SD vs HD

When you burn a HD DVD instead of a SD DVD, what does DVDSP do differently?

It formats an HD DVD.

Can you burn a HD movie onto a SD DVD? If not, why not?

Both DVD and HD DVD use the same media: DVD-5 (single layer) or DVD-9 (dual layer).

why can't a standard DVD player play HD movies?

Because they are DVD players - they are not HD DVD players.

Is it because of the codec?

See above.

Or is it because the DVD player only plays NTSC resolution movies?

Well ... not really. A PAL DVD player will play DVDs in PAL resolution.

Bottom line:
DVD players will only play DVDs. Since DVD is standard definition only, DVD players only play SD content. However, some DVD players will upscale the output for display on an HDTV. Some of them even do a decent job of it. But remember, the content on the disc is still SD.

HD DVD is a dead format, having been abandoned a few years ago by its developers. HD DVD discs will play in later model Macs and on a couple of models of (now obsolete) Toshiba HD DVD players. As far as I know, Toshiba was the only manufacturer that ever made an HD DVD player.

If you want to deliver HD content on optical disc, you need to create a Blu-ray disc. But, of course, they will only play in Blu-ray players. But on the bright side, most Blu-ray players will also play regular DVDs ... but they won't play HD DVDs. You can burn Blu-ray formatted (HD) content to a blank DVD disc and it will probably play in some Blu-ray players. But even though it's on a DVD disc, once formatted as Blu-ray, it won't play in DVD players.

-DH

Puceron wrote:
Thanks DH.

So if I burn a 1920 X 1080 video MPEG2 file onto a standard DVD, the movie on the DVD will be in HD. When I play this DVD on a standard DVD player, the DVD player will play it in 1920 X 1080, correct?

No, the player won't play it. DVD isn't just a disc. It's a delivery format, created by a commission who created a package of standards that are required to create a video DVD that will play on players bearing the DVD logo. A 1920x1080 mpeg2 will not meet those standards any more than a 3x5 avi will meet those standards.

There's a great website called wikipedia that would give you a lot of the really important information on this topic.

Or will the DVD player downsize the video to a NTSC (or PAL) format?

The DVD player will not play the disc at all.

So if I burn a 1920 X 1080 video MPEG2 file onto a standard DVD, the movie on the DVD will be in HD

Only if you formatted as an HD DVD. If you format as a DVD, it gets downsized to SD during the encoding process. Since they both use the same blank media, you have to choose in DVD Studio Pro's preferences which type you want to format.

When I play this DVD on a standard DVD player, the DVD player will play it in 1920 X 1080, correct?

Nope. As thrillcat said, it just won't play. DVD players will not play HD DVDs. Period. The ONLY viable way to deliver HD content on optical disc is via Blu-ray.

Please re-read my initial reply above. I thought I had made it abundantly clear.

-DH