Home Run Media - Solutions

FAQ, CD replication, CD production, DVD production, DVD printing

Knowledgebase - FAQ

DVD-CD Replication, Duplication Experts - Questions and Knowledge Base - Software Manufacturing

Following are our frequently asked questions, organized by category. If we haven't answered your question below, please contact us, so that we can help you.

CD Production Questions

How does a CD work?

A cd has a series of 'pits'. A cd drive aims a precision laser beam at the surface of the cd. The laser beam reflects off of the cd. This reflection is slightly different when the laser beam hits a pit versus when it hits a flat spot. This difference is read as data.

What is a CD-Extra?

A CD-Extra is the same as an enhanced CD. An enhanced CD has a portion formatted for Digital Audio and another portion formatted for data. This CD will play the Digital Audio files in most Audio CD players. Computer drives will be able to access both the Digital Audio files and the data files.

What is an enhanced CD?

An enhanced CD has a portion formatted for Digital Audio and another portion formatted for data. This CD will play the Digital Audio files in most Audio CD players. Computer drives will be able to access both the Digital Audio files and the data files.

What is a Hybrid CD?

A hybrid cd is disc that can be played on more than a single operating system (Mac & PC). There are several ways to create a hybrid cd. There are two common approaches. One approach is to partition the cd with different operating system formats. The project is put onto each of the partitions. Another way is to create a shared data region that can be accessed by multiple platforms and the data that is operating system specific is on other disc areas.

What is a VCD?

VCD stands for Video Compact Disc. This is a CD that is formatted for video (with an audio track). The video is decent quality. The quality is not as good as a video tape or a DVD because of the compression used to make 74 minutes of video fit into 640 mb.

What does CD-DA mean?

CD-DA is a Digital Audio CD.

What does CD ROM mean?

Compact Disc Read Only Memory. A CDROM can contain many different types of data. It can contain digital audio, digital video, or data. Once the information is put on the media it cannot be altered.

What does CDR (CD-R) mean?

Compact Disc wRite once. A CDR (CD-R) starts off absolutely blank. Data is then written to the media. This writing process is often called 'burning' a disc. A blank CDR can have data written to it only once.

What does CDRW (CD-RW) mean?

Compact Disc WRite multiple times. A CDRW (CD-RW) starts off absolutely blank. Data is then written to the media. This writing process is often called 'burning' a disc. A blank CD-RW can have data written to it multiple times. This format is good for archiving type uses where the data is not going to be shared or copied for use by other computers.

What is the difference between CD-R and CD-RW?

A CD-R can be written to only once. If the disc is written to using disc at once and is finallized the disc should be able to be read by nearly any CD drive. A CD-RW can be written to multiple times. But the format does not have wide compatability amongs different cd drives. So a CD-RW should be used for archival type purposes only.

When to use CDROM and CD Replication?

Replication is used for projects that have large volumes.

What is the CD Green Book?

Green book is the compact disc industry's standard for CD-I discs.

What is the CD Orange Book?

Orange book is the compact disc industry's standard for Recordable CDs

What is the CD Red Book?

Red book is the compact disc industry's standard for Digital Audio CDs

What is the CD Yellow Book?

Yellow book is the compact disc industry's standard for Computer Data CD Roms

Music CD Audio (Yellow Book) vs. MP3

There are two main types of Music CDs: Audio CD & MP3 CD. There is a difference. A correctly formatted Audio CD conforms to the industry standard referred to as Yellow Book. This is the format of the Audio CDs you purchase at a music store. The files on an Audio CD will be in the WAVe format. This is considered a lossless file format and retains full fidelity. Read more about Music CD Audio (Yellow Book) vs. MP3.

What are Open Status CDs?

When a software program writes a CD, the program has the option or default setting to finalize the CD. Finalizing a CD allows the written CD to be read by other CD players with near universal compatibility. Read more about Open Status CDs.

What is Track at Once?

Track at Once is a term for burning data to optical media one track at a time. This method will work well for archiving data to a disc. This disc will probably only be able to be read by the drive / system that created the disc. This method is NOT recommended if you plan on having other systems or drives use the disc or a copy of the disc.

What is Disc at Once?

Disc at Once is the term used for burning information to optical media in one session. This method is best for any discs that may need to be used on other systems or drives.

What is an ISO image?

An ISO image is basically an electronic copy of an entire CD. This single file will have all the files, folders, volume labels and other details of an entire CD. This single file can be used by any CD burning software with total confidence.

Does my CD label artwork need a bleed?

It is common to call the artwork on a CD or DVD a label. There are five different printing methods for CD and DVD face artwork. These five methods are: Thermal, Inkjet, Paper Label, Silk Screen, & Offset. We recommend providing a background artwork bleed on all printing methods. The paper label is the only method that requires a background artwork bleed to be supplied.

What is the main difference between a CD and DVD?

The physical difference between a CD and DVD is the proximity of the tracks and the length of the pits. The pits on a CD are .5 microns wide and a minimum of .83 microns long. The tracks on a CD are 1.6 microns apart. A DVD is about half these dimensions. The track separations are only .74 microns and the pits are about .42 microns long. This is what enables a DVD to have a minimum of 6 times the amount of data.

DVD Production Questions

How does a DVD work?

A dvd has a series of 'pits'. A dvd drive aims a precision laser beam at the surface of the dvd. The laser beam reflects off of the dvd. This reflection is slightly different when the laser beam hits a pit versus when it hits a flat spot. This difference is read as data.

What does DVD mean?

Digital Versatile Disc.

What does DVDRW (DVD-RW) mean?

Digital Video Disc WRite multiple times. A DVDRW (DVD-RW) starts off absolutely blank. Data is then written to the media. This writing process is often called 'burning' a disc. A blank DVD-RW can have data written to it multiple times. This format is good for archiving type uses were the data is not going to be shared or copied for use by other computers.

What does DVDR (DVD-R) mean?

Digital Video Disc wRite once. A DVDR (DVD-R) starts off absolutely blank. Data is then written to the media. This writing process is often called 'burning' a disc. A blank DVDR can have data written to it only once.

What is Blu-Ray DVD?

The Blu-ray format is being created by a group known as the Blu-ray Disc Association. The Blu-ray Disc Association is an expansion of the original Blu-ray Disc Founders organization. The founders of this group include: Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp &, Sony. This format is being presented as having an intial capacity of 23 - 27 gb, with a future capacity that might reach 50 gb in a dual layer version. This large capacity enables the Blu-ray Disc Association to target many markets including high definition television without any loss in resolution. Some of the most well known companies have agreed to support the Blu-ray format: Disney, Touchstone, Miramax, Dimension, Mitsubishi, Dell & HP.

What is HD DVD?

The HD-DVD format has been developed by Toshiba and NEC and has the backing of the DVD Forum. The intial capacity of the HD-DVD format is being promoted as approximately 20 gb.

There are several companies that have agreed to support the HD-DVD format. These companies include: Warner, Paramount, Universal and New Line Cinema. These four studios represent 45% of the major movies released in the United States.

The new format is reported to be available within the next 2 years. Toshiba and NEC have released press releases indicating that their HD-DVD players will be backward compatible and therefore play existing video DVDs.

How much video can a CD or DVD hold?

How much video a piece of optical media can hold depends on the optical media and the compression (CODEC) used. Here are some rough numbers:
CD can hold about 70 minutes of video using MPEG-1
CD can hold about 35 minutes of video using MPEG-2
DVD-5 can hold about 2 hours of video using MPEG-2
DVD-9 can hold about 4 hours of video using MPEG-2
DVD-18 can hold about 8 hours of video using MPEG-2
Please remember that these are approximations only. Menuing, Chaptering, Programming all use up space. So the more sophisticated the project the less room you have for actual content.

What are the different DVD capacities?

There are 4 main capacities for 12 cm (full size) DVDs. These are related to whether a DVD is single or double sided and whether the DVD is single or dual layered. A single sided single layered DVD will have a capacity of approximately 4.7gb (DVD-5). The dual layered version of this single sided DVD will have a capacity of approximately 8.5 gb (DVD-9). Double sided media with a single layer will have a capacity of about 9.4 gb (DVD-10). The largest capacity is the dual layered double sided DVD with a capacity of approximately 17 gb (DVD-18).

When to use DVD and DVDROM Replication?

Replication is used for projects that have large volumes.

Does my DVD label artwork need a bleed?

Why doesn't my DVD-R work in all DVD players?

Not all DVD players are the same. High end DVD players are often very particular about the quality of the encoding. When they find a poor quality file they will often not play the file. The strange thing is that the cheaper DVD players aren't as particular. So they will often play a DVD that a more expensive player won't.

What are the different DVD Regions?

Regions were developed for DVDs to specify which area(s) of the world a specific DVD can be used. This area specific information is to assist the movie industry in slowing the rate of intellectual property rights theft (piracy).
Region 1 = United States & Canada
Region 2 = Europe, Japan, Middle East, South Africa
Region 3 = South East Asia
Region 4 = Australia & South America
Region 5 = Africa, Russia, & the rest of Asia
Region 6 = China

What is the Region All?

Region All is a player or optical media that is configured to play on any machine.

What is the main difference between a CD and DVD?

Graphics Questions

Will the CD or DVD look like my computer screen? Or why doesn't my CD or DVD look like my computer screen?

A computer monitor displays artwork in RGB. This stands for Red, Green, Blue). CDs and DVDs are generally printed either CMYK (aka Full Color) or PMS (Pantone Spot Color). So the printed CDs or DVDs will look different than the computer screen. Additionally please note that your computer screen will be displaying the artwork on a white background and the optical media is silver. This difference between white and silver will also cause the CDs or DVDs to look slightly different than the display of a computer monitor.

Will my CD or DVD printing match exactly?

Printing is subject to variations. These variations can include atmospheric conditions, slight variations in inks, slight variations in the scales that weigh inks in preparation for mixing. There are many other varations that do play a part in the final artwork. We do try very hard to minimize output variations, but small variations do occur and are considered acceptable in the printing industries.

What is Full Color?

Full color refers to printing in the four basic printing colors: CMYK. This stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, & Black. Full color is the standard printing method for items printed on paper stock. It is also the standard for offset printing optical media (CD/DVD). Additionally, a large percentage of optical media that is silk screen printed will be printed Full Color. Full color is also refered to as 4 color process or CMYK.

What is process color?

Process color is any printing method that uses the standard CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, & Black) to print the supplied artwork. This is also refered to as Full Color and 4 color process.

Can you accept artwork in RGB?

We do not offer any printing services that will allow us to accept RGB artwork. If your artwork is currently in RGB we recommend opening the artwork in a graphics program that allows you to convert the artwork to CMYK. An exception to this recommendation is if you artwork only has one or two colors. In these cases we recommend having the artwork converted to spot colors if the printing method is going to be silk screen printing. If the printing method is not going to be via silk screen please convert the artwork to CMYK.

My artwork has gradients. Is there anything I should know?

Gradients will reproduce well in Laser Printing, Offset Printing, & Inkjet Printing. There are some things to know if your project is going to be Silk Screen Printed. The nature of silk screen printing will produce good results with gradients between 20% and 80%. Gradients below 20% might reproduce as random dots. Gradients above 80% might reproduce as solids. Therefore we recommend your artwork be setup with gradients between 20% and 80%.

What are the minimum and maximum gradients recommended for silk screen CD and DVD printing?

We strongly recommend that face artwork that is to be silk screened has gradients between 20% and 80%.

What is the difference between silk screen and offset printing?

Silk screen printing is accomplished by pushing ink through a fine screen that has the image of the artwork on it. Offset printing is a process of transferring the ink from an inkwell onto a rubber transfer blanket and then onto the optical media. Both are good printing methods with their respective strong points. Silk screen printing puts more ink onto the optical media. This large volume of ink produces bright vibrant images. But the fine mesh of the screen can obscure minor artwork details. Offset printing is very good at producing an image that shows fine details like a photograph. But the printing method applies less ink than silk screening. So the image is less vibrant than silk screening.

When should I silk screen print my CDs and DVDs?

Silk screen printing is a cost affective way to produce 1,000 + units of CD or DVD. This method should be used for artwork that does not have fine details that are extremely important.

When should I offset print my CDs and DVDs?

You should offset print your CDs or DVDs when you have sharp details like a photograph and your volume is at least 2,000 units.

What is a bleed?

A bleed refers to artwork that extends further than what is estimated to be the print area. A bleed is important in case the stock shifts slightly during the printing process. This avoids an unprinted area on the final piece.

Why is a bleed important?

A bleed is important to avoid the potential for your final printed piece to have an unprinted area.

Does my artwork for inserts or packaging need a bleed?

Yes. We strongly recommend a minimum of 1/4" bleed on all artwork used for inserts or packaging.

How many colors can I print on my CD or DVD?

We use several different printing methods for optical media (CD/DVD). Thermal printing is restricted to 300 dpi images printed in black only. Inkjet printing is available in CMYK only. White paper glossy labels are available in CMYK only. Offset printing is also available in CMYK only. Silk screen printing can have from 1 to 6 colors printed. These colors can be spot colors or a combination of CMYK and spot colors.

Why would I want a white flood coat for my CD face artwork?

A CD is silver on the surface. When we print on this silver surface the silver might change the tone of the artwork we print. To minimize this affect we recommend the use of a white flood coat. The exception to this recommendation is when the graphics are designed to use the silver CD surface as a part of the artwork.

What is the minimum font size I can use on my artwork?

The minimum font size is dependent upon how the artwork is going to be printed. We recommend that the minimum font size is 6pt Bold. This is especially important if the artwork is CMYK (4 Color Process). The complete font specifications are: Silk Screen Printing 6 pt bold unless reversed out. Then use 7 pt bold as the minimum font size. Offset Printing 4 pt bold unless reversed out. Then use 6 pt bold as the minimum font size. The minimum font size for other printing methods is 6 pt bold.

What is the minimum line thickness I can use on my artwork?

The minimum line thickness is dependent upon how the artwork is going to be printed. We strongly recommend that your lines are no thinner than 0.75 pt. If your artwork is going to be printed offset the minimum line thickness is 0.5 pt.

Why do my fonts need to be outlined before we send the artwork to you?

A font is dependent on the system having the font loaded. When the fonts are 'outlined' they become 'pictures' and no longer require the font profiles to be loaded on our system. This is important to insure that your artwork is faithfully reproduced.

Can I have my project use fluorescent and hexachrome inks?

Fluorescent and hexachrome inks are very exciting to work with. These inks have an extremely short shelf life and are extremely expensive. So at this time we have decided to guide our clients to more cost affective PMS and CMYK inks.

Insert Questions

What do you mean by a booklet?

A booklet is folded in the middle of the paper. Booklets come in increments of 4. We offer 8, 12, 16, & 20 panel booklets.

What do you mean by panels?

There is sometimes confusion about pages. A single sheet of paper has a front and back. That single sheet of paper would be considered two panels. If you fold that paper in half you would have 4 panels. If you had two pieces of paper folded in half that would be 8 panels. Stapled together in the middle these eight panels would make an 8 panel Booklet.

What is a case wrap?

A case wrap is also called an entrapment. This is the paper that is printed and put on the outside of a cd or dvd case between the clear plastic and the case.

What is an entrapment?

An entrapment is also called a case wrap. This is the paper that is printed and put on the outside of a cd or dvd case between the clear plastic and the case.

What is the difference between an entrapment and a case wrap?

There is no difference. Both are refering to the paper that is printed and put on the outside of a cd or dvd case between the clear plastic and the case.

What is the difference between a booklet and Z-Fold?

A booklet has a single fold in the middle of each sheet of paper. Booklets can come in 8, 12, 16, & 20 panel versions. A Z-Fold Insert is folded up accordian style. The Z-Fold is offered in 8, 10, & 12 panel versions.

Audio/Visual (A/V) Questions

What is a Codec?

A CODEC is a program that COmpresses and DECompresses information. Different Codecs have different purposes. A Codec can be used to compress video for web distribution. But you would want a different Codec for video to be distributed on a DVD.

What does MPEG mean?

Movie Pictures Expert Group. MPEG is a working group within ISO (International Standards Organization) responsible for developing standards that are interoperable.

What is MPEG-1 for?

MPEG-1 is an industry standard developed in about 1993 for the compression of audio / video files. The compression is in part developed around removing material that cannot normally be sensed by humans.

What is MPEG-2 for?

MPEG-2 is an industry standard provides audio / video files that are extremely high quality. This is often used for broadcasts and is the default format for video DVDs.

What is MPEG-4 for?

MPEG-4 is an open industry standard that provides audio / video files that are small, but retain very high quality playback.

What is NTSC?

National Television Systems Committee. NTSC is the standard for televisions in the United States. The standard for Europe is PAL. The NTSC standard is basically a composite video signal with a refresh rate of 60 half-frames (interlaced) with each frame containing 525 lines. This signal is capable of containing 16 million colors.

Technical Questions

What is Replication?

Replication is a polycarbonate injection manufacturing. A replicated disc is created by applying a stamper into polycarbonate. This creates the pits that a computer reads as data.

When to use Replication?

Replication is used for projects that have large volumes.

What is the track?

Audio cds contain songs or performances. Each song or performance is one track. On a data disc there is only one track. An enhanced cd will have one track for the data and additional tracks that comprise the audio portion of the cd.

What is a pit?

A pit is the spot on a piece of optical media (CD or DVD) that is not the flat spot. The pit is sometimes also refered to as a bump. There is no difference between a pit and a bump. The only difference is the perspective of which side of the optical media you are looking from.

What is a bump?

A bump is the spot on a piece of optical media (CD or DVD) that is not the flat spot. The bump is sometimes also refered to as a pit. There is no difference between a pit and a bump. The only difference is the perspective of which side of the optical media you are looking from.

What is a landing?

The landing is the flat spot between pits (bumps) on a piece of optical media.

Why does optical media have pits and landings?

These difference in 'elevation' are read by the laser drive as data.

Is there a difference between a pit and a bump?

No. There is no difference between a pit and a bump. The only difference is the perspective of which side of the optical media you are looking from.

What is a Glass Master?

A Glass Master is a piece of media that a computer writes data to in preparation for making a father.

What is a Father?

A Father is the metal part that is made from a Glass Master. The Father is used to make a harder metal part that is called a Mother.

What is a Mother?

A Mother is a hard metal part created from a Father. The hard metal Mother is used to make a very hard part called a Stamper. The Stamper is the part that physically 'stamps' the pits and landings into the polycarbonate that is the basis of any optical media.

What is a Stamper?

A Stamper is made from a Mother. The Stamper is the part that physically 'stamps' the pits and landings into the polycarbonate that is the basis of any optical media.

What is track pitch?

Track pitch is the distance between rows of data on optical media. The normal track pitch for cds is 1.6 microns. For dvds the normal track pitch is .8 microns.

What is the wavelength of a CD drive?

A CD drive will use an infrared laser beam that has a wavelength of approximately 780nm.

What is the wavelength of a Blu-Ray DVD?

A Blu-Ray DVD drive uses a very small blue-violet laser beam with a wavelength of only 405nm. This wavelength is almost half the size of a cd drive and is 30% smaller than the traditional red laser beam drive. This small laser beam allows the data to be packed much more densely than either a CD or DVD.

What is the wavelength of a HD DVD?

A HD DVD drive uses a very small blue laser beam with a wavelength of only 405nm. This wavelength is almost half the size of a cd drive and is 30% smaller than the traditional red laser beam drive. This small laser beam allows the data to be packed much more densely than either a CD or DVD.

What is the wavelength of a DVD drive?

A DVD drive will use a red laser beam with a wavelength of 625nm - 650nm. This wavelength is smaller than a CD drive. The smaller wavelength is needed to accurately access the data tracks that are smaller and closer together.

What is the Substrate?

The core material of optical media is moulded polycarbonate. This moulded polycarbonate is refered to as the Substrate.

What is Metalizing?

Metalizing is the process where a thin coat of metal is applied to the clear plastic disc that is the basis of optical media.

Administrative Questions

What is the minimum order?

The minimum order for any sales order is $ 50. There are custom items that do have a minimum quantity. These are specific to the item and how much time it takes to setup that item.

What is the minimum quantity I can order?

The minimum quantity varies by product.

What are your payment terms?

Home Run Software Services supports payments via Visa, Master Card, and American Express. We do offer terms to corporations with an approved credit application.

How long is my project going to take?

Once Home Run Software Services has the master and artwork we will often ship projects within 7 - 10 business days.

How can I get my project early?

Home Run Software Services operates on a first come first serve basis.

How do I supply my master?

The ordering process will provide our clients a spot to upload an ISO CD image. If your project is a DVD or you don't have an ISO CD image we will provide you an address to mail your master to. Please make a backup copy of any master sent to us. It is extremely important to fully test any master sent for copying. Duplication will only test that your media is readable. We do not perform in functionality or operatability testing. Home Run Software Services will make an exact copy of the master provided.

Can I supply my own film and get a discount?

We are very knowledgable about the intricate details in preparing artwork for film production. To insure the best possible output for your project Home Run Software Services feels it is best to produce the film for all projects.

Why is licensing important?

Licensing is the mechanism that companies and individuals get paid for their efforts. Nobody wants their efforts stolen. Stealing software, music, videos, and other intellectual property is just like stealing from a bank. Our company supports the Industry Recording Media Associationâ€™s (IRMA) Anti-Piracy Compliance Program.

I don't have the time to get a license?

Licensing is absolutely required by all reputable businesses. Violations of intellectual property rights is a crime. Any company or individual that steals intellectual property can be held criminally and civily liable.

Where can I get licenses for songs?

The Harry Fox Agency of New York is a well respected agency that has thousands of songs available for licensing. Their website is very simple and easy to use. Please view their website for additional information. www.harryfox.com

Do I need to have licenses for free software?

Yes. Software companies that provide 'free' product generally have very easy licensing requirements. This licensing information is very often located on their individual websites.

Where can I find licensing information for software that is commonly provided for free?

There isn't a single location for this information. However we are providing some of the common ones here: Adobe, Macromedia, Winzip, Stuffit Expander, Real One, Quicktime

Who is ASCAP?

ASCAP stands for the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers. ASCAP is made up of hundreds of thousands of composers, authors, and publishers. Their mission is to protect the intellectual property rights of there membership. Please view their website for additional information. www.ascap.com

What is the RIAA?

The RIAA is the acronym for the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA is an industry association that represents the recording industry. Please see their website for more information. www.riaa.org