Just burned my first iPhoto slide show to DVD -- why isn't image quality good????

[alaimo]

I've just organized my first "slide show" of old family photos in iPhoto. Also just added a Sony external DVD burner to my eMac to burn this show to DVD to give family members. In watching the original show within iPhoto, it looks great. Now that I've just burned it to DVD using iDVD (also for the first time), I watched it on my living room TV set and am hugely disappointed. The images have less detail, they're more contrasty and the moving "Ken Burns" effects have jaggedy edges. Yuck!! I know the TV can yield better images than this so it's something at the software or burning stage.

I did also play the DVD on my computer and, just like on the TV, the image quality isn't great. So, it's apparent the iDVD software "dumbs down" the quality a fair amount from how the native show appears within iPhoto.

Is this the norm I have to settle for? Are they any options within iDVD or anywhere else to opt for better image quality?

 

[ravenvii]

Easy way to test this is to insert the DVD in your Mac and play it back. If the image quality still is the same, then you can count your TV out. If not, then it's your TV's fault, simple as that.

 

[LethalWolfe]

W/o seeing exactly what you are talking about it's hard to say if it's normal or not, but a couple of things to keep in mind are:
1. On your computer monitor you are looking at hires photos on a hires display, but on your TV you are looking at very compressed, lowres photos on a lowres display. Standard def TV resolution is 720x480 which corresponds to 640x480 in the computer world which is typically the lowest quality setting you'll find on digital cameras.

2. Computer monitors and TVs have very, very different display characteristics. What looks good on a computer monitor probably won't look good on a TV and vice-versa.


Lethal

 

[alaimo]

Ok, so I may have solved my problem

Never assume is the rule. I would have guessed that iDVD would burn a copy of my slide show at the highest quality possible . . . but NO! I ended up checking under preferences and of the two options, "Performance" was selected instead of "Best Quality". So, I've now made a second DVD and it is indeed better. Not perfect, but much better.

Yeah!!!!