On the Detection of Temporal Field Order in Interlaced Video Data

In traditional analog interlaced video such as NTSC (B. Grob, 1984), the timing of the two fields is determined within the analog video signal. However, in today\´s converging world of analog and digital video, it becomes increasingly possible that information about field order is lost or not known. The analog interlaced video may undergo digital sampling, editing, or processing which alters or removes the field order information. This paper presents a simple and efficient approach for detecting the correct field order from only the interlaced video data. The method is based on proposed measurements of "zipper" points and energy of the interlaced video. Simulations show that the approach provides very promising detection performance.