Bad DVDRip quality with AMD Radeon HD

Please note that DVDs are low resolution, I am not sure the exact one, but here is what Wikipedia says the possibilities are:

From Wikipedia

At 25 frames per second (commonly used in regions with 50 Hz image scanning frequency):
720 × 576 pixels (same resolution as D-1)
704 × 576 pixels
352 × 576 pixels (same as the China Video Disc standard)
352 x 288 pixels
At 29.97 frames per second (commonly used in regions with 60 Hz image scanning frequency):
720 × 480 pixels (same resolution as D-1)
704 × 480 pixels
352 × 480 pixels (same as the China Video Disc standard)
352 x 240 pixels
The following formats are allowed for MPEG-1 video:
352 × 288 pixels at 25 frame/s, progressive (Same as the VCD Standard)
352 × 240 pixels at 29.97 frame/s, progressive (Same as the VCD Standard)

So, to begin with, the DVD will not be playing at the correct aspect ratio and will be stretched/look bad if played at full screen.

Next, a DVD-Rip is not as good as a DVD, they (generally) use lossy codecs and the resolution may be altered.

I should also say, buy your DVDs, do not download them!

Lastly, there is nothing wrong with your machine, the fact that you can play 1080p videos from Youtube makes me think 100% that the only problem is your video source. If you get a blu-ray or similar, you can probably play it without problems.

To just confirm, try downloading Big Buck Bunny in HD, if you can play that at HD, you can confirm 100% that the problem is your source input file.

William Hilsum

Posted 2012-02-01T20:34:27.597

Reputation: 111 572

yes, rips are usually re-encoded, and the quality may suffer. – horatio – 2012-02-01T21:44:11.590

Aspect ratio issues when playing lower resolution videos are practically non-existent, pretty much all players will add appropriate black bars by default. 320p is awful no matter what IMO, but it's still curious why he perceives lower quality than on his previous laptop. Has he been bitten by the HD bug? – mtone – 2012-02-01T21:54:08.233

Well William, the Big Buck Bunny quality in the media player is PERFECT, even more than that! It seems horatio was right about this stretch-thing.. So, what is the best solution for me? Only watching high-quality videos? :/ – Milko – 2012-02-01T21:55:25.017

even if it will add black bars, a 1x1 when stretched to 4x4, even with anti aliasing will lot rubbish compared to a native high resolution movie :/ – William Hilsum – 2012-02-01T21:55:54.423

1@Milk - either turn off upscaling/stretching, or just watch HD content... I just bought a new 40" TV and my analogue sky looks TERRIBLE compared to my tiny TV! It's progress! ... or, you can sit further back from the screen! That is what I am doing with my tv! – William Hilsum – 2012-02-01T21:57:17.823

@WilliamHilsum i'm not a computer-wiz ;) where do i find this function exactly? Buying the new laptop brought new problems: can't watch lower-quality videos on YouTube, only above 420p to perceive normally the sharpness of the image. Sitting further back is not an option for me, i just want to be in front of my laptop as i'm in the video! :) – Milko – 2012-02-01T22:04:42.600

@mtone and what is this HD bug bite supposed to mean?! :) – Milko – 2012-02-01T22:06:03.363

@Milko that your expectations may have increased, especially if your new laptop has a bigger screen than your previous. 720p Youtube didn't exist 2 years ago. – mtone – 2012-02-01T22:09:08.413

@mtone so evolution tends to force everyone in encoding only high-def videos and customers buying high-def cards and at the moment i'm stuck in the transition from low-quality to high-quality process??? – Milko – 2012-02-01T22:12:28.360

@milko well it was mostly a joke, it's hard to say for sure without seeing what you're seeing. Most people find that 1080p does not provide a visible improvement on TVs less than 46inches. It varies With computers since you sit so close, but there's always a point of dimishing returns. DVDs (570p) are still much more popular than Blu-rays (1080p). – mtone – 2012-02-01T22:18:32.047

@mtone i watched a live-concert in 420p for testing this "sharpness-problem thing", and i could perceive it just as "fine quality". Seems that my statement "only 420p or above" is the only way of enjoying a good quality! =) – Milko – 2012-02-01T22:22:49.483

@Milko The resolution does not always correlate with the perceived quality. You can get a crappy 1080p version, and the 480p version will look better. It's a mix of factors. Generally, yes, go for the higher resolution. But this doesn't work in all cases. I wrote about that a few weeks ago: What do the numbers 240 and 360 mean when downloading video? How can I tell which video is more compressed?

– slhck – 2012-02-02T08:23:14.637

@slhck thanks for your help, i'll check your topic in a couple of minutes, but first i should say i tried a movie in 720p with my local WMP and image is absolutely perfect. Again, and as you said, i'll go for higher resolutions now. – Milko – 2012-02-02T13:22:11.437

1Does this happen with any source material or just that particular one? What's the picture size of the movie (e.g. is it 320p, or more)? Is the Radeon expected to actually "make quality better"? Do they advertise this? – slhck – 2012-02-01T20:38:42.747

1Describe why it looks bad: too smooth, pixelated, bad colors, too pale (no blacks)? I'd try playing it with Media Player Classic - Home Cinema (MPC-HC). If it looks bad on that, it will look bad everywhere, as its quality has nothing to do with your video card. Actually video quality rarely has anything to do with the video card. DVDrips often look like R4 movies to begin with so I wouldn't worry about your laptop for now. How does non-video (Windows, pictures) look? How do the HD iTunes trailers look? – mtone – 2012-02-01T20:50:27.303

Also, there's a setting in video players AND video card drivers to adjust the video levels between PC (0-255) or TV (16-235) levels. Having this set incorrectly could cause the kind of results you're seeing. I'm not sure where is the option on ATI drivers. – mtone – 2012-02-01T21:00:52.577

Well i'm trying almost every video on youtube on HD 720p / 1080p for example and it's working like a charm. Also tried now the iTunes HD trailers and quality is as it should be (also 1080p play as 1080p).

I didn't install the Home Cinema from the Codecs preferances and the movies i tried had the same "quality" problem (don't know about video characterizations): sharpness of the image is very very bad. When i was watching a DVDRip in that previous laptop, it was just fine, nothing more. :/ – Milko – 2012-02-01T21:04:01.713

what was the native resolution on the old laptop? If you have a high-pixel count monitor, but the source has a lower pixel count, then the image must be stretched for full screen playback. Your older monitor may have stretched it less, resulting in better quality. My netflix streaming movies look great on my regular TV, but my brother's 50someish at 1080p looks horrible. Mine gets scaled down a little, his gets scaled up double. – horatio – 2012-02-01T21:42:51.247

Bad DVDRip quality with AMD Radeon HD

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