I Want To Be Sure I Have It Straight...

[izzi]

Hi all,

I have a friend who has "authored" (I hope this is the right term) a DVD using various miniDV clips using I think Pinnacle Studio.

The finished DVD has an "AUDIO_TS" and "VIDEO_TS" folder.

He wishes to have 25 copies created to give to family and friends.

I've been reading these forums and doing other research and it appears that;

1) To be playable in the most DVD players the copy should be "pressed".

2) It's nearly impossible to find anyone to do "pressed" DVD dupes for only 25 copies.

3) I did find one place that would do 25 but they were like $6 each.

4) If a copy is burned, it can be done on a computer, but it may not play on some DVD players.

This involves no copyright protection or encrypting.

Is this pretty much the story on this?

I want to let him know what to expect.

Thanks!

Iz

[BJ_M]

yep -- thats the story ...

no one will do pressed disks even for 6$ as the master is going cost several hundred (i would think anyway) .. i bet it is still a burned disk ..

[ntrprs]

Hi all,

I have a friend who has "authored" (I hope this is the right term) a DVD using various miniDV clips using I think Pinnacle Studio.

The finished DVD has an "AUDIO_TS" and "VIDEO_TS" folder.

He wishes to have 25 copies created to give to family and friends.

I've been reading these forums and doing other research and it appears that;

1) To be playable in the most DVD players the copy should be "pressed".

2) It's nearly impossible to find anyone to do "pressed" DVD dupes for only 25 copies.

3) I did find one place that would do 25 but they were like $6 each.

4) If a copy is burned, it can be done on a computer, but it may not play on some DVD players.

This involves no copyright protection or encrypting.

Is this pretty much the story on this?

I want to let him know what to expect.

Thanks!

Iz

Basically yes, but I have not had any problems.

The units I test my burnt DVDR disks out on are Pioneer 626 and 344 (the oldest ones) and if they work on these, they will work on anything! (have not had one fail on other machines as yet!)

The issue with burnt and pressed disks is often attributed to the differences between DVD-R and DVD+R. I have had some burnt DVD-R disks that do not work in my Pioneer units (and they SHOULD - I am attributing this to the cheap media quality!), but all my home-burned disks (DVD+R bitset as ROM) work with no problems. If you stick with named brand disks to burn on, then you will be fine (although occasionally I have seen visible flaws in the disk surfaces on these as well!!)

What is bitsetting? This is something that the DVD+R group did to make their disks compatible with nearly all older players. The DVD-R disks automatically set the disk type to ROM, but DVD+R writers leave it as DVD+R. Some solely DVD+R burners have the facility to change this setting to ROM, but writing a DVD+R with a combination DVD-/+R burner will generally not do it! All DVD players will recognise a ROM disk, and most recognise DVD+R (but some early ones do not). If the player is a new one, it will read DVD+R with not troubles. Nero will control the bitsetting if you are using a DVD+R disk.

The burned disks, as they are chemical based, also have issues if exposed to UV light for long durations - ie they can be wiped if left in direct sunlight, and hence are recommended to be stored in dark disk covers (and vertical like all CD/DVD disks).

There is also the issue of compatible software - there are some authoring programmes that stretch the DVD specs to the limit during compilation and hence many early players will not be able to read it. There are DVD specification limits to the number of menus and video tracks that a disk holds - some authoring programmes will not adhere strictly to this. (This is particularly noticable with doing slideshows with some commercial packages!)

If you are going dual-layer (greater than 4.7GB), then I would recommend getting a pressed disk as the technology for DL burners is still new and there are MANY incompatabilities with desktop players. All my productions are SL. My desktop DVD players do NOT work with burnt DL disks!!!

I hope this helps.

[izzi]

Yep, my bad, you're right, I went back and checked and it is DVDr.

Wow, so I guess it's a given that you just simply can't get "pressed" dupes in quantities less than what, 500?

Ok, so that's out.

What then is the best way to burn DVD copies that will ensure the widest compatibility or is it pretty much the same no matter how you do it?

Thanks for setting me straight,

Iz

addendum: Ok, evidently ntrprs and I were posting at the same time. Thanks for the input. You said media quality could be a factor, what brand would you recommend for the widest compatibility? Oh, and use DVD+R format?

Thanks!

[ntrprs]

addendum: Ok, evidently ntrprs and I were posting at the same time. Thanks for the input. You said media quality could be a factor, what brand would you recommend for the widest compatibility? Oh, and use DVD+R format?

I would go with a named brand - I use predominently TDK. They work out to about 50c per disc here (as spools of 50). They have these as DVD-R or DVD+R format. Mind you the only difference between the DVD-R and DVD+R (I always refer to burnt ones as DVDR if they are bitset as ROM) is the initial state (-/+). The rest of the disc is identical !!
Many people swear by other brands, but I use TDK.

As you generally can only get combo burners now, I would stick with DVD-R disks and only use single layer. Use a reliable and flexible burning programme (I use Nero V6), stick with the named brands, check each disk after use in a desktop player to ensure it works fine (and at the same time look at the surface for defects - just in case!), and after their use store them correctly, and they should last years....

[izzi]

I have Nero Express 6, I hope it will do what I need it to do...it has so far.

Iz

[lordsmurf]

"Name brand" means nothing whatsoever.
www.nomorecoasters.com

[izzi]

Cool, thanks alot, I downloaded the PDF of the guide, great info...

Iz

[izzi]

Well I just got the DVD to be duped and rather than start a new thread and clutter things up I'll ask here.

Apprently due to a system crash the "project" file for this DVD was lost so I take it it cannot be edited. But, I'd like to cut some off the back end, just remove it, not edit it. Is it possible to do this? What software would I have to use?

Thanks!

Iz

[izzi]

I ordered the Taiyo Yuden DVD01X0238 blanks today from the SuperMediaStore.com site.

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

Looks like I'm going to be getting a camera soon so you'll be seeing alot more of me here. (consider this a warming)

Iz

[Mister Flonk-Flonk]

Changing it means re-encoding it and re-authoring it. Big time consumption and more work involved than I'm guessing you're willing to do.

As for burning a highly compatible DVD, use IMG Tools Classic to compile the VIDEO_TS & AUDIO_TS folder set into an ISO image file and use DVDDecrypter to write it to DVD. Doesn't get much more compatible than that. Just make sure to test the thing out on a software DVD player first to make sure there aren't any authoring errors that will cause conflicts and errors with set top players.

[izzi]

This is interesting. In the guide "How to burn a DVD-Video using ImgTool, DVD Decrypter", it says

"Burning a disc like this with a program like Nero is always a better solution because it takes less time, but of course I should show you this way as the tools we use here are freeware. Once again: if you have Nero or another similar program there is no reason to follow this guide."

I have Nero Express 6. Does the "Express" part of it make a difference?

Iz

[slacker]

izzi,

I have found a fairly reliable combination which works well for newbies. If you have a master dvd you want to clip on the front and back ends and burn 25 times, try using...

DVD Decrypter to rip to your hard drive
DVD Shrink to clip the front and back ends and create the iso file
DVD Decrypter to burn iso to disk (25 times)

Very simple indeed and extremely reliable. Use Verbatim MCC-003-00 or MCC-004-00 discs. Looking at their own internal operational spreadsheets MCC-003-00 discs are more reliable than the MCC-004-00 discs, but not by much. I have had exceptional reliability with TDK 4x media as well.

Any questions with DVD Decrypter or DVD Shrink...
Ask AWAY!!!

[izzi]

Thanks for the info slacker.

I've alreay got 100 Taiyo Yuden disks on the way so I'll have to see how they do with this. I should be able to come up with 25 good ones out of 100 one way or another...

Iz