Dual Layer DVDs? at DVinfo.net

Nicholas de Kock · May 19th, 2010, 03:01 PM

I'm wondering if anyone is using dual layer DVD to deliver their weddings on? I played around with them a few years back and they seemed very unreliable back then has anything changed since then?

Kren Barnes · May 19th, 2010, 03:12 PM

We've stopped using them and try to stay away from them since it is quite unreliable in terms of its compatibility with DVD players. Lots of unnecessary headaches, Once, we even had to purchase a DVD player for the client just so they can watch their video... Just our experience though:)

Ben Moore · May 19th, 2010, 06:18 PM

We have had good luck with these:

FTI FalconMedia Pro White Inkjet Hub Printable 8X DVD+R Double Layer Media 50 Pack in Cake Box - SuperMediaStore.com

Burned and printed close to 1000 for clients with no returns. I would say I have had maybe 10 that were bad burns and tossed, but so far very happy.

Ben

Kelly Langerak · May 19th, 2010, 09:29 PM

Me too. So far I have burned about 5 weddings worth and no complaints. I always worn the client that very old DVD's may not play back, so they must update their DVD player, which they can buy at best buy for under $80.

These come in handy when we do really long Indian weddings. Make sure you buy a well known brand.

Chris Harding · May 20th, 2010, 01:02 AM

If my weddings go over 4.3GB then I now supply the couple with a dual set of disks. One for the prep and ceremony and photoshoot and then one for the reception. It usually only happens if they have long-winded speeches!!!!

First of all I pay 29c for single layer disks here and a whopping $2.50 each for dual layer. My DVD authoring software has an issue with dual layer and refuses to display the menu and lastly the last DL disks I bought were only 4X so it took ages to burn compared to 16x for single layer.

If my couple does have a long recording then they also seem to be suitably impressed when they get a 2 DVD set!!! It's hardly worth the hassle to go out and buy DL disks and struggle!!!

Chris

Taky Cheung · May 20th, 2010, 02:18 AM

Yeah DL DVD is problematic. I used to that. Only one customer having trouble playing back. However, the reliable DL DVD I can find is Verbatim. But they don't make pretty DVD printout like those TY watersheild. Besides, customer love the luxurious look of a dual DVD set if I split the content onto two disc

Blake Cavett · May 20th, 2010, 08:03 PM

I once did a school play that was rather long so I put it on a DL disc.

Of the 40 discs, only ONE played fine for the students. Of course here at the house they were all fine... but 39 out of 40 SUCKED EGGS.

So that ship has sailed...

Jaron Tauch · May 20th, 2010, 09:11 PM

Our studio uses DL verbatim printable disks all the time and haven't really had any problems at all.

Taky Cheung · May 20th, 2010, 09:12 PM

I tried a few brands ... say like none of the Ridata DL disk can be played back in DVD player. They are all fine checking in computer and playback. it's just they won't play, or only play the first layer in DVD player. Then I switch to Verbatim DL, all works fine.

SiuChung Leung · May 21st, 2010, 05:37 AM

I've try it once and decided to stay away.

The wedding was 3 hours long so it won't fit on normal DVD. It took me 3 attempts to burn it on a D9 and it won't play on the DVD player....

I just split it into 2 DVDs. From preparation to ceremony in one DVD, the reception in the other..

Taky Cheung · May 21st, 2010, 09:16 AM

3 hours will fit to a single layer DVD. You just have to lower the bitrate. You can fit up to 4 hours in a DVD too.

Michael Ojjeh · May 21st, 2010, 07:04 PM

DL disc is perfect for a long event to put on one DVD, I used DL verbatim printable disks and they are pretty good, there are two problems with DL disc:
A lot of DVD players have a problem reading the mark when the DVD goes to the second layer.
The second problem that I have is most DVD duplicators also have a problem duplicating DL discs, I have a Reflex DL duplicator and all the DL DVD that came out of it was bad, so I had to do few hundreds of DL DVD one at a time and that was not fun !!!
I wish there is a solution out there for DL DVD that you can do without getting callbacks.

Philip Howells · May 22nd, 2010, 12:50 AM

The argument against long programmes went out of the window with VHS tape. We produce chaptered DVDs and we use dual layer DVDs whenever the need arises - without any comebacks.

To lower the bitrate below the optimum (8Mb/s to allow for the idiosyncracies of older Sony players which I was always told don't accept anything higher) is simply unacceptable to us - we produce a quality product and degrading it to save a few pennies is simply unprofessional. Why bother with HD cameras if you're going to make it look rubbish anyway - and if your budget is really tight, increase your price a few dollars/pounds to compensate.

We already give the clients a two-DVD product - their wedding videos and our unedited transcription of their honeymoon video which we lend them a camera to record - that's what we call a full service product.

May 19th, 2010, 03:01 PM	#1
Nicholas de Kock Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: KLD, South Africa Posts: 983	Dual Layer DVDs? I'm wondering if anyone is using dual layer DVD to deliver their weddings on? I played around with them a few years back and they seemed very unreliable back then has anything changed since then?

May 20th, 2010, 02:18 AM	#6
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	Yeah DL DVD is problematic. I used to that. Only one customer having trouble playing back. However, the reliable DL DVD I can find is Verbatim. But they don't make pretty DVD printout like those TY watersheild. Besides, customer love the luxurious look of a dual DVD set if I split the content onto two disc __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

May 20th, 2010, 08:03 PM	#7
Blake Cavett Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Madison Posts: 330	I once did a school play that was rather long so I put it on a DL disc. Of the 40 discs, only ONE played fine for the students. Of course here at the house they were all fine... but 39 out of 40 SUCKED EGGS. So that ship has sailed... __________________ I like my oatmeal lumpy.

May 20th, 2010, 09:12 PM	#9
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	I tried a few brands ... say like none of the Ridata DL disk can be played back in DVD player. They are all fine checking in computer and playback. it's just they won't play, or only play the first layer in DVD player. Then I switch to Verbatim DL, all works fine. __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

May 21st, 2010, 05:37 AM	#10
SiuChung Leung Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 231	I've try it once and decided to stay away. The wedding was 3 hours long so it won't fit on normal DVD. It took me 3 attempts to burn it on a D9 and it won't play on the DVD player.... I just split it into 2 DVDs. From preparation to ceremony in one DVD, the reception in the other.. __________________ S.O.D.E Wedding Video(NZ): www.sode.co.nz

May 19th, 2010, 03:12 PM	#2
Kren Barnes Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Canada Posts: 415	We've stopped using them and try to stay away from them since it is quite unreliable in terms of its compatibility with DVD players. Lots of unnecessary headaches, Once, we even had to purchase a DVD player for the client just so they can watch their video... Just our experience though:)

May 19th, 2010, 06:18 PM	#3
Ben Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Vancouver, WA Posts: 190	We have had good luck with these: FTI FalconMedia Pro White Inkjet Hub Printable 8X DVD+R Double Layer Media 50 Pack in Cake Box - SuperMediaStore.com Burned and printed close to 1000 for clients with no returns. I would say I have had maybe 10 that were bad burns and tossed, but so far very happy. Ben

May 19th, 2010, 09:29 PM	#4
Kelly Langerak Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Bay Area Posts: 522	Me too. So far I have burned about 5 weddings worth and no complaints. I always worn the client that very old DVD's may not play back, so they must update their DVD player, which they can buy at best buy for under $80. These come in handy when we do really long Indian weddings. Make sure you buy a well known brand.

May 20th, 2010, 01:02 AM	#5
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	If my weddings go over 4.3GB then I now supply the couple with a dual set of disks. One for the prep and ceremony and photoshoot and then one for the reception. It usually only happens if they have long-winded speeches!!!! First of all I pay 29c for single layer disks here and a whopping $2.50 each for dual layer. My DVD authoring software has an issue with dual layer and refuses to display the menu and lastly the last DL disks I bought were only 4X so it took ages to burn compared to 16x for single layer. If my couple does have a long recording then they also seem to be suitably impressed when they get a 2 DVD set!!! It's hardly worth the hassle to go out and buy DL disks and struggle!!! Chris

May 20th, 2010, 09:11 PM	#8
Jaron Tauch Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 34	Our studio uses DL verbatim printable disks all the time and haven't really had any problems at all.

May 21st, 2010, 09:16 AM	#11
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	3 hours will fit to a single layer DVD. You just have to lower the bitrate. You can fit up to 4 hours in a DVD too. __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

May 21st, 2010, 07:04 PM	#12
Michael Ojjeh Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 338	DL disc is perfect for a long event to put on one DVD, I used DL verbatim printable disks and they are pretty good, there are two problems with DL disc: A lot of DVD players have a problem reading the mark when the DVD goes to the second layer. The second problem that I have is most DVD duplicators also have a problem duplicating DL discs, I have a Reflex DL duplicator and all the DL DVD that came out of it was bad, so I had to do few hundreds of DL DVD one at a time and that was not fun !!! I wish there is a solution out there for DL DVD that you can do without getting callbacks. __________________ Dragonfly Production http://www.dragonflyproduction.net/ http://www.vimeo.com/user432181

May 22nd, 2010, 12:50 AM	#13
Philip Howells Trustee Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 1,212	The argument against long programmes went out of the window with VHS tape. We produce chaptered DVDs and we use dual layer DVDs whenever the need arises - without any comebacks. To lower the bitrate below the optimum (8Mb/s to allow for the idiosyncracies of older Sony players which I was always told don't accept anything higher) is simply unacceptable to us - we produce a quality product and degrading it to save a few pennies is simply unprofessional. Why bother with HD cameras if you're going to make it look rubbish anyway - and if your budget is really tight, increase your price a few dollars/pounds to compensate. We already give the clients a two-DVD product - their wedding videos and our unedited transcription of their honeymoon video which we lend them a camera to record - that's what we call a full service product.