Community Newsletter: Q&A: 12/17/04 What's up with all those confusing DVD formats?
- 12/16/04 2:30 PM
Good recommendation
by sscarfo - 12/18/04 11:54 AM In reply to: Re copying DVD's by AnomIve learned a lot from last posts, but the thing I was most confused about was software. Ive had a DVD burner for a while now, but havent been able to do all I wanted with it because of lack of good software, there are just too many options. For burning I just use Nero, its still the best cd recording software Ive seen, but I found software for recording, editing and compressing movies, or burning special DVD formats (like several SVCDs or DivXs in one DVD for longer recordings) hard to come by, just too many options, and a lot of bad ones. Im now trying your recommendation and it seems promising, thanks.
For region problems you might want to try Region Master, which I found very useful.
a simple rule
by eddyp - 12/20/04 9:35 AM In reply to: Good recommendation by sscarfoIt is not the software that burns the final dvd what it is important... it is the one that compresses the elementary streams that counts.
It is simple; if you wnt DVD quality, you need to compress your videos at 720x480 pixels; compared to VCD that uses 352x240 pixels... as you can see it is half the size; but it is actually 25% of your TV screen. On the other hand if you compress at DVD pixels standard there is also a compression rate. if you use a rate between 1.8-2.5 you will have good quality, and you will be able to fit 2 hours on a 4.7GB DVD. This quality (SP) is compared to VHS rental or better IMO. Most commercial DVD's have a bit rate that is in the 4-6 range (you will need DL drive to fit a 2 hour movie on a DVD), or you will only be able to fit 1.5 hours on a 4.7GB DVD at the most. If you usea a 5-7 bit rate, you will be able to fit only 1 hour on a 4.7GB DVD, and will have a quality compared to commercial DVD's
Video editing
by chappy - 1/24/05 7:13 PM In reply to: a simple rule by eddypI use windows movie maker to edit my home made movies but not sure which DVD writing software is compatible or the best one to use
Huh?
by nerdse - 11/28/05 10:19 AM In reply to: a simple rule by eddypOK, I am not a total tech newbie but I am one when it comes to DVD burners. I have NO CLUE what you just said in this post. Any way to give the Dummy here something to translate all of that information?
While you're at it, if you get a used PC, how can you find out what type of DVDs your drive will let you burn? There was no documentation with this thing.
Thanks and sorry to be such a twit about this.
commercial dvd's
by eddyp - 12/20/04 9:16 AM In reply to: dvd's by f_seaguraCommercial dvd's are not "burnt" . To mass produce them, they make a matrix of 2 layers which are then "glued" into the plastic outer parts of the dvd. so the technology involved is all different. However, with the new DL (dual layer) drives, you can achieve similar results
DVD software
by woodysca - 12/17/04 11:26 AM In reply to: 12/17/04 What's up with all those confusing DVD formats? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Now that we've discussed hardware format, is there one or two software packages which have gained the community support for burning DVD's?
Hardware/Software
by Zenman - 12/17/04 12:25 PM In reply to: DVD software by woodyscaBefore speaking on the software, I wanted to say something about DVD-R itself. This is probably the best way to go if you plan on taking your media to your home DVD Player. If you are going to use the DVD only on the computer, then either the + or - wouldn't matter. The -R format is more compatable with home players. Most burners now have the +&- format. Plextor is a great burner and very reasonable. As is Sony.
A second note on the media itself would be that they are write once. Meaning if you want to backup your pictures and copy them to the DVD you will normally not be able to continue to copy to the same DVD. Once the DVD is copied to, it is closed by the software. The exception to this is the DVD RW. It is a read and write. If you use the -R or +R then you should realize that they hold huge amounts of data. 4.7gig is a lot of pictures or music. Definitely plan ahead if you want to use this for backing up data like music or pictures.
Ok - Software. I use Roxio's Creator 7. It is a software suite. Meaning it does more then 1 thing like making DVD's. It backs up Music, Data, Pictures, DVD's and makes slideshows. You can not back up copy protected software using this, but you can make multiple copies of your private media. One feature of this package is called drag-to-disc. This is a dvd that is formatted like a virtual hard drive. The software formats the dvd and then you can copy to it by either dragging to it or using other methods. This would not be able to be viewed on a home DVD player. This would just be another hard drive. If you plan on backing up pictures or music, this may be the best way to go. Just remember, you can not use it outside your computer.
My favorite part of this package is making slideshows and then burning them to DVD. The software gives you menus and backround audio. It comes with a huge selection of transistions. You can create a video using your digital camera and burn that. This package has just about everything.
I said a lot here. I use my computer DVD in conjuction with my Home DVD player. Some of you may not. If you just use the computer then the format issue isn't revelant since your burner is your player. However, if you do use both computer and Home Player, then I strongly suggest -R.
Closing a DVD or CD when burning
by Rob10 - 12/18/04 7:13 AM In reply to: Hardware/Software by ZenmanAs far as I know, adding to a DVD-R should be like adding to a CD-R. When you set up your recording, select "Finalize Sesson. Don't Finalize Disc". You should then be able to add more data in another "session" as long as you don't finalize the disc. I'm sure someone will correct me if DVDs are different, but it works for CDs.
DVD mutisession
by eddyp - 12/20/04 9:51 AM In reply to: Closing a DVD or CD when burning by Rob10DVD multisession is not supported (yet); so even if you try not to finalize it, the software will overridea and will do.
If you use a software that somehow will allow not to finalize your session, the final DVD will probably not work well.
Could not close My 1.4 Gb cam-DVD!!
by nachomex - 4/24/07 8:57 PM In reply to: DVD mutisession by eddypHello there,
Well I`ve been using my Samsung SC-dc163 DVD-corder often with no problems in general, but something failed somehow few days ago and one of my DVD just recorded, couldn`t be closed at all using the Camcorder itself... I found no answers or support in Samsung`s homepage, so I`m asking for help with it...
THe DVD is still viewvable in the cam, but the interface to download the video to PC is too bad (very low resolution) and the cam does not have a WIREFIRE interface, only USB... So I`m in trouble!
So eddyp or someone as professional too... can you HELP me with this? I want to close the DVD but my device can not... Is it possible with my Pc? When I insert it on my LG drive, using Nero, it says: "Disk is empty" I still can watch the video when playing it on the Camcorder.
Thanks a lot ..
Playing on Home DVD player ???
by gigbag - 12/28/04 7:39 AM In reply to: Hardware/Software by ZenmanSo how do you make a DVD with this software that can be played on my home DVD player ? If not ! What do I use to do so ???
Software and general info on recordable optical discs
by levans - 12/17/04 1:33 PM In reply to: DVD software by woodyscaAs far as recording software goes, I just use the basic package that came with the PC/Burner for data transfers. These seem to be adequate and I haven't even seen the need to update them to their "Full" versions from the bundled one. My Vaio came with EASY CD/DVD (I think).
For creating DVD for TV, I use Adobe Encore DVD, and/or Premiere Pro. Premiere Pro will write DVD and create a generic chapter menu based on markers in the video timeline. To get more flair-i.e. professional menu production, I use Encore DVD. It supports all the current industry standard formats and enables you to make a master image for duplication, encode copy protection (on duplicated disks) and set zone preferences. I understand that Apple's DVD authoring system offers similar functionality for Mac Only.
I had a copy of Sonic's DVDit LE that came bundled with one of my video capture systems. It was adequate for "home movie" level setups, and could be stretched to do some interesting effects if you knew what you were doing. Given the option of upgrading it to the full version or going with Encore in the Adobe Video Bundle, I decided to go with the bundle since it included other tools. The price, of course, was significantly higher, but then if you compare the single component they were about the same.
With regard to the multiple DVD formats, I do not know that -R and +R are necessarilly "competing". DVD-R was the first format made available to the consumer. DVD+R is a relatively new (about 1 year old) offering to the consumer market, and has the advantage of not requiring a full disk test run before burning (you can still do a burn test, but I've never had a problem NOT doing it, and it saves a lot of time on full length discs). -/+ RW are simply the rewritable versions of these two technologies. I did not ever use DVD-RW so I don't know what limits there were to it. However I use my DVD+RW disks the same way I did the CD-RW, as big removable hard disk.
Dual layer disks have also been around for some time, but they've not been available to the consumer until recently, and they presently are still at a higher price for blanks. I am not fully read up on the technology, but it essentially doubles the data space. You do have to have a burner that supports it and also software. As it is a new technology in the consumer market, I personally would be wary about using it for backing up critical data until a few months have gone by and the quality and reliability has been firmly established.
As to "new" formats on the horizon, well, there is always something under development, and there is always some contention as to which may become the "standard".
Beta is still used in commercial television production, because it is a technologically superior format to VHS. VHS, however, was cheaper to mass produce in the early days and that made the difference. Nowadays, since the majority of components are similar pieces of silicon, it is quite possible that the price and time to market considerations of previous formats will not have an impact on the acceptance of one format or other. In that case, there is likely to be an even more protracted and convoluted battle of international patent attorneys.
In any case, I believe it will be around 18 months before any "new" format reaches the general consumer market, and probably another 6-12 months before pricing becomes low enough for the majority of people to adopt a new format. This has generally been the case with R&D to market cycles, and it is unlikely that a new format will deviate from that significantly. By that time, any device purchased today will probably have reached "end of life" or at least have yielded the $50 to $150 paid for it.
The issue, of course, is whether or not existing formats will be read by new devices that become the "standard". This is probably likely at least for so long as it takes the market to get saturated. CD is still solidly the defacto standard for audio recording, even though the data format is transitioning from Red Book to MP3. Players coming out now are addressing the market requirement for both formats, and it is probable that new types of players (blu-ray/HD-DVD) will also play current DVD formats for around the next 5-10 years.
I would also point out that while HD-DVD is being devised to handle the higher resolution video data from HD formats in the same form factor as a DVD/CD, a massive data format, such as a 50 GB optical disc, is geared more toward data only than consumer video playback. The magneto-optical disc was storing 1.3 GB back in the mid 90s, when hard disks of 4 GBs were rare and expensive. Magneto optical platters are still used extensively in data storage arrays, but to date there has not been any "consumer electronics" like the DVD player to take advantage of them. It is possible that there will be no "showdown" of formats because the formats are aimed at two separate marketshares.
CD and DVD were originally designed for output to the consumer electronics market, and their use for data-only applications was a secondary benefit that quickly became the standard. The first 1X CD burners were in excess of $1000. DVD burner's debuted at $4-5000, around two years ago. Blanks for each started out at around $30. I just bought an off-brand dual layer -/+ burner for under $50, and I can get a stack of 100 inkjet-printable blanks for that price as well.
The ultralarge capacity optical storage device may, in fact, never happen. Consider that we now have USB "pen" drives at 1GB, with no moving parts, and requiring power only during operation. Flash memory cards are approaching these levels (I personally haven't seen one that big yet, but it may be out there). These are all much smaller than a DVD disc, thus the amount of "floor space cost" for storing, shipping, etc. is significantly reduced for both seller and buyer. Likewise, since they do not have to spin around the laser reader, power consumption costs are drastically reduced. The long term survivability of these formats is presently the issue, but if they can be stabilized with a lifetime of 50-75 years, then "disc" technology is gone.
At any rate, I just purchased a new player for home use that plays VHS, CD, DVD, CD-R/RW, DVD-/+R/RW, MP3, and reads all standard Flash memory cards. I paid $150 for it. Granted I still have to switch to the laptop to run DVD-ROM content on commercial DVDs, but since the unit also sports digital output, I won't have to buy another one when I upgrade to HD-TV. The only thing I couldn't get on the unit was multi-zone capability, so my daughter could watch the Harry Potter DVD her aunt sent from England. But I can buy a "disposable" DVD player for her PC for $30, set it to Zone 2, and rock on.
More general info on discs
by ljackson318 - 12/17/04 2:10 PM In reply to: Software and general info on recordable optical discs by levansAvoid CD rot. Be sure to buy discs that use gold or better, instead of silver.
DVD Software
by vic.law - 12/17/04 3:08 PM In reply to: DVD software by woodyscaIn answer to your question, I use DVD Shrink [free] to backup dvd's and Dvd SANTA TO MAKE dvd .I also use "Nero 6" AS A COPY PROGRAM ,tho'Windows says there is a compatability issue with SP2 [ which I have uninstalled ]and works OK with SP2 removed
re: dvd software
by mbridges - 12/17/04 7:27 PM In reply to: DVD Software by vic.lawYes, Windows does say there is a compatibility problem after SP2 is installed, but there is a patch available at Nero's homepage that takes care of this. No need to uninstall SP2 for Nero compatibility.
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