SD to DVD versus HD to DVD

A

andybiz_2005

Well-known member
I would like to ask this important question. From Standard Definition, if I want to burn to a normal DVD (not Sony's Blue-ray DVD), the video is first transcoded to MPEG2-DVD format before it is burnt to the DVD right?

So even if you use a HD camera like Sony's FX-1/E to record footage in High Definition & burn it to a normal DVD, the Hi-def footage still gets transcoded to MPEG2-DVD. Am I right on this? So, that means that not neccesarily the footage shot in HD on a HD camera will result in better resolution, more crisp image, better colour rendition, sharper image, etc when displayed on a normal CRT TV, or normal LCD monitor? I would just like to clarify this. Only if HD footage is burned to the new Blu-ray disk, does the difference between SD video & HD video really become obvious? Is this also correct? Thank you in advance for your advice.
 
In any proessces, the final output is only as good as the wekest link. In this case the Sony. I keed, I keed... Shooting HD won't do you much if you are only outputting to DVD, as you will be constrained to the DVD standard (which is SD) - You'd probably be better shooting in the best SD mode you can. - Like DVCPRO-50 on the HVX.

- Mikko
 
Hi Mikko.
Thanks so very much for your reply post..........because I was showing my wedding demo reel to a wedding planner (who has seen a lot of other better demos before). The demo was shot from my DVX102A in 50i mode & I played it from my 15.4" Centrino laptop, which is pretty new.

He commented that the video did not look as clear or sharp as he has seen other demos before & I told him that it's because LCD displays cannot produce as good a video footage as on a TV, which is CRT. Then he told me that the video would look much clearer if it was shot from a high-definition camera instead of a standard def- like my DVX.
 
When HD is sent to SD DVD, the resolution becomes SD - 720x480 in NTSC, no more.

The image may be different than if you shot in SD, but it won't be higher-resolution.

That said, it's almost always best to edit in the highest resolution/colospace that you can and then export as needed.
 
Thanks David for highlighting that HD becomes SD when transcoded & burned to DVD. That's what I suspected, but I want to be sure that I was right.

Andrew
 
He might be confusing clear footage with video look footage as apposed to film look footage. He may be one of those people that like that crisp video sharpened image look and maybe you should have both on your demo to show the difference.
Someone probably sold him on some HD bullcrap to get him to pay higher prices even though the output is SD. You should school him on that.
 
Hi Aram,

Well, that was really insightfull advice. Anyway, it is true that if I use an anamorphic lens for my DVX & shoot footage from that, then it can actually be up-rezzed to high-def right? I guess the main point of this wedding planner friend of mine was that he noticed that my video demo wasn't as sharp or crisp as he had seen other demos before. I attribute it mainly to viewing my demo through an ordinary LCD panel as I'm sure the results will be far better if I had played the demo from a DVD player connected to a CRT TV.

How I wish I had the HVX, or even the Red camera that is rumoured to hit store shelves at the end of this year. I guess I've to stay tuned to NAB to know the full details like price & recording formats, etc.

Thanks again.

Andrew
 
I also find that a lot of DVDs (especially those I have burned on my Mac) don't look as good on my eMac screen (CRT @ 1024x768) as they do on my better monitors from a DVD player. Some of the "Hollywood" DVDs which are progressive encoded do look really good, but they are all being scaled up.
I just feel that to NTSC artifacts (re: colorspace, interlace, resolution. . .) are shown "warts and all" on a progressive scan computer display.
There are some articles @ http://www.hdvcafe.com/ where DPs have tried the FX1/Z1U downconverted footage for DVD and they give their thoughts. . .

MR
 
i guess without some sample screen shot to see what you are talking about its hard to say exactly. Did you put in another DVD with a movie on it to see if that looks good? If it looks the same as your video than why show it on that screen?
Have you checked it on other monitors? If this is your bread and butter you must have a viewing station right?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top