DS DVDs--Picture Quality

[ClaudeNorth]

Greetings!

I'm sure some of the more technologically-minded people here can enlighten me about this.

I've been collecting the MPI DVD sets and I've noticed that the picture quality of the color episodes isn't as good as that of the black and white episodes. I'm actually quite surprised by just how grainy or muddy these episodes can appear.  Sometimes I find myself thinking that the episodes never looked worse, which should not be the case given the format.

My questions:

1.  Could the color/b&w discrepancy be due to the relative newness of the color technology used during DS' early color episodes?

2.  Are the defects in the source material actually being enhanced by DVD technology?

3.  Could anything be done, on MPI's part, to improve the picture quality of future releases?

4.  Am I expecting too much from 35-year-old videotape?  <lol>

Thanking all of you in advance for your kind indulgence...

Regards,

John

[victoriawinters]

hmmm i've been finding the exact opposite and think the color on the dvds is better than the black & white.

the picture quality of the black and white (at least on my rear projection TV) appears to have a green type of tint to it.  sort of like it wants to make color but can't.

the color DVDs seem really crystal clear.  i can even see the details of the pattern on the couch at the evans cottage.  but i think the overall picture on any television is enhanced by using a smaller television at least for these old type of tv shows.  it makes the pixels more squished together and not as far apart on the screen.

p.s. do you have a progressive scan dvd or another older type?  then i can ask the audiophile of the family.  (that would not be me i assure you.)  but the progressive scan can make a difference with sound and picture quality of your dvd.

[joe integlia]

i just iewed the 1st color episode for the 1st time on dvd. i have all 4 volumes but im still watching volume 3! i think the picture and sound quality is excellent n both the color and b-w episodes. im watching on a 19inch set with a s-vhs input. if u have this input on ur tv u should use it with ur dvd player. most if not all dvd players have an s-vhs output and it makes a slight improvement in picture quality. anyway, the technology of the times does play a factor. bck then the color cameras had tubes and each primary coor had to be in registration. if u notice some of the shots in the blue whale of the 1st color episode show a lagging effect mostly in the far shots on the left side of the screen. it looks a little like watching a 3-D movie without the glasses. today, cameras have chips instead of tubes and if u look at the interviews on the same dvds(for example) u can see a crystal clear picture.

[Stuart]

Just to add, I think the DVD colour presentations are the best the show's ever looked.

Bear in mind that especially for the early months of colour on DS, the lighting levels were kept very high and the cameras themselves don't seem too well tuned - the pictures themselves are a lot hazier than their black and white counterparts.

It's a case of silk purses and sow's ears -- these are not perfectly balanced and lit shows and the quality reflects that. 

[Brian]

I'm of the opinion that the lighting on the first several months of color shows didn't do the show justice.  It was too bright, and not subtle at all, whereas the B&W shows where wonderfully atmospheric due to the use of lighting.  As time went on, and especially as we entered the returned from 1795, lighting and color were much improved and provided more atmosphere.  The best use of light and color, in my opinion, was during the 1897 and 1840 stories--my VHS tapes form MPI look pretty good, and I can't wait to see those same episodes on DVD.

[ClaudeNorth]

Thanks for the input!

From your comments, I'm coming to the conclusion that a lot of what I'm seeing as poor picture quality is a result of a "period of adjustment" after DS switched to color.  Also, I do have a 35" screen, which Victoria mentioned as a possible culprit.

Ironically, I was just watching more of set #4, disc #1 and noticed an improvement in picture quality from the first five episodes to the second five episodes.

In any event, I'm thoroughly enjoying the DVDs and plan to collect all the episodes, as the DVD format is ideal for a TV series with as many episodes as DS.

Regards,

John

[victoriawinters]

Also, I do have a 35" screen, which Victoria mentioned as a possible culprit.

if your TV is rear projection like mine, it will also stretch the image to fit into the screen which can also make it look odd at times.

as joe pointed out using a regular cable from your dvd player to the TV will not produce as good a picture as using the special AV cable that you will be buying separately.  it may seem these cables are really expensive, but the increased picture quality makes it well worth the costs.

i hope the color quality will clear up for you soon.

lubs ya, victoriawinters

[VictoriaWintersRox]

Ironically, I was just watching more of set #4, disc #1 and noticed an improvement in picture quality from the first five episodes to the second five episodes.

Yes, I've noticed that before. Some episodes have better quality than others. I've been skimming through Collection 4 (Got it today) and noticed this with some of them). While, say, #350 was good quality-wise, the 1795 episodes looked a lot better to me.

[Selby_D._Pearson]

I don't have the color DVDs yet but if I recall correctly, thoughout some of the episodes, you can see a definite difference in quality as the point of view moves from camera to camera. One of the cameras always seems to have that green tint. The other cameras, however, show their colors very brilliantly. This is apparent in the pre-1795 episodes especially but is also noticable later in the show. I always assumed the reason was that perhaps ABC had purchased a used color camera from NBC.

SDP

[Raholt]

Like most of the rest of you, I have found the picture quality of the DVD's superior, even the old kinescope episodes look far better than they did on the VHS versions.

As to the question about the color.  When you look at the early color episodes, no matter what format, they don't look the same as later color episodes look, even a short time later.  It was a period of adjustment, they are adjusting to lighting the set differently, dealing with the new cameras and other equipment as well as something that happened alot in the early days of color in the 1960's and that is over use of color in sets and costumes.  For some reason it was thought that now that we could see the color, it needed to be big and bold but that actually was too much.  It happened with alot of series that switched from B&W to color.  Usually, you will notice that the earliest color episodes don't look the same as later one's do and that is partly because it was soon realized that you did not have to have everything bold and bright.   It became more of a realisitc blend and looked more natural.

With Dark Shadows, I noticed how the color looked in the early color episode when I watched them on VHS for the first time in 25 years.  It  almost hurt your eyes to watch it becuase it was too much.  However I noticed that after a time of adjustment, it looked fine again, but yes the early color episodes are not the best quality overall.  However, they do look better on DVD.

Richard Holt