DV vs DVD conversion

[asopher1]

Hi Guys,

I'm fairly new to this conversion stuff but I'm a bit baffled. I'm a big F1 and IndyCar fan and record all of the races. I've been recording them straight from DVR to DVD since '03 but have just begun importing them directly into my mac from the DVR via a Canopus ADVC-300. What's strange is that the DVD's that I record and then convert (using Handbrake) look better than the races that I import as DV files directly into the computer...is that normal? I would think that I would get a better copy by avoiding the whole DVD creation process. For what it's worth, I'm importing into iMovie and using iMovie to convert to a variety of different file types (ie .mov, .mp4, .avi, .m4v) and none of them look as sharp as the DVD's I've recorded and then converted using Handbrake. Any ideas? Thanks for your help!

A

[lordsmurf]

What does "better" mean?

[asopher1]

Basically sharper...when I take both output files and look at them side by side, the graphics look sharper from the converted DVD than the converted DV file. It doesn't look bad...I just figured that the direct import from DVR to computer would look sharper than copying to DVD and then into the computer. Thus, I figured I was doing something wrong...ie settings, file type, etc.

[Vidd]

Do you have the noise reduction filter enabled on the ADVC-300? It could cause a blur of details making it look less sharp.

[asopher1]

You know what? I do have it enabled. I'll re-import it with noise reduction disabled and see if that sharpens it up. Thanks Vidd...I didn't even think of that.

[lordsmurf]

That's my guess too, the ADVC-300 noise reduction is not very good.

[asopher1]

Thanks lordsmurf. Is there any scenario in which the same show from DVR to DVD to computer would look BETTER than just going from DVR to computer via ADVC-300. I always just figured that I would get less degradation going through a converter than through the DVD process...is that an incorrect assumption?