Hey guys having a bit of problem but can t really pin point where it’s coming from.
I’m using a DVX 100 and editing on FCP 5 – lately ive noticed a dip in quality of the footage I shoot, it seems to b tiny bit pixilated. Could it be because one of the below.

I’m capturing on a powerbook using FCP HD then im transferring the footage to my G5 and editing on FCP 5? Could using different FCP’s affect the quality?

Volume of footage. Would more footage on a DVD mean less quality??? I’m using IDVD to burn the DVD.

Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers.

More footage on a dvd will lower the quality. Since dvd's only hold so much information, more footage will have to lower the size of the file, therefore lowering the quality.

It's not the amount of footage burnt to a DVD that affects the quality, it's all down to the MPEG2 compression that you apply to your timeline.

If you compress to 8mbps the DVD image quality (especially in the fades and dissolves) will look a lot cleaner and smoother than if you used 5.5 mbps. Of course if you used 5.5 then you could fit far more onto a blank disc.

This often surprises people who go out buying camcorders. They get hooked on a DVD model because it can store so much on such a tiny disc. It's digital, isn't it? So the quality will be as good as Mini DV?

Well it's not. Mini DV tape can be run in the LP mode with no loss of quality whatsoever, but DVDs look worse and worse the more you cram onto them.

tom.