DVD Authoring
The ability to put hours of very high quality video and audio onto a single
DVD disk is one of the most exciting interactive media technologies to come
along in years. Paradigm Media has made a special effort to provide our
customers with the ability take this next step to deliver their video assets
on this new medium.
Our Spruce Maestro DVD authoring system is a state of the art combination
of very high quality DVD encoding and pre-mastering (authoring) tools that
will deliver DVD disks with the entire feature set available to DVD.
Then, we can write small quantities of playback disks on DVD-R media,
or deliver the project to a mass replicator on DLT (Digital Linear Tape),
or DVD-R for larger quantities, labeling and packaging.
Our market is normally professional, commercial
projects that need first rate image quality and authoring that draws on
the special features available through the DVD specification. You
may find a company to do your project for less cost if it involves only
encoding a relatively small amount of video and delivering it on DVD without
interactivity and other features. To help you decide if Paradigm Media is
a good fit for your project, you might want to look at the Paradigm
Advantages section.
We pride ourselves on our ability to work together with our clients, and
providing information is a part of that process. If you would like to know
more about DVD and what it can do for you, please contact us, or read on
to learn about the technology.
What's the Big Deal about DVD?
Here are some DVD basics:
A single disk can hold eight hours
or more of very high quality video and audio. The video and audio
quality is much closer to the original video than VHS, or other common distribution
formats..
Very importantly, the video, graphics,
audio and other elements can be highly interactive. This gives the
viewer control over the large amount of material that can be delivered by
a DVD disk. Many other powerful features can be enabled, including multiple
camera angles, multiple audio tracks (for alternate language language voiceovers),
and multiple sub-title tracks. All of these features can be accessed as
the program is played, according to the needs of the viewer.
The disks can be played back on both
"Set Top" consumer players (the modern equivalent of a
VHS player), or computers equipped with a DVD drive.
Disks can be in several sizes,
ranging from just under 5 gigabytes (about 2 hours of video and audio),
to 18 gigabytes (about 8 hours of video and audio). This is because, unlike
CD disks, DVD media can be written to one side only, or both sides of the
disk. Then, an additional layer of media can be written two on both sides,
giving a total of two sided, dual layered disks that hold almost 18 gigabytes.
Distribution copies of a DVD program
can be written to 4.75 gigabyte DVD-R media with a recording process which
is similar (but not the same as) writing with a CD recorder. These are called
"one-offs", and used mostly for review copies of work in progress,
or limited runs of under 50 to 100 copies. DVD-R is much more expensive
per unit than pressing them from a "glass master", and is limited
to 4.75 gigabytes of data. Occasionally, there are compatibility problems
with these disks among various players, particularly older Set Top players.
Also, some DVD-R burners on the market use a media which is only compatible
with about 50% of the players in use as of late 2001.
For programs that exceed the 4.75 gigabyte limit of data
(2 hours of video and audio), or for low unit cost, high volume replication,
the "pre-mastered" files are sent to a mass
replicator, where a master copy is created that can then be used
to physically "press" the copies. Although the glass master is
relatively expensive to produce, the copies can be very inexpensive in quantity.
The basics of creating a DVD program
are as follows:
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First, we work with you to determine the various elements
of the program, the program flow and interactivity that make them work
together, and begin to develope the labels and packaging.
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To actually create the program, your videotape must first
be "encoded" to a digital format called MPEG-2 (for the video),
and Dolby Digital (audio). This can be relatively simple and done in
real time, or quite complex, depending on the type of video being encoded
and quality level that is expected.
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These digital files are then imported into the Spruce
Maestro system for analysis and authoring. Menu graphics, additional
audio elements, and subtitles (if needed) are created by the appropriate
software, and imported into the authoring system.
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The menus, audio and video assets and sub-titles are
linked together to provide cohesive navigation throughout the title.
This process is difficult to describe, since it can be as complex as
you want to imagine. Also included are other DVD functions, such as
copy protection, regional codes and other features that are provided
under the DVD specifications.
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After initial authoring, the program is extensively
tested in the authoring software to insure that everything works as
expected, and then "compiled" into DVD compliant files that
can be read by a player or DVD equipped computer. These files are then
written either to a DVD-R for review (or a limited number of copies
for distribution), or sent to a replicator for mass distribution.
The Paradigm Media Advantage
Our
equipment and personnel are positioned to take advantage of all the rich
diversity of features that can be deployed through DVD. If you need to
do more with your video and audio assets than just replace a VHS player,
read on.
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Creative Interactivity.
Your programs can have both "Root Menus" and "Title
Menus" that viewers can use to select what they want from your
program, in addition to unlimited "Chapter" points to select
within each title.
In addition, discreet registers
reserved for logic control can be accessed to direct, or re-direct
program flow according to your creative desires. For example, a viewers
can be taken to a quiz that would then take them to different video
segments or menus according to their answer. The possibilities of
this feature are endless. It will be fun talking with you about how
to engage your audience with the high degree of interactivity available.
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Multiple Audio Tracks.
Obviously, this feature is a natural for alternate
languages in a single video program, and is widely used for
this purpose. Take another step, and think about using the same video
edit with a voice-over tailored for individual audiences. A single
sales or marketing video could then address marketing people, technical
personnel, management or purchasing, depending on what they want to
hear while they see the images.
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Multiple Sub-Title Tracks.
Like alternative audio tracks, multiple selectable sub-titles are
well suited for providing alternate language capabilities to a program.
Sub-titles are less expensive to generate than creating a separate
audio track for an alternate language, of course, but they also add
another dimension to other capabilities for your DVD. Below are some
other suggestions.
Sub-titles can be "forced"
( displayed automatically), or selected on or off by the viewer.
They can deliver technical
or detailed information that doesn't properly belong in your
video program, but can be brought up at the user's discretion.
Updated information
can be added to releases of the DVD without re-editing the video.
Sub-titles can be graphics
superimposed over motion video, and can be enabled as interactive
buttons to direct program flow. Then, they can be "Agents",
used in conjunction with the program registers mentioned above,
to direct program flow according to user preferences, previous actions,
or selections.
Large numbers of subtitles
can be created off-line as text files with time code, then
imported and automatically inserted into the program to save time
and money.
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"Motion Menus".
Menus are an important part of the interactivity in a program, and
we can turn motion video into menus with buttons
just like the static graphics that you normally see. This means that
you can have buttons that are comprised of individual video thumbnails,
all playing simultaneously, ready be selected by the viewer. You may
have seen this in feature movie titles, where the chapter points are
indicated by video clips from the portion of the movie that is indicated.
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Web links can be included
in the program so that web pages can be brought up if the title is
being played on an internet equipped computer.
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Professional Encoding.
Our Spruce MPX-3000 encoding board is designed to provide the quality
and versatility to satisfy the most demanding, professional
requirements. Our encoding equipment delivers very
high quality MPEG DVD compliant streams just by virtue of the
design and electronics. However, more in-depth features enable us
to meet the real challenges.
"Variable bit rate encoding"
(and multi-pass variable bit rate encoding) helps us to hold
the image quality using minimum disk space. This can be very important
when trying to hold replication costs down,
or delivering a program on DVD-R (which is limited to 4.75 gigabytes
of space).
SDI (Serial Digital) video and
audio into the encoder, with Dolby audio.
Time code in our encoded MPEG
streams allows us to work closely with you to identify chapter
points and other elements in your videos to program the interactivity.
We can very accurately"re-encode"
specific portions of video when needed. Certain types of video
scenes can cause special problems and artifacts in the encoded stream,
and we can give them special attention without having to re-encode
the entire video. This will save us a whole
lot of time, and you money.
Copyright protection. Macrovision and other copy protection
regimes can be enabled on your title.
This is just an overview of the
Paradigm Advantage. Go ahead and view a commercial title generated by
a major film company and ask us to give you the same features. We can
do it, but the real fun begins when we work together with you to create
something that takes you a step beyond.
Copyright 2001 Paradigm Media
