It’s probably the computer

It’s probably the computer display and/or the program. The 24″ display is probably something like 1920 by 1080 pixels, with the miniDV resolution considerably less. Scaling the footage up the match the screen resolution is bound to make it look rather low quality, when in fact it isn’t.

Or, it could be a program issue. I’ve found that footage in iMovie looks horrid compared to the same footage in Final Cut. I’m using an iMac over break and have a Panasonic PV-GS39 and GS80, so I can help ya out.