Mac video quality

Hi, I have a sony hard drive camcorder. (model DCR-SR45) I am importing the videos directly to iMovie. On my sony camcorder, I have it set to the highest quality possible. So when I import it, I can view it in a minimal small screen, lets say a box 4" x 4". the image quality is great.

NOW.....when I try to make it bigger, lets say to fit the whole screen, the resolution is horrible. My expectation was that having the hard drive camcorder at the best possible quality setting, I would have no quality viewing issues at full screen, or almost (in my case, its only crisp in a small box, like i mentioned above.)

I called Sony, and they were not so helpful. they said it could be my video card. I have a Mac book pro i think with a 128mb video card. My mac is not even a year old. I guess I was expecting that I would have a superior picture quality after import.

Could the poor quality be due to the video card? can i change settings in iMovie to import better? are there some 3rd party apps that can help me convert it to a higher quality


I bought it for my first new bow, and although the quality is "ok" I really wanted it to be crisp so when I look at it a few years down the road...

pls advise / help

 

720 x 480. Interesting. Even at the highest quality? It's a great camcorder, but for $400, you get what u pay for

Tks