diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/digitalconcerthall.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/digitalconcerthall.py
index b16394942..99911ffec 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/digitalconcerthall.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/digitalconcerthall.py
@@ -88,8 +88,12 @@ class DigitalConcertHallIE(InfoExtractor):
                 'duration': duration,
                 'timestamp': timestamp,
             })
+            # use playlist description for video description by default
+            # but if the video has a description, use it
             if vid_info_dict.get('short_description'):
-                entries[-1]['description'] = vid_info_dict.get('short_description')
+                entries[-1]['description'] = vid_info_dict.get('short_description', "missing description")
+            if vid_info.get('short_description'):
+                entries[-1]['description'] = vid_info.get('short_description', "missing description")
             if vid_info.get('cuepoints'):
                 chapters = []
                 for chapter in vid_info.get('cuepoints'):