Re: professional dvd authoring?

You are correct Max, DEFINITELY make sure the replicator takes DLT as well! I didn't mean make sure they accept DDP on DVD-R/HD as a replacement for DLT. You can't beat the error correction on the DLT.

Now for the WAMNET statement. The end result of DDP on a HD is actually the same as delivery via Wamnet. Both end up on a Hard Drive either way. It's just that an external HD can be more secure then Wamnet. Also depending on connection speeds it can take a while to upload to Wamnet. Not to mention that even a pause in connection or dropped connection can damage the files. The DDP on DVD-R actually acts as a virtual HD as well (At least thats how Eclipse sees it). The only real problem with DDP on DVD-R is the possibilities of scratches or bad burn.

I do agree that DLT is a great way to submit masters but DLT is still expensive and slow. DLT also has the craziest compatibility chart I have ever seen for any media. You have the DLT spin wheel? It's insane.

My main point about being wary of a replicator not taking DDP on HD or DVD-R was that they may not be using the most up to date premastering software. This could result in errors not being flagged during premastering. There is a huge difference in the errors found in Eclipse 4 to version 5 (thanks to the UDF analysis). I know with Eclipse 4.1 and up they have implemented the ability to read DDP from a DVD-R. Which is great because DVD-R is cheap and can hold a CSS encrypted DDP image. The real downside of DVD-R is it's life expectancy.


-L