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Hi, new to the forum. I am using MakeMKV to convert my DVDs for my media server. (I convert to MKV then to MP4 using handbrake and use Plex on my Samsung). The problem I am running into is my old 4:3 TV show stuff doesn't look good after the conversion (Faulty Towers and Titus for example). It looks ok at a still scene, but when people move, it the picture is very "liney" (for lack of a better word). I have compared the MKV version to the original (and the MP4) and it seems to be the MakeMKV conversion. If anyone has any thoughts on this, it would be appreciated.
Thanks. Paul.

25 fps wasn't a fast enough frame rate and the original CRT technology didn't allow for 50 full frames per second, so instead the engineers of the time decided to transmit 50 half frames per second.

DVDs combine those half frames into full frames, they're supposed to be deinterlaced on playback but apparently you didn't deinterlace them during re-encode and encoded them as progressive, the interlacing has become part of the picture now and you'll need to re-encode them.

Is deinterlacing them a MakeMKV option? (I don't see anything that has to do with video in the preferences). Or is this something to do on the Handbrake side?

In handbrake, you would want to use either the deinterlace or decomb functions to take care of the lines. I use decomb set to "default", which works OK.

No, MakeMKV won't do it. Some player software can, if you turn on "deinterlace", but the success varies with the implementation.

Thanks for the help. I found the Deinterlace option in Handbrake and that seems to have cured the problem. Now I just need to re-convert a few of my things.

I have had zero luck with Handbrake's Decomb option, with a wide variety of test matter it never seems to deinterlace anything.

For Deinterlace, their guide is 4 years old and never been updated. I use the "Slower" option there. Tested all the others with mixed results, with Bob creating the most artifacts with on screen text.

Why convert to mp4? Trying to save space? Plex plays my mkv files fine. More then likely its a issue with your config settings in handbrake.

Hello, MakeMKV is used first to rip a .mkv of the source then HandBrake run using "High Profile" with container set to mkv. Decombing is set to auto with this profile. This combination has made wonderful files. Older content also depends greatly on its start quality. Some have been remastered, others, not at all. With all my older "combed" files HandBrake has removed it. BTW you can create a profile in HandBrake to reuse. And this applies to DVD only. Sometimes in HandBrake I have to set the Horizontal size to 720 at the start or I get a huge first Transcode. GL