Category Archives: DVD Dual Layer

Who is buying Disc Publishing Equipment in 2024?

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Believe it or not manufacturers such as Rimage and Epson are still producing and we are selling disc publishing equipment at a decent pace in 2024.

Disc Publishers and Printer purchasers typically fall into one of two categories.

  1. Data Archivists
  2. Content Distributors

Data Archivists are taking advantage of the relatively cheap prices associated with deep or cold storage on optical media. Once a dataset is archived it can be stored offline away from malware and data theft and it the energy costs associated are much smaller than offsite or on prem cloud storage. The disc printing allows them to use serialization and barcode technology to maintain a catalog which helps with data retrieval. 

Some of our recent customers purchasing disc publishers for data archival are police departments, small law firms for evidence and document storage and State departments where regulatory compliance is critical.

Content Distributors are taking advantage of the resurgence of physical media and helping their customers extract the most revenue from their musical and video creations. The familiarity of established brands like the Epson Discproducer series of publishers means customers have a brand they know and trust. 

Some of our recent customers purchasing Epson disc producers for content distribution are small local disc printers serving their local arts community and hospitals using the publishers for medical imaging.  The relatively inexpensive cost of blank printable recordable CD & DVD and Epson discproducer ink cartriges means that even small production runs can be viable business opportunities.

Rimage Printers are also still selling well with both new and used units getting shipped to higher volume producers.

Of course we stock and sell all kinds of blank media and disc printing supplies for all the major brands of disc printers and publishers. If you don’t see something that you need don’t hesitate to contact us at 952-944-0083.

Professional DVD or Bluray Disc Mastering With Ease!

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If you stick to the basics and follow these simple tips below you’ll be on your way to professional disc mastering created with as few hiccups and snags as possible.

1. Communication is Key

Smooth Operator…Coast to Coast LA to Chicago…

Nothing and I mean nothing can replace speaking directly with your studio or the production company regarding your master. Email can work but sometimes picking up the telephone is the simplest way to get from point A to B.

Bluray Mastering is required for 1080p Resolution

2. Content Delivery – The Correct Way

Check with your Disc Mastering Production Partner for vendor specific protocols for delivering content.  Many will prefer delivery on physical media (DVD, USB, HDD) but will be open to delivery digitally.  Remember to speak with your publisher regarding file size, runtime and filenames to make sure you are on the same page.

3. Provide a Manifest

Make sure to list your files and exact file names and run-times in the order you want them to play.  You can use md5 or sha hashes for digital continuity testing or you can use run times both can work. 

Laying out your files on a manifest, wire-frame or outline will help make sure your project is completed correctly on the first revision.

4.  Determine total run time and output

Standard DVD using the most common resolution and frame rates typically will yield around 90 minutes of runtime.  Dual Layer DVDs and Blu-ray are available which can extend your run-times per disc but come with added costs.  Think about your audience and your content when determining whether a multiple disc solution vs a dual layer solution might be the right fit.  In some cases we may be able to stretch the run time by adjusting frame rates and/or resolution but this is always at the cost of quality. 

It can be a tough decision to make and sometimes paying a little extra for a physical master to review at home can be worth the cost.

5.  Menu Considerations

Do you want to provide a menu for your audience to navigate or is the project better suited with an autorun where the disc starts playing through upon insertion. POS videos of product demonstration videos may benefit from looping.  If you do want a menu – it is imperative that you provide a high resolution digital file in the proper aspect t ratio to use as your background. 

DVD resolution is 480p so for legibility make sure that your use large bold san serif fonts and keep them away from the edges.

Blu-ray Logo

6. Resolution Considerations

This is one of the tougher questions for duplicators to answer.  DVD is a more widely available format than Blu-ray.  But any footage shot within the last ten years is likely 1080p or even 4K.  If you want to maximize your resolution Blu-ray is the solution you are looking for.   If you want to maximize your compatibility DVD may be your answer.  Smart customers are purchasing bundles which include a mix or ratio of each. 

Video Format Map

7.  Format Considerations

Audiences in the US will need video content formatted in the NTSC format.  Most audiences outside of the US (OUS) will require video content formatted in PAL.  Think about where you intend to distribute your content when determining the proper formatting.  **each format may be considered an additional title and charged according.

8.   Future Proofing Considerations

Now is the time to think about having your duplicator output a high resolution digital file for future distribution. Putting your content in the highest resolution on a large capacity USB Drive or cloud service provider so that you can distribute it digitally if necessary is a wise choice.  Ask your publisher about any additional fees, they may only add nominal cost.

9.  GIGO

GIGO Is a common acronym that stands for Garbage-In-Garbage-Out. Really it is just a crass way to say that disc producers aren’t magicians. They can’t add resolution to your footage. The output quality will depend on the quality of the video content you provide us.   We can do some minor corrections but we can’t fix bad audio or make low resolution or low frame rate footage look HD. 

For the best possible output provide us with your highest quality footage.

10.  Measure Twice Cut Once

Make sure to review your content multiple times prior to submission to make sure there aren’t any glitches, stutters or audio problems.  It is imperative that the content you provide is ultimately free of defects. 

If your looking for more details about Blu-ray Production and the shift that's on from BDR as a content delivery vehicle to that of an artist support model head on over to our sister blog and read all about it -  The shift in Blu-ray Production.

We’d love to work with you on your next Disc Mastering Project 

Please call us at 952-944-0083 and we can discuss any questions you may have

Sony & Panasonic Join Forces to Create Next Optical Disc Format

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Sony Corporation (‘Sony’) and Panasonic Corporation (‘Panasonic’) today announced that they have signed a basic agreement with the objective of jointly developing a next-generation standard for professional-use optical discs, with the objective of expanding their archive business for long-term digital data storage.

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This is good news for early adopters of 4K televisions as well as the medical imaging community and data centers alike.  As data continues to grow the demand for a cheap long term storage alternative to magnetic storage is still robust.

With metered data from major ISPs and the cost of data pipes increasing day by day (looked at your cable/internet bill lately?) this is welcome news.

One must ponder if this sets up Sony/Panasonics solution for a HDD vs Bluray type battle with the optical disk currently being developed at General Electric? Clearly GE has a captivated audience in their healthcare imaging sector with the gigantic files associated with modern day MRI/PET and CT scans.

Still the question remains- is the market big enough for two major players/formats?

Time will tell, for more updates about the current state of optical media and long term archival options such as CD/DVD, UDO and Magnetic Media please stop back often.

 

 

Time it Takes to Burn a DVD-r or DVD Dual Layer Disc

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Have you ever looked at the packaging on a new spindle of blank recordable DVD-r discs and wondered what the numbers “8X” or “16X” mean?

Those numbers indicate the maximum recordable or “write” speed of the discs. But the numbers do not tell you how many seconds or minutes it will take to burn your DVD disc.

Two Factors Affect Burning Time

First, is amount of data to be written in megabytes or gigabytes. And Secondly, the maximum speed of the discs themselves as well as the speed you choose in your burning software (4x, 8x, 12x, 16x, etc).

Editing and Rendering

For most people, creating a master DVD means editing their video. Using either a PC or a Mac, the process is essentially the same: edit the video, export to MPEG-2, and burn to a disc. Editing and rendering can add hours to a project such as a training video or a highlight film.

But we are interested in the actual burn time once your DVD is edited and rendered. DVD-r and DVD+r discs carry speed ratings designated by a number followed by the letter “X,” the “X” represents speed of the burning. An 8X rated DVD disc can be burned at twice the speed as a 4X rated disc, and a 16X disc can reach twice the speed of an 8X disc.

DVD-R & DVD+r Discs

In general, a regular single-layer 4.7GB DVD-R disc with a 16X speed rating (that is full = 4.6gb) will take about 6 minutes to copy in a duplicator machine such as Microboards HCL-8000. These machines are equipped with drives that can write discs at up to 22X, but DVD recordable discs with such a high speed rating are currently not available.

Reducing the write speed from 16x to 8X does not double the time needed to record your disc. In reality it only adds about 2 minutes for a total recording time of around 8 minutes. This is because DVD writers are not recording at maximum speed during the entire burn. They ramp up starting with a slower speed in the beginning of the burn and increasing until it hits your maximum selected speed or the disc maximum of 16x.

We recommend lowering the burn speed to 8x in order to give the laser more time to make a good impression on the organic dye recordable layer of the disc, resulting in a burn with fewer errors compared to a disc written at a higher speed. This does not affect the picture or sound quality of the DVD disc, but it will reduce the amount of error correction the DVD drive or DVD player has to do when the DVD is being viewed.

Dual Layer Recordable DVDs

When burning dual-layer DVDs, the write speed makes a significant difference in the overall burn time. Recording a dual layer DVD at 2.4X will takes 30 to 40 minutes depending on the amount of information or data being burned. When the burn speed is increased to 8X, the time drops to 15 to 20 minutes.

An important point – we have found time and time again that burning dual layer DVDs above 4x causes a much higher yield which means more bad or failed burns.

Please contact techwaredist.com (800-295-0083 or 952-944-0083) with any questions as we are committed to this industry and are here to help our current and new prospective customers in any way that we can.