What graphics card do you have? __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

I don't think this is a graphics card issue because I burn the DVD and see the same issue with resolution loss on PC's as well as all DVD players to HD TV's.
My goal is to make DVD show for use on HD TVs.

Here is my PC setup:
Dell 8000XPS, i7 Processor, 8 gig Ram, GT-9400 Nvida 1 Gig graphics card

Last night I tried to create MPEG2 files from custom profile of most available resolution formats & using both the "Progressive" & "Top field 1st" options.
No luck with anything.

The BEST MPEG2 file I can make for the photo slide show is the HD 1080i.
Resolution looks perfect!

But all is lost when I insert the MPEG2 files into a new PD file for CREATE DISK.


Thanks for any help!

Hi Jeff,

Just a question,

From your description it sounds like your project is a mixture of video and picutres(turned into a slide show).

In your Video portion, did you add any COLOR BOARDS in your editing on the timeline? PD8 defaults the timeline to 640X360 when there isn't a larger "or"... "true 16:9 clip or image in the master track, and everything in the timeline will be lowered to 640x360 and then upconverted when you produce your project to a video file in a higher resolution. If you did insert a STANDARD COLOR BOARD into your timeline with a video clip you can verify your resolution by pausing the BLUE BAR on a video clip and then select "Freeze Frame" button. Once the Freeze Frame is inserted in the timeline, if you RIGHT CLICK on it and select PROPERTIES you will notice that the resolution may be reduced to 640x360. This might have an influence on the final quality of your slideshow. I am not 100% sure...but not many things related to video editing is.

I personally create my own set of COLOR BOARDS with a 1920 x 1080 resolution when I insert them into the timeline matching the resolution of my video. You can create your own in another graphic program in the specific colors you need and then import them into Power Director. The resolution of my stills are 3680x2070. I feel that it maintains the quality of the still images when creating a final production. Also, keep in mind that the quality does drop when producing to a DVD due to its native resolution which is lower than your HD video and stills.


Kevin
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Well I'll be darn....
I know for sure I have inserted PD colorboards between some the slide show transitions, kind of like a spacer that helps adjust the fade transitions.

I have NOT used color boards on any of the video produced MPEG2 files.

My project is a mixture of video & slide shows, each produced seperately into MPEG2 files and then loaded into a new PD file in the DISK MENU section.

I don't understand why the MPEG2 produced files for the slide show look so good as viewed with my PC, but then degrade so much when added to and burned to DVD disk.
I also checked the output to file folders VIDEO/AUDIO. I tried to copy those to a DVD disk outside of PD and still get the same degraded pixilation problems. When I view those files on PC with another app., I still see the degraded slide show. So I know its NOT my DVD burner, it has to be something with producing the DVD show in PD.

I will try to delete color boards for slide shows and see result.

Any other solutions?
Thanks

Hi again Jeff,

In hindsight I should have said...Are there COLOR BOARDS anywhere in your project, not just in the video portion. I thought you might have used the slideshow templates which don't insert color boards automatically.

I am very interested in seeing if this changes your resulting quality. I am working on the ferry today, so I didn't have the time to try it myself.

Regarding the quality difference, maybe some other members can chime in to offer ideas as to why it is not as good. But burning to disc lowers the resolution to DVD resolution (720x480), so I would imagine the quality would appear to be less.

Good Luck!

Kevin
Check out PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials and more! Over 5,000 Subscribers.

WOW~!
I removed the PD COLORBOARDS, produced and re-burned the show and everything cleaned up quite nicely!

I am quite satisfed with the resolution of the slideshow photos now and can see great results on both my PC and through DVD players on TV's.

BTW, I made my own black background colorboard by simply shooting a jpeg in my dark closet!

Thanks for the help.
Jeff

PS: Check out my reply on the other thread about background music to DVD menus!

Hey Jeff,

Well thanks for doing the work! I still am working and inbetween ferry trips, but the news sure sounds good from your end. I am glad to hear the quality improved...very good news indeed. Hey...sometimes you throw out an idea to solve a problem...and sometimes it sticks!

I read your solution to the music/DVD menu problem...I am anxious to try it myself. I don't make many DVD's, most of my projects stream on YouTube. But I like learning new tricks!!

BTW, I made my own black background colorboard by simply shooting a jpeg in my dark closet!

So will you share your techniques you will use for let's say...a white color board?

Hope you are finding the forum helpful and friendly!!

Warm Regards,

Kevin
Check out PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials and more! Over 5,000 Subscribers.