Are DVDs really that crisp?
 

I have two Samsun DLP TVs. HD looks amazing, but I've got to say that DVDs don't look that great. And there's a real variance from DVD to DVD. I complained to Samsung and they said that it would be highly unusual for two TVs to have the same problem, particularly if the HD works fine.

Does anyone else have complaints about the sharpness of DVDs? Of course, they're not supposed to be HD quality, but still...

I prefer watching movies on HD. DVD does really give a noticeable difference. Keep in mind a LOT of it has to do with mastering. A lot of DVDs just look like crap to begin with.

I think you are experiencing what a lot of people that finally see what HD looks like. After that everything else does not look as good. For the people that don't receive HD programming and then watch DVDs those look amazing. The other thing is what The Bus said, some dvds are just crappy looking.

Also keep in mind your player and connection makes up a large part of it. You might find that an upconverting DVD player makes all the difference. And yeah, it's amazing how many DVDs are really mastered as crap. They'll look great on a SD TV, but play them on a digital TV using a straight digital connection like DVI or HDMI and you'll see what's actually on the disc.

Specifically which dvd's?

I think DVD's look great on my DLP projector, HD also looks great but you need to recognize that is a different medium.

I think kids today don't understand that grain is not "bad". Nothing looks as good out of its element. HDTV is higher resolution than DVD, so they don't look quite as good on those TVs. That doesn't mean they look bad, though.

I also think this has a lot to do with the cheap-ass players people get and think are great, til a real TV shows them up for garbage.

Who wouldn't?

The reason HD looks so much better is plain and simple:

DVD 480p = 480 lines = 480x704 = 337,920 pixels
HD 1080i = 1080 lines = 1080x1920 = 2,073,600 pixels

Compared to HD, yes they will look like 'crap'. But they aren't supposed to look as good as HD, the technologies don't compare quality-wise...

:clap:

I think you're on to something.

Hell, there's times when I have to remind myself the same thing! It's easy to get caught up in trying to get the best picture possible and forget that sometimes that "best picture" actually may not be crisp or clean.

I have no problems. DVDs on my 10ft screen using an ECP4500+ CRT projector looks stunning and could easily be mistaken for HD (it's funny they look better on my 10ft screen now than ever before). I am scaling to 1000x720p using an HTPC (Home Theater PC) with FFDShow sharpening filter. A lot of time many of my DVDs can easily be mistaken for true 720p. I've never seen dvds look as great as they look now. Of course this kind of DVD picture can't be matched by a DLP TV at this time, but a DLP TV could still gain extra sharpness from the use of FFDShow and scaling.

If you want DVDs to look pretty close to some HD think about using an HTPC w/Zoom Player Pro & FFDShow. FFDShow is fantastic. Basically, it's free software that works miracles.

Agreed, Spiky :)......some people have never experienced the wonders of a tower antenna, either ;)....

I also agree that when you start upgrading your system, components that were once perfectly acceptable suddenly start standing out as a sore thumb. Better TV, ya need a better DVD player.

I just watched another recent movie on my setup. The first DVD of Man On Fire. I think it looked as good or better than 24 season finale in HD.

Toshiba DLP 720p, 90" screen. Denon 2900 DVDp.