One disc or two

[Peter Rush]

Last season I had a good number of wedding edits that amounted to near 2 and a half hours which meant juggling quality vs file size for DVD delivery which is a faff and a compromise. One option I'm looking at is delivering on 2 discs with the wedding film on one disc (normally about 30 minutes) and the ceremony/speeches/first dance on the other.

Downside of this is 2 discs to author, although I suppose the disc with the wedding film can simply play without a menu?

Thoughts?

[Chris Harding]

Hi Pete

Apart from the slight hassle of dual authoring, the cost of a 2nd blank is minimal but the perceived value by the bride is way higher than a single disc! Offering a dual DVD set means she is getting much more product for her outlay and really only a tiny extra amount of effort from you.

I supply all brides a dual DVD set ..regardless of their wedding size. Normally disk 1 has the prep, ceremony and photoshoot on it and disk 2 is the reception. The only time I give a single disk is when I do the odd ceremony only shoot so 90% of my deliveries are always dual DVD's ... I use the same menu temple for both and just change the menu wording

[Roger Gunkel]

I've filmed a few weddings this year that needed to go on two discs, usually when the ceremony is very long.

I edit as one complete length on the time line, then when editing is finished, just split at an appropriate point and save as two files. I use the same menu style for both with part one or two on the main menu page. Rendering two shorter files to disc is only a bit longer than one longer file and I use a double case, so only the one sleeve artwork and the same disc artwork, just add part one or two. Splitting in two gives less compression and a better overall quality than one longer file.

Roger

[Anthony McErlean]

Originally Posted by Peter Rush

..near 2 and a half hours
Thoughts?

Peter, my wedding DVDs run 2hrs + my last wedding ran 2.25mins and I only used the one DVD.
The picture quality looked really good to my eyes.
I use Edius 8.1

[Steve Burkett]

2 disks, with full length on 1 and bonus videos on the 2nd. Occasionally I'm doing a 3rd with Guestcam and video booth uncut included.

[Jeff Harper]

2.5 hours fits fine at full quality on a dual layer disc. If we cannot afford dual layer discs then we need to raise our prices.

Most sophisitcated brides here see multiple discs as a hassle, as I do, but in other parts it might be seen differently. My one friend who provides multiple discs is on the way out, he is a dinosaur who cannot change his ways of doing buisness, he stil shoots in SD and does not offer BR. I've been doing bluray for years, it's expected in these parts. All the younger, newer operators here offer BR and digital copies, some won't evenn provide DVDs anymore.

I think it all depends on where you are.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Jeff

We are obliged to supply DVD's simply cos the brides ask for them. I don't like the idea of laying down rules to clients as to what they can have and can't have. If my brides want DVD's they get DVD's... not many here have a BD player so we normally supply 3 x DVD sets, then a USB drive for the HD video and finally our 7" video eBook with the high light video on it.

That way we cover all requirements. You have to realise that the grandparents might still have a CRT TV and a 20 year old DVD player so a BluRay is useless to them and just shows you up in a bad light and the poor old dears probably have never seen a USB flash drive either.

[Michael Silverman]

One of the best business decisions I've ever made was to include a custom engraved USB drive instead of DVDs with each wedding. I was really concerned that brides would complain that they weren't getting a DVD but over the past year none of them have even asked about it. I've also gotten compliments on the USB drive which is wooden and has their wedding date engraved on it.

Instead of having to author a DVD, design the cover, and get it printed, now I just copy the MP4 files on the USB and ship it to the bride. It's saved a ton of time and also the bride can watch their final videos in HD rather than SD. I still offer DVDs but they are a paid option which some brides have purchased.

I was pretty shocked that not a single bride has flinched at the idea of getting a USB instead of a DVD but I've been really glad that I made the switch because I really dislike authoring DVDs.

[Julius Smith]

HI Michael

I'm thinking of going this route too..can I ask where you get these custom made usb keys?

Thanks

[Michael Silverman]

I use USB Memory Direct and here's a link to the drives I've been using:

https://www.usbmemorydirect.com/products/wdr7.htm

The person I spoke with recommended the "pine" drives because pine is apparently a more solid wood than some of the others so it can handle the stress of being engraved without cracking.

I've also heard that Flashbay is a good company but I haven't worked with them myself.

[Julius Smith]

HI Michael,

I contacted them and although they will put my logo on the usb key they won't personalize each usb key (with the couples names or date).

Thanks

[Michael Silverman]

Julius, I forgot that I had another company do the actual engravings. I used a local company that's right down the street from me:

Hightech Signs: Charlottesville VA Signs, Banners, Trophies, Engraving, Scoreboards and Electrical Service

There are dozens of companies around here that do engravings so I imagine you can find one around your area pretty easily.

[Dan Tolbertson]

my last few Wedding I have only provided a BR disc and no DVD's. No complaints from anyone and it didn't really leave it as an option. just stated in my contract and to them that their wedding would be delivered on Blu-Ray and in HD. it is no so much a 1 vs 2 disc thing but more in delivering a product that was in SD. Who even has an SD TV anymore? anyways so far so good.

[Alex Harper]

Personally I never went over 2 hours per DVD but this week I crammed 3H20M on a DVD at 2MB bitrate! I was pushed for time and to my surprise it didn't look as bad as I thought it would! A lot has to do with the encode process the same way a downloaded movie at 6GB looks almost identical to the retail Blu-ray of 50Gb. If you encode correctly you can push the limits. That said I am strict when it comes to quality the only reason I went as low as 2MB is because I give Blu-rays & USB's with the FullHD content. DVDs are crappy plain and simple so if you use one disc or two discs it doesn't matter it's still not HD. Save yourself the time burn it all to one disc.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Who wants to watch more than 2 hrs? I'd do dual layer but I've split reception and ceremony on separate discs. I've done theatrical performance and doing 2 discs might mean 100 instead of 50 dvds now that's a significant decision. Not wanting to burn an extra disc or use dual layer for client who paid you significant amount of money, to put as nicely as I can, ungenerous