Colour comparison between BDs and DVDs

Hyper Shinchan · 14th February 2011, 05:51

I suppose that this is a general (and newbie) enough question:
I've been discussing about the colour of DVDs compared to the colour of BDs on an other, not A/V dedicated, board; as far as I can tell BD uses the same space colour (YUV 4:2:0), bit depth (8 bit) and colour matrix (usually Rec.709) used by DVD; if that's true then the only gain could be possible because of the improved codec efficiency and maximum bitrate.
Is there something else that I'm overlooking?

Blue_MiSfit · 14th February 2011, 07:02

Well, not really..

If you're doing a BluRay release, you need an HD Master. You may or may not have used one for doing a DVD release. If the same master is used, the colors will be quite similar. If a new master is generated (i.e. a new telecine / film scan), it's quite possible that the look will be different.

There's nothing about HD that makes color "better". It's all still 8 bit 4:2:0, which (when done properly) is basically transparent to 4:4:4 / RGB in most cases. 10 bit would be nice though...

Derek

Ghitulescu · 14th February 2011, 10:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hyper Shinchan

Is there something else that I'm overlooking?

Yes, the DVD uses REC 601 not 709.

SeeMoreDigital · 14th February 2011, 10:12

Given more and more Blu-ray releases also come packaged with a DVD version of the same movie... How about you just compare the two

yetanotherid · 14th February 2011, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

Yes, the DVD uses REC 601 not 709.

So does that mean the colors of a movie on a DVD must look different to the same movie on BluRay?

GodofaGap · 14th February 2011, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by yetanotherid

So does that mean the colors of a movie on a DVD must look different to the same movie on BluRay?

Ignoring edge cases and rounding errors no, but it will mean if you use rec709 co-efficients on DVD video you will not get the colors as intended.

yetanotherid · 14th February 2011, 17:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by GodofaGap

Ignoring edge cases and rounding errors no, but it will mean if you use rec709 co-efficients on DVD video you will not get the colors as intended.

Cheers. I was just kind of curious as to whether the answer had anything to do with the question asked.

Ghitulescu · 14th February 2011, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by yetanotherid

Cheers. I was just kind of curious as to whether the answer had anything to do with the question asked.

The question itself contained a false assumption.

All the answers are however correct, insofar the unclarity has been removed.

Watching a DVD on a SD chain should correctly display the colours. The same goes for a BD (with HDTV) on a HDTV chain, too. If one watches SD on a HDTV chain or HD on a SD chain* (or equivalent) it's the sole responsibility of the player to convert not only the definition but also the colour space according to the displaying device.

*like SD outputs of various HD players and SAT receivers.

yetanotherid · 14th February 2011, 17:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

The question itself contained a false assumption.

All the answers are however correct, insofar the unclarity has been removed.

Ah yes.... I see the error of my ways now.
I missed where the original question included the assumption that both DVD and BluRay use Rec 709.

Dumb, dumb of the thread award goes to me....

Hyper Shinchan · 15th February 2011, 02:32

First of all thanks for the replies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue_MiSfit

If you're doing a BluRay release, you need an HD Master. You may or may not have used one for doing a DVD release. If the same master is used, the colors will be quite similar. If a new master is generated (i.e. a new telecine / film scan), it's quite possible that the look will be different.

Yeah, I was referring to a comparison made using the same source.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeeMoreDigital

Given more and more Blu-ray releases also come packaged with a DVD version of the same movie... How about you just compare the two

Do you mean packaged together? No, all BDs that I own don't have a DVD packaged together, most of them have been released separately on DVD as well but I don't own those editions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

Yes, the DVD uses REC 601 not 709.

Thank you for the correction; GodofaGap mentioned something about edge cases and rounding errors, could anyone explain something more about it?

SeeMoreDigital · 15th February 2011, 10:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hyper Shinchan

Do you mean packaged together? No, all BDs that I own don't have a DVD packaged together, most of them have been released separately on DVD as well but I don't own those editions.

Yes... From memory, my Blu-ray versions of Sherlock Holmes, Avatar and Blade Runner all came with DVD versions.

Sufficed to say, both versions will have been authored from the same master.

Here's an example: -

DVD =

Blu-ray =

14th February 2011, 05:51	#1 \| Link
Hyper Shinchan Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Italy Posts: 286	Colour comparison between BDs and DVDs I suppose that this is a general (and newbie) enough question: I've been discussing about the colour of DVDs compared to the colour of BDs on an other, not A/V dedicated, board; as far as I can tell BD uses the same space colour (YUV 4:2:0), bit depth (8 bit) and colour matrix (usually Rec.709) used by DVD; if that's true then the only gain could be possible because of the improved codec efficiency and maximum bitrate. Is there something else that I'm overlooking?

14th February 2011, 07:02	#2 \| Link
Blue_MiSfit Derek Prestegard IRL Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 5,989	Well, not really.. If you're doing a BluRay release, you need an HD Master. You may or may not have used one for doing a DVD release. If the same master is used, the colors will be quite similar. If a new master is generated (i.e. a new telecine / film scan), it's quite possible that the look will be different. There's nothing about HD that makes color "better". It's all still 8 bit 4:2:0, which (when done properly) is basically transparent to 4:4:4 / RGB in most cases. 10 bit would be nice though... Derek __________________ These are all my personal statements, not those of my employer :)

14th February 2011, 10:12	#4 \| Link
SeeMoreDigital Life's clearer in 4K UHD Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Notts, UK Posts: 12,227	Given more and more Blu-ray releases also come packaged with a DVD version of the same movie... How about you just compare the two __________________ \| I've been testing hardware media playback devices and software A/V encoders and decoders since 2001 \| My Network Layout & A/V Gear \|