2 DVD-5 Set or buy a DLT ?

[sdsumike619]

Hi all, if anyone has any prior experience here I'd appreciate your input on this:

If I'm going to be making a DVD longer than will fit on one DVD-5, which would be more cost effective:

1) Make two DVD-5 discs for replication, and have them packaged in a 2 disc amaray case

or

2) Buy a DLT machine so that I can write to a tape and be able to use one DVD-9, in a regular 1 disc amaray case

Looking for the lower end of the replication volume (less than 1000)

Thanks!

[newcyberianDVD]

Hope the answer to your question is not too late. You don't need to use DLT tape for DVD-9 anymore. Just send a Dual Layer DVD-Video to your replicator. The VIDEO_TS folder can be used by your replicator to create the DVD-9 glass masters with the proper layer break point. Almost all replicator use the same program called Eclipse to do their mastering. Eclipse now accepts DDP 2.0/2.1 images.

Since the VIDEO_TS folder is all you need and if you have difficult creating a dual-layer disc, just split the content of the VIDEO_TS folder into chunks of files and burn them onto two 4.7GB DVD-Rs. WinRAR is a good program for that purpose. Your replicator should be able to join the split files to recreate the VIDEO_TS folder.

I don't know the policy of other replicators but the company I work for, New Cyberian Systems, will do that for you. Our website is www.newcyberian.com.

[jman98]

sdsumike69 - You may want to ask any replicator, whether you use DVD-5 or DVD-9, if they have any policies on what type of DVD they are willing to accept from you. I have no personal experience with using replicators, but I have ready that many will only accept DVD-R discs for replication.

[classfour]

http://www.produplicator.com/dvdreplication.html

[SCDVD]

If your replicator is telling you he can't use a dual layer recordable DVD as the source disc, he is operating in the stone age. You probably should look for another replicator. If he is operating in the stone age with respect to this, maybe he's operating in the stone age in other respects as well.

[videopoo]

sdsumike619

A writable medium should never be used to submit to a replicator. ESPECIALLY a DL master! For one your at the mercy of the replicator on where your layer break will go.

It's long but here is some good advice to know: Read the part "DVD-Recordable Media are not suitable for Replication Masters"

http://www.dvdverification.com/public/92.cfm

I guess it comes down to how important the project is to you. I feel much better go to DLT

If you need to write those tapes - let me know: eric at poweragemedia dot com

[Toastie]

I hope this isn't a silly question, but why doesn't everyone just use pars files?

The person who does the authoring and has their finished final video_ts folder can make pars for that and provide them also. Do that on the actual original video_ts before its ever written to any media at all, copied to another drive or folder, etc.

If these control files are also needed by the replicator house to make the glass master, then don't ever have them written to tape in the first place - have the authoring program that makes them write them to a hard drive and immediately make pars for them. Provide the control files and the pars to the replicator.

The replicator can put everything onto their system and run the pars to insure the files they have are identical to the originals and nothing got corrupted.

What is the point of the DLT tape really - can't the glass master be made by a machine that will read those par checked control and video_ts files off a computer disc drive??

[videopoo]

Are you talking about DDP or CMF files? This is what the replicator needs. Delivery on HDD or FTP is great. Even delivered on DVD-r might be OK but then again your talking about probable errors from the writable media.

I personally had to pay for a re-replication some years back because I delivered a title on DVD-r as a TS folder. The Replicator blamed me and I had no leg to stand on. Since then I keep a policy of delivering a DDP image on DLT.

[Toastie]

Are you talking about DDP or CMF files? This is what the replicator needs. Delivery on HDD or FTP is great. Even delivered on DVD-r might be OK but then again your talking about probable errors from the writable media.

I personally had to pay for a re-replication some years back because I delivered a title on DVD-r as a TS folder. The Replicator blamed me and I had no leg to stand on. Since then I keep a policy of delivering a DDP image on DLT.

I understand what a DDP image file is - an type of image file that contains the contents of the video_ts folder plus additional instructions on how the disc is to be made.

What I don't understand is why you can't supply the DDP image file on a DVD-R as a data file for transfer purposes, as long as it will fit? If not break it up into .rar files first, or just do that anyways so its split into smaller pieces. It won't matter if the file(s) get corrupted a bit because the person on the receiving end can fix them with a mouse click or two if you give them .pars files.

Checksum files can let the person receiving DDP image files see if they are ok, but if not there isn't anything they can do. pars files go further - they can be used to fix corrupted files, or even recreate them from scratch.

The point is that you would be getting away from those dang tapes. DLT tapes look to me to be the same as what we called "TK-50" tapes that were used in a Micro-VAX computer we had at work back in the late '80's. If you had to read a DLT tape 5 or 10 years from now to make a new glass master, I wonder if it would be readable. Old dvd-r discs have their issues too.

[newcyberianDVD]

Let's make it very simple.

1. If your authoring software can make DDP image, burn each layer onto a DVD-R.
2. If your authoring software cannot make DDP image, split the VIDEO_TS folder into 2 files using WinRar. WinRar has built-in check sum so if a file is corrupted it will not be expanded.
3. If your replicator cannot accept DDP image, choose one that does. Ask your replicator to make a check disc before mass production to verify it's working.

Getting DLT to work is not a simple task. You will need to get a very old SCSI card. Writing 2 DLTs for a DVD-9 will take few hours. The irony is, DLT tapes are the requirements again for the supposed next generation blu-ray and HD DVD.

[videopoo]

If this is such an easy task why does every professional authoring house delivery on DLT? Read the link.

Believe it or not there's a reason for this. Replicators love to blame authors - especially ones who don't know the difference. I paid the price once - I will always deliver on DLT.


I like the quote from the link: "With incredibly rare exceptions, replicators care not about your authoring software, your workflow, your 'safe authoring', or your 'best practices'. These are your responsibilities and yours alone. Replicators make stampers and sell polycarbonate. Lots of it. From a technical standpoint, you keep your end of the bargain, they keep theirs. Most replicators don't know a PGC from a BLT - and they shouldn't. That isn't their job....

Verification, compliance, and usability are all responsibilities of the authoring house. If I haven't made it clear, let me hammer the point home one more time: Replicators are only responsible for the physical integrity of the media they create. If they're coasters, they should be coasters with low jitter and good reflectivity."

Yes, always get a check disc