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The Desk Top Video Handbook On Line ver 15.9
DVD Cookbook On Line ver 3.5 - DVD Burners

Here we are in 2006 and it is clear that the DVD revolution that exploded in the summer of '01 is still going strong. The latest DVD burners on the market are faster, more reliable, easier to install and more affordable then ever! The most important feature to look for when buying a DVD burner is the burning speed. All of the current recommended drives have an 16x rating – this means you can burn a full 4.7GB DVD in under 6 minutes!!

Format war – what format war!
Over the past couple of years the confusing choice of DVD recording formats has made choosing the right burner difficult for consumers. Unfortunately some of the different camps in this war used marketing and PR campaigns that only made things more confusing. While the different formats still exist, the war is essentially over. Both side now realize that no clear winner will emerge and that all of the new formats must be embraced. Even more important – independent 3rd party testing has determined that both –R and +R disks will play in almost every current DVD player on the market. Some tests at first appear to declare one format more compatible, but once the older legacy players are removed from the equation, both formats have compatibility ratings from 95 - 99%.

It's the medias fault!
No, not the press, but the actual blank media you choose to burn with. DVD media is now very inexpensive. You can find cheap spindles of quantity 50 –R or +R disks for under $30. Top rated brands will cost you about $10 for a 10 pack. Why should you choose the more expensive media? Easy answer – because they work better, much better. Almost all of the remaining compatibility issues you will run into will be media related. If you find that the disks you are burning are not playing in a wide range of home DVD players, then you need to change the media you are using. The quality control of companies like Pioneer and Verbatim is much higher then what you get with the cheap media suppliers. It is this commitment to higher quality that insures you burn DVDs that will work every time on anyone's DVD player. Check out our FAQ'S ABOUT DVD MEDIA further down on this page.

And the winner is – YOU!!!
Today you have several excellent choices of DVD burners to choose from. Installing one of them is a breeze! This is not a misprint or hype. These drives are very easy to install and set up as a CD drive. Just like today's low cost CD drives our DVD burners are EIDE. That means all you have to do is attach them to your motherboard using your existing EIDE cables, and mount the drive in a drive bay. Then you install the drivers from the included CD and you are in business!!

Here comes HD!!!
The Pioneer BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc/DVD writer is expected to revolutionize digital and high-definition media storage. The BDR-101A allows professional users to test & author high-definition Blu-ray Disc content while also delivering the ability for high-capacity data storage. The drive can read BD-ROM discs, read/write single layer BD-R & BD-RE discs, read DVD-ROM, and read/write most DVD recordable media formats.

NEW! Pioneer BDR101
VIDEOGUYS' MEGA BUNDLE

NOW WITH 10 TDK 25GB BLU-RAY DISKS - MORE THAN $150 VALUE!

The Pioneer BDR-101 allows professional users to test & author high-definition Blu-ray Disc content while also delivering the ability for high-capacity data storage. Read/write up to 25GB on a single layer BD-R & BD-RE disc. Re-write to BD-RE more than 1,000 times! Read BD-ROM & DVD-ROM, & read/write most DVD recordable formats.

Blu-ray Disc is the latest and greatest optical disc technology. It might physically look and feel just like a CD or DVD, but Blu-ray Disc can do so much more! Pioneer is one of the companies that helped create this new disc format that will deliver HD content to your home. Any one who has seen a great HDTV knows that once you start watching TV in HD, you don't want to go back to standard definition programming.

$795.00 with 10 Discs
Includes 5 TDK BD-R 25GB Single-Layer Recordable discs
PLUS 5 TDK BD-RE 25GB Re-writable Blu-Ray discs

BDR101AMEGA
- Beige Drive
Add to cart
BDR101BMEGA
- Black Drive
Add to cart

    • Pioneer DVR-710

    16x16 DVD Burner with 8x Dual Layer Burning! Holiday Special $15 Mail-In Rebate!! (exp 12/24)

    The DVR-710 high speed DVD burner introduced by Pioneer enables computer users to create personal videos, make digital photo slideshows, burn music CDs and back up your data files onto DVD-R, DVD-RW, +R and +RW discs with ease. It also works with dual layer discs, increasing the capacity of a disc from 4.7 to 8.5 gigabytes for even more storage space.

    DVR-710A (beige) $40.00
    after rebate

    $55.00 at checkout

    DVR-710A (black) $40.00
    After Rebate

    $55.00 at checkout

    Class on Demand - DVDfyi

    Got DVD Questions? We've Got Answers! This is the ultimate resource for anyone involved in DVD Authoring!

    In over 6 hours of tutorials, you will finally have the answers to your most problematic DVD compression and authoring questions. You will learn everything you wanted to know about the DVD specification and how to apply that knowledge to programs you already own. Hosted by DVD veteran and founder of CrazyPants Productions, Dennis O'Neil, these in-depth tutorials will help you understand even the most abstract concepts related to DVD formats, compression, & authoring.

    Disc 01: DVD Concepts
    • How a DVD works • The DVD-Video format • File formats that make up DVD • DVD project planning • DVD asset preparation • The role of authoring applications • MPEG encoding overview • and much more... Approx. TRT: 2hours, 10minutes

  • Disc 02: DVD Creation Tutorial using Ulead Systems' software
    Apply your DVD Specification knowledge to a hands-on lesson in authoring using "DVD Workshop" and "DVD Movie Factory" software. Learn to proof, burn, and package your DVD the professional way. Project files are included on this disc so that you can follow along.
  • Disc 03: DVD Creation Tutorial using Sonic Solutions' software
    Hands-on lesson in authoring using "DVDit!" and "ReelDVD" software

    Class on Demand - DVDfyi $89.95

    		•

    PopDrops Professional DVD Menu Templates and Packaging Designs
    Create professional DVD menus and covers in minutes! PopDrops is a collection of customizable DVD menu templates and packaging designs. Each volume includes 30 DVD Menu Themes with 120 Templates and 60 DVD Disc Insert and Disc Label Themes with 120 Templates. Tweak the templates to quickly and easily create new looks and styles. You may move layers, change text, and alter the designs however you like. PopDrops are perfect for use with any DVD authoring software package that imports Adobe Photoshop (.PSD) files.

    • DVD Menu Templates include two main menus and two chapters menus of each design
    • Matching DVD Case Insert & Disc Label Templates facilitate a unified packaging design
    • Mac & PC compatible
    • NTSC & PAL Templates are included
    • Matching Packaging Designs include 150 DPI and 300 DPI resolution templates
    • Includes PSD Colorization layer for easily altering the colors of every design
    • Integration with Adobe Encore DVD allows you to quickly create stunning DVD menus

    PopDrops Volume I
    with any DVD Authoring or NLE Sale $99.95


    PopDrops Volume I and II Super Bundle
    with any DVD Authoring or NLE Sale $299.95


    PopDrops Volume I $199.95


    PopDrops Volume II $199.95

    Roxio DVDit Pro HD & Pioneer BDR-101 Blu-Ray Burner Bundles

    Videoguys Exclusive bundle gives you everything you need to start creating your own Hi Definition Productions!

    Bundle Includes:

    • The Pioneer BDR-101 ($995 value) allows professional users to test & author high-definition Blu-ray Disc content while also delivering the ability for high-capacity data storage. Read/write up to 25GB on a single layer BD-R & BD-RE disc.

    • Roxio DVDit® Pro HD ($499 value) is a professional, studio-caliber DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring tool for videographers, independent filmakers, corporate users and video enthusiasts.

    • 5 Pack of TDK BDR25A ($50 value) 25GB Single Layer Recordable Blu-Ray Discs.

    DVDit Pro HD
    Blu-Ray Bundle $999.00

    DVDit Pro HD Upgrade
    (For DVDit, Easy Media Creator, Videowave, MyDVD and all Sonic Profauthoring apps)
    Blu-Ray Bundle $869.00

    FAQ'S ABOUT DVD MEDIA
    By Brian Mercer, Director - Audio Video Technologies and Systems, at SimEx-Iwerks.
    Re-printed here with his permission. Originally posted in the Vegas forums on Creative Cow & DMN

  • What's better, DVD-R or DVD+R? There is no correct answer here as both formats are extremely compatible and have many similarities. Although DVD-R has been around longer and is "statistically" sold around the world more then (DVD+R), that doesn't make it better. Both are compatible with the majority of the standalone players on the market and although the compatibility between the two formats (in terms of percentages) favors DVD-R, the difference is so infinitecimal, it has no bearing.

  • What causes pixelation or freezing/studdering issues towards the end of the movies? In almost all cases, the cause for this is inferior media. The true test of media is what it can do from the 4GB mark on up. Being able to consistently burn 4.3+ GB's of data or more on a particular type of media is what seperates the pretenders in media from the contenders.

  • My blank DVD-R/RW/+R/RW says I can burn 4.7 GB's of data. But I have heard that you can only burn up to 4.38 GB's of data. Which one of these facts is true? Actually, both of the facts are true. The confusion comes because the "real" world and the "computer" world have different mathematical computations for what comprises a byte. The real world says that a byte is 1000 kb's, while the computer world says a byte is 1024 kb's. When you see the 4.7 on DVD MEDIA it is referring to 4.7 billion bytes, which equates to approximately 4.37 GB's. To simplify, you will need to keep your project to 4.37 GB's or less.

  • You use ADVDINFO/DVDInfo but get errors or can't get the program to read the structure of your blank media, why? There are a few reasons why you may have this problem. First, ADVDINFO is an older program and the author had not updated it in quite some time. As a result, it will not read DVD+R/RW disks, nor will it read the structure of a DVD-R in a DVD-ROM. If you are using ADVDINFO, make sure you put the media you want to read in your DVD BURNER and select "OE" from the drop down box, and hit the "READ DVD STRUCT" button.

    I personally reccomend nicw's DVDInfo which can be downloaded at www.dvdrhelp.com .
    Note: Some DVD Burners may NOT be able to read the media id's of "BLANK" DVD Media. Therefore, in some instances, you will need to burn your project onto the media, and then check the media ID. Two burners which will read blank media id's with the latest firmware are the Ricoh and Sony burners.

  • What's the Best media out there? Again, there is no such thing as Best media. No two people's computers are exactly alike, and different hardware as well as different software make this question impossible to answer. There are other reasons as to why you can't assume a BEST when it comes to DVD MEDIA as I will explain later.

    Now for the Biggest Miconceptions and Fallacies of DVD MEDIA.
    Just like with everything else in the world, I ALWAYS get what I pay for. If I pay extra money for expensive DVD MEDIA then i'm surely going to get the best quality, right? This is the ABSOLUTE BIGGEST FALLACY regarding DVD MEDIA. I have seen many posts where people think that they are getting the best quality media simply because they spent a few extra dollars. This couldn't be more false. Yes, MANY times in the real world, you get what you pay for. You won't get filet mignon for the price of salsbury steak, and you won't get a Ferrari for the price of a Ford. In many cases you do get what you pay for. But in the world of DVD MEDIA, you absolutely can NOT associate price with quality. I will give two strong examples. It was assumed for a long time that companies like Verbatim make some of the best media in the world. If you spend extra money for name brand "VERBATIM" disks...you were getting what you paid for, right? Wrong! Recently, Verbatim has been known to have allowed the production of countless inferior Verbatim disks from a variety of different production plants and manufacturers. CMC is the company primarily responsible for producing the MAJORITY OF Verbatim's crappy media, but other companies have been known to produce faulty, error-plagued Verbatim disks as well.

    The point though is that you must first understand that the MAJORITY OF THE TIMES you are purchasing "name brand" media, the name on the top side of the disk, is not the name of the company that actually manufactured the disks. You also have to understand the DVD Production process a little. You can't just assume things. You can't just say for example, that because TDK is making excellent disks now that they will always continue to make excellent quality disks. Most of these DVD manufacturers have a wide erray of production plants around the WORLD. Companies like Verbatim have at least 7 different manufacturer's of their media! They also have manufacturing plants in different States as well as different countries!

    For one reason or another, not only can one "brand" of disks be better manufactured then another..such as TAIYO YUDEN Verbatim disks being higher quality then say CMC...but in addition, the quality of the disks that come from a plant in Singapore, may be superior in quality to a plant in North Carolina. Quality control can also be more leniant at one plant then it is at another. It can also certainly be more stringent for a company like Taiyo Yuden, then it is for a company like CMC. For this reasons as well as many others, you can't just ASSUME because a disk is more expensive, it is absolutely better.

    The reverse can also be said. Just because a disk is inexpensive, does not make it cheap or of inferior quality. As a matter of fact, there are NUMEROUS unbranded "generic" media being sold at many online sites which is superior in quality to alot of more expensive "NAME BRAND" disks such as Verbatim, Memorex, Fuji, etc. Just to name some of the highest quality disks I know the majority of people have had the most success with success with are as follows:
    Ritek, (mainly G03 & G04), Ricoh, Lead Data/ Primarily sold under the name ACCU, DUPEZ, AND PIODATA. Prime disks - Manufacutred by Gigastorage. Samsung BeALL DVD-R (Not +R) Optodisks - The highest quality appears to be the Gold-Topped 4x disks from the majority of the people who have used them. This is a list of the most compatibile and highest quality inexpensive media which can in many cases be far superior in both quality AND compatibility to more expensive name brands. Which certainly is better for all of us. Last but not least, I want to mention that i've seen too many fallacies and assumptions from people who think because they got one bad batch of disks from a manufacturer, then surely, all that particular manufacturer's disks or brand of disks must be crappy. Again, this simply isn't true.

    Case in point: CMC has been known to produce a high percentage of inferior disks which have some type of issue or another. In the Verbatim example listed above, they were known to be responsible for the majority of inferior Verbatim disks. However, CMC also manufacturers many other brands of disks. Philips DVD+R media for one is produced by CMC. And for one reason or another, the Philips media CMC produces is of a higher quality and superior to that of most other CMC Produced media. There can be a number of reasons for this. It could be the dye used for the Philips disks is of better quality...maybe it's because the Quality Control is more stringent for the Philips disks then it is other brands. Or maybe it's because the entire production process is just better for the Philips disks. Whatever the reason, one thing that is for sure is that I burned a successful 75 out of 75 with these CMC disks, and I've not read a single post to date from anyone saying that they've had issues with the Philips media. I have however, read many posts where people have had success with the Philips media. So as you can see, you can't just ASSUME that because CMC produced the media, that the media will absolutely be crappy. And the exact opposite is true. Memorex has had a lot of negative Feedback regarding their DVD MEDIA. Incidentally, the majority of their DVD-R media is CMC manufactured..and of POOR QUALITY.

    So this means that everyone who has used Memorex media can say that Memorex sucks and they'd be correct, right? Once again...WRONG! Memorex also has DVD+R media and their DVD+R media happens to be produced by RICOH..one of the world leaders in DVD+R media and one of the companies at least at this point in time who people can rely on for high quality media. The point though is that just as poorly as the Memorex CMC DVD-R disks are...the Memorex DVD+R disks are some of the best out there.

    The point is that you are only misinforming yourself by saying that all Memorex media is crap or all CMC media is crap, or ALL Verbatim media is the Best...because the facts prove otherwise. In order to continue to get the highest quality media possible, you have to keep up with the times. At any given time a company may contract with a media manufacturer and you woldn't even know there was a change. Today Memorex has CMC manufacturing its DVD-R media, but tomorrow they contract with Taiyo Yuden and cut CMC. The same can be said for ANY media company. Right now the TDK DVD-R disks are produced by Maxell and themselves (TDK)...tomorrow they may decide to cut costs and allow a lower quality product to be produced and they may contract CMC to produce their DVD-R media. What a nightmare that would be..lol...but it can happen.

    As long as people understand these concepts and look a little deeper then just the obvious...then they should have no problem staying on top of the highest quality DVD media on the market at any given point in time.

    THE GOOD:

    • Maxell is good. The MXL media formula, not the brand.
    • Pioneer is good. The PVC media formula, not the brand.
    • Ritek is good. Most RITEKG03 and all RITEKG04. (what i use -- 1000's and 1000's of them)
    • Apple is good. The brand. They have a high quality control in their contracts.
    • Verbatim is good. The MCC media formula, not the brand.
    • Optodisc is good. The gold ones. OPTODISC media code.
    THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
    • Lead Data is questionable. LEADDATA or LD01 or LD or LEDA media codes.
    • Accu is questionable. ACCU media codes.
    • Princo 4x is questionable. PRINCO media codes.
    THE BAD:
    • CMC is bad. The CMC media formula, not the brand.
    • Princo 1x and 2x is bad. PRINCO media codes.
    • No-names brands like GQ*, Kyphermedia, and others that often use CMC or Princo.
    • No-names brands like Matrix and shop4tech that have their own media ID and brands.
    AND THE UGLY:
    • Fake MXL media. Silver-topped "Maxell" fakes.
    • Fake TDK media. White-topped and silver-topped "TDK" fakes.
    • Fake Pioneer. The "PioData" with PIO codes are NOT Pioneer. Pioneer is PVC.
    • Be very cautious buying on ebay -- lots of fake disks (but not all - many are fine also)
    • These are generally true. Not always, but most times.
    • The DVD-R and DVD+R are different as well. So while CMC has proven itself a loser on the -R front, it appears to have decent footing on the +R front. Ricoh is not a -R manufacturer at this time either. So be sure to treat -R and +R media comparisons differently, as they are seemingly made differently as well.

    Videoguys post after reading this great FAQ:
    WELL DONE! I have had extensive meetings with top product guys at Pioneer, Panasonic & Verbatim. All kept hitting on the same point about compatibility - it's the media, not the burner or format. Unfortunately there is a ton of sub-standard media out there that folks buy every day and then get 'burned'. As a result, they get discouraged about DVD production. This is very sad. It's also one of the key reasons why we offer our DVD burners in bundles with 5 or more Pioneer blank DVD-Rs. This way we know that our customers get the best possible shot at initial success.

    DVD Burning Tips

    1. Burn to a folder first
      While you can use your authoring software to burn directly to DVD, we prefer to create the DVD on our hard drive first. This gives you the chance to test the DVD and make sure all your links work correctly and all your footage looks great. Once you have 'approved' your DVD on your hard drive, burn it to DVD using either your authoring software or 3rd party software like Prassi Primo DVD.

    2. Use 3rd party burning software
      We've seen that on some systems, you will get a much better "burn" using 3rd party software like Prassi Primo DVD or VOB InstantCD/DVD 6. If you are creating more 'coasters' than DVDs, give this a try. You can download a 30 day trial version of VOB InstantCD/DVD 6 here File Name: icdg6023.exe File Size: 14,248KB .

    3. Buy & use a couple of Rewritable disks
      You are just getting started in DVD creation, and the whole technology is pretty new. Mistakes will happen and you will want to experiment. By having a couple of rewritable disks you don't have to worry about spending a fortune on blank media while you learn how to master this new technology. You can also use these rewritable disks for traditional removable storage applications like backing up, sharing large files and taking your work with you.

    4. Make sure you've got adequate storage
      This is one of those things that is so important but so easy to overlook. A DVD can hold about 2 hours of footage. Well, lets do some math. Each hour of raw DV footage takes up 13GB so that's 13x2 = 26GB!! You probably have almost 3 hours of raw footage you want to edit down to 2 hours. That works out to 13x3=39GB for the raw footage, plus 4.7GB for the DVD footage and another 4.7GB for the DVD in a folder. That's about 50GB of total drive space to produce a 2 hour DVD from DV. For best results we recommend adding one of our 120GB Medea VideoRaids (or larger) to your NLE system. This will give you enough storage to work on several projects at the same time. Not only are VideoRAIDs massive, they have extremely fast and consistent throughput.

    5. You must have audio to properly encode
      One of the more common burning problems occurs when you don't have audio on any section of the video. Some MPEG2 encoders will hang up as a result of this, while others will result in corrupted files. The cure for this problem is very easy. Just add blank audio tracks to those section of the video that do not have any audio. Now your encoding should work correctly.

    6. Changing your DMA settings under Win XP
      The Pioneer DVR-A03 burner requires special DMA settings. If you do not haver these set correctly you'll get error messages like decoder or hardware not found. To change your DMA settings under XP you need to go into device manager and select the Secondary IDE Channel (assuming your DVD burner is on this channel) from the IDE ATA/ATAPI controller. Go to the advancedSettings tab and change the transfer mode to PIO Only.

    7. You can adjust your compression to get even more footage on a DVD
      Not every project has to be at the highest video resolution. You can get more video on your DVD by using a higher compression and slightly lower video quality.

    8. Pioneer Frimware
      DVD-R/RW Computer Drives and DVD Recorders Require Firmware Update for New High Speed Discs
      LONG BEACH – As the DVD Forum releases the specifications for new high-speed discs for DVD recording, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. announces that many of its DVD-R/RW computer drives and DVD recorders will require a firmware update in order to avoid potential damage to the units and discs. The update process is free and relatively simple, and it is extremely important for owners of these products to make sure it is completed prior to using any new high-speed discs for recording. The DVD Forum has established new standards for high-speed recordable discs (4X for DVD-R and 2X for DVD-RW). Various media manufacturers have begun production of these discs that will soon be available in the marketplace. The source of the problem is a firmware “bug” in certain Pioneer DVD-R/RW recorders and drives, and not with the high-speed media itself. As a result, use of the new high-speed discs for recording on these particular Pioneer products may cause damage to both the loaded disc and to the drive/recorder. The following drives and recorders may be affected:
      • Pioneer DVR-7000 DVD recorder
      • Pioneer PRV-9000 Professional DVD recorder
      • Pioneer DVR-A03 computer drive
      • Pioneer DVR-103 computer drive
      • Pioneer DVR-A04 computer drive
      • Pioneer DVR-104 computer drive
      In addition to the above models, certain OEM computer systems containing Pioneer-manufactured DVD-R/RW drives are affected. Anyone who owns or uses any of the above-listed products should conduct the free firmware update immediately, prior to using the new high-speed media. Click here to download the new firmware.

    9. Panasonic DVD-RAM
      Update of the DVD-RAM device driver for Windows XP (For DVD-RAM drive models:LF-311 series and LF-D291 series, LF-D211 series and LF-D101 series, LF-D111 series. ) Download Panasonic DVD-RAM XP drivers

    The DVD Cookbook On Line

    1. DVD Q&A The first place to start. Here we will outline the basics of the technology and answer most of your questions.
    2. DVD Formats You thought Beta vs VHS was a war, this one is going to make it seem like capture the flag. In this section we help you understand what all the alphabet soup means to you.
    3. MPEG2 Editing Before you can put the video on a DVD, you've got to get it into your computer and edit it. This page lists all the latest and greatest hardware and software for getting the job started.
    4. DVD Authoring Sure you can just put your video on a DVD and hit play, but what a waste of the technology. What makes DVDs so cool is the ability to add interactive menus and instantly jump to any portion of the video. Authoring software is the tool you use to make your DVDs special.
    5. DVD Burning You've captured and edited the video. You've authored your menus. Only one step left, to burn it onto a disk. We go over the available burners as well as give you some important tips to make sure you spend your time burning DVDs, not coasters ;-)
    6. DVD FORUM This technology is so new that we can't possibly have all the answers, but that doesn't mean someone else won't have the solution to your problem. Our DVD Forum is the place where you can share your secrets and help other digital videographers from all over the world!!
    7. DVD Resources here is a list of our favorite places to go on line to learn more about DVD creation.

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