may introduce a "video" (versus "film") look. This look is commonly referred to as the "soap opera effect" (SOE), in reference to the distinctive appearance of most broadcast television soap operas or pre 2000s multicam sitcoms, which were typically shot using less expensive 60i video rather than film.[8]Many complain that the soap opera effect ruins the theatrical look of cinematic works, by making it appear as if the viewer is either on set or watching a behind the scenes featurette.[9] Almost all manufacturers provide ways to disable the feature, but because methods and terminology differ, the UHD Alliance proposed that all televisions have a "Filmmaker Mode" button on remote controls to disable motion smoothing.[10]

Motion interpolation so annoys filmmakers that Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie released a public service announcement in 2018 describing the effect and how to disable it.[11] Some sports viewers appreciate motion interpolation,[10] as it can reduce motion blur produced by camera pans and shaky cameras, and thus potentially yield better clarity of such images. It may also be used to increase the apparent framerate of video games for a more realistic feel, although the addition of display lag may be an undesired side effect.[12] This "video look" is created deliberately by the VidFIRE technique to restore archive television programs that only survive as film telerecordings.[13] The main differences between an artificially (interpolated) and naturally (in-camera) high framerate are that in-camera is not subject to any of the aforementioned artifacts, contains more accurate (or "true to life") image data, and requires more storage space and bandwidth, since frames are not produced in real time. [citation needed]

I am in the market for a new BluRay player and one of the features I am most interested in is Frame Interpolation, which I think Sony markets as MotionFlow. I know some people prefer to watch movies in 24fps and think anything faster is madness! But I find the smoother frame rates pleasing and I want a set up where I can have this.

Now, I know TV's tend to use this technology and there are some media players on PC's that allow me to do this, except there are none that I am aware of that supports BluRay and it would also be nice to see when streaming services like Netflix too (which frame interpolation on PC won't work with, because it's specific media players that can do it).

But I am not in the market for a TV, in fact, I am using a 34 inch 2k monitor and as it is only 3 months old, I am not about to splash out a load of money on TV as well. The monitor I use for working, gaming and media and it's perfect for what I need, hence I went for it .

[24p Output]
Outputs 24p video signals only when you connect a 1080/24p-compatible TV via an HDMI connection and the [Output Video Resolution] is set to [Auto] or [1080p].
[BD-ROM 24p Output]
[Auto]: Outputs 1920 1080p/24 Hz video signals only when connecting a 1080/24p-compatible TV using the HDMI OUT jack.
[On]: Turns on the function.
[Off]: Select this when your TV is not compatible with 1080/24p video signals.
[DVD-ROM 24p Output]
[Auto]: Outputs 1920 1080p/24 Hz video signals only when connecting a 1080/24p-compatible TV using the HDMI OUT jack.
[Off]: Select this when your TV is not compatible with 1080/24p video signals.
[Data content 24p Output]
This function is available for playback contents stored in USB memory or data disc.
[Auto]: Outputs 1920 1080p/24 Hz video signals only when connecting a 1080/24p-compatible TV using the HDMI OUT jack.
[Off]: Select this when your TV is not compatible with 1080/24p video signals.
[Network content 24p Output]
This function is available for playback contents from other network, such as Home Network, Screen mirroring, etc.
[Auto]: Outputs 1920 1080p/24 Hz video signals only when connecting a 1080/24p-compatible TV using the HDMI OUT jack.
[Off]: Select this when your TV is not compatible with 1080/24p video signals.

Frame interpolation basically increases the frame frate of some by insert frames by comparing 2 frames with each other and predicting what the image will look like. So in effect you could have a 24fps movie doing 60fps, it's what some TV's can do, Sony's version I believe is called MotionFlow, there's also LG's Trumotion and couple of others out there. I find the effect quite desireable, but at the moment, my only solution is PC software, which is fine for video files and even works with YouTube videos, but because it's going through a media player it doesn't work with services like Netflix and also it doesn't seem to like BluRays. Cyberlink is one PC software that does it (they call it TrueTheatre Motion) and this will work for DVD's and video files but not BluRays.

So, I am pretty much in the market for a BluRay player that does this, if it's only showing 24hz options, then I get the feeling it might not be the model I'm after. Though the 4k upscaling is mighty appealing, so if I cannot find a BluRay player that does frame interpolation, then I am sure I would go for a BluRay 4k upscaler.

Did you get this sorted yet? As a brief answer to your question, no, Sony BluRay players do not offer their MotionFlow interpolation. This is a feature built into their TVs only, and I'm pretty sure that is the same for other manufacturers as well.

Be aware though that frames per second and refresh rate (hz) are not inextricably linked, and producing 24p at 60p (what you suggested in your post) would require some very clever software techniques. What you're after is the interpolation, which won't increase your framerate but rather guess and produce frames in between (which can sometimes have negative effects, although Sony have one of the better systems in my opinion). I'm afraid I am in the camp that turns this sort of thing off for purity, but each to their own!

I use mpc-hc to play videos on Win7 x64. With the default settings (#1), video playback is great most of the time. But for panning shots, playback is not smooth. I stepped through the video frame by frame and found that the panning movement is smooth (e.g. each frame shifts horizontally by 10 pixels), so the problem is how the 23.976 fps video is interpolated to 60Hz.

Setting my LCD display to 50Hz may have improved the judder slightly (but I can't really tell). My display does not support 24Hz or 48Hz, and forcing them in the Nvidia control panel gives blurry screen.

I've tried other video players (VLC and KMPlayer), the ReClock Directshow Filter, video files from different sources (#4), turning on/off DXVA, and a computer with a different GPU, but the judder in the playback is similar. None of them solved the problem.