digitoast

Is it just me, or would anybody agree that the TdF dvds suffer from an absolutely terrible picture, horrific interlacing issues, disc layout, etc?

***rant***

My HTPC recently suffered a hard drive crash, and along with it, all of my 2006 TdF recordings that weren't yet backed up for various reasons After much complaining about what happened, a very kind friend/coworker actually bought me the 12-hour set and presented it to me this morning. Now... I totally appreciate having the DVDs and it's definitely better than nothing, but... after I excitedly popped in a disc to watch, the first thing that struck me was that the picture quality is dreadful - interlacing issues, blurry picture, compression blocks.. *ugh*. I've been told that the video on these DVDs is the same as what you'd see on OLN/VS, but I could swear that recordings I had made were 10x clearer. I also know for sure that they definitely didn't have any interlacing issues from a bad mastering job.

Also... what the ___ is up with the disc layouts? Why in the world would WorldCycling split stages between different discs, especially without any chapter points for easy navigation? Having to fastforward through 90% of a disc just to start the first five minutes of another stage is a total PITA and waste of time.

*sigh*

I have to say that I'm sorely dissapointed in this product, given the $90 price tag. I was considering buying the ToC set this week, in hopes of having a better quality archive than my own HTPC recordings, but I definitely won't be considering the purchase anymore.

bdcheung

the splitting of stages between discs is horribly annoying. Other than that, I didn't get any of the image quality issues you seem to have encountered with my 6-disc 2006 TDF box set. I do, however, have terrible audio quality - that is, the background audio is on one channel and the commentary VO is on the other. That's annoying. I end up down-sampling everything to Mono to keep from going insane.

Dubbayoo

I have only seen the older ones 1999 & 2000. Other than camera breakups in the mountains I thought the quality was pretty good.

Smoothie104

The live feed is from a motocycle mounted camera, which relays the signal to a helicopter, which in turn sends it somewhere else, then its broadcast from a satellite. So its not going to be that great at times.

digitoast

I should clarify that I'm not complaining about signal breakups and whatnot, but technical dvd glitches. There seems to be quite a bit of noticable macroblocking from the dvd mpeg2 compression process, and I'm seeing a lot of interlacing issues (jagged edges).

It really bothers me that I'm seeing all of this on a the 10" screen of my subnotebook because it makes me cringe at what I'll see once it's blown up on my projector at home.

bdcheung

you may have gotten a lemon.

same time

Wait, you're watching the dvd's on your laptop computer? Your interlacing issues may disappear when you watch them on a television.

I haven't seen the TDF dvd's, but other sports coverage dvd's I've seen have different compression levels for different parts of the race. I wonder if you'll see more digital blocking while the pace is slow and nothing's happening, and then a better picture (less compression) for the sprint finish, for example.

damocles1

Mine are fine...

You got a bad one...

Jim Bonnet

i have the 12hr version and dont see this issue.. strange..

digitoast

Yeah.. I'm watching on my notebook for now. I tried watching it in both my VAIO's A/V mode which never boots the OS & uses some proprietary software, as well as in a player that uses the nvidia purevideo decoder (which I've never had a problem with before). Changing the deinterlace from auto into either bob and weave didn't seem to help either.

I'm wishfully hoping that the interlace issues will dissapear when I get home and throw it through my processor w/ Faroudja DCDi chip ... but am doubtful at this point that it'll help. I think that the DVD might already be progressive, but with interlaced content inside.

donrhummy

This one: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-20.../dp/B000AV2GJ2
has video that goes on the fritz frequently and the audio is in-and-out between mono and surround sound. Very poor quality. (But it's still super exciting to watch!)

same time

Yeah, DVD problems can be difficult to diagnose. I'd start with a basic, 40-dollar ntsc dvd player hooked to a standard def tv. If you see digital blocking, compression artifacts, or interlace jitter on that setup, you pretty well know it's the disc. Computers, expensive dvd players, and hd/progressive scan monitors add more variables to the equation.

Thinking about it, it's a miracle the picture is even watchable. The footage was probably recorded PAL, transmitted via satellite (with multiple up and down links), converted to NTSC, recorded to tape, loaded onto a hard drive for editing, exported to mpeg-2, then muxed in dvd format. I count 7 compressions, with 6 different CODECs, if it's done as directly as possible. Much more than if you tune in to the cable or satellite broadcast. So maybe it makes sense that the DVD's don't look too good to you.

Luckily, next year's Tour is only 4 months away...

Ryanf

i got 1997 obviouly,1998,2000,2001 and the picture is a lot clearer than yours. I only wish the older ones were longer and want 2004 or 2003 next to keep me sane after mondays annoucment. i think they get better as they get newer as far as the video.

roadwarrior

I own a large number of their DVD's and other than one in a set that was actually blank, I've not had any issues.
FWIW...

And I sometimes also take them when I am on the road and watch on my Dell while between flights or on a longer flight. No issues there, either.

ri_us

Maybe you didn't get a lemon. Some DVDs look horrendous on my HDTV. Bigger screen makes the mistakes easier to see.

eippo1

I have the 2003 Giro and the quality is so bad at times that you cannot even see the riders faces from the front camera. That and the fact that I have 2 disk 2's and no disk 1 fails to make me happy. I love the sprint stages.

CrimsonKarter21

I've got the '89 TdF and if it wasn't for all of the cycling action I'd have sent it back.

Ryanf

I got the '89 video too and did not even bother to menchin it because it is so boring i would not watch it around other people. No ullrich then so no reason to waste tape i guess!