DVD mkvs worse quality compared to blu-ray player playing same dvd

[blake09]

Hey y’all, I have an issue where my mkv files ripped from DVD play at a noticeably worse quality on my TV (through Plex) and computer monitor (Windows media player) than my Blu-ray player playing the same dvd (on the same TV). I have not altered the mkv files using any other program such as Handbrake.

I’ve seen discussions mentioning that mkvs from DVDs use an old codec, so in order to play them the computer has to do a quick and dirty transcode on the fly. Would this be the source of the issue? If so is it just a matter of using Handbrake or similar software to do a proper and permanent encode of each of the mkv DVD files?

Some other details: I’m using an LG reader WH16NS40 flashed with WH16NS60 v1.02 firmware, a desktop computer with a ryzen processor (no integrated graphics processor) and a discrete nvidia graphics card, and a seagate ironwolf nas hard drive for storage.

I understand that Plex has limitations on transcoding if you don’t have Plex pass which I don’t have, but the video still looks crummy if I view it directly on my computer so I don’t think the issue is Plex specific.

[Woodstock]

If you play the file directly, you would see that it is a one-for-one copy of the DVD. However, Plex complicates things by "making it compatible" with the devices involved, so there is the possibility of degradation in the replay.

[jinx100]

Most flat screen TV's and some Blu-Ray players use software routines to "upgrade" the DVD resolution to better match the display resolution. If your Blu-Ray player or TV has a USB input and is compatible with MKV files, try playing the MakeMKV file through this USB port. It should match playing the DVD directly. As Woodstock said, the MKV file and DVD have the same video data.