Help: MPG to DVD darkens video contrast

[touchemall]

I'm trying to put some .tivo video onto a DVD. I started with the free trial of VideoReDo to save clips in .mpg format and then author a DVD. When I burn the DVD, however, the video contrast is very dark, different from when I play the .mpg on my computer.

I tried authoring a DVD with DVD Flick and NeroVision Express using the same .mpg files, and the same thing happens.

I even converted the .tivo to .mpeg with Tivo Decoder, bypassing VideoReDo altogether, and the DVD video contrast is the same -- dark.

Any thoughts on why this is happening? Thanks for your help. --David

[touchemall]

I should add that I've used Tivo Desktop Codec Manager to play with the codecs. Playback on my PC is not a problem--contrast is normal. Only when the DVD is authored is there a problem with dark contrast.

[wmcbrine]

Nothing is happening... it's your DVD player, and/or the calibration of the TV for the input from the DVD player.

[touchemall]

I should have said that playback of the .mpg files on my PC is normal. When I use PowerDVD to view the burned DVD, the contrast is just as dark as it is on my standalone DVD player.

[bkdtv]

Can you clarify? Are you viewing the DVD and MPGs on the same computer?

If you are viewing on a standalone DVD player connected to your TV, then obviously you need to calibrate that input on your TV. The calibration of your TV input is the primary factor in the contrast you perceive. Modern TVs store separate settings for every input.

If you are converting HDTV to DVD for playback on your computer, you should realize that high-definition video and DVD video use different colorspaces. Any proper DVD conversion will convert high-definition video (BT.709) to the proper colorspace for DVD (BT.601). Televisions know to use BT.601 color decoding for SD input signals and BT.709 color decoding for HD input signals. If your PC video player uses the same for both, then the colors for one or the other won't be correct.

[wmcbrine]

I should have said that playback of the .mpg files on my PC is normal. When I use PowerDVD to view the burned DVD, the contrast is just as dark as it is on my standalone DVD player.And what happens if you use PowerDVD to view the .mpg?

[Dan203]

Author the DVD to a folder on your hard drive. Then open VideoReDo, click File->Open title from DVD and select that folder. Does the video look dark when played back in VideoReDo? If not then the problem is with DVD your playback software. If so then there could be something legitimately wrong with the video stream after it's authored to DVD. Although I suspect the former is going to be the case.

If it is your DVD playback software then look at the settings. Perhaps there is a color calibration setting somewhere that accidentally got turned on or messed with. You could also try VLC to play the DVDs. Unlike PowerDVD and WMP it does not use DirectShow so it might bypass whatever issue is causing this problem.

Dan

[touchemall]

Thanks, everyone, for your help. The problem is with PowerDVD. When I use VideoReDo to play the authored DVD file, it plays normally, and when I use PowerDVD to play the .mpg, it is dark. I misspoke earlier when I said that the standalone DVD player produced the same results; the burned DVD plays fine in my standalone DVD player. Apologies for the confusing misinformation! --David