Knowledgebase - FAQ
DVD Replication, DVD Fulfillment, DVD Duplication, 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.
DVD 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.
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 DVDROM and DVD Replication?Replication is used for projects that have large volumes.
Does my DVD 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.
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
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?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.