CDs or DVDs from DVCs ?
 

Anyone thought about compiling the DVChallenge shorts on discs? I would be willing to tackle it if I could get everyone to submit a MiniDV tape with their shorts on it. I could pull them, compress them and either do it as Windows media or Quicktime on CDROM or if you guys would want, I could do actual DVDs of each years entries.

Anyone up for that? Everyone have MiniDV or similar tapes from the past 2 challenges?

Sean McHenry

It would be cool with a DVD but might be hard to handle. I live in PAL-land which is a different size... I don't think DVDs can be cross-format, can they? If my movies are converted to NTSC I think they loose some of the top/bottom.

I will look into that issue. That would be a problem then. We could however use very high rate QT files on DVD and have pretty good quality.

So the question is now, does everyone still have their original work to make high quality QT files from? If you have tapes, I can still capture and convert if needed. That way we are all using the same quality and type Codec.

Sean McHenry

Ooohh.. I came up with another problem.. my tapes are PAL-tapes.. but it's possible to send a CD-ROM or over the Internet? Just as we set a standard for how it should be encoded...

I think I can pull PAL tapes into my system. The DSR-11 can do PAL but I'm not sure of the rest of the workflow but it should be normal, just 25fps vs 29.97. For the output I would choose QT or whatever we come up with as the best looking codec, send it out in native frame rate.

On the other hand, if you want to send a QT file on CDROM, that would be fine. Let me think about formats and file sizes, etc.

Sean

I keep a 1024x576 (horizontally upsized), 25fps master on my hard disk. I could burn this and send it to you. I'd love to see the stuff on a DVD - OR, I could create the DVD VOB for my short, pre-formated and nicely packaged.

As for the PAL vs NTSC, the main problem is, I believe, the noticeable jitter on continuous movement, at least on my DVD player.

Cheers,

Hugo

I was considering the same thing Sean if there's anything I can do to help let me know. I could go ahead and send yout he item as an mpeg2 file and aiff or whatever if you'd like.

Give me a day or more to ponder the best methods. I think QT might be the best. Or pre-rendered VOBs perhaps. Then the encode quality would be up to the original creator which in a real art setting might be important to the artist.

Give me a few days to get it straight in my head and we'll come up with a good method. I just hope everyone saved a fresh copy of their final work.

Sean

Hey Sean,

I'm open to this concept. Good idea! Will be sure to save a tape of the flick if this pans out. Like Nick, I'd be willing to help you with this. Feel free to contact me anytime.

I'm open to this idea too. I'd suggest having everyone mail in an .avi on CD so there is no tape logging, which is a pain in the ass. Sean, shoot me an email about this! If you want to put it together, that's cool. I'm sure Keith will give me a good deal on designing a DVD cover.

I'd be happy to send mine in (if you think it worthy of being included hehe)

yeah sending a cd or dvd in with the .avi on it would save someone capturing all the tapes

With the PAL/NTSC problem just make both and people that want PAL get a PAL dvd.....

But doesn't bother me i can play both with no problems

Phillip,
If I am going to do this, and it looks like I will, I would only really want to do it if I can get 100% of the entries from DVC1,2 and 3. I suppose each would have their own DVD at this point even though DVC1 only had a handful of entries.

DVC3 has 27 and at 4 minutes max each, that's a full DVD at reasonable rates. Many more and we may have to go to double DVDs.

I will start e-mailing all the entrants in the next day or two to make sure we can get some sort of DVD capable files to do this with. As a last resort, I could simply do a CDROM using the submitted formats they were given to the judges in. DVDs would naturally be better.

I'll get the details written out and get with everyone before the weekend hits.

Tell everyone to keep archival copies around. Always a good idea anyway.

Sean

It might be a good idea to make those DVDs as ISO-files and we could share them on a bittorrentnetwork.

That can be done as well. I personally don't do any file sharing applications. I have but after the last reinstall of my system, I haven't put it back on and likely won't. Downloaded files have caused me a lot of issues in the past with nasty bugs being burried inside and so on.

I will however say that anyone that wants to load them up after the fact, good for me. They are free to all who want them, unless somebody wants to keep their rights. An issue I never touched on as I believe these are all open to anyone who wants to look at them. I will include a copyright statement on the DVD, like all the commercial DVDs. We all know what good that does.

On the other hand, it might help if 2 years from now we see a blockbuster come out on the big screen called "Secrets" for example, or "Frame 37".

Sean

I am happy to send my short in on CD or DVD. In fact, I already have mine burned to a DVD (Had a 'screening' for my kids).

-Josh