What is Deinterlacing Video? Complete Guide to Fix Interlaced Footage

April 28, 2026Jenny Ryan

Video is undoubtedly an indispensable element in our day-to-day scenarios. A great way to pass the time is watching movies, capturing brilliant moments, and introducing one's life to the internet community through social networks. At the same time, a kind of visual defects, such as horizontal lines, flickers, or motion blurs, that are typical for interlaced formats on modern display devices, can make some videos quite a torture to watch. To tackle the issue, numerous users prefer to deinterlace their videos by converting interlaced content to progressive ones, a format that is completely free of interlacing artifacts. Besides upgrading the image definition, the visually evident effect of this process is the progressive display of the frames one after the other. In doing so, the original smoothness of movement is faithfully reproduced, which can be recognized as the image quality differences between the two modes. In the article, we will be explaining deinterlacing, its significance, and good ways to make quality deinterlaced videos effectively at the same time.

Deinterlacing Video Guide

Part 1: What is Deinterlace?

When talking about deinterlacing, it’s important to understand the difference between interlaced (i) and progressive (p) video.

Interlaced video (i) is a technique that doubles the perceived frame rate without using extra bandwidth. Each frame consists of two fields captured at different times, one containing all the odd-numbered lines, the other containing the even-numbered lines. This technique was very popular in analog camcorders and VCRs as a way to enhance motion perception and reduce flicker. Besides, this effect is quite often generated when shooting fast movements. You can spot interlaced footage by the horizontal lines crossing the image.

Progressive video (p), on the other hand, captures and displays all lines in a single frame, resulting in smoother and cleaner motion without the horizontal line artifacts seen in interlaced video.

Deinterlacing is the process of converting interlaced video into a progressive format, removing horizontal lines, and creating normal frames for better viewing quality.

Part 2. Why Do We Need to Deinterlace Video?

Interlaced video can lead to several issues when viewed on today's progressively scanning devices. Some of the most frequent problems are:

  • • Horizontal Lines or Artifacts: Interlaced footage often shows visible horizontal stripes, especially during fast motion.
  • • Flickering or Judder: Motion in interlaced videos may appear jumpy or unstable, making it uncomfortable to watch.
  • • Blurry Motion: The movement of objects on a screen may result in them appearing to be smudged. This is because the odd and even fields are recorded at different times.
  • • Compatibility Issues: Quite a few contemporary video players, social media platforms, and video editing software are geared towards progressive video and might render interlaced videos incorrectly.

Use Cases for Deinterlacing Video

  • • Digitizing Old TV Shows or VHS Tapes: The majority of analog recordings were interlaced. Deinterlacing is the method for ensuring that the images are compatible and look good on today's TVs and monitors.
  • • Recording Sports or Action Videos: Sports or drone scenes that contain a lot of movement cause interlaced artifacts that need to be fixed.
  • • Video Editing and Streaming: Editors and streamers need progressive video to their face effect is light changes or motion, as they are also uploading online, to the cause of motion flickering.
  • • Converting for Social Media: Websites like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok accept video files in the progressive format in order to improve the quality and compatibility of the upload.

By deinterlacing, you remove artifacts and create a clean, smooth, and progressive video suitable for playback, editing, and sharing.

Part 3. How to Deinterlace with 3 Easy Methods

Comparison Table of Deinterlacing Methods

Features Video Converter Ultimate VLC Media Player HandBrake
Ease of Use Very Easy (beginner-friendly interface) Easy (simple menu settings) Medium (requires encoding setup)
Deinterlace Technology AI Video Enhancer with automatic processing Built-in basic deinterlace filters Advanced deinterlace / detelecine filters
Output Quality High (AI improves clarity and motion smoothness) Medium (quality depends on playback settings) High (customizable encoding options)
Processing Speed Fast with GPU acceleration Real-time playback processing Slower due to video re-encoding
Batch Processing Supported Not supported Supported
Editing Features Trim, crop, enhance, convert formats Limited (mainly playback tool) Basic encoding adjustments
Format Support 1000+ formats Wide playback support Wide conversion support
Best For Quick and automatic deinterlacing Temporary playback fixes Advanced users needing full control
Learning Curve Very Low Low Medium to High

Method 1. Deinterlace Video Using Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate

If you need a quick and effective method to repair interlaced video, Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate offers an AI powered feature that can automatically enhance video quality. Rather than turning the knobs on complex encoding settings by yourself, this software employs advanced video enhancement technology to transform interlaced clips into more fluid progressive ones. It is suitable for beginners, content creators, and users who need fast processing with high output quality.

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  • AI-based Video Enhancer to reduce interlacing artifacts
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Steps to Deinterlace Video with AI Video Enhancer

Step 1.
Install and open Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate on your computer. Navigate to the Toolbox tab and choose Video Enhancer, which uses the latest AI enhancement model.
Pick Video Enhancer
Step 2.
Click Add File to import the interlaced video you want to fix.
Step 3.
To aid smooth motion and lessen interlacing artifacts, select the General Enhancement Model.
Choose General Enhancement Model
Step 4.
Preview the output to compare the original and enhanced video quality.
Preview The Video
Step 5.
Select your preferred output format, resolution, and frame rate in the export settings.
Adjust Frame And Format
Step 6.
Click Export All to start processing and save the progressive video to your device.
Hit Export All

Method 2. Deinterlace a Video via VLC

Using FFmpeg to deinterlace requires some tech knowledge, so for users who want to deinterlace video using a free open-source tool, VLC Media Player is one of the most popular media players around the world. It is not only an open-source project, but also a video editor. Similar to other open-source projects, VLC hides extensive features in the menu. That is why most users cannot grasp all features, like the built-in Deinterlace. VLC has the capacity to analyze the interlaced video and correct it.

Step 1.
Open the latest version of VLC, click and expand the Media menu and select a way to import the interlaced video, like Open File.
Step 2.
Next, navigate to Video -> Deinterlace and select On if you want to correct the display of your interlaced video.
Step 3.
Now, you can enjoy your video normally. Then choose Off in Video -> Deinterlace to disable the feature after the playback.
Interlaced Video Vlc

VLC will not change your video, and the VLC's Deinterlace feature will only modify the display of interlaced videos. It means that you have to turn on the Deinterlace feature next time when you view the interlaced video in VLC. Moreover, you will still see the mice's teeth when playing the video on other devices or your smartphone.

Method 3. Deinterlace a Video Using Handbrake

Another way to deinterlace videos is Handbrake. It is another open-source project for Windows users (check here for Handbrake for Mac), so you can process your interlaced videos for free. Unlike VLC, Handbrake will edit the video and replace the original file. Plus, this video application is a bit complicated. You can follow the steps below to achieve the task.

Step 1.
Start Handbrake on your computer and import the interlaced video in the Source tab.

You'd better make a copy to your video file. Once Handbrake crashes during the process or the output is poor, your video will not be damaged.

Step 2.
Locate the Output Settings section and switch to the Filters tab. Select Deinterlace, unfold the dropdown menu and select a way of deinterlacing in Handbrake, like Custom, Fast, Slow, or Slower, based on the condition of your video.
Step 3.
Then click on the Start button on the top ribbon to initiate the process.
Interlaced Video Handbrake

Note: Though Handbrake is powerful enough to deinterlace a video, it is not the best option for beginners. Moreover, some users complained about the poor output quality. Handbrake does not offer the preview window, so you do not know the result until the process is done. To be honest, Handbrake is not suitable to deal with long videos, because it takes much longer time to process a video and even possibly crashes. The complicated operation is another downside of Handbrake's Deinterlace feature.

See how to uninstall HandBrake on Mac here.

FAQs about Deinterlaceing

What are common problems with deinterlacing?

Common problems include loss of vertical resolution, ghosting, blurring, or uneven motion. Choosing the wrong method or using automatic deinterlacing without consideration of content can result in jerky or visually degraded video.

Does deinterlacing affect file size?

Deinterlacing itself does not inherently increase file size, but if the process doubles frame rates or outputs higher-resolution frames, the resulting file can be larger due to more frames being stored.

Can deinterlacing be reversed?

No, deinterlacing is generally irreversible because the original interlaced fields are merged or discarded during processing. Once combined into progressive frames, the precise original field information is lost.

Conclusion

In this post, we explored the basics of deinterlacing and showed you how to deinterlace video using three practical methods. Tools like Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate offer an easy and high-quality solution, while VLC provides a quick playback fix, and HandBrake gives more control for advanced users. By choosing the right method based on your needs, you can remove interlacing artifacts and enjoy smoother, clearer video playback. If you still have questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

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