Problem getting a good video image after burning to DVD

[Gmonkey]

I having a problem that I'm sure most people won't experience, but I'm hoping someone out there has, and is able to offer some suggestions on how to fix it. So here goes.

I shoot dance recitals, so I'm always trieing to give me clients the best videos posible. But when I recorded it my Sony NX5U in HD 720, and process it in FCP X, it looks good. I also output it from FCP as a master quick time movie, and on the desk top it still looks good. I then put it into compressor and burn it with DVD Studio pro, and thats when I loose the quality I had before.

When I play the dvd on the TV, everything looks good except for the faces on stage, I can't see them very well. It's kind of pixelly. I can't see the detail in the picture enough to tell one child from the next. Only on an extrem close-up can I tell one from another.

I've also tried burning with iDVD and I get the same result. I don't know if it's in the way i'm exprotting the video, or something else.

Thanks,

[Baldrick]

DVD is not HD(720p and higher). So you must either make a blu-ray or just burn as video files(mp4).

And this is not any user guide. Moving you.

[aedipuss]

dvd is 720x480 interlaced at 29.97 so unless you are encoding at a high enough bitrate things tend to get a bit fuzzy or if they are small faces onstage there just aren't enough pixels to create a sharp image. depending on how long the recital is you might have to break it up into more than one dvd to get a decent bitrate. time x bitrate = filesize and a dvr can only hold about 4.365GB

[Gmonkey]

Thanks for the quick response Baldrick. right now each act is about 3.9GB, so I was able to push the bit rate up to almost the max, but this no difference. I had originally bounced them out of FCP as Pro ress 422, so now i'm trying Pro ress 422HQ. Don't know if that will make a difference. But at this point, I'm willing to try just about anything. It don't understand why when I look at it when it comes out of FCP, it looks great. I can see all of the faces. But after that not so much. Could it be because I'm viewing it on a 17in monitor verses a 65in TV?

[JVRaines]

You can export them as ProRes 4444 XQ and it still won't make a difference. Your problem is DVD-Video. You are losing 1/3 of your resolution by going to DVD. The 65-inch screen makes it all the more obvious.

[theewizard]

(2) things you might try
switch to dual layer dvd disc 8100MB aka 8.1gb capacity, you mentioned 3.9gb, you did not mention run time, you can user a higher bit rate, IF you are using the MAX allowed by DVD standard
also Don't go from file to dvd directly
create a DVD folder or ISO image file
and view that on the PC before burning discs
but as suggested above, you might need to switch to making Blu-ray discs
or you might try closer in shots and using a little bit of panning
i'm not there, i can't see the stage or your camera position