How is the video recorded on a DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Jakob_S]

I have a question on how the video/picture is recorded on a DVD.
Lets take an NTSC-DVD for an example...
NTSC have a resolution that is 720 x 480 pixels. But is the video/picture recorded with that resolution?
Ok...
When an anamorphic video/picture is recorded on a DVD it's still recorded with the resolution 720 x 480 pixels, right? (That is if the answer is 'yes' in the first question).
Well...
When you see a DVD on a Fullscreen Television, the TV displays the same resolution (720 horizontal pizel and 480 vertical pixels), right? Now let us take the anamorphic NTSC DVD as an example: The TV now squezes the video/picture together so it becomes a shape in the size of 16:9. Does the video/picture on the DVD still has the resolution 720 x 480 pixels? Well, but because the 4:3 Fullscreen TV has the 480 vertical pixels split over a larger area, then you aren't able to see the full resolution.
Am I right, or have I misunderstood something somewhere...?
I hope you clever guys out there can help me
NB! If my question is too difficult to understand (=not very well written) please let me know, so I can try to ask the question in a diffrent way...

 

[Artur Meinild]

I'll help you to the best of my knowledge...

When an anamorphic video/picture is recorded on a DVD it's still recorded with the resolution 720 x 480 pixels, right?

Correct! The current DVD format offers *only* this resolution.
I'll be back...

 

[Jesse Leonard]

A 4:3 television (that does not do the sqeeze) will not benefit from an anamorphic transfer. All DVD players have a menu option of which type of TV you have: 4:3 or 16:9. If you choose 16:9, the player does nothing to the image and sends it out to the TV. If you choose 4:3, the player will down-convert the anamorphic image to a nonamamorphic image (here is where you loose the vertical resolution).

 

[Rob Lutter]

NB! If my question is too difficult to understand (=not very well written) please let me know, so I can try to ask the question in a diffrent way...

I have a teacher that uses NB! (Nota Bene) all the time... I thought he was the only one

 

[Eric Huffstutler]

From what I am understanding what you are asking is if the "resolution" is reduced since the picture is downsized to fit a 4:3 television screen?

That is a law of physics. Your TV will not increase its pixel resolution just because the 16x9 image says it has more than what your picture tube can handle. Your television has a "fixed" resolution so if a picture is reduced in size to fit the screen, your resolution of the picture (sharpness) will also be reduced.

This is why I watch a majority of my DVD's on the PC since my monitor has a better pixel capability than my old 27" TV.

Also... one comment made here that ALL players have the capability to select 4:3 or 16x9 is incorrect.

There are some of us who are still using their 1st and 2nd generation DVD players which do not have a simple swicth mode button on them. I have to program my Toshiba to what kind of TV it is hooked to and if a 16:9 is inserted, the player works overtime downconverting.

 

[Jakob_S]

Hey, thanx for all your answers!
I'm glad you all actually undstood my question (I din't after reading it again ). Anyway, so the conclusion on this thread is, that in theory anamorphic images and non-anamorphic images look the same on a 4:3 TV. But because anamorphic images doens't take as much space as non anamorphic images, the bites are used better on anamorphic images and therefor the image becomes better looking overall. Is this statement correct?

I have a teacher that uses NB! (Nota Bene) all the time... I thought he was the only one

I think it's more wellknown and used outside America than inside America. I actually don't know what it means 100%, but I like to use it! I personally see the meaning of "NB!" as something like "Notice/Beware!", which is incorrect - but I like to see it that way

 

[Eric Huffstutler]

Jakob_S

Guess I did read your post wrong but what you are asking apparently is a question about compression (bitrate) ratios.

Someone else here can answer that better than I can but I do know that if a DVD is spread out more over the disc (less compression) the better the picture quality... hence 2 disc sets with extras on the second disc.

What I thought you were asking was more along the lines of how you physically view a picture on screen if the movie was on disc in one format while your TV was in another with different resolutions between the two (16x9 -vs.- 4:3).

My Bad :b

 

[Jakob_S]

Well, I guess my question/doubt is regarding this

NTSC have a "resolution" of 525 scan lines, but only 480 of them is used for the actual picture information. The video on a DVD is recorded in 720 x 480 pixels, whereas the video on laserdisc or supervcd is 480 x 480 pixels...

Isn't it Televisions that have the "resolution" of 525 scan lines and not NTSC itself. Or am I incorrect?

I actually think that a answer of the followering question will clear something in my head:

When you use the zoom function on a 16:9 TV on a non anamorphic DVD, will that reduce the number of vertical pixels?

 

[Michael Reuben]

There are some of us who are still using their 1st and 2nd generation DVD players which came out before 16x9 enhancement was available on DVD. I am one of them having a Toshiba 2nd generation bought in 1998 so NEVER assume anything

16:9 enhancement was available on most of the very first DVDs released to consumers in region 1. I know because I bought and still own several of them (e.g., Blade Runner, Eraser).
Players don't have do anything special to play back an enhanced disc. They just deliver the image as it's been encoded. It's when the player is set for 4:3 playback that it has to do the extra work of downconverting. The first generation of Toshiba players handled 16:9 downconversion. I know because I used to own one. And the first generation of Sony players did as well; I know because I still own one (the 7000). I don't know which model Toshiba you're using, but I'm unaware of any Toshiba player that doesn't provide options for either 16:9 or 4:3. Indeed, I believe that capability is required by the DVD spec.
M.

 

[Eric Huffstutler]

Michel, I stand corrected.
Looking at my Batman DVD which was one of the first, if not the first, mass market available titles Warner put out during their test market in March 1997, it says it is 16:9 enhanced.
As for the Toshiba player, I have a SD-2108. The 16:9 feature is there but only as an "option" you have to program as you set up what kind of TV you are hooking up to the player. It isn't a simple on-off button to switch modes.

 

[Michael Reuben]

The 16:9 feature is there but only as an "option" you have to program as you set up what kind of TV you are hooking up to the player.

That's how most standalone players work (if not all of them). I've never seen a standalone player that allows you to switch between 16:9 and 4:3 playback on the fly.

M.