Newbie's Question About DVD Resolution

[wrenloren]

I recently acquired a multi-season DVD box of a TV series that initially aired in HD, but I was saddened to see that the episodes only have 480p resolution. Unsurprisingly, they don't look good on my 4K TV.

Is it possible to check the resolution of a disk before purchasing it, as many TV shows are only available on DVD? I frequently shop on eBay, and the product descriptions are typically vague.

Also, why would a studio distribute an HD-filmed TV series but only in 480p rather than 720p?

Thanks in advance for your assistance! As you can obviously see, this is all new to me.

[dcoke22]

Generally speaking, if it is on a DVD, it is 480 resolution. It might be either progressive or interlaced, depending on the source material, but 480 is the highest resolution you'll find on a DVD (in North America; things are slightly different in Europe)

In order to get high definition content, it'll have to come on a blu-ray disc. Most commercial blu-rays are dual layer discs that can hold 50GB of data. A dual layer DVD can hold 8.5GB of data. DVDs wouldn't have enough space to hold a high definition movie or a few episodes of a TV show.

As for why release a show on DVD when it was recorded in high definition; the answer is price. Generally speaking, DVDs sell for less than blu-rays, which sell for less than 4K UHDs.

One final note, eBay or sellers on Amazon might sell a counterfeit set of discs for a TV show or a movie. Often times the packaging will be convincing, but what you get won't be the same as commercial discs.

[dvdtuber]

Studios distribute HD-filmed TV series in 480P/576P DVD quality mostly because of demand. I don't know when the DVD box was released and whether there's also a Bluray version but especially in the past a release on DVD made the most business sense. There's still a lot of people with DVD players and while the number of sales are nowhere near what they used to be they often sell more than Bluray even today.

The thing is that DVD's look good enough for many people, and they are often cheaper than Bluray with a bigger catalogue to choose from.

[BrettTheRipper]

I recently acquired a multi-season DVD box of a TV series that initially aired in HD, but I was saddened to see that the episodes only have 480p resolution. Unsurprisingly, they don't look good on my 4K TV.

Yeah, it's a disappointment when a show you love is only available on DVD, but as others have explained, DVDs are less expensive to produce and so more profitable. Don't lose hope, though: Seinfeld was only released on Blu-Ray late last year, or around 25 years after it left the air, and it was broadcast in SD. If they show you like/bought/ripped was a somewhat popular one, there's a fair chance it'll make it to HD at some point in the future.