Hello,

I have a possible concert job coming up that might be over two hours long.

I use Adobe Encore but only have dealt with DVD-5 burning all of my own stuff.

The client might want to replicate the concert, but would like to keep it on one disc.

I told him two hours is pushing it for DVD-5.

Could somebody help with how I would prepare a DVD-9 master without having a dual-layer burner?

Is there a way to make an image of the DVD-9 project in Encore and give a hard drive to a replicator?

Thanks

The standard for replicating DVDs is off DLT.. Im gathering you dont have a DLT drive though so the options arent so easy.. The best thing is try finding a replicator who has encore and take your project files to them to output to DLT.

Other than that you can try and burn each layer of the DVD9 to one DVD5 disk, but you will have a hard time finding replicators who can deal with this.. You could also save a .img file across 2 x DVD5 but again through my experience most of them have no idea if you dont have them a DLT for each layer of your disk..

Even if you find someone who can use 2 x DVD5s its not a great way of doing things you are far more prone to errors.. I think your best bet is find a replicator with encore.

dual layer burners are cheap 100bux, dual layer disks are a little more cash, but the client should be billed accordingly.

Thanks for your replies.

Just to make sure, if I get a dual-layer drive, will it produce a disc that can act as a DVD-9 master?

Do replication houses accept home burned dual-layer discs?

Also, this concert will have two acts, can I dictate that act one will be on the first layer and act 2 be on the second layer as to avoid a visual layer break?

You should be able to seperate it so each act is on its own layer, however that will come down to running times and your encoding.. The rule for burned DVDs which use the OTP method is you must keep layer 0 containing more data than layer 1.

If you do find somewhere which will take a dual layer disk as a master chances are they will just put it on DLT themselves and charge you for the transfer anyway..If encore produces a .LAY file be sure to keep this as it may be needed. Ring a few places up and ask..

So I guess one can not have any blank space on the first layer if the second layer is to be used?

DVD-9 seems to be a grey area for non-replicating businesses.

It might be easier to supply the source files, mpeg2 or .avi and let the replicator author the dvd.

On another note, maybe buying an affordable DLT drive might be worth it to keep the business in house.

Any opinions?

Thanks

The first layer (layer 0) just needs to hold more data than the second layer (layer 1).. Layer 0 doesnt need to be 100% full though.. This only applies for disks which use opposite track path as the writing scheme.. Which is what burnt dual layer disks use.

Id say you would have a good chance of finding a replicator with Encore and you could just take your files to them and do it that way.. It would prob save you money on getting them to author it..

Older DLT drives are cheap now but i think most of them use SCSI and id check to ensure encore supports the model before buying it..

Thanks for your help.

I talked to a replicator that said I could send him the Encore file on a hard drive and they would take it from there.

This will work fine for me.

I can encode two versions of the project one for DVD-5 & one for DVD-9.

unles your project wont fit on a dvd 5 i dont see a reason to go with dvd9? If you think that dvd9 will prevent from ppl copying your material youre wrong. Just something to think about, dual layer dvds are alrady down to 2 dollars a piece.

Plus dvd9 are obviously going to cost you more in duplication

tim,

when you say "over 2 hours long" do you mean 5 hours? 8 hours? or do you mean 2-3 hours? if 2-3, why not use single layer? i don't get what the fuss is. there's very little quality difference between 4mpbs averge w/6mpbs max DVD vs. a 6mpbs average w/8mpbs unless your source is HDV.

as a point of reference, i've had really old 80s VHS home videos that i've transferred to single layer DVD5 running 5 hours long and i think i used 2mpbs avg. and 4mpbs max. it worked wonderfully because i couldn't tell the difference between that and 6mpbs avg&8mpbs max on my front projector.

a second point of reference, on the same VHS home video transfers (really crapp/low-res) i've squeezed about 11.5 hours of footage onto a DVD9 dual layer @the same low-rates i used as previously.

i think i maxed out at 13 hours in terms of "watchability" and total pixelation. you can handle a ton.

just FYI. YMMV.