|
DVD-R F.A.Q.
Here's a list of the 11
questions about DVD recordables that thousands of our customers ask most
often. You may want to save this page by printing it out and forward this
email to a friend.
- Some DVD-Rs burn too slow, or not at all on my burner...
- What is drive firmware, and why do I need it?
- How can I find out my DVD burner's firmware level?
- Where can I download free firmware upgrades?
-
How can I make copies of my DVD movies or games?
-
Which DVD burner and discs are best?
-
Why do my DVD-Rs only play on some DVD players and not others?
-
Which DVD recordable discs are the most compatible with players?
-
What is the difference between DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW?
-
Will paper DVD labels hurt my recorded DVDs?
-
How long do recorded DVD discs last?
-
What are "Authoring" DVD-R discs?
-
Are DVD-R discs guaranteed to be compatible with my player or burner?
-
Will my DVD-R discs burn at 2X speed?
-
Can I copy
entertainment titles on DVD? Someone said there's software out there to get around the
encryption.
-
What is DVD-RAM? Can I use
it like a regular DVD?
-
What is the
difference between "Authoring" and "General Purpose" media?
-
What are the
disadvantages of DVD?
-
What are "regional
codes," "country codes," and "zone locks"?
-
What's a dual-layer disc? Will it work in all players?
-
Is
DVD-Video a worldwide standard? Does it work with NTSC, PAL and
SECAM?
-
Why
doesn't disc X work in player Y?
-
How do I copy my home video?
.
THE
PROBLEMS
Many models of DVD burners have had problems burning more than a few,
limited brands of DVD-R discs. And, sometimes discs that are sold as being
2X or 4X rated only burn at 1X speeds. And also, after being recorded many
DVD-R discs would either not play or produce playback errors in some DVD
players. Here are some of the complaints we hear most often:
BACKGROUND
Fixes are now available for many models of DVD burners that will address
some of these issues (see if your burner model is listed below). The DVD
recording industry is still evolving, and important improvements in how
well discs, burners and players work together are being made almost every
week. As the factories which produce the various brands of burners and
discs and players learn about ways to make their products work better,
they add these improvements into newer models they are shipping, and also
release "firmware upgrades" where possible to add these improvements into
burners and players they have already sold. Some of these problems are
impossible to fix, but great improvements are being made.
SOLUTIONS
The newest firmware upgrades from burner manufacturers can improve your
burner's compatibility with DVD-R discs, making it possible to burn them
and play them with fewer errors and at higher speeds. you simply download
a free upgrade from your manufacturer, install it into your burner, and
then do some more tests. In many cases, after installing the latest
firmware upgrades you will find...
After
Installing the New Firmware...
.
2.
WHAT IS FIRMWARE? -- BACKGROUND OF HOW DVD WRITERS WORK
WITH DIFFERENT BRANDS OF DISCS
DVD burners optimize their ability to write to different brands of DVDs by
internal "write strategies" that control the laser power and pulse
settings to maximize its accuracy with each different dye formula,
reflector density and plastic doping chemistry for each brand of blank DVD
disc. When a disc is inserted, the drive reads the factory media ID off
the disc and queries its internal list of known disc brands and write
strategies. If the disc is listed, then it uses the write strategy for
that disc. If a write strategy for a particular disc brand is not present
in the drive's firmware, it tries to estimate how best to write to the
disc by writing to the small re-writable "power calibration" area on each
unknown disc type to see which power setting might produce best results
for the unknown disc brand. In some cases, the firmware is unable to
produce reliable burning with a particular disc brand, and rejects the
disc as having a "power calibration error" or "illegal disc" or a similar
error. This error is generally not related to disc quality issues, but is
simply a result of the drive not having the latest firmware in it that
lists the particular disc brand.
FIRMWARE UPGRADES
From time to time, drive makers test additional brands of DVD discs and
then update their firmware with new write strategies for those newly
tested discs, enabling their drives to work with more brands of DVD discs.
All DVD writer owners need to frequently check with their drive
manufacturer to see if there is a new firmware upgrade available for their
drive. That way they can expect to enjoy working with more brands of
discs, and more reliably with the discs that they already can use.
.
.3.
HOW TO FIND YOUR DRIVE'S MODEL and FIRMWARE
LEVEL -- For Windows computers, right click on MY COMPUTER,
then click on the HARDWARE tab, then click on the DEVICE MANAGER button,
then click to highlight your drive from the list of devices, and select
PROPERTIES, then SETTINGS if shown. You should see your drive
manufacturer, model and firmware revision level listed. For Macintosh
computers, go to the Apple Menu at the upper left of your screen, and
pull down to activate the Apple System Profiler. Click on the DEVICES AND
VOLUMES tab at the top, then find the line down the left side that lists
the ATA Device for your Superdrive, and click on the small ARROW to
expland that line. It should now show your drive model, manufacturer and
firmware revision number.
.
4.
WHERE TO DOWNLOAD FIRMWARE UPGRADES
Here are the places to find firmware upgrades for several of the most
popular DVD burners.
Try the OTHER BRANDS link
immediately above if your brand/model is not listed. If your brand or
model of burner is not listed there, please contact the manufacturer of
the drive, or the store from which you bought the burner itself. Tell them
which brand and model number of burner you own, and ask them for the URL
where you can download the latest firmware for your own specific model of
DVD burner. Unfortunately some companies may not be as active in fixing
their burner problems as others, so you may find that your burner may not
have a firmware upgrade available. In that case please do not try to apply
firmware from another brand of burner, as it could permanently damage your
burner.
.
Freeware DVD Backup Programs -- The two programs below are very easy
to use, and dependable for most users with Windows computers. If your DVD
is a short movie less than 2 hours long, and less than 4.7 GB in total
size, then it will fit onto one DVD-R or DVD+R and you can use DVD
Decrypter. If your original DVD is longer than two hours or its total
size is bigger than 5GB, then you need to use DVD Shrink. DVD
Shrink will let you squeeze these bigger DVDs into one DVDR disc. You will
be able to choose which languages, menus, trailers and titles to remove
and what final quality setting to use. Removing most extras from these
longer movies often lets you get a final quality of 90% or so, which is
still quite enjoyable. DVD Shrink does require that you have
Nero already
installed in your computer, since it automatically depends on Nero's burn
engine to do the final burning of your DVDR disc. If you don't have
Nero yet, you
can use the link below to download a trial version. After 30-days, it
costs $60 for the serial number.
- For DVD5 "Short"
Movie Disks -- up to 4.7gb 2 hour movies onto one DVD. Requires no
added software.
- DVD Decrypter
3.1.9.0 (January, 2004)
- Read a How-to-Use
DVD Decrypter Guide
- For DVD9 "Long"
Movie Disks -- squeezes 9gb several hours onto one DVD. The
recording function requires Nero, see below.
- DVD Shrink 3.1.4
(January, 2004)
- Read a How-to-Use
DVD Shrink Guide
- Nero Suite 6.3.x
-- required to use DVD Shrink above. If you already have an older Nero
version installed, you may not need this download.
-
Nero 6.0 30-day
Trial Download (Serial Number costs $60 after 30 days)
Other Programs --
The two programs above are all most users will every need. However, many
other programs are also available, some free and some in trial or retail
versions. See them described in the big list on the
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/tools/
page.
Retail DVD Backup
Programs:
If you feel you need to
be using an "in-the-box" retail type program, then you may want to
consider using DVD X Copy.
Until programs like DVD X Copy
arrived, direct DVD to DVD-R copying had been made difficult if not
impossible for most users who feel more comfortable using "in a box"
retail type software. DVDs are difficult to copy, even though common law
permits "fair use" copying of a disc you actually own for your own use
(rented or borrowed discs may not be copied, and any copied disc may not
be sold or given away to others -- that's "fair use"). Copy protected or
scrambled DVD content is a result of the Digital Mellinium Copyright Act (DMCA)
and cooperation between the manufacturers of discs and drives, using
scrambling codes on the discs and in the players. As a result, even though
various other laws permit you to make copies of your discs and tapes for
your own use, making copies of DVD movies or games you own is very
difficult. Whether it is legal nowadays to make a copy of a DVD that you
own is now controversial. However, if you own a DVD-ROM drive in your
computer and a CD-R burner, or if you own a DVD burner that plays DVDs and
burns CD-Rs (like the Pioneer combo DVD Writers, or any of the 2nd "plus
type" DVD Writers by HP, Sony, Philips, Ricoh, etc.), then you can make
copies of DVDs.
COPYING ONTO DVD-R/W
DISCS
The most popular way to make perfect copies of your DVD movie discs is
with a new program called
DVD X COPY . DVD X Copy
lets you copy directly onto blank DVD-R or DVD-RW discs, with no loss of
quality or features. Of course, this program DOES require that you own
either a DVD-R or DVD+R burner (it works with either the "general" or
"plus" type DVD burners). It copies all the tracks and special features of
your DVD movies. If the original movie disc is too long to fit onto one
4.7gb DVD-R, it will use two or more discs as needed automatically. This
is the DVD backup software that most DVD movie owners have been waiting
for. It lets you protect your valuable DVD library investment so that you
don't have to worry about accidentally damaging your original DVDs and
losing them forever! It even copies many scratched and damaged DVD discs
and helps you "recover" them. This program retails for $129. It features easy setup
and 1-2-3 step operation, and runs on any Windows 2000 or XP computer (it
is NOT compatible with any Macintosh's, or older Windows ME, 98, 95 or 3.1
computers).
COPYING ONTO CD-R
DISCS
At present, there are several programs available for sale that enable you
to make high quality copies of DVDs onto CD-R discs, using your CD-R
burner and a computer DVD player drive. These programs produce high
quality video that is much better than the VHS tapes you're used to, but
slightly lower quality than DVD movies. Most people actually can't tell
the difference when watching them on TV sets. No DVD burner is needed
(although you could use a DVD burner if you have one to PLAY the DVD disc
instead of a regular DVD player drive). Two of the most popular of these
DVD copying programs are
DVD
Copy Plus and
DVD
Wizard Pro. These programs enable you to play a DVD down to your hard
drive, decode the program, and then burn it onto 1 or 2 CD-R discs using
your CD-R burner. The final CD you produce is in the "Video CD" or VCD
format, which most DVD players automatically recognize and play, just like
a DVD movie disc. If the movie is 80-minutes or less in runtime, then it
will fit onto 1 CD disc. Most 2-3 hour movies will take 2 CD-R discs. You
can label and store these VCDs just like any other CD-R.
DVD burners are made to
produce your own ORIGINAL DVD movies (such as wedding videos, home movies,
company presentations, etc.), to record backups of VHS movies and
television shows, and so on. However, when it comes to duplicating DVDs,
burners and DVD movie or game discs are designed to make it difficult for
you to make direct copies.
So, DVD burners are NOT
capable of DIRECTLY copying a DVD movie or game disc, since the discs are
scrambled, and the CES de-scrambling codes are located on a part of the
disc that cannot be mechanically copied by the burners, but can be read by
all DVD players. Those codes are required to decode them, so they will
play on the DVD players.
IMPORTANT
The copyright laws permit making ONE copy of a recording as a backup of a
disc or tape you actually own, for your own use. They do NOT permit making
a copy of a disc you do not own, nor re-distributing any copies to others.
Remember that making more than one copy of any disc you own is against the
law. And, making a copy of a friend's disc, or distributing copies to
friends is directly against the law. Please use these DVD and CD creation
software applications and devices in legal ways. Respect the intellectual
property rights of the authors of these discs. We do not support nor
encourage unethical or illegal copying of DVDs or CDs or tapes, and we
will not assist people in those efforts.
...
The
recordable DVD world is now a bit too complicated, something like the
video tape or CD-R world was many years ago. Take a look at a few dozen of
the most popular DVD Writers and the types of DVD recordable discs they
can work with at...
Our "Which Burner with Which DVD?" Page
Recommended DVD Burner
-- The Pioneer DVR-109 is the most popular and dependable burner/player
for most users. It burns or creates 4.7gb DVD±R write-once discs at up to
16x speed and DVD±RW erasable discs at 6x. It also creates or
burns CD-R and CD-RW discs. It plays DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW and both
DVD Video and DVD Music, CD Video and CD music discs. It is an internal
ATAPI EIDE drive that works in the great majority of Windows PCs and G4
Macs. Installation is easy, and is "plug-n-play", only taking a few
minutes.
Regarding DVD-R and
player compatibility, see our list of players at...
DVD-R Compatible Players List
About 95% of the DVD
players now in the market appear to play regular DVD±R 4.7gb "general
purpose" type discs well.
There are other burners
out in the market, including the Panasonic SW-9571 which burns only DVD-R/W
and DVD-RAM discs. The advantage to this recorder is that it can edit DVD
video using the fast DVD-RAM discs, and then produce a final DVD-R disc
which will play on most popular consumer DVD players. If you do a lot of
DVD video editing you may want to consider this drive. However, many video
editors prefer to edit their video on their fast hard drives since hard
drives are so cheap these days, and prefer the versatility of the Pioneer
DVR-A09 above for burning and playing many formats of DVDs and CDs.
If we were entering the
market at this time, we would buy the most-popular Pioneer DVR-109
burner. For editable discs, we'd use the DVD-RWs it burns. For DVD
"releases" for public or company-wide distribution, we'd use the 4.7 GB
DVD-Rs it produces (understanding that about 5% or so of players may not
play the discs). Over time, as the market matures, more and more consumer
DVD players will play the DVD-R discs. It is priced right, and is very
versatile. Then, we would expect to replace it with an all new drive
sometime in 18-24 months.
..
While the
DVD Movie and Game discs you buy or rent in the stores appear to be
"silver" or "gold", they are usually made from aluminum coatings, over a
clear layer that has been mechanically pressed with pits or holes to
encode the data that the lasers in the DVD players decode into music and
video signals. DVD Video discs that are made this way do not require the
light sensitive dye layer used in DVD-R discs, and so they appear clear on
the bottom, or nearly so. They never have to be "burned".
By
contrast, the recordable DVD-R discs use a dark dye layer to absorb the
higher powered laser in DVD burners to create the tiny pits or holes that
encode the disc's data. This dye layer causes problems for some cheaper
and older DVD players, but it is none-the-less required to "burn" the DVD-R.
Most of today's DVD Players now are able to read both the clear bottomed
DVD movie and game discs, and also the colored dye bottomed DVD-R discs.
We have a page that lists over 200 DVD players now in the market, rating
their DVD-R playing compatibility. Approximately 76% of today's DVD
players can play DVD-R type discs. You can see the DVD-R/player
compatibility page at...
DVD-R Compatible Players List
As far as the "quality"
of the DVD-R discs themselves, we constantly test our own generic DVD-Rs
to ensure their high-quality, low-errors, and consistent workability with
popular players and burners. We get far less than 1% of them returned.
The blank DVD-Rs we call
"Pro-Grade" are our best quality discs, with the lowest error rates and
highest player/burner compatibility.
Our "Standard Grade"
DVD-Rs are less expensive, but may not be compatible with a few brands of
DVD burners and players, such as the Panasonic DMR-EM20/30 series.
Otherwise, the discs are of reliable, consistent quality for most users.
.
Not all
DVD Players are capable of playing or reading a DVD-R format recordable
DVD disc. And, those that can play at least one kind or brand of DVD-R may
not be able to play other brands, regardless of quality.
75%
Can... A glance at the list below will show you that about 75% of today's
DVD players can handle DVD-Rs. As you may know, the store-bought DVD
Movies and Games you have were pressed mechanically, like old-fashioned
vinyl LP records. By contrast, your recordable DVD-R discs are "burned"
with a laser, and have a slightly different format than the retail DVDs
you buy or rent. Playing your burned DVD-Rs requires an extra feature or
two that MOST but not all players have. Below is our current detailed
list, of existing DVD player brands and models with an evaluation of their
ability to play your DVD-R recordings. See a list of more than 200 DVD
players that can play at least some kinds of DVD-R discs at...
DVD-R Compatible Players List
Little Differences
Matter... There are subtle differences between the dye formulas and top
reflectors used among DVD-R manufacturers, as each company struggles to
find a "middle ground" that straddles the wide variations in laser types
and logic circuitry used by DVD players and burners. Even though two
general purpose type DVD-Rs may be well made, they may have been made to
slightly different standards by their makers; each deciding to be more or
less compatible with certain brands of players and burners.
How Do We Know? This
information has been obtained from many sources, including our own tests
and information from users such as yourself. It is constantly updated.
While we cannot absolutely guarantee that your recordings will play on
each of these players, we hope that this partial list of over 200
different DVD players will help you see the present state of the DVD
player market.
No Guarantees... Remember
that this list is merely a guide to DVD-R and DVD player compatibility. It
does not, nor cannot guarantee that any one DVD-R disc is compatible with
a particular player. It merely reports that the player has been reported
to work with at least ONE type or brand of general purpose DVD-R or DVD-RW.
Try a Few... As always,
we recommend that you buy small quantities of several types of general
purpose DVD-R discs to determine which will work best with your own burner
and available target DVD players. The DVD recordable market is constantly
changing and requires that you be willing to invest a minimum of time and
a modest "testing budget" to gain the experience and knowledge you need to
fully enjoy and benefit from this exciting new technology.
Share Your Wisdom... If
you wish to provide us with another model that you have tested personally
and can provide reliable information about, or you have found an error in
the list below, feel free to email us your own research results at...
support@orinc.com
.
DVD-R
and DVD-RW
These 2
disc types were created by the DVD Forum ( see it at
DVD Forum Site ).
Both DVD-R and DVD-RW
types generally come in the single-sided, single layer 4.7 GB capacity,
which is roughly equal to 120-minutes of standard playing time.
You can also now find 9.4
GB double-sided discs entering the market, although there are no players
which will automatically play both sides of the disc without ejecting it
and turning it over. Eventually, there will be DVD-R discs available that
will hold around 20 GB of data, recorded into two layers on each side of
the disc. At this time, these 20gb discs are not yet available.
The most common DVD-R is
a write-once 4.7gb disc that comes in two sub-types -- "general purpose"
and "authoring". The general purpose discs are part of the industry's
copy-protection scheme, which employ CES scrambling to protect movies and
music and game discs from being copied. These discs can only be burned by
general purpose type DVD writers such as the Pioneer DVR-A04/104/A03/103
machines, the Panasonic LF-D311 and D321, Apple Superdrive, etc. Such
machines cannot copy the playback de-scrambling codes on DVD movies or game
discs, so they cannot be easily copied. Authoring DVD-Rs must be burned by
the Pioneer DVR-S201 DVD Writer, which produces non-copy protected discs
for use in the industry for professional, retail DVD duplicators and
distributors. Once recorded, either a general or authoring DVD-R can be
played on most DVD players (if the player is DVD-R compatible).
By contrast to the
write-once DVD-R types, the DVD-RW is fully re-writable or erasable up to
1,000 times. However, unlike the older DVD-RAM format, these particular
erasable discs are NOT "random access", meaning that you cannot erase bits and
pieces of them. Instead, you have to completely erase the whole disc to
reuse it. The DVD-RW can be played on many DVD players, but not quite as
many as the DVD-Rs. Of course, DVD-RAM discs are playable on only a few
types of DVD players.
Most DVD-R burners like
the Pioneer DVR-109s and compatibles, can also burn DVD-RW discs. An
exception is the older Panasonic DVD burners, which would burn only DVD-R and
DVD-RAM. This drive is great for users who want both data storage and
editing features from DVD-RAM, and DVD-R production capabilities for disc
copying and distribution.
DVD-R is the most popular
format for most Windows users, and is almost universally accepted by Mac
users as their standard DVD recordable format.
DVD+R and DVD+RW
These two types were
created and are backed by the DVD+RW Alliance ( see it at
DVD+RW Alliance Site ). A few
companies who back the DVD Forum (above) are also active in the DVD+RW
Alliance, but the two standards are not compatible.
The oldest "plus type"
DVD is the DVD+RW. It, like DVD-RW, is a rewriteable 4.7 GB DVD kind of
disc. DVD+RW, does have a couple of technical advantages -- (1) lossless
linking (which enables some editing after recording without a full erasure
that DVD-RW requires), (2) up to 2.4X recording speeds on some burners,
and (3) a special drag-and-drop file support on the desktop (otherwise
known as DVD+MRW). Unfortunately, the DVD+R disc type does NOT even begin
to compare with DVD-R as far as DVD playback compatibility. However, the
actual level of DVD workability on players of DVD+RW is claimed to be
about equal to DVD-RW. Of course, even so, neither the DVD+R nor the older
DVD+RW discs are as popular as DVD-R and DVD-RW are.
The newer DVD+R
write-once type disc is aimed at becoming more compatible with DVD
players. However, the fact is that so far it is only about as compatible
as DVD-R discs are. Also, the DVD+R discs are more expensive in today's
market, and not burnable by "1st generation" plus-type burners, which were
designed only for the DVD+RW rewritable discs. If you want to create +R
discs, you'll need the newer "2nd generation" type burners, such as the
Sony 120A, the Ricoh 5125A, and so on.
DVD-RAM
DVD-RAM is used for data
backups and storage, and for editing of video or audio content prior to
the production of a final distribution DVD. The DVD-RAM disc type is made
to act a lot like a hard drive, where the disc can be formatted for HFS+
Macintosh or Windows type computers, and so on. It can handle 100,000 or
more erasures, and should last for many years. Of course it is not
playable on many DVD players. Type 2.0 DVD-RAM discs can be removed from
their cases to enable playback on the few players in which they are
compatible. The newer DVD-RAM drives can handle any sized such disc,
including 2.6, 5.2, 4.7 or 9.4 GB discs.
HOW ABOUT AN "EVERY
DVD" TYPE BURNER?
Nope. Unfortunately you
can't get a burner that will handle both "general type" and "plus type"
DVD recordables.
The Panasonic LF-D321/311
machines (and OEM versions packaged by other companies using the same
mechanism) offers a drive that some users prefer. It lets you do backups,
editing and temporary storage on DVD-RAM discs, and then lets you switch
to DVD-R's popular format when you want to make discs for distribution.
For editing, the DVD-RAM is very fast and offers a drag-and-drop type ease
of use like a hard drive.
However, the popular
Pioneer DVR-109 and its OEM compatibles such as the Apple Superdrive also
offer a combination of features -- you can burn both CD-R and CD-RW discs,
as well as DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. While you can use DVD-RW for erasable
backups, you don't have the easy file access that DVD-RAM offers. As far
as editing goes, most users simply buy bigger hard drives to have the room
for video and music edits. Hard drive prices and speed advantages make
that an attractive option. Altogether, these drives are by far the most
popular machines for most users.
.
For many
years, CD-R manufacturers recommended that users NOT apply paper labels to
their newly recorded CDs. They felt that the labels' adhesive would harm
the sensitive silver reflector by tarnishing it, or that off-center labels
might cause the disc to wobble, making it unreadable.
These
factors are much more important today for DVD recordable discs than they
ever were for CD-Rs. On DVD-Rs, the tiny data bubbles that encode the
video and audio data are 8-times closer together than on CDs. Even the
slightest degradation of the edges of the bubbles due to UV or heat
exposure can ruin a DVD-R. Also, even the slightest wobbling during
playback can make video tracks unreadable, or produce "jitters" or
blinking, horizontal lines, and so on. In some cases, the discs can become
completely unplayable.
We
recommend that if you wish to apply labels to your DVD recorded discs, you
use our "no-wobble" discs, together with an appropriate full-face label
applicator tool to help you center and prevent bubbles when applying the
labels.
The other solution is to
print directly onto the disc itself with a high quality inkjet or thermal
printer. We sell special inkjet surface DVD-R discs.
We also sell CD/DVD
inkjet printers with the pass-thru trays that let you print directly onto
the special inkjet discs...
.
All DVD
recordable discs are extremely sensitive to heat, UV light and humidity.
You should avoid exposing them to any extremely hot environment such as
automobile interiors in the sun, or inside near radiators or heaters, or
near an outside window, and so on.
It's best
to keep all DVD-R discs stored in a cool, dry place, closed up in a blank
plastic DVD movie case. This will ensure that they last the longest.
Avoid any
abrasive, scratching or etching treatment of the disc's top or bottom.
Remember that they are much more sensitive than DVD VIdeo or Game discs,
and that even a small scratch can make them unplayable.
However,
a scratched DVD-R can be destroyed in seconds, and one exposed to high
temperatures, humidity or strong UV light sources can become unplayable
within anything from a few hours to a few days. One study of average DVD-R
discs stored at 80 degrees and high humidity showed that many of them
became unplayable in only a few hundred hours. Imagine what storage in a
sun-heated car interior's "oven" at about 200 degrees would do!
Treat
your recorded DVD-Rs with care. Handle them by their edges, gently. Avoid
harsh chemicals in marking pens, ink and label adhesives. Avoid touching
the top or bottom surfaces. Don't slide them across tables, players or
computer cases. Return them to their black DVD cases immediately after
playing. Don't stack DVD-Rs one on top of each other and shuffle them like
a deck of cards.
Do buy
white coated DVD-Rs. The extra top coating can add a bit of extra
protection against some chemicals and minor nicks and abrasions. Do buy
gold metal reflectors when you want to get the absolute longest storage
possible. Gold does not tarnish. Silver alloy metal reflector discs can
last for many years also, especially with the white top.
With
proper handling and protection during storage, a DVD-R disc can last for
longer than you will probably want to re-play them. One company claims
that its DVD-R discs can last up to 100-years or more. Store your own DVD
recorded discs carefully in a cool, dark, dry place and they should last
for many years.
.
Authoring
type DVD-R discs are made to be compatible only with the very expensive
Pioneer DVR-S201 DVD Writer, which sells for $4,000 to $5,000. This
machine produces special DVD-Rs which are used as "mastering" discs for
professional distribution and duplication purposes. Authoring discs are
not compatible with inexpensive "general purpose" or "plus type" DVD-R/RW
or DVD+R/+RW Writers. The actual quality of authoring discs is not
necessarily better than any other. It is simply a non-copy protected disc
type, made for professional use.
.
Actually
NOBODY can guarantee 100% compatibility for their DVD recordables in
today's market. Why? Well ...
While the
market is improving regarding burner/player/disc compatibility and
conformity with standards, it is not yet a "mature" market.
In fact,
some say there is a battle going on between major brands such as Philips
and Pioneer, with the consumer caught in the crossfire.
Unfortunately, as a result of this battle, DVD-R discs cannot be
guaranteed to be compatible with all DVD burners or all DVD players. Even
within the specific DVD recordable type, such as authoring, general
purpose, plus and DVD-RAM, a particular brand of disc may not be
compatible with a particular burner or player. The discs are only
guaranteed to be free of defects in materials or workmanship. Since you
find a disc of excellent quality to be incompatible with your particular
combinations of burners, players and software, we always recommend that
you order a sampler pak before ordering the larger spindles of discs.
Anytime after upgrading your software, firmware or changing your hardware
configuration, we recommend testing again. You may want to obtain a sampler pack containing several brands of recordable DVD
discs for testing.
About 75% of today's DVD
players can play at least one kind of DVD-R. It appears that just slightly
fewer can play DVD+R discs at the moment, although this number is slowly
increasing. Perhaps 25-30% can play some kind of DVD-RW. Next come the
DVD+RW and DVD-RAM discs. See a list of DVD players with recordable
playing features at... DVD-R/W Compatible Players
.
Unfortunately there is no official standard for the manufacturers of 2X
discs. Standards are set by a group called the DVD Forum, and they DO have
a standard for 1X. The way that Pioneer gets 2X performance on some kinds
of DVD-R discs is by testing a sample of each manufacturer's discs and
tweaking their DVR-104/A04 burner's firmware for each disc. If they find
an adjustment that works for a disc brand and type, they create a modified
version of their firmware and release it on their web pages. Every few
weeks or months, there is a new firmware for the Pioneer brand DVR-104 and
DVR-A04. However, some DVR-104 units installed by other computer makers
may use different, and older, firmware. That firmware may not recognize as
many kinds of discs to operate at 2X.
FOR
WINDOWS USERS -- Most of our Windows users have no problems with the 2X
speed on our 2X Pro-Grade DVD-Rs, however we have had a few Apple owners
report that they've had problems. If you're a Windows and Pioneer drive
user and have installed the latest Pioneer firmware upgrades, you still
may not be able to get 2X performance from some discs that are in fact
rated for 2X. This may be due to the condition of the disc, the version of
the creation software you're using and various other factors including
memory usage, bus and processor speed, and so on. As always, it is best to
buy a small sampler pack of DVD recordables to check for performance on
your machine. Be sure that no other programs are running other than your
disc creation software to guarantee maximum speed performance.
FOR
APPLE MAC USERS -- Apple's Superdrive will probably NOT be upgradable with
the Pioneer Firmware, but you will need to check with Apple to find out.
Also, Pioneer may know about that issue, since they are the ones doing the
testing and re-writing of the upgraded firmware for users to download.
See the
Pioneer 2X DVD-R Writing Statement at...
Pioneer's 2X Statement
See Pioneer's comment
about non-Pioneer drives ... "This firmware utility is not proper for
upgrading OEM drive. For users of OEM drives, please contact each PC maker
for assistance when upgrading." (By OEM, they mean non-Pioneer units like
the Apple Superdrive.) at their firmware download page...
Pioneer's Firmware Page
Read Apple's
knowledgebase support page about upgrading the Superdrive's firmware...
Apple Firmware (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
15. Can I copy entertainment titles
on DVD? Someone said there's software out there to get around the
encryption.
No. Most DVDs are copy
protected in one way or another, mainly by CSS encryption or Macrovision.
Even if you could get around this, a pressed DVD can hold up to around 20
GB of data and video. Your DVD-R only holds 4.7 GB. And you'd have to
re-author the video anyway. Do the industry a favor, and pay for your
titles; if you like it enough to own it, show your appreciation to the
people who put their time and effort into creating it.
16.
What is DVD-RAM? Can I use
it like a regular DVD?
DVD-RAM is almost entirely
unrelated to DVD and DVD-R. It is a sectored media (like a hard drive) and
is designed for write-multiple usage. It is not playable in most consumer
DVD players. Its purpose is not usually video-type applications.
17. What is the difference between
"Authoring" and "General Purpose" media?
The original Pioneer DVD
recorders used authoring media; this can be given to a plant to be used as
a master for replication.
DVD recording became mainstream when a less expensive DVD recorder was
introduced by Pioneer for general use. It uses a 650 nm laser, just like a
CD recorder, so it is less expensive to manufacture. The authoring
recorders used a 635 nm laser.
You can't put authoring media in a general purpose drive. And if you send
a general purpose disc to a replication plant, it will have to be
transferred to DLT tape before it can be replicated.
18. What are the
disadvantages of DVD?
Vagueness of the DVD specification and inadequate testing of players
and discs has resulted in incompatibilities. Some movie
discs don't function fully (or don't play at all) on
some players. DVD recorders are more expensive than
VCRs. DVD has built-in copy protection and regional
lockout. DVD uses digital compression. Poorly compressed
audio or video may be blocky, fuzzy, harsh, or vague.
The audio downmix process for stereo/Dolby Surround may
reduce dynamic range. DVD doesn't fully support HDTV.
Some DVD players and drives can't read CD-Rs. Some DVD
players and drives can't read recordable DVDs. Most DVD
players and drives can't read DVD-RAM discs. Very few
players can play in reverse at normal speed. Variations
and options such as DVD-Audio, DVD-VR, and DTS audio
tracks are not supported by all players.
19. What are "regional
codes," "country codes," and "zone locks"?
Motion picture studios want to
control the home release of movies in different countries because theater
releases aren't simultaneous (a movie may come out on video in the U.S.
when it's just hitting screens in Europe). Also, studios sell distribution
rights to different foreign distributors and would like to guarantee an
exclusive market. Therefore they required that the DVD standard include
codes to prevent playback of certain discs in certain geographical
regions. Each player is given a code for the region in which it's sold.
The player will refuse to play discs that are not coded for its region.
This means that a disc bought in one country may not play on a player
bought in another country. Some people believe that region codes are an
illegal restraint of trade, but no legal cases have established this.
Regional codes are entirely
optional for the maker of a disc. Discs without region locks will play on
any player in any country. It's not an encryption system, it's just one
byte of information on the disc that the player checks. Some studios
originally announced that only their new releases would have regional
codes, but so far almost all Hollywood releases play in only one region.
Region codes are a permanent part of the disc, they won't "unlock" after a
period of time. Region codes don't apply to DVD-Audio, DVD-ROM, or
recordable DVD (see below for more detail).
Seven regions (also called
locales or zones) have been defined, and each one is assigned a number.
Players and discs are often identified by their region number superimposed
on a world globe. If a disc plays in more than one region it will have
more than one number on the globe.
1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
3: Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South
America, and the Caribbean
5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa,
North Korea, and Mongolia
6: China
7: Reserved
8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
Technically there is no such
thing as a region zero disc or a region zero player. There is such thing
as an all-region disc. There are also all-region players. Some players can
be "hacked" using special command sequences from the remote control to
switch regions or play all regions. Some players can be physically
modified ("chipped") to play discs regardless of the regional codes on the
disc. This usually voids the warranty, but is not illegal in most
countries (since the only thing that requires player manufacturers to
region-code their players is the CSS license). Many retailers, especially
outside North America, sell players that have already been modified for
multiple regions, or in some cases they simply provide instructions on how
to access the "secret" region change features already built into the
player. As an interesting side note, on Feb. 7, 2001, NASA sent two
multiregion DVD players to the International Space Station.
Extensive information about
modifying players and buying region-free players can be found on the
Internet.
In addition to region codes,
there are also differences in discs for NTSC and PAL TV systems.
Some discs from Fox, Buena
Vista/Touchstone/Miramax, MGM/Universal, Polygram, and Columbia TriStar
contain program code that checks for the proper region setting in the
player. (There's Something About Mary and Psycho are
examples.) In late 2000, Warner Bros. began using the same active region
code checking that other studios had been using for over a year. They
called it "region code enhancement" (RCE, also known as REA), and it
received much publicity. RCE was first added to discs such as The
Patriot and Charlie's Angels. "Smart discs" with active region
checking won't play on code-free players that are set for all
regions (FFh), but they can be played on manual code-switchable
players that allow you to use the remote control to change the player's
region to match the disc. They may not work on auto-switching
players that recognize and match the disc region. (It depends on the
default region setting of the player. An RCE disc has all its region flags
set so that the player doesn't know which one to switch to. The disc
queries the player for the region setting and aborts playback if it's the
wrong one. A default player setting of region 1 will fool RCE discs from
region 1. Playing a region 1 disc for a few seconds sets most
auto-switching players to region 1 and thus enables them to play an RCE
disc.) When an RCE disc detects the wrong region or an all-region player,
it will usually put up a message saying that the player may have been
altered and that the disc is not compatible with the player. A serious
side effect is that some legitimate players fail the test, such as the
Fisher DVDS-1000.
There was much wailing and
gnashing of teeth when RCE first appeared, but DVD fans quickly learned
that it only affected some players. Makers of player modification kits
that didn't work with RCE soon improved their chips to get around it. For
every higher wall there is a taller ladder.
In general, region codes don't
apply to recordable DVDs. A DVD that you make on a PC with a DVD burner or
in a home DVD video recorder will play in all regions (but don't forget
NTSC vs. PAL differences).
Region codes do not apply to DVD-Audio.
Regional codes apply to game
consoles such as PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but only for DVD-Video (movie)
discs (see DVDRegionX for region
modifications to PS2). PlayStation has a separate regional lockout scheme
for games. Regional codes also apply to DVD-ROM computers, but affect only
DVD-Video discs, not DVD-ROM discs containing computer software. Computer
playback systems check for regional codes before playing movies from a CSS-protected
DVD-Video (see
1.11 for
CSS info). Newer RPC2 DVD-ROM drives let you change the region code
several times. (RPC stands for region protection control.) Once an RPC2
drive has reached the limit of 5 changes it can't be changed again unless
the vendor or manufacturer resets the drive. The Drive Info utility
can tell you if you have an RPC2 drive (it will say "This drive has region
protection"). Since December 31, 1999, only RPC2 drives have been
manufactured.
20.
What's a dual-layer disc? Will it work in all players?
A dual-layer disc has two layers
of data, one of them semi-transparent so that the laser can focus through
it and read the second layer. Since both layers are read from the same
side, a dual-layer disc can hold almost twice as much as a single-layer
disc, typically 4 hours of video. Many discs use dual layers. Initially
only a few replication plants could make dual-layer discs, but most plants
now have the capability. The second layer can use either a PTP
(parallel track path) layout where both tracks run in parallel (for
independent data or special switching effects), or an OTP (opposite track
path) layout where the second track runs in an opposite spiral; that is,
the pickup head reads out from the center on the first track then in from
the outside on the second track. The OTP layout is designed to provide
continuous video across both layers. The layer change can occur anywhere
in the video; it doesn't have to be at a chapter point. There's no
guarantee that the switch between layers will be seamless. The layer
change is invisible on some players, but it can cause the video to freeze
for a fraction of a second or as long as 4 seconds on other players. The "seamlessness"
depends as much on the way the disc is prepared as on the design of the
player. OTP is also called RSDL (reverse-spiral dual layer). The advantage
of two layers is that long movies can use higher data rates for better
quality than with a single layer. See
1.27 for
more about layer changes.
There are various ways to
recognize dual-layer discs: 1) the gold color, 2) a menu on the disc for
selecting the widescreen or fullscreen version, 3) two serial numbers on
one side.
The DVD specification requires
that players and drives read dual-layer discs. There are very few units
that have problems with dual-layer discs--this is a design flaw and should
be corrected for free by the manufacturer. Some discs are designed with a
"seamless layer change" that technically goes beyond what the DVD spec
allows. This causes problems on a few older players.
All players and drives also play
double-sided discs if you flip them over. No manufacturer has announced a
model that will play both sides, other than a few DVD jukeboxes. The added
cost would be hard to justify since discs can hold over 4 hours of video
on one side by using two layers. (Early discs used two sides because
dual-layer production was not widely supported. This is no longer a
problem.) Pioneer LD/DVD players can play both sides of a laserdisc, but
not a DVD.
21. Is
DVD-Video a worldwide standard? Does it work with NTSC, PAL and
SECAM?
The MPEG video on a DVD is
stored in digital format, but it's formatted for one of two mutually
incompatible television systems: 525/60 (NTSC) or 625/50 (PAL/SECAM).
Therefore, there are two kinds of DVDs: "NTSC DVDs" and "PAL DVDs." Some
players only play NTSC discs, others play PAL and NTSC discs. Discs are
also coded for different regions of the world (see
1.10).
NTSC is the TV format used in Canada, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Taiwan,
United States, and other countries. PAL is the TV format used in most of
Europe, most of Africa, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Israel,
North Korea, and other countries.
Almost all DVD players sold in
PAL countries play both kinds of discs. These multi-standard
players partially convert NTSC to a 60-Hz PAL (4.43 NTSC) signal. The
player uses the PAL 4.43-MHz color subcarrier encoding format but keeps
the 525/60 NTSC scanning rate. Most modern PAL TVs can handle this
"pseudo-PAL" signal. A few multi-standard PAL players output true 3.58
NTSC from NTSC discs, which requires an NTSC TV or a multi-standard TV.
Some players have a switch to choose 60-Hz PAL or true NTSC output when
playing NTSC discs. There are a few standards-converting PAL
players that convert from an NTSC disc to standard PAL output for older
PAL TVs. Proper "on the fly" standards conversion requires expensive
hardware to handle scaling, temporal conversion, and object motion
analysis. Because the quality of conversion in DVD players is poor, using
60-Hz PAL output with a compatible TV provides a better picture than
converting from NTSC to PAL. (Sound is not affected by video conversion.)
Most NTSC players can't play PAL
discs, and most NTSC TVs don't work with PAL video. A very small number of
NTSC players (such as Apex and SMC) can convert PAL to NTSC. External
converter boxes are also available, such as the Emerson EVC1595 ($350).
High-quality converters are available from companies such as
TenLab and
Snell and Wilcox.
Beware, some standards-converting
players can't convert anamorphic widescreen video for 4:3 displays.
The latest software tools such as
Adobe After Effects and Canopus ProCoder do quite a good job
of converting between PAL and NTSC at low cost, but they are only
appropriate for the production environment (converting the video before it
is encoded and put on the DVD). See Snell and Wilcox's
The Engineer's Guide to Standards Conversion and
The Engineer's Guide to Motion Compensation for technical details of
conversion.
There are three differences
between discs intended for playback on different TV systems: picture
dimensions and pixel aspect ratio (720x480 vs. 720x576), display frame
rate (29.97 vs. 25), and surround audio options (Dolby Digital vs. MPEG
audio). Video from film is usually encoded at 24 frames/sec but is
preformatted for one of the two required display rates. Movies formatted
for PAL display are usually sped up by 4% at playback, so the audio must
be adjusted accordingly before being encoded. All PAL DVD players can play
Dolby Digital audio tracks, but not all NTSC players can play MPEG audio
tracks. PAL and SECAM share the same scanning format, so discs are the
same for both systems. The only difference is that SECAM players output
the color signal in the format required by SECAM TVs. Note that modern TVs
in most SECAM countries can also read PAL signals, so you can use a player
that only has PAL output. The only case in which you need a player with
SECAM output is for older SECAM-only TVs (and you'll probably need a SECAM
RF connection.
A producer can choose to put
525/60 NTSC video on one side of the disc and 625/50 PAL on the other.
Most studios put Dolby Digital audio tracks on their PAL discs instead of
MPEG audio tracks.
Because of PAL's higher
resolution, the video usually takes more space on the disc than the NTSC
version.
There are actually three types of
DVD players if you count computers. Most DVD PC software and hardware can
play both NTSC and PAL video and both Dolby Digital and MPEG audio. Some
PCs can only display the converted video on the computer monitor, but
others can output it as a video signal for a TV.
Bottom line:
NTSC discs (with Dolby Digital audio) play on over 95% of DVD systems
worldwide. PAL discs play on very few players outside of PAL countries.
(This is irrespective of regions .)
22. Why
doesn't disc X work in player Y?
The DVD
specification is complex and open to interpretation. DVD-Video
title authoring is also very complex. As with any new
technology, there are compatibility problems. The DVD-Video
standard has not changed substantially since it was
finalized in 1996, but many players don't properly
support it. Discs have become more complex as authoring
tools improve, so recent discs often uncover engineering
flaws in players. Some discs behave strangely or won't
play at all in certain players. In some cases,
manufacturers can fix the problem with an upgrade to the
player (see
1.47). In other cases, disc producers need to
reauthor the title to correct an authoring problem or to
work around a player defect. Problems can also occur
because of damaged or defective discs or because of a
defective player.
If you have problems playing a
disc, try the following:
- Check the list below to see if
it's a reported problem. Also check the list of problem discs in DVD
Review's Film
Vault and at InterActual's
tech support page. Try a newsgroup search at
Google.
- Try playing the disc a few
more times. If you don't get the exact same problem every time, then
it's probably a defective or damaged disc. Make sure the disc isn't
dirty or scratched.
- Try the disc in a different
player. (Visit a friend or a nearby store that sells players.) If the
disc plays properly in a different player then your player is likely at
fault. Contact the manufacturer of your player for a firmware upgrade.
Or, if you bought the player recently, you may wish to return it for a
different model.
- Try a different copy of the
disc. If the problem doesn't recur, it indicates that your first copy
was probably damaged or defective. If more than one copy of the disc has
problems in more than one player, it may be a mis-authored disc. Contact
the distributor or the studio about getting a corrected disc.
- If it's a recordable disc (R/RW),
your player might not be able to read it.
For other DVD and home theater
problems, try Doc DVD or DVD Digest's
Tech Support Zone.
If you have a Samsung 709, see the
Samsung 709 FAQ. For
troubleshooting DVD on computers, see
4.6. The
Dell Inspiron 7000
DVD Movie List has Inspiron-specific problems.
.
23. How do I copy
my home video?
This used to be almost
impossible, but luckily for you it's getting cheaper and easier all the
time.
For a simple video-to-DVD
transfer you can buy a DVD video recorder ($500 to $3,000) and connect it
to your VCR or camcorder. It works just like a VCR but it records onto a
disc instead of tape.
For transferring photos or music,
or for making a customized DVD with menus and chapters and other fun
stuff, you'll need the following:
- A computer
- A DVD recordable drive
($100-$400, or it might come with the computer)
- DVD authoring software
(usually comes with the drive or computer, or you can buy it for
$40-$27,000, see
5.4).
Note: You must use authoring software. You can't just copy MPEG or
AVI or JPEG files onto a disc and expect it to play in DVD players.
Then take the following steps
- If the video and pictures are
not already in digital form (AVI, WMV, DivX, QuickTime, JPEG, and so on)
you need to transfer them to your computer. For analog video, such as
VHS and Hi8, you need a video capture device or a computer with built-in
analog video input; for digital video such as DV or D8 you need a 1394/FireWire
input on the computer. For film, first have it transferred to tape or
digital video at a camera shop or video company (see a
list at
HomeMovieDay.com). For slides
or photos, use a scanner (or rent scanning time at a place such as
Kinkos).
- Import the video and audio
clips into the DVD-Video authoring program. Many DVD authoring programs
will convert and encode the video and audio for you. If not, you have to
- Encode the video into MPEG-2
(make sure the display frame rate is set to 29.97 for NTSC or 25 for
PAL).
- Encode the audio into Dolby
Digital (or, if your video is short enough that you have room on the
disc, format the audio as 48kHz PCM). You can also use MPEG Level 2
audio, but it won't work on all players.
- Create some chapter points in
your video tracks or let the DVD recording software do it for you.
- To put photos on the disc, use
the slideshow feature in the authoring software or make each picture a
menu. Most DVD authoring software will directly read TIFF, JPEG, BMP,
and PhotoShop files.
- Create menus that link to your
video clips and slideshows.
- Write your finished gem out to
a recordable DVD ($2-$15). (But see
4.3.1 for
compatibility worries.)
John Beale has written a
page
about his experiences making DVDs.
|
