movie quality

[kkeats]

I am new to the movie making business and have a newbie question. Is it possible (or even easily possible) to create a digital file on the computer that has the same quality as I see when I plug my MiniDV camcorder directly into the television? I have created an AVI with Adobe Premier and on my laptop it doesn't seem to look as good. Is it just some tweaking of settings or that the laptop does something funny to it? If it is possible to get an AVI to be of equal or comparative quality, is it possible to create a DVD with the same quality (given that it appears that a MPEG must be used for this)?

[Hardcoreruss]

Yes it is possible to get quality that good, read some of the guides on here. Capturing is not my forte here but there are many here who can help.

[ImaWeTodd]

If you capture the miniDV from your camera to the computer via firewire, the quality is the same, because (as i understand it) this should be a copy of the digital source.

Why does it look "worse"? Well your TV and your laptop display don't work the same. If you can (an you should be able to), push a sample back to the cam. Watch it on your TV.

So, to answer your question. It is easy. You may have already done it.

[ImaWeTodd]

is it possible to create a DVD with the same quality (given that it appears that a MPEG must be used for this)?

The difference from DV to MPEG2 is the compression. At it's least compression (it is variable), MPEG2 is about 3 times more compressed than DV. However, it is a much better method of video compression (as far as size goes, not for editing), than DV. Even if it is possible to loose something going from DV to MPEG2, it is unlikely to show in your miniDV cam source.

Actually I think, MPEG2 supports a better color sample 4:2:2 than miniDV 4:1:1. Read this.

In other words, I don't think DVD MPEG2 will limit the quality of your DV in any way. Good news !

[bugster]

TH DV avi on your laptop is interlaced, your laptop display isn't (unlike your TV). So it will not look good in this case. Try playing the avi in PowerDvd. This has a built-in on the fly de-intelacer and should improve the display of DV on the laptop.