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Terrible DVD Visual Quality

  • 09-02-2011 10:29pm
    #1
    Jazzkamiden
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 172 ✭✭


    Hey, I'm not sure if this is the right place (direct me if I'm wrong) but I have a question about the visual quality of my DVDs.

    I'll copy & paste from another forum where I asked and didn't get much help. (I made a few tweaks to this post VVV)

    Jazzkamiden wrote:
    So I bought some DVD box sets over from America (I changed the region on my DVD player to Region 1)yesterday, and the visual quality of them is really bad. On parts of it, there are double lines/pixels around the characters facial features and clothes and stuff. Does anyone know if there's a cheap way to make the quality better? Is there a lead I can buy to make the quality good again? I was reading up the reviews on amazon and other people said their DVDs had bad quality as well, so it's not just something wrong with mine.

    I have a really old TV with just a scart cable in the back, but I have this thing which I can put

    Now, I changed the TV Type to NTSC after writing that, and it has helped a bit on the TV (It's still blurry on my HD laptop). It still happens on certain sections of it. It especially happens when I pause and fast-forward/rewind.
    Would turning on progressive scan would help it? I don't have much money to spare, but I need a new TV soon anyway, so I guess that's not out of the question.
    Also, I've opened the box set so there's no returning it to Amazon. :(
    Help is greatly appreciated!!!!


Comments

  • #2
    Butch Cassidy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,409 ✭✭✭Butch Cassidy


    What are the DVDs?


  • #3
    watty
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    Europe is 25fps and 576 lines (1/2 the lines alternately 50 times a second, 50Hz, thus Interlaced)

    USA/Japan is 30fps and only 480 lines. (1/2 the lines alternately 60 times a second, 60Hz, thus Interlaced)

    Two issues:
    1) it's 30% less resolution

    2a) if film source, the transfer for Europe plays the 24fps frames at 25fps, and the transfer has the sound pitch pre-lowered at mastering by 5%, so notes stay in key. Running time is 5% less. Progress playback does nothing to quality and 24fps playback makes sound pitch 5% too low. 2:2 pulldown

    2b)For USA Japan, not only is there only 480 vs 576 lines :( but they use 2:3 aka 3:2 pull down at playback time (the DVD is stored 24fps 480 line). Unless the DVD player uses 24fps progressive or 60fps progressive.

    see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine

    Bottom line: US region transfers from Film are rubbish watched in Interlaced NTSC. Better in Progressive NTSC, best at 24fps Progressive (still only 480 lines) and even then 30% poorer than "PAL region" Interlaced playback. If you watch US region DVD in "PAL" playback at least you get no pulldown artefacts, but likely even more blurry due to 480 -> 576 frame conversion!


    They are bad, because they are bad.

    Only buy BluRay from USA, and only if your HDTV can do 24fps for Film origin and 30fps interlaced or 60ffps progressive. Don't buy USA DVDs.


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