[Alberto Tabone]

I installed a demo of DDPAfterBurner, and it says NO CSS….bummer! However I could read back the DDP image from DVDStudioPro, mounted it and was able to play it with DVD Player.

So I re-run another mastering to DLT, this time selecting ‘Current Project’ instead of ‘DVD Volume’ as the source, and AFterBurner showed the ‘CSS with floppy’ flag. I read it back with DVDSP but this time DVD Player could not play it saying ‘copy protection could not be verified’, which unfortunately makes sense since the CSS keys are not yet on the image.

I will run some more tests but I must admit this CSS business is very crude and the fact that it doesn’t allow some kind of check on the multiplexing (prior to or after mastering) is pretty bad. Encore should provide the working option to master a DLT with CSS from an existing volume, so that at least you know your muxing and navigation SHOULD be as you tested them. The fact that it allows you to master to DLT with CSS from a DVD volume but doesn’t actually activate the CSS flag, and doesn’t even warn you about it, is also pretty bad.

Yes both Gear and AfterEdit demos have ALL the tape functionality disabled, which is a bit silly because this is the reason for people to test it and buy it, and I can understand the limit but at least give me the option to see some information on the tapes! Show me what you can see… And I am not spending $$$s just to check a single DLT/CSS master, sorry. It’s good that DVDSP can read back a DLT, but when it’s got CSS the image is unplayable, so that’s moot.

In the end, it all boils down to Encore being limited in its workflow for copy protection. It should be: build to DVD folder, test it/burn it, then master that folder to DLT with CSS set to ON once you’re happy. Instead it’s build on-the-fly in cyberspace with CSS and simultaneously write to DLT, then keep your fingers crossed… Bad Adobe!

[Alberto Tabone]

Hi, this isn’t high-volume, not tens of thousands, just hundreds.

Anyway, big breakthrough: I just did a test now, well would you believe it, I did a test using a previous small build, selected ‘Format: DVD’, ‘Output: DVD Master‘,’Create Using: DVD Volume‘, browsed to the directory containing the VIDEO_TS folder, destination was the DLT drive, size ‘custom’ (only 150MB), CGMS NO COPIES, CSS ON then clicked on Build and it asked for the tape, wrote to it and never complained!

So I wonder: has it actually taken a previous build and attached the CSS flags to it??? Do you think it has done that? If so that would be great, because I can mux my title to disc, check it, burn a test DVD-R to make sure it all works, and if happy just transfer to DLT with CSS et voilà, exactly what I wanted! Do you think it’s put CSS on an existing build?

Is there anything like a demo version that I can use to read back the DLT to make sure it has actually written the CSS to the previous build and not made a right mess of it?

Your thoughts very welcome, thank you.

[Alberto Tabone]

Thanks Eric,

yes the replicator will check the DLT for inconsistency and (apparently) basic functioning of the DVD – i.e. it will actually play! So that’s something.

But I just wanted to make sure the multiplexing used for the DLT was in 100% working order. I am used to making DLTs without CSS which meant I could actually transfer the files from a VIDEO_TS directory on disk which I had previously thoroughly checked.

Check disc will cost and add almost two weeks to turnaround time, which at this stage I can no longer afford.

I have heard that DVD Studio Pro (on the Mac) will read back a DLT tape and write it to disk but I wonder whether the results would be playable since CSS is involved.

All I wanted was to make sure that the multiplexing had no glitches and that the title would play as intended before mass replication. Theoretically an on-the-fly build by Encore should be exactly the same from one session to another, but you never know with computers/software there’s always a chance of a little devil managing to sneak in between the bits!