Predicaments of a DVD Author

What are the expectations from DVD video formats?
The customers expect highest quality, video / audio and advance interactive functions from DVD video format.

DVD video format supports almost broadcast quality video and high quality multichannel / surround audio formats. These specifications enable producers and content creators to achieve highest quality video, audio and interactivity compared to all other consumer formats for home video.

We see stunning quality of video and audio on DVD titles released from Hollywood studios like Warner, Columbia TriStar, Fox, Paramount and few others.

Whereas most of the Indian DVD titles have failed to deliver expected high quality video and audio contents.

I indeed highly appreciate technical quality of recent Indian movies but quality achieved on DVD is very poor compared to DVD titles of Hollywood Studios. What are the reasons, problems and bottlenecks?

There are several factors, which are responsible for poor quality Indian DVD titles:

1). Telecine (Conversion of film into Video): this is the foremost factor in achieving highest quality video from film negative ideally conversion of film to video must be performed in D1 quality and to be recorded on suitable digital media. Aspect ratio of 16:9 to be retained in telecining (conversion) so to maintain the originality as close to the film. Due to extremely tight release schedules of DVD titles (new movies) the serious attention is not paid to film conversion (telecining) and result is poor quality digital video masters, hence the ultimately poor quality DVDs. These extreme tight schedules are due to piracy pressures faced by producers.

2). Sound: also needs to be restored from original source to appropriate digital media with the highest fidelity and if 5.1 (Dolby digital) audio is to be delivered on DVD titles, the final audio output on digital media should be of highest quality with consistent time code matching to video material. Many producers want Dolby Digital logo to be printed on their DVD titles without paying serious attention to technical / quality aspects of required audio. Also in some cases the producers / right owners have sought 5.1 audio on their DVD titles form the original mono tracks (specially incase of old movies).


At the DVD Authoring stage when we receive the various elements, many a times the shortcomings on audio / video quality are clearly pointed out to producers but normally in most of the cases they have completely ignored and decided to go ahead with the production and the resultant DVD will be with many technical flaws and poor quality.

3). The duration of video, audio and bonus material, which can be fitted on DVD format with highest quality, is also critical factor. Just to site an example, we have been asked by one of the producers to fit the entire feature plus bonus material with the total duration of 4 hours on DVD-9 format !!!. Obviously compression will be very high and the average bit rate will be quite low (3MBPS or lower) hence final video quality is bound to look pixelated (artifacts) poor to the viewer.

We currently Author DVD titles of Hollywood studios.

Indian movie industry is producing movies with superior technical quality and they also have the necessary resources and skills to achieve superior elements for DVD production.

We expect receiving elements of Video, Audio and Graphics menus with the highest quality in order to achieve the best quality DVD titles.


DVD Author
Working on Hollywood DVD titles and Indian titles.

PLANET OPTICAL DISC LTD FZE
DUBAI AIRPORT FREE ZONE
DUBAI, UAE
C/P: MR. RAJESH MANE
TEL: +971 4 299 5050
Email: rm@pod.co.ae
rpm_dvd@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.planetopticaldisc.com

Predicaments of a DVD buyer

buys loads of indian dvds, most turn out next to pathetic quality.

next time you buy, you buy the pirates!! there still pathetic quality but at least u didnt pay as much for them!

the circle of piracy is started by the producers and only the producers can stop it!! no one else has the power todo it. if its not one pathetic excuse from someone its the other blaming the next person along