Commerically used products for Authoring and video

[mlong30]

I'm curious, does anyone know what the commerical industry is using to make dvds and dvd movies?

For example, what authoring tool is used for Shrek, Star Wars, Ray, Pasion of the Christ etc..? What video tools are used for these types of movies?

I'm sure they are not using DVD lab, and Adobe Premiere 1.5 right?


Thanks!

Matt

[johns0]

They use a stamping machine.

[edDV]

Right
http://www.sonic.com/products/scenarist/default.asp
is probably the most popular high end authoring product

film compositing many
http://www.avid.com/products/dsnitris/nitris/

[hiptune]

What kind of hardware encoders do they use?

I noticed that the 73 concert footage of Led Zeppelin on that double DVD set was stunning. The rich colors, perfect contrast, and overall sharpness, I know they didn't use tmpgenc baby!!!

[edDV]

Probably one of these

http://www.sonic.com/products/sdseries/sd2000/default.htm
SD-2000 $10K

or Optibase, Digitalvision, BitVice, Vizaro, Sony, Toshiba, Miranda ...
http://www.techex.co.uk/info.asp?product=2
http://www.digitalvision.se/products_mediamastering.htm

[hiptune]

Probably one of these

http://www.sonic.com/products/sdseries/sd2000/default.htm
SD-2000 $10K

or Optibase
http://www.techex.co.uk/info.asp?product=2

Cool. I kinda expected a black box, but I guess everything is computer now. $10K is not really a lot of money when you think about it. To get pure perfection everytime!!! And they must be coming down in price all the time. I would not want a used one, that I know.

[edDV]

The full Scenarist workstation is something like $25-35K

[bugster]

You also have to remember that the quality of the source material tends to be quite a lot higher than is available to most of us! This has a BIG impact on the quality of the final product

[hiptune]

You also have to remember that the quality of the source material tends to be quite a lot higher than is available to most of us! This has a BIG impact on the quality of the final product

Of course. I would think they use a finished edited digibeta. Those are monster quality monsters. Whatever that means. I have edited dv footage made straight from a digibeta, and even that looks stunning. My dvds looked like you rented them at blockbuster (or netflix)

Run that through that hardware encoder card, and it gets no better that that!

[dcsos]

There are three other platforms used professionally not covered yet

SONY VIZARRO..offers a few features SCENERIST cannot do!

DVD MAESTRO w/bundled ENCODER Spruce Encoding (not sold anymore)

DVD CREATOR runs on MAC OS 9 used to be PRO but lack of OS X support seems to be killing this solution-this is done using the same ENCODER SONIC's SCENERIST USES (the SD 2000)

also DVD STUDIO PRO 3 can make a dual layer master for REPLICATION

[freestyler]

SONY VIZARO..offers a few features SCENERIST cannot do!

You're mistaken. The workstation AFAIK offers no advanced authoring capabilities. It does however offer advanced encoding capabilities for creating compliant streams suitable for advanced authoring...

The ad copy which you are reading is blowing smoke. It is also discontinued.

[edDV]

You also have to remember that the quality of the source material tends to be quite a lot higher than is available to most of us! This has a BIG impact on the quality of the final product

Of course. I would think they use a finished edited digibeta. Those are monster quality monsters. Whatever that means. I have edited dv footage made straight from a digibeta, and even that looks stunning. My dvds looked like you rented them at blockbuster (or netflix)

Run that through that hardware encoder card, and it gets no better that that!

Yes Digital Betacam is the workhorse standad for SDTV.
http://www.sony.com.sg/pro/bp/vtr/dbrec/DVW-M2000P.html
It only compresses within fields keeping all temporal detail.

Up from there is HDCAM and D-5
http://www.sony.com.sg/pro/bp/vtr/hdef/SRW-5000.html

below Digital Betacam are the DV based formats (both SD and HD)
DV, DVCAM, HDV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, DVCPROHD
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelList?storeId=11201&catalo...tGroupId=14595

[dcsos]

Have you ever used a Vzarro turnkey system? Its you who may be more "mistaken"
Like you partially say, the advantages are in MULTI ANGLE ENCODES
but of course, you realize the advantages of this in the AUTHORING!!
Supposedly (and I've only looked over the shoulder of the operator)
Multi Angle titles can be encoded & authored more flexibly than in scenerist
but as you wisely point out (I forgot to) it's in the process of being discontinued..I'm told there's still SONY DEALERS in EUROPE for this expensive dinosaur that had abilities, once agin, that SCENERIST lacks.

But since neither of us is a VIZARRO operator,or currently in contact with such obsolete tools, our understanding based on neither of us actually
operating a workstation is moot

I think I just hadda post something to expose what little else I know about the syatem.After all, Sony New York hardly uses their VIZARRO, preferring CREATOR for most of the industrial and in house titles, while SONY west coast has SCENERIST as well

[freestyler]

Yes I've used it plenty, otherwise I wouldn't be posting

I'm not aware of any such "advantages." Either the encoding is compliant (same gop structure, closed gops) or it probably won't work (depending on your authoring software - some are less picky).

It sounds like your place must be using some proprietary Sony authoring tool, because the 2-Pass Vizaro I've used does no advanced authoring of sorts, just a one-off "Play Only" disc I believe. I've never bothered to use any such function.

It's been discontinued however it is still carried by a few dealers that I am aware of.

Vizaro is vastly superior to Creator in encoding quality. If Sony NY is encoding their stuff on a Creator system that is beyond me.

However, if you are referring to just authoring. Creator and Scenarist are both spec-level tools, respectively, so they should perform the same.

Which features does Vizaro (encoding) have that Scenarist (authoring) doesn't have?

[dcsos]

Well correct me if I am missing something, but both SCENERIST and CREATOR use the same encoder board the TOP OF THE LINE Sonic SD-2000

so the encode would be the same, tho the CREATOR grabs on MAC OS 9
and
SCENERIST functions under WIN XP

thanks for the pointers on Vizarro...I'll ask Mike if theres anything special about the system
Also, I only freelanced at SONY in 02(and may still!) when they were using CREATOR, but you have to remember, NY doesn't do movie jobs, just corporate and a few music titles

[freestyler]

From my use of it, its a damn good encoding workhorse.

The authoring function is very basic, however. First and foremost it's made to encode - you're better off authoring your content in Scenarist / Spruce / DVDSP, etc.

It does, like you mentioned, allow you to encode multi-angle content alright.

I heard that at one point in time Sony was going to include an advanced authoring element that supported - among other things - seamless branching, but I don't know if that ever came to fruition.

[freestyler]

Don't forget about CCE-Pro either.

Technicolor, among other high-end facilities, use CCE Pro Systems for films (about $40,000).

[dcsos]

Yeah we did forget CCE pro...
and I just read that the guy who transferred SHREK 2 using VIZARRO encoding and SCENERIST authoring
Michael Atkinson
wants to use CCE PRO on his next animation project..So we've come full circle!

http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Articles/Interviews/ShrekTech.html