Picture qualty for DVD's

robertw1 wrote on 10/21/2009, 10:19 AM
My goal is to create slide shows that will be incredibly sharp when presented on a 1080p plat screen plasma. My trial DVD burns show jagged edges on diagonal shapes. What options do I choose to burn, DVD, or maybe as a HR WMV file? Can Magix create a presentation that supports my recent investment in a 58" Panasonic 1080p screen? So far I'm dissapointed but think that I am doing something wrong in setting up the burn.

Comments

ralftaro wrote on 10/22/2009, 11:09 AM
Using an actual high definition medium (as opposed to DVD) would probably be a good start. You might want to consider Blu-ray. The replay quality of regular DVDs (standard def) on a HD screen very much depends on the quality and algorithm of the scaler in the screen (or drive) but is obviously always inferior to an HD medium.

ralftaro wrote on 10/27/2009, 7:54 AM
Hi again,

It's hard to predict what your particular photos will look like if encoded at the different settings and into the different available formats. However, going from standard definition to an HD medium is definitely a step into the right direction. Keep in mind that especially digital still photos have a very high resolution when compared to standard definition DVDs. The difference is almost ridiculous, even with current consumer photo cameras, but especially with (semi) professional DSLRs. (DVD/TV resolution is 720x480 for NTSC and only slightly more for PAL). If you're still having quality problems you might also want to consider pre-scaling the images to a reasonable size in a suitable program (with batch processing) that offers a high-quality scaling algorithm (e.g. Magix Photo Designer or IrfanView), since the scaling algorithm for still images in the Magix video software is probably just a compromise between quality and performance. Might get you better results.

As far as storing suitable files on your hard drive is concerned, use the export option in the "File" menu. Not completely sure what Magix program you're actually using (PhotoStory or MEP), but this option should always be there one way or the other. This way you can write a file to your hard drive, rather than burning a DVD. You could also pick MPEG-2 with a high def preset here or go for WMV in high def.