Chapter 1

Chapter 5
DVD Production
DVD production has two basic phases: development and publishing. Development
is different for DVD-ROM and DVD-Video, publishing is essentially
the same for both. Cheap, low-volume productions can be duplicated on
recordable discs, whereas high-volume, mass-market products such as
movies must be replicated in specialized factories.
DVD-ROM content can be developed with traditional software development
tools such as Macromedia Director, Visual BASIC, Quark mTropolis, or
C��. Discs, including DVD-R check discs, can be created with UDF formatting
software (see “What DVD-ROM Formatting Tools Are Available?”).
DVD-ROMs that take advantage of DVD-Video’s MPEG-2 video and multichannel
Dolby Digital or MPEG-2 audio require video and audio encoding
(see “What DVD Production Tools are Available?”).
DVD-Video content development has three basic parts: encoding,
authoring (design, layout, and testing), and premastering (formatting a disc
image). The entire development process is sometimes referred to as authoring.
Development facilities are provided by many service bureaus (see
“Who Can Produce a DVD for Me?”). If you intend to produce numerous
DVD-Video titles (or you want to set up a service bureau), you may want to
invest in encoding and authoring systems (see “What DVD production tools
are available?” and “What DVD Authoring Systems Are Available?”).
Replication (including mastering) is the process of “pressing” discs in
production lines that spit out a new disc every few seconds. Replication is
done by large plants (see “Who Can Produce a DVD for Me?” for a list) that
also replicate CDs. DVD replication equipment typically costs millions of dollars.
A variety of machines are used to create a glass master, create metal
stamping masters, stamp substrates in hydraulic molds, apply reflective layers,
bond substrates together, print labels, and insert discs in packages.
Most replication plants provide “one-off” or “check disc” services, where
one to a hundred discs are made for testing before mass duplication. Unlike
DVD-ROM mastering, DVD-Video mastering may include an additional step
for CSS encryption, Macrovision, and regionalization. There is more information
on mastering and replication at Technicolor and Disctronics.
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