[Lucas Fazzary]

I have been testing Protect Disc (www.protectdisc.com) and have had great success with DVD-ROM/CD-ROM. I know it can do DVD-Video but have yet to test that. Protect Disc is only for replicated discs.

If you are looking for copy protection on DVD-R I am not sure if this exists yet. I remember reading something about Sonic having a way to encrypt a DVD-R with CSS but I’m sure it is not available to consumers yet or it is part of a VOD service.

-Luke

[Lucas Fazzary]

Adobe Encore CS3 for Mac will burn to Blu-Ray. But I don’t think that comes out till June. Other than that I don’t see why any external Blu-Ray drive wouldn’t work.

https://www.macnn.com/articles/07/04/27/mac.pro.blu.ray.burner/

-luke

[Lucas Fazzary]

Only one problem with Nero is it will write the Video_TS.ifo and Video_TS.bup in the same ECC block. This means if the .ifo files becomes corrupt the DVD player will not be able to read the backup(.bup) file. I’m not sure why this has not been corrected within Nero.

Basically if you are sending a master out for replication most likely the replication facility will reject the master for this error. Prassi Primo used do the same thing.

If you do want to include it with the Video_TS folder when burning just create an empty folder named “Audio_TS” and burn with any burning program in DVD-ROM mode ISO/UDF. Just make sure the contents in the Video_TS folder are in exact order when burning.

-luke

[Lucas Fazzary]

Create the menu background as a mpeg2 compliant stream before bringing into Studio Pro (intead of using a tiff or PSD). Studio Pro will compress any image file to mpeg2. If you create the file before hand in say After Effects, when you output to mpeg2 that will be your end result on DVD.

Personally I use Sonic’s SD-2000 to encode my menu backgrounds to mpeg2(Still or Motion).

Luke

[Lucas Fazzary]

Nero, Roxio Cd Creator, Sonic Record Now. Take your pick.

[Lucas Fazzary]

We are seeing UDF abnormalities on masters created by all authoring programs (Scenarist included). We keep in tight contact with Eclipse support to weed out the ones that effect playability and ones that don’t. Version 5 has been an interesting one to grasp (mainly because the blu-ray and HD-DVD UDF specifications are much more strict than SD-DVD) So the result is UDF errors on SD-DVDs that really have no effect on playability. So I can PM a job on v.5 and will get UDF errors and warnings but PM on version 4.1 and it will pass with flying colors. As far as our rules and behaviors settings, when we run into an issue we just contact support and they will let us know if the error can be changed to a warning. Thankfully in the help file it will state whether it is a BD-ROM/HD-ROM/SD-ROM issue. So we can weed some issues out right off the bat.

I have to say though DVD Studio Pro has really stepped it up on version 4.1.2 as far as adhering to the UDF DVD Spec.

I really am surprised that Sonic STILL has not released 3.1.5 yet. Looking at the release notes it looks as if they have fixed a couple issues (Finalizing the disc for one!!)

oh and BTW, Fire wire Hard Drives are definitely my favorite master to receive (Loading one now).

Hope these answer some of your questions.

Luke

[Lucas Fazzary]

Burn the DDP image itself to DVDR (like a data disc). Just make sure that you burn the “Layer0” folder with the DDP image contents inside. If your current maufacturer is using Eclipse based Premastering software they should be able to choose the option “DDP from Disc”. Basically you would be using the DVDR as a harddrive. I get many masters in this way and have never had a problem (Plus you can have copy protection!!). Believe me I would rather premaster a DVDR/External Harddrive than a DLT any day (Quicker and DLT tapes go bad quite often.

Also if you are using Scenarist 3.X to Author some drives will think it is multisession only because Scenarist does not close the disc.

The Premastering software Eclipse has fixed this issue in version 5.0 (just released). We were having many DVD masters come in that Eclipse was saying were multisession when they really were not!

Hope this helps let me know if you have any more questions.

Luke

Premastering Engineer

[Lucas Fazzary]

Here is a link to a great guide to follow when creating menus for DVD.

https://www.dvdbycubist.com/# Click on the DVD Menu Primer.

Hope that helps.

Luke

[Lucas Fazzary]

I am a Premastering Engineer at a replicator and I would highly recommend DLT and stay away from dual layered media for replication. DL will be supported very soon but for now stick with DLT or DDP on dvd-r’s or hard drive. Plus DDP you can submit a master with copy protection. The BEST way to get your project to your client is to have the replicator provide a check disc. This is expensive but it will be the most compatible with DVD players as it IS what the final product will be. If you do go this route make sure you check every little detail before ordering a check disc, like I said this is costly.

So long as you setup the layer break correctly and have either two DLT’s created from the authoring system or a layer0 and layer1 folder burned to two dvd-r’s don’t worry about the layer break it will be fine. Plus we place any job on hold for seamless layer breaks and other replicators should as well.

Luke

[Lucas Fazzary]

“I am now using Verbatim DVD-R DL”
Dual layered disc are not very compatible with some DVD Players. If this is going for replication I would stay away from providing the replicator with DL media. I would use DDP on two DVD-Rs, DDP on Hard Drive, or DLT.

“I have also read that Nero can have a problem with break-points on dual layer dvd’s, so I will try another program”
You are correct. However the problem with burning a DL DVD with Nero/Toast/etc. is you have the possibility of creating a seamless layer break which is not supported in the DVD spec. The reason for this is you create a layer break in the authoring system, but when you go to burn the DVD, Nero will fill Layer 0 up to the end and then continue on Layer 1. This means if Nero creates the layer break itself it may end up on a Seamless cell and not where you originally intended.

“My problem is, for example, even if I am running at a max of 7mbps, with the audio, that leaves me only 3.9mbps per video track if they do both get included in the max bitrate”
The max is 7.8 mbps per angle. I would stay around 5 or 6 as a max when doing multiple angles. Also keep in mind the video MUST be the same length and same GOP structure. Which means encode all video on the same encoder card/software with the same settings for all angles.

Hope this helps

Lucas F
Premastering Engineer