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HONEYcom DVD Production FAQ Below is an list of questions and answers about the DVD production process. Please be sure to read through the whole document, which should give you a good idea of what needs to be done before sending your tape or files to us.
• What videotape formats do you support? • Can you work in NTSC? • Will you accept digital files? • Do you support 16:9 video? • What sort of preprocessing is done? Surround Sound • Do you support Surround Sound? • Do you do surround sound mixing? Output • What format is my DVD mastered to? • Can I have multiple copies made? Preparing for DVD encoding • What do I need to do to prepare my videotape? • What do I need to do to prepare my digital video files? • What do I need to do to prepare my graphics? Replication and Duplication • Can I have multiple DVD-R copies of my finished DVD made? • Do you offer mass replication services? • What application should I design my packaging and label artwork in? General DVD Questions • How is the compression level determined? • Do you use fixed or variable bit rate encoding? Miscellaneous • What payment methods do you accept? • Do you accept purchase orders? • What are your payment terms? Supported Formats • What videotape formats do you support? [top] Digital Betacam, BetaSP, and DVCAM plus many more. While it's possible to work from VHS or other low-end analog formats, we discourage it because the high levels of video noise on these formats make encoding really difficult. • Can you work in NTSC? [top] We are equally at home in NTSC, as PAL. This includes "telecined" footage, video (29.97fps) or computer files. Contact us for details. • Will you accept digital files? [top] Yes. You may provide us with your finished cut in QuickTime format. The files should be compressed using a generic software codec including Media 100 or Avid. You should output your file with a generic, lossless codec such as Animation, Planar RGB, Component or TARGA. The video size should be 720x576 D1 pixel aspect at 25 fps. If you are outputting interlaced frames, please specify the field ordering you have used. Audio and Video should be in separate files, if possible. You can provide the files on a FireWire hard drive, CD-R or DVD-R. Please note that there is an additional charge for file transcoding, as the process is slower than realtime encoding from tape. • Do you support 16:9 video? [top] Yes we do. Please note, 16:9 menus are a little tricky - we need to produce three versions, wide screen, letterboxed and pan and scanned. • What sort of preprocessing is done? [top] The secret to great MPEG is in filtering. We have developed our own procdeures for noise reduction to remove troublesome high frequency data. The level of noise reduction is adjustable, and can range from a simple blur filter to more complex adaptive noise reduction to reduce film grain or excessive video noise. Surround Sound • Do you support Surround Sound?[top] Yes we do. If you're providing a 5.1 surround track, please notify us in advance so we can discuss proper formatting. The tracks should be submitted as uncompressed digital files on CD-R or DVD-R. • Do you do surround sound mixing?[top] No, we don't do Surround Sound mixing. For a 5.1 Surround sound audio track, you must provide the appropriate channels as separate files. Please ask us for details on preparation. Output Formats • What format is my DVD mastered to?[top] All DVD's we author include a DVD-R for proofing. If you're doing your replication through HONEYcom, DLT tape output is included in the replication price. • Can I have multiple copies made?[top] Yes, though we discourage the use of DVD-R for anything other than the most controlled situations. For example, if you're making a low-budget feature film for distribution, you don't want to use DVD-R because of compatibility issues with many players. If you're doing a museum exhibit or information kiosk with a known player that works with DVD-R, then this is an acceptable format. Please see our replication page for more information on making multiples copies. Preparing for DVD encoding • What do I need to do to prepare my videotape?[top] 1. To ensure that you get the highest quality transfer, please send us your final master tape. If this isn't possible, try to send a tape that is as close to the master as possible. The more generations away from the master tape, the worse the transfer. 2. Colour Bars. Your tape should have colour bars at the head so that we can properly calibrate the incoming signal. 3. Audio tone. A 1KHz reference tone at the head of your tape, usually during the colour bars, will ensure a clean transfer of the soundtrack with no distortion. 4. EDL's. Yes we can work most types of EDL for batching digitising. Please call us before sending us all your wild reels and lists! • What do I need to do to prepare my digital files?[top] 1. Any digital video files should be provided in QuickTime format. Uncompressed, or Motion-JEPG compression set to the highest quality is preferred. We cannot work from a file that relies on hardware compression other than Radius, Media 100 or some Avid formats. 2. Digital audio files should be provided in 16 bit AIFF, WAVE or AC3 format. If you're outputting to DVD, please keep in mind that the sample rate *must* be 48kHz, not 44.1kHz (CD-Audio). PLEASE NOTE: if you're providing a videotape, you do not need to send digital audio files - we'll use the soundtrack on your tape. This information is provided for customers who wish to supply their video and audio digitally. • What do I need to do to prepare my graphics files?[top] 1. If your DVD has menus, please send the menu layout in Photoshop format, one file for each menu. 2. Design your menus at 768x576 pixels, keeping text within the title safe area. We will provide you with a menu template file with Safe Area guides on request. 3. Highlights for menu buttons should be white on black. Replication and Duplication • Can I have multiple DVD-R copies of my finished DVD made?[top] Yes. We can make multiple copies of your DVD to DVD-R discs. Refer to our rates page for the current cost of DVD-R duplication. We do recommend that you consider replication, however, as it's far more compatible than DVD-R. • Do you offer mass replication services?[top] Yes. Mastering and Replication services are offered as part of a strategic partnership with a major replication facility. • What application should I design my packaging and label artwork in?[top] Disc labels and packaging artwork must be designed in Adobe Illustrator or EPS. All supporting graphics files should be provided in TIFF format in a folder alongside the artwork. Fonts should either be provided in a folder with the artwork, or should be converted to outline format before submitting artwork. Your packaging artwork should be designed in CMYK color space - any PMS colors will be converted to Process colors. For your disc labels, you can use spot or process colors. The number of colours you use on the disc label will affect your final cost [1-3 color printing is included in all replication pricing]. General DVD questions • How is the compression level determined?[top] All DVD's go through a process called "Bit Budgeting." Unlike non-linear editing systems, which use motion JPEG or similar compression, DVD has very limited bandwidth - most DVD's are less than 1 Megabytes per second. This is significantly less data than the 4-8 Megabytes per second of most computer based editing systems. As a result, the compression level is determined by the length of the program and the target disc format. The longer your program, the more compression will need to be used. • Do you use fixed or variable bit rate encoding?[top] It depends on the duration of your footage. However, we are certain that VBR often produces better compression. Miscellaneous • What payment methods do you accept?[top] We accept payment by Business cheque, Cash or Direct bank deposit. • Do you accept purchase orders?[top] Generally, yes we do. • What are your payment terms?[top] It depends somewhat on the size of the job. For most replication and authoring, and for all first-time customers, payment is due before the discs ship. Returning customers in good standing will receive an invoice with shipment; payment is due within 7 days of shipping. For very large jobs, the payment terms will be defined in the bid we submit. [top] |
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