Wedding Video

DVD WEDDING VIDEO

Digital Video Disc or DVD

DVD is essentially a bigger, faster CD that can hold video, excellent audio, and computer data. The technology that brings you DVD is in its infancy, it can be very confusing and it's important to understand the difference between formats (such as DVD-ROM or DVD-R) and the application formats (such as DVD-Video or DVD-Audio). DVD-ROM is the base format that holds data. DVD-Video ( simply called DVD) defines how video programs such as movies are stored on disc and played in a DVD-Video player or a DVD computer . The difference is similar to that between CD-ROM and Audio CD. DVD-ROM includes recordable variations DVD-R/RW, DVD-RAM, and DVD+R/RW .The application formats include DVD-Video, DVD-Video Recording, DVD-Audio), DVD-Audio Recording, DVD Stream Recording, and SACD.

What is the specification of our Wedding DVD Videos?

Your wedding DVD will last just over 2 hours of high-quality digital video, bear this in mind as it may be necessary to have your wedding on more than 1 disc.

We can offer support for widescreen movies on standard or widescreen TVs (4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios).
Up to 8 tracks of digital audio (for multiple languages, DVS, etc.), each with as many as 8 channels.
Menus and simple interactive features
DVD is a very durable format in comparison with tape
Compact size, ideal for showing all your guests

Features of your DVD player should include

Language choice (for automatic selection of video scenes, audio tracks, subtitle tracks, and menus).
Special effects playback: freeze, step, slow, fast, and scan, capturing all those moments you could so easliy forget
Playback of selected sections in a sequence you choose
Random play and repeat play.
Digital audio output (PCM stereo and Dolby Digital).
Some players include digital zoom. This is a player feature, not a DVD disc feature.

What's the quality of your Wedding DVD Video?

Your DVD will be vastly superior to a videotape . However, quality depends on many production factors. As compression technology improves we will see increased quality, we use the MPEG-2 format, although there are companies using MPEG-1 encoding (which is no better than VHS) This is something you should check before making your booking, your DVD video will encoded from digital master tape to MPEG-2 format. Of course the quality of your wedding video can be affected by a poorly adjusted TV, bad cables, electrical interference, sloppy digital noise reduction, player faults, disc read errors, etc. You should make sure the sharpness on your TV is not set too high for the clarity of DVD. This exaggerates high-frequency video and causes distortion.

DVD audio quality is amazing. DVD includes the option of PCM (pulse code modulation) digital audio with sampling sizes and rates higher than audio CD. Produced properly a sound track better than CD is achievable. At the end of the no one can guarantee the quality of DVD, . In the end it's a matter of individual perception and the level of quality delivered by the playback system, but generally it should produce a superior option to VHS tape

What are the disadvantages of DVD?

Some movie discs don't function fully (or don't play at all) on some players.
Some DVD players and drives may not be able to read CD-Rs or DVD-RAM discs.
Very few players can play in reverse at normal speed.

What DVD players and drives are available?

The first DVD players appeared in Japan in November, 1996, now there are over three hundred types of DVD players are available from dozens many companies. Among the leaders are sony with multi-format recorders and players. Before you buy a player for your wedding video make a list of things that are important to you (such as ability to play CD-Rs, ability to play Video CDs, 96 kHz/24-bit audio decoding, DTS Digital Out, internal 6-channel Dolby Digital decoder. There is not a big variation in picture quality and sound quality within the consumer price range. Some players, especially cheaper models, don't properly play all discs. Before buying a player, you may want to test it, a PC is always an option

Is VHS good enough?

Compared with the advantages of DVD, factors such as quality, many playings without faltering, we would say no, but we have been producing wedding videos on VHS with many satisfied clients all still viewing there weddings.

How long will my wedding DVD last?

Along time! as long as it is kept clean and not scratched or trodden on!

There are compatibility problems with DVD formats

A big problem is that none of the writable formats are fully compatible with each other or even with existing drives and players. In other words, a DVD+R/RW drive can't write a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc, and vice versa (unless it's a multi drive that knows both formats). As time goes by the different formats are becoming more compatible and more intermixed. A player with the DVD Forum's DVD Multi is guaranteed to read DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM discs, and a DVD Multi recorder can record using all three formats. Some new "Super Multi" drives can write to DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW, but not DVD-RAM.

In addition, not all players and drives can read recorded discs. The basic problem is that recordable discs have different reflectivity than pressed discs (the pre-recorded kind you buy in a shop), and not all players have been correctly designed to read them. As a rough guide, DVD-R and DVD+R discs work in about 85% of existing drives and players, while DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs work in around 65%.

DVD-R
DVD-R (which is pronounced "dash R" ) uses organic dye technology, like CD-R, and is compatible with most DVD drives and players. First-generation capacity was 3.95 billion bytes, later extended to 4.7 billion bytes. Matching the 4.7G capacity of DVD-ROM was crucial for desktop DVD production. In early 2000 the format was split into an "authoring" version and a "general" version. The general version, intended for home use, writes with a cheaper 650-nm laser, the same as DVD-RAM. DVD-R(A) is intended for professional development and uses a 635-nm laser. DVD-R(A) discs are not writable in DVD-R(G) recorders, and vice-versa, but both kinds of discs are readable in most DVD players and drives. The main differences, in addition to recording wavelength, are that DVD-R(G) uses decrementing pre-pit addresses, a pre-stamped (version 1.0) or pre-recorded (version 1.1) control area, CPRM, and allows double-sided discs. A third version for "special authoring," allowing protected movie content to be recorded on DVD-R media, was considered but will probably not happen.

DVD-RW
DVD-RW ( DVD-R/W ) is a phase-change erasable format that can re recorded over 1000 times. Developed by Pioneer based on DVD-R, using similar track pitch, mark length, and rotation control, DVD-RW is playable in most DVD drives and players. (Some drives and players are confused by DVD-RW media's lower reflectivity into thinking it's a dual-layer disc. In other cases the drive or player doesn't recognize the disc format code and doesn't even try to read the disc. Simple firmware upgrades can solve both problems.) DVD-RW uses groove recording with address info on land areas for synchronization at write time (land data is ignored during reading). Capacity is 4.7 billion bytes.

In 1999, Pioneer released DVD-RW home video recorders in Japan. As the recorder used the new DVD-VR (video recording) format, the discs wouldn't play in existing players (the discs were physically compatible, but not logically compatible). Recording time varies from 1 hour to 6 hours, depending on quality. A new version of the recorder was later released that also records on DVD-R(G) discs and can use DVD-Video format for better compatibility with existing players. Pioneer released a third generation of its DVD-RW recorder in Japan in 2001. Sharp, Zenith and Sony all now offer recorders

DVD-R(G) drives first offered in 2001 by Pioneer (DVR-103 and DVR-A03, are combi DVD-R/RW drives. The drives also write CD-R and CD-RW discs.

There are three kinds of DVD-RW discs. All are 4.7G capacity. Version 1.0 discs, have an embossed lead-in (to prevent copying of CSS information), which causes compatibility problems. Version 1.1 discs have a pre-recorded lead-in that improves compatibility. Version 1.1 discs also come in a "B" version that carries a unique ID in the BCA for use with CPRM. B-type discs are required when copying certain kinds of protected video.

DVD-RAM
DVD-RAM, with a capacity of 4.7billion bytes, uses phase-change dual (PD) technology with some magneto-optic (MO) features mixed in. DVD-RAM is the best suited of the writable DVD formats for use in computers, because of its defect management and zoned CLV format for rapid access. However, it's not compatible with most drives and players (because of defect management, reflectivity differences, and minor format differences). A wobbled groove is used to provide clocking data, with marks written in both the groove and the land between grooves. The grooves and pre-embossed sector headers are molded into the disc during manufacturing. Single-sided DVD-RAM discs come with or without cartridges. There are two types of cartridges: type 1 is sealed, type 2 allows the disc to be removed. Discs can only be written while in the cartridge. Double-sided DVD-RAM discs have removable cartridges. DVD-RAM can be rewritten around 100,000 times.

DVD-RAM 1.0 drives first appeared in June 1998. The first DVD-ROM drive to read DVD-RAM discs was released by Panasonic in 1999 . Hitachi followed shortly after.

DVD-RAM version 2.0, with a capacity of 4.7 billion bytes per side, was available in June 2000. DVD-RAM 2.0 also specifies 8-cm discs and cartridges for portable uses such as digital camcorders. Type 2 DVD-RAM cartridges allow the discs to be removed so they can be played in standard players or drives. (However, most players and drives still won't be able to read the disc!) You must first break the locking pin by pushing on it with a pointed object. Remove the locking pin. Unlatch the cover by using a pointed object to press the indentation on the back left corner of the cartridge. Data is recorded on the unprinted side of the disc which you must not touch. When you put the bare disc back the cartridge, make sure the printed side of the shutter and the printed side of the disc face the same direction.

Most DVD-RAM drives will not allow you to write to a bare disc.

DVD+RW and DVD+R
in late 2001 DVD+RW is an erasable format based on CD-RW technology. DVD+RW is supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha, and others. It is not supported by the DVD Forum (even though most of the DVD+RW companies are members), but the Forum has no power to set standards. DVD+RW drives read DVD-ROMs and CDs, and usually read DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs, but do not read or write DVD-RAM discs. DVD+RW drives also write CD-Rs and CD-RWs. DVD+RW discs, which hold 4.7 billion bytes per side, are readable in many existing DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM drives. (They run into the same reflectivity and disc format recognition problems as DVD-RW.)

The DVD+RW format uses phase-change media with a high-frequency wobbled groove that allows it to eliminate linking sectors. This, plus the option of no defect management, allows DVD+RW discs to be written in a way that is compatible with many existing DVD readers. The DVD+RW specification allows for either CLV format for sequential video access (read at CAV speeds by the drive) or CAV format for random access, but CAV mode is not supported by any current hardware. DVD+R discs can only be recorded in CLV mode. Only CLV-formatted discs can be read in standard DVD drives and players. DVD+RW media can be rewritten about 1,000 times.

DVD+R is a write-once variation of DVD+RW, which appeared in mid 2002. It's a dye-based medium, like DVD-R, so it has similar compatibility as DVD-R.

Philips and Sony are amongst the companies that have a DVD+RW video recorder that uses the DVD-Video format.

Other recordable optical formats
Other potential competitors to recordable DVD include AS-MO (formerly MO7), which holds 5 to 6 billion bytes, and NEC's Multimedia Video Disc (MVDisc, formerly MMVF, Multimedia Video File), which holds 5.2 billion bytes and is targeted at home recording. ASMO drives are expected to read DVD-ROM and compatible writable formats, but not DVD-RAM. MVDisc is similar to DVD-RW and DVD+RW, using two bonded 0.6mm phase-change substrates, land and groove recording, and a 640nm laser, but contrary to initial reports, the drives won't be able to read DVD-ROM or compatible discs.

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