DVD Resolution | What Is DVD Resolution for Playing and Burning
Donna Peng
Updated on
Here is the most complete information about DVD resolutions.
Nowadays, DVDs continue to hold a place in our media collections and entertainment systems. But what is DVD resolution, and how does it compare to modern formats? Can we burn 720p or higher resolution video to a DVD? Can we upscale DVD resolution to 4K? How do DVDs look on 4K screen?
In this article, we delve into the world of DVD resolutions to uncover its intricacies and limitations. From the basics of DVD SD resolutions to how to make DVD quality better, we'll explore why DVDs still matter in today's digital landscape.
Q1. What is the Resolution of DVDs?
Are DVDs in 480p, 720p, or 1080p?
DVD resolution is the number of pixels displayed on the screen, typically expressed as width x height (e.g., 720x480).
- NTSC DVD resolution: 720 × 480 (total 345,600 pixels), 480i/480p
- PAL DVD resolution: 720 × 576 (total 414,720 pixels), 576i/576p
Both DVD resolutions are available in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. Besides standard DVD resolution, some people also wonder what the HD DVD resolution is.
- HD DVD resolution: 1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080i/1080p)
So apparently, SD DVDs are not in 1080p or 720p. The max DVD resolution is 480i/p or 576i/p.
Is DVD lower quality than Blu-ray?
Yes. The maximum resolution of DVD are 720x480 pixels (NTSC) or 720x576 pixels (PAL), while Blu-ray offers much higher resolution of up to 1920x1080 pixels (Full HD) or even 3840x2160 pixels (4K Ultra HD). Blu-ray discs also support higher-quality audio formats, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, providing more immersive surround sound experiences compared to the compressed audio formats used in DVDs.
In addition, Blu-ray discs use more advanced video compression technologies, such as MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) or HEVC (H.265), allowing for higher-quality video with less compression artifacts compared to the MPEG-2 compression used in DVDs. Therefore, DVD is considered lower quality compared to Blu-ray.
Is DVD higher quality than streaming?
Yes. DVDs typically have SD resolutions. In contrast, streaming services can offer resolutions up to 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160 pixels) or even higher. This means that streaming services can provide significantly sharper and more detailed images compared to DVDs. Meanwhile, streaming services allow access to a wide range of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original productions compared to DVDs.
Will upscaled DVD provide better video quality?
Upscaling a DVD can improve its visual quality to some extent, but it won't magically turn it into high-definition or 4K quality. When you upscale a DVD to a higher resolution, you're essentially stretching the existing pixels to fill the larger screen size. While this can result in a modest improvement in image quality, especially on smaller displays, it won't match the level of detail and clarity of true HD or 4K content.
Therefore, when you try to upscale DVD resolution, try starting at a little higher resolution, such as 640P or 720P.
Q2. How to Make Standard DVDs Look Better on an HDTV?
"I'm thinking of buying an HD TV, but I'm concerned about what my SD DVDs will look on it. I took a beautiful SD DVD of _The Asphalt Jungle_ with me to Best Buy, and they played it in an "upconverting" DVD player on both a 720p and a 1080p screen; it looked terrible on both, much worse than on my picture-tube TV. How to make it better? "
The visual effect is determined by various factors, such as DVD resolution, your display resolution, the display size and the distance between you and the TV. A 480p DVD is crystal enough on mobile phones. However, on 1080P widescreen HDTV, it's barely clear. The image will be stretched based on the size of the TV and that will pixelate the image.
How to make DVDs look better on widescreen? There're 3 ways to improve DVD quality: use an upscaling DVD player, try a TV with excellent upscaling algorithm, or upscale DVD resolution from 480i/p or 576i/p to 1080p with WinX DVD Ripper Platinum.
WinX DVD Ripper Platinum will easily change or upscale DVD resolution from 480i/p or 576i/p to 720p, 1080p HD, etc. It has an advanced scaling algorithm that will sharp the edge of the objects and generate good quality. It will also adjust frame rate (30FPS, 24FPS) and fast convert DVD to MP4, AVI, MOV, iPhone, Android and more.
Free Download
Free DownloadStep 1. Click the download button and install it as per the instructions. Run it and insert your DVD.
Step 2. Select an output format from the window. To get the best upscaling result, select MP4 from the list.
Step 3. Back to the main interface, click the gear button next to the selected profile. Find Resolution and open the drop-down menu. You can upscale DVD resolution to 1080P, 1200P, 800P, 720P, etc. You are not advised to set the DVD resolution to an extremely high resolution in order to get the best results. You can also click the Customize button and enter the video size you want.
Step 4. After all the settings, click OK. Check the High Quality Engine and Deinterlacing on the right bottom corner of the interface and click the big blue RUN. Deinterlacing feature will convert your interlaced video to progressive scan to deliver smoother-looking image.
Q3. Is It Possible to Burn a DVD with 720p/1080p HD Video?
You put into a 720p video and then output a complete DVD disc, which plays normally. And you think you are holding a 1280x720 resolution DVD. Well, actually you omit an important link.
The truth is that DVD authoring software always automatically converts video to standard DVD resolution for burning. So to some extent, we can give you a positive answer: yes, it is possible to burn a DVD with 720p HD video or video in higher resolution, because all 720p/1080p/4K videos will be downscaled to 480p/576p. But seriously, there is no way to make a DVD with HD resolution videos. The highest DVD resolution is 720x480 or 720x576.
How to Burn DVD with 720p Videos?
Here we will give you an example of how to burn a DVD with video in 720p resolution. First you need to download DVD Author software. You can use WinX DVD Author, a 100% clean freeware, to burn video to DVD. It makes home video DVD in Windows (10) from video files, camcorder, webcam, YouTube and personalize it with DVD chapter menu & subtitle.
Free download WinX DVD AuthorStep 1. Download WinX DVD Author by clicking the "Free Download" button above, get it installed on your hard drive correctly and open it up.
Step 2. Insert a blank DVD disc and go into the "Video DVD Author" part.
Step 3. Click "+" to add target 720p video. Choose aspect ratio: 4:3 for standard TV and 16:9 for widescreen TV.
Step 4. Press next button and then create DVD menu.
Step 5. Set an output folder, choose output format (NTSC or PAL), and then hit the "Start" to write your high definition video to DVD. WinX DVD Author will convert your HD video to SD DVD resolution.
Q4. DVD Resolution and 4K | How Do DVDs and Blu-rays Look on the 4K Screen?
Can DVD be upscaled to 4K? Yes. Some Blu-ray Disc players are equipped with 4K upscaling feature. If the player can't do the upscaling, the 4K UHD TV will upscale the 1080p signal from the Blu-ray Disc player to 4K. 4K TV upscales the image, spreading 1 pixel to 16/4x4 pixels.
Do DVDs look bad on 4K TV? There will be no difference on visual effect only if you are watching at a certain distance. If you're up close, you will see there is more black space between the pixels and the image seems to be a little bit fuzzy than before.
