This page contains a list of frequently asked questions related to our DVD duplication services as well as DVD in general. We offer links to resources in DVD authouring and formatting software. If you feel that you know of a suitable resource and would like a link from us please use the following email address:

• What is DVD?
• What do the letters DVD stand for?
• What are "regional codes," "country codes," or "zone locks"?
• What is a dual-layer disc?
• What exactly is a hybrid DVD?
• What are the sizes and capacities of DVD?
• What are Blu-ray Discs?
• What is DVD-R and DVD-RW?
• What is DVD+R and DVD+RW?
• What DVD-ROM formatting software tools are available?
• Video encoding tools
• Audio encoding tools
• What DVD authouring systems are available?
• Do you offer Free design templates for DVD's?
• What is the difference between DVD duplication and DVD replication?
• How long does the average DVD duplication job take to complete?
• Do I need to pay in advance for your DVD duplication services?
• How do you error check my master DVD?
• Can I pay by credit card?
• Do you provide colour proofs of all my design work before printing?
• Do the on body print costs of DVD's cost the same as CDs?
• This is my first duplication project, can you advise me every step of the way?
• Why should I use HDC over some other manufacturer?
• How do your prices compare with your competitors?

What is DVD?

DVD is an optical disc storage technology. DVD is bigger and faster than CD (and CD ROM) and its data storage can hold cinema quality audio and video, images, and computer file data. DVD encompasses home entertainment, computers, and business information in a single digital format. DVD has replaced laserdisc and should eventually replace videotape, audio CD and CD-ROM.

With the support of all major electronics corporations, cinema and music production companies DVD has become the most successfully electronics product for consumers worldwide. DVD players and DVD ROM drives in PCs have become standard household appliances over the last 7 years with many businesses harnessing the widely available technology of writable DVD's.

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What do the letters DVD stand for?

Over the years there have been many definitions of the acronym "DVD" with the most officially and widely accepted being "Digital Versatile Disc". Originally labeled as "Digital Video Disc" it was considered that DVD was capable of much more the just video hence its most widely known definition “Digital Versatile Disc".

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What are "regional codes," "country codes," or "zone locks"?

The concept of creating "regional codes" was mainly to give the film production studios commercial control over the geographical locations and times that their films would be released. With many Hollywood productions hitting the shelves in US stores at the same time as the cinemas in the UK are showing the films first time round something had to be done to control access. This lead to certain geographical regions having only DVD players that would play DVD Videos meant for that region only.

Each player is given a code for the geographical region in which it's sold. The player will only play discs that are not coded for its region. Meaning that discs purchased abroad that are formatted for a different region simply will not be viewable.

There are seven recognized regions:

1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
3: Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
6: China
7: Reserved
8: Special international venues (such as for air travel or sea cruises, etc.)

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What is a dual-layer disc?

Dual layer discs have two layers containing data. The first layer is semi transparent which allows the laser to see through to the second layer and access its data. This means that a dual layer disc can hold almost twice as much data as a single layer disc. Dual layer discs are now widely used for particularly long films and can be recognized by their gold colour and 2 serial numbers on one side.

Dual layer DVD's have become so widely used that most modern DVD players now support the format.

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What exactly is a hybrid DVD?

A hybrid DVD is a term used to define DVD's that offer more than 1 purpose. This could mean that the DVD is authored to run on both Mac and Windows platforms or it could mean that the DVD is authored in such a way that it will play video when used inside a DVD player but when used in a DVD drive of a PC might contain software applications and data files. It could even be that the DVD offers all of the above plus some other features.

The term "Hybrid" simply means that its more than your single purpose DVD. Hybrid DVD's often contain a multitude of content that can be tricky to author.

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What are the sizes and capacities of DVD?

In the table below the terms SS/DS means single-sided/double-sided. SL/DL/ML means single-layer/dual-layer/mixed-layer (mixed means single layer on one side, dual layer on the other side) and gig means gigabytes. The "hours" mentioned are for video.

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What are Blu-Ray Discs (BD)

Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by thirteen leading consumer electronics and pc companies (Dell, Hitachi, HP, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition television (HDTV). Blu-ray makes it possible to record over 2 hours of HDTV, or more than 13 hours of SDTV on a 25GB disc. There are also plans for higher capacity discs that are expected to hold up to 50GB of data.

While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM use a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. The benefit of using a blue laser is that it has a shorter wavelength (405 nanometer) than a red laser (650 nanometer), which means that it's possible to focus the laser beam with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly on the disc and makes it possible to fit more data on the same size disc. Despite the different type of lasers used, Blu-ray Disc recorders can be made backwards compatible with current red-laser technologies and allow playback of CDs and DVD's.

As HDTV becomes more widespread, the consumer demand for recording HDTV programming will rise. Blu-ray was designed with this application in mind and enables direct recording of the MPEG-2 TS (Transport Stream) used by digital broadcasts, which makes it highly compatible with global standards for digital television. This means that HDTV broadcasts can be recorded directly to the disc without any extra processing or quality loss. To handle the increased amount of data required for HDTV, Blu-ray employs a 36Mbps data transfer rate, which is more than enough to record and playback HDTV while maintaining the original picture quality. In addition, by fully utilizing an optical disc's random accessing features, it's possible to playback video on a disc while simultaneously recording high-definition video.

Blu-ray is expected to replace VCR's and current DVD technology within a few years. The format is also likely to become a standard for PC data storage and high-definition movies in the future.


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What is DVD-R and DVD-RW

DVD-R/W was the first DVD recording format released that was compatible with standalone DVD Players.

DVD-R is a non-rewriteable format and it is compatible with about 93% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs. DVD-RW is a rewriteable format and it is compatible with about 80% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.

DVD-R/W supports single side 4.37 computer GB* DVD's(called DVD-5) and double sided 8.75 computer GB* DVD's(called DVD-10).

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What is DVD+R and DVD+RW


DVD+R/W has some "better" features than DVD-R/W such as lossless linking and both CAV and CLV writing. DVD+R is a non-rewriteable format and it is compatible with about 89% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs. DVD+RW is a rewriteable format and is compatible with about 79% of all DVD Players and most DVD-ROMs.

DVD+R/W supports single side 4.37 computer GB* DVD's(called DVD-5) and double side 8.75 computer GB* DVD's(called DVD-10).

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What DVD-ROM formatting software tools are available?

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Video encoding tools

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Audio encoding tools

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What DVD authouring systems are available?

For more detail on the systems listed below, follow the links or see the comparison table of selected DVD authoring systems at DVDirect.

• Margi Systems

  • DVPublish-to-Go.
• Matrox

  • Matrox RT2000 and DigiSuite DTV.
• Mediachance

  • DVD-lab.
• Microboards

  • DVD AuthorSuite.
• Minnetonka Audio Software

  • DiscWelder Steel.
  • A-Plus.
  • DiscWelder Chrome.
• NEC

  • DV Editor.
• Optibase

  • DVD-Fab XPress and DVD-Fab.
• Panasonic

  • LQ-VD2000S.
  • LQ-VDS120.
  • LQ-VD3000.
• Pegasys

  • TMPGEnc DVD Author.
• Pinnacle

  • DVD1000.
  • Impression DVD.
  • Pinnacle Pro-ONE.
  • Pinnacle Edition.
• Philips

  • DVD-Video Disc Designer and DVD-Video Authoring Toolset.
• Pioneer

  • DVDDesigner

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Do you offer Free design templates for DVDs?

Yes of course we do. Just signup to our newsletter and download high quality PDF or Quark design templates right now.

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What is the difference between DVD duplication and DVD replication?

In your quest to find a reputable duplication company to work on your project, you have no doubt been asked many questions concerning your project and the type of media you need. Aren't all burnable media the same you may wonder to yourself, - but as you have come to find out, - there IS a difference between the media used to manufacture duplicated orders and the media used to manufacture replicated orders.

Replication

Replication is the standard used to make mass quantities of CD's or DVD's. A “glass master” of your information is made which in turn produces “stampers” which are used for injection molding the information onto foil. The mastered information is then protected by layers of polycarbonate plastic. It is then lacquered, usually screened, and ultimately packaged. Because most of this process is automated, the cost per unit becomes factored in and very affordable on orders generally greater than 1000 or 2000 pieces. Until recently, almost all duplication companies replicated their discs and would only offer service of larger replication runs to their customers.

Duplication

Duplication is the standard in which smaller quantities of CD's or DVD's are usually manufactured. CD-R and DVD-r media is loaded into burners. Your information is digitally extracted from your master source (usually a master CD-R or DVD-r) and transferred to the blank discs. Your information is typically verified and the copy then accepted or rejected. With the advent, popularity, and reduced cost of writable media, it is now possible to offer the same level of services to customers that need smaller quantity orders as well as customers which need larger quantities.

Is There any Difference?

There is no data difference between a processed duplication and a glass mastered replication disc. In fact, both processes extract the information from your master source in exactly the same way. Other than the way your disc is manufactured, - the biggest noticeable difference between a replicated disc and a duplicated disc may be the way the surface is marked. This is usually due to the cost restraints associated with the method chosen to process the order. There are generally five ways to label your disc.

Print Options

The most professional and industry standard is a litho or offset print and is the best CD print quality available at 150-175 lpi. From artwork supplied, the image is printed onto plates, one for each colour separation CMYK. Ink is then transferred to plates and onto the CDs one colour at a time by rollers. An offset print is superior to a screen print because smaller text and detailed images are rendered superbly. The print surface is also smoother than a screen print. Photographic images, skin tones, full colour graphics and text are all improved with an offset print. You also have the option to print to the 20mm centre of the CD without a stacking ring.

HDC uses an offset print as standard for all CD runs above 500 units. However, in cases with grayscale images or spot colours, we might use a silk screen print.

Screen printing has been the standard method of printing large CD runs - usually 500 or more. Colour separated films are produced from the CD artwork. For each film, a different screen is produced. Each colour is printed onto the CD surface using a robotic squeegee which pushes the ink through the mesh of the screen. The CDs are then cured using UV light. A silk screen print is usually 85 - 100 lpi (lines per inch). The resulting prints are high quality but may be grainy especially around text and tinted or shaded areas due to the mesh of the screens. For this reason, silk screen prints are reserved for grayscale images, very bright or metallic images or spot colour jobs.

Screens will give you a resonably high resolution print on the silver lacquer disc surface. You should be aware that on smaller orders, - silk-screening your disc can be a fairly expensive option. It requires film images, the manufacture of screens, and PMS spotcolor inks. Because the setup for silk-screening can be manually intensive and fairly expensive, it is usually recommended to silkscreen larger run orders only. NECD offers silkscreening on all project order sizes. Cost for this option is variable and needs to be quoted on a per job basis.

The third most common method is thermal printing. Thermal printing is usually less expensive than screening because it doesn’t require film output or the manufacture of screens. However, thermal printing has its limitations. Most thermal printers do not print graphic images very well, - in fact, - in most cases, thermal prints are limited to straight text, simple bitmap images, and logo transfers. However, under a creative graphic artists direction, your thermal print can be made to look very professional. Due to the manufacturing time needed to thermal print discs, it is recommended that only “short run” orders utilize this print method.

Non-thermal ink. Non thermal is the most cost effective way to mark short run discs with full color graphic images. Non thermal printed discs are more expensive to manufacture than thermal or screen printed discs because they require a special surface. Non-thermal markings are usually not as crisp as thermal or screened discs, and in some cases may not be completely smudge proof. However, if you are determined to have a full color graphic image imprinted on your project short order,- this method may save you lot’s of setup fees, time, and money vs. silk-screening.

And the last method would be the simple inkjet/laser printed label. Although graphics printed on these labels look very sharp, this method is sub par to every other method mentioned. Labels will peel, fade, and deteriorate over time. You should choose "labels" as your printable option only after determining the budget and process restraints associated with your order based on quantity, process, budget, and other manufacturing options.

True or False: Disc's which are duplicated are not as reliable as Disc's that are replicated?

FALSE. Writable media was invented for the storage of data. Audio CD-Rs and subsequently video DVD-r's were an offspring of the data disk. As with any new technology, there are bugs and glitches to iron out when trying to mass-produce writable media. In an effort to get product into the market place, many disc manufactures produced subpar product which had trouble loading audio and video and thus would keep your disc from “spinning up” in your player.

Today’s writable media are manufactured under much stricter guidelines. It is true that there are still many inferior brands of discs saturating the market place, - but by choosing a reputable duplication company which uses only professional equipment and high quality media, you should be assured of receiving a quality product. At HDC, we use only the best equipment and grade A media available to process your order. Your product is verified in our duplication equipment prior to leaving our factory and will match your master source completely. We guarantee it.

In Conclusion

Duplicated and replicated disc's both have their cost and quality advantages. HDC offers both services. Ultimately, it is you the consumer/customer/client that will choose the best method to manufacture the project. HDCAccount Managers are here to help you put a project together that both meets your quality demands and budget restrictions.


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How long does the average DVD duplication job take to complete?

Duplication of DVD-R will take a max of 2 days – news flash – we have just invested in new equipment that makes us the largest writeable product manufacturer in the UK. This will give us an average lead time of two days and we will be offering 24 hour turnaround.

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Do I need to pay in advance for your DVD duplication services?

Yes please. If you are an existing customer with credit facilities in place then 30 days are our terms.
If you are a new customer we like payment with order on at least the first job. If you enjoy a good credit rating, we would be pleased to offer you terms.

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How do you error check my master DVD?

Such additional checks are not necessary since the production criteria introduced by Phillips means that there are various QC stages during production (of pressed disc) that will not allow problems to occur, and they never do. Occasional human error has happened whereby printers put wrong on body print on wrong data but only a handful of times in 8 years. With CD-R and DVD-R manufactured in house we test discs against master after writing data to them, again it’s failsafe!

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Can I pay by credit card?

Of course you can. We offer 100% secure payment on all credit card purchases.


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Do you provide colour proofs of all my design work before printing?

Yes, with in house print we provide a pre-production sample, this is identical to the finished product, if it’s a real rush job we supply PDF’s to proof, these are layout accurate but not colour accurate. With pressed products we provide 3 digital Cromalin proofs, one to accompany the job, one to stay with HDC for reference and to the final one to the customer for sign off. With rush jobs or if a customer does not want to pay £14.50 for digital Cromalin proof we can supply PDF’s.


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Do the on body print costs of DVD's cost the same as CDs?

Yes, they cost the same.

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This is my first duplication project, can you advise me every step of the way?

Yes, verbally. We are, however, in the process of producing a CD and DVD guide which will be available in electronic or hard copy format.


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Why should I use HDC/Duplicatethis.com over some other manufacturer?

Because we are knowledgeable, helpful, competitive, and people like to speak to us – notice how happy we are when you call? We have ‘Investors in People’ accreditation and are working towards ISO9001. We are particularly helpful with artwork as we have our own studio with PC’s and macs as well as a digital Cromalin contract Proofer. We get jobs done right, on time and at budget over 97% of the time which we measure and are working towards 99% - the highest possible standard for our industry.


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How do your prices compare with your competitors?

Try us and see. You will be surprised just how competitive we can be. We WILL beat any credible quotation you already have for a like-for-like project. We can do this through being the largest ‘duplicator’ in the UK and being strategically allied to the largest CD\DVD manufacturing plant in the world.

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