Information on DVD Basics & DVD Glossary
For a comprehensive glossary of DVD terminology, please click on the links below:
Glossary (1-B) (C) (D) (E to H) (I to L) (M to N) (O to R) (S) (T to Z)
What is the difference between pressed and burned dvds?
There are two ways to create a DVD. The first is by 'burning' the data onto a pre formed blank disc (a recordable DVD or DVDr) - as you would with a PC burner. This is called dvd duplication. The second is by 'pressing' the discs from a 'stamper' created by a 'Glass Master' in a manufacturing plant. Learn more about dvd video replication and production.
Producing DVDs professionally involves many steps, At ProCopy we have a 20 step process to make sure your DVD copies are exactly what you want. More on our DVD Production can be found here if you want to see the processes we've implemented to produce your DVD project.
We have also developed the ProCopy DVD Mastering Pack for those that want to create their own production masters. You can view what is contained in your FREE Procopy DVD Mastering Pack here.
What is the most economical option for me?
It depends on how many discs you need. Smaller quantities (generally under 500) are usually burned (DVD-R or DVD+R), while larger quantities are pressed. The Glass Master for pressed discs is costly to produce, making small quantities very expensive. After the cost of the Glass Master is covered, pressed discs are much cheaper to produce than burned discs. This makes replicated discs ideal for larger quantities (generally over 500). Packaging options will also vary the overall pricing of your DVD project.
How soon can I get my discs?
DVD Replication is a manufacturing process with a turnaround time of around 7 to 10 working days (within Australia). DVD Duplication is an immediate process, with a typical lead time of 2 to 3 days (within Perth, Australia).
We're on the other side of Australia can you help us?
There's a couple of different ways that we can help our DVD Customers. Whether you need delivery of multiple copies or one off DVDs in Perth, you can upload your dvd infomation and artwork to our media server. We can download large files in a short period of time, create a DVD master and copies, print the artwork and then deliver to your clients faster that you can get product across the country.
If you need bulk DVDs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart or other places in Australia or New Zealand then we can duplicate or replicate your DVD video or DVD Rom content and then have them delivered by Air Freight within days. Use our convenient email form to contact us for more details.
Is the quality the same for both options?
The DVD-R format is not universally compatible with all DVD players (although this is becoming rare in new machines). Quality is comparable for both options, but on-disc printing quality may vary depending upon how the discs are made. There are several printing options for duplicated DVD and replicated discs, including our very high resolution Micro-Dry Thermal full-colour printing.
What is DVD Authoring?
This is the process where the edited video footage is encoded or processed into the DVD format and the menu pages and links are set up to allow users to navigate the content. See more about DVD Authoring here...
DVD Regions & Formats
This is quite often a huge area of confusion. DVDs can be labelled 'all regions' but this doesn't mean that they will play everywhere.
Why? you may ask, well this is something the DVD Authoring community has asked for a while, The World was divided in to 8 regions for the development & marketing of the DVD by the developers of the format. Primarily to help with the marketing and distribution of movies it was thought that it would give better control of the timing of releases. However it appears that the different formats of video systems in each region were not taken in to account.
For example the UK and Australia use PAL Video formats, USA and Japan use NTSC video and DVD formats. Other countries may have Secam, MEsecam or variations of PAL. So potentially you can author a PAL DVD in Australia and encode it for all regions but it won't normally play in the USA because of their NTSC playback systems. View our listing of world video formats here:
It is therefore important to plan your DVD authoring work around where your markets for sales will be. We will help you implement the systems necessary for your DVD masters when we start your DVD authoring work.
Unravel more of the mysteries of with our DVD Regions Listings here, where you can discover which countries are covered in each region.
What is DVD-5, DVD-9, or DVD-10 ?*
DVD 5 is the most common DVD format - a single layer disc holding 4.7GB of content, that can be created by both duplication and replication.
DVD 9 is a dual layer disc that holds 8.5GB of content. It can be 'burned' (on some machines) but is usually replicated as it is more cost effective.
DVD 10 is a double sided disc with a single layer of content on each side. (picture 2 DVD 5's glued back to back). It will hold 9.4 GB of content. The disc must be replicated (at this stage DVD-10 cannot be 'burned').
What is 'mini' DVD?
Mini DVDs, also known as 'mini rounds' are 8cm in diameter and hold 1.4GB of content. They are typically used for commercial promotions, and will only play in DVD players with a slide-in tray.
What is a 'business card' DVD?
A business card DVD is a custom-shaped disc that is small enough to fit into a wallet. Each holds about 850MB of content. Like mini DVD, the discs will only play in DVD players with a slide-in tray.
Can you copy Karoake DVDs?
Karoake DVDs are technically a combination of DVD Rom, Audio and DVD Video, We can duplicate and replicate short runs or bulk quantities so that you can follow the bouncing ball at your next fun party!
What is overrun?
Overrun applies to replicated discs only. The actual delivered quantities may vary by plus or minus 5%. This is a consequence of the manufacturing process. The net quantity is invoiced.
What is a check disc?
A check disc is an optional process for replicated discs. It is a copy of the production 'master' for the bulk run of discs, pressed from the actual stamper that will be used to manufacture the dvds.
It may differ from a DVD-R 'proof' since some DVDs (DVD-9/10 and copy protected discs) have to be shrunk (compressed) to fit them onto a standard DVD-R. This DVD-R will not be an accurate representation of the replicated disc and hence may differ from the finished product.
What New High Definition Video Disc formats are available?
HD DVD and Blu Ray were competing products designed to hold up to 200Gb of high definition video information, Most hi-def movies and computer games will fit on the standard 25Gb discs - Now available for domestic and commercial applications you can find out more at these web sites: www.blu-raydisc.com and www.hddvdprg.com. As of April 2008 BluRay appears to have 'won' the format battle and most movie houses are producing new releases in this new high quality format. Sony, LG, Panasonic and other electronics manufacturers are now making BluRay players for the home theatre market. An excellent option at this time is the Sony Playstation 3 - combining a games console and BluRay player in a versatile and cost effective playback system.
If you have production enquiries about the new BluRay format contact us at [email protected]