oh don't worry I'm not expecting that software can magically create detail from nowhere and make SD footage like HD . The issue is more that when compared to the quality of the original file, as I linked, the quality is less in Resolve than in anything else . I realise I would get image degradation but not to the point where the image is half what it should be .
This only applied to DV Cam footage, as most of the media for project was interlaced I ran it through a process and wrote out Prores 422, having replaced these files the resolution problem went away .
Fortunately I needed to do this anyway
On an unrelated note is there a list somewhere of what still image formats Resolve supports ? the .jpg files I was given don't seem to appear in the media list .