Have a question, should I judge the video quality on what i get on the computer or TV screen?

I'm asking this question cause sometimes when shooting in low light I get grainy video on the computer but on the TV it is fine
(I think that is because the TV doesn't use the full quality anyways).

When someone say that the camera has bad low light performance does he base his decision on the quality showing on the TV or computrer screen?

Is the camera optimised for TV output?? or it just doesn't matter and the whole idea is just that the Tv doesn't use the whole quality provided by the Camera (690,000 pixels)?


I'm using DV quality on my computer using Firewire cable.

Thanks in advance

I presume that you are comparing DV footage with DV footage, i.e. comparing the camera playing the tape direct to the TV with the footage transferred from tape to PC (as opposed to comparing DV footage with the MPEG2 footage from a DVD played through your TV).

In that case, the difference in observed quality is almost entirely due to the differences in technology between a TV screen and a PC monitor.

Generally, the TV is a low-resolution, interlaced display. This has the effect of hiding or blurring many aspects of the footage, and our eyes perceive a decent quality image.

The monitor is a non-interlaced, high-resolution display, and any 'faults' in the original footage will be much easier to see.

Most people over 5 years old do not sit with their face 18" away from a TV screen, whereas it is commonplace with a PC monitor. This adds to the difference in observed quality.