iDVD 7.0: Burned DVD has interlacing, pixelation, or image quality issues
Summary
You may discover that a DVD burned in iDVD has poor image quality, pixelation, or interlacing issues when you play it in full-screen mode on your HDTV or Apple monitor. This may occur even if the video looks normal in the iDVD preview window.
Products Affected
Mac OS X 10.6, iDVD '08 (7.x)
This is typical of an image or video that has been expanded from the standard resolution of a DVD (720 X 480) to the high-definition resolution (1920 X 1080) of a computer monitor or HDTV. A standard DVD made by iDVD is made to the standard DVD resolution of 720 X 480, which is smaller than most HDTVs and monitors. When expanded to fit the entire screen or monitor, the image will distort slightly due to upscaling to fit the screen or monitor.
To check the resolution of your Apple monitor, check System Preferences > Display. If your resolution is set to higher than 720 x 480, exit full-screen mode when playing DVDs burned in iDVD and they should look normal.
Additional Information
Resolution Sizes
640 X 480 = Television Resolution
720 X 480 = Standard DVD Resolution
1280 X 720 = HDTV 720p Resolution
1920 X 1080 = HDTV 1080p Resolution
Standard DVD Resolution
A standard DVD player without upscaling can output video resolution at 720 x 480 (480i). A progressive scan DVD player without upscaling can output video resolution 720 x 480 (480p - progressive scan).
480i represents 720 pixels displayed across a screen horizontally and 480 pixels down a screen vertically. This arrangement yields 480 horizontal lines displayed alternately. This means all the odd lines are displayed, followed by all the even lines.
480p represents 720 pixels displayed across a screen horizontally and 480 pixels down a screen vertically. This arrangement yields 480 horizontal lines on the screen displayed progressively. This means each line is displayed following another.
The Upscaling Process
Upscaling is a process that mathematically matches the pixel count of the output of the DVD signal to the physical pixel count on an HDTV, which is typically 1280 x 720 (720p) or 1920 x 1080 (1080p).
Twitter
Facebook