No, I mean when the video is played at a big size, regardless of the black bars. The bigger you stretch the video, the worse the quality.
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Standard def DVDs look terrible on a 27" iMac
- Thread starter iMikeT
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No, I mean when the video is played at a big size, regardless of the black bars. The bigger you stretch the video, the worse the quality.
when you first play the video will it be stretched ?
or it plays in it's native resolution (the original quality) ? with black bars on the sides.
I don't understand what your trying to say. Look I don't even watch DVD's on my iMac, but I know that DVD's are low-resolution video files. The iMac is a high resolution screen. Therefore if you watch the DVD in full screen (in it's correct aspect ratio) it will still look terrible because it is being played at the iMac's resolution when DVD's were really only designed to play at a resolution much lower. The solution to this problem is to play the DVD in a smaller part of your screen until you are happy with the quality to size ratio.
I don't have any problems with DVD quality videos on my 27" Dell screen at 2560x1440. I don't watch it with my nose sticking on the screen though. In my opinion this whole hd stuff is way overrated.
still canfused.
i have some 640x480 videos and the aspect ratio is 4:3 (not a dvd disk),will these videos look terrible on the 27'' imac ?
i currently have a 1440x940 15'' mbp and i don't have any problems when playing these videos. will it be the same when playing on the 27'' imac ?
I'm might be able to help you out with your confusion.
A video the has a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels is going to get blown up more than 3.5 times its original size, if you watch it in fullscreen mode on a 27" iMac. It's completely normal that it will have artifacts and look unsharp.
Furthermore, raw DVD files will probably do quite fine, but if you have for example re-encoded media files that were ripped from a DVD, the results will be even worse. Compressing an already lossy format, like DVDs, will again lose you some quality, especially if the files (.avi, .mkv., etc.) are less than 1 Gb in size (for a DVD rip).
You won't have any problems pers se playing the above mentioned videos on a 27" iMac, but unfortunately the result won't be pleasing your eyes.
On your 15" MacBook Pro, the videos are only blown up to twice their original size, which doesn't result in dramatic qualitative differences.
People should keep in mind that DVDs are already a pretty old format that wasn't intended to be watched at such high resolutions.
Watching them on a computer screen makes it even worse, because your placed only a couple centimeters from the screen.
I'd personally recommend you to watch your DVDs on a TV screen. The result will be much more satisfying.
In the future, you should probably stick to high-definition content, which is already pretty widely spread.
Those 1080p video files really bloom on your 27" screen!
Viewing DVDs fullscreen on the 27" iMac does tend to be horrible, at least from three feet away.
I either go and watch it from further away or scale it to a little over half a screen and keep a browser window open alongside.
Doesn't bother me either way.
I either go and watch it from further away or scale it to a little over half a screen and keep a browser window open alongside.
Doesn't bother me either way.
Yes. The iMac 27" doesn't look at good for video as far as quality goes, but most people would still take 27" over 21" for HD viewing because of the bigger screen.
Actually it is blown up to twelve times its original resolution.
640*480 = 307.200 pixel
2560*1440 = 3.686.400 pixel.
But otherwise I agree, any small video will look shi-te when being blown up 12 times its size.
clickable thumbnail (1280 x 720 pixel)
Here is an example taken to extremes: A 168" image with the "screenshot" taken 20 feet away. Bluray looks great, DVD is terrible.
I just took a look at some 720p source material on my 27" iMac blown up to full screen. Not terrible from 3 feet away, but really nice from 10 feet away.
I am standing back here:
I just took a look at some 720p source material on my 27" iMac blown up to full screen. Not terrible from 3 feet away, but really nice from 10 feet away.
I am standing back here:
Going back further is a good idea. Unfortunately, some people (like me) don't have the luxury to move back too far. Moving back further either means there isn't enough space in the room or finding oneself on the other side of the room.
It's the perception
You don't lose quality with a bigger screen in and of itself.
The issue here is one or both of
A) Introduction of artifacts by upscaling plain ( or compressed) definition content.
B) The exposition of plain (or compressed) definition content by a monitor capable thereof.
It is much like exchanging a boom box for qualiy audio gear, suddenly the crap on the mp3's is clearly audible.
If these concepts are alien to you, there's nothing to worry about, just buy what you want.
You don't lose quality with a bigger screen in and of itself.
The issue here is one or both of
A) Introduction of artifacts by upscaling plain ( or compressed) definition content.
B) The exposition of plain (or compressed) definition content by a monitor capable thereof.
It is much like exchanging a boom box for qualiy audio gear, suddenly the crap on the mp3's is clearly audible.
If these concepts are alien to you, there's nothing to worry about, just buy what you want.
To reiterate, the display on the 27" iMac is not bad.
The problem is a standard definition DVD is being zoomed in between 12 and 16 times (depending on whether the film is 2.35:1 or 16:9 aspect ratio). You are zooming in the original image 12 to 16 times.
Save a nice picture from the internet, open it in Preview.app, and zoom in four times (16x is 4 squared). Notice how it looks pixelated? This is because you're just zooming in the image. This is what you are doing when you watch a standard-def DVD full screen.
This is why on a 1080p television set, an upscaling DVD player is recommended for standard definition DVDs. Because you are zooming in the image usually 9 times, and you want something to smooth out the images.
Personally, my recommendation is to rip and encode your DVDs, upscaling them in the process.
The problem is a standard definition DVD is being zoomed in between 12 and 16 times (depending on whether the film is 2.35:1 or 16:9 aspect ratio). You are zooming in the original image 12 to 16 times.
Save a nice picture from the internet, open it in Preview.app, and zoom in four times (16x is 4 squared). Notice how it looks pixelated? This is because you're just zooming in the image. This is what you are doing when you watch a standard-def DVD full screen.
This is why on a 1080p television set, an upscaling DVD player is recommended for standard definition DVDs. Because you are zooming in the image usually 9 times, and you want something to smooth out the images.
Personally, my recommendation is to rip and encode your DVDs, upscaling them in the process.
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Yeah, it has nothing to do with the iMac itself or the quality of it's display, really.
It's just the fact that you're watching low-quality source material on a friggin' huge display at a very close viewing distance.
It's just the fact that you're watching low-quality source material on a friggin' huge display at a very close viewing distance.