Video Duplication / Video to DVD
Do you have home video's that you want converted to DVD format so you can share these memories with friends and family?  We can help.  Call us for a sample (shipping and handling required).

We do basic duplication as well as more advanced duplication with editing and addition of menu's and sound etc.

Planning Your DVD Project
Our DVD projects usually fall into one of two categories:

1. a simple transfer to disc, or

2. a professional release with menus and music added.

For a simple transfer to disc many of our clients utilize our basic DVD service.  For a "start and stop" video with no menus this is an economical choice.

Creating a professional DVD is a complex process and requires a fair amount of planning and time.  The authoring process can be broken down into 3 stages:

1. Encoding of video - conversion of video

2. Design - creation of interactivity and menus

3. Mastering - testing and delivery of final DVD

The Design of your DVD project is by far the most labor intensive.  You can save a lot of time and money by planning the flow of your DVD.  It is important to look at other DVD releases to see the different possibilities for menu design and user interactivity.  Don't expect to be able to replicate a large budget Hollywood production, but you can learn some tips on how to organize the flow:  the way your DVD starts (intro) and the user interactivity of the menus can ensure user satisfaction and enhance the success of the main video.

Here are some initial planning steps:

1. Create an outline of how you want the DVD to flow. Here's a hypothetical outline of a marketing DVD for a resort area:

The Main Menu is set up so that the user can click directly to the activity that appeals to them and then in the Sub Menu click on a video within that activity.  Notice that there are always buttons to let the user navigate quickly back to the previous menu or the main menu.  (Much like a website)

DVD structure can be very similar to a website, except for this major difference: a website's purpose is to give you lots of textual information, whereas a DVD's purpose is to give you lots of compelling moving images with sound. The pictures and video supply the message that you want to convey. Therefore, the menu structure should not be too deep - you want to lead the user quickly to the appropriate videos and avoid filling the screen with lots of text, which is tedious for the user to read on a TV.

2. Begin by obtaining materials for your menus. They can be either still images or motion video. What fonts do you want to use? Do you have logos or graphics that represent your project? The overall menu design should be consistent in style and look to your website and any printed materials that you send out.

3. Consider whether the end user will also be viewing the DVD on a computer. If so, you should consider making your DVD web compatible.

Steps in DVD-Video Authoring

Video Source		Encoding		Design		Mastering
You supply us with your best quality video source. (Most formats are accepted!  Please call for more information)		We convert your source to MPEG video and your audio to Stereo or Dolby Digital.		We create menus with interactive buttons and links to access different chapters' of your video.		We burn a DVD-R reference disc for your approval, and a Master disc if your project is to be replicated.