Image quality of HDTV vs. monitor

How does the image quality compare, of sending the output of a Powermac to an LCD HDTV with a VGA input, vs. getting a regular LCD monitor (with DVI input)?
I can get a 23" or greater HDTV for about the same price as the Apple 20" Cinema display. Unless the image quality would be significantly worse, this would seem to be the better option as I could also watch TV or hook up a video game console as well. I could kill two birds with one stone and get both a better TV and monitor than what I already have, with just one purchase.
Or a related question, if I were to get an adapter to output to S-Video or Component for use on my current SDTV, is the image quality acceptable? I've tried it in the past with my PC and I wasn't too impressed.
PowerMac G5 Dual 1.8 Mac OS X (10.4.5) 5G iPod 60GB

How does the image quality compare, of sending the
output of a Powermac to an LCD HDTV with a VGA input,
vs. getting a regular LCD monitor (with DVI input)?
It depends a lot on the HDTV. Some HDTV only display 780 lines which is not much for a modern computer. Other potential problems are overscan (menu bar and dock off the edge) and non-square pixels (distorted images). DVI will give a shaper picture but some HDTV DVI ports do not wok well with computers. Sometimes the manual for the HDTV will give useful information, sometimes you just have to try it and see how it looks.
I can get a 23" or greater HDTV for about the same
price as the Apple 20" Cinema display. Unless the
image quality would be significantly worse, this
would seem to be the better option as I could also
watch TV or hook up a video game console as well. I
could kill two birds with one stone and get both a
better TV and monitor than what I already have, with
just one purchase.
A better choice might be a non-Apple computer monitor with DVI and video or TV input. Some have a buit-in TV tuner and speakers.
Or a related question, if I were to get an adapter to
output to S-Video or Component for use on my current
SDTV, is the image quality acceptable? I've tried it
in the past with my PC and I wasn't too impressed.
With SDTV the best you can get is about 640 X 480 interlaced. This is not much, and fine detail will flicker due to the interlace.

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I want to make a copy of slide show create from my own photographs and with a an audio track behind them. I have carefully followed the iDVD tutorials and burnt the result to a disc but image quality is very poor. What is wrong?

I want to make a DVD of a slide-show with an audio track behind the photographs. I have carefully followed the iDVD video tutorials but the result is far from satisfactory. The quality of the images on the resulting DVD are blurred and indistict although the original photographs are of a very high quality. Where am I going wrong? Would I have better results from a different program than the inbuilt iDVD and if so so what programs have others found to be better? I should be grateful for some expert guidance.

Hey Falcopebo,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Looks like you have image quality issues when using iDVD to burn.
iDVD 7.0: Burned DVD has interlacing, pixelation, or image quality issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4078
A standard DVD made by iDVD is made to the standard DVD resolution of 720 X 480, which is smaller than most HDTVs and monitors. When expanded to fit the entire screen or monitor, the image will distort slightly due to upscaling to fit the screen or monitor.
Have a nice day,
Mario

Display for Mac mini - HDTV or monitor?

Hi folks
Just got a brand new Mac mini - went to PC World yesterday to get a new display - while there wondered if I shouldn't just get an HDTV instead of a monitor. Asked for a bit of advice from one of the sales assistants and was told that they were virtually the same - same refresh rates, etc - with no discernible difference in quality.
I opted for a 24" full HD model made by Logik, PC Worlds own brand. When I get it home and set up via the HDMI port, the image is terrible - white fuzzy hazing round text, colours seem dull, objects lack definition and edge. I've tried just about every setting in System Preferences>displays ( 1080p, under scanning , etc) but still the image quality is bad.
Was I advised badly - is there a difference between HDTVs and monitors. Should I have bought a monitor in the first place ? If so, any recommendations? I'm looking for something around 22"-26"
Thanks in advance
Doug

That's a shame. I set one up for a neighbour this week and she got a cracking picture with a cheap 22" monitor via an rgb to hdmi adapter lead.
I presume that you have gone into System Preferences (that's clicking on the small black Apple logo) top left hand corner of the screen, and scroll down to System Preferences. and then Displays. You'll then see Display / Color.
Then try one of the options presented to you in the list and see if you can find one that gives you the High Resolution you seek. Good luck!

Does HD Image Quality Decline When Printing Back to Tape?

HD Final Cut Express
Does HD footage quality decline when sent back to tape, i.e. does it get compressed?
Currently, it appears that HD footage burned using iDVD does deminish the image quality.

Hi(Bonjour)!
There is a difference between HDV footage and HDV footage converted to standard definition (SD) for burning a DVD (not an HD nor blue-ray DVD).
When you print to tape a HDV content from FCE HD to your HD camcorder, there isn't degradation (altough your media was converted to Apple Intermediate Codec for wotking in FCE HD and re-encoding to be printed on tape. Re-encoding always means degradation, but you cannot see it with naked eyes.)
When you burn a DVD in iDVD (version 6, current), all your footage is converted to MPEG material in Standard definition (720X480 pixels). since iDVD doesn't support high definition DVD.
In a near future, iDVD (iLife 7 or 8 or...?)(or another application like Roxio TOAST) could support HI-DEF DVD (if you own a HI-DEF DVD burner, to play in a HI-DEF DVD player hooked to a HDTV...).
At this time, your superb HDV content will be monitored in HI-DEF.
Now you can print to tape and monitor on HDTV from your camcorder to see it in full resolution (HD).
Michel Boissonneault

Secondary Display image quality is poor (at 1:1) in Library module

I'm not a frequent user of the Secondary Display feature, so I can't say state whether this particular issue is new in 2.3RC or if it also was seen in a previous version. I submitted a bug report since I searched but did not find any previous mention of this sort of thing. Anyone else notice this?
Here's my problem: When I'm using LR's Develop module and activate the Secondary Display (SD) window, the SD images for all zoom ratios seem identical in quality (sharpness. color) to the images seen in the main screen--as expected. However when I switch over to Library module and use 1:1 zoom, the SD image becomes relatively degraded (i.e., quite blurry/pixelated) compared to the main window. When SD is set at the lower zoom ratios (still in Library module) its quality seems fine--i.e., more or less indistinguishable from the main screen. It's only when SD is used at 1:1 in the Library module that it appears "buggy".
I'm using a Mac Power PC G4, OSX 10.4.11.
Phil
P.S. I should mention that the image quality at 1:1 zoom in Library Module's Secondary Display is not only worse than the main Library screen, it's also significantly worse (less sharp) than seen in the Develop module--and that's certainly not unexpected.

>Gordon McKinney:What happens is the second display doesn't render a 1:1 for optimal sharpness.
For me it isn't just sharpness. I can make a change that is fairly radical and have it show up immediately in the main monitor--both in the navigation panel and in the main display panel. The image on the 2nd monitor remains unchanged.
If I then use the history panel to move back to the previous state and then re-select the final state the image on the secondary display
usually, not always gets updated. Sometimes it takes a 2nd or a third cycle from previous to latest history state. This 'missed update' in the 2nd monitor doesn't happen 100% of the time, but it does happen quite often.
LR 2.3RC, Vista Ultimate x64, 8GB DRAM, nVidia 9800 GTX+ with latest drivers.

DVD Playback - Image Quality Issues...

I'm curious to know if others are experience sub-par image quality when playing standard DVDs in the iMac with a 24" screen. The picture of the DVDs is sub-par compared to playback of the same DVD on a regular TV monitor. Also, playback is jumpy and or pixelated (looks like digitizing errors) despite the DVD being new and which plays back normally on a typical DVD player and TV monitor.
Is anyone having similar issues? My computer is new, so this seems odd...

Hi AM249
Welcome to Apple Discussions
SuperDrives are way more senitive that tray load players, is the DVD scrached or dirty?
Dennis

Getting poor still image quality in SD project on CS4

hey guys. sorry if you heard this one, but i havent seen anything addressing this.
i am using CS4 to edit a Standard def project and i am running into a problem with still images being choppy and distorted.
I tried all options to produce a better quality, but i get poor quality in the timeline monitor even after i render preview. the ouput
when i export is equally bad.
what i did find out was that if i switched projects in favor of an HD 720 the images are crisp on import and look good.
am i missing something. i assumed the images looked bad because they werent rendered and since i didnt need to render to edit i didnt want to lose the time, so now i'm stuck with those images, or i have to scrap the project and start again in hd and i prefer not to. i would have done it in hd, but the footage i was given was SD. anyways i would appreciate some help. thanks!
btw i've tried to export in both MS DV and WMV
i have tried importing psd png and jpg i have used all these in the past in pro2 with no problem

still images being choppy and distorted.
Can we see a sample?

Using Visio 37" HDTV (not monitor) as Display for mini

I really WANT to buy my FIRST Apple mini as my only computer! Will it work with my Visio 37" HDTV? I want to buy a cable that has the HDMI connector at one end for the TV and DVI on the other for the mini. Can it be that simple???
Thanks for input. I want to go to the Apple Store Friday!!!

I was in the same "boat" about wanting to use an LCD for a monitor. But, due to the higher resolution of a dedicated computer LCD vs a TV/LCD I opted for a Dell 24" Ultra Sharp W2408WFP to get the maximum capabilities out of my Mac Mini. Yes, the monitor is expensive, for me about $599 plus $45 shipping but included a 3 year warranty. However, unlike a traditional TV/LCD's resolution of approx. 1366 x 768 you will get the full 1900 x 1200 with the Dell 24" monitor (as with most other quality 22"-24" computer monitor's.
Now that is important if you are going to use this display hooked up to your Mac as a desktop, i.e. web browsing, various app's etc. The higher resolution will make the fonts and fine details of what you are looking at much clearer than what you are looking at with a TV/LCD. PLus, with a 32" LCD you will need to sit that bad boy a good 3 to 4 feet from your face in order to focus properly. However, if like many users of Mini's you will use it mainly as an entertainment hub for movies and itunes than I believe the TV/LCD such as the 32" Vizio (I have one in fact) would make for a better investment.

Photo image quality in iMovie

Hi ... I am attempting to create an iMovie that will include photos and video footage.
I read that the best presentation quality for the photos would be achieved creating a slideshow in iPhoto and exporting the slideshow, and importing the resulting Quicktime movie into iMovie. This would bypass issues created during the iMovie image rendoring process.
I just did a brief test run using the above steps. The image quality in the Qtime video was not very good.
Am I missing a step in here someplace?
The final show will be played on a large screen, so I am very concerned about image sharpness.
Thank you in advance.
Message was edited by: David Ris

I'm not sure what you mean by media folder, a folder of JPEG files is a media folder as is a folder of audio files.
More Info:
When dragging any folder of high quality photos to iMove it has to change it from stills to video. Apples and oranges; a conversion takes place. I just experimented by exporting iPhoto file of high resolution photos to QuickTime changed the QuickTime resolution from 640 x 480 to 1280 x 800 then imported it into iMovie. Then I exported iPhoto full resolution pictures to my desktop and then dragged them to the time line. These photos have text in the pictures. The original photos are 2581 x 1836 when I played the slide show from iMovie I could not tell the difference from the QuickTime movie that I placed in the time line and the full quality photos exported to a folder on my desktop then dragged to the same timeline as I did the QuickTime movie. However the QuickTime movie played independently in QuickTime was far superior to the QuickTime Movie played in iMovie on my computer. My monitor is set at 1680 x 1050.
Text in iMove will show Jaggies when viewed at close working range as I mentioned in an earlier post you must view iMovie at the proper viewing distance because your slides have been converted to video. Drag one of your slides to the desktop you will see that it becomes; example > Still 10.dv > in QuickTime format, no longer a JPEG file. Once you export your slide show to QuickTime you don't have the editing ease of moving your pictures position, changing slide duration, music etc.
For others to view your movies you will eventually have to burn your slide show in iDVD unless you are using your computer and a projector. An hour long iMovie can become a very large file about 10 GB but will play very nicely from a computer. Burn that movie to iDVD it will become about 1GB.
Dick

HDV image quality problems on capture

Hey gang! I just got my first tape shot on a Sony Z1U, and I'm trying to caputre with the M10U deck. My problem is that the footage looks fine in the camera, and looks the same when played from the deck (via component video) to two different monitors. When I capture, the image is remarkably different - darker, with muddy colors, lousy skin tones. I'm using the HDV 1080i easy setup, and I've recalibrated my cinema display to its default (calibrated was even worse!) I've also tried using HDVxDV to capture, and iMovie to see if there was something screwy with my capture settings. Any ideas?

The computer monitor is the LAST thing you want to use to judge your image quality. It will never give you a true representation of what your footage looks like:
Shane's Stock Answer #2:
ONLY JUDGE THE QUALITY OF YOUR MATERIAL ON AN EXTERNAL NTSC MONITOR, OR AT LEAST A TV.
1. Disable overlays on the canvas
2. Make sure you've rendered everything (no green bars at the top of the timeline
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=24787
DV (and especially HDV) footage requires large amounts of data and many computations. In order to maintain frame rate and be viewable at a normal size, only about one-fourth of the DV data is used in displaying the movie to the screen. However, the DV footage is still at full quality, and is best viewed thru a TV or NTSC monitor routed thru your camera or deck.
HOWEVER...that is the stock answer for DV, but helps explain why your quality looks bad. Unfortunately, HDV does not allow you to view your timeline in real time like DV does. HDV, being HD, requires an HD card and monitor solution:
Shane's Stock Answer #25 - HDV external Monitor Viewing
To view HDV on an external monitor you are going to need to purchase a capture card, like the ones Decklink or AJA offer. They will both play out HDV in real time. The catch is that you cannot view this on a regular TV or NTSC monitor. Since this is HD, an HD monitor will be needed.
HDV cannot be played out of FCP via Firewire because it's Long GOP structure is too taxing on your processors to spare the system resources needed to drive an external monitor.
(Wow, two Stock Answers in one post. I think this is a first.)

How to prevent PDF presets to alter image quality

In experimenting with various PDF presets, I noticed that with grayscale images in Photoshop, saving as PDFs using different presets, alters image quality, specifically the contrast.
Therefore, it seems like saving an image in the "wrong" PDF preset could undo a lot of prepress work. Is there a better way/format?
To get a crude idea: there is an 8.7% decrease in the percent black between 10% and 50% values (the range) on a step wedge between the original in Photoshop and the HighQuality PDF, which showed the same values, and the PDF/X-1a, which compressed the range by 4 percentage points (approximately a 8.7% decrease).
A visual, and idiosyncratic, assessment of four versions of the same image (Photoshop grayscale, High Qualtiy PDF, PDF/X-1a, and PDF/X-3), which included a step wedge and color ramp, would rank the fidelity to the original from best, HighQuality, to worst, PDF/X-1a.
The same grayscale image in Photoshop CS6 was distilled (File > Print > Adobe PDF) to PDFs using unmodified PDF presets in Acrobat XI distiller.
The following composit screen shot (all four images on the screen, screen print, reorganizing them, then reducing the image to a 120 dpi at 4.2" wide (including text) gives some idea of the differences, but a lot got lost getting it here.
Walton

I do a lot of work with print-on-demand books (design and formatting), and I am active on the CreateSpace (the p-o-d division of Amazon.com). Although CS will accept work in virtually any PDF preset or origin (doPDF, cutePDF, etc.), PDF/X-1a is the recommended format, and for other companies it is the only accepted preset.
Here is the dumb question:
On the monitor (as the screen shot shows) the four images (PS, HQ PDF, PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-4) appear quite different: i.e. my video/monitor system is representing the images differently.
A screen shot of all four images on the screen at the same time, then with the info window open in Photoshop, I assessed their CMYK values in the exact same places on each image (lining the images up, using the measure tool and guidelines, measuring at high magnification); here (the color original followed by the original grayscalse conversion) are the black values (C00 M00 Y00 K1-100):
The images display differently, and those displays measure differently.
When I view the PDF images, they appear differently, but if i measure them (Output Preview set to Dot Gain 20%) the K values are the same.
When the same image is prepared using different PDF presets (a previous set of test using different images and looking for something different) they will print (printed in a black & white book by CreateSpace) differently.
How can one predict how a grayscale image will print? How can one prepare it and safely convert it to PDF?
Walton

Poor image quality elements 12 slideshow preview

As I can't find any reference to my original post I thought I'd re-do it. I created a slideshow in elements 12 and found the image quality to fall far short of high definition. The source folder for the images used is contained in Windows Pictures. The pictures were taken with a Canon t4i camera with the image quality being excellent. For whatever reason the quality of the slideshow images are poor. Any help would be appreciated.

Don't purchase a video editing app to work with just still images. They are meant to be used with DV and really don't do a still image any justice.
The final source format should determine the software used. You are suggesting a DVD distribution of your work.
iPhoto is meant to be used on still images (not iMovie, in my opinion).
You don't really want to convert a single frame into multiple frames if you don't need to.
You may want to try the Photo JPEG, Motion JPEG or Animation codecs from iMovie and see if they improve the visual appearance of your work.
Since you want to use a DVD as the distribution method then iDVD may not be the best option either. It is meant for set top boxes using a poor 720X480 dimension in MPEG-2 video format.
You may want to consider a bit different approach and use a "data" DVD and use QuickTime Player as the playback engine. These will only play on a computer but your could use the higher dimensions to your advantage and also the visual quality of computer displays to showcase your work.
Since HD DVD players are not yet ready for mass use it may be a better way to distribute your work.
There is no 720X480 dimension limit (only the limit set by the viewer on the display size when viewed on a computer monitor).
Your "still" images would remain "still" except for transitions.
Heck. You could probably put the whole file onto a CD and save even more in production costs.

Image quality in slideshow is significantly deteriorated

I am new to Premiere Elements (3.0) and still have much to learn about navigating and using the software. I have no prior experience with other comparable products so I am a newbie in all respects.
I took a series of still images from a 7 megapixel camera, all shot in highest resolution, and placed them into a slideshow in Premiere Elements 3.0. Image quality is significantly deteriorated when I view the slideshow, which I've not yet burned to dvd, my intended output.
I don't understand why the original resolution of the images is degraded. I'm hoping there are simple settings I must change. reading through the software documentation thus far has not provided the answer.
do I need to take the original images and save them to a different format in Photoshop Elements before placing them into a slideshow for dvd output? if so, does this need to be done one image at a time (I've got 400 images) or can they be converted as a group?
I'm getting desperate and would appreciate anyone's advice.

The slideshow exported from PE3.0 will be at NTSC (or PAL) resolution so 720x480... so significantely lower resolution than your source photos and it will be interlaced. When viewed on a TV it will look fine but not so good on a computer monitor. Try burning to DVD and viewing.
Also PE3.0 might have problems working/burning photos at such a high resolution. As the final export it restricted to 720x480 you can resize your photos to 1000x750 and these will be easier to process by PE3.0

Image quality in canvas

Hi,
Once the project is rendered is the image quality in the canvas the same as the final product? How about when it's digital cinema desktop?
I shoot on mini-dv.
Cheers,
Tom

Yes, but you can only see it properly on a video monitor or when viewed at 100%.
Not usually, the computer monitor resolution is usually a lot greater than the DV resolution of 720 pixels across.

Image quality clarification

Hi I'm a newbie when it comes to video. I too was disappointed with the result of my 1st iDVD project. The images where soft, desaturated and there appeared to be some digital artefacts around type in the menu themes etc.
So I read the forum extensively on this subject and I THINK I finally understand something: (please correct me if I'm wrong)
iDVD outputs video to a maximum of 720 x 480 screen resolution. When we play this back on our lovely, wide, high-res, LCD monitors or our LCD TV screens at home – we are disappointed. The slideshow we can see in iPhoto (that plays all of our lovely sharp hi-res digital photos beautifully in full screen on those same LCD monitors) cannot be replicated by iDVD. Hence so many disappointed users like me checking the forum to see what gives.
Do I have it right?
If I have that right, how do the makers of commercial movie DVD's make movies that DO look gorgeous on our LCD monitors?
(I have a feeling the answer might be quite technical I'm looking for a "lay-persons" explanation!)
Thanks.
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

iDVD outputs video to a maximum of 720 x 480 screen resolution. When we play this back on our lovely, wide, high-res, LCD monitors or our LCD TV screens at home – we are disappointed.
You're correct. In fact, it's even worse than that. In computer square pixel terms, the NTSC size is actually 640x480.
If I have that right, how do the makers of commercial movie DVD's make movies that DO look gorgeous on our LCD monitors?
Better quality original material and high quality hardware encoders.
There are things you can do to improve your video quality like lighting the scene correctly and placing your camera on a tripod for shooting - the very slight movements of objects between frames of hand-held video reduce image quality in MPG-2 compression.

Image quality of HDTV vs. monitor

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