DVD quality?

K

kyozoku

Member
This is a general question about DVD quality vs. broadcast TV.

I just finished my project, shot at 1080 HD on an HVX-200 with a 35mm lens adapter. Posted in Vegas, using all the right settings (according to the mods at DVXuser.com), rendered using the DVD Architect 24p template (video rendering set to "Best") and burned to DVD with DVD Architect.

I watch the DVD and think, yeah, that looks pretty good. Then I flip to A&E, which has some cop reality show on, and it looks ten times sharper, clearer, and better.

And I think, "Why aren't I getting that kind of image"?

When I watch the MPEG files on my computer, it's much better, much sharper. Still not as good as A&E, but better than the DVD. But then the DVD...for example, in my project an asian woman is wearing a black, v-neck blouse. The line of black against her light brown skin, on the DVD, comes out all noisy and mushy, not sharp at all. Is this just inherent to DVD compression, or am I doing something wrong?

Any input appreciated.
 
broadcast is supposed to be higher quality than dvd.
at the end the dvd will be compressed to mpeg2 and constraint to a safe bit rate for dvd players and a small resolution.
also if your connecting a dvd player using analogue components or wires to your tv, and digital using broadcast, then you might get a quality hit from that too, and finaly your monitor and computer hardware will make playback much better than a tv and a dvd player.
so it might be noisy from the cables and mushy from the scalling of pixels.
 
Okay, but what about this:

I'm watching the "making of" documentary on the Magnolia DVD today, and it looks like it was probably shot with a good SD video camera, and even IT looks better than my footage!

What's up with that? Should I be able to be getting something that looks better than this 10-year-old making-of documentary?

Is it that the Magnolia DVD authors had better, more expensive technology? What am I missing here?
 
now your talking two dvds, same playback hardware, depending on the camera used to record, it should be pretty close, can you post some stills?
 
make stills of both using your computer, try to find a couple of images that shows best what your talking about.
if you can, take .png stills.
 
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