UNERSTANDING DVD TECHNOLOGIESClick here to go to

Cool DVD Facts:
DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disk. A worldwide consortium called the DVD Forum, consisting of hardware
manufacturers, software firms, designers and engineers, established the DVD format. By collaborating on its creation, the developers employed a unified set of specifications that is becoming the globally accepted standard for manufacturers of disks and players – and that’s good for you.

You can fit up to two hours of videotape on a single DVD, or 20,000 novels or 100,000 still photos from a digital camera. No moving parts to break on a DVD. Hollywood has released over 10,000 movie titles on DVD. Every movie currently being produced will be available on DVD. Get double the use out of those CD racks. Nobody forgets to rewind a DVD.
In the first two years that VCRs were available, 110,000 were shipped. In the first two years DVD players were available (1997 and 1998), 1.2 million were shipped in the United States alone. Over 10 million were shipped in 2000 and 15 million are expected to be purchased by consumers in 2001. Yikes. DVD players also play CDs.

In order to understand applications and pricing, a broad understanding of DVD technology is helpful.
The production of a DVD begins with a pre-mastered video, called an asset, and is found on a variety of videotape formats. The first step in the process is to encode the pre-mastered video into MPEG-2 format on the hard drive of a specially configured computer. Once the asset resides on the hard drive, dedicated authoring software is utilized to create the level of interactive functions desired. After the asset has been authored, it is then converted to the DVD format. Next it is proofed for quality and compliance with the DVD format, then written to a DVD-R for limited duplication needs or a DLT tape for mass production.

Some of the benefits of DVD include:
Better quality video with higher resolution. Long term preservation of the video (DVD's life expectancy is greater
than yours at 100+ years).

Interactive menus include but are not limited to:
title pages; navigational menus; motion menus; chapters; sub-titles; multiple languages; multiple sound tracks; closed captioning;
ultiple angles; analog copy protection; digital content scrambling; parental control; easter eggs; commentaries; etc.

Video Producers requiring DVD delivery fall into two general categories:
The first and more frequent user, a business or institutional user for example, requires a strong cost to value ratio. Quality is a serious consideration and must be excellent while keeping the client's cost considerations in mind. Requirements for interactive components are typically less extensive for these users.
The second user, a Hollywood production house for example, is driven less by cost for the highest quality available. A typical 60 minute production of a highly interactive DVD can range from $6,000 to $1,000,000. We can do those too!

A Few Words About Compatibility
The disc(s) you receive from K&R are produced using specifications developed by the DVD Consortium - the group that conceived the DVD format. These specifications are the commonly used standards for all disc and player manufacturers. However, the manufacturers of some first generation players - those introduced to the market in 1997 and 1998 - failed to meet all the specifications in their rush to get players onto America's shelves. As a result, approximately 20% of the first generation players present varying degrees of disc/player incompatibility - particularly when playing DVD-R discs (the type used in producing limited quantity duplicates). Most players manufactured in 1999 and nearly every player being manufactured today will be compatible with all disks. Unless some one comes up with another revelation!

DVD-5
DVD-5 is a 4.7GB disc with a single side/single layer that is created from a glass master and the use of injection molding. It is
compatible with all DVD players and can contain up to 120 minutes of high quality video.

DVD-9
DVD-9 is an 8.4GB disc with a single side/double layer that is created from a glass master and the use of injection molding. It is compatible with all DVD players and can contain up to 214 continuous (all on one side) minutes of high quality video.

DVD-10
DVD-10 is a 9.4GB disc with dual sides/single layer that is created from a glass master and the use of injection molding. It is compatible with all DVD players and can contain up to 240 minutes of high quality video.It contains up to 120 minutes of high quality video on side A and up to 120 minutes on side B.

Duplication Service
After a DVD master is created, K&R can make any number of DVD-R duplications. Click HERE for pricing

Glass Mastering
Glass Mastering is an expensive, complicated method of producing mass quantities of DVDs. That is listed in our commercial pricing for DVD. This is the method used by Hollywood to produce movie DVDs. Because of its high cost, it is not a practical method for limited quantity DVD productions. For limited quantity productions of approximately 50 discs or less, DVD-R is the format of choice.


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