[David Owen]

I use a couple of old Epson Stylus Photo R200s quite successfully. They use inkjet cartridges. Thermal printing uses heat to create the image on a specially treated surface. I don’t use thermal, but I would expect it can provide greyscale images only, no color. (I’ve also wondered how they tolerate sunshine or halogen lighting for any duration of time… just curious.)

– David

[David Owen]

[Joe Bowden] “At the time Encore’s documentation was written, that was probably a true and correct statement.”

At the risk of sounding like I’m trying to pick an argument, I would expect that documentation released as recently as Encore 2.0 would be accurate for the time of release. This would be a small detail from Adobe’s standpoint, I’m sure. But for those of us whose livelihood relies on meeting deadlines and doing things in a professional manner, it is a crucial distinction.

I believe a responsible thing for Adobe to do would be to place an updated statement of clarification in the knowledgebase and in the FAQ of the user forum.

– David

[David Owen]

Jeff,

I think the OP’s intent was to get it done… period. Like myself, he was trying to figure the process out. There are SO MANY misleading posts and, frankly, vague language by Adobe and others that specifics are called for.

Points of confusion seem to be:

* People misunderstanding the difference between a DVD-Video and a DVD-ROM for replication.

* Even though MANY replication houses now accept DVD-ROMs, Adobe’s own documentation states that copy protected replications can only be done from a DLT.

– David

[David Owen]

I found the reference on the Adobe forums which seems to contradict the notion that you cannot place flagged copy protected DVD image files on a DVD-ROM for transporting to a replication house. Here it is:

No DLT Machine? Writing a DL project to 2 DVD-R discs as DDP images

Neil Wilkes – 02:00am Apr 19, 2006 Pacific

There is yet another way to get a DL project to the factory if you do not have a DLT machine, and do not have access to DL discs in the correct format.

Write the DDP images to 2 single layer discs instead!
This requires the use of GEAR Pro Mastering Edition again, and is incredibly easy to do.

What you need to do here is follow the original guides in the FAQ sections for setting the Layer Break manually, but instead of writing the project to DLT tapes or to DVD-R DL/DVD+R DL media, what we do next is write the project to a DDP file on the HDD instead.
This will result in 2 folders appearing – Layer 0 and Layer 1.
Each of these has the necessary information for the replication plant to manufacture the discs – all we need to do is get them onto 2 discs instead of 2 DLT tapes.
This is simplicity itself.

Launch your burning application.
Create a new DVD-ROM project.
Name it (Project)_Layer_1
Broswe to the 2 folders with the DDP files in them, and add the contents in this exact order
DDPID
CONTROL.DAT
IMAGE.DAT
(Checksum.txt – optional)
(Log file – optional)

Burn the disc.
Repeat for Layer 1.
That is all there is to it.

What will happen at the factory is the Eclipse verification system will look for the DDPID file at the root level of the disc. If it cannot find it, it will assume it is dealing with a standard DVD-ROM disc instead, but if it is there it will know what is going on, load the files, and ask for Layer 1 after it has finished in the normal manner.

EDIT.
I have just been informed by a VERY reliable source that you can also write a copy protected image to DVD-R discs in this manner.
So that DLT machine is finally obsolete.

[David Owen]

I have read somewhere in Adobe’s Encore 2.0 forum (maybe in the FAQs) that it IS possible to write a copy protection flagged file set to DVD-ROM (data) to send to a replication house and that DLT is no longer the only way to transport the files… is this not accurate?

Most replication houses only take DLT, but some are now accepting DVD-ROMs. I’m about to try it for the first time using Encore 2.0 (for a DVD5) and am getting a little nervous about this ambiguity.

The rep house asks for settings as:
– CSS
– MacroVision Type 2
– DDP 2.0
– burned as UDF

What would be truly nice would be to find a CURRENT Adobe web page that answers this definitively. Anybody know for sure?

– David

[David Owen]

You also could try https://www.salary.com

Don’t use it as a sole source, though… just for ballpark info.

– David

[David Owen]

MUCH better. I particularly like the way that features of the site fly in to highlight that particular feature. I think the fly-in of the toolbar (I’m assuming this was the html authoring software toolbar) is irrelevant for the probable audience (prospective web authoring clients). The code, however, becoming the page is a great way to point out the work behind what they see.

That’s my 7-cents worth. (adjusted for inflation)

– David

[David Owen]

I can’t attest to one being better than the other… my only first hand experience is in the WinTel/Adobe world. I can say that you should also keep in mind the installation base of WinTel boxes is far greater than Mac boxes, though I’m sure the percentage of Mac boxes used for media production is higher.

Apple Corporation does many things very well. In my opinion, the most advantageous thing it has done is establish a brand that surpasses product… they sell lifestyle. Marketing analysts are quick to point out that despite factual pros and cons about a particular product, buyers are highly likely to be influenced by their desire to belong (among other things). The “Mac club” is deeply entrenched in the production world. Phrases like “Well, you know so-n-so edited his documentary on FCP” and “Macs are what the big boys use” are echoed by many to establish the social boundary. Forum interaction is a perfect fit.

Frankly, I don’t care about that… just give me a box that cuts fast, is stable and lets me be creative. My attention turns to the Cow when I need technical help or when I want to be mentored by some of the incredibly talented individuals here. I guess you could say that I, too, am influenced by a desire to belong. Not to be able to claim owning the same hardware or software as “the big boys”, but to say we all (hopefully) have moved past that and are aspiring to reach for loftier creative goals.

Then again, it could just be that I’m bored at the moment. 8^)

[David Owen]

Interesting thought. I checked the layer and found only 2 masks derived. BUT, there are plenty of nodes in each mask.

Also, I tried splitting the source layer where the auto trace had stopped. Using the 2nd half of the original layer (now renamed “part b”), I tried another autotrace… the result was a single frame layer.

This is just plain wierd. Has ANYBODY successfully done an auto-trace beyond 12 seconds?

– David

[David Owen]

I double checked this… nope. Everything was set properly. For what it’s worth, I wish it WERE something that simple. Keep thinking…