Why is DVD a bit grainy on my PC LCD but crisp on my TV?

[herbster]

When I play some DVDs on my Acer 26" LCD on my PC, they are fine but a tad grainy unless viewed many feet away. When I pop the same DVD in my DVD player and see it on my TV, it seems so crisp and no graininess at all. Is this a resolution issue? I'd like any info on this possible as I'm making decisions on electronics equipment purchases in the coming months.

TIA

[Krispy Kritter]

It usually has to do with viewing distance. Most people site 2-3 feet from their computer monitor and much further from their TV. The further away you are, the "better" it will look.

You also have to take into account the differences in hardware. Such as the size, specs, and native resolution of your monitor compared to your TV.

[thecoalman]

Probably due to deinterlacing on the fly, to give you a good image on a progreesive display the video has to be deinterlaced which is a destructive process. Try some different diiferent deintelacing settings on your current software or other software altogether. PowerDVd is generally considered the best.

[herbster]

Probably due to deinterlacing on the fly, to give you a good image on a progreesive display the video has to be deinterlaced which is a destructive process. Try some different diiferent deintelacing settings on your current software or other software altogether. PowerDVd is generally considered the best.

thecoalman,

Thank you for this info however I'm not following what you're trying to say. I use linux and all video plays back just fine (every format out there), but what are you saying about deinterlacing? Is it good/bad? Sorry I am not the most savvy hehe

Krispy,

Yes I believe you are correct. The distance is a key. Also my LCD is a bit bigger than the TV and much better colour, clarity, etc.

[oldandinthe way]

All TVs are not created equal. In my experience a CRT TV always looks better than an LCD monitor. Also a smaller TV set than your 26" monitor will look better. Thats the way Steve Jobs makes low resolutions images look great - reduce the screen size.

[thecoalman]

Your monitor is a progrssive display, the video is interlaced designed for playback on a TV.

Interlaced:




This loooks like shit when played back on monitor but outstanding on a TV. The software deinterlaces video on the fly producing this:



There's a few methods of getting from the first image to the second one, some deatail has to be removed then recreated through interpolation or duplication. Note how the second image looks slightly softer than the first.

[herbster]

Okay so in VLC for example and other players I should be using Deinterlacing? I'm trying it now and different deinterlacing options in VLC are looking different, though I can't see that much of a difference.

[Video Head]

All TVs are not created equal. In my experience a CRT TV always looks better than an LCD monitor. Also a smaller TV set than your 26" monitor will look better. Thats the way Steve Jobs makes low resolutions images look great - reduce the screen size.

Great points. I have yet to see a non-projection LCD display look as good as a CRT. CRT appeals to the eye candy part of our brains - bright, lots of colours and the ability to handle fast movement. A 320x240 VCD from the HTPC to the 50" HDTV looks like turn it off. On my PocketPC's 320x240 TFT LCD display it looks great, but the only time I use my PocketPC to watch video is when I'm stuck waiting, like in traffic or at an airport.

VH

[thecoalman]

Okay so in VLC for example and other players I should be using Deinterlacing?

For playback on a monitor yes, for creating DVD's tobe viewed on a TV no.

I'm trying it now and different deinterlacing options in VLC are looking different, though I can't see that much of a difference.

Well you're going to get varying result but they all do basically the same thing but approach it in different ways. Basically you throw half the resolution away (i.e. every other line) then try to recreate them. I'm not sure there is anything you can do to "fix" this beside buying a interlaced monitor which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist.

[edDV]

I find VLC "Mean" deinterlace works well for 1080i on a high resolution PC monitor. For a smaller monitor "Discard" shows a single field at 960x540 with very low CPU overhead.