Software based, standard conversion used to be a sci-fi topic until recently.
Now you have many options, depending on which side of the speed/quality equation you want to be in.
The best possible conversion is probably that in Apple’s Compressor 2 on the Mac, if you enable its’ incredibly slow optical flow/motion compensated technology for frame rate and size conversions (in the frame controls tab). If you use Compressor 2 with the frame blending method, it will be much faster, but results will be similar to the other solutions described below. Compressor’s quality can approach hardware converter level, but unfortuantely is not as automatic process (even worse, it does actually have presets for conversions, but they are wrong in that they don’t enable the proper parameters).
On the PC, Canopus’ Procoder does quite decent conversions and, unlike Apple’s tools, it does so in a very automatic way. It can’t touch Compressor’s mindblowing motion compensated results, but it’s more or less as good (and probably faster) than Compressor’ fast method. It uses a similar method, I’d guess.
Another two options on the Mac side: JES Deinterlacer is a free tool (search for it in Google) which is very fast, and pretty much OK in terms of quality (frame blending method again). Graeme Nattress has a very nice tool that works as a plug-in for Final Cut Pro (Nattress G Converter). It’s probably better quality and quite fast too. Not free, though.
Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires – Argentina
https://www.adolforozenfeld.com
adolfo(AT)adolforozenfeld.com