Building PTE sequences for playback via DVD & TV

[fh1805]

I'm posting here wearing my "FAQ Compiler's hat".

Last month I posted a draft FAQ in the Tutorials section on the subject: Why is the DVD-Video picture quality poor on my TV?

(See here: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....showtopic=8721)

That draft was compiled from material extracted from several other posts on the Forum, most notably those by Brian (Conflow)

Following discussions involving both Brian and DaveG (some of which took place off-forum via an exchange of PMs), I now feel that my own knowledge and understanding is still incomplete. So I am looking for help.

I understand the issues involved in selecting an image size (pixels x pixels) for a show destined to be viewed on a computer monitor or projected via a digital projector. But I am less clear about the situation with respect to image size in sequences destined for DVD burning and TV viewing.

My current understanding of the DVD-TV issues is as follows:

The act of preparing the images for burning to DVD will always result in the images being re-sampled to either 720x576 for a PAL system or 720x480 for an NTSC system.

Three questions on that statement:

Is it correct?

Are those two systems the only two systems that Video-Builder supports? And if not, what pixel dimensions apply to the other systems?

Would a pass through re-sampling still take place even if the original images were 720x576 (for PAL) or 720x480 (for NTSC)? And if so, would that pass make any other significant changes to the images?

When the DVD-Video is played back, there will always be a re-sampling pass in order to scale the image up to the actual resolution of the TV being used?

Is that correct?

On both occasions that re-sampling occurs there will be, as a consequence, a loss of definition and a loss of perceived sharpness. The image will be degraded not just once but twice!

Is that correct?

The above statements are applicable to playback on both analogue and digital TV systems.

Is that true?

Hoping you can help me get my own understanding up to the mark so that I can then distil that into a revised version of the FAQ.

regards,

Peter

[cjdnzl]

I'm posting here wearing my "FAQ Compiler's hat".

Last month I posted a draft FAQ in the Tutorials section on the subject: Why is the DVD-Video picture quality poor on my TV?

(See here: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....showtopic=8721)

That draft was compiled from material extracted from several other posts on the Forum, most notably those by Brian (Conflow)

Following discussions involving both Brian and DaveG (some of which took place off-forum via an exchange of PMs), I now feel that my own knowledge and understanding is still incomplete. So I am looking for help.

I understand the issues involved in selecting an image size (pixels x pixels) for a show destined to be viewed on a computer monitor or projected via a digital projector. But I am less clear about the situation with respect to image size in sequences destined for DVD burning and TV viewing.

My current understanding of the DVD-TV issues is as follows:

The act of preparing the images for burning to DVD will always result in the images being re-sampled to either 720x576 for a PAL system or 720x480 for an NTSC system.

Three questions on that statement:

Is it correct?

I believe so.

Are those two systems the only two systems that Video-Builder supports? And if not, what pixel dimensions apply to the other systems?

Would a pass through re-sampling still take place even if the original images were 720x576 (for PAL) or 720x480 (for NTSC)? And if so, would that pass make any other significant changes to the images?

When the DVD-Video is played back, there will always be a re-sampling pass in order to scale the image up to the actual resolution of the TV being used?

Is that correct?

]No, at least with analogue TV, the image dimensions are fixed by the transmission system, NTSC or PAL, and the TV set displays the image as is, just like moving a projector further from the screen to get a larger image, but the image content, pixels, etc are unchanged, the image is just 'stretched' more.

On both occasions that re-sampling occurs there will be, as a consequence, a loss of definition and a loss of perceived sharpness. The image will be degraded not just once but twice!

Is that correct?

No, degradation only occurs once, in the conversion to the TV format. However, the resolution displayed on a domestic TV is not as sharp as a computer monitor, which doesn't help. Try using a TV as a computer monitor - it's terrible!

The above statements are applicable to playback on both analogue and digital TV systems.

Is that true?

Sorry, I don't know enough about digital systems to comment. Resampling may be being used on digital systems, but as we know, that cannot add detail but may allow some sharpening. Digital systems I have seen all seem to have an artificially plasticky appearance that I find rather unpleasant, probably due to up-rezzing and sharpening.

Hoping you can help me get my own understanding up to the mark so that I can then distil that into a revised version of the FAQ.

regards,

Peter

Hope that helps, Peter.

Regards,

Colin

[fh1805]

Colin,

Many thanks for your reply. It all adds to my understanding.

regards,

Peter

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Peter

I can't give you any technical feedback figures, but as you know I have been running my shows through my 32" 16x9 Panasonic digital TV via a VGA cable link and the pictures are as good as via my digital projector. Also the images were sized at 1024x768 and the screen is filled no black outlines when set to auto aspect ratio. they could however be a little stretched. potwnc was doing some investigation with my WW2 show to get two shows on one DVD with different aspect ratios and knows much more about the subject that I.

Regards Eric

[fh1805]

Eric,

If I understood the debate you had in your thread (with contributions from potwnc and DaveG amongst others), you are connecting your PC directly to the TV and are playing your exe file back directly to the TV, are you not?

In other words your TV is being connected to the PC as a secondary monitor, in the same way that your digital projector connects to the PC as a secondary monitor.

If my understanding is correct then what we have here is another possible topic area for an FAQ: Can I connect my PC to my TV to playback PTE sequences? I'll add it to the To Do list.

regards,

Peter

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Eric,

If I understood the debate you had in your thread (with contributions from potwnc and DaveG amongst others), you are connecting your PC directly to the TV and are playing your exe file back directly to the TV, are you not?

In other words your TV is being connected to the PC as a secondary monitor, in the same way that your digital projector connects to the PC as a secondary monitor.

If my understanding is correct then what we have here is another possible topic area for an FAQ: Can I connect my PC to my TV to playback PTE sequences? I'll add it to the To Do list.

regards,

Peter

Hi Peter

The short answer to the last sentence is yes, if you have a vga or or HDMI connectionon your TV & PC, either or both, I also believe you can buy a VGA to HDMI conversion lead. Some of the new digital series of TV's don't have either so you need to shop around. The DVD aspects of the test with potwnc were not conclusive as there were unanswered questions about borders and stretched pictures on the 16.9 versions. I got frustrated and moved on.

Regards Eric.

[davegee]

Peter,

I don't want to hi-jack your thread, but I have a question or two for Yachtsman:

1) Have read the manual for your TV?

2) What is the resolution of your TV?

3) Is there any mention in the manual of a resolution restriction when using the VGA input?

Your TV is going to be 1360x768 OR 1920x1080 (PROBABLY) and I'm willing to bet that you COULD be sending a higher resolution imagethan 1024x768 to your TV and viewing FULLSCREEN (or maybe FULL HEIGHT) without any upsizing or stretching etc - that is ACTUAL PIXELS.

DaveG

[fh1805]

DaveG,

Use your discretion as to when/if it becomes more appropriate to continue any dialogue with Eric (Yachtsman1) via PMs rather than in this thread.

regards,

Peter

[Guest Yachtsman1]

DaveG,

Use your discretion as to when/if it becomes more appropriate to continue any dialogue with Eric (Yachtsman1) via PMs rather than in this thread.

regards,

Peter

Hi Peter

I have PM'd a reply to Daveg?

Regards Eric

[fh1805]

Eric,

I wasn't suggesting that the pair of you should drop out of this thread immediately. Can I now suggest that if, at the end of your dialogue, you feel there is information that would be useful to the wider audience on the Forum, please feel free to post a summary of that dialogue here.

regards,

Peter

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Eric,

I wasn't suggesting that the pair of you should drop out of this thread immediately. Can I now suggest that if, at the end of your dialogue, you feel there is information that would be useful to the wider audience on the Forum, please feel free to post a summary of that dialogue here.

regards,

Peter

Hi Peter

Sent Daveg the model of the TV which has been posted elsewhere, however if anyone else is interested it is a Panasonic TX32LMD70A and the manual can be downloaded as a PDF file from www.panasonic.co.uk . Bit knackered now, all that brain work on the Audacity sound track has tired me out.

Regards Eric

[potwnc]

... potwnc was doing some investigation with my WW2 show to get two shows on one DVD with different aspect ratios and knows much more about the subject that I.

But I think that all relates to a different FAQ... one about aspect ratios, not quality. If there are any questions about that topic let me know and I'll respond.