Choose movement that exposes the difference
Select a repeatable moving passage in an owned suspect file and keep the baseline settings. mpv documents that automatic interlace detection can be wrong. A flag or filename is useful context but should not replace a local visual comparison.
Keep a progressive control
Review a known progressive sample with and without the proposed treatment, changing no unrelated filters. If the treatment worsens it, preserve that observation as a limit on applying the setting globally. Do not label the progressive original damaged because a forced player setting looks poor.
Check existing filter configuration before adding another stage. Multiple treatments can obscure which operation changed the result. No motion or hardware testing was performed for this article, so the guide does not select a universally best mode.
Store a source-specific decision
Record the file, version, chosen setting and reason. Review the next playlist item to make sure a temporary comparison setting did not become an unintended default. A controlled reference supports a narrow decision without making a compatibility claim about other codecs or displays.
Questions answered
Can interlace metadata be wrong?
Yes. The developer documentation notes limitations in automatic detection and flags.
Should one improved source lead to a global setting for every file?
Review representative progressive and interlaced material before making a broader policy.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.