DVD with downloadable content possible?
by Amber Granadosin
on
Sep 12, 2009 at 2:30:08 am
I have DVD Studio Pro 4 and Toast 9. Would it be possible for me to make a DVD with downloadable content? I have seen this on commercial DVDs and am wondering if it would be possible and how?
Re: DVD with downloadable content possible? by Amber Granadosin on Sep 12, 2009 at 5:04:32 am
We recently saw this DVD of the movie Coraline and apparently it has downloadable content, meaning you can download the movie onto your computer or ipod. I'm not sure how it works and I was just curious if it was possible for me to do add that into the DVDs I create for my clients also.
Re: DVD with downloadable content possible? by Michael Sacci on Sep 12, 2009 at 6:26:41 am
If you are talking about "Digital Copy" of a movie, that is an app (on the disc or a second disc) that is independant of the DVD Video. It is also tied to iTunes or another distribution channel. While you probably are not going to get set up with that you can include a iTunes version of the video as DVD-ROM content that can be downloaded to a computer or iPod. You just encode an h.264 (m4v) version.
Re: DVD with downloadable content possible? by Anthony Popolo on Sep 12, 2009 at 6:03:22 pm
Once you have a VIDEO_TS folder on your DVD (which makes it playable on a DVD player), you can also add any other files onto the DVD as well (pdfs, movs, Word documents, etc). So anyone can download these files on a DVD equipped computer. I usually make a folder called "Download files" and put that stuff in there. So the DVD will still automatically play as a normal DVD in a DVD player or computer with DVD drive, but it will also act like a DVD-ROM where people can download files.
Just make sure your downloadable items are NOT in the VIDEO_TS (or AUDIO_TS) folders.
You mentioned a downloadable video file. Obviously you need to make those files in the format you want to put on the DVD (in addition to the VIDEO_TS).
Re: DVD with downloadable content possible? by Michael Sacci on Sep 12, 2009 at 6:27:44 pm
Adding to Anthony's post.
Just a heads up for compatibility. I have found that you should always put these files in a folder. I have a player that will not read the disc if there are lose files on the DVD (although most players have no problem with them). You can name this folder whatever you like "Download Files" is a very good descriptive name.
Re: DVD with downloadable content possible? by Amber Granadosin on Sep 13, 2009 at 12:46:25 am
Would it be too complicated to have a menu pop up when the DVD-ROM is inserted into a computer, and then people click on the links on the menu for them to download the itunes version?
Also, when I burn this disk on Toast 9, do I burn it as a Data disk? It seems that my usual Video>Video_TS Folders option will only let me add one Video_TS folder.
Re: DVD with downloadable content possible? by Anthony Popolo on Sep 13, 2009 at 1:46:57 pm
Regarding the second part first, in Toast, instead of creating the disc using the "video" tab in the upper left corner (Toast 9), use the "data" tab, and select DVD-ROM (UDF). This lets you manually put in any folders you want. Then drag your VIDEO_TS folder in that way, in addition to your "downloads" folder. Obviously, you have to build your VIDEO_TS folder first (using the "Build" command in your authoring program).
Regarding putting a menu...I don't think this is so easy. Remember, the existence of a VIDEO_TS folder is the "trigger" that tells a DVD player this is a video DVD. If you make a "main menu" within a DVD video and the viewer is playing it on a set top DVD player, they would not be able to download anything.
Basically, this DVD we are talking about is called an "enhanced" DVD and at any given time is designed to act as EITHER a DVD video OR a DVD-ROM, but NOT both at the same time.
What I might do is this...
As part of the DVD video, I would make a graphic slide that plays (either before or after your video) that basically tells the viewer something like this: "You can download this video in such-and-such format by placing this disc in a DVD-compatible computer and using either Explororer (for PCs) or Finder (for Mac) and open the folder named "Download FIles". There you will find this video in versions you can use on your iphone (or whatever)"
This way, you are telling the viewer to change the use of this disc from DVD-Video to DVD-ROM at their convenience.
Re: DVD with downloadable content possible? by Michael Sacci on Sep 14, 2009 at 6:32:09 pm
Add to Anthony's instruction,
when you place the Video TS folder in Toast make sure you delete the .lay and .layout files. These are files that DVDSP uses to format the disc (and then removes) they should not be left in, since they can cause playback issue if left in.
Second his use of a menu screen inside the normal video.
Re: DVD with downloadable content possible? by Amber Granadosin on Sep 14, 2009 at 10:10:02 pm
would deleting the .lay and .layout files also be good practice for when I am creating a regular DVD video (instead of an enhanced DVD) to burn in Toast?
