Abstract: An enhanced video data compressor has a composite video signal decoder that changes the state of a field identification signal in response to a vertical interval indicator in composite video data which is in a digital video format. Thereafter a vertical timing pulse is generated to prepare a compression encoder to acquire data. By counting lines from the vertical timing pulse the decoder sets a horizontal timing signal at a one macroblock line interval prior to active video data so that the compression encoder acquires video data from the vertical interval as well as active video data. At the end of each field the acquired data is processed by the compression encoder to produce compressed video data.