Master Quality: DLT vs. DVD

Rob Neidig · September 27th, 2006, 11:27 AM

Michael,

I'm afraid you are completely wrong here. Replicators that will accept DVD-Rs as a master will upload that master to their systems and create a glass master and fully compliant molded DVD discs from it. In that sense it is absolutely no different from sending a DLT. Now a DLT is more robust, less prone to errors and physical problems, so it is still the preferred method for most replication plants. But the idea of getting back DVD-Rs when you send a DVD-R in as a master is ludicrous. You would only get back DVD-Rs when you are doing a short run where they are duplicating the discs, not replicating them.

Have fun!

Rob

(In the DVD business since 1998, including a stint with Sony Disc Manufacturing's Digital Authoring Services 1998-2003).

Rob Neidig · September 27th, 2006, 11:34 AM

In regard to all the the folks suggesting that all you need to do is buy a DLT drive and do it yourself...

Well, yes and no. DVD Studio Pro is used by a lot of people and certainly is capable of doing the complete job of encoding, authoring and writing a DLT. So you could buy a DLT drive and do the whole thing yourself. But just as buying a paintbrush does not make you Picasso, just having the tools is only part of the equation. What you would be paying an authoring house for is their experience and ability to create a DVD that looks good, works like it should, and can be replicated without problems. I'm not saying the particular authoring house you mention can do this, because I don't know anything about them. But the encoding software in DVD Studio Pro is notoriously suspect, and I assume they would be using something with higher quality. There are a lot of steps in creating a DVD and you can certainly do it yourself with the tools you have. The question you need to ask is do you have the experience to do it right.

Have fun!

Rob

Mark Williams · September 27th, 2006, 11:50 AM

Rob,

Thanks for your insight on this topic.

Regards,

Shane Coburn · September 29th, 2006, 09:27 PM

Thanks everyone -- a lot of great information here. I will definitely look in to the DIY possibilities for future projects, but since I don't have the time to learn (and make mistakes) with this one, I'm going with the professionals for authoring and DLT master.

In regard to the DVD-R controversy, my replicator will take DVD-R, but does not recommend it due to problematic end discs. I don't know if this is because they don't go to a glass master from DVD-R, or they just don't like using them. They also mentioned quality issues with DVD-R masters, but this may have to do with the way people compress to MPEG-2 and not the fact that it is DVD-R.

Scott Tebeau · January 22nd, 2007, 12:09 AM

Shane, just wanted to check in and see how your DVDS turned out...

Getting ready myself to have a large lot of disks made and hope to have people like you point me in the right direction.

Shane Coburn · January 22nd, 2007, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Tebeau

Shane, just wanted to check in and see how your DVDS turned out...

Getting ready myself to have a large lot of disks made and hope to have people like you point me in the right direction.

We went with a DLT through the authoring house. I was pressed for time, and didn't want to take a chance (DVD-R) or dabble in new technology (DLT on my own).

As for the quality, well, we had some series problems with our export; ghosting, blurriness...field dominance issues. In the end, we couldn't get a proper QT export and had to play the video and dump it to tape and then capture for compression. It was a pretty exhaustive process, but it gave us the best possible quality with what we had. The main problem seemed to be that I had loads of footage contributed from many many different cameras on different formats (some DV, some HDV, and some PAL DV). When I put the Nattress filters over everything to try and create a consistent look something got screwy. I can't really say what...the authoring house first blamed it on the filters, then on the fact we had so many different sources. People on here didn't think it had to do with either, and were pretty stumped. I spoke with Graeme when it first happened and he was very concerned, but couldn't quite put his finger on the problem either. I sent him a copy of the DVD, but never heard back.

As for the DVD-R vs. DLT controversy, I don't really know what to say. Our DLT mastered video works fine, but I haven't seen or heard of any problems with the other videos in our industry that came out around the same time that used a DVD-R. The authoring house and replication place we use swear by the DLT, but people's DVD-R generated stuff seems to work fine on my computer and player. If I were to do it all over again, I would probably still use the DLT, but if I were doing a smaller project (under 3000 units), I might gamble on the DVD-R as the risk would probably be justified with the amount of money we'd save on the master...

I hope that helps.

September 27th, 2006, 11:50 AM	#18
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Rob, Thanks for your insight on this topic. Regards, __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

September 27th, 2006, 11:27 AM	#16
Rob Neidig Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Eugene, Oregon Posts: 222	Michael, I'm afraid you are completely wrong here. Replicators that will accept DVD-Rs as a master will upload that master to their systems and create a glass master and fully compliant molded DVD discs from it. In that sense it is absolutely no different from sending a DLT. Now a DLT is more robust, less prone to errors and physical problems, so it is still the preferred method for most replication plants. But the idea of getting back DVD-Rs when you send a DVD-R in as a master is ludicrous. You would only get back DVD-Rs when you are doing a short run where they are duplicating the discs, not replicating them. Have fun! Rob (In the DVD business since 1998, including a stint with Sony Disc Manufacturing's Digital Authoring Services 1998-2003).

September 27th, 2006, 11:34 AM	#17
Rob Neidig Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Eugene, Oregon Posts: 222	In regard to all the the folks suggesting that all you need to do is buy a DLT drive and do it yourself... Well, yes and no. DVD Studio Pro is used by a lot of people and certainly is capable of doing the complete job of encoding, authoring and writing a DLT. So you could buy a DLT drive and do the whole thing yourself. But just as buying a paintbrush does not make you Picasso, just having the tools is only part of the equation. What you would be paying an authoring house for is their experience and ability to create a DVD that looks good, works like it should, and can be replicated without problems. I'm not saying the particular authoring house you mention can do this, because I don't know anything about them. But the encoding software in DVD Studio Pro is notoriously suspect, and I assume they would be using something with higher quality. There are a lot of steps in creating a DVD and you can certainly do it yourself with the tools you have. The question you need to ask is do you have the experience to do it right. Have fun! Rob

September 29th, 2006, 09:27 PM	#19
Shane Coburn Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 95	Thanks everyone -- a lot of great information here. I will definitely look in to the DIY possibilities for future projects, but since I don't have the time to learn (and make mistakes) with this one, I'm going with the professionals for authoring and DLT master. In regard to the DVD-R controversy, my replicator will take DVD-R, but does not recommend it due to problematic end discs. I don't know if this is because they don't go to a glass master from DVD-R, or they just don't like using them. They also mentioned quality issues with DVD-R masters, but this may have to do with the way people compress to MPEG-2 and not the fact that it is DVD-R.

January 22nd, 2007, 12:09 AM	#20
Scott Tebeau Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: portland oregon Posts: 73	Shane, just wanted to check in and see how your DVDS turned out... Getting ready myself to have a large lot of disks made and hope to have people like you point me in the right direction.