If you want to put your video on a DVD, the original recording rather than a copy is the best source to use. YouTube videos for example makes poor source material for video DVDs. This is because the process of authoring a video DVD involves compression and you don’t want to re-compress video that has already been compressed. Other examples of compressed video formats you should avoid if you can help it are Windows Media and Flash.
Additionally many of the new hard drive based camcorders use very heavy compression and so the video files from these type of camcorders must be DE-compressed (often a very time consuming process) before you can even begin the process of mastering a video DVD.
Generally speaking video must be digitized (imported into your computer) at a quality level at least as high, preferably higher than is used to make a video DVD. In order to do this you will more than likely need the services of a video tranfer company assuming you don’t have the equipmnet and know-how yourself.
If you’re planning on having copies made it’s worth mentioning here that not all duplication companies offer video to DVD transfers, so again you may need the services of a video transfer house before you can order copies of your video DVD.
If it’s a data DVD (or CD) you’re planning to duplicate one of the more important things to keep in mind is the total size of your files.
A CD holds 700 megabytes, while a single layer DVD holds 4.7 gigabytes of information and dual layer DVDs hold 9.4 gigabytes, so you need to be sure your total file size doesn’t exceed these limits. In fact your total file size should be at least 10 to 20 percent less than the size of disc you intend to use. DVDs especially need room to manage your media so you simply can’t fill a disc to capacity with your data.
If you intend to put more than one file on a disc it’s also very helpful if your files are all the same format. This isn’t absolutely necessary but professional mastering will cost you less if they are and take less time if you’re doing it yourself. Additionally file names shouldn’t contain any special characters such the @ symbol, $ dollar sign or # pound sign and shouldn’t be any longer than 32 characters.
If you’d like to know more about CD or DVD mastering visit cdcopieshalifax.com to get a free guide – 20 Things You should Know To Prevent Costly DVD and CD Duplication Mistakes.
Last but least visit mossmedialab.com for more information on disc duplication, replication and mastering.
