Increase video quality

Is there a way to increase the video quality when using imovie? I film a lot of sports stuff and edit it on imovie and then burn it, which looks great on the computer but when watching the stuff on my tv it looks not even close to how good it looks on the computer. I want to know if there is some software or something that get the quality to look as good as a dvd or a just a regular tv channel, I want it to look as good or close to the quality of the computer image. I also burn everything on the highest quality that imovie will export to either idvd or toast.

1920x1080 is your source, and 720x480 is your end result. It will not look nearly as good.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2424451&tstart=0

Similar Messages

How to increase video quality?

How do I increase the quality of an uploaded video? When going straight from iMovie to iWeb the 2 min clip gets reduced to 5-7MB and it looks terrible.

First, I would do a Search on this forum for "FRAPS." There are several articles with comments on the best workflow and also settings for Import and for Export.
Next, YouTube is trobulesome. First, they re-encode everything and their specs seem to change weekly. It's tough to find out what they want on any given day. I'd go to their site and get the very latest instructions and attempt to duplicate those perfectly, knowing that they might be different tomorrow.
Good luck with this one, and good luck with the FRAPS footage.
Hunt

"Best Practice" steps for creating & preseving video quality

I would like help in understanding the "rules of the trade" when it comes to video quality.
I have been converting old VHS video tapes using my Sony DV camera...importing them into iMovie 6HD (mainly because I read that the quality is better in imovie 6hd vs. iMovie09)...so far I have imported around 7 hours of video...into one project...which is 250gb in size....I want to burn the videos to a DVD....due to the size of the project..I'm creating new projects and coping over clips....soon I will have 3 projects that take up 500gbs.
Is this typical? I understand that it is good to save the video in the original quality for safe keeping...but I have 100s of video tapes that I would like to convert, edit, burn to DVD, and save.....using my current process for importing, and editing....I would crash the servers used by Google.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

Welcome to Apple discussions!!
I have been converting old VHS video tapes using my Sony DV camera
Using the Sony DV camera is an "OK" way to import VHS. Look at the Canopus ADVC300. Audio and Video go in, FireWire comes out.
The program that comes with the ADVC300 has some nice filters that can improve video and audio of the source material. The ADVC300 will take Audio and Video from ANY source and convert it to FireWire (iMovie 06 will treat it like a camera).
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc300
.importing them into iMovie 6HD (mainly because I read that the quality is better in imovie 6hd vs. iMovie09
Good move. (use iMovie 06 with iDVD 09 set to Professional Quality.)
so far I have imported around 7 hours of video...into one project
I would limit each project to 110 - 120 mins, and make DVDs as you complete each project.
using my current process for importing, and editing....I would crash the servers used by Google.
A 2TB drive should hold about 140 hours of video. I ALWAYS build my own external hard drive. More storage and less money.
If you are going to do video, get the biggest drive you can. You can assemble the below items in about three minutes.
 http://www.cooldrives.com/ox93saiihadr.html
  http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Intellipower-Desktop-WD20EADS/dp/B001RB1TI S/ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258862242&sr=8-1
Use the FireWire port, the Firewire protocol allows more direct address to memory (including mass storage) with minimal intervention of the CPU, nothing will interfere with it, No collisions, No glitches. Firewire is rock-solid.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to keep your original iMovie 06 file, however;
After I transfer a video to iMovie 06 I make a DVD image file (always make a DVD image file first, then burn a DVD) with iDVD 09, then a DVD from the image file. I then test the DVD and keep only the image file (small) created by iDVD. I do not keep the original iMovie 06 file anyway (large).
Regarding DVDs
Do NOT use adhesive labels!!!!!!!!!
Never, Ever, use labels!!! Buy printable DVD,s.
Try this program.
http://smileonmymac.com/DiscLabel/
Printable DVD+R discs. Something like,
http://www.supermediastore.com/product/u/taiyo-yuden-8x-dvd-plus-r-media-white-i nkjet-hub-printable-100-pack
I have found DVD+R to be more reliable than DVD-R. The only disadvantage to DVD+R is that DVD players manufacture before 2003 may not play them.
DVD+R disks are better than DVD-R disks because of the increased error correction technique used for the +R type.
Once you have made a few DVDs you will establish a good workflow, making your project more fun.

Importing mpeg2 and video quality of final DVD

I had a company create an mpeg2 file from a master for a dvd project I'm authoring. I'm not sure what format the master is on, I'm guessing BetaSP but it is something other than a DV format which is all I can handle. When my client saw the finished DVD I authored he was unhappy with the video quality, it is noisy/grainy. I told him I that is how I received it from this company (the company houses all of my client's masters) but he said his master was of higher quality. So we asked the company what the deal was and they are telling me these two things, both of which I don't believe.
My client had sent them the check disc (an authored dvd) I sent him and I sent the mpeg2 file back to them. They claim that the video quality is worse on the check disc because when you author a DVD it transcodes the files when it creates the vob files. Now the mpeg2 file imported into Encore fine and Encore defaulted to it being "do not transcode". So encore as far as I know definitely did no transcoding. Is there any validity to what they are saying? I don't think so.
They also claim that for optimum video quality I should've requested the master be transfered to DVCAM (dvcam I can indeed handle). So they are saying going from the master to dvcam to mpeg2 would be better than going from master to mpeg2. That makes no sense to me. If the master is DigiBeta, going from digibeta to the lesser quality dvcam and then to mpeg is the best route? Now way right? It seems to me that THEIR mpeg2 encoder just isn't any good.
Any thoughts would be appreciated (so I can argue my case).
thanks
Ryan

I agree with Joe.
DVCAM from DigiBeta is no quality increase at all. If anything (depending on the digibeta) you're dropping quality. You're certainly not gaining anything.
Correct workflow for DVD Authoring with DigiBeta masters is as follows:
1 - Transfer from DigiBeta to NLE Workstation.
2 - Edit as required
3 - Export from workstation to final version*
4 - Create DVD - and the biggest difference is going to be what is used - and
i how
it is used - to do the MPEG-2 encoding that the DVD application will require. MPEG encoding is not a matter of bashing out a PRESET from a menu. That will
i never
give the highest quality. MPEG encoding is every bit as much an art form as the shooting, cutting & producing of the film in the first place, and is a skill that takes both time & experience to learn properly.
NB.
* = This has been a bone of contention for a while now. It is often recommended to go to DV AVI as the interim format, but for absolute highest possible quality, this is not really true as DV AVI (DVCAM) is a compressed form, albeit lightly. Some prefer a more filmic look to their footage (which DV will never give you).
It's all swings & roundabouts. The final Master (for us) is usually a 10 bit Blackmagic type file, or an uncompressed AVI file. Expect to see around 40Gb/hour in this form, even more with a 10 bit file. Does going to 10 bits make a difference? As long as you do not have your NLE set to 8 bits, you bet it does!

How do I get good video quality?

I can't seem to get more then 20 fps and not so hot video out of iChat AV. With what should be pretty good connections, I still get stopping or pixelation at times, so I've been trying to isolate the issue.
Conferencing over an airport on an in-house system for a test, with 2.4 megs of pipe (showing in Connection Doctor; other tests show 10 megs up and down) using either iSight or a DV camera, I get 20 fps, no more. OS 10.5.3 on both sides, Quicktime 7.5 on both sides. Intel Duo 2Ghz with 1 Ghz ram on one side, G5 with 5 gigs of ram on the other. One way video chat. No other apps running. No other traffic on the Airport.
We're trying to use this for student "live shots" over the internet. The quality of the video frankly used to be a lot higher with earlier versions.
I don't get it. If it is possible to get 640 X 480, 30 fps out of this, I can't figure it out. Hopefully, one of you will know how to do it. Do I need to install Quicktime Pro? Is there some magic button or setting somewhere? (yes, i is set on LAN) Do I use another application that has low latency like iChat AV but better video quality? Is there an appliance that will do this better? Is there a way to set up a point to point conference? (Quicktime Broadcaster allows this, but has long latency... too long to be usable for our purposes.)
So I'm not getting why I can't do this. Please let me know if you have any ideas.

Ralph,
Thanks. I've increased the RAM size on both sides, have a blazing fast connection, and use prosumer cameras with good glass and lighting. The boxes on both ends are dedicated to this with nothing else running. I've even met with our campus IT lines to make sure there are blocks or plugs on ports. No good.
I guess its in the CPU or something. It's a bit annoying. I'm a really big fan of iChat. We've used it for "live shots" on election night and as broadband field "live shots" over a 3G telephony connection and wireless broadband. Nothing else we've found is better. It just seems to handle video quality less well in the last couple of versions.
If anyone knows the magic formula.... X- machine, X-plug in, X-external box, X-side processor, I'm interested.
Thanks for your suggestions.
David

Poor Video quality when importing from SONY DCR-SR100

I am brand new to Mac and iMovie and FCE. One of the reasons I switched to Mac was frustration over poor video output from Windows based video editing programs. When importing video from the SR100 into iMovie and then iDVD, the DVD quality is noticeably poorer than when the camera is connected directly to the Plasma TV. I have been reading these forums and loaded MPEG Streamclip and purchased the Quicktime MPEG2 Download, but I still can't get the video output to look as good as the camera. I obviously have some learning to do, but is there any hope of achieving equal quality output from a DVD as straight from the camera? Is there a good source of information/textbook on this topic? The biggest improvement comes from using the "de-interlace" option in MPEG Streamclip, but the overall quality of the video appears washed out and somewhat blotchy compared to the direct camera footage.

Welcome to the macworld! What imovie does incredibly well is make it easy to create fun and interesting movies. I have used both for several years and only recently with some packages such as adobe premiere elements has the windows world kept up with the mac with respect to ease of use! And even know the packages are still not as easy as imovie. Anyway, with respect to your post and getting the video quality to the best possible output quality using DV material, you are on the right path. The best workflow is to use streamclip and de-interlace prior to editing in imovie. I am not sure if you are doing that yet with your workflow. Yes, its an extra step, but it is well worth it to avoid imovie dropping a field upon export. You can play around with the adjustments to increase contrast, color and et al on the adjustment button. Another option is shooting progressive.
To set expectations, it is second generation footage the minute its imported. However, you should be still getting very good results. FCE gets footage closer to the original footage since it is a true DV editor and uses both fields, but imovie is still preferred by me because of how easy it is to skim, tag and find the material you want then easily do transitions and ken burns for photo's. Fantastic. The way i look at it....watching footage straight from the camera is the worst quality you can get -- It's like listening to your spouse talk and talk and talk and never get to the point until you forget what that point was....editing gets the footage straight to the point....thats quality!
Sheryl
Message was edited by: Sheryl Kingstone

Video Quality :: remaining recording time in shari...

I have a problem when setting the Video Quality to Sharing Quality the remaining recording time shown ONLY 35 seconds but when I increased it to TV high quality it comes 1 h : 30 m : 25 s
strange???
can any one help

not sure , but 'sharing quality' may be something you can attach to a txt message so is limited to data size of video rather than available phone memory ? I tend to record in high quality and simply upload via Pixelpipe to FB or Image Shack and send a link via message if I want to share via sms . Hope you get a better solution from someone who knows the definitive answer
If I have helped at all, a click on the White Star is always appreciated :
you can also help others by marking 'accept as solution'

Video quality downgrade after uploading to Youtube

Hey everyone, I've just started making movies and been playing around with video options for a few days and gotten past a few major milestones, however I just want to see how I can increase the video quality as the exported file doesn't look nearly as good once it's uploaded to youtube.
Quick notes about how I do it atm: First, I use FRAPS to capture video with Adobe Premiere 4.0 exporting my files as full 1900x1200 @ 29.97 FPS using the Windows Media Video 9 codec.
Encoding process: Two
Bitrate mode: Variable Unconstrained
Pixel Aspect ratio: Square
Decoder Complexity: Auto
Keyframe Interval [seconds]: 5
Average Bitrate[kbps]: 10,000
Exported video looks fine, however when I upload to youtube the quality really downgrades...viewable and correct resolution but still crummy for such a great looking vid. Hoping someone can help me out here! Thanks in advance.
Source video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avzzkywqRcE

First, I would do a Search on this forum for "FRAPS." There are several articles with comments on the best workflow and also settings for Import and for Export.
Next, YouTube is trobulesome. First, they re-encode everything and their specs seem to change weekly. It's tough to find out what they want on any given day. I'd go to their site and get the very latest instructions and attempt to duplicate those perfectly, knowing that they might be different tomorrow.
Good luck with this one, and good luck with the FRAPS footage.
Hunt

Echo suppresion + video quality (webcam streaming)

Does Adobe have plans in the near future to improve audio and video quality when streaming with mic and webcam?
It would be good to work on it to compete with other kind of plugins that are being developed, like Google Cam Adapter.
Thanks

Hi,
1) To increase camera quality, you need to increase resolutionFactor value in WebcamPublisher. See API docs for details.
2) Recording is supported but this is in beta. You need to send us a request for setup with your storage url etc to get it set up for you. After that, you can use our sampleApps to see how recording works. Mail to [email protected] with detail request in case you want.
3) ScreenShare is supported since our August release. You can see screenshare examples in our sampleApps folder for details. We don’t yet support screen control but we plan to do from upcoming release.
Hope this helps
Thanks
Hironmay Basu

How to Increase Capture Quality?

Ok, I use a Canopus ADVC-110 to capture live video and I feel like I'm not getting the quality that I should seeing as I know people who use a Pinnacle Dazzle 90 on a PC and get better quality than I do. So, does anyone know how I can increase the quality on the video I capture?

Hi, I use all the time canopus and can tell you brings excellent quality.
in the past I owned a Dazzle (dont remember the model)and since new I wanted it in the trash. It gets me all the time issues, like my G5 cannot recognized it and when it does, your capturing and then it looses the comunication, etc. so I keeped back to the store and buyed canopus wich I have using for a long time and it never gived me any trouble.
Another way to capture video with real full quality is to buy a kona capture card uncompressed 10 bit, but then you will need an array of discs, 10,000 rpm discs..and a much more money!
Remember that the videogames have their limitations on resolution. Also it´s not the same to monitor a video signal in a computer monitor than in a conventional tv than in a professional monitor or hdtv.
make test not capturing video games, make a test for example, connecting a video camera signal directyly to your capture device and check the result, also the cables are the most common problems.
hope this help!
merry christmas!

QT Video Quality

Using iMovie 4, I saved my video using Share as QT. The video contained one Title frame. The resultant video quality was not good; for instance even the Title frame was blurred.
How do I improve this video quality? My objective is to share it with others using Macs and PCs.

Thank you Lennart for your answer; I went to the danslagle link and found the info helpful.
However, I should have been more specific:
- I only have a CD burner in my iMac FP 700mHz
- QT CD-ROM export is my goal for a 15 minute movie; the enduser will probably display it on a
computer (maybe on a TV)
- iMovie 4.0.1 is my current app
- The video is also blurry, not just the title
So, my biggest question is what settings to use in Expert mode of the Share dialog?
Currently, I am trying the following Expert settings:
- H.264
- 24 key frame rate
- No streaming
To my surprise, the first time I used Share: QT CD-ROM, the time required was 30 minutes.
The current H.264 compression is still going on at two hours and the time remaining keeps increasing. I am going to CANCEL the compression and experiment with a shorter clip and
other Settings.

Help! How to enhance video quality to catch thieves?

My phone was stolen the day before yesterday in China. Caught 2 female theives doing the pocket-picking thing under CCTV camera. And I recorded the footage with my camera. Wish to get a closer look at their faces, cuz the local police isnt gonna do anything...
Do anyone know how to do tricks about improving the video quality???
I do wanna catch those bad theives, wanna do it so badly...

You can use sharpening tools like Unsharp Mask. You can use third party up-rezzing tools to increase size with better quality.
But, realistically, given you only have a camera recording of a video screen of the CCTV, it's very unlikely you'll ever extract much meaningful detail from it. Don't believe TV shows, image enhancement is not really so advanced.
Personally, I'd just extract the best still frame of their faces you can find, then use Photoshop to zoom and enhance as much as you can with Unsharp Mask.

Comparing video quality of AVCHD BluRay discs using Final Cut Pro Share vs Compressor

Up front, I will admit to being a newbie when it comes to using Final Cut Studio 3 and would appreciate some feedback from the Apple forum experts.
I have spent a lot of time trying to determine how to achieve an optimum group of Compressor 3.5.2 settings so that the playback video quality of an AVCHD BluRay disc is equal to or better than one created by using the simpler auto settings of FCPro Share, version 7.0.2.
When using Compressor’s auto/default maximum settings, I experienced the same error message reported in:
Error MessageDuring Creation of Blu-ray Disc in FCP and Compressor 3.5
https://discussions.apple.com/message/12073794#12073794
I have since made some Compressor AVCHD Discs with smaller bit rate settings and compared video quality with a single FCP Share AVCHD disc. Both seem to be equal in providing a very good video when viewed on my new Panasonic DMP BDT 310 BluRay player. However, the Compressor AVCHD discs show some motion artifacts not present with the FCPro Share version, especially when scrolling text or when objects are moving through the field of view, and visible artifacts are seen from a stationary chain link fence and other lattice work in the background of the video sample.
My sample video used for the comparisons between Compressor and FCP Share discs is a 21 minute duration home movie, originally captured from a mini DV, Canon HV30 1080i camcorder using ProRes HQ encoding(1440x1080), and dragged into FC Pro 7.0.2 timeline where 10 chapter markers have been inserted.
To create an AVCHD disc using FCPro Share, Markers are used to set the IN and OUT points, Select IN to OUT from the timeline, pull down File Menu Share, Select Create BluRay from options in pop out Share pane, and designate output device along with picture files for Background, Logo, and Title options. When these are completed, click on Export. My 21-minute video required almost two hours for encoding including about 10 minutes for burning. This accomplished on an iMac 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.
To prepare this same 21-minute video for use with Compressor, I again Select IN to Out from the FCPro timeline, but this time use File Export as a QuickTime Self Contained movie including Chapter markers. Then Open Compressor, choose Create BluRay from Template pane, right click on the down arrow in the Batch window and load the QT self contained movie file. From there I went to the Inspector window and tried various combinations of bit rate settings along with Frame Encoder options such as Better or Best motion parameter controls.
I have tried the following combinations of Bit rate settings along with varying Frame Encoder controls and burned an AVCHD disc for each example:
Example A
Compressor set to 6 Mbps Average and 8Mbps Maximum, Frame Encoder settings OFF. Approximately 4 hours to encode although the time remaining estimator indicated a larger value of ~7 hours; not an accurate estimator at all.
Example B
Compressor set to 6 Mbps Average and 8Mbps Maximum, Frame Encoder settings ON, using “Better (Linear Filter) and Better (Motionadaptive)” settings. Approximately 4 hours to encode, not the 13 hours that were estimated.
Conclusion: Comparing A & B Compressor versions, Disc B showed some improvements in reducing motion artifacts over Disc A.
Example C
Compressor set to 13 Mbps Average and 15 Mbps Maximum, Frame Encoder settings ON, using “Better (Linear Filter) and Better (Motion adaptive)” settings. Multipass checked. DeInterlace was checked. Unknown hours to encode; about 8 hours done overnight..
Conclusion: Disc C showed some minor improvements reducing motion artifacts over Disc B
Example D
Compressor Auto settings,i.e., 15 Mbps Average and 17 Mbps Maximum, Frame Encoder settings ON, using “Better (Linear Filter) and Better (Motion adaptive)” settings. Multipass checked. Approximately 12 hours to encode, done overnight. Inserted disc next morning after the overnight encoding was completed, and a few minutes later an error message pane appeared that the maximum bit rate had been exceeded. This message was consistent with the Apple posted thread referenced above. Unfortunately the long overnight encoding was wasted.
It seemed to me that the best Compressor settings for suppressing the motion artifacts were displayed by the disc burned in Example C, i.e., 13/15 Ave/Max Mbps with“Better” Motion settings in the Frame Encoder.
However, when this disc was compared to the AVCHD Disc burned using the FCPro Share, the latter still seemed much better. I do not know what the auto bit rate values are as set in FC Pro, but for me, the quality is quite good AND the motion artifacts are significantly reduced, especially evident with the scrolling text.
Sorry about this long post, but I thought the detail would be necessary for the experts, and maybe helpful to others trying to get started in this BluRay arena. Did I misuse Compressor? I think the sample video exported as a self contained QT movie was the right thing to do? Not sure where I went wrong.
Thanks in advance for Feedback and Recommendations. For now, I’m going to stay with the simpler process using Final Cut Pro Share function.
BoBo

Thank You, Brad, for responding; glad to hear I'm not the only one having similar Compressor issues.
You may have hit on something. Perhaps Compressor's use of H.264 encoding was the reason for my motion artifacts? And perhaps Final Cut Pro Share retains the 1440x1080 quality as it burns the AVCHD BluRay disc?
I had Toast 10 for less than 30 days a couple of years ago, and was lucky to get a refund.
What version of Toast do you have? Wondering if new Toast 11 has improved previous bugs, especially upgrading its Chapter text, pictures, music. I would go back to Toast if it came close to mirroring DVD Studio Pro, or even iDVD capabilities.
Thanks,
BoBo

MacMini - LG 32" (32LB75) Problem - Poor video quality and now no picture.

Hi there, apologies for the length of this post....
I purchased a mac mini 1.8Ghz with 2Gb RAM yesterday with a wireless keyboard and mouse and hooked it up to my 32" LG 32LB75 using VGA. On startup the display looked ok, I managed to click through the various Leopard initialisations. I bought the machine for use as a front room media player for mainly DivX movies and the occasional bit of music.
Once I had installed the DivX codec I opened a DivX file in Quicktime and selected "full screen mode." As soon as the movie started I became quite disappointed. The picture quality was quite pixelated ("noisy") and certainly not as good as when I play the same movie file from my old dell PC on the same LG tv (the dell PC has a 64Mb PCI radeon 7000 which connects to the tv using the same VGA port as the mac).
Anyway just to give the mac a fair go I thought I would try out some genuine quicktime video samples from the itunes store (this time viewed from front row)....again not brilliant.
So I thought I would investigate the screen resolution to see if I could improve things. It appeared the resolution was set to 1900 by 1200ish I say "ish" because I can't remember exactly. I then attempted to reduce the resolution and eventually I settled on one that looked quite clear with the font size big enough to be easily read. Again I tried the movie and there wasn't much (if any improvement). Whilst changing resolutions the screen would go blank for a few seconds but on one particular setting (can't remember exact numbers) the display went blank and never came back. The tv now just displays "no signal".
I despaired and connected the mac to a 17" Iiyama montior that I use with a PC and it worked ok. However each time I tried to "hot swap" back to the television I would end up with no picture.
I'm really disappointed because everything else about the mac I really like. Particularly the remote for frontrow which is precisely what I wanted it for. The problem is I've spent over £500 and now seem to have a lesser quality picture than I had to begin with (ignoring for the moment that I don't have any picture!!)
Anyway my questions are these, answers to any or all most appreciated.
1) what is the easiest way to get my mini to start displaying on my tv again?
2) what would the optimum resolution be? My television mentions 1366 x 768 in the manual
3) If the mini doesn't offer this resolution in the pick list is it advisable to "force it" using some alternative software (ie 3dexpress.de)?
4) Is the video quality affected by the software player? ie would VLC give better picture with DivX over quicktime/itunes/front row?
5) How likely is it that the video resolution of my new mac mini isn't "as good" as my old dell machine with its PCI graphics card?
6) Finally if I don't get results as good as my existing PC setup, how accomodating are apple with refunds? I bought it from a UK high-street apple store. The back of the receipt mentions a "14 day not satisfied" return policy but then goes on to say something about being "unopened"...which seems a little confusing. Ie how do you know if you're satisfied until you've actually used it?

Hi there
the solution was to remove the various display config files in leopard and then restart the machine, this got my display back on the tv (albeit off centre). To fix the "off centre issue" I used the LG "auto correct" feature from the remote control "menu > screen" options.
The apple support site describes how to remove the affected leopard display files here http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2213?viewlocale=en_US As you will see their resolution consists of 2 main steps, the first one involves starting your machine in safe mode, if this doesn't work then you proceed to the second step where you remove the files using a terminal prompt.
I didn't bother with the first step mainly because I don't think I can start my mac in safe mode since my only keyboard is wireless (bluetooth). So I connected the mac mini to a 17" LCD monitor (which thankfully did display the video signal ok) and removed all the listed files using terminal. I then shut the mac down, swapped the VGA cable back to the LCD tv restarted the mac and it detected the tv and set a resolution that worked. I then very carefully reduced the resolution down to one that was recommended by my tv (1300ish.. x 768ish??).
At this point I was back to having an acceptable signal but still a little off centre. So I used the TV remote, pressed menu, went into screen options and chose "auto correct". Picture then filled the screen perfectly.
The problem seems to be, leopard lists a bunch of resolutions that it believes your tv/display can handle but it would appear that in fact some of these resolutions are not supported by your TV and if you choose one of these your signal disappears and you can't get it back.
I would still say that I'm not 100% convinced with the mac mini's onboard graphics (I have a 1.8GHz version). I'm going to download some HD content and see if that improves things, but certainly my existing DivX collection looked a little sharper and clearer and better coloured using my old dell PC with its radeon PCI card. But the difference in picture quality is outweighed by the convenience of its size and the font row interface. I might tinker with putting Windows Media Center on it one day, perhaps that might improve things.

Macbook Pro to VIZIO LCD TV via HDMI Grainy Video Quality?

So when I bought my MacBook Pro back in July 2010, I purchased an assortment of accessories to go with it including a special third-party Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter device off of eBay. The HDMI Adapter device works mostly the way I expected it to. That is, the video and audio signal coming out of the MacBook is channeled into the LCD TV display properly so that I can see the computer video display on the LCD TV and sound is also coming out of the TV too.
Just one minor annoyance: video quality. Actually, the picture is perfectly fine and beautiful, except for some reason I get weird video artifacts that are basically tiny specs that quickly fly across the screen very rapidly and they are all over the video display. Almost like the video signal is partially grainy or fuzzy or something.
I've tried to Google to see if anyone has reported any similar problems, but no luck. I wish I knew exactly what device in this process is the culprit of this behavior; i.e. either the MacBook, the HDMI Adapter, the HDMI Cable, or the LCD TV (Vizio SV470XVT 47" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV).
If anyone can help to possibly instruct me how to fix this problem or how to further diagnose the problem, I would greatly appreciate it.

For a 2010+ MBP you can connect with a Displayport to HDMI, which will include Audio.
With older MBP you will need a displayport to HDMI, if you want audio to the actually TV, then you will need to get a cable with either digital out from MBP to the HDMI, or USB audio mixed into the HDMI
eg
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/CBLMDPHDMID/

Increase video quality

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