Some basic, basic DVD authoring questions

[Dawn Haynesobrien]

I have been using DVDA3 to burn DVDs, but think I need to take a step back and get some help with the basics.

So here is what my process typically looks like:

Create a DVD - including subtitles, menus, etc. - using DVDA3.
Have DVD duplicated (via FedEx/Kinkos or a local duplication facility).
Distribute DVD to employees in other countries.

I heard recently that there was some trouble with some DVDs that were distributed to China (all one particular project), in that the people there weren't able to watch the video.

I am still trying to find out exactly what the issue was (was it everyone, what hardware were they using, etc.), but I am trying to evaluate my process to make sure that everything is okay on this end...and fix it if it isn't.

That leads me to my questions -

I've been burning a DVD and using that for duplication. I'm wondering if there is a potential issue here. Should I instead use "Write Master"?? What is the difference?

Should any DVDs burned be able to be read on a computer with a DVD-ROM drive, regardless of international location? (I know that isn't the case with "traditional" DVD players...)

Even if all was well with the DVD that was provided to the duplication center, is there something that they might/might not have done that would cause the copies to be unreadable in another country?

Sorry for the long post, but I appreciate any thoughts that you might have.

Thanks all,
Dawn

[Mike Kujbida]

Originally Posted by Dawn Haynesobrien

I heard recently that there was some trouble with some DVDs that were distributed to China (all one particular project), in that the people there weren't able to watch the video.

First of all, have you sent DVDs to China before? They're a PAL country so that might be an issue.
I know that a lot of users in England and Australia say that NTSC DVDS are no problem as their TVs and DVD players will handle both formats. I'm not sure if the same applies to China though.

Should any DVDs burned be able to be read on a computer with a DVD-ROM drive, regardless of international location?

In theory yes but I was recently given a PAL DVD to try and play that wanted to change my computer's DVD settings to a different region - permanently!! Needless to say, I ejected the disc immediately.

I've been burning a DVD and using that for duplication. I'm wondering if there is a potential issue here.

Any DVD I make for duplication purposes gets burned at no more than 4X. I also stick to known name brand media such as Verbatim or, more recently, Taiyo Yuden.

Should I instead use "Write Master"?? What is the difference?

I looked through the DVDA manual to see what this meant.
This is a process used when you're preparing a DVD file for replication (i.e. a glass master), not duplication. The resulting file(s) is/are written to either a hard drive or DLT tape and sent to the replication facility. I can't imagine FedEx or Kinko's having this capability.


I know that all I've done is ask more questions instead of answering yours but hopefully it'll give you more things to think about.