Here are a few pointers if you want to make a DVD or CD that is certain play on every disc player.

1. Ask a Pro for Help

Since burning a DVD and CD master for duplication is a more detail oriented process than making a disc for personal use it never hurts to ask for help. Contact your local duplication service house and ask for professional advice if you’ve never done it before.  You’ll be surprised just how much free help is available especially if you’re in the market for CD or DVD copies of your new disc.

Before you get started, it’s important to know that unless you follow specific industry standards, you can mistakenly make a CD or DVD that will only play on your PC or Mac but won’t play on any one else’s computer or disc player.  And if you decide to use custom menu features or screen formats, again your DVD or CD may not play on everyone’s system, leaving your audience very unhappy and frustrated with you.  No matter how small your CD or DVD duplication order might be, if you’ve making your own master disc, have it checked for compatibly by a professional duplicator before you order copies.  This service is generally offered at no cost and is sure to  save you a great deal of time, money and frustration if they find mastering errors before you order copies.

Unfortunately disc burning mistakes are easy to make because there are so many new media formats available and many different ways to create an audio CD or video DVD.

Here are few basic tips that should make the process easier and increase your odds of success.

2. Choose a High Quality Disc

When it comes making your own CD or DVD the quality of the disc you use has a huge impact on your success.  Since there is only pennies in the difference between low grade and high grade discs, go for the high grade.  Poor quality media is one of the biggest contributors to failed CD and DVD burns. This decision alone can increase your odds of success by at least 50%.

3. Set Your DVD Bit Rate

One of the most  common mistakes people make when burning a DVD is choosing a bit rate that is  too high for the average disc player to handle.  If you’re not familiar with the term bit rate just think of water passing through a hose.  Moving digital information from one place to another is very similar to moving water.  Water needs pressure to move from place to place and data needs a bit rate (sort of like digital pressure).  And when it comes to pressure of any kind more is not always better. If your bit rate is too high the results can be disastrous – playback errors and possibly complete playback failure.  And since there are so many different disc burning software packages available the best advice I can offer when it comes to bit rate is to be conservative.  DVDs are design to hold no more than 2 hours (or 4.5 gig) of video so choose a bit a rate that will accommodate at least 90 minutes or 4.5gig of data.  That way you’ll know your bit rate won’t be too high.

4. Choose The Slowest Burning Speed

Additionally burning a disc at high speeds can also cause playback errors. Faster is not always better.  So, whether you’re mastering a video DVD or audio CD use the slowest possible speed to ensure an error free burn.

5. Standardize Your (CD) Audio File Format

Before you start to burn you favorite mix CD make sure all your tracks are the same format and sampling rate.  In other words, all your track should be mp3 or wave but not a mix of both. The best sampling rate for a CD is 44.1Khz If you’re uncertain about this just open your file with either Apple Quicktime media player or Windows media player and check the file properties. If you have a mis-matched collection of tracks there are plenty of free file conversion tools available online.  A little experimentation may be required but the tools are just a click away.  I hesitate to recommend any one conversion tool in particular since I’m accustomed to using professional converters but rest assured, if budget is an issue and you have a little time on your hands there are lots of free conversion tools available. Oh yes, it goes without saying to check anything you download for viruses before you install it.

6. Avoid Paper Sticky Labels

Last but certainly not least never use a peel and stick label on your disc. It’s virtually impossible to get a peel and stick label centered perfectly on your disc and an off center label will make your disc wobble causing machine noise and inconsistent playback.

Last Word

So if your disc project is important, and you plan to order copies ask your duplication supplier if they offer a quality assurance program and a money back guarantee. That way you can relax knowing your new CDs or DVDs will play perfectly anytime, anywhere and that your hard earned money is well spent.

If you want to know more about disc mastering and duplication visit, http://cdcopiesinhalifax.com to get my free guide – 20 things you should know to prevent costly CD and DVD Duplication Mistakes.

http://mossmedialab.com is based in Halifax Nova Scotia and considered the professionals’ choice for CD and DVD mastering ,CD copies, DVD duplication and Blu-ray replication as well as web design, web hosting, web video, video transfers and digital media encoding.  We also offer environmentally friendly disc packaging.

Ask about our free disc analysis. Every order undergoes our quality assurance program and comes with a 30 day money back guarantee.