Chapter 1

Everything You 

Ever Wanted to 

Know About DVD

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Everything You 

Ever Wanted to 

Know About DVD 

The Official DVD FAQ 

Jim Taylor 

McGraw-Hill 

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DOI: 10.1036/0071433910

DEDICATION 

This book is dedicated to the original members of the alt.video.dvd newsgroup 

and to readers of my DVD FAQ everywhere (except for those of you 

who sent e-mail asking me for a detailed description of what DVD is, who 

invented it, how it works, and how it will impact society, ASAP, so you can 

finish your school report due tomorrow).


For more information about this title, click here. 

Contents 

Preface xiii 

Chapter 1 General DVD 1 

What Is DVD? 1 

What Are the Features of DVD-Video? 2 

What’s the Quality of DVD-Video? 4 

What Are the Disadvantages of DVD? 6 

Which DVD Players and Drives Are Available? 6 

Which DVD Titles Are Available? 10 

How Much Do Players and Drives Cost? 13 

How Much Do Discs Cost? 13 

How Are DVDs Doing? Where Can I Get Statistics? 

What Are Regional Codes, Country Codes, 

14 

or Zone Locks? 18 

What Are the Copy Protection Issues? 21 

What About DVD-Audio or Music DVDs? 27 

Which Studios Are Supporting DVD? 29 

Can DVDs Record from VCRs, TVs, and So On? 

What Happens If I Scratch the Disc? Aren’t Discs 

29 

Too Fragile to Be Rented? 30 

VHS Is Good Enough. Why Should I Care About DVD? 31 

Is the Packaging Different from CDs? 31 

What’s a Dual-Layer Disc? Will It Work in All Players? 

Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work 

31 

with NTSC, PAL, and SECAM? 

What About Animation on DVD? 

32 

Doesn’t It Compress Poorly? 

Why Do Some Discs Require Side Flipping? 

34 

Can’t DVDs Hold Four Hours per Side? 

Why Is the Picture Squished, Making Things 

34 

Look Too Skinny? 

Do All Videos Use Dolby Digital (AC-3)? Do They All 

35 

Have 5.1 Channels? 35 

Copyright 2004 by Jim Taylor. Click Here for Terms of Use.

viii Contents 

Can DVDs Have Laser Rot? 36 

Which Titles Are Pan and Scan Only? Why? 

How Do I Make the Subtitles on My Pioneer 

37 

Player Go Away? 37 

What Is a Layer Change? Where Is It on Specific Discs? 

The Disc Says Dolby Digital. Why Do I Get 

37 

Two-Channel Surround Audio? 38 

Why Doesn’t the Repeat A-B Feature Work on Some Discs? 

What’s the Difference Between First-, Second-, 

38 

and Third-Generation DVDs? 38 

What’s a Hybrid DVD? 39 

What’s the Deal with DTS and DVD? 40 

Why Is the Picture Black and White? 

Why Are Both Sides Full-Screen when One Side 

41 

Is Supposed to Be Widescreen? 41 

Why Are the Audio and Video out of Sync? 41 

Why Does the Picture Alternate Between Light and Dark? 42 

How Do I Find Easter Eggs and Other Hidden Features? 

How Do I Get Rid of the Black Bars at the Top 

43 

and Bottom? 43 

How Should I Clean and Care for DVDs? 44 

What’s a Progressive DVD Player? 46 

Why Doesn’t Disc X Work in Player Y? 

How Do the Parental Control and Multirating 

49 

Features Work? 57 

Which Discs Include Multiple Camera Angles? 58 

Is It Okay to Put Labels or Magnetic Strips on DVDs? 

What’s the Difference Between Closed Captions 

58 

and Subtitles? 59 

What Do the “D” Codes on Region 2 DVDs Mean? 60 

What’s Firmware and Why Would I Need to Upgrade It? 

Can Discs Help Me Test, Optimize, or Show Off 

60 

My Audio/Video System? 60 

What Do Sensormatic and Checkpoint Mean? 61 

What Are Superbit, Infinifilm, and Other Variations of DVD? 

I Don’t Know the Parental Control Password for My Player. 

62 

What Do I Do? 62

Contents ix 

Chapter 2 DVD’s Relationship to Other Products 

and Technologies 63 

Will DVD Replace VCR? 63 

Will DVD Replace CD-ROM? 63 

Can CD-R Writers Create DVDs? 63 

Is CD Compatible with DVD? 64 

Are Laserdiscs Compatible with DVD Players? 68 

Will DVDs Replace Laserdiscs? 68 

How Do DVDs Compare to Laserdiscs? 

Can I Modify or Upgrade My Laserdisc Player 

69 

to Play DVDs? 

Do DVDs Support HDTV (DTV)? Will HDTV Make 

71 

DVDs Obsolete? 71 

What Is Divx? 73 

How Can I Record from DVD to Videotape? 

Will High-Definition DVD or 720p DVD Make Current 

76 

Players and Discs Obsolete? 

What Effect Will Fluorescent Multilayer Disc (FMD) 

77 

Have on DVD? 78 

How Does MPEG-4 Affect DVD? 78 

What’s WebDVD or Enhanced DVD? 79 

What’s a Nuon Player? 79 

Chapter 3 DVD Technical Details 81 

What Are the Outputs of a DVD Player? 81 

How Do I Hook up a DVD Player? 83 

What Are the Sizes and Capacities of DVD? 89 

What Are the Video Details? 92 

What’s Widescreen? How Do the Aspect Ratios Work? 96 

What Are the Audio Details? 100 

How Do the Interactive Features Work? 

What Is the Difference Between Interlaced 

108 

and Progressive Video? 109 

What Is Edge Enhancement? 111 

Does DVD Work with Barcodes? 111 

What Is BCA? 112

x Contents 

How Long Do DVDs Last? 112 

What About the HD-DVD and Blue Laser Formats? 112 

Chapter 4 DVD and Computers 115 

Can I Play DVD Movies on My Computer? 115 

Can I Play DVD-Audio Discs on My Computer? 

What About Recordable DVD: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, 

120 

DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R? 

Why Can’t I Take a Screenshot of DVD Video? 

122 

Why Do I Get a Pink or Black Square? 130 

Why Do I Have Problems Playing DVDs on My Computer? 131 

Can I Stream DVD over a Network or the Internet? 132 

What Is DeCSS? 

How Do I Play DVD Video in HTML, PowerPoint, 

133 

Director, VB, and So On? 

What Are .IFO, .VOB, and .AOB Files? 

135 

How Can I Play Them? 

How Do I Get the Microsoft Windows DVD Player 

135 

Application to Run? 

I Upgraded to Windows XP. Why Did My DVD 

137 

Software Stop Working? 

How Can I Rip Audio from a DVD to Play as MP3 

138 

or Burn to a CD? 138 

Chapter 5 DVD Production 139 

How Much Does It Cost to Produce a DVD? Isn’t It More Expensive 

than Videotape, Laserdisc, and CD-ROM? 140 

What DVD-ROM Formatting Tools Are Available? 141 

What DVD Production Tools Are Available? 143 

What DVD Authoring Systems Are Available? 150 

Who Can Produce a DVD for Me? 

What Testing/Verification Services and Tools 

156 

Are Available? 169 

Can I Put DVD-Video Content on a CD-R or CD-RW? 170 

How Do I Copy My Home Video/Film/Photos to DVD? 171 

How Can I Copy a DVD? 174 

How Do I Get a Job Making DVDs? 175

Contents xi 

Where Can I Get DVD Training? 175 

How Can I Sell DVDs That I Made? 176 

How Do I Put a PowerPoint Presentation on DVD? 176 

Chapter 6 Miscellaneous 179 

Who Invented DVD and Who Owns It? 

Whom to Contact for Specifications and Licensing? 179 

Who Is Making or Supporting DVD Products? 181 

Where Can I Buy (or Rent) DVDs and Players? 199 

Where Can I Get More Information About DVD? 203 

What’s New with DVD Technology? 206 

Chapter 7 Leftovers 209 

Notation and Units 209 

Acknowledgments 210 

Index 213


Preface 

In 1996, when those of us in the alt.video.dvd Internet newsgroup were collectively 

trying to figure out what DVD was going to be like and how it would 

affect the future, I volunteered to create a FAQ (frequently asked questions) 

document. Little did I know at the time that the book I was writing, DVD 

Demystified, would become “the bible” of the DVD industry and stretch into 

at least three editions. At first I asked hundreds of questions, which many 

very generous people answered. I collected and distilled the answers into 

the DVD FAQ. As time passed and my collection of DVD information 

increased, I discovered that I now knew the answers to almost all the questions, 

including the ones that arrived in my e-mail inbox with increasing frequency 

as more and more people encountered DVD. In the seven years 

since I started the DVD FAQ, I've worked hard to keep it up-to-date as the 

ultimate repository of information about DVD. I honestly don't know how 

many thousands of hours I've spent doing this. I've never tried to figure it 

out for fear of realizing that I really need to get a different hobby, such as 

fishing or collecting cereal boxes. However, my efforts do seem to be 

appreciated—the DVD FAQ is now accessed by hundreds of thousands of 

people, providing information at the rate of over 50 gigabytes each month 

from dvddemystified.com, not to mention dozens of copies at other web 

sites and translated versions in 11 languages. 

It's an odd thing to turn a living electronic document into a printed book, 

but we haven't yet gotten to the point where anyone can browse web pages 

on an airplane or in a waiting room or at a video shoot in the middle of the 

desert. So if this book reaches more people and helps them better understand 

and use DVD, then it has been well worth my time and effort. I hope 

it answers every one of your questions. 



What Is DVD? 

Chapter 1 

General DVD 

DVD is the latest generation of optical disc storage technology. A DVD is 

essentially a bigger, faster compact disc (CD) that can hold cinema-like 

video, better-than-CD audio, still photos, and computer data. DVD aims to 

encompass home entertainment, computers, and business information 

with a single digital format. DVDs have replaced laserdiscs, are well on the 

way to replacing videotape and video game cartridges, and could eventually 

replace audio CDs and CD-ROMs. DVD has widespread support from 

all major electronics companies, computer hardware companies, and 

movie and music studios. With this unprecedented support, DVDs has 

become the most successful consumer electronics product of all time in 

less than three years after arriving on the market. In 2003, six years after 

their first appearance, over 250 million DVD playback devices were in operation 

worldwide, counting DVD players, DVD PCs, and DVD game consoles. 

This was more than half the number of VCRs, setting DVD up to 

become the new standard for video publishing. 

It’s important to understand the difference between the physical formats, 

such as DVD-ROM and DVD-R, and the application formats, such as DVD- 

Video and DVD-Audio. DVD-ROM is the base format that holds data. DVD- 

Video (often 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. 

(See “Can I Play DVD Movies on My Computer?” in Chapter 4, “DVDs 

and Computers.”). The situation is similar to the differences between CD- 

ROMs and audio CDs. 

DVD-ROMs include recordable variations: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, 

DVD�R, and DVD�RW. (See “What About Recordable DVDs: DVD-R, 

DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R?” in Chapter 4.) The application 

formats include DVD-Video, DVD-Video Recording (DVD-VR), 

DVD�RW Video Recording (DVD�VR), DVD-Audio Recording (DVD-AR), 

DVD Stream Recording, DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD). Also, 

special application formats are used for game consoles such as Sony 

PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox. 


2 Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About DVD 

What Does DVD Stand For? 

All of the following phrases have been proposed as the meaning behind 

DVD: 

• Delayed, very delayed (referring to the many late releases of DVD 

formats) 

• Diversified, very diversified (referring to the proliferation of recordable 

formats and other spin-offs) 

• Digital venereal disease (referring to the piracy and copying of DVDs) 

• Dead, very dead (from naysayers who predicted DVD would never 

take off) 

• Digital video disc (the original meaning proposed by some of the 

creators) 

• Digital versatile disc (a meaning later proposed by some creators) 

• Nothing 

And the official answer is? “Nothing.” The original meaning was digital 

video disc. Some members of the DVD Forum have pointed out that DVD 

goes far beyond video and have offered the painfully contorted phrase digital 

versatile disc as a solution, but this has never been officially accepted by 

the DVD Forum. (See “Who Invented DVD, Who Owns It, and Whom Should 

Be Contacted for Specifications and Licensing?” in Chapter 6, “Miscellaneous.”) 

The DVD Forum decreed in 1999 that DVD, as an international 

standard, is simply three letters. After all, how many people ask what VHS 

stands for? (Guess what? No one agrees on that one either.) 

What Are the Features of DVD-Video? 

The most important features of DVD are as follows: 

• Over 2 hours of high-quality digital video (A double-sided, dual-layer 

disc can hold about 8 hours of high-quality video, or 30 hours of VHSquality 

video.) 

• Support for widescreen movies on standard or widescreen TVs (4:3 

and 16:9 aspect ratios) 

• Up to eight tracks of digital audio (for multiple languages, commentaries, 

and so on) that each have as many as eight channels

• Up to 32 subtitle/karaoke tracks 

• Automatic, seamless video branching (for multiple story lines or ratings 

on one disc) 

• Up to nine camera angles (different viewpoints can be selected during 

playback) 

• Onscreen menus and simple interactive features (for games, quizzes, 

and so on) 

• Multilingual identifying text for title name, album name, song name, 

cast, crew, and so on 

• Instant rewind and fast forward (no “be kind, rewind” stickers on rental 

discs) 

• Instant search to title, chapter, music track, and timecode 

• Durable (no wear from playing, only from physical damage) 

• Not susceptible to magnetic fields, resistant to heat 

• Compact size (discs are easy to handle, store, and ship, and players 

can be portable; replication is cheaper than tapes or laserdiscs.) 

• Noncomedogenic 

NOTE: Most discs do not contain all features (multiple audio/ 

subtitle tracks, seamless branching, and parental control) because 

each feature must be specially authored. Some discs may not allow 

searching or skipping. 

Most players support a standard set of features: 

General DVD 3 

• Language choice (for the automatic selection of video scenes, audio 

tracks, subtitle tracks, and menus)* 

• Special effects playback: freeze, step, slow, fast, and scan 

• Parental lock (for denying playback of an entire disc or particular 

scenes of objectionable material)* 

• Programmability (playing selected sections in a desired sequence) 

• Random play and repeat play 

• Digital audio output PCM stereo and Dolby Digital 

*Must be supported by additional content on the disc


• Recognition and output of Digital Theater Systems (DTS) Digital Surround 

audio tracks 

• Playback of audio CDs 

Some players include additional features: 

• Component video output (YUV or RGB) for a higher-quality picture 

• Progressive-scan component output (YUV or RGB) for highest-quality 

analog picture 

• Digital video output (SDI, 1394, or DVI] for perfect digital picture 

• Six-channel analog output from internal audio decoder 

• Playback of Video CDs or Super Video CDs, MP3 CDs, Picture CDs 

and Photo CDs, laserdiscs, and CDVs 

• Reverse single-frame stepping 

• Reverse play (normal speed) 

• RF output (for TVs with no direct video input) 

• Multilingual onscreen display 

• Multiple-disc capacity 

• Digital zoom (2x or 4x enlargement of a section of the picture. This is 

a player feature, not a DVD disc feature.) 

What’s the Quality of DVD-Video? 

DVDs have the capability to produce near-studio-quality video and betterthan-CD-quality 

audio. They are vastly superior to consumer videotape and 

generally better than laserdiscs (see “How Does DVD Compare to Laserdisc?” 

in Chapter 2, “DVD’s Relationship to Other Products and Technologies”). 

However, quality depends on many production factors. As 

compression experience and technology improves, we see increasing quality, 

but as production costs decrease and DVD authoring software becomes 

widely available, we also see more shoddily produced discs. A few lowbudget 

DVDs even use MPEG-1 encoding (which is no better than VHS) 

instead of higher-quality MPEG-2. 

DVD-Video is usually encoded from digital studio master tapes to the 

MPEG-2 format. The encoding process uses lossy compression that 

removes redundant information (such as areas of the picture that don’t

General DVD 5 

change) and information that’s not readily perceptible by the human eye. 

The resulting video, especially when it’s complex or changes quickly, may 

sometimes contain visual flaws, depending on the processing quality and 

amount of compression. At average video data rates of 3.5 to 6 megabits 

per second (Mbps), compression artifacts may be occasionally noticeable. 

Higher data rates can result in higher quality, with almost no perceptible difference 

from the master at rates above 6 Mbps. As MPEG compression 

technology improves, better quality is being achieved at lower rates. 

Video from DVD sometimes contains visible artifacts such as color banding, 

blurriness, blockiness, fuzzy dots, shimmering, missing detail, and even 

effects such as a face that “floats” behind the rest of the moving picture. It’s 

important to understand that the term artifact refers to anything that is not 

supposed to be in the picture. Artifacts are sometimes caused by poor 

MPEG encoding, but they are more often caused by a poorly adjusted TV, 

bad cables, electrical interference, sloppy digital noise reduction, improper 

picture enhancement, poor film-to-video transfers, film grain, player faults, 

disc read errors, and so on. Most DVDs exhibit few visible MPEG compression 

artifacts on a properly configured system. If you think otherwise, 

you are misinterpreting what you see. 

Some early DVD demos were not very good, but this simply indicates 

how bad DVD can be if not properly processed and correctly reproduced. 

In-store demos should be viewed with a grain of salt, because most salespeople 

are incapable of properly adjusting a TV set. 

Most TVs have the sharpness set too high for the clarity of DVDs. This 

exaggerates high-frequency video and causes distortion, just as the treble 

control set too high on a stereo causes the audio to sound harsh. For best 

quality, the sharpness control should be set very low. Brightness should 

also not be set too high. Some DVD players output video with a black-level 

setup of 0 IRE (the Japanese standard) rather than 7.5 IRE (the U.S. standard). 

On TVs that are not properly adjusted, this can cause blotchiness in 

dark scenes. An option may be offered in the player menu to output standard 

black level. DVD-Video has exceptional color fidelity, so muddy or 

washed-out colors are almost always a problem in the display (or the original 

source), not in the player or disc. 

DVD audio quality is superb. DVDs include the option of PCM digital 

audio with sampling sizes and rates higher than audio CDs. Alternatively, 

audio for most movies is stored as discrete, multichannel surround sound 

using Dolby Digital or DTS audio compression similar to the digital surround 

sound formats used in theaters. As with video, audio quality depends on 

how well the processing and encoding has been done. In spite of compression, 

Dolby Digital and DTS can be close to or better than CD quality.


What Are the Disadvantages of DVD? 

The downsides to DVDs are as follows: 

• The vagueness of the DVD specification and the inadequate testing of 

players and discs has resulted in incompatibilities. Some movie discs 

don’t function fully (or don’t play at all) on some players. (See “Why 

Doesn’t Disc X Work in Player Y?” in this chapter.) 

• DVD recorders are more expensive than VCRs. (See “Can DVDs 

Record from a VCR, TV, and So On?” and Chapter 4’s “What About 

Recordable DVDs: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and 

DVD�R?”) 

• DVD has built-in copy protection and regional lockouts. (See “What 

Are Regional Codes, Country Codes, or Zone Locks?” and “What Are 

Copy Protection Issues?” in this chapter) 

• DVD uses digital compression. Poorly compressed audio or video may 

be blocky, fuzzy, harsh, or vague. (See “What’s the Quality of 

DVD-Video?”) 

• The audio downmix process for stereo or Dolby Surround may reduce 

the dynamic range. (See “What Are the Audio Details?” in Chapter 3, 

“DVD Technical Details.”) 

• DVD doesn’t fully support high-definition TV (HDTV). (See “Does DVD 

Support HDTV (DTV)? Will HDTV Make DVD Obsolete?” in Chapter 2.) 

• Some DVD players and drives can’t read CD-Rs. (See “IS CD-R Compatible 

with DVD?” in Chapter 2.) 

• Some DVD players and drives can’t read recordable DVDs. (See “Is It 

True There Are Compatibility Problems with Recordable DVD Formats?” 

in Chapter 4.) 

• Most DVD players and drives can’t read DVD-RAM discs. (See “DVD- 

RAM” in Chapter 4.) 

• Very few players can play in reverse at normal speed. 

• Variations and options such as DVD-Audio, DVD-VR, and DTS audio 

tracks are not supported by all players. 

Which DVD Players and Drives Are Available? 

Some manufacturers originally announced that DVD players would be available 

as early as the middle of 1996. These predictions were woefully optimistic. 

Delivery was initially held up for “political” reasons, which meant

General DVD 7 

movie studios were demanding copy protection, and it was delayed again 

by a lack of titles. 

The first players appeared in Japan in November of 1996, followed by 

U.S. players in March of 1997, with distribution limited to only seven major 

cities for the first six months. Players slowly trickled in to other regions 

around the world. Prices for the first players in 1997 were $1,000 and up. By 

the end of 2000, players were available for under $100 at discount retailers. 

In 2003, players became available for under $50. Six years after the initial 

launch, close to 1,000 models were available from over 100 consumer electronics 

manufacturers (see “Who Is Making or Supporting DVD Products?” 

in Chapter 6). 

Fujitsu supposedly released the first DVD-ROM-equipped computer in 

November 1996 in Japan. In early 1997, Toshiba released a DVD-ROMequipped 

computer and a DVD-ROM drive in Japan (moved back from 

December of 1996, which was moved back from November). DVD-ROM 

drives from Toshiba, Pioneer, Panasonic, Hitachi, and Sony also began 

appearing as manufacturer samples as early as January 1997, but none 

were available before May. The first PC upgrade kits (a combination of DVD- 

ROM drive and hardware decoder card) became available from Creative 

Labs, Hi-Val, and Diamond Multimedia in April and May of 1997. 

Today, every major PC manufacturer has models that include DVD-ROM 

drives. The price difference from the same system with a CD-ROM drive 

ranges from $30 to $200 (laptops have more expensive drives). For more 

information about DVDs on computers, including writable DVD drives, see 

Chapter 4. 

NOTE: If you buy a player or drive from outside your country (such 

as a Japanese player for use in the United States), you may not be 

able to play region-locked discs on it. (See “What Are Regional 

Codes, Country Codes, or Zone Locks?”) 

Pioneer released the first DVD-Audio players in Japan in late 1999, but 

they did not play copy-protected discs. Matsushita (under the Panasonic 

and Technics labels) first released full-fledged players in July 2000 at prices 

from $700 to $1,200. DVD-Audio players are now also made by Aiwa, JVC, 

Kenwood, Madrigal, Toshiba, Yamaha, and others. Sony released the first 

SACD players in May 1999 for $5,000. Pioneer’s first DVD-Audio players, 

released in late 1999, also played SACD. SACD players are now also made 

by Accuphase, Aiwa, Denon, Kenwood, Marantz, Philips, Sharp, and 

others. (See “What About DVD-Audio or Music DVDs?” for more information 

on DVD-Audio and SACD.)


The following web sites provide more information on players and drives: 

• CNET DVD players and DVD-ROM drives, 

http://computers.cnet.com 

• The uk.media.dvd FAQ, www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/umdvdfaq 

• Aus.dvd (Australia/New Zealand/region 4 player info), 

www.ozemail.com.au/�brierley/dvd 

• Computer Shopper DVD players and DVD-ROM drives, 

http://zdentshopper.cnet.com 

Which Player Should I Buy? 

The video and audio performance of all modern DVD players is excellent. 

Your personal preferences, budget, and home theater setup all play a large 

role in determining which player is best for you. Unless you have a high-end 

home theater, a player that costs under $250 should be completely 

adequate. 

Make a list of things that are important to you (such as the ability to play 

CD-Rs, the ability to play Video CDs, 96 kHz/24-bit audio decoding, DTS 

Digital Out, and an internal 6-channel Dolby Digital decoder) to help you 

come up with a set of players. Then try out a few of the players in your price 

range, focusing on ease of use (remote control design, user interface, and 

front-panel controls). Because few variations exist in picture and sound 

quality within a given price range, convenience features play a big part. The 

remote control, which you’ll use all the time, can drive you crazy if it doesn’t 

suit your style. 

Some players, especially cheaper models, don’t properly play all discs. 

Before buying a player, you may want to test it with a few complex DVDs, 

such as The Matrix, The Abyss, Independence Day, and DVD Demystified. 

See “Why Doesn’t Disc X Work in Player Y?” for more information. 

In certain cases, you might want to buy a DVD PC instead of a standard 

DVD player, especially if you want progressive video. (See “What’s a Progressive 

DVD Player?” and Chapter 4’s “Can I Play DVD Movies on My 

Computer?”) 

Here are a few questions to ask yourself: 

• Do I want selectable soundtracks and subtitles, multiangle viewing, 

aspect ratio control, and parental or multirating features? Do I want 

fast and slow playback, great digital video, multichannel digital audio,

General DVD 9 

and compatibility with Dolby Pro Logic receivers? Do I also want 

onscreen menus, dual-layer playback, and the ability to play audio 

CDs? This is a trick question, because all DVD players have all these 

features. 

• Do I want DTS audio? If so, look for a player with the DTS Digital Out 

logo. (See “Audio Details of DVD-Video,” in Chapter 3.) 

• Do I want to play Video CDs? If so, check the specs for Video CD compatibility. 

(See “Are Video CDs Compatible with DVD Players?” in 

Chapter 2.) 

• Do I want to play recordable DVDs? If so, check the specs or compatibility 

reports for the ability to read -R, -RW, �R, and �RW formats. 

(See “Is It True There Are Compatibility Problems with Recordable DVD 

Formats?” in Chapter 4.) 

• Do I need a headphone jack? 

• Do I want player setup menus in languages other than English? If so, 

look for a multilanguage setup feature. (Note: All players support 

on-disc multilanguage menus.) 

• Do I want to play homemade CD-R audio discs? If so, look for the dual 

laser feature. (See “Is CD-R Compatible with DVD?” in Chapter 2.) 

• Do I want to replace my CD player? If so, you might want a changer 

that can hold three, five, or even hundreds of discs. 

• Do I want to play discs from other countries? If so, beware of regions 

(see “What Are Regional Codes, Country Codes, or Zone Locks?”) and 

TV formats. (See “Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work 

with NTSC, PAL, and SECAM?”) 

• Do I want to control all my entertainment devices with one remote control? 

If so, look for a player with a programmable universal remote, or 

make sure your existing universal remote is compatible with the DVD 

player. 

• Do I want to zoom in to check details of the picture or get rid of the 

black letterbox bars? If so, look for players with picture zoom. 

• Do I have a DTV or progressive-scan display? If so, get a progressivescan 

player. (See “What’s a Progressive DVD Player?”) 

• Do I want to play high-definition compatible digital (HDCD)s? If so, 

check for the HDCD logo. (See “Is HDCD Compatible with DVDs?” in 

Chapter 2.) 

• Does my receiver have only optical or only coax digital audio inputs? 

If so, make sure the player has outputs to match. (See “How Do I Hook 

Up a DVD Player?” in Chapter 3.)


• Do I care about black-level adjustment? 

• Do I value special deals? If so, look for free DVD coupons and rentals 

available with many players. 

For more information, read hardware reviews at Web sites such as DVD- 

File or in magazines such as Widescreen Review. You may also want to read 

about user experiences at Audio Review and in online forums at Home Theater 

Forum and DVDFile. More advice can be found at DVDBuyingGuide 

and at eCoustics.com, which also has a list of links to reviews on other sites. 

See Chapter 3’s “What Are the Outputs of a DVD Player?” and “How Do 

I Hook up a DVD Player?” and for specific information on which audio/ 

video connections are needed for your existing setup. 

Which DVD Titles Are Available? 

In the video distribution industry, a title refers to a movie or other production 

release, such as Snow White, Star Wars, or a boxed edition of a TV series 

like Babylon 5 First Season. Titles are collectively referred to as software, 

not to be confused with computer software. 

DVDs started off slowly. In 1996, rosy predictions of hundreds of movie 

titles being sold for Christmas failed to materialize. Only a handful of DVD 

titles, mostly music videos, were available in Japan for the November 1996 

launch of DVDs. The first feature films on DVD appeared in Japan in 

December, including The Assassin, Blade Runner, Eraser, and The Fugitive 

from Warner Home Video. By April, over 150 titles were available in Japan. 

The first titles released in the United States on March 19, 1997, by Lumivision, 

authored by AIX Entertainment, were IMAX adaptations: Africa: The 

Serengeti, Antarctica: An Adventure of a Different Nature, Tropical Rainforest, 

and Animation Greats. (Other movies such as Batman and Space 

Jam had been demonstrated earlier but were not full versions available for 

sale.) The Warner Brothers U.S. launch followed on March 24 but was limited 

to seven cities. Almost 19,000 discs were purchased in the first two 

weeks of the U.S. launch, more than expected. InfoTech predicted over 600 

titles by the end of 1997 and more than 8,000 titles by 2000. 

By December of 1997, over 1 million individual DVD discs had been 

shipped, representing about 530 titles. By the end of 1999, over 100 million 

discs had shipped, representing about 5,000 titles. A year later, over 10,000 

titles were available in the United States and over 15,000 were on the market 

worldwide. By the end of 2001, about 14,000 titles were available in the 

United States. In December of 2002, about 23,000 titles were available in 

the United States. Compared to other launches (such as CDs and LDs), a 

huge number of titles had been released in a very short time. (Note that this

General DVD 11 

does not include adult titles, which account for an additional 15 percent or 

so.) By March 2003, six years after the launch, over 1.5 billion copies of 

DVD titles had been shipped. 

A number of DVD launches in Europe were announced with little followthrough, 

but DVDs became established in Europe around the end of 1998. 

The availability of DVD software in Europe was initially about 18 months to 

a year behind the United States, but this gap has shortened over the years 

to a delay of only a few months to a few weeks. 

Many Internet databases can be used to search for DVD titles. Here are 

a few of the best sites: 

• Internet Movie Database DVD Browser (info on all regions, 

us.imdb.com/Sections/DVDs) 

• Doug MacLean’s Home Theater Info list (region 1, downloadable list, 

www.hometheaterinfo.com/dvdlist.htm) 

• DVD Entertainment Group (region 1, searchable and downloadable 

database, www.dvdinformation.com/titles) 

• Widescreen Review (widescreen-specific DVD titles, www. 

widescreenreview.com) 

• Most Internet DVD stores also have searchable lists (See “Where 

Can I Buy (or Rent) DVDs and Players?” in Chapter 6, which lists 

Web sites where you can buy or rent DVDs) 

DVD-Audio started even slower than DVD-Video. The first commercially 

available DVD-Audio title, Big Phat Band, was released in October 2000 on 

the Silverline label of 5.1 Entertainment. Major music labels BMG Entertainment, 

EMI Music, Universal Music, and Warner Music have committed 

to DVD-Audio titles, although in the fall of 2001 Universal announced it 

would release SACD titles first. As of the end of 2001, just under 200 

DVD-Audio titles were available. By mid-2003 about 600 DVD-Audio titles 

and about 900 SACD titles were available worldwide. The first SACD titles 

were released in Japan in May of 1999. 

DVD-ROM computer software is slowly appearing. Many initial 

DVD-ROM titles were only available as part of a hardware or software bundle. 

The International Data Corporation (IDC) predicted that over 13 percent 

of all software would be available in DVD-ROM format by the end of 1998, 

but reality didn’t meet expectations. In one sense, DVD-ROMs are simply 

larger, faster CD-ROMs and contain the same material. In many cases, CD- 

ROMs are big enough that DVD-ROMs are unnecessary, but DVD-ROMs 

can take advantage of the high-quality video and multichannel audio capabilities 

being added to many DVD-ROM-equipped computers.


Where Can I Read Reviews of DVDs? 

The following sites have reviews of at least 800 discs. The list of DVD review 

sites at Yahoo is also recommended. 

• The Big Picture (www.thebigpicturedvd.com) 

• BinaryFlix (menu pictures included with every review, 

www.binaryflix.com) 

• The Cinema Laser (www.thecinemalaser.com) 

• The Digital Bits (www.thedigitalbits.com) 

• DVD Authority (www.dvdauthority.com) 

• DVD File (www.dvdfile.com) 

• DVD Review (www.dvdreview.com) 

• DVD Shrine (www.dvdshrine.com) 

• DVD Talk (www.dvdtalk.com) 

• DVD Verdict (www.dvdverdict.com) 

• Widescreen Review Magazine (widescreen movies only, 

www.widescreenreview.com) 

How Do I Find out when a Movie Will Be Available on DVD? 

First, check one of the lists and databases mentioned in the previous section 

to make sure it’s not already available. Then check the upcoming release 

lists at DVD Review and Laser Scans (www.laserscans.com/upcoming.htm). 

A release list is also available at Image Entertainment (www.image-entertainment.com), 

and a good source of info about unannounced titles is the 

Digital Bits Rumor Mill (www.thedigitalbits.com/rumormill.html). 

Why Isn’t My Favorite Movie on DVD? 

Many factors determine when a title is released on DVD. Sometimes the 

director or producer has control over the DVD and video release. Other 

times it’s up to the studio marketing group or problems may be occurring 

due to rights. For example, a DVD might be available in one country or 

region but not available in another because different studios have distribution 

rights in different countries. Studios do listen to customers, so let them 

know which titles you’d like to see (see Chapter 6’s “Studios, Video Publishers, 

and Distributors”).

How Can I Find DVDs with Specific Features or Characteristics? 

Use one of the searchable databases listed previously and select the features 

you’re looking for (anamorphic widescreen, French audio track, Flemish 

subtitles, and so on). If a database doesn’t include the characteristics 

you’re looking for, try a different database. 

Why Do Some Rental Stores Not Carry Widescreen DVDs? 

Some rental chains such as Blockbuster and retailers such as Wal-Mart originally 

carried only full-screen (pan and scan) versions of movies when both 

widescreen and full-screen versions were available. This infuriated many DVD 

fans, who could never countenance watching a non-widescreen version of a 

movie on DVD. There was much complaining, including an online petition 

with over 25,000 signatures. In early 2003 Blockbuster reversed their policy 

with the following statement: “We made a decision to purchase the majority 

of titles we bring in on DVD in the widescreen format. We try to follow our customer 

preferences. As DVD becomes increasingly popular, they become 

more familiar with the features and with the benefits of letterboxing. They've 

learned it's a superior format to full-frame.” Wal-Mart similarly switched to 

widescreen versions apparently after realizing that they sold better. 

See “What’s Widescreen? How Do the Aspect Ratios Work?” in Chapter 

3 for more about widescreen. See “How Do I Get Rid of the Black Bars 

at the Top and Bottom?” later in the chapter for the pros and cons of letterboxing. 

How Much Do Players and Drives Cost? 

The prices of mass-market DVD movie players range from $40 to $3,000. 

(Refer to the earlier “Which DVD Players and Drives Are Available?” for more 

information.) DVD-ROM drives and upgrade kits for computers sell for 

around $30 to $400. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) drive prices 

are around $40. 

How Much Do Discs Cost? 


It varies, but most DVD movies are listed at $20 to $30, with street prices 

between $15 and $25, even those with supplemental material. Low-priced 

movies can be found for under $10. So far DVDs have not followed the initial 

high-rental-price model of VHS. 

DVD-ROMs are usually slightly more expensive than CD-ROMs because 

they contain more, they cost more to replicate, and the market is smaller. 

But as the installed base of drives grow, DVD-ROMs will eventually cost 

about the same as CD-ROMs do today.


The following sites help you find the lowest prices and discount 

coupons: 

• BargainFlix (www.bargainflix.com) 

• DVD Price Search (www.dvdpricesearch.com) 

How Are DVDs Doing? Where Can I Get Statistics? 

DVD did not take off quite as fast as some early predictions, but it has sold 

faster than videotape, CD, and laserdisc. In fact, before its third birthday in 

March 2000, DVD had become the most successful consumer electronics 

entertainment product ever. 

Here are some predictions: 

• InfoTech (1995) Worldwide sales of DVD players in 1997 will be 

800,000. Worldwide sales of DVD-ROM drives in 1997 will be 1.2 million, 

with sales of 39 million drives in 2000. 

• C-Cube (1996) 1 million players and drives in 1997. 

• InfoTech (1996) 820,000 DVD-Video players in the first year, with 80 

million by 2005. 

• Philips (1996) 25 million DVD-ROM drives worldwide by 2000 (10 

percent of the projected 250 million optical drives). 

• Pioneer (1996) 500,000 DVD-ROM drives sold in 1997, with 54 million 

sold in 2000. 

• Pioneer (1996) 400,000 DVD-Video players in 1996, with 11 million 

by 2000, and 100,000 DVD-Audio players in 1996, with 4 million by 

2000. 

• Time Warner (1996) 10 million DVD players in the United States by 

2002. 

• Toshiba (1996) 100,000 to 150,000 DVD-Video players will be sold in 

Japan between November 1 and December 31, 1996, and 750,000 to 

1 million by November 1, 1997. (The actual count of combined shipments 

by Matsushita, Pioneer, and Toshiba was 70,000 in October 

through December of 1996.) The total worldwide DVD hardware market 

is expected to reach 120 million units in the year 2000. The worldwide 

set-top DVD player market will be 2 million units in the first year, 

with sales of 20 million in the year 2000.


• Toshiba (1996) 120 million DVD-ROM drives in 2000 (80 percent 

penetration of 100 million PCs). Toshiba says they will no longer make 

CD-ROM drives in 2000. 

• AMI (1997) An installed base of 7 million DVD-ROM drives by 2000. 

• BASES 3 million DVD-Video players sold in the first year, with 13 million 

sold in the sixth year. 

• CEMA (1997) 400,000 DVD-Video players in United States in 1997, 

with 1 million in 1998. 

• Dataquest (1997) Over 33 million shipments of DVD players and 

drives by 2000. 

• Forrester Research (1997) A U.S. base of 53 million DVD-equipped 

PCs established by 2002 and 5.2 percent of U.S. households (5 million) 

will have a DVD-V player in 2002; 2 percent will have a DVD-Audio 

player. 

• IDC (1997) 10 million DVD-ROM drives sold in 1997, 70 million in 

2000 (surpassing CD-ROMs), and 118 million in 2001, with over 13 

percent of all software available on DVD-ROM in 1998. DVD-R drives 

will be more than 90 percent of combined CD/DVD-R market in 2001. 

• Intel (1997) 70 million DVD-ROM drives by 1999 (sales will surpass 

CD-ROM drives in 1998). 

• Paul Kagan (1997) 800,000 DVD players in the United States in 

1997, 10 million in 2000, and 40 million in 2006 (43 percent penetration), 

and 5.6 million discs sold in 1997, 172 million discs in 2000, and 

623 million in 2006. 

• Microsoft (Peter Biddle, 1997) 15 million DVD PCs sold in 1998, 

with 50 million DVD PCs sold in 1999. 

• SMD (1997) 100 million DVD-ROM/RAM drives shipped in 2000. 

• InfoTech (January 1998) 20 million DVD-Video players worldwide in 

2002, with 58 million by 2005. 99 million DVD-ROM drives worldwide 

in 2005. No more than 500 DVD-ROM titles available by the end of 

1998. About 80,000 DVD-ROM titles available by 2005. 

• Microsoft (Jim Taylor, 1998) An installed base of 35 million DVD 

PCs in 1999. 

• Screen Digest (December 1998) In 1998, 125,000 DVD-Video players 

will be in European homes, with 485,000 in 1999, and 1 million in 

2000.


• Yankee Group (January 1998) By 1998, 650,000 DVD-Video players 

will be in use, with 3.6 million by 2001 and 19 million DVD-PCs 

by 2001. 

• Baskerville (April 2000) Worldwide spending on DVD software will 

surpass that of VHS by 2003. A worldwide installed base of 625 million 

DVD players will occur by 2010 (55 percent of TV households). 

• IDC (July 2000) 

year’s end. 

70 million DVD players and drives will be sold by 

• IRMA (April 2000) 12 million players will ship worldwide in 2000. 

• Jon Peddie (June 2000): Almost 20 million DVD players will be sold in 

the United States in 2004. 

• Japanese Electronics and Information Technologies Association 

(December 2000) 37 million DVD players worldwide by 2001. 

• Screen Digest (June 2000) The European installed base of DVD- 

Video players will be 0.3 million in 1998, 1.5 millionin 1999, 5.4 million 

in 2000, and 47.1 million in 2003. 

• DVD Entertainment Group (July 2001) Approximately 30 million 

DVD players will be sold in the United States by the end of 2001. 

• Understanding & Solutions (April 2002) DVD player penetration in 

the United Kingdom could grow to 70 percent by 2006 (CD player 

penetration reached only 50 percent in the same time period after its 

launch). 

Here’s reality: 

• 1997 

• 349,000 DVD-Video players shipped in the United States (about 

200,000 sold into homes) 

• 900 DVD-Video titles available in the United States, with over 5 million 

copies shipped and about 2 million sold 

• Over 500,000 DVD-Video players shipped worldwide 

• Around 330,000 DVD-ROM drives shipped worldwide with about 1 

million bundled DVD-ROM titles 

• 60 DVD-ROM titles (mostly bundled) 

• 1998 

• 1,089,000 DVD-Video players shipped in the United States (an 

installed base of 1,438,000)

• 400 DVD-Video titles in Europe (135 movie and music titles) 

• 3,000 DVD-Video titles in the United States (2,000 movie and music 

titles) 

• 7.2 million DVD-Video discs purchased 

• 1999 

• 4,019,000 DVD-Video players shipped in the United States (an 

installed base of 5,457,000) 

• Over 6,300 DVD-Video titles in the United States 

• About 26 million DVD-ROM drives worldwide 

• About 75 DVD-ROM titles available in the United States 

• 2000 


• 8.5 million DVD-Video players shipped in the United States (an 


• About 46 million DVD-ROM drives worldwide 

• Over 10,000 DVD-Video titles available in the United States 

• Belgium: An installed base of 100 thousand 

• France: An installed base of 1.2 million 

• Germany: An installed base of 1.2 million 

• Italy: An installed base of 360 thousand 

• Netherlands: An installed base of 200 thousand 

• Spain: An installed base of 300 thousand 

• Sweden: An installed base of 120 thousand 

• Switzerland: An installed base of 250 thousand 

• UK: An installed base of 1 million 

• 2001 

• 12.7 million DVD-Video players shipped in the United States (An 


• Over 45 million DVD-ROM drives in the United States 

• Over 90 million DVD-ROM drives worldwide 

• UK: An installed base of 3 million


• 2002 

• 17 million DVD-Video players shipped in the United States (an 


• Over 75 million DVD-ROM drives in the United States 

• Over 140 million DVD-ROM drives worldwide 

For comparison, in 1997 about 700 million audio CD players and 160 million 

CD-ROM drives were in use worldwide. That same year 1.2 billion 

CD-ROMs were shipped worldwide with about 46,000 different titles available. 

About 80 million VCRs were owned in the United States (89 percent of 

households), with about 400 million worldwide, and 110,000 VCRs shipped 

in the first two years after their release. Nearly 16 million VCRs were 

shipped in 1998. In 2000, about 270 million TVs were owned in the United 

States, with 1.3 billion worldwide. When DVDs came out in 1997, under 3 

million laserdisc players were being used in the United States. 

For the latest U.S. player sales statistics, see the CEA page at The Digital 

Bits. Other DVD statistics and forecasts can be found at IRMA, Media- 

Line, and Twice. Industry analyses and forecasts can be purchased from 

Adams Media Research, the British Video Association, Cahners In-stat, 

eBrain, IDC, Screen Digest, Understanding & Solutions, and others. 

What Are Regional Codes, Country Codes, or Zone Locks? 

Motion picture studios want to control the home release of movies in different 

countries because theater releases aren’t simultaneous (a movie may 

come out on video in the United States when it’s just hitting screens in 

Europe). Also, studios sell distribution rights to different foreign distributors 

in order to guarantee an exclusive market. Therefore, they required that the 

DVD standard include codes to prevent the playback of certain discs in certain 

geographical regions. Each player is given a code for the region in 

which it’s sold and will refuse to play discs that are not coded for its region. 

This means that a disc bought in one country may not play on a player 

bought in another country. Some people believe that region codes are an 

illegal restraint of trade, but no legal cases have established this. 

Regional codes are entirely optional for the disc maker to include. Discs 

without region locks will play on any player in any country. It’s not an 

encryption system; it’s just one byte of information on the disc that the 

player checks. Some studios originally announced that only their new releases 

would have regional codes, but so far almost all Hollywood releases 

play in only one region. Region codes are also a permanent part of the disc, 

and they won’t unlock after a period of time. Region codes don’t apply to 

DVD-Audio, DVD-ROM, or recordable DVDs.


Seven regions (also called locales) have been established and each one 

is assigned a number. Players and discs are often identified by the region 

number superimposed on a globe. If a disc plays in more than one region, 

it will have more than one number on the globe. The region codes are as 

follows: 

1. U.S., Canada, and 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 (Russia), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, 

and Mongolia 

6. China 

7. Reserved 

8. Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, and so on) 

See the map at www.blackstar.co.uk/help/help_dvd_regions. 

Technically, no such thing as a region zero disc or a region zero player 

exists. However, an all-region disc does exist, and all-region players are 

available as well. Some players can be hacked using special command 

sequences from the remote control to switch regions or to play all region 

codes. Some players can be physically modified (or chipped) to play discs 

regardless of the regional codes on the disc. This usually voids the warranty, 

but it is not illegal in most countries, because the only thing that 

requires player manufacturers to region-code their players is the Content 

Scrambling System (CSS) license (see “What Are the Copy Protection 

Issues?”). Many retailers, especially outside North America, sell players that 

have already been modified for multiple regions, or in some cases they simply 

provide instructions on how to access the “secret” region change features 

already built into the player. 

As an interesting side note, on February 7, 2001, NASA sent two multiregion 

DVD players to the International Space Station (read about it at 

www.techtronics.com/uk/shop/510-nasa.html). 

Extensive information about modifying players and buying region-free 

players can be found on the Internet (see Chapter 6’s “DVD Utilities and 

Region-Free Information”). 

In addition to region codes, differences in discs for NTSC and PAL TV 

systems also exist (see “Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work 

with NTSC, PAL, and SECAM?” later in this chapter).


Some discs from Fox, Buena Vista/Touchstone/Miramax, MGM/Universal, 

Polygram, and Columbia TriStar contain program code that checks for 

the proper region setting in the player. (There’s Something About Mary and 

Psycho are examples.) In late 2000, Warner Brothers began using the same 

active region-code-checking system that other studios had been using for 

over a year. They called it region code enhancement (RCE, also known as 

REA), and it received much publicity. RCE was first added to discs such as 

The Patriot and Charlie’s Angels. 

“Smart discs” with active region checking won’t play on code-free players 

set for all regions (FFh), but they can be played on manual code-switchable 

players that enable you to use the remote control to change the 

player’s region to match the disc. Smart discs also may not work on autoswitching 

players that recognize and match the disc region. It depends on 

the player’s default region setting. An RCE disc has all its region flags set so 

that the player doesn’t know which one to switch to. The disc queries the 

player for the region setting and aborts playback if it’s the wrong one. A 

default player setting of region 1 can fool RCE discs from region 1. Playing 

a region 1 disc for a few seconds sets most auto-switching players to 

region 1 and thus enables them to play an RCE disc. 

When an RCE disc detects the wrong region or an all-region player, it 

usually puts up a message saying that the player may have been altered 

and that the disc is not compatible with the player. A serious side effect is 

that some legitimate players fail the test, such as the Fisher DVDS-1000. 

RCE’s first appearance caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but 

DVD fans quickly learned that it only affected some players (www.dvdtalk. 

com/rce.html). Makers of player modification kits that didn’t work with RCE 

soon improved their chips to get around it. For every higher wall, there is a 

taller ladder. See DVDTalk’s RCE FAQ for more info and workarounds. 

Region codes do not apply to DVD-Audio. In general, region codes don’t 

apply to recordable DVDs. A DVD that you make on a PC with a DVD burner 

or in a home DVD video recorder will play in all regions (but don’t forget 

NTSC versus PAL differences). 

Regional codes also apply to game consoles such as PlayStation 2 and 

Xbox, but only for DVD-Video (movie) discs (see DVDRegionX.com for 

region modifications to PS2). PlayStation has a separate regional lockout 

scheme for games. 

When it comes to DVD-ROM computers, only DVD-Video discs are 

affected by regional codes, not DVD-ROM discs containing computer software. 

Computer playback systems check for regional codes before playing 

movies from a CSS-protected DVD-Video (see “What Are the Copy Protec-

tion Issues?” for CSS info). Newer RPC2 DVD-ROM drives let you change 

the region code several times (RPC stands for region protection control), 

but once an RPC2 drive has been changed five times, it can’t be changed 

again unless the vendor or manufacturer resets the drive. The Drive Info utility 

can tell you if you have an RPC2 drive (it will say “This drive has region 

protection”). See “DVD Utilities and Region-Free Information,” for more 

information about circumventing DVD-ROM region restrictions. Since 

December 31, 1999, only RPC2 drives have been manufactured. 

What Are the Copy Protection Issues? 

Content protection system architecture (CPSA) is the name given to the 

overall framework for security and access control across the entire DVD 

family. Developed by the 4C Entity (Intel, IBM, Matsushita, and Toshiba) in 

cooperation with the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG), 

CPSA covers encryption, watermarking, and the protection of analog and 

digital outputs. Many forms of content protection apply to DVD, as detailed 

in the following seven sections. 

Analog CPS (Macrovision) 


Copying to videotape (analog) can be prevented with a Macrovision 7.0 circuit 

in every DVD player. The general term is Analog Protection System 

(APS), also sometimes called copyguard. Computer video cards with composite 

or s-video (Y/C) output must also use APS. Macrovision adds a 

rapidly modulated colorburst signal (Colorstripe) along with pulses in the 

vertical blanking signal (AGC) to the composite video and s-video outputs. 

This confuses the synchronization and automatic-recording-level circuitry in 

95 percent of consumer VCRs. Unfortunately, it can degrade the picture, 

especially with old or nonstandard equipment. 

Macrovision may show up as stripes of color, distortion, rolling, a black 

and white picture, and dark/light cycling. Macrovision creates problems for 

most TV/VCR combos (see “Will I Have Problems Connecting My VCR 

Between My TV and DVD Player?”) and some high-end equipment such as 

line doublers and video projectors. 

Macrovision was not present on the component output of early players, 

but it is required on component output of newer players (AGC only, because 

there is no burst in a component signal). DVDs contain trigger bits that tell 

the player whether or not to enable Macrovision AGC, with the optional 

addition of two-line or four-line Colorstripe. The triggers occur about twice 

a second, which enables fine control over the video. The producer of the 

disc decides the amount of copy protection to enable and then pays 

Macrovision royalties accordingly (several cents per disc). Just as with


videotapes, some DVDs are Macrovision-protected and some aren’t. For a 

few Macrovision details, see STMicroelectronics’ NTSC/PAL video encoder 

datasheets at www.st.com/stonline/books/. 

Inexpensive devices can defeat Macrovision, although only a few work 

against the new Colorstripe feature. These devices include products such as 

Video Clarifier, Image Stabilizer, Color Corrector, and CopyMaster (www. 

videoguys.com/sima.htm). You can also build your own (http://66.40.78.100/ 

Services/TECH_Notes/nineteen.html). Some DVD players can be modified 

to turn off Macrovision output. Professional time-base correctors (TBCs) that 

regenerate line 21 also remove Macrovision. APS affects only video, not 

audio. 

Copy Generation Management System (CGMS) 

Each disc contains information specifying if the contents can be copied. 

This is a serial copy generation management system (SCMS) designed to 

prevent initial copies or generational copies (copies of copies). The CGMS 

information is embedded in the outgoing video signal. For CGMS to work, 

the equipment making the copy must recognize and respect the CGMS 

information. The analog standard (CGMS-A) encodes the data on NTSC line 

21 (in the extended data service [XDS]) or line 20. CGMS-A is recognized by 

most digital camcorders and by some computer video capture cards (they 

will flash a message such as “recording inhibited”). Professional time-base 

correctors (TBCs) that regenerate lines 20 and 21 will remove CGMS-A 

information from an analog signal. The digital standard (CGMS-D) is 

included in DTCP and HDMI for digital connections, such as IEEE 

1394/FireWire (www.1394ta.org). See the “Digital Copy Protection System” 

and “High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection” subsections. 

Content Scrambling System (CSS) 

Because of the potential for perfect digital copies, paranoid movie studios 

added a tougher copy protection requirement to the DVD standard. CSS is 

a data encryption and authentication scheme intended to prevent copying 

video files directly from DVD-Video discs. It was developed primarily by 

Matsushita and Toshiba. Each CSS licensee is given a key from a master 

set of 400 keys stored on every CSS-encrypted disc, and a license can be 

revoked by removing its key from future discs. The CSS decryption algorithm 

exchanges keys with the drive unit to generate an encryption key that 

is used to obfuscate the exchange of disc keys and title keys needed to 

decrypt data from the disc. DVD players have CSS circuitry that decrypts 

the data before it’s decoded and displayed, and computer DVD decoder

hardware and software must include a CSS decryption module. All 

DVD-ROM drives have extra firmware to exchange authentication and 

decryption keys with the CSS module in the computer. 

Since 2000, new DVD-ROM drives are required to support regional management 

in conjunction with CSS (refer to “What Are Regional Codes, 

Country Codes, and Zone Locks?” and see Chapter 4’s “Can I Play DVDs 

on My Computer?”). DVD-Video equipment manufacturers of drives, 

decoder chips, decoder software, and display adapters must license CSS. 

CSS licenses are free, but obtaining one is a lengthy process, so it’s recommended 

that interested parties apply early. CSS is administered by the 

DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA). Near the end of May 1997, CSS 

licenses were finally granted for software decoding. The license is 

extremely restrictive in an attempt to keep the CSS algorithm and keys 

secret. Of course, nothing that’s used on millions of players and drives 

worldwide could be kept secret for long. In October of 1999, the CSS algorithm 

was cracked and posted on the Internet, triggering endless controversies 

and legal battles (see “What Is DeCSS? in Chapter 4). 

Content Protection for Prerecorded Media (CPPM) 

Content Protection for Prerecorded Media (CPPM) is used only for DVD- 

Audio. It was developed to be an improvement of CSS. Keys are stored in 

the lead-in area, but unlike CSS no title keys are placed in the sector headers. 

Each volume has a 56-bit album identifier, similar to a CSS disc key, 

stored in the control area. Each disc contains a media key block, stored in 

a file on the disc. The media key block data is logically ordered in rows and 

columns used during the authentication process to generate a decryption 

key from a specific set of player keys (device keys). If the device key is 

revoked, the media-key-block-processing step results in an invalid key 

value. As with CSS, the media key block can be updated to revoke the use 

of compromised player keys. The authentication mechanism is the same 

as CSS, so no changes are required for the existing drives. A disc may 

contain both CSS and CPPM content if it is a hybrid DVD-Video/DVD- 

Audio disc. 

Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) 


Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) is a mechanism that ties 

a recording to the media on which it is recorded. CPRM is supported by 

some DVD recorders, but not by many DVD players. Each blank, recordable 

DVD has a unique 64-bit media ID etched in the BCA (see “What Is BCA?” 

in Chapter 3). When protected content is recorded on the disc, it can be


encrypted with a 56-bit C2 (Cryptomeria) cipher derived from the media ID. 

During playback, the ID is read from the BCA and used to generate a key to 

decrypt the contents of the disc. If the contents of the disc are copied to 

other media, the ID will be absent or wrong, and the data will not be 

decryptable. 

Digital Copy Protection System (DCPS) 

In order to provide digital connections between components without allowing 

perfect digital copies, five digital copy protection systems (DCPs) were 

proposed to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The frontrunner 

is Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP), which focuses on IEEE 

1394/FireWire, but it can be applied to other protocols. The draft proposal 

(called 5C, for the five companies that developed it) was made by Intel, 

Sony, Hitachi, Matsushita, and Toshiba in February of 1998. Sony released 

a DTCP chip in mid-1999. 

Under DTCP, devices that are digitally connected, such as a DVD player 

and a digital TV or a digital VCR, exchange keys and authentication certificates 

to establish a secure channel. The DVD player encrypts the encoded 

audio-video signal as it sends it to the receiving device, which must decrypt 

it. This keeps other connected but unauthenticated devices from stealing 

the signal. No encryption is needed for content that is not copy protected. 

Security can be “renewed” by new content (such as new discs or new 

broadcasts) and new devices that carry updated keys and revocation lists 

(to identify unauthorized or compromised devices). 

A competing proposal, extended conditional access (XCA), from Zenith 

and Thomson, is similar to DTCP. However, it can work with one-way digital 

interfaces (such as the EIA-762 RF remodulator standard) and uses 

smart cards for renewable security. Other proposals have been made by 

MRJ Technology, NDS, and Philips. In all five proposals, content is marked 

with CGMS-style flags of “copy freely,” “copy once,” “don’t copy,” and 

sometimes “no more copies.” Digital devices that do nothing more than 

reproduce audio and video will be able to receive all data (as long as they 

can authenticate that they are playback-only devices). Digital recording 

devices can only receive data that is marked as copyable, and they must 

change the flag to “don’t copy” or “no more copies” if the source is marked 

“copy once.” 

DCPS in general is designed for the next generation of digital TVs, 

receivers, and video recorders. It requires new DVD players with digital 

connectors (such as those on digital video equipment). These new products 

began to appear in 2003. Because the encryption is done by the player, no 

changes are needed to existing discs.


High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) and HDMI 

High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is similar to DTCP, but it 

has been designed for digital video monitor interfaces such as digital visual 

interface (DVI). In 1998, the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) was 

formed to create a universal interface standard between computers and displays 

to replace the analog VGA connection standard. The resulting DVI 

specification, released in April 1999, was based on Silicon Image’s PanelLink 

technology, which at 4.95 Gbps can support 1600�1200 UXGA resolution, 

covering all the HDTV resolutions. Intel proposed a security 

component for DVI: HDCP. A new connection standard called HDMI now 

combines DVI and HDCP, and many new HDTV displays are likely to have 

both IEEE 1394 and HDMI connections. 

HDCP provides authentication, encryption, and revocation. Specialized 

circuitry in the playback device and in the display monitor encrypts video 

data before it is sent over the link. When an HDMI output senses that the 

connected monitor does not support HDCP, it lowers the image quality of 

protected content. The HDCP key exchange process verifies that a receiving 

device is authorized to display or record video. It uses an array of 40 56bit 

secret device keys and a 40-bit key selection vector, all supplied by the 

HDCP licensing entity. If the security of a display device is compromised, its 

key selection vector is placed on the revocation list. The host device has the 

responsibility of maintaining the revocation list, which is updated by system 

renewability messages (SRMs) carried by newer devices and by video content. 

Once the authority of the receiving device has been established, the 

video is encrypted by an exclusive OR (XOR) operation with a stream cipher 

generated from keys exchanged during the authentication process. If a display 

device with no decryption capability attempts to display encrypted 

content, it appears as random noise. 

The first four forms of copy protection are optional for disc producers. 

Movie decryption is also optional for hardware and software playback 

manufacturers: A player or computer without decryption capabilities will 

only be able to play unencrypted movies. CPRM is handled automatically 

by DVD recorders, whereas DCPS and HDCP are performed by the DVD 

player, not by the disc developer. 

These copy protection schemes are designed only to guard against 

casual copying (which the studios claim causes billions of dollars in lost revenue). 

The goal is to “keep the honest people honest.” The people who 

developed the copy protection standards are the first to admit they can’t 

stop well-equipped pirates. 

Movie studios have promoted legislation making it illegal to defeat DVD 

copy protection. The result is the World Intellectual Property Organization


(WIPO) Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty 

(December 1996), and the compliant U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act 

(DMCA), which was passed into law in October of 1998. Software intended 

specifically to circumvent copy protection is now illegal in the United States 

as well as many other countries. A cochair of the legal group of the DVD 

copy protection committee stated, “in the video context, the contemplated 

legislation should also provide some specific assurances that certain reasonable 

and customary home recording practices will be permitted, in addition 

to providing penalties for circumvention.” It’s not at all clear how this 

might be permitted by a player or by studios that routinely set the “don’t 

copy” flag on all their discs. 

DVD-ROM drives and computers, including DVD-ROM upgrade kits, are 

required to support Macrovision, CGMS, and CSS. PC video cards with TV 

outputs that don’t support Macrovision do not work with encrypted movies. 

Computers with IEEE 1394/FireWire connections must support the final 

DCPS standard in order to work with other DCPS devices. Likewise, computers 

with HDMI (DVI) connections must support HDCP to output DVD- 

Video content. Every DVD-ROM drive must include CSS circuitry to 

establish a secure connection to the decoder hardware or software in the 

computer, although CSS can only be used on DVD-Video content. Of 

course, because a DVD-ROM can hold any form of computer data, other 

encryption schemes can be implemented. See “Can I Play DVD Movies on 

My Computer?” in Chapter 4 for more information on DVD-ROM drives. 

The Watermarking Review Panel (WaRP) of the CPTWG, the successor 

to the Data-Hiding Subgroup (DHSG), selected an audio watermarking system 

that has been accepted by the DVD Forum for DVD-Audio (see the following 

“What About DVD-Audio or Music DVDs?”). The original seven video 

watermarking proposals were merged into three: IBM/NEC, Hitachi/ 

Pioneer/Sony, and Macrovision/Digimarc/Philips. On February 17, 1999, the 

first two groups combined to form the Galaxy Group and merged their 

technologies into a single proposal. The second group has dubbed their 

technology Millennium. 

Watermarking permanently marks each digital audio or video frame with 

noise that is supposedly undetectable by human ears or eyes. Watermark 

signatures can be recognized by playback and recording equipment to prevent 

copying, even when the signal is transmitted via digital or analog connections 

or is subjected to video processing. Watermarking is not an 

encryption system, but rather it is a way to identify whether a copy of a piece 

of video or audio can be played. New players and software are required to 

support watermarking, but the DVD Forum intends to make watermarked 

discs compatible with existing players. Reports were made that the early

watermarking technique used by Divx caused visible “raindrop” or “gunshot” 

patterns, but the problem was apparently solved for later releases. 

What About DVD-Audio or Music DVDs? 


When DVDs were released in 1996, no DVD-Audio format was available, 

although the audio capabilities of DVD-Video far surpassed CDs. The DVD 

Forum sought additional input from the music industry before defining the 

DVD-Audio format. A draft standard was released by the DVD Forum’s 

Working Group 4 (WG4) in January of 1998, and version 0.9 was released 

in July. The final DVD-Audio 1.0 specification (minus copy protection) was 

approved in February of 1999 and released in March, but products were 

delayed in part by the slow process of selecting copy protection features 

(encryption and watermarking), with complications introduced by the 

Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI). The scheduled October 1999 release 

was further delayed until mid-2000, ostensibly because of concerns caused 

by the CSS crack (see “What Is DeCSS?” in Chapter 4), but also because 

the hardware wasn’t quite ready, production tools weren’t up to snuff, and 

the support from music labels was lackluster. Pioneer released the first 

DVD-Audio players (without copy protection support) in Japan in late 1999. 

Matsushita released Panasonic and Technics universal DVD-Audio/DVD- 

Video players in July of 2000 for $700 to $1,200. Pioneer, JVC, Yamaha, and 

others released DVD-Audio players in the fall of 2000 and early 2001. By the 

end of 2000, about 50 DVD-Audio titles were available, and by the end of 

2001 just under 200 DVD-Audio titles were available. 

DVD-Audio is a separate format from DVD-Video. DVD-Audio discs can 

be designed to work in DVD-Video players, but it’s possible to make a DVD- 

Audio disc that won’t play at all in a DVD-Video player. This is because the 

DVD-Audio specification includes new formats and features, with content 

stored in a separate DVD-Audio zone on the disc (the AUDIO_TS directory) 

that DVD-Video players never look at. New DVD-Audio players are needed 

to solve this problem, or new “universal players” should be produced that 

can play both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs. Universal players are also 

called video-capable audio players (VCAPs). 

A plea to producers: Universal players are rare, but you can make universal 

discs easily. With a small amount of effort, all DVD-Audio discs can 

be made to work on all DVD players by including a Dolby Digital version of 

the audio in the DVD-Video zone. 

A plea to DVD-Audio authoring system developers: Make your software 

do this by default or strongly recommend this option during authoring.


DVD-Audio players (and universal players) work with existing receivers. 

They output PCM and Dolby Digital, and some will support the optional 

DTS and direct stream digital (DSD) formats. However, most current 

receivers can’t decode high-definition, multichannel PCM audio (see Chapter 

3’s “Details of DVD-Audio and SACD,” for details), and even if they 

could, it can’t be carried on standard digital audio connections. DVD-Audio 

players with high-end digital-to-analog converters (DACs) can only be 

hooked up to receivers with two-channel or six-channel analog inputs, but 

quality is lost if the receiver converts back to digital for processing. New 

receivers with improved digital connections such as IEEE 1394 (FireWire) 

are needed to use the full digital resolution of DVD-Audio. 

DVD audio is copyright protected by an embedded signaling or digital 

watermark feature. This uses signal-processing technology to apply a digital 

signature and optional encryption keys to the audio in the form of supposedly 

inaudible noise so that new equipment will recognize copied audio 

and refuse to play it. Proposals from Aris, Blue Spike, Cognicity, IBM, and 

Solana were evaluated by major music companies in conjunction with the 

4C Entity. Aris and Solana merged to form a new company called Verance, 

whose Galaxy technology was chosen for DVD-Audio in August of 1999. (In 

November of 1999, Verance watermarking was also selected for SDMI.) 

Verance and 4C claimed that tests on the Verance watermarking method 

showed it was inaudible, but golden-eared listeners in later tests were able 

to detect the watermarking noise. 

Sony and Philips have developed a competing SACD format that uses 

DVD discs (see Chapter 3’s “Details of DVD-Audio and SACD”). Sony 

released version 0.9 of the SACD spec in April 1998, and the final version 

appeared a year later. SACD technology is available to existing Sony/Philips 

CD licensees at no additional cost. Most initial SACD releases have been 

mixed in stereo, not multichannel. SACD was originally supposed to provide 

“legacy” discs with two layers, one that plays in existing CD players, 

plus a high-density layer for DVD-Audio players, but technical difficulties 

kept dual-format discs from being produced until the end of 2000, and only 

then in small quantities. Pioneer, which released the first DVD-Audio players 

in Japan at the end of 1999, included SACD support in their DVD-Audio 

players. If other manufacturers follow suit, the entire SACD versus DVD- 

Audio standards debate could be moot, because DVD-Audio players would 

play both types of discs. 

Sony released an SACD player in Japan in May of 1999 at the tear-inducing 

price of $5,000. The player was released in limited quantities in the 

United States at the end of 1999. Philips released a $7,500 player in May of 

2000, and Sony shipped a $750 SACD player in Japan in mid-2000. About 

40 SACD titles were available at the end of 1999, from studios such as DMP,

Mobile Fidelity Labs, Pioneer, Sony, and Telarc. Over 500 SACD titles were 

available by the end of 2001. 

A drawback related to DVD-Audio and SACD players is that most audio 

receivers with six channels of analog input aren’t able to provide bass management. 

Receivers with Dolby Digital and DTS decoders handle bass 

management internally, but six-channel analog inputs are usually passed 

straight through to the amplifier. Without full bass management on sixchannel 

analog inputs, any audio setup that doesn’t have full-range speakers 

for all five surround channels will not properly reproduce all the bass 

frequencies. 

If you are interested in making the most of a DVD-Audio or SACD player, 

you need a receiver with six-channel, analog audio inputs. You also need 

five full-frequency speakers (that is, each speaker should be able to handle 

subwoofer frequencies) and a subwoofer, unless you have a receiver that 

can perform bass management on the analog inputs, or you have an outboard 

bass management box such as one from Outlaw Audio (www. 

outlawaudio.com). 

For more on DVD-Audio, including lists of titles and player models, visit 

the Digital Audio Guide (www.digitalaudioguide.com). 

Which Studios Are Supporting DVD? 

All major movie studios and most major music labels support DVD. 

When DVD players became available in early 1997, Warner and Polygram 

were the only major movie studios to release titles. Additional titles were 

available from small publishers. The other studios gradually joined the DVD 

camp (see Chapter 6’s “Who Is Making or Supporting DVD Products?” for a 

full list and refer to this chapter’s “Which DVD Titles Are Available?” for movie 

info). Dreamworks was the last significant studio to announce full DVD 

support. Paramount, Fox, and Dreamworks initially supported only Divx, but 

in the summer of 1998 they each announced support for open DVDs. 

Can DVDs Record from VCRs, TVs, and So On? 


The answer is yes. When DVD was originally introduced in 1997, it could 

only play. DVD video recorders appeared in Japan at the end of 1999 and 

in the rest of the world at the end of 2000. Early units were expensive: from 

$2,500 to $4,000. DVD recorders are still quite expensive (typically $500 to 

$2000 as of mid-2003), but they will eventually be as cheap as VCRs. DVD 

recorders are already being added to satellite and cable receivers, hard-disk 

video recorders, and similar boxes.


A DVD recorder basically works like a VCR. It has a tuner and A/V inputs, 

and it can be programmed to record shows. An important difference is that 

you never have to rewind or fast forward. Recordings on a disc are instantly 

accessible, usually from an onscreen menu. Note that DVD video recorders 

can’t copy most DVD movie discs, which are protected. 

Unfortunately, more than one recordable DVD format is available, and 

they don’t all play together nicely. It’s nothing like the old VHS versus Betamax 

battle, as many in the press would have you believe, but it is rather 

confusing. See Chapter 4’s “What About Recordable DVDs: DVD-R, DVD- 

RAM, DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R?” to get more confused. 

Don’t be further confused by DVD recordable drives (DVD burners) for 

computers. These recorders can store data, but creating full-featured DVD- 

Videos requires additional software to do video encoding (MPEG), audio 

encoding (Dolby Digital, MPEG, or PCM), navigation and control data generation, 

and so on (see Chapter 5, “DVD Production”). 

What Happens If I Scratch the Disc? Aren’t Discs 

Too Fragile to Be Rented? 

Scratches may cause minor data errors that are easily corrected. That is, 

data is stored on DVDs using powerful error-correction techniques that can 

recover from even large scratches with no loss of data. A common misperception 

is that a scratch will be worse on a DVD than on a CD because of 

higher storage density and because video is heavily compressed. DVD data 

density is physically four times that of CD-ROM, so it’s true that a scratch will 

affect more data, but DVD error correction is at least 10 times better than 

CD-ROM error correction and more than makes up for the density increase. 

It’s also important to realize that MPEG-2 and Dolby Digital compression are 

partly based on the removal or reduction of imperceptible information, so 

decompression doesn’t expand the data as much as might be assumed. 

Major scratches may cause uncorrectable errors that will produce an 

input/output (I/O) error on a computer or show up as a momentary glitch in 

the DVD-Video picture. Paradoxically, sometimes the smallest scratches 

can cause the worst errors (because of the particular orientation and refraction 

of the scratch). Many schemes can conceal errors in MPEG video, 

which may be used in future players. See the later section “How Should I 

Clean and Care for DVDs?” for more information. 

The industry’s DVD computer advisory group specifically requested no 

mandatory caddies or other protective carriers. Consider that laserdiscs, 

music CDs, and CD-ROMs are likewise subject to scratches, but many 

video stores and libraries rent them. Most reports of rental disc perfor-

mance are positive, although if you have problems playing a rental disc, 

check for scratches. 

VHS Is Good Enough. Why Should I Care About DVD? 

The primary advantages of DVD are video quality, surround sound, and 

extra features (refer to “What Are the Features of DVD-Video?”). DVD will 

not degrade with age or after many playings like videotape will (which is an 

advantage for parents with kids who watch Disney videos twice a week). 

This is the collectability factor present with CDs versus cassette tapes. If 

none of this matters to you, then VHS probably is good enough. 

Is the Packaging Different from CDs? 


Manufacturers were worried that customers would assume DVDs would 

play in their CD players, so they wanted the packaging to be different. Most 

DVD packages are as wide as a CD jewel box (about 5 5 /8 inches) and as 

tall as a VHS cassette box (about 7 3 /8 inches), as recommended by the 

Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA). However, no one is being 

forced to use a larger package size. Some companies use standard jewel 

cases or paper and vinyl sleeves. Divx discs come in paperboard and plastic 

Q-Pack cases the same size as a CD jewel case. 

Most movies are packaged in the Amaray keep case, an all-plastic 

clamshell with clear vinyl pockets for inserts that’s popular among consumers. 

Time Warner’s snapper, a paperboard case with a plastic lip, is less 

popular. The super jewel box, the stretch limo version of a CD jewel case, 

is common in Europe. 

What’s a Dual-Layer Disc? Will It Work in All Players? 

A dual-layer disc has two layers of data, one of them semitransparent so 

that the laser can focus through it and read the second layer. Because both 

layers are read from the same side, a dual-layer disc can hold almost twice 

as much as a single-layer disc, typically four hours of video (see “What Are 

the Sizes and Capacities of DVDs?” in Chapter 3 for more details). Many 

discs use dual layers. Initially, only a few replication plants could make duallayer 

discs, but most plants now have the capability. 

The second layer can use either a parallel track path (PTP) layout where 

both tracks run in parallel (for independent data or special switching effects) 

or an opposite track path (OTP) layout where the second track runs in an 

opposite spiral. That is, the pickup head reads out from the center on the


first track and then in from the outside on the second track. The OTP layout 

is designed to provide continuous video across both layers. OTP is also 

called reverse-spiral dual layer (RSDL). 

The layer change can occur anywhere in the video; it doesn’t have to be 

at a chapter point. No guarantee exists that the switch between layers will 

be seamless. The layer change is invisible on some players, but it can cause 

the video to freeze for a fraction of a second or up to four seconds on other 

players. The seamlessness depends as much on the way the disc is prepared 

as on the design of the player. The advantage of two layers is that 

long movies can use higher data rates for better quality than a single layer. 

See “What Is a Layer Change? Where Is It on Specific Discs?” for more 

about layer changes. 

Dual-layer discs can be recognized by three characteristics: 1) the gold 

color, 2) a menu on the disc for selecting the widescreen or letterbox version, 

and 3) two serial numbers on one side. 

The DVD specification requires that players and drives read dual-layer 

discs. Few units have problems with dual-layer discs; this is a design flaw 

and should be corrected for free by the manufacturer. Some discs are 

designed with a seamless layer change that technically goes beyond what 

the DVD spec allows. This causes problems on a few older players. 

All players and drives also play double-sided discs if you flip them over. 

No manufacturer has announced a model that can play both sides without 

someone manually flipping the disc, other than a few DVD jukeboxes. The 

added cost of this capability is hard to justify because discs can hold over 

four hours of video on one side by using two layers. (Early discs used two 

sides because dual-layer production was not widely supported. This is no 

longer a problem.) Pioneer laserdisc/DVD players can play both sides of an 

laserdisc, but not a DVD. (See “Will High-Definition DVDs or 720p DVDs 

Make Current Players and Discs Obsolete?” in Chapter 2 for information on 

reading both sides simultaneously.) 

Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work 

with NTSC, PAL, and SECAM? 

The MPEG video on a DVD is stored in digital format, but it’s formatted for 

one of two mutually incompatible television systems: 525/60 (NTSC) or 

625/50 (PAL/SECAM). Therefore, two kinds of DVDs exist: NTSC DVDs and 

PAL DVDs. Some players only play NTSC discs; others play PAL and NTSC 

discs, depending on which region the owner lives in (refer to “What Are 

Regional Codes, Country Codes, or Zone Locks?”). 

Almost all DVD players sold in PAL countries play both kinds of discs. 

These multistandard players partially convert NTSC to a 60 Hz PAL (4.43


NTSC) signal. The player uses the PAL 4.43 MHz color subcarrier encoding 

format but keeps the 525/60 NTSC scanning rate. Most modern PAL TVs 

can handle this pseudo-PAL signal. A few multistandard PAL players output 

true 3.58 NTSC from NTSC discs, which requires an NTSC TV or a multistandard 

TV. Some players have a switch to choose 60 Hz PAL or true 

NTSC output when playing NTSC discs. A few standards-converting PAL 

players convert output from an NTSC disc to standard PAL for older PAL 

TVs. Proper “on-the-fly” standards conversion requires expensive hardware 

to handle scaling, temporal conversion, and object motion analysis. 

Because the quality of conversion in DVD players is poor, using 60 Hz PAL 

output with a compatible TV provides a better picture than converting from 

NTSC to PAL. (Sound is not affected by video conversion.) The latest software 

tools such as Adobe After Effects and Canopus ProCoder do quite a 

good job of converting between PAL and NTSC at low cost, but they are 

only appropriate for the production environment (converting the video 

before it is encoded and put on the DVD). 

Most NTSC players can’t play PAL discs. A small number of NTSC players 

(such as Apex and SMC) can convert PAL to NTSC. External converter 

boxes are also available, such as the Emerson EVC1595 (at $350). Highquality 

converters are available from companies such as TenLab (www. 

tenlab.com) and Snell and Wilcox (www.snellwilcox.com). Many standardsconverting 

players can’t convert anamorphic widescreen video for 4:3 displays. 

See “Why Is the Picture Squished, Making Things Look Too Skinny?” 

Three differences exist between discs intended for playback on different 

TV systems: picture dimensions and pixel aspect ratios (720�480 versus 

720�576), the display frame rate (29.97 versus 25), and surround audio 

options (Dolby Digital versus MPEG audio). (See “What Are the Video 

Details?” and “What Are the Audio Details?” in Chapter 3 for details.) Video 

from film is usually encoded at 24 frames per second but is preformatted for 

one of the two required display rates. Movies formatted for PAL display are 

usually sped up by 4 percent at playback, so the audio must be adjusted 

accordingly before being encoded. 

All PAL DVD players can play Dolby Digital audio tracks, but not all NTSC 

players can play MPEG audio tracks. PAL and SECAM share the same 

scanning format, so discs are the same for both systems. The only difference 

is that SECAM players output the color signal in the format required by 

SECAM TVs. Note that modern TVs in most SECAM countries can also 

read PAL signals, so you can use a player that only has PAL output. The 

only case in which you would need a player with SECAM output is for older 

SECAM-only TVs (and you’ll probably need a SECAM RF connection). (See 

“What Are the Outputs of a DVD Player?” in Chapter 3.) 

A producer can choose to put 525/60 NTSC video on one side of the 

disc and 625/50 PAL on the other. Most studios put Dolby Digital audio


tracks on their PAL discs instead of MPEG audio tracks. Because of PAL’s 

higher resolution, the movie usually takes more space on the disc than the 

NTSC version. See Chapter 3 for more details. 

Actually, three types of DVD players exist if you count computers. Most 

DVD PC software and hardware can play both NTSC and PAL video, as well 

as both Dolby Digital and MPEG audio. Some PCs can only display the 

converted video on the computer monitor, but others can output it as a 

video signal for a TV. 

The bottom line is that NTSC discs (with Dolby Digital audio) play on over 

95 percent of DVD systems worldwide. PAL discs play on very few players 

outside of PAL countries, irrespective of regions. 

What About Animation on DVD? 

Doesn’t It Compress Poorly? 

Some people claim that animation, especially hand-drawn cell animation 

such as cartoons and anime, does not compress well with MPEG-2 or even 

ends up larger than the original. Other people claim that animation is simple 

so it compresses better. Neither is true. 

Supposedly the “jitter” between frames caused by differences in the 

drawings or in their alignment causes problems. An animation expert at Disney 

pointed out that this doesn’t happen with modern animation techniques. 

And even if it did, the motion estimation feature of MPEG-2 would 

compensate for it. 

Because of the way MPEG-2 breaks a picture into blocks and transforms 

them into frequency information, it can have a problem with the sharp 

edges common in animation. This loss of high-frequency information can 

show up as “ringing” or blurry spots along edges (called the Gibbs effect). 

However, at the data rates commonly used for DVD, this problem does not 

usually occur. 

Why Do Some Discs Require Side Flipping? 

Can’t DVDs Hold Four Hours per Side? 

Even though DVD’s dual-layer technology (see “What Are the Sizes and 

Capacities of DVDs?” in Chapter 3) enables over four hours of continuous 

playback from a single side, some movies are split over two sides of a disc, 

requiring that the disc be flipped partway through. Most “flipper” discs are 

made because producers are too lazy to optimize the compression or make 

a dual-layer disc. Better picture quality is a cheap excuse for increasing the

data rate; in many cases, the video will look better if carefully encoded at a 

lower bit rate. 

A lack of dual-layer production capability is also a lame excuse; in 1997, 

very few DVD plants could make dual-layer discs, but this is no longer the 

case. Very few players can automatically switch sides, but it’s not needed 

because movies less than four hours long can easily fit on one dual-layer 

(RSDL) side. 

The Film Vault at DVD Review includes a list of flipper discs. Note that a 

flipper is not the same as a disc with a widescreen version on one side and 

a pan and scan version or supplements on the other. 

Why Is the Picture Squished, Making 

Things Look Too Skinny? 

Answer: RTFM. You are watching an anamorphic picture intended for display 

only on a widescreen TV. (See “What’s Widescreen? How Do the 

Aspect Ratios Work?” in Chapter 3 for technical details). You need to go 

into the player’s setup menu and tell it your TV is standard 4:3 TV, not 

widescreen 16:9. It will then automatically letterbox the picture so you can 

see the full width at the proper proportions. 

In some cases, you can change the aspect ratio as the disc is playing (by 

pressing the “aspect” button on the remote control). On most players you 

have to stop the disc before you can change the aspect. Some discs are 

labeled with widescreen on one side and standard on the other. In order to 

watch the full-screen version, you must flip the disc over. (See “How Do I 

Get Rid of the Black Bars at the Top and Bottom?” for more information on 

letterboxing.) 

Apparently, most players that convert from NTSC to PAL or vice versa 

can’t simultaneously letterbox (or pan and scan) an anamorphic picture (see 

“Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work with NTSC, PAL, and 

SECAM?”). The solutions would be to use a widescreen TV, a multistandard 

TV, or an external converter. Or get a better player. 

Do All Videos Use Dolby Digital (AC-3)? 

Do They All Have 5.1 Channels? 


Most DVD-Video discs contain Dolby Digital soundtracks, but some discs, 

especially those containing only audio, have PCM tracks. It’s also possible 

for a 625/50 (PAL) disc to contain only MPEG audio, which is not widely 

used. Discs with DTS audio are required to also include a Dolby Digital


audio track (in a few rare cases they have a PCM track). See “What’s the 

Deal with DTS and DVDs?” for more on DTS. 

Don’t assume that the Dolby Digital label is a guarantee of 5.1 channels. 

A Dolby Digital soundtrack can be mono, dual mono, stereo, Dolby Surround 

stereo, and so on. For example, Blazing Saddles and Caddyshack 

have monophonic soundtracks, so the Dolby Digital soundtrack on these 

DVDs has only one channel. Some DVD packaging has small lettering or 

icons under the Dolby Digital logo that indicates the channel configuration. 

In some cases, a soundtrack has more than one Dolby Digital version: a 

5.1-channel track and a track specially remixed for stereo Dolby Surround. 

It’s perfectly normal for your DVD player to indicate the playback of a Dolby 

Digital audio track while your receiver indicates Dolby Surround. This 

means the disc contains a two-channel Dolby Surround signal encoded in 

Dolby Digital format. See Chapter 3 for more audio details. 

Can DVDs Have Laser Rot? 

Laserdiscs are subject to what is commonly called laser rot, the deterioration 

of the aluminum layer due to oxidation or other chemical changes. This 

often results from the use of insufficiently pure metal for the reflective coating 

created during replication, but it can be exacerbated by mechanical 

shear stress due to bending, warping, or thermal cycles. The large size of 

laserdiscs makes them flexible, so that movement along the bond between 

layers can break the seal, which is called delamination. Deterioration of the 

data layer can be caused by chemical contaminants or gasses in the glue, 

or by moisture that penetrates the plastic substrate. 

Like laserdiscs, DVDs are made of two platters glued together, but DVDs 

are more rigid and use newer adhesives. DVDs are molded from polycarbonate, 

which absorbs about 10 times less moisture than the slightly hygroscopic 

acrylic (PMMA) used for laserdiscs. 

DVDs can have delamination problems, partly because some cases or 

players hold too tightly to the inner hub of the disc. Delamination by itself 

can cause problems (because the data layer is no longer at the correct distance 

from the surface) and can also lead to oxidation. 

So far DVDs have had few “DVD rot” problems. Reports have been made 

of a few discs going bad, possibly due to delamination, contaminated adhesive, 

chemical reactions, or oxidation of the reflective layer (see www. 

mindspring.com/~yerington/ and www.andraste.org/discfault/discfault. 

htm). Occurrences of “cloudiness” or “milkiness” in DVDs have been reported, 

a possible cause being improper replication. An example of this 

would be when the molten plastic cools off too fast or isn’t under enough

pressure to completely fill all the bumps in the mold (see www. 

tapediscbusiness.com/issues/1998/0998/cloud.htm). Minimal clouding 

doesn’t hurt playback and doesn’t seem to deteriorate. If you can see something 

with your naked eye, it is probably not oxidation or other deterioration. 

The result of deterioration is that a disc that played perfectly when it 

was new develops problems later, such as skipping, freezing, or picture 

breakup. If a disc seems to go bad, make sure it’s not dirty, scratched, or 

warped (see “How Should I Clean and Care for DVDs?”). Try cleaning it and 

try playing it in other players. If the disc consistently has problems, it may 

have deteriorated. If so, you can’t do anything to fix it. Request a replacement 

from the supplier. 

Which Titles Are Pan and Scan Only? Why? 

Some titles are available only in pan and scan because no letterbox or 

anamorphic transfer was made from film. (See Chapter 3 for more info on 

pan and scan and anamorphic formats.) Because transfers cost $50,000 to 

$100,000, studios may not think a new transfer is justified. In some cases, 

the original film or rights to it are no longer available for a new transfer. In the 

case of old movies, they were shot full frame in the 1.37 “academy” aspect 

ratio, so no widescreen version can be created. Videos shot with TV cameras, 

such as music concerts, are already in 4:3 format. 

How Do I Make the Subtitles on My 

Pioneer Player Go Away? 


On the remote control, press “subtitle” and then either press “clear” or 0 

(zero). You have no need to use the menus. 

What Is a Layer Change? Where Is It on Specific Discs? 

Some movies, especially those over two hours long or encoded at a high 

data rate, are spread across two layers on one side of the disc. When the 

player changes to the second layer, the video and audio may freeze for a 

moment. The length of the pause depends on the player and on the layout 

of the disc. The pause is not a defect in the player or the disc. See “What’s 

a Dual-Layer Disc? Will It Work in All Players?” for details. 

A list of layer switch points can be found at the Film Vault of DVD Review. 

Please send new times to info@dvdreview.com.


The Disc Says Dolby Digital. Why Do I Get 

Two-Channel Surround Audio? 

Some discs (many from Columbia TriStar) have two-channel Dolby Surround 

audio (or plain stereo) on track one and 5.1-channel audio on track 

two. Because some studios create separate sound mixes optimized for 

Dolby Surround or stereo, they feel the default track should match the 

majority of sound systems in use. Unless you specifically select the 

5.1-channel track (using the audio button on the remote or the onscreen 

menu), the player will play the default two-channel track. (Some players 

have a feature to automatically select the first 5.1 track.) Dolby Digital doesn’t 

necessarily mean 5.1 channels. (Refer to “Do All Videos Use Dolby Digital 

(AC-3)? Do They All Have 5.1 Channels?” and see Chapter 3’s “What 

Are the Audio Details?”) 

Why Doesn’t the Repeat A—B Feature Work on Some Discs? 

Almost all features of DVDs, such as search, pause, and scan, can be disabled 

by the disc, which can prevent the player from backing up and 

repeating a segment. If the player uses a time search to repeat a segment, 

a disc with fancy nonsequential title organization may also block the repeat 

feature. In many cases, the authors don’t even realize they have prevented 

the use of this feature. 

What’s the Difference Between First-, Second-, 

and Third-Generation DVDs? 

This question has no absolute answer, because you’ll get a different 

response from everyone you ask. The terms second generation, third generation, 

and so on refer both to DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM drives. 

In general, they simply mean newer versions of DVD playback devices. The 

terms haven’t been used (yet) to refer to DVD products that can record, play 

video games, and so on. 

According to some people, second-generation DVD players came out in 

the fall of 1997, and third-generation players were released at the beginning 

of 1998. According to others, the second generation of DVDs will be HD 

players (see Chapter 2’s “Will High-Definition DVDs or 720p DVDs Make 

Current Players and Discs Obsolete?”) that won’t come out until 2003 or so. 

Many conflicting variations occur between these extremes, including the 

viewpoint that DTS-compatible players, Divx players, progressive-scan

players, 10-bit video players, or players that can play The Matrix constitute 

the second, third, or fourth generation. 

Things are a little more clear cut on the PC side, where second generation 

(DVD II) usually means 2x DVD-ROM drives that can read CD-Rs, and 

third generation (DVD III) usually means 5x (or sometimes 2x or 4.8x or 6x) 

DVD-ROM drives, a few of which can read DVD-RAMs, and some of which 

are RPC2 format. Some people refer to RPC2 drives or 10x drives as fourth 

generation. (See “What Are the Features and Speeds of DVD-ROM Drives?” 

in Chapter 4 for more speed info. Refer to “What Are Regional Codes, 

Country Codes, or Zone Locks?” for an RPC2 explanation.) 

What’s a Hybrid DVD? 


Do you really want the answer to this one? Okay, you asked for it ... 

• It’s a disc that works in both DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM PCs. 

(More accurately called an enhanced DVD.) 

• It’s a DVD-ROM disc that runs on Windows and Mac OS computers 

(more accurately called a cross-platform DVD). 

• It’s a DVD-ROM or DVD-Video disc that also contains Web content for 

connecting to the Internet (more accurately called a WebDVD or 

enhanced DVD). 

• It’s a disc that contains both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio content (more 

accurately called a universal or AV DVD.) 

• It’s a disc with two layers, one that can be read in DVD players and one 

that can be read in CD players (more accurately called a legacy or 

CD-compatible disc). At least three variations of this hybrid exist 

(although not all are commercially available). 

• It’s a 0.9 to 1.2 millimeter CD substrate bonded to the back of a 0.6 

millimeter DVD substrate. One side can be read by CD players, the 

other side by DVD players. The resulting disc is 0.6 millimeters 

thicker than a standard CD or DVD, which can cause problems in 

players with tight tolerances, such as portables. Sonopress, the first 

company to announce this type, calls it DVDPlus. It’s colloquially 

known as a fat disc. It contains a variation in which an 8-centimeter 

data area is embedded in a 12-centimeter substrate so that a label 

can be printed on the outer ring. 

• It’s a 0.6-millimeter CD substrate bonded to a semitransparent 

0.6-millimeter DVD substrate. Both layers are read from the same


side, with the CD player being required to read through the semitransparent 

DVD layer, causing problems with some CD players 

used by SACO. 

• It’s a 0.6-millimeter CD substrate, with a special refractive coating 

that causes a 1.2-millimeter focal depth, bonded to the back of a 

0.6-millimeter DVD substrate. One side can be read by CD players, 

the other side by DVD players. 

• It’s a disc with two layers or two sections, one containing pressed 

(DVD-ROM) data and one containing rewritable (DVD-RAM and so on) 

media for recording and rerecording (more accurately called a DVD- 

PROM, mixed-media, or rewritable sandwich disc.). 

• It’s a disc with two layers on one side and one layer on the other (more 

accurately called a DVD-14). 

• It’s a disc with an embedded memory chip for storing custom usage 

data and access codes (more accurately called a chipped DVD). 

What’s the Deal with DTS and DVD? 

DTS Digital Surround is an audio encoding format similar to Dolby Digital. It 

requires a decoder, either in the player or in an external receiver (see Chapter 

3’s “Audio Details of DVD-Video” for technical details). Some people 

claim that, because of its lower compression level, DTS sounds better than 

Dolby Digital. Others claim no perceptible difference can be discerned, 

especially at the typical data rate of 768 Kbps, which is 60 percent more 

than Dolby Digital. Because of the many variances in production, mixing, 

decoding, and reference levels, it’s almost impossible to accurately compare 

the two formats (DTS usually produces a higher volume level, causing 

it to sound better in casual comparisons). 

DTS originally did all encoding in house, but as of October 1999 DTS 

encoders became available for purchase. DTS titles are generally considered 

to be specialty items intended for audio enthusiasts. So some DTS 

titles are also available in a Dolby Digital-only version. 

DTS is an optional format on DVD. Contrary to uninformed claims, the 

DVD specification has included an ID code for DTS since 1996 (before the 

spec was even finalized). Because DTS was slow in releasing encoders and 

test discs, players made before mid-1998 (and many since) ignore DTS 

tracks. A few demo discs were created in 1997 by embedding DTS data into 

a PCM track (the same technique used with CDs and laserdiscs), and these 

are the only DTS DVD discs that work on all players. New DTS-compatible 

players arrived in mid-1998, but theatrical DTS discs using the proper DTS 

audio stream ID did not appear until January 7, 1999 (they were originally

scheduled to arrive in time for Christmas 1997). Mulan, a direct-to-video animation 

(not the Disney movie) with DTS soundtrack, appeared in November 

1998. DTS-compatible players carry an official DTS Digital Out logo. 

Dolby Digital or PCM audio is required on 525/60 (NTSC) discs, and 

because both PCM and DTS together don’t usually leave enough room for 

quality video encoding of a full-length movie, essentially every disc with a 

DTS soundtrack also carries a Dolby Digital soundtrack. This means that all 

DTS discs work in all DVD players, but a DTS-compatible player and a DTS 

decoder are required to play the DTS soundtrack. DTS audio CDs work on 

all DVD players, because the DTS data is encapsulated into standard PCM 

tracks that are passed untouched to the digital audio output. DTS discs 

often carry a Dolby Digital 2.0 track in Dolby Surround format instead of a 

full Dolby Digital 5.1 track. 

Why Is the Picture Black and White? 

You are probably trying to play an NTSC disc in a PAL player, but your PAL 

TV is not able to handle the signal. If your player has a switch or onscreen 

setting to select the output format for NTSC discs, choosing PAL (60 Hz) 

may solve the problem. (Refer to “Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? 

Does It Work with NTSC, PAL, and SECAM?” for more information.) 

You may have connected one of the component outputs (Y, R-Y, or B-Y) 

of your DVD player to the composite input of your TV. (See Chapter 3 for 

hookup details.) 

Why Are Both Sides Full-Screen when One 

Side Is Supposed to Be Widescreen? 

Many DVDs are labeled as having widescreen (16:9) format video on one 

side and standard (4:3) on the other. If you think both sides are the same, 

you’re probably seeing uncompressed 16:9 on the widescreen side. It may 

look like 4:3 pan and scan, but if you look carefully you’ll discover that the 

picture is horizontally compressed. The problem is that your player has 

been set for a widescreen TV. Refer to “Why Is the Picture Squished, 

Making Things Look Too Skinny?” for details. 

Why Are the Audio and Video out of Sync? 


There have been numerous reports of lip sync problems, where the audio 

lags slightly behind the video, or sometimes precedes the video. Perception 

of a sync problem is highly subjective; some people are bothered by it,


whereas others can’t discern it at all. Problems have been reported on a 

variety of players, notably the Pioneer 414 and 717 models (possibly all Pioneer 

models), some Sony models (including the 500 series and the PS2), 

some Toshiba models (including the 3109), and some PC decoder cards. 

Certain discs are also more problematic, such as Lock, Stock, and Two 

Smoking Barrels, Lost In Space, Tron, The Parent Trap, and Austin Powers. 

The cause of the sync problem is a complex interaction of as many as 

four factors: 

• Improper sync in audio/video encoding or DVD-Video formatting 

• Poor sync during film production or editing (especially postdubbing or 

looping) 

• Loose sync tolerances in the player 

• Delay in the external decoder/receiver 

The first two factors usually must be present in order for the third or 

fourth ones to become apparent. Some discs with severe sync problems 

have been reissued after being reencoded to fix the problem. In some 

cases, the sync problem in players can be fixed by pausing or stopping 

playback and then restarting, or by turning the player off, waiting a few seconds, 

and then turning it back on. 

A good way to test your player is to simultaneously listen to the analog 

and digital outputs (play the digital output through your stereo and the analog 

output through your TV). If the audio echoes or sounds hollow, the 

player is delaying the signal and is thus the main cause of the sync problem. 

Unfortunately, this sync problem has no simple answer and no simple fix. 

More complaints from customers should motivate manufacturers to take 

the problem more seriously and correct it in future players or with firmware 

upgrades. Pioneer originally stated that altering the audio-visual synchronization 

of their players “to compensate for the software quality would dramatically 

compromise the picture performance.” Since then Pioneer has 

fixed the problem on its new players. If you have an older model, check with 

Pioneer about an upgrade. For more details, see Michael D.’s Pioneer Audio 

Sync page (www.michaeldvd.com.au/DV505/PioneerAudio). 

Why Does the Picture Alternate Between Light and Dark? 

You are seeing the effects of Macrovision copy protection (refer to “What 

Are the Copy Protection Issues?”). This is probably because you are running 

your DVD player through your VCR or VCR/TV combo (see Chapter 3’s

“Will I Have Problems Connecting My VCR Between My TV and My DVD 

Player?”). 

How Do I Find Easter Eggs and Other Hidden Features? 

Some DVD movies contain hidden features, often called Easter eggs. These 

are extra screens or video clips hidden in the disc by the developers. For 

example, Dark City includes scenes from Lost in Space and from the Twin 

Peaks movie buried in the biography pages of William Hurt and Keifer 

Sutherland. An amusing Shell Beach game is also entwined throughout the 

menus. On Mallrats, perhaps indicating that DVD has already become too 

postmodern for its own good, a hidden clip of the director telling you to 

stop looking for Easter eggs and do something useful is included. It’s more 

fun to search for hidden features on your own, but if you need some help, 

the best list is at the DVD Review web site. 

How Do I Get Rid of the Black Bars at the Top and Bottom? 

The black bars are part of the letterbox process (see video details in Chapter 

3), and in many cases you can’t get rid of them. If you set the display 

option in your player to pan and scan (sometimes called full screen or 4:3) 

instead of letterbox, it won’t do you much good because almost no DVD 

movies have been released with this feature enabled. If you set the player 

to 16:9 widescreen output, it will make the bars smaller, but you will get a 

tall, stretched picture on a standard TV. 

In some cases, both a full-screen and a letterbox version of the movie 

may be included on the same disc, with a variety of ways to get to the fullscreen 

version (usually only one works, so you may have to try all three): 

• Check the other side of the disc (if it’s two-sided). 

• Look for a full-screen choice in the main menu. 

• Use the “aspect” button on the remote control. 


DVD was designed to make movies look as good as possible on TV. 

Because most movies are wider than most TVs, letterboxing preserves the 

format of the theatrical presentation. (Nobody seems to complain about letterboxing 

in theaters.) DVD is ready for TVs of the future, which are 

widescreen. For these and other reasons, many movies on DVD are only 

available in widescreen format. 

About two-thirds of widescreen movies are filmed at the 1.85 (flat) aspect 

ratio or less. In this case, the actual size of the image on your TV is the same


for a letterbox version and a full-frame version, unless the pan and scan 

technique is used to zoom in (which cuts off part of the picture). In other 

words, the picture is the same size, with extra areas visible at the top and 

bottom in the full-screen version. Put yet another way, letterboxing covers 

over the part of the picture that was also covered in the theater. Letterboxing 

could also allow the entire widescreen picture to be visible for movies 

wider than 1.85, in which case the letterboxed picture is smaller and has 

less detail than a pan and scan version would. 

If no full-screen version of the movie is included on the disc, one solution 

is to use a DVD player with a zoom feature to enlarge the picture enough to 

fill the screen. This will cut off the sides of the picture, but in many cases it’s 

a similar effect to the pan and scan process. Just think of it as “do-it-yourself 

pan and scan.” 

For a detailed explanation of why most movie fans prefer letterboxing, 

see the Letterbox/Widescreen Advocacy Page (www.widescreen.org). For 

an explanation of anamorphic widescreen and links to more information 

and examples on other web sites, see “What’s Widescreen? How Do the 

Aspect Ratios Work?” in Chapter 3. The best solution to this entire mess 

might be the FlikFX Recomposition System, “the greatest advance in entertainment 

in 57 years” (www.widescreenmuseum.com/flikfx). 

How Should I Clean and Care for DVDs? 

Because DVDs are read by a laser, they are resistant to fingerprints, dust, 

smudges, and scratches—to a point (refer to “What Happens If I Scratch 

the Disc? Aren’t Discs Too Fragile to Be Rented?”). However, surface contaminants 

and scratches can cause data errors. On a video player, the 

effect of data errors ranges from minor video artifacts to frame skipping to 

complete unplayability. So it’s a good idea to take care of your discs. In 

general, treat them the same way you would a CD. 

Your player can’t be harmed by a scratched or dirty disc unless globs of 

nasty substances on it might actually touch the lens. Still, it’s best to keep 

your discs clean, which will also keep the inside of your player clean. Never 

attempt to play a cracked disc, as it could shatter and damage the player. 

It doesn’t hurt to leave the disc in the player, even if it’s paused and still 

spinning, but leaving it running unattended for days on end might not be a 

good idea. 

In general, cleaning the lens on your player is unnecessary, because the 

air moved by the rotating disc keeps it clean. However, if you use a lens 

cleaning disc in your CD player, you may wish to to the same with your DVD 

player. It’s advisable to use a cleaning disc designed for DVD players, 

because minor differences exist between the position of the lens in DVD 

and CD players.

Periodic alignment of the pickup head is not needed. Sometimes the 

laser can drift out of alignment, especially after rough handling of the player, 

but this is not a regular maintenance item. 

Care and Feeding of DVDs 

Handle DVDs only at the hub or outer edge. Don’t touch the shiny surface 

with your popcorn-greasy fingers. 

Be sure to store the disc in a protective case when not in use. Don’t bend 

the DVD when taking it out of the case, and be careful not to scratch the 

disc when placing it in the case or in the player tray. Make certain the disc 

is properly seated in the player tray before you close it. 

Keep DVDs away from radiators/heaters, hot equipment surfaces, direct 

sunlight (near a window or in a car during hot weather), pets, small children, 

and other destructive forces. Magnetic fields, however, have no effect on 

DVDs. The DVD specification recommends that discs be stored at a temperature 

between �20 to 50° C (�4 to 122° F) with less than 15° C (27° F) 

variation per hour at a relative humidity of 5 to 90 percent. 

Coloring the outside edge of a DVD with a green marker (or any other 

color) makes no difference in the video or audio quality. Data is read based 

on pit interference at a quarter of the laser wavelength, a distance of less 

than 165 nanometers. A bit of dye that, on average, is more than 3 million 

times farther away is not going to affect anything. 

Cleaning and Repairing DVDs 


If you notice problems when playing a disc, you may be able to correct 

them with a simple cleaning: 

• Do not use strong cleaners, abrasives, solvents, or acids. 

• With a soft, lint-free cloth, wipe gently in a radial direction (a straight 

line between the hub and the rim). Because the data is arranged circularly 

on the disc, the micro scratches you create when cleaning the 

disc (or the nasty gouge you make with the dirt you didn’t see on your 

cleaning cloth) will cross more error correction blocks and be less 

likely to cause unrecoverable errors. 

• Don’t use canned or compressed air, which can be very cold and may 

thermally stress the disc. 

• For stubborn dirt or gummy adhesive, use water, water with mild soap, 

or isopropyl alcohol. As a last resort, try peanut oil. Let it sit for about 

a minute before wiping it off.


• Commercial products can be used to clean discs and provide some 

protection from dust, fingerprints, and scratches. CD cleaning products 

work as well as DVD cleaning products. 

If you continue to have problems after cleaning the disc, you may need 

to attempt to repair one or more scratches. Sometimes even hairline 

scratches can cause errors if they just happen to cover an entire error correction 

code (ECC) block. Examine the disc, keeping in mind that the laser 

reads from the bottom. Essentially, scratches can be repaired in one of two 

ways: 1) fill or coat the scratch with an optical material, or 2) polish down 

the scratch. Many commercial products do one or both of these, or you 

may want to buy polishing compounds or toothpaste and do it yourself. The 

trick is to polish out the scratch without causing new ones. A mess of small 

polishing scratches can cause more damage than a big scratch. As with 

cleaning, polish only in the radial direction. 

Libraries, rental shops, and other venues that need to clean a lot discs 

may want to invest in a commercial polishing machine that can restore a 

disc to pristine condition after an amazing amount of abuse. Keep in mind 

that the data layer on a DVD is only half as deep as on a CD, so a DVD can 

only be repolished about half as many times. 

What’s a Progressive DVD Player? 

A progressive-scan DVD player converts the interlaced (480i) video from 

DVD into progressive (480p) format for connection to a progressive display 

(31.5 kHz or higher). Progressive players work with all standard DVD titles 

but look best with a film source. The result is a significant increase in perceived 

vertical resolution for a more detailed and film-like picture. 

Enormous confusion exists about whether DVD-Video is progressive or 

interlaced. Here’s the one true answer: Progressive-source video (such as 

from film) is usually encoded on DVDs as interlaced field pairs that can be 

reinterleaved by a progressive player to recreate the original progressive 

video. (See Chapter 3’s “What Is the Difference Between Interlaced and 

Progessive Video?” for further explanation of interlaced and progressive 

scanning.) 

You must use a progressive-scan display in order to get the full benefit of 

a progressive-scan player. However, all progressive players also include 

interlaced outputs, so you can buy one to use with a standard TV until you 

upgrade to a progressive TV. (You may have to use a switch on the back of 

the player to set it to interlaced output.) 

Toshiba developed the first progressive-scan player (SD5109, $800) in 

mid-1998 but didn’t release it until fall of 1999 because of copy protection

concerns. Panasonic also released a progressive-scan player (DVD-H1000, 

$3000) in the fall of 1999. Many manufacturers have released progressive 

models since then at progressively cheaper prices (pun intended). It’s also 

possible to buy an external line multiplier to convert the output of a standard 

DVD player to progressive scanning. All DVD computers are progressive 

players, because computer monitors are progressive-scan, but quality 

varies. (See Chapter 4’s “Can I Play DVD Movies on My Computer?” and 

Chapter 2’s “Will High-Definition DVDs or 720p DVDs Make Current Players 

and Discs Obsolete?”) 

Converting interlaced DVD-Video to progressive video involves much 

more than putting film frames back together. This conversion can be done 

in essentially four ways: 

• Reinterleaving (also called weave) If the original video is from a 

progressive source, such as film, the two fields can be recombined 

into a single frame. 

• Line doubling (also called bob) If the original video is from an interlaced 

source, simply combining two fields will cause motion artifacts 

(the effect is reminiscent of a zipper), so each line of a single field is 

repeated twice to form a frame. The best line doublers use interpolation 

to produce new lines that are a combination of the lines above and 

below. The term line doubler is vague, because cheap line doublers 

only bob, whereas expensive line doublers (those that contain digital 

signal processors) can also weave. 

• Field-adaptive deinterlacing This examines individual pixels across 

three or more fields and selectively weaves or bobs regions of the picture 

as appropriate. These chips used to cost $10,000 and up, but the 

feature is now appearing in consumer DVD players. 

• Motion-adaptive deinterlacing This examines MPEG-2 motion 

vectors or does massive image processing to identify moving objects 

in order to selectively weave or bob regions of the picture as appropriate. 

Most systems that do this well cost $50,000 and up (aside from 

the cool but defunct Chromatic Mpact2 chip). 

Three common kinds of deinterlacing systems are available: 


• Integrated This is usually the best, where the deinterlacer is integrated 

with the MPEG-2 decoder so that it can read MPEG-2 flags and 

analyze the encoded video to determine when to bob and weave. 

Most DVD computers use this method. 

• Internal The digital video from the MPEG-2 decoder is passed to a 

separate deinterlacing chip. The disadvantage is that MPEG-2 flags


and motion vectors may no longer be available to help the deinterlacer 

determine the original format and cadence. (Some internal chips 

receive the repeat_first_field and top_field_first flags passed from the 

decoder, but not the progressive_scan flag.) 

• External Analog video from the DVD player is passed to a separate 

deinterlacer (line multiplier) or to a display with a built-in deinterlacer. 

In this case, the video quality is slightly degraded from being converted 

to analog, back to digital, and often back again to analog. However, 

for high-end projection systems, a separate line multiplier (which 

scales the video and interpolates to a variety of scanning rates) may 

achieve the best results. 

Most progressive DVD players use an internal deinterlacing chip usually 

from Genesis/Faroudja. The Princeton PVD-5000 uses a Sigma Designs 

decoder with integrated deinterlacing, while the JVC XV-D723GD uses a 

custom decoder with integrated deinterlacing. Toshiba’s “Super Digital Progressive” 

players and the Panasonic HD-1000 use 4:4:4 chroma oversampling, 

which provides a slight quality boost from DVD’s native 4:2:0 format. 

Add-on internal deinterlacers such as the Cinematrix and MSB Progressive 

Plus are available to convert existing players to progressive-scan output. 

Faroudja, Silicon Image (DVDO), and Videon (Omega) line multipliers are 

examples of external deinterlacers. 

A progressive DVD player has to determine whether the video should be 

line-doubled or reinterleaved. When reinterleaving film-source video, the 

player also has to deal with the difference between the film frame rate 

(24 Hz) and the TV frame rate (30 Hz). Because the 2-3 pulldown trick can’t 

be used to spread film frames across video fields, worse motion artifacts 

occur than with interleaved video. However, the increase in resolvable detail 

more than makes up for it. Advanced progressive players such as the 

Princeton PVD-5000 and DVD computers can get around the problem by 

displaying at multiples of 24 Hz, such as 72, 96, and so on. 

A progressive player also has to deal with problems such as video that 

doesn’t have clean cadence (such as when it’s edited after being converted 

to interlaced video, when bad fields are removed during encoding, when 

the video is speed-shifted to match the audio track, and so on). Another 

problem is that many DVDs are encoded with incorrect MPEG-2 flags, so 

the reinterleaver has to recognize and deal with pathological cases. In some 

instances, it’s practically impossible to determine if a sequence is 30-frame 

interlaced video or 30-frame progressive video. For example, the documentary 

on Apollo 13 is interlaced-video-encoded as if it were progressive. 

Other examples of improper encoding are Titanic, Austin Powers, Fargo, 

More Tales of the City, the Galaxy Quest theatrical trailer, and The Big 

Lebowski making-of featurette.

One problem is that many TVs with progressive input don’t allow the 

aspect ratio to be changed. They are programmed to interpret all progressive-scan 

input as anamorphic. When a nonanamorphic (4:3) picture is sent 

to these TVs, they distort it by stretching it out. Before you buy a DTV, make 

sure that it enables aspect ratio adjustment on progressive input. Alternatively, 

get a player with an aspect ratio control option that “windowboxes” 

4:3 video into a 16:9 rectangle by squeezing it horizontally and adding black 

bars on the side. Because of the added scaling step, this may reduce picture 

quality, but at least it gets around the problem. 

Just as early DVD computers did a poor job of displaying progressivescan 

DVDs, the first generations of progressive consumer players are also 

a bit disappointing. But as techniques improve, as DVD producers become 

more aware of the steps they must take to ensure a good progressive display, 

and as more progressive displays appear in homes, the experience will 

undoubtedly improve, making home theaters more like real theaters. 

For more on progressive video and DVDs, see Part 5, “Progressive 

Scan DVD,” at “Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity” (www. 

hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_4/dvd-benchmark-part-5-progressive-10- 

2000.html). 

Why Doesn’t Disc X Work in Player Y? 


The DVD specification is complex and open to interpretation. DVD-Video 

title authoring is also very complex. As with any new technology, there are 

compatibility problems. The DVD-Video standard has not changed substantially 

since it was finalized in 1996, but many players don’t properly 

support it. Discs have become more complex as authoring tools improve, 

so recent discs often uncover engineering flaws in players. Some discs 

behave strangely or won’t play at all in certain players. In some cases, manufacturers 

can fix the problem with an upgrade to the player (see “What’s 

Firmware and Why Would I Need to Upgrade It?”). In other cases, disc producers 

need to reauthor the title to correct an authoring problem or to work 

around a player defect. Problems can also occur because of damaged or 

defective discs or because of a defective player. 

If you have problems playing a disc, try the following: 

1. Check the following Table 1-1 to see if it’s a reported problem. Also 

check the list of problem discs in DVD Review’s Film Vault and at 

InterActual’s tech support page. Or try a newsgroup search at 

Google. 

2. Try playing the disc a few more times. If you don’t get the exact same 

problem every time, it’s probably a defective or damaged disc. Make


sure the disc isn’t dirty or scratched (see “How Should I Clean and 

Care for DVDs?”). 

3. Try the disc in a different player. (Visit a friend or a nearby store that 

sells players.) If the disc plays properly in a different player, your player 

is likely at fault. Contact the manufacturer of your player for a firmware 

upgrade. Or, if you bought the player recently, you may want to return 

it for a different model. 

4. Try a different copy of the disc. If the problem doesn’t recur, it indicates 

that your first copy was probably damaged or defective. If more 

than one copy of the disc has problems in more than one player, it 

may be a misauthored disc. Contact the distributor or the studio 

about getting a corrected disc. 

For other DVD and home theater problems, try Doc DVD or DVD Digest’s 

Tech Support Zone. If you have a Samsung 709, see the Samsung 709 

FAQ. For troubleshooting DVDs on computers, see Chapter 4’s “Why Do I 

Have Problems Playing DVDs on My Computer?” The Dell Inspiron 7000 

DVD Movie List (www.eaglecomputing.com/dvdlist.htm) has Inspironspecific 

problems. 

Table 1-1 outlines the problems reported by readers of the DVD FAQ. The 

author of this book has not verified these claims and takes no responsibility 

for their accuracy. 

How Do the Parental Control and 

Multirating Features Work? 

DVDs include parental management features for blocking playback and for 

providing multiple versions of a movie on a single disc. Players (including 

software players on PCs) can be set to a specific parental level using the 

onscreen settings. If a disc with a rating above that level is put in the player, 

it won’t play. In some cases, different programs on the disc have different 

ratings. The level setting can be protected with a password. 

A disc can also be designed so that it plays a different version of the 

movie depending on the parental level set in the player. By taking advantage 

of the seamless branching features of DVD, objectionable scenes are 

automatically skipped over or replaced during playback. This requires that 

the disc be carefully authored with alternate scenes and branch points that 

don’t cause interruptions or discontinuities in the soundtrack. No standard 

way exists for identifying which discs have multirated content.

TABLE 1-1 DVD Problems 

Title Player Problem Solution 


Various Early Toshiba and Won’t load or Upgrade available from 

Polygram Magnavox models freezes Toshiba service centers 

Titles 

Various Central Similar problems as The Matrix 

Park Media 

(anime) titles 

Any all-region title Many JVC models Rejects disc Unknown 

RCE titles Fisher DVDS-1000, World map and “only Contact Sanyo/Fisher 

Sanyo Model plays on nonmodified tech support for 

DVD5100 players” message workaround 

The Abyss, Early Toshiba Disc 2 won’t load Upgrade available from 

Special Edition models or freezes Toshiba service centers 

Many cheap Repeats scenes Player doesn’t properly 

players handle seamless 

branching so get 

upgrade from 

manufacturer 

Apex AD-600A Scenes play twice Check with Apex for 

upgrade 

AI (PAL region 2) Wharfdale 750 Won’t play Unknown 

Akira, Special Pioneer DV-37, Freezes in Fast forward to skip 

Edition DV-737, DV-525 several places trouble spots 

Aliens 20th Pioneer DV-S737 Picture degrades Unknown 

Anniversary after layer change 

Edition 

American Beauty Toshiba SD-3108, Won’t load Upgrade from 

Awards Edition Philips DVD805 manufacturer service 

center (Toshiba 

firmware 3.30 or newer) 

American Pie Philips 940 Freezes at layer Unknown 

change (1:17:09) 

Any Given Pioneer Elite Won’t load Upgrade from Pioneer 

Sunday DVL90 service center 

Arlington Road See Cruel Intentions 

Armageddon Panasonic A115-U Won’t load Unplug player with 

and A120-U disc inserted, then plug 

it in, and turn it on 

(continued)


TABLE 1-1 DVD Problems (continued) 


Avengers TV Toshiba SD-3108 Locks up player Upgrade available from 

series (A&E) Toshiba service centers 

Philips 930, 935 Won’t load Check with Philips 

for firmware upgrade 

Back to the Future Various players “Anecdote” subpictures Unknown 

Trilogy (region 4) don’t play properly 

Bats Apex AD 600A Won’t load Check with Apex for 

upgrade 

Big Trouble in Panasonic SC-DK3 Won’t load Unplug player with disc 

Little China inserted, then plug it in, 

Special Edition and turn it on 

The Blair Witch Some Toshiba Doesn’t play Upgrade available from 

Project players properly Toshiba service centers 

Cruel Intentions Some JVC and An error in first release Reset the player or get 

Yamaha players messes up the parental the corrected version of 

controls, causing the disc or set the 

other discs to not parental country code 

play to AD with a password 

of 8888 

Deep Blue Sea Similar problems as The Matrix 

Dinosaur Many players Won’t load, ejects Authoring problem, so 

(JVC-XV501BK, disc, freezes, skips, contact Disney for a 

Philips DVD781 CH, slow menus, won’t replacement (also see 

Pioneer DV-737/ pause/forward/rewind, Disney’s The Kid below) 

DV-37/DV-09/ or sound cuts out 

DVL-919/DV-525/ 

DVL-90/KV-301C, 

Sony 7700, Panasonic 

A300, Toshiba 

SD-3109, RCA 5220, 

Denon DVD 2500, 

Magnavox DVD502AT, 

Toshiba 2109/3109, 

JVC XV-D2000/ 

V-D701, Oritron 

DVD600/DVD100, 

Sylvania DVL100A, 

and others) 

The Kid Many players (Apex Skips, ejects disc, Authoring problem, so 

600AD, Philips 711, freezes, blue contact Disney for a 

Pioneer DV-737, lines onscreen replacement (solution 

RCA, and others) on Philips player: put 

disc in player drawer



The Kid (continued) but do not close 

drawer, and press “1” 

on remote to jump to 

Chapter 1) 

Dragon’s Lair Toshiba Various Upgrade available from 

SD2109/3109 

(before mid-1999) 

Toshiba service centers 

Most Samsung, Various Check with Samsung 

Aiwa (800-726-7864) or Aiwa 

for firmware upgrade 

Enigma, 2002 Toshiba SD-4700 Won’t play Unknown 

Entrapment JVC, Sony 850 Freezes Check with JVC for 

firmware upgrade 

Sigma Hollywood See The World Is Not Enough 

Plus 

Everything, Toshiba SD3108 Won’t load Upgrade available from 

Everything and SD3109 Toshiba service centers 

(Underworld) 

Evolution Many computer Won’t play Contact studio for new 

DVD software version of disc 

players 

Galaxy Quest Most Samsung Freezes at Check with Samsung 

players Chapter 7 (800-726-7864) for 


Girl, Interrupted Apex AD-600A, Jumps to Features Press Resume on 

remote 

Shinco 2120, menu, won’t play control; upgrade 

available 

Smart DVDMP3000, movie for Smart 

others 

Gladiator Toshiba SD3108/ Won’t load Contact studio for new 

SD3109, Wharfedale version of disc 

DVD 750, others 

The Godfather A few players Various problems Upgrade your player or 

Collection bonus get new disc from 

discParamount 

(replacement disc 

works around player 

bugs) 

Good Will Hunting Apex AD-3201 Won’t play audio commentary 

Idle Hands See Cruel Intentions 

(continued)




In the Heat Pioneer Elite Won’t play 

of the Night DVL-90 

Independence Toshiba SD3108 Won’t load Upgrade available from 

Day and SD3109 Toshiba service centers 

Philips DVD805 Won’t load Check for upgrade from 

and DVD855 Philips 

Many cheap Repeats scenes Player doesn’t properly 

players handle seamless 

branching, so get 

upgrade from 

manufacturer 

Insomnia Toshiba SD1700 Stutters and freezes Unknown 

The Last GE 1105P Won’t load Unknown 

Broadcast 

The Last of 

the Mohicans See The World Is Not Enough 

Lord Peter Yamaha Disc 2 won’t load 

Wimsey: The DVD-C900 or freezes in menu 

Nine Taylors 

Lost In Space Sharp Freezes 

Creative DXR3 Freezes, audio Check for updated 

out of syncdrivers 

The Man With A few first- Garbled video after Might be a disc 

generation layer change authoring error 

The Golden Gun players, many 

software player 

The Matrix Various players Various problems Details at InterActual 

tech support (for GE 

1105-P, serial number 

beginning with 940 or 

lower, so get upgrade 

from GE; see Samsung 

709 FAQ) 

Mission Toshiba SD-3108 Won’t load Get upgrade from 

Impossible II manufacturer service 

center 

Mission to Mars Toshiba SD-3108 Won’t load Get upgrade from 

manufacturer service 

center



Monsters, Inc. Various players Locks up near Seems to be player 

end of movie flaws, so check for 

player upgrade; Disney 

may reauthor disc with 

a workaround 

The Mummy Philips 930, 935 Won’t load Unknown 

The Mummy Zenith DVD 2200 Video skewed left or Unknown 

Returns right on bonus material 

The Patriot Apex AD 600A Won’t play movie Check with Apex for 

upgrade (pressing 

“resume” may work) 

JVC XV-511BK Won’t load Check with JVC for 

upgrade 

The Perfect Storm Toshiba SD-3108 Won’t load Get upgrade from 

manufacturer service 

center 

Planet of the Apes Toshiba SD-2109 PIP feature activates Unknown 

and locks up when the 

two ape generals fight 

The Princess Bride Toshiba SD-3109 Freezes during first Unknown 

Special Edition sword fight scene 

Saving Private Ryan All players Distortion (smearing, This is a deliberate 

flares) in beach scene camera effect in the 

at end of Chapter 4 film 

Scary Movie Creative Encore Crashes in FBI Try to skip past FBI 

12x, GE 1105P warning warning or check for 

bug fix from Creative 

The Simpsons, Yamaha DVD-C900 Some special features Unknown 

The Complete on disc 4 cause 

Second Season player to crash 

The Sixth Sense Sigma Hollywood MMSYSTEM275 Wait for a software 

update 

Plus error from Sigma 

Sleepy Hollow Some Toshiba Doesn’t play Upgrade available 

players properly from Toshiba service 

centers 

(continued)




Snow White Windows 2000 Doesn’t play movie Fix available from 

and Windows XP Microsoft 

Space Ace See Dragon’s Lair 

Stargate Special Magnavox 400AT Freezes in Unknown 

Edition director’s commentary 

Stuart Little See Girl Interrupted 

Three Kings LG DVD-2310P Won’t play extras Unknown 

Thomas the 

Tank Engine See Girl Interrupted 

Tomorrow Never Sharp 600U Locks up player, Unknown 

Dies Bush DVD2000 won’t load 

Universal Soldier Wharfedale 750 Picture breakup Might be a problem 

after Chapter 30 with the disc 

Wild Wild West Samsung DVD 709; Won’t load Check with Samsung 

Philips 930, 935; (800-726-7864), 

GE 1105P Philips, or GE for 


The World Is Sigma Hollywood MMSYSTEM275 Wait for a software 

Not Enough Plus error update from Sigma, 

might be related to 

trying to play in wrong 

region 

The World Is Not Philips 750 Stutters and freezes Presumably a flaw in the 

Enough (region 2) player but plays region 1 

version okay 

You’ve Got Mail Various players Various problems Details at InterActual 

tech support 

Unfortunately, very few multirating discs have been produced. Hollywood 

studios are not convinced that a big enough demand exists to justify 

the extra work involved (shooting extra footage, recording extra audio, editing 

new sequences, creating branch points, synchronizing the soundtrack 

across jumps, submitting new versions for MPAA ratings, dealing with players 

that don’t properly implement parental branching, having video store

chains refuse to carry discs with unrated content, and much more). If this 

feature is important to you, let the studios know. A list of studio addresses 

is available at DVD File, and a Studio and Manufacturer Feedback area is 

provided at Home Theater Forum. You might also want to visit the Viewer 

Freedom site. 

Multiratings discs include Kalifornia, Crash, Damage, Embrace of the 

Vampire, Poison Ivy, and Species II. In most cases, these discs provide 

“uncut” or unrated versions that are more intense than the original theatrical 

release. Discs that use multistory branching (not always seamless) for a 

director’s cut or special edition version include Dark Star, Stargate SE, The 

Abyss, Independence Day, and Terminator 2 SE (2000 release). Also see 

www.multipathmovies.com. 

Another option is to use a software player on a computer that can read 

a playlist telling it where to skip scenes or mute the audio. Playlists can be 

created for the thousands of DVD movies that have been produced without 

parental control features. ClearPlay seems to be the most successful product 

of this type. A shareware Cine-bit DVD Player did this, but it has been 

withdrawn apparently because of legal threats from Nissim, who seem 

determined to stifle the very market they claim to support. A Canadian company, 

Select Viewing, is releasing software for customized DVD playback on 

Windows PCs. A few similar projects are under development. 

Yet another option is TVGuardian or Curse Free TV, a device that is 

attached between the DVD player and the TV to filter out profanity and vulgar 

language. The box reads the closed caption text and automatically 

mutes the audio and provides substitute captions for objectionable words. 

(Note that current versions of these devices don’t work with digital audio 

connections, and don’t work with DVDs without NTSC Closed Captioning.) 

Which Discs Include Multiple Camera Angles? 


A euphemism is used in the DVD industry, where “multiangle titles”—spoken 

with the right inflection—means adult titles. However, apart from thousands 

of XXX-rated discs, not very many mainstream DVDs have multiple 

angles, because it takes extra work and limits playing time (a segment with 

two angles uses up twice as much space on the disc). 

Short Cinema Journal Volume 1 was one of the first to use camera 

angles in the animated “Big Story,” which is also available on the DVD 

Demystified first edition sample disc. Ultimate DVD (Gold or Platinum) is 

another sample disc with examples of angles. King Crimson: Deja Vroom 

has excellent angles, allowing you to focus on any of the musicians. Other 

multiangle music discs include Dave Matthews Band: Listener Supported,


Metallica: Cunning Stunts, and Sarah McLachlan: Mirrorball. Some movies, 

such as Detroit Rock City, Ghostbusters Special Edition, Mallrats, Suicide 

Kings, Terminator 2 Special Edition, and Tomorrow Never Dies Special Edition 

use multiple angles in supplements. Some discs, especially those from 

Buena Vista, use the angle feature to show credits in the selected language 

(usually with the angle button locked out). 

You can get an incomplete list of multiangle discs by doing an extended 

search at DVD File or a power search at DVD Express. To weed out the 

adult titles at DVD Express, select all entries in the category list (click top 

entry and Shift-click bottom entry) and then deselect Adult (Ctrl-click). 

Is It Okay to Put Labels or Magnetic Strips on DVDs? 

Labels and adhesive strips are dangerous because they can unbalance the 

disc and cause errors, or even damage a player, especially if they peel off 

while the disc is spinning. Pressure-sensitive adhesives break down over 

time, so it’s possible for labels to come loose after a few years. Libraries 

and DVD rental outlets often want to label discs or attach magnetic strips 

for security, but it’s best not to use them at all. If you must, use a ringshaped 

“donut” label that goes around the center of the disc. As long as the 

circular label doesn’t interfere with the player clamping onto the hub, it 

should be okay. If you have to use a noncircular sticker, place it as close to 

the center as possible to minimize any unbalancing. Placing a second 

sticker straight across from the center will also help. 

Writing with a marker in the clear (not reflective) area at the hub is better 

than using a sticker, although not much room to write is provided. Write only 

in the area inside a 44-millimeter diameter. Writing anywhere else on the 

disc is risky, because the ink could possibly eat away the protective coating 

and damage the data layer underneath. 

In most cases, a better alternative for security is a case that can only be 

opened with special equipment at the register or checkout counter. Barcodes, 

stickers, and security strips can be placed on the case without 

endangering discs (or players). This is especially good for double-sided 

discs, which have no space for stickers. 

Full-size round labels designed to go on recordable CDs and DVDs can 

be used, but they have been known to cause problems. As DVD-ROM 

drives get faster and faster, destabilization of the disc by a label may cause 

read errors. A better (but more expensive) solution is to use an inkjet disc 

printer (IMT, Odixion, Primera, Rimage, or Trace Affex) with printablesurface 

discs.

What’s the Difference Between Closed 

Captions and Subtitles? 

Closed Captions are a standardized method of encoding text into an NTSC 

television signal. The text can be displayed by a TV with a built-in decoder 

or by a separate decoder. All TVs larger than 13 inches sold in the United 

States since 1993 have Closed Caption decoders. Closed Captions can be 

carried on DVD, videotape, broadcast TV, cable TV, and so on. 

Even though the terms caption and subtitle have similar definitions, captions 

commonly refer to onscreen text specifically designed for hearingimpaired 

viewers, while subtitles are straight transcriptions or translations of 

the dialogue. Captions are usually positioned below the person who is 

speaking, and they include descriptions of sounds (such as gunshots or 

closing doors) and music. Closed captions are not visible until the viewer 

activates them. Open captions are always visible, such as subtitles on foreign 

videotapes. 

Closed Captions on DVDs are carried in a special data channel of the 

MPEG-2 video stream and are automatically sent to the TV. You can’t turn 

them on or off from the DVD player. Subtitles, on the other hand, are DVD 

subpictures, which are full-screen graphical overlays (see “What Are 

the Video Details?” in Chapter 3 for technical details). One of up to 32 

subpicture tracks can be turned on to show text or graphics on top of the 

video. Subpictures can also be used to create captions. To differentiate 

between NTSC Closed Captions and subtitles, captions created as subpictures 

are usually called “captions for the hearing impaired.” 

If this is all too confusing, just follow this advice: To see Closed Captions, 

use the CC button on the TV remote. To see subtitles or captions for the 

hearing impaired, use the subtitle button on the DVD remote or use the 

onscreen menu provided by the disc. Don’t turn both on at once or they’ll 

end up on top of each other. Keep in mind that not all DVDs have Closed 

Captions or subtitles. Also, some DVD players don’t reproduce Closed 

Captions at all. 

See DVD File’s “A Guide to DVD Subtitles and Captioning,” Gary Robson’s 

Caption FAQ, and Joe Clark’s DVD Accessibility for more about 

Closed Captions. Note that DVD does not support PAL Teletext, the muchimproved 

European equivalent of Closed Captions. 

What Do the “D” Codes on Region 2 DVDs Mean? 


Some non-U.S. discs from Warner, MGM, and Disney are marked with a 

distribution zone number. D1 identifies a UK-only release. These often have


English-only soundtracks with BBFC censoring. D2 and D3 identify European 

DVDs that are not sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland. These often 

contain uncut or less cut versions of films. D4 identifies DVDs that are distributed 

throughout Europe (region 2) and Australia/New Zealand (region 4). 

What’s Firmware and Why Would I Need to Upgrade It? 

DVD players are simple computers. Each one has a software program that 

controls how it plays discs. Because the software is stored on a chip, it’s 

called firmware. Some players have flaws in their programming that cause 

problems playing certain DVDs. In order to correct the flaws, or in some 

cases to work around authoring errors on popular discs, the player must be 

upgraded with a replacement firmware chip. This usually has to be done in 

a factory service center, although some players can be upgraded simply by 

inserting a CD. Refer to “Why Doesn’t Disc X Work in Player Y?” for more 

on compatibility problems. 

Can Discs Help Me Test, Optimize, or Show Off My 

Audio/Video System? 

A few DVDs are designed specifically for testing and optimizing video and 

audio playback, and some demonstrate special DVD features: 

• AVIA Guide to Home Theater by Ovation Software (extensive video 

and audio test patterns and setup tutorials, www.ovationsw.com) 

• Video Essentials by Joe Kane Productions (the original system optimization 

disc, from the master, www.videoessentials.com) 

• Ultimate DVD Series by Henninger Interactive (examples of many DVD 

features, plus test and demo material, www.henniger.com) 

• DVD Demystified demo disc (examples of almost every DVD feature, 

plus demo material, dvddemystified.com/disc.html) 

Here are a few movies that work especially well for demonstrating DVD’s 

video and audio quality: 

• Dinosaur Direct-to-DVD digital transfer gives sharp, clear images, 

with good bass on footsteps and fights. 

• The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over Outstanding 5.1-channel music 

(DTS only and Dolby Digital tracks are 2-channel). 

• The Fifth Element Excellent video, especially in beginning desert 

scenes, with stellar audio as well.

• Gladiator Stunning surround audio with brilliantly mixed orchestration. 

• O Brother, Where Art Thou Beautiful color and incredible detail 

(check out facial stubble) with well-rendered shadows. 

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Ultimate Edition) Great video for 

shadows and reds, with highly dimensional audio. 

• Toy Story 2 The perfect all-digital transfer results in sharp, rich 

images; the sound effects are nicely staged. 

• U-571 Its earthshaking bass makes it a great subwoofer demo. 

Films on Disc has a list of ISF DVD citations, examples of the best of the 

craft. 

What Do Sensormatic and Checkpoint Mean? 

Sensormatic and Checkpoint are two point-of-sale security systems. The 

names refer to the little metal tags inserted into DVD packaging to set off an 

alarm if you go through the sensors at the store entrance without having the 

tags deactivated during checkout. The tags are placed in the packages at 

the replication plant so that it doesn’t have to be done at the store. This is 

called source tagging. 

What Are Superbit, Infinifilm, and Other Variations 

of DVD? 


One single DVD-Video standard exists, but within the DVD-Video format is 

a great deal of flexibility in the way discs can be created. Different studios 

have come up with brand names for their particular implementations of 

advanced features. Nothing is extraordinary about any particular variation, 

other than a studio spending a lot of time and effort making it work well and 

promoting it. These kinds of advanced DVDs should play on most players 

but may reveal more player bugs than standard discs (see “Why Doesn’t 

Disc X Work in Player Y?”). 

Superbit DVDs, from Columbia TriStar, use a high data rate for the video 

to improve picture quality. Additional language tracks and other extras are 

left off the disc to make room for more video data and for a DTS audio track. 

In most cases, the difference is subtle, but it does improve the experience 

on high-end players and progressive-scan displays. See superbitdvd.com 

for marketing info.


Infinifilm DVDs, from New Line, let you watch a movie with pop-ups that 

direct you to extra content such as interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, 

or historical information. See infinifilm.com for more hype. 

I Don’t Know the Parental Control Password for My Player. 

What Do I Do? 

Most DVD players enable you to lock out discs above a certain rating (refer 

to the parental rating section). The rating level is protected by a password 

so that children (or spouses) can’t change it. If you don’t know the password, 

you won’t be able to play some discs. You might be able to clear the 

password by resetting the player (see the user manual) or by unplugging it 

for a few days. In some cases, you might be able to use the default password 

(0000, 9999, or 3308). Otherwise, you’ll have to call the customer service 

number of the manufacturer and see if they can help you.

Will DVD Replace VCR? 


DVD’s Relationship 

to Other Products 

and Technologies 

Eventually. DVD player sales exceeded VCR sales in 2001. DVD recorders 

are also available (refer to “Can DVDs Record from VCRs, TVs, and So On?” 

in Chapter 1, “General DVD”) and will hasten the death of VCRs once the 

price difference is small enough. DVDs have many advantages over VHS 

tapes, such as no rewinding, quick access to any part of a recording, and 

fundamentally lower technology costs for hardware and disc production. 

Some projections show DVD recorder sales passing VCR sales in 2005. By 

2010, VHS may be as dead as vinyl records were in 2000. 

Will DVD Replace CD-ROM? 

Most CD-ROM drive manufacturers plan to cease CD-ROM drive production 

at some point, in favor of DVD-ROM drives. Because DVD-ROM drives 

can read CD-ROMs, a compatible forward migration path exists. CD-ROM 

discs will continue to be used in cases where the extra capacity isn’t 

needed, because they cost less to make than DVD-ROM discs. 

Can CD-R Writers Create DVDs? 

No, because DVDs use a laser with a smaller wavelength to allow smaller 

pits in tracks that are closer together. The DVD laser must also focus 

more tightly and at a different level. In fact, a disc made on a current 

CD-recordable (CD-R) writer may not be readable by a DVD-ROM drive 

(see “Is CD-R Comatible with DVD”). It’s unlikely that CD-R drives will be 

upgraded to DVD-Recordable (DVD-R) drives, because this would cost 

more than purchasing a new DVD-R drive. 



Is CD Compatible with DVD? 

This actually has many answers, covered in the following sections. Note the 

differentiation between DVDs (general media) and DVD-ROMs (computer 

data). 

Is CD Audio (CD-DA) Compatible with DVDs? 

All DVD players and drives will read audio CDs (Red Book). This is not actually 

required by the DVD spec, but so far all manufacturers have made their 

DVD hardware able to read CDs. 

On the other hand, you can’t play a DVD in a CD player. The pits are 

smaller, the tracks are closer together, the data layer is a different distance 

from the surface, the modulation is different, and the error correction 

coding is new. Also, you can’t put CD audio data onto a DVD and 

have it play in DVD players (Red Book audio frames are different from 

DVD data sectors.) 

Is CD-ROM Compatible with DVD-ROM? 

All DVD-ROM drives will read CD-ROMs (Yellow Book), and software on a 

CD-ROM will run fine in a DVD-ROM system. However, DVD-ROMs are not 

readable by CD-ROM drives. 

Is CD-R Compatible with DVD? 

Sometimes. The problem is that most CD-R discs (Orange Book Part II) are 

“invisible” to the DVD laser wavelength because the dye used to make the 

blank CD-R doesn’t reflect the beam. Some first-generation DVD-ROM drives 

and many DVD players can’t read CD-R discs. The formulation of dye 

used by different CD-R manufacturers also affects readability. That is, some 

brands of CD-R discs have better reflectivity at the DVD laser wavelength, 

but even these don’t reliably work in all players. An effort to develop CD-R 

Type II media compatible with both CD and DVD wavelengths has been 

abandoned. 

The common solution is for the DVD player or drive to use two lasers at 

different wavelengths: one for reading DVDs and the other for reading CDs 

and CD-Rs. Variations on the theme include Sony’s dual discrete optical 

pickup with switchable pickup assemblies that have separate optics, dualwavelength 

lasers (initially deployed on Sony’s PlayStation 2), and Samsung’s 

annular masked objective lens with a shared optical path. Other 

approaches include Toshiba’s shared optical path using an objective lens 

masked with a coating that’s transparent only to 650-nanometer light,

DVD’s Relationship to Other Products and Technologies 65 

Hitachi’s switchable objective lens assembly, and Matsushita’s holographic 

dual-focus lens. The MultiRead logo guarantees compatibility with CD-R 

and CD-rewritable (CD-RW) media, but unfortunately few manufacturers 

are using it. The bottom line is that if you want a DVD player that can read 

CD-R discs, look for a dual laser, twin laser, or dual optics feature. 

DVD-ROM drives can’t record on CD-R discs or any other media, but a 

few combination DVD-ROM/CD-RW drives can write to CD-R and CD-RW 

discs. Most newer recordable DVD drives (see “What About Recordable 

DVDs: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R?” in Chapter 

4, “DVDs and Computers”) can also record on CD-R or CD-RW discs. 

CD-R burners, however, can’t read or write DVD discs of any kind. 

Is CD-RW Compatible with DVD? 

Usually. CD-RW discs (Orange Book Part III) have a smaller reflectivity difference, 

requiring new automatic gain control (AGC) circuitry in CD-ROM 

drives and CD players. Most existing CD-ROM drives and CD players can’t 

read CD-RW discs. The multiread standard addresses this, and some DVD 

manufacturers have suggested they will support it. The optical circuitry in 

even first-generation DVD-ROM drives and DVD players is usually able to 

read CD-RW discs, because CD-RW discs do not have the “invisibility” 

problem of CD-R discs (refer to the previous section). Most newer recordable 

DVD drives (see Chapter 4) can also record on CD-R or CD-RW. CD- 

RW burners can’t read or write DVD discs of any kind. 

Are Video CDs Compatible with DVD Players? 

Sometimes. It’s not required by the DVD spec, but it’s trivial to support the 

Video CD (White Book) standard because any MPEG-2 decoder can also 

decode MPEG-1 from a Video CD. About two-thirds of DVD players can 

play Video CDs, including most Panasonic, RCA, Samsung, and Sony models. 

Japanese Pioneer models play Video CDs, but American models older 

than the DVL-909 don’t. Also, Toshiba players older than models 2100, 

3107, and 3108 don’t play Video CDs. 

Video CD resolution is 352�288 for PAL and 352�240 for NTSC. The 

way most DVD players and Video CD players deal with the difference is to 

chop off the extra lines or add blank lines. When playing PAL Video CDs, the 

Panasonic and RCA NTSC players apparently cut 48 lines (17 percent) off 

the bottom, whereas Sony NTSC players scale all 288 lines to fit. 

Because PAL Video CDs are encoded to play 24 frames per second (fps) 

film at 25 fps, usually a 4 percent speedup occurs. The playing time is 

shorter, and the audio is shifted up in pitch unless it was digitally processed


before encoding to shift the pitch back to normal. This also happens with 

PAL DVDs (see “Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work with 

NTSC, PAL, and SECAM?” in Chapter 1). 

All DVD-ROM computers can play Video CDs (with the right software). 

Standard Video CD players can’t play DVDs. 

NOTE: Many Asian Video CDs achieve two soundtracks by putting 

one language on the left channel and another on the right. The two 

channels are mixed together into overlapping sound on a stereo system 

unless you adjust the balance or disconnect one input to get only 

one channel. 

For more on Video CD, see Glenn Sanderse’s Video CD FAQ at CDPage, 

or Russil Wvong’s Video CD FAQ. 

Are Super Video CDs Compatible with DVD Players? 

Not generally. Super Video CD (SVCD) is an enhancement to Video CD that 

was developed by a Chinese government-backed committee of manufacturers 

and researchers, partly to sidestep DVD technology royalties and 

partly to create pressure for low DVD player and disc prices in China. The 

final SVCD spec was announced in September of 1998, winning out over 

C-Cube’s China Video CD (CVD) and HQ-VCD (from the developers of the 

original Video CD). 

In terms of video and audio quality, SVCD falls between Video CD and 

DVD, using a 2x CD drive to support 2.2 Mbps VBR MPEG-2 video (at 

480�480 NSTC or 480�576 PAL resolution) and two-channel MPEG-2 

Layer II audio. As with DVD, it can overlay graphics for subtitles. It’s technically 

easy to make a DVD-Video player compatible with SVCD, but it’s being 

done mostly on Asian DVD player models. The Philips DVD170 player can 

be upgraded (using a special disc) to play SVCD discs. SVCD players can’t 

play DVDs, however, because the players are based on CD drives. See 

Jukka Aho’s Super Video CD Overview (www.iki.fi/znark/video/svcd/ 

overview) and Super Video CD FAQ (www.iki.fi/znark/video/svcd/faq) for 

more info. 

Are Picture CDs or Photo CDs Compatible with DVD Players? 

Sometimes. Because Picture CDs and Photo CDs are usually on CD-R 

media, they suffer from the CD-R problem (refer to “Is CD-R Compatible 

with DVD?”). That aside, some DVD players can play Picture CDs. Only a 

few can play Photo CDs.


Most DVD-ROM drives will read Picture CDs or Photo CDs (if they read 

CD-R discs) because it’s trivial to support the XA and Orange Book multisession 

standards. Picture CDs are designed to work with Windows, 

whereas Photo CDs require specific support from an application or an OS. 

Photos can be put on recordable DVDs using the DVD-Video slideshow feature, 

which works on all DVD players (see “How Do I Copy My Home 

Videos/Movies/Slides to DVDs?” in Chapter 5, “DVD Production”.) 

Is CD-i Compatible with DVD? 

In general, no. DVD players do not play CD-i (Green Book) discs. Philips 

once announced that it would make a DVD player that supported CD-i, but 

it never appeared. Some people expected Philips to create a DVD-i format 

in an attempt to breathe a little more life into CD-i (and recover a bit more 

of the billion dollars or so they invested in it). A DVD-ROM PC with a CD-i 

card should be able to play CD-i discs. 

CD-i movies use the CD-i digital video format that was the precursor to 

Video CD. Early CD-i DV discs won’t play on DVD players or VCD players, 

but newer CD-i movies, which use the standard VCD format, will play on 

any player that can play VCDs (refer to “Are Video CDs Compatible with 

DVD Players?”). See Jorg Kennis’ CD-i FAQ for more information on CD-I 

(www.icdia.org/faq). 

Are Enhanced CDs Compatible with DVD Players? 

DVD players will play music from enhanced music CDs (Blue Book, CD 

Plus, or CD Extra), and DVD-ROM drives will play music and read data from 

enhanced CDs. Older enhanced CD formats such as mixed mode and track 

zero (pregap or hidden track) should also be compatible, but a problem 

occurs with Microsoft and other CD/DVD-ROM drivers skipping track zero. 

Is CD�G Compatible with DVD Players? 

Only a few players, such as the Pioneer DVL-9 and Pioneer karaoke DVD 

models DV-K800 and DVK-1000, support CD�G. Most DVD players don’t 

support this mostly obsolete format. All DVD-ROM drives can read the 

CD�G information, but special software is required to make use of it. 

Is CDV Compatible with DVD? 

Sort of. CDV, sometimes called video single, is actually a weird combination 

of a CD and a laserdisc. Part of the disc contains 20 minutes of digital audio 

playable on any CD or DVD player. The other part contains five minutes of


analog video and digital audio in laserdisc format, playable only on a CDVcompatible 

laserdisc player. Pioneer’s combination DVD/laserdisc players 

are the only DVD players that can play CDVs. Of course, standard 

laserdisc/CDV players can’t play DVDs (see “Are Laserdiscs Compatible 

with DVD Players?” for more info.) 

Is MP3 Compatible with DVD? 

Not officially. MP3 is the MPEG Layer 3 audio compression format. (MP3 is 

not MPEG-3, which doesn’t exist.) The DVD-Video spec allows only Layer 

2 for MPEG audio (MP2). However, MP3 can be played by any computer 

with a DVD-ROM drive, and many DVD players (particularly those manufactured 

in Asia) can play MP3 CDs. However, oddly enough, most of the 

players that can play MP3s from a CD can’t play MP3s from a DVD. 

Is HDCD Compatible with DVDs? 

Yes. Pacific Microsonics’ (www.hdcd.com) high-definition compatible digital 

(HDCD) format is an encoding process that enhances audio CDs so that 

they play normally in standard CD and DVD players (and allegedly sound 

better than normal CDs). Yet they produce an extra 4 bits of precision (20 

bits instead of 16) when played on CD and DVD players equipped with 

HDCD decoders. 

Are Laserdiscs Compatible with DVD Players? 

Standard DVD players will not play laserdiscs, and you can’t play a DVD 

disc on any standard laserdisc player. (Laserdiscs use analog video, 

whereas DVDs use digital video; they are very different formats.) Pioneer 

makes combo players that play laserdiscs and DVDs (as well as CDVs and 

audio CDs). 

Will DVDs Replace Laserdiscs? 

When this question was first asked in 1996, before DVD was even available, 

people wondered if DVDs would replace laserdiscs. Some argued it never 

would, that DVD would fail and its adherents would come groveling back to 

laserdiscs. After DVDs were released, it soon became clear that they had 

doomed laserdiscs to quick obscurity. Pioneer Entertainment, the long-time 

champion of laserdiscs, abandoned them in June of 1999. This was sooner 

than even Pioneer thought possible (in September 1998, Pioneer’s presi-


dent Kaneo Ito said the company expected laserdisc products to be in the 

market for another one-and-a-half to two years). 

Laserdiscs fill niches in education and training, but they are fading even 

there. Existing players and discs will be around for a while, though almost 

no new discs are being produced. Once over 9,000 laserdisc titles were in 

the U.S. market and a total of over 35,000 titles worldwide could be played 

on over 7 million laserdisc players. It took DVDs several years to reach this 

level, and certain rare titles are available on laserdisc but not on DVD. One 

bright point is that laserdiscs can now be had at bargain prices. 

How Do DVDs Compare to Laserdiscs? 

To answer this question, let’s examine some different criteria: 

• Features DVDs have the same basic features as CLV laserdiscs 

(scan, pause, and search) and CAV LD (freeze and slow), and they add 

branching, multiple camera angles, parental control, video menus, and 

interactivity, although some of these features are not available on all 

discs. 

• Capacity Single-layer DVDs hold over two hours; dual-layer DVDs 

holds over four hours. CLV laserdiscs hold one hour per side, CAV 

laserdiscs hold half an hour, along with 104,000 still images. A DVD 

can hold thousands of still pictures, accompanied by hundreds of 

hours of audio and text. 

• Convenience An entire movie fits on one side of a DVD, so you don’t 

have to flip the disc or wait for the player to do it. DVDs are smaller and 

easier to handle, and DVD players can be portable, similar to CD players. 

Discs can be easily and cheaply sent through the mail. On the 

other hand, laserdiscs have larger covers for better art and text. 

• Noise Most laserdisc players make a whirring noise that can be 

heard during quiet segments of a movie. Most DVD players are as 

quiet as CD players. 

• Audio Laserdiscs can have better quality with Dolby Surround 

soundtracks in an uncompressed PCM format. DVDs have better 

quality of Dolby Digital or music only (PCM). Laserdiscs have two 

audio tracks, analog and digital, whereas DVDs have up to eight audio 

tracks. Laserdiscs use PCM audio sampled with 16 bits at 44.1 kHz. 

DVD LPCM audio can use 16-, 20-, or 24-bit samples at 48 or 96 kHz 

(although PCM is not used with most movies). Laserdiscs have surround 

audio in Dolby Surround, Dolby Digital (AC-3), and Digital Theater 

Systems (DTS) formats; 5.1-channel surround sound is available


by using one channel of the analog track for AC-3 or both channels of 

the digital track for DTS. DVDs use the same Dolby Digital surround 

sound, usually at a higher data rate of 448 kbps, and can optionally 

include DTS (at data rates up to 1536 kbps compared to laserdiscs’ 

1411 kbps, but in practice DTS data rates are often 768 kbps). DVD 

players convert Dolby Digital to Dolby Surround. The downmixing, 

combined with the effects of compression, often results in lower-quality 

sound than from laserdisc Dolby Surround tracks. 

• Video DVDs usually have better video. Laserdiscs suffer from degradation 

inherent in analog storage and in the composite NTSC or PAL 

video signal. DVDs use digital video, and even though it’s heavily compressed 

most professionals agree that, when properly and carefully 

encoded, it’s virtually indistinguishable from studio masters. This 

doesn’t mean that the video quality of a DVD is always better than a 

laserdisc. Only that it can be better. Also keep in mind that the average 

television is of insufficient quality to show much difference between 

laserdiscs and DVDs. Home theater systems or high-definition TVs 

(HDTVs) are needed to take full advantage of the improved quality. 

• Resolution In numerical terms, a DVD has 345,600 pixels 

(720�480), which is 1.3 times the 272,160 pixels of a laserdisc 

(567�480). A widescreen DVD has 1.7 times the pixels of a letterboxed 

laserdisc (or 1.3 times an anamorphic laserdisc). As for lines of 

horizontal resolution, a DVD has about 500, whereas a laserdisc has 

about 425 (more info is covered in “What Do Lines of Resolution 

Mean?” in Chapter 3, “DVD Technical Details”). In analog output signal 

terms, a typical luma frequency response maintains a full amplitude 

between 5.0 and 5.5 MHz. This is below the 6.75 MHz native 

frequency of the MPEG-2 digital signal. The chroma frequency 

response is half that of luma, and the laserdisc frequency response 

usually begins to fall off at 3 MHz. (All figures are for NTSC, not PAL.) 

• Legacy titles Some movies on laserdisc will probably never appear 

on DVD. 

• Availability DVD players and discs are available for purchase and 

rental in thousands of outlets and on the Internet. Laserdisc players 

and discs are becoming hard to find. 

• Price Low-cost DVD players are cheaper than the cheapest 

laserdisc player. Most movies on DVD cost less than on laserdisc. 

• Restrictions For those outside the United States, regional coding 

(refer to “What Are Regional Codes, Country Codes, or Zone Locks?” 

in Chapter 1) is a definite drawback to DVDs. For some people, Macrovision 

copy protection (refer to “What Are the Copy Protection


Issues?” in Chapter 1) is an annoyance. Laserdiscs have no copy protection 

and do not have regional differences other than PAL versus 

NTSC. 

• Recordable DVD recorders are increasingly affordable. Laserdisc 

recording, at a low of $250 per disc, was never available to general 

consumers. 

For more laserdisc info, see Leopold’s FAQ at www.cs.tut.fi/,leopold/ 

Ld/FAQ/index.html and Bob Niland’s FAQs and overview at www.accessone.com/rjn/laser/laserdisc.html 

(overview reprinted from Widescreen 

Review Magazine). 

Can I Modify or Upgrade My Laserdisc Player to Play DVDs? 

No, DVD circuitry is completely different, the pickup laser is a different 

wavelength, and the tracking control is more precise. No hardware 

upgrades have been announced, and in any case they would be more 

expensive than buying a DVD player to put next to the laserdisc player. 

Do DVDs Support HDTV (DTV)? Will HDTV 

Make DVDs Obsolete? 

The short answers are partially and no. 

First, some quick definitions: HDTV encompasses both analog and digital 

TVs that have a 16:9 aspect ratio and approximately five times the resolution 

of standard TV (double vertical, double horizontal, and a wider 

aspect). Digital TV (DTV) applies to digital broadcasts in general and to the 

U.S. Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard in specific. 

The ATSC standard includes both standard-definition (SD) and highdefinition 

(HD) digital formats. The notation H/DTV is often used to specifically 

refer to high-definition DTV. 

In December of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 

approved the U.S. DTV standard. HDTVs became available in late 1998, but 

they are expensive and won’t become widespread for many years. DVDs 

are not HD, but they look great on HDTVs. Over 80 percent of the 2 million 

DTV sets sold in the United States in 2002 did not have tuners, indicating 

that their owners got them for watching DVDs. 

DVD-Video does not directly support HDTV. No digital HDTV standards 

were finalized when DVD was developed. In order to be compatible with 

existing televisions, DVD’s MPEG-2 video resolutions and frame rates are 

closely tied to NTSC and PAL, SECAM video formats (see Chapter 1’s “Is


DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work with NTSC, PAL, and 

SECAM?”). DVD does use the same 16:9 aspect ratio of HDTV and the 

Dolby Digital audio format of U.S. DTV. 

HDTV in the United States is part of the ATSC DTV format. The resolution 

and frame rates of DTV generally correspond to the ATSC recommendations 

for SD (640�480 and 704�480 at 24p, 30p, 60p, and 60i) and HD 

(1280�720 at 24p, 30p, and 60p; 1920�1080 at 24p, 30p, and 60i). (24p 

means 24 progressive frames per second [fps], 60i means 60 interlaced 

fields per second [30 fps].) The current DVD-Video spec covers all of SD 

except 60p. It’s expected that future DVD players will output digital video 

signals from existing discs in SDTV formats. The HD formats are 2.7 and 

6 times the resolution of DVD, and the 60p version is twice the frame rate. 

The International Telecommunication Union—Radio Communication 

Sector (ITU-R) is working on BT.709 HDTV standards of 1125/60 

(1920�1035/30) (the same as SMPTE 240M, similar to Japan’s analog 

MUSE HDTV) and 1250/50 (1920�1152/25 ), which may be used in 

Europe. The latter is 5.3 times the resolution of DVD’s 720�576/25 format. 

The HD maximum data rate is usually 19.4 Mbps, almost twice the maximum 

DVD-Video data rate. In other words, DVD-Video does not currently 

support HDTV video content. 

HDTV will not make DVDs obsolete. Those who postpone purchasing a 

DVD player because of HDTV are in for a long wait. HDTVs became available 

in late 1998 at very high prices (about $5000 and up). It will take many 

years before even a small percentage of homes have HDTV sets. The CEA 

expects 10 percent of U.S. households to have HDTV in 2003, 20 percent 

by 2005, and 30 percent by 2006. 

HDTV sets include analog video connectors (composite, s-video, and 

component) that work with all DVD players and other existing video equipment 

such as VCRs. Existing DVD players and discs will work perfectly 

with HDTV sets and provide a much better picture than any other prerecorded 

consumer video format, especially when using a progressive-scan 

player. Because the cheapest route to HDTV reception will be HDTV converters 

for existing TV sets, broadcast HDTV for many viewers will look no 

better than DVDs. 

HDTV displays support digital connections such as HDMI (DVI) and IEEE 

1394/FireWire, although standardization is not quite finished. Digital connections 

for audio and video provide the best possible reproduction of 

DVDs, especially in widescreen mode. The DVD Forum finalized specifications 

for supporting 1394 and HDMI in 2002 and players ith DVI/HDMI digital 

outputs appared in 2003. When the DVD stream recording (SR) format 

is finalized, DVD-SR players may be usable as “transports” that output any 

kind of audio/video data (even formats developed after the player was built) 

to different sorts of external displays or converters.

The interesting thing many people don’t realize is that DTV happened 

sooner, faster, and cheaper on PCs. A year before any consumer DTV sets 

came out, you could buy a DVD PC with a 34-inch VGA monitor and get 

gorgeous progressive-scan movies for under $3000. The quality of a good 

DVD PC connected to a data-grade video projector can beat a $30,000 

line-doubler system. (See BroadbandMagic, Digital Connection, and Sleakline 

for product examples. Video projectors are available from Barco, Dwin, 

Electrohome, Faroudja, InFocus, Projectavision, Runco, Sharp, Sony, 

Vidikron, and others.) 

Eventually, the DVD-Video format will be upgraded to an HD-DVD format. 

See “Will High-Definition DVDs or 720p DVDs Make Current Players 

and Discs Obsolete?” later in this chapter. Also see “What’s New with DVD 

Technology?” in Chapter 6, “Miscellaneous.” 

What Is Divx? 

Two forms of Divx exist. The original was a pay-per-view version of DVD. 

The later version is a video encoding format. 

The Original Divx 


Depending on whom you ask, Divx (Digital Video Express first known as 

ZoomTV) was either an insidious evil scheme for greedy studios to control 

what you see in your own living room or an innovative approach to video 

rental that would offer cheap discs you could get almost anywhere and 

keep for later viewings. 

Developed by Circuit City and a Hollywood law firm, Divx was supported by 

Disney (Buena Vista), Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, MGM, and 

DreamWorks SKG, all of which also released discs in the “open DVD” format, 

because the Divx agreement was nonexclusive. Harman/Kardon, JVC, Kenwood, 

Matsushita (Panasonic), Pioneer, Thomson (RCA/Proscan/GE), and 

Zenith announced Divx players, although some never came to market (The 

ones that did were Panasonic X410, Proscan PS8680Z, RCA RC5230Z and 

RC5231Z, and Zenith DVX2100). The studios and hardware makers supporting 

Divx were given incentives in the form of guaranteed licensing payments totaling 

over $110 million. Divx discs were manufactured by Nimbus, Panasonic, 

and Pioneer. Circuit City lost over $114 million (after tax write-offs) on Divx. 

As stated, Divx was a pay-per-viewing-period variation of DVD. Divx discs 

sold for $4.50. Once inserted into a Divx player, the disc would play normally 

(allowing the viewer to pause, rewind, or even put in another disc before finishing 

the first one) for the next 48 hours, after which the owner had to pay 

$3.25 to unlock it for another 48 hours. A Divx DVD player, which cost about


$100 more than a regular player, had to be hooked up to a phone line so it 

could call an 800 number for about 20 seconds during the night once each 

month (or after playing 10 or so discs) to upload billing information. 

Most Divx discs could be converted to DivxSilver status by paying an 

additional fee (usually $20) to allow unlimited plays on a single account (as 

of December 1998, 85 percent of Divx discs were convertible). Unlimitedplayback 

DivxGold discs were announced but never produced. 

Divx players can also play regular DVD discs, but Divx discs do not play 

in standard DVD players. Divx discs are serialized with a barcode in the 

standard burst cutting area. In addition to normal DVD copy protection 

(refer to “What Are the Copy Protection Issues?” in Chapter 1), they employ 

watermarking the video, modified channel modulation, and triple Data 

Encryption Standard (DES) encryption (two 56-bit keys) of serial communications. 

Divx technology never worked on PCs, which undoubtedly contributed 

to its demise. Because of the DES encryption, Divx technology may 

not have been allowed outside the United States. 

Divx was originally announced for summer 1998 release. Limited trials 

began on June 8, 1998, in San Francisco and in Richmond, Virginia. The 

only available player was from Zenith (which at the time was in Chapter 11 

bankruptcy), and the promised 150 movies had dwindled to 14. The limited 

nationwide rollout (with one Zenith player model and 150 movies in 190 

stores) began on September 25, 1998. By the end of 1998, about 87,000 

Divx players (from four models available) and 535,000 Divx discs were sold 

(from about 300 titles available). The company apparently counted the 5 

discs bundled with each player, which means 100,000 additional discs were 

sold. By March 1999, 420 Divx titles were available (compared to over 3,500 

open DVD titles). All things considered, Divx players were selling well and 

titles were being produced with impressive speed. 

On June 16, 1999, less than a year after initial product trials, Circuit City 

withdrew its support and Divx announced it was closing down. Divx did not 

confuse or delay development of the DVD market nearly as much as many 

people predicted (including yours truly). In fact, it probably helped by stimulating 

Internet rental companies to provide better services and prices, by 

encouraging manufacturers to offer more free discs with player purchases, 

and by motivating studios to develop rental programs. 

When it closed down, the company offered $100 rebate coupons to all 

owners of Divx players. This made the players a good deal, because they 

could play open DVDs just as well as other low-end players that cost more. 

On July 7, 2001, Divx players dialed into the central billing computer, which 

decommissioned them. (Divx players not connected to phone lines have 

expired their playback allowance.) Consequently, Divx discs are no longer 

playable in any players. For more information see the Divx Owner’s Association 

(www.the-doa.com).


The advantages of Divx were as follows: 

• Viewing could be delayed, unlike rentals. 

• Discs need not be returned. No late fees. 

• You could watch the movie again for a small fee. Initial cost of “owning” 

a disc was reduced. 

• Discs could be unlocked for unlimited viewing (DivxSilver), an inexpensive 

way to preview before deciding to purchase. 

• The disc was new, with no damage from previous renters. 

• The rental market was opened up to other retailers, including mail 

order. 

• Studios got more control over the use of their content. 

• You received special offers from studios in your Divx mailbox. 

• Divx players (with better quality and features than comparable players) 

were a steal after Divx went out of business. 

The disadvantages of Divx were as follows: 

• The player cost was higher than a DVD player (about $100 more at 

first, about $50 later). 

• Although discs did not have to be returned, the viewer still had to go 

through the effort of purchasing the disc. Cable/satellite pay per view 

is more convenient. 

• Divx cost more than a regular DVD rental ($3 to $7 versus $2 to $4). 

The company raising prices later had few obstacles, because it had a 

monopoly. 

• Casual quick viewing (looking for a name in the credits, playing a 

favorite scene, or watching supplements) required paying a fee. 

• Most Divx titles were pan and scan (see “What’s Widescreen? How Do 

the Aspect Ratios Work?” in Chapter 3) without extras such as foreign 

language tracks, subtitles, biographies, trailers, and commentaries. 

• The player had to be hooked to your phone line, possibly requiring a 

new jack in your living room or a phone extension cable strung across 

it. Players required a connection once a month or so, so you could 

periodically connect it to a phone line. 

• Divx couldn’t be used in mobile environments, such as a van or RV, 

unless you took it out and connected it to a phone line about once a 

month.


• The Divx central computer collected information about your viewing 

habits, as do cable/satellite pay-per-view services and large rental 

chains. According to Divx, the law did not allow them to use the information 

for resale and marketing. 

• Divx players included a mailbox for companies to send you unsolicited 

offers (spam). 

• Those who didn’t lock out their Divx player could receive unexpected 

bills when their kids or visitors played Divx discs. 

• Divx discs wouldn’t play in regular DVD players or on PCs with DVD- 

ROM drives. Some uninformed consumers bought Divx discs only to 

find they wouldn’t play in their non-Divx player. 

• Unlocked Silver discs would only work in players on the same 

account. Playback in a friend’s Divx player would incur a charge. (Gold 

discs, which were never released, would have played without charge 

in all Divx players.) 

• No market existed for used Divx discs. 

• Divx discs became unplayable after June 2001. 

• Divx players were never available outside the United States and 

Canada. 

The New DivX 

In March of 2000, a DVD redistribution technology called DivX;-) appeared. 

Yes, the smiley face was originally part of the name, which was a take-off on 

the original Divx format. The perpetrators should be drawn and quartered 

for the stupid joke, which caused untold confusion. 

DivX was originally a simple hack of Microsoft’s MPEG-4 video codec, 

combined with MP3 audio, allowing decrypted video from a DVD to be 

reencoded for downloading and playing in Windows Media Player. Work on 

DivX evolved through Project Mayo and a version originally called DivX 

Deux into an open-source initiative known as OpenDivX, based on the 

MPEG-4 standard. Out of all this came DivXNetworks, a company that 

turned DivX into an extensive video encoding and delivery system. An 

open-source variation is called 3ivx. 

How Can I Record from DVD to Videotape? 

Why in the world would you want to degrade a DVD’s beautiful digital picture 

by copying it to analog tape, especially because you lose the interactive 

menus and other nice features?


If you really want to copy to VHS, hook the audio/video outputs of the 

DVD player to the audio/video inputs of your VCR, and then record the disc 

to tape. You’ll discover that most of the time the resulting tape is garbled 

and unwatchable. This is because of the Macrovision feature designed to 

prevent you from doing this. Refer to “What Are the Copy Protection 

Issues?” in Chapter 1. 

Will High-Definition DVD or 720p DVD Make 

Current Players and Discs Obsolete? 

Not for a long time. HD-DVD is just becoming available. HD stands for both 

high density (more data on a disc) and high definition (better quality picture). 

The first commercial Blu-ray HD-DVD recorders appeared in Japan in April 

of 2003, over seven years after DVD was introduced there. The recorders 

are designed for home recording only (not for playing prerecorded HD 

movies), and only work with Japan’s digital HD broadcast system. 

New DVD formats will slowly supercede the original DVD format, but new 

players will play old DVD discs and often make them look even better (with 

progressive-scan video and picture processing). However, new HD-DVD 

discs won’t be playable in old DVD players (unless they are special hybrid 

discs in both HD and SD format). Your collection of standard DVDs will be 

playable for many years to come, and titles will only become obsolete in the 

sense that you might want to replace them with new high-definition versions. 

Consider that U.S. HDTV was anticipated to be available in 1989, yet 

it was not finalized until 1996 and did not appear until 1998. Has it made 

your current TV obsolete yet? See “What About the HD-DVD and Blue 

Laser Formats?” for details on HD-DVD, and see Chapter 6 for more information 

on the future of DVD. 

Ironically, computers supported HDTV before set-top players, because 

double-headed DVD-ROM drives with appropriate playback and display 

hardware meet the 19 Mbps data rate needed for HDTV. This led to various 

720p DVD projects that use the existing DVD format to store video in 

1280�720 or 1920�1080 resolution at 24 progressive fps. It’s possible that 

720p DVDs can be made compatible with existing players (which would 

only recognize and play the 480-line line data). 

NOTE: The term HDVD has already been taken to mean highdensity 

volumetric display (see www.3dmedia.com). 

Some have speculated that a double-headed player reading both sides 

of the disc at the same time could double the data rate or provide an 

enhancement for applications such as HDTV. This is currently impossible


because the track spirals go in opposite directions (unless all four layers are 

used). The DVD spec would have to be changed to allow reverse spirals on 

layer 0. Even then, keeping both sides in sync, especially with MPEG-2’s 

variable bit rate, would require independently tracking heads, precise track 

and pit spacing, and a larger, more sophisticated track buffer. Another 

option would be to use two heads to read both layers of one side simultaneously. 

This is technically feasible but has no advantage over reading one 

layer twice as fast, which is simpler and cheaper. (Refer to “Do DVDs Support 

HDTV (DTV)? Will HDTV Make DVDs Obsolete?” for more information 

about HDTV and DVDs.) 

What Effect Will Fluorescent Multilayer 

Disc (FMD) Have on DVD? 

Very little, as Constellation 3D ran out of money in mid-2002. The various 

reports of fluorescent multilayer disc (FMD) causing the early death of DVD 

were wildly exaggerated and not founded in reality. 

Fluorescent multilayer technology, which can be used in cards or discs, 

aims a laser at fluorescent dye, causing it to emit light. Because it doesn’t 

depend on reflected laser light, it’s possible to create many data layers 

(C3D prototyped 50 layers in its lab). It can use the same 650-nanometer 

laser as DVDs, so FMD drives could be made to read DVDs. In June of 

2000, C3D announced a program to make FMDs with 25 GB per side that 

would be readable by DVD drives with a “minor and inexpensive modification.” 

C3D later said players would be available by mid-2001. 

FMD was very cool technology, but it was new, with no track record, 

developed by one small company. DVD is based on decades of optical 

storage technology development by dozens of companies. The monumental 

task of changing entire production infrastructures over to a new format 

was too much for C3D, even with tens of millions of dollars and some large 

partners. 

How Does MPEG-4 Affect DVD? 

MPEG-4 is a video encoding standard designed primarily for low-data rate 

streaming video, although it’s actually more efficient than MPEG-2 at DVD 

and HDTV data rates. MPEG-4 provides for advanced multimedia with 

media objects, but most implementations only support simple video (Simple 

Visual Profile). MPEG-4 part 10, also known as H.264 (and also known 

as JVT or AVC) is an even better encoding standard. 

DVDs use MPEG-2 video encoding (see “What Are the Video Details?” in 

Chapter 3), and standard DVD players don’t recognize the MPEG-4 video

format. MPEG-4 files, however, can be stored on DVD-ROMs for use on 

computers. For example, DivX uses MPEG-4 (see “The NewDivX” earlier in 

this chapter). 

It’s possible that MPEG-4 or H.264 will be used in a future, high-definition 

version of DVD. In any case, it will probably not appear before 2005 at 

the earliest. For more about MPEG, see Tristan’s MPEG.org site and the 

MPEG home page (www.cselt.it/mpeg). 

What’s WebDVD or Enhanced DVD? 

WebDVD is the simple but powerful concept of combining DVD content 

with Internet technology. It combines the best of DVD (fast access to highquality 

video, audio, and data) with the best of the Internet (interactivity, 

dynamic updates, and communication). In general, WebDVD refers to 

enhancing a DVD with HTML pages and links, or enhancing a web site with 

content from a local DVD drive. 

WebDVD is not a trademarked term of AOL/Time Warner, Microsoft, or 

any other company. Variations on the WebDVD concept are known as iDVD, 

eDVD, Connected DVD, and so on. It’s not a new idea; it’s been done on 

CD-ROMs for years, but the differences with DVD are that the quality of the 

audio and video are finally better than TV, and the discs can be played in 

low-cost set-top players. 

Almost all WebDVD implementations are currently available for PCs, but 

new players are adding WebDVD features. A working group of the DVD 

Forum is creating a standardized Enhanced DVD format for set-top DVD 

players. 

Most major authoring systems (see “Which DVD Authoring Systems Are 

Available?” in Chapter 5) include rudimentary tools for adding HTML 

enhancements to DVD. For fancier WebDVD development, a variety of tools 

are available (see “How Do I Play DVD-Video in HTML, PowerPoint, Director, 

VB, and So On?” in Chapter 4). 

For more on WebDVD, see Phil DeLancie’s EMedia article, “Untangling 

Web-DVD Playback” (www.emedialive.com/r8/2001/delancie2_01.html). 

Good examples of WebDVD sites are Mars: The Red Planet, Stargaze, and 

DVD Demystified. The authors of these sites (Ralph LaBarge and Jim Taylor) 

encourage you to copy their code as a starting place for your own Web- 

DVD creations. 

What’s a Nuon Player? 


Nuon was a specialized “media processor” chip designed by VM Labs 

that was powerful enough to play DVDs and video games. The chip was


originally intended for video game consoles, but it was hitched to the DVD 

wagon when the game market dried up and the DVD market exploded. 

Some DVD players from Samsung, Thomson (RCA), and Toshiba were built 

on Nuon technology. The extra processing power in a Nuon player enabled 

special features such as graphical overlays, digital zoom, and live thumbnails. 

Some DVD movies were produced with added content designed 

specifically for the Nuon platform. As of the beginning of 2002, four Nuonenhanced 

DVD movies were on the market: The Adventures of Buckaroo 

Banzai Special Edition, Bedazzled, Dr. Doolittle 2, and Planet of the Apes. 

In December 2001, VM Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and in 

March 2002 the company’s assets were purchased by Genesis Microchip. 

A new division, Nuon Semiconductor, was formed to market Nuon chips 

under the Aries name. On July 24, 2002, Genesis laid off the entire Nuon 

division.

What Are the Outputs of a DVD Player? 


DVD Technical 

Details 

DVD players usually have two or three kinds of video output (composite, 

s-video, and component) and three or four kinds of audio output (analog 

stereo, digital Pulse Code Modulation [PCM] stereo, Dolby Digital, and Digital 

Theater Systems [DTS]). More details will be covered in this chapter, particularly 

in the “How Do I Hookup a DVD Player?” section. 

Video Outputs 

Most DVD players have the following video output connections, which can 

carry an NTSC, PAL, or SECAM signal: 

• S-video (Y/C) A four-pin round plug that carries a brightness signal 

(Y) and two combined color signals (C). 

• Composite video (CVBS) A standard yellow RCA video plug that 

combines all three video signals into one. 

European players combine both of the signals above, along with others, 

into a 21-pin rectangular SCART connector (also known as a Peritel or Euro 

Connector [EC]). 

Some players may have additional video connections: 

• Component-interlaced analog video (EIA 770.1) that keeps all three 

video signals separate. This comes in two different formats: 

• Y'PbPr format Three RCA connectors or BNCs connectors. 

• Red Green Blue (RGB), RGB Composite Sync (RGBS), or RGB 

Horizontal Sync Vertical Sync (RGBHV) format SCART connector 

or 3, 4, or 5 RCA or BNC connectors. 



• Component progressive analog video that keeps all three video signals 

separate. It comes in Y'PbPr format with 3 RCA connectors, or 

RGB (or RGBS or RGBHV) formats with 3, 4, or 5 RCA or BNC connectors. 

• Radio-frequency (RF) video for connecting to the TV antenna input, 

usually on channel 3 or 4 using a screw-on, 75-ohm, F-type connector. 

It may require an adapter for TVs that have 300-ohm, two-screw, 

antenna wire connectors. 

• High-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), which is digital video in 

the Digital Visual Interface (DVI) format, plus digital audio. 

Most DVD players with component video outputs use YUV (Y'PbPr), 

which is incompatible with RGB equipment. European players with component 

video outputs usually provide RGBS signals on the SCART connector. 

YUV-to-RGB transcoders are rumored to be available for $200 to 

$300, but seem hard to track down. A $700 converter is available from 

avscience, and a $900 converter, the CVC 100, is available from Extron. 

Converters are also available from Altinex, Kramer, Monster Cable, and others. 

For progressive scan, you need a converter that can handle 31.5 kHz 

signals. Converters from s-video are also an option (available from Markertek 

and others). 

NOTE: The correct term for analog color-difference output is 

Y'Pb'Pr', not Y'Cb'Cr' (which is digital, not analog). To simplify things, 

this book sometimes uses the term YUV in the generic sense to refer 

to analog color difference signals. 

Specialty players from companies such as Function Communications, 

Theta Digital, and Vigatec are available with serial digital interface (SDI) output, 

but they connect only to high-end or production equipment. 

Audio Outputs 

Most DVD players have the following audio output connections: 

• Analog stereo audio, which may be in Dolby Surround, depending on 

the disc. 

• Two RCA connectors, red and white. 

• European players transmit analog stereo audio on the SCART 

connector.

• Digital audio with 1 to 5.1 channels: raw digital audio in PCM, MLP, 

Dolby Digital (AC-3), DTS, or MPEG-2. It requires an amplifier/ 

receiver with a built-in decoder (or a separate external decoder). These 

audio connectors come in two different formats: 

• S/PDIF coax format, as an RCA connector (IEC-958 Type II). 

• Toslink format, as a square optical connector (EIAJ CP-340 and 

EIAJ CP-1201). 

Some players may have additional audio connections: 

• Multichannel analog audio that requires a multichannel-ready or Dolby 

Digital-ready amplifier/receiver with six inputs. Provided on six RCA 

connectors or one DB-25 connector. 

• AC-3 RF audio, but only on combination laserdisc/DVD players. This 

carries audio from AC-3 laserdiscs and uses one RCA connector. 

• High-resolution digital audio in one of two formats: 

• 1394 (FireWire), which is a rectangular connector that requires a 

receiver with a 1394 audio input. 

• HDMI that requires a receiver/TV with HDMI input. 

Some players and receivers support only S/PDIF or only Toslink. If your 

player and receiver don’t match, you’ll need a converter, such as the Audio 

Authority 977Midiman C02, COP 1, or POF. 

Some players can output 96/24 PCM audio using a nonstandard variation 

of IEC-958 running at 6.144 Mbps instead of the normal limit of 3.1 

MHz. Note that the Content Scrambling System (CSS) license does not 

allow digital PCM output of CSS-protected material at 96 kHz. The player 

must downsample to 48 kHz. The Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai is the only DVD 

player (as of September 2002) with DTCP-protected 1394 output for full, 

multichannel 96/24 and 192/24 PCM. 

How Do I Hook up a DVD Player? 

DVD Technical Details 83 

It depends on your audio/video system and your DVD player. Most DVD 

players have two or three video hookup options and three audio hookup 

options. Choose the output format with the best quality (as indicated) that 

is supported by your video and audio systems. See “What Are the Outputs 

of a DVD Player?” earlier in this chapter, for output connector details. 

On many TVs, you will need to switch the TV to auxiliary input (line input). 

You might need to tune it to channel 0 to make this work.


If you want to hook multiple devices (DVD player, VCR, cable/satellite 

box, and WebTV) to a single TV, you will need one of the following: 

• A TV with multiple inputs. 

• A manual audio/video switchbox ($30 at electronics suppliers such as 

Comtrad). 

• An audio/video receiver (to switch between video sources via remote 

control). If you plan on getting an audio/video receiver, make sure it 

can handle the video format you want to use (component or s-video). 

Video Hookup 

The following video hookup options are available: 

• S-video (good quality) Almost all DVD players have s-video output, 

which looks much better than composite video and is only slightly 

inferior to component video. Hook an s-video cable from the player to 

the display (or to an audio/video receiver that can switch s-video). The 

round, four-pin connector may be labeled Y/C, s-video, or S-VHS. If 

you’re in Europe, you can use a SCART cable. 

• Composite video (okay quality) All DVD players have standard 

RCA (Cinch) baseband video connectors or a SCART connector (in 

Europe) to carry composite video. Hook a standard video cable or a 

SCART cable from the player to the display (or to an audio/video 

receiver to switch the video). The RCA video connectors are usually 

yellow and may be labeled video, CVBS, composite, or baseband. 

• Component video (better quality) Some U.S. and Japanese players 

have interlaced component YUV (Y'Pb'Pr') video output. Connectors 

may be labeled YUV, color difference, YPbPr, or Y/B-Y/R-Y, and 

they may be colored green/blue/red. (Some players incorrectly label 

the output as YCbCr.) Some players have RGB component video output 

via a SCART connector or three RCA or BNC connectors labeled 

R/G/B. Hook cables from the three video outputs of the player to the 

three video inputs of the display, or hook a SCART cable from the 

player to the display. 

NOTE: No standardization on the output interface format exists 

(voltage and setup). Players apparently use SMPTE 253M (286 mV 

sync, 0 percent luma setup with 700 mV peak, and ±300 mV color 

excursion), Betacam (286 mV sync, 7.5 percent luma setup with 714


mV peak, and ±350 mV color excursion), M-II (300 mV sync, 7.5 percent 

luma setup with 700 mV peak, and ±324.5 mV color excursion), 

or nonstandard variations. Note that outputs with no IRE setup can 

provide a wider range of luma values for a slightly better picture. For 

equipment with an RGB input, a YUV converter is usually needed. 

(Refer to “What Are the Outputs of a DVD Player?”) 

• Progressive video (even better quality) A few players have progressive-scan 

YUV (Y'Pb'Pr') or RGB (European players only) component 

video output. Hook decent-quality cables from the three video 

outputs of the player to the three video inputs of a progressive-scan 

line multiplier or a progressive-scan TV. You can also use a SCART 

cable if you have a European player and progressive-scan TV with the 

right connectors. Toshiba calls progressive scan ColorStream PRO. 

Progressive video preserves the progressive nature of most movies, 

providing a film-like, flicker-free image with improved vertical resolution 

and smoother motion. DVD computers can also produce progressive 

video from DVD. In this case, use a 15-pin computer video 

cable to connect the VGA output of the PC to the VGA input of a monitor 

or projector. If the projector only has RGB or YPbPr inputs, you’ll 

need a converter such as the Audio Authority 9A60. (Refer to “What’s 

a Progressive DVD Player?” in Chapter 1, “General DVD,” and 

“Will High-Definition DVDs or 720p DVDs Make Current Players and 

Discs Obsolete?” in Chapter 2, “DVD’s Relationship to Other Products 

and Technologies” for more information on progressive video. Also 

see “Can I Play Movies on My Computer?” in Chapter 4, “DVDs and 

Computers.”) 

• Digital video (best quality) A few players have HDMI (DVI) or 1394 

digital outputs. This preserves the true digital signal from the DVD. 

Hook an HDMI or 1394 cable from the output of the player to the HDMI 

or 1394 input of a digital television or other digital audio/video system. 

The same cable carries the digital audio signal. 

• RF video (worst quality) You should use this connection only if you 

have an old TV that has only a screw-on antenna input. Most DVD 

players don’t have RF output, so you will probably need to buy an RF 

modulator ($30 at Radio Shack, Comtrad, or Markertek). But first see 

the following warning about using a VCR as an RF modulator. If the 

player has built-in RF output, it will include audio, although it may only 

be mono. 

To set everything up, connect a coax cable from the yellow video output 

of the player to the input of the modulator. If you are not hooking the


player up to a separate stereo system, connect a coax cable from the 

left audio output of the player to the audio input of the modulator. (If you 

have a stereo modulator, connect another cable for the right audio 

channel.) 

Then connect a coax antenna cable from the modulator to the TV. 

You may need a 300-ohm to 75-ohm adapter (to switch between a 

two-wire antenna connection and a threaded coax connection). Tune 

the TV to channel 3 or 4 (or channel 36 in Germany and some other 

European countries) and set the switch on the modulator or the back 

of the player to match. If you also want to hook up a VCR, connect an 

antenna cable from the output of the VCR to the antenna input of the 

modulator. 

WARNING: If you connect your DVD player to a VCR and then to 

your TV (or to a combination TV/VCR), you will probably have problems 

with discs that enable the player’s Macrovision circuit. (See 

“Will I Have Problems Connecting My VCR Between My TV and My 

DVD Player?”) 

Also, some video projectors don’t recognize the 4.43 NTSC signal 

from NTSC discs in PAL players (see “Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? 

Does It Work with NTSC, PAL, and SECAM?” in Chapter 1). 

They see the 60 Hz scanning frequency and switch to NSTC, even 

though the color subcarrier is in PAL format. 

NOTE: Most DVD players support widescreen signaling, which 

tells a widescreen display what the aspect ratio is so that it can 

automatically adjust. One standard (International Telecommunication 

Union-Radio Communication Sector [ITU-R] BT.1119, used 

mostly in Europe) includes information in a video scanline. Another 

standard, for Y/C connectors, adds a 5V DC signal to the chroma 

line to designate a widescreen signal. Unfortunately, some switchers 

and amps throw away the DC component instead of passing it 

on to the TV. 

For more information on conversions between formats, see the amazing 

Notes on Video Conversion from the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ at 

www.repairfaq.org/sam/vodconv.htm.

Audio Hookup 

The following audio hookup options are available: 


NOTE: All DVD players have a built-in two-channel Dolby Digital 

(AC-3) decoder. Some can also decode MPEG or DTS audio. The 

decoder translates multichannel audio into two-channel PCM audio. 

This goes to the digital output and is also converted to analog for 

standard audio output. Some players have a built-in multichannel 

Dolby Digital decoder, but it’s only useful if you have an audio system 

with multichannel analog inputs. (See “Can You Explain This Dolby 

Digital, Dolby Surround, Dolby Pro Logic, DTS Stuff in Plain English?” 

for more explanation.) 

• Analog audio (two-channel stereo/Surround) (ok quality) All DVD 

players include two RCA connectors for stereo output. Any disc with 

multichannel audio is automatically decoded and downmixed to Dolby 

Surround output for connection to a regular stereo system or a Dolby 

Surround/Pro Logic system. Connect two audio cables between the 

player and receiver, amplifier, or TV. Connectors may be labeled audio 

or left/right; left is usually white, and right is usually red. If your TV has 

only one audio input, use the left channel from the DVD player. 

• Digital audio (best quality) Almost all DVD players have digital 

audio outputs. The same output can carry Dolby Digital (AC-3), PCM 

audio (including PCM from CDs), DTS, MPEG-2 audio (PAL/SECAM 

players only), and MLP audio (from DVD-Audio discs). For PCM, a digital 

receiver or an outboard DAC is required. For all other formats, the 

appropriate decoder is required in the receiver/amplifier or as a separate 

audio processor. 

For example, to play a disc with a Dolby Digital soundtrack using a 

digital audio connection, the receiver has to have the Dolby Digital feature. 

DTS discs require a player with the “DTS Digital Out” mark (older 

players don’t recognize DTS tracks) and the DTS decoding feature in 

the receiver. (All DVD players can play DTS CDs if a DTS decoder is 

connected to the digital PCM output signal.) Some DVD players have 

coax connectors (SP/DIF), some have fiber-optic connectors (Toslink), 

and many have both. Endless arguments take place over which of 

these is better. Coax seems to have more advocates, because it’s 

inherently simpler. Optical cable is not affected by electromagnetic


interference, but it’s more fragile and can’t curve tightly. Suffice it to 

say that because the signal is digital, a quality cable of either type will 

provide similar results. Hook a 75-ohm coax cable or a fiber-optic 

cable between the player and the receiver. You might need a converter; 

refer to “What Are the Outputs of a DVD Player?” 

Some players provide separate connectors for Dolby Digital/ 

DTS/MPEG and for PCM. On others, you may need to select the 

desired output format using the player setup menu or a switch on the 

back of the player. If you try to feed Dolby Digital or DTS to a digital 

receiver that doesn’t recognize it, you’ll get no audio. 

NOTE: Make sure you use a quality cable; a cheap RCA patch 

cable may cause the audio to sound poor or not work at all. Also, 

connecting to the AC-3/RF (laserdisc) input of a receiver will not 

work unless your receiver can autoswitch, because DVD digital 

audio is not in RF format (see the end of this list for info). 

• Component analog audio (excellent quality) Some players provide 

six-channel analog output from the internal Dolby Digital or DTS 

decoder. A few provide seven-channel output from 6.1 tracks. The digital-to-analog 

conversion quality in the player may be better or worse 

than in an external decoder. A receiver/amplifier with six or seven 

inputs (or more than one amplifier) is required; this type of unit is often 

called Dolby Digital-ready or AC-3-ready. Unfortunately, in many cases 

you won’t be able to adjust the volume of individual channels or perform 

bass management. Hook six (or seven) audio cables to the RCA 

connectors on the player and to the matching connectors on the 

receiver/amplifier. Some receivers require an adapter cable with a DB- 

25 connector on one end and RCA connectors on the other. 

NOTE: Until a digital connection standard is created, the only way 

to get multichannel PCM output from DVD-Audio players will be 

with analog connections or proprietary connections. If you plan to 

get a DVD-Audio player, you’ll need a receiver with analog multichannel 

inputs. 

• RF digital audio (laserdisc only) Combination laserdisc/DVD players 

include AC-3 RF output for digital audio from laserdiscs. Hook a 

coax cable to the AC-3 RF input of the receiver/processor. Note that 

digital audio from DVDs does not come out of the RF output; it comes 

out of the optical/coax outputs. Analog audio from LDs will come out

the stereo connectors, so three separate audio hookups are required 

to cover all variations. 

Will I Have Problems Connecting My VCR Between 

My TV and My DVD Player? 

It’s not a good idea to route the video from your DVD player through your 

VCR. Most movies use Macrovision protection (see “What Are the Copy 

Protection Issues” in Chapter 1), which affects VCRs and causes problems 

such as a repeated darkening and lightening of the picture. If your TV 

doesn’t have a direct video input, you may need a separate RF converter 

(refer to “How Do I Hook up a DVD Player?” in this chapter) or, better yet, 

get a new TV with direct video inputs. 

You may also have problems with a TV/VCR combo, because many of 

them route the video input through the VCR circuitry. The best solution is to 

get a box to strip Macrovision. 

Why Is the Audio or Video Bad? 

The number one cause of bad video is a poorly adjusted TV. The high 

fidelity of DVD-Video demands much more from the display. Turn the sharpness 

and brightness down. Refer to Chapter 1’s “What’s the Quality of 

DVD-Video?” for more information. For technical details of TV calibration, 

see Anthony Haukap’s FAQ: How to Adjust a TV. 

If you get audio hum or noisy video, it's probably caused by interference 

or a ground loop. Try a shorter cable. Make sure the cables are adequately 

shielded. Try turning off all equipment except the pieces you are testing. 

Move things farther apart. Try plugging into a different circuit. Make sure all 

equipment is plugged into the same outlet. Ground your braces. Wrap your 

entire house in tinfoil. For more on ground loops, see www.hut.fi/Misc/ 

Electronics/docs/groundloop/. More information for repair technicians is 

available at shophelper.net. 

If the video freezes or breaks up, it may be caused by scratches on the 

disc (refer to “How Should I Clean and Care for DVDs?” in Chapter 1). It’s 

normal for DVDs to freeze for a fraction of a second in the middle of a 

movie; this is a layer break (refer to “What Is a Layer Change? Where Is It 

on Specific Discs?” in Chapter 1). 

What Are the Sizes and Capacities of DVD? 


Many variations on the DVD theme have been created. Two physical sizes 

are available: 12 centimeter (4.7 inches) and 8 centimeter (3.1 inches), both


1.2 millimeters thick, made of two 0.6-millimeter substrates glued together. 

These are the same form factors as a CD. A DVD can be single-sided or 

double-sided. Each side can have one or two layers of data. The amount of 

video a disc can hold depends on how much audio accompanies it and 

how heavily the video and audio are compressed. The oft-quoted figure of 

133 minutes is apocryphal; a DVD with only one audio track easily holds 

over 160 minutes, and a single layer can actually hold up to 9 hours of video 

and audio if it’s compressed to VHS quality. 

At a rough average rate of 5 Mbps (4 Mbps for video and 1 Mbps for 2 

or 3 tracks or audio), a single-layer DVD can hold a little over 2 hours. A 

dual-layer disc can hold a 2-hour movie at an average of 9.5 Mbps (close 

to the 10.08 Mbps limit). 

A DVD-Video disc containing mostly audio can play for 13 hours (24 

hours with dual layers) using 48/16 PCM (slightly better than CD quality). It 

can play 160 hours of audio (or a whopping 295 hours with dual layers) 

using Dolby Digital 64 kbps compression of monophonic audio, which is 

perfect for audio books. 

DVD Capacities 

For reference, a CD-ROM holds about 650 MB, which is 0.64 gigabytes or 

0.68 billion bytes. Table 3-1 outlines the capacities of all the different versions 

of DVDs. SS/DS means single-sided/double-sided, SL/DL/ML means 

single-layer/dual-layer/mixed-layer (mixed means single layer on one side 

and dual layer on the other side), gig means gigabytes (2 30 ) and BB means 

billions of bytes (10 9 ). See note about giga versus billion in “Notation and 

Units” in Chapter 7, “Leftovers.” 

TABLE 3-1 Various DVD Capacities 

DVD-5 (12 cm, SS/SL) 4.37 gig (4.70 BB) of data, over 2 

hours of video 

DVD-9 (12 cm, SS/DL) 7.95 gig (8.54 BB), about 4 hours 

DVD-10 (12 cm, DS/SL) 8.74 gig (9.40 BB), about 4.5 hours 

DVD-14 (12 cm, DS/ML) 12.32 gig (13.24 BB), about 6.5 hours 

DVD-18 (12 cm, DS/DL) 15.90 gig (17.08 BB), over 8 hours 

DVD-1 (8 cm, SS/SL) 1.36 gig (1.46 BB), about half an hour 

DVD-2 (8 cm, SS/DL) 2.47 gig (2.66 BB), about 1.3 hours 

DVD-3 (8 cm, DS/SL) 2.72 gig (2.92 BB), about 1.4 hours 

DVD-4 (8 cm, DS/DL) 4.95 gig (5.32 BB), about 2.5 hours

DVD-R 1.0 (12 cm, SS/SL) 3.68 gig (3.95 BB) 

DVD-R 2.0 (12 cm, SS/SL) 4.37 gig (4.70 BB) 

DVD-R 2.0 (12 cm, DS/SL) 8.75 gig (9.40 BB) 

DVD-RW 2.0 (12 cm, SS/SL) 4.37 gig (4.70 BB) 

DVD-RW 2.0 (12 cm, DS/SL) 8.75 gig (9.40 BB) 

DVD�R 2.0 (12 cm, SS/SL) 4.37 gig (4.70 BB) 

DVD�R 2.0 (12 cm, DS/SL) 8.75 gig (9.40 BB) 

DVD�RW 2.0 (12 cm, SS/SL) 4.37 gig (4.70 BB) 

DVD�RW 2.0 (12 cm, DS/SL) 8.75 gig (9.40 BB) 

DVD-RAM 1.0 (12 cm, SS/SL) 2.40 gig (2.58 BB) 

DVD-RAM 1.0 (12 cm, DS/SL) 4.80 gig (5.16 BB) 

DVD-RAM 2.0 (12 cm, SS/SL) 4.37 gig (4.70 BB)* 

DVD-RAM 2.0 (12 cm, DS/SL) 8.75 gig (9.40 BB)* 

DVD-RAM 2.0 (8 cm, SS/SL) 1.36 gig (1.46 BB)* 

DVD-RAM 2.0 (8 cm, DS/SL) 2.47 gig (2.65 BB)* 

CD-ROM (12 cm, SS/SL) 0.635 gig (0.650 BB) 

CD-ROM (8 cm, SS/SL) 0.180 gig (0.194 BB) 

DDCD-ROM (12 cm, SS/SL) 1.270 gig (1.364 BB) 

DDCD-ROM (8 cm, SS/SL) 0.360 gig (0.387 BB) 


*Formatted DVD-RAM discs have slightly less than the stated capacity. For 

example, the contents of a completely full DVD-R will not quite fit on a 

DVD-RAM. 

TIP: It takes about 2 gigabytes to store 1 hour of average video. 

The increase in capacity from CD-ROMs is due to a smaller pit length 

(�2.08x), tighter tracks (�2.16x), a slightly larger data area (�1.02x), more 

efficient channel bit modulation (�1.06x), more efficient error correction 

(�1.32x), and less sector overhead (�1.06x). The total increase for a single 

layer is about seven times a standard CD-ROM. A slightly different explanation 

can be found at www.mpeg.org/MPEG/DVD/General/Gain.html. 

The capacity of a dual-layer disc is slightly less than double that of a single-layer 

disc. The laser has to read “through” the outer layer to the inner


layer (a distance of 20 to 70 microns). To reduce interlayer crosstalk, the 

minimum pit length of both layers is increased from 0.4 to 0.44 micrometers. 

To compensate, the reference scanning velocity is slightly faster, 

3.84 meters per second, as opposed to 3.49 meters per second for singlelayer 

discs. Longer pits, spaced farther apart, are easier to read correctly 

and are less susceptible to jitter. The increased length means fewer pits per 

revolution, which results in a reduced capacity per layer. 

NOTE: Older versions of Windows that use FAT16 instead of UDF, 

FAT32, or NTFS to read a DVD may run into problems with the 4 gigabyte 

volume size limit. FAT16 also has a 2 gigabyte file size limit, while 

FAT32 has a 4 gigabyte file size limit. (NTFS has a 2 TB limit, so we’re 

okay there for a while.) 

See “What About Recordable DVDs: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, 

DVD�RW, and DVD�R?” in Chapter 4 for details of writable DVDs. More 

info on disc specifications and manufacturing can be found at Disctronics, 

Cinram, Panasonic, Technicolor, and other disc replicator sites. 

When Did Double-Sided, Dual-Layer Discs (DVD-18) 

Become Available? 

These super-sized discs are used for data but are not commonly used for 

movies. The first commercial DVD-18 title, The Stand, was released in 

October of 1999. A DVD-18 requires a completely different way of creating 

two layers. A single-sided, dual-layer disc (DVD-9) is produced by putting 

one data layer on each substrate and gluing the halves together with transparent 

adhesive so that the pickup laser can read both layers from one side. 

But in order to get four layers, each substrate needs to hold two. This 

requires stamping a second data layer on top of the first, a much more 

complicated prospect. Only a few replicators can make DVD-18s, and the 

low yield (the number of usable discs in a batch) makes it more difficult and 

expensive than making DVD-9s. 

What Are the Video Details? 

DVD-Video is an application of DVD-ROM, according to the DVD Forum 

specification (see “Who Invtented DVD Technology and Who Owns It? Who 

Should Be Contacted for Specifications and Licensing?” in Chapter 6, 

“Miscellaneous”). DVD-Video is also an application of MPEG-1, MPEG-2,


Dolby Digital, DTS, and other formats. This means the DVD-Video format 

defines subsets of these standards and formats to be applied in practice to 

make discs intended for DVD-Video players. DVD-ROM can contain any 

desired digital information, but DVD-Video is limited to certain data types 

designed for television reproduction. 

A disc has one track (or stream) of MPEG-2 constant bit rate (CBR) or 

variable bit rate (VBR) compressed digital video. A restricted version of 

MPEG-2 Main Profile at Main Level (MP@ML) is used. SP@ML is also supported. 

MPEG-1 CBR and VBR video are also allowed, along with 525/60 

(NTSC 29.97 interlaced frames per second [fps]) and 625/50 (PAL/SECAM 

25 interlaced frames/sec) video display systems. Coded frame rates of 24 

fps progressive from film, 25 fps interlaced from PAL video, and 29.97 fps 

interlaced from NTSC video are typical. 

MPEG-2 progressive_sequence is not allowed, but interlaced sequences 

can contain progressive pictures and progressive macroblocks. In the case 

of 24 fps source, the encoder embeds MPEG-2 repeat first field flags into 

the video stream to make the decoder either perform 2-3 pulldown for 60 

Hz NTSC displays (actually 59.94 Hz) or 2-2 pulldown (with a resulting 4 

percent speedup) for 50 Hz PAL/SECAM displays. In other words, the 

player doesn’t know what the encoded rate is; it simply follows the MPEG-2 

encoder’s instructions to produce the predetermined display rate of 25 or 

29.97 fps. This is one of the main reasons two kinds of discs are available, 

one for NTSC and one for PAL. (Very few players convert from PAL to NTSC 

or NTSC to PAL. Refer to Chapter 1’s “Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? 

Does It Work with NTSC, PAL, and SECAM?”) 

Because film transfers for NTSC and PAL typically use the same coded 

picture rate (24 fps) even though PAL resolution is higher, the PAL version 

takes more space on the disc. The raw increase before encoding is 20 percent 

(480 to 576), but the final result is closer to 15 percent, depending on 

encoder efficiency. This translates to an increase of 600 to 700 MB on PAL 

discs compared to NTSC discs. 

It’s interesting to note that even interlaced source video is often encoded 

as progressive-structured MPEG pictures, with interlaced field-encoded 

macroblocks used only when needed for motion. Most film source is 

encoded progressive (the inverse telecine process during encoding removes 

duplicate 2-3 pulldown fields from videotape source), and most 

video sources are encoded interlaced. These may be mixed on the same 

disc, such as an interlaced logo followed by a progressive movie. 

See “What Is the Difference Between Interlaced and Progressive Video?” 

for an explanation of progressive and interlaced scanning. See Chapter 1’s 

“What’s a Progressive DVD Player?” for progressive-scan players. See the 

MPEG page at www.mpeg.org for more information on MPEG-2 video.


Picture dimensions are at maximum 720�480 (for 525/60 NTSC display) 

or 720�576 (for 625/50 PAL/SECAM display). Pictures are subsampled 

from 4:2:2 ITU-R BT.601 down to 4:2:0 before encoding, allocating an average 

of 12 bits per pixel in Y'CbCr format. (Color depth is 24 bits, because 

color samples are shared across 4 pixels.) DVD pixels are not square (see 

“What’s Widescreen? How Do the Aspect Ratios Work?”). 

The uncompressed source is 124.416 Mbps for video source 

(720�480�12�30 or 720�576�12�25) or 99.533 or 119.439 Mbps for 

film source (720�480�12�24 or 720�576�12�24). In analog output 

terms, lines of horizontal resolution are usually around 500, but they can go 

up to 540 (see “What Do Lines of Resolution Mean?”). The typical luma frequency 

response maintains full amplitude between 5.0 and 5.5 MHz. This 

is below the 6.75 MHz native frequency of the MPEG-2 digital signal (in 

other words, most players fall short of reproducing the full quality of a DVD). 

Chroma frequency response is half that of luma. 

Allowable picture resolutions are as follows: 

MPEG-2, 525/60 (NTSC) 720�480, 704�480, 352�480, 352�240 

MPEG-2, 625/50 (PAL) 720�576, 704�576, 352�576, 352�240 

MPEG-1, 525/60 (NTSC) 352�240 

MPEG-1, 625/50 (PAL) 352�288 

Different players use different numbers of bits for the video digital-toanalog 

converter, with the best-quality players using 10 or 12 bits. This has 

nothing to do with the MPEG decoding process, because each original 

component signal is limited to 8 bits per sample. More bits in the player 

provide more “headroom” and more signal levels during the digital-toanalog 

conversion, which can help produce a better picture. 

The maximum video bit rate is 9.8 Mbps. The average video bit rate is 

around 4 Mbps but depends entirely on the length, quality, amount of audio, 

and so on. This is a 31:1 reduction from an uncompressed 124 Mbps video 

source (or a 25:1 reduction from a 100 Mbps film source). Raw channel data 

is read off the disc at a constant 26.16 Mbps. After 8/16 demodulation, it’s 

down to 13.08 Mbps. After error correction, the user data stream goes into 

the track buffer at a constant 11.08 Mbps. The track buffer feeds system 

stream data out at a variable rate of up to 10.08 Mbps. After system overhead, 

the maximum rate of combined elementary streams (audio � video � 

subpicture) is 10.08. MPEG-1 video rate is limited to 1.856 Mbps with a typical 

rate of 1.15 Mbps. 

Still frames (encoded as MPEG I-frames) are supported and can be displayed 

for a specific amount of time or indefinitely. These are used for 

menus or slideshows. Still frames can be accompanied by audio.

A disc can also have up to 32 subpicture streams that overlay the video 

for subtitles, captions for the hard of hearing, captions for children, karaoke, 

menus, and simple animation. These are full-screen, run-length-encoded 

bitmaps with 2 bits per pixel, giving 4 color values, and 4 transparency values. 

For each group of subpictures, 4 colors are selected from a palette of 

16 (from the YCbCr gamut), and 4 contrast values are selected out of 16 

levels from transparent to opaque. Because one of the four values is usually 

100 percent transparency (to let the video show through), only three 

combinations of colors and transparencies are left, making overlay graphics 

rather crude. Subpicture display command sequences can be used to 

create effects such as scrolling, movement, color/highlights, and fades. The 

maximum subpicture data rate is 3.36 Mbps, with a maximum size per 

frame of 53,220 bytes. 

In addition to subtitles in subpicture streams, DVD also supports NTSC 

Closed Captions. Closed Caption text is stored in the video stream as 

MPEG-2 user data (in packet headers) and is regenerated by the player as 

a line-21 analog waveform in the video signal, which must be decoded by 

a Closed Caption device in the television. Although the DVD-Video spec 

mentions NTSC only, no technical reason exists why PAL/SECAM DVD 

players could not be made to output the Closed Caption text in the World 

System Teletext (WST) format. The only trick is to deal with frame rate differences. 

An unfortunate note is that DVD Closed Caption MPEG-2 storage 

format is slightly different than the ATSC format. See Chapter 1’s “What’s 

the Difference Between Closed Captions and Subtitles?” for more about 

Closed Captions. 

What Do Lines of Resolution Mean? 


Everyone gets confused by the term lines of horizontal resolution, also 

known as LoHR or TV lines (TVL). It’s a carryover from analog video, is 

poorly understood, and is inconsistently measured and reported by manufacturers. 

However, we’re stuck with it until all video is digital and we can 

just report resolution in pixels. 

Technically, lines of horizontal resolution refer to visually resolvable vertical 

lines per picture height. In other words, it’s measured by counting the 

number of vertical black and white lines that can be distinguished in an area 

that is as wide as the picture is high. The idea is to make the measurement 

independent of the aspect ratio. Lines of horizontal resolution apply both to 

television displays and to signal formats, such as those produced by a DVD 

player. Most TVs have ludicrously high numbers listed for their horizontal 

resolution. 

Because DVD has 720 horizontal pixels (on both NTSC and PAL discs), 

the horizontal resolution can be calculated by dividing 720 by 1.33 (from the


4:3 aspect ratio) to get 540 lines. On a 1.78 (16:9) display, you get 405 lines. 

In practice, most DVD players provide about 500 lines instead of 540 

because of filtering and low-quality digital-to-analog converters. VHS has 

about 230 (172 widescreen) lines, broadcast TV has about 330 (248 

widescreen), and laserdiscs have about 425 (318 widescreen). 

Don’t confuse lines of horizontal resolution (resolution along the X axis) 

with scan lines (resolution along the Y axis). DVD produces exactly 480 

scan lines of an active picture for NTSC and 576 for PAL. The NTSC standard 

has 525 total scan lines, but only 480 to 483 or so are visible. (The 

extra lines contain sync pulses and other information, such as the Closed 

Captions that are encoded into line 21.) PAL has 625 total scan lines, but 

only about 576 to 580 are visible. Because all video formats (VHS, laserdisc, 

and broadcast) have the same number of scan lines, it’s the horizontal resolution 

that makes the big difference in picture quality. 

For more information, see Allan Jayne’s TV and Video Resolution Explained 

(http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/vidres.htm). 

What’s Widescreen? How Do the Aspect Ratios Work? 

Video can be stored on a DVD in 4:3 format (the standard TV shape) or 16:9 

(widescreen). The width-to-height ratio of standard television is 4 to 3; in 

other words, 1.33 times wider than high. New widescreen televisions, 

specifically those designed for HDTV, have a ratio of 16 to 9, that is, 1.78 

times wider than high. 

DVD is specially designed to support widescreen displays. Widescreen 

16:9 video, such as from a 16:9 video camera, can be stored on the disc in 

anamorphic form, meaning the picture is squeezed horizontally to fit the 

standard 4:3 rectangle. It is then unsqueezed during playback. 

Things get more complicated when film is transferred to video, because 

most movies today have an aspect ratio of 1.66, 1.85 (flat), or 2.40 (scope). 

Because these don’t match 1.33 or 1.78 TV shapes, two processes are 

employed to make various movie pegs fit TV holes. 

Letterbox (often abbreviated to LBX) means the video is presented in its 

theatrical aspect ratio, which is wider than standard or widescreen TV. 

Black bars, called mattes, are used to cover the gaps at the top and bottom. 

A 1.85 movie that has been letterboxed for a 1.33 display has thinner 

mattes than a 2.4 movie letterboxed to 1.33 (28 percent of the display 

height versus 44 percent), although the former are about the same thickness 

as those of a 2.4 movie letterboxed to 1.78 (26 percent of display 

height). The mattes used to letterbox a 1.85 movie for 1.78 display are so 

thin (2 percent) that they’re hidden by the overscan of most widescreen


TVs. Some movies, especially animated features and European films, have 

an aspect ratio of 1.66, which can be letterboxed for 1.33 display or sideboxed 

(windowboxed) for a 1.78 display. 

Pan and scan means the thinner TV “window” is panned across the 

wider movie picture, chopping off the sides. However, most movies today 

are shot soft matte, which means a full 1.33 aspect film frame is used. (The 

cinematographer has two sets of frame marks in his or her viewfinder, one 

for 1.33 and one for 1.85, so he or she can allow for both formats.) The top 

and bottom are masked off in the theater, but when the film is transferred to 

video, the full 1.33 frame can be used in the pan and scan process. Pan and 

scan is primarily used for 1.33 formatting, not for 1.78 formatting, because 

widescreen fans prefer that letterboxing be used to preserve the theatrical 

effect. For more details and nice visual aids, see Leopold’s How Film Is 

Transferred to Video page (www.cs.tut.fi/~leopold/Ld/FilmToVideo/). A list of 

movie aspect ratios is at The Widescreen Movie Center (www.widemovies.com). 

Once the video is formatted to a full-screen or widescreen format, it’s 

encoded and stored on DVD discs. DVD players have four playback modes, 

one for 4:3 video and three for 16:9 video: 

• Full frame (4:3 video for 4:3 display) 

• Auto letterbox (16:9 anamorphic video for 4:3 display) 

• Auto pan and scan (16:9 anamorphic video for 4:3 display) 

• Widescreen (16:9 anamorphic video for 16:9 display) 

Video stored in 4:3 format is not changed by the player. It appears normally 

on a standard 4:3 display. Widescreen systems either enlarge it or add 

black bars to the sides. 4:3 video may have been formatted with letterboxing 

or pan and scan before being transferred to DVD. All formatting done to 

the video prior to it being stored on the disc is transparent to the player. It 

merely reproduces it as a standard 4:3 TV picture. Video that is letterboxed 

before being encoded can be flagged so that the player will tell a 

widescreen TV to automatically expand the picture. Unfortunately, some 

discs (such as Fargo) do not flag the video properly, and worse, some players 

ignore the flags. 

The beauty of anamorphosis is that less of the picture is wasted on letterbox 

mattes. DVD has a frame size designed for a 1.33 display, so the 

video still has to be made to fit, but because it’s only squeezed horizontally, 

33 percent more pixels (25 percent of the total pixels in a video frame) are 

used to store an active picture instead of black mattes. Anamorphic video 

is best displayed on widescreen equipment, which stretches the video back


to its original width. Alternatively, many new 4:3 TVs can reduce the vertical 

scan area to restore the proper aspect ratio without losing resolution (an 

automatic trigger signal is sent to European TVs on SCART pin 8). Even 

though almost all computers have 4:3 monitors, they have a higher resolution 

than TVs so they can display the full widescreen picture in a window 

(854�480 pixels or bigger for NTSC, and 1024�576 or bigger for PAL). 

Anamorphic video can be converted by the player for display on standard 

4:3 TVs in letterbox or pan and scan form. If anamorphic video is 

shown unchanged on a standard 4:3 display, people will look tall and skinny 

as if they have been on a crash diet. DVD players’ setup options allow viewers 

to indicate whether they have a 16:9 or 4:3 TV. In the case of a 4:3 TV, a 

second option lets the viewer indicate a preference for how the player will 

reformat anamorphic video: automatic letterbox or automatic pan and scan. 

For automatic letterbox mode, the player generates black bars at the top 

and bottom of the picture (60 lines each for NTSC, 72 for PAL). This leaves 

three-quarters of the height remaining, creating a shorter but wider rectangle 

(1.78:1). In order to fit this shorter rectangle, the anamorphic picture is 

squeezed vertically using a letterbox filter that combines every 4 lines into 

3, reducing the vertical resolution from 480 scan lines to 360. (If the video 

was already letterboxed to fit the 1.78 aspect, the mattes generated by the 

player will extend the mattes in the video.) The vertical squeezing exactly 

compensates for the original horizontal squeezing so that the movie is 

shown in its full width. Some players have better letterbox filters than others, 

using weighted averaging to combine lines (scaling four lines into three 

or merging the boundary lines) rather than simply dropping one out of every 

four lines. Widescreen video can be letterboxed to 4:3 on expensive studio 

equipment before it’s stored on the disc, or it can be stored in anamorphic 

form and letterboxed to 4:3 in the player. If you compare the two, the letterbox 

mattes will be identical, but the picture quality of the studio version 

may be slightly better. (See Chapter 1’s “How Do I Get Rid of the Black Bars 

at the Top and Bottom?” for more about letterboxing.) 

For automatic pan and scan mode, the anamorphic video is unsqueezed 

to 16:9, and the sides are cropped off so that a portion of the image is 

shown at its full height on a 4:3 screen by following a center of interest offset 

encoded in the video stream according to the preferences of those who 

transferred the film to video. The pan and scan “window” is 75 percent of 

the full width, which reduces the horizontal pixels from 720 to 540. The pan 

and scan window can only travel laterally. This does not duplicate a true pan 

and scan process in which the window can also travel up and down and 

zoom in and out. 

Auto pan and scan has three strikes against it: it doesn’t provide the 

same artistic control as studio pan and scan, a loss of detail occurs when 

the picture is scaled up, and equipment for recording picture shift informa-


tion is not widely available. Therefore, no anamorphic movies have been 

released with auto pan and scan enabled, although a few discs use the pan 

and scan feature in menus so that the same menu video can be used in 

both widescreen and 4:3 mode. In order to present a quality full-screen 

picture to the vast majority of TV viewers yet still provide the best experience 

for widescreen owners, some DVD producers choose to put two versions 

on a single disc: 4:3 studio pan and scan and 16:9 anamorphic. 

The playback of widescreen material can be restricted by the disc producer. 

Programs can be marked for the following display modes: 

• 4:3 full frame 

• 4:3 letterbox (for sending a letterbox expand signal to a 

widescreen TV) 

• 16:9 letterbox only (the player is not allowed to pan and scan on 

a 4:3 TV) 

• 16:9 pan and scan only (the player is not allowed to letterbox on 

a 4:3 TV) 

• 16:9 letterbox or pan and scan (the viewer can select pan and scan 

or letterbox on a 4:3 TV) 

You can usually tell if a disc contains anamorphic video if the package 

says “enhanced for 16:9 widescreen” or something similar. If all it says is 

widescreen, it may be letterboxed to 4:3, not 16:9. Widescreen Review has 

a list of anamorphic DVD titles. 

Additional explanations of how anamorphic video works can be found on 

the Web at Greg Lovern’s What’s an Anamorphic DVD? page, Bill Hunt’s 

Ultimate Guide to Anamorphic Widescreen DVD, David Lockwood’s What 

Shape Image?, and Dan Ramer’s What the Heck Is Anamorphic?. More 

information can be found at the Anamorphic Widescreen Support Page and 

the Letterbox/Widescreen Advocacy Page. You might also be interested in 

Guy Wright’s The Widescreen Scam. See Chapter 1 for further discussion 

of letterboxing. 

Anamorphosis causes no problems with line doublers and other video 

scalers, which simply duplicate the scan lines before they are stretched out 

by the widescreen display. 

For anamorphic video, the pixels are fatter. Different pixel aspect ratios 

(none of them square) are used for each aspect ratio and resolution; 720pixel 

and 704-pixel sizes have the same aspect ratio because the first 

includes overscan. Note that conventional values of 1.0950 and 0.9157 are 

for height and width (and are tweaked to match scanning rates). The following 

minitable uses less confusing width/height values (y/x � h/w).


720�480 720�576 

704�480 704�576 352�480 352�576 

4:3 0.909 1.091 1.818 2.182 

16:9 1.212 1.455 2.424 2.909 

For the gory details of video resolution and pixel aspect ratios, see Jukka 

Aho’s Quick Guide to Digital Video Resolution and Aspect Ratio Conversions 

(www.iki.fi./znark/video/conversion). 

What Are the Audio Details? 

DVD comes in two home-entertainment flavors: DVD-Video and DVD- 

Audio. Each supports high-definition multichannel audio, but DVD-Audio 

includes higher-quality PCM audio. 

Details of DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD) 

Linear Pulse-Code Modulation (LPCM) is mandatory in DVD-Audio discs, 

with up to six channels at sample rates of 48/96/192 kHz (also 44.1/88.2/ 

176.4 kHz) and sample sizes of 16/20/24 bits. This enables a theoretical frequency 

response of up to 96 kHz and a dynamic range of up to 144 dB. 

Multichannel PCM is downmixable by the player, although at 192 and 176.4 

kHz only two channels are available. Sampling rates and sizes can vary for 

different channels by using a predefined set of groups. The maximum data 

rate is 9.6 Mbps. 

The DVD Forum’s Working Group 4 (WG4) decided to include lossless 

compression, and on August 5, 1998 approved Meridian’s Meridian Lossless 

Packing (MLP) scheme, licensed by Dolby. MLP removes redundancy 

from the signal to achieve a compression ratio of about 2:1 while allowing 

the PCM signal to be completely recreated by the MLP decoder (required 

in all DVD-Audio players). MLP enables playing times of about 74 to 135 

minutes of 6-channel 96 kHz/24-bit audio on a single layer (compared to 45 

minutes without packing). Two-channel 192-kHz/24-bit playing times are 

about 120 to 140 minutes (compared to 67 minutes without packing). 

Other audio formats of DVD-Video (Dolby Digital, MPEG audio, and DTS, 

described later) are optional on DVD-Audio discs, although Dolby Digital is 

required for audio content that has associated video. A subset of DVD- 

Video features (no angles and no seamless branching, and so on) is also 

allowed. Most DVD-Audio players are “universal” players that play DVD- 

Video discs as well. 

DVD-Audio includes specialized downmixing features for PCM channels. 

Unlike DVD-Video, where the decoder determines how to mix from six chan-

nels down to two, DVD-Audio includes coefficent tables to control the mixdown 

and avoid volume buildup from channel aggregation. Up to 16 tables 

can be defined by each audio title set (album), and each track can be identified 

with a table. Coefficients range from 0 dB to 60 dB. This feature goes 

by the horribly contrived name of system-managed audio resource technique 

(SMART). (Dolby Digital, supported in both DVD-Audio and DVD- 

Video, also includes downmixing information that can be set at encode time.) 

DVD-Audio provides up to 99 still images per track (at typical compression 

levels, about 20 images fit into the 2 MB buffer in the player), with limited 

transitions (cut in/out, fade in/out, dissolve, and wipe). Unlike 

DVD-Video, the user can move at will through the slides without interrupting 

the audio as it plays; this is called a browsable slideshow. Onscreen displays 

can be used for synchronized lyrics and navigation menus. A special 

simplified navigation mode can be used on players without a video display. 

Sony and Philips are promoting SACD, a competing DVD-based format 

using direct stream digital (DSD) encoding with sampling rates of 2.8224 

MHz. DSD is based on the pulse-density modulation (PDM) technique that 

uses single bits to represent the incremental rise or fall of the audio waveform. 

This supposedly improves quality by removing the brick wall filters 

required for PCM encoding. It also makes downsampling more accurate 

and efficient. DSD provides a frequency response from DC to over 100 kHz 

with a dynamic range of over 120 dB. DSD includes a lossless encoding 

technique that produces approximately a 2:1 data reduction by predicting 

each sample and then run-length encoding the error signal. The maximum 

data rate is 2.8 Mbps. 

SACD includes a physical watermarking feature, pit signal processing 

(PSP), which modulates the width of pits on the disc to store a digital watermark 

(data is stored in the pit length). The optical pickup must contain 

additional circuitry to read the PSP watermark, which is compared to information 

on the disc to make sure it’s legitimate. Because of the requirement 

for new watermarking circuitry, protected SACD discs are not playable in 

existing DVD-ROM drives. 

SACD includes text and still graphics, but no video. Sony says the format 

is aimed at audiophiles and is not intended to replace the audio CD format. 

See “What About DVD-Audio or Music DVDs?” in Chapter 1 for more general 

info on DVD-Audio and SACD. 

Audio Details of DVD-Video 


The following details are for audio tracks on DVD-Video. Some DVD manufacturers 

such as Pioneer are developing audio-only players using the DVD- 

Video format. Some DVD-Video discs contain mostly audio with only still 

video frames.


A DVD-Video disc can have up to eight audio tracks (streams) associated 

with each video track (or each video angle). Each audio track can be in one 

of three formats: 

• Dolby Digital (AC-3) 1 to 5.1 channels 

• MPEG-2 audio 1 to 5.1 or 7.1 channels 

• PCM 1 to 8 channels. 

Two additional optional formats are provided: DTS and Sony Dynamic 

Digital Sound (SDDS). Both require the appropriate decoders and are not 

supported by all players. 

The “.1” refers to a low-frequency effects (LFE) channel that connects to 

a subwoofer. This channel carries an emphasized bass audio signal. 

Linear PCM is uncompressed (lossless) digital audio, the same format 

used on CDs and most studio masters. It can be sampled at 48 or 96 kHz 

with 16, 20, or 24 bits per sample, with 1 to 8 channels used. (Audio CDs are 

limited to 44.1 kHz at 16 bits.) The maximum bit rate is 6.144 Mbps, which 

limits sample rates and bit sizes when five or more channels are used. 

It’s generally felt that the 120 dB dynamic range of 20 bits, combined 

with a frequency response of around 22,000 Hz from 48 kHz sampling, is 

adequate for high-fidelity sound reproduction. However, additional bits and 

higher sampling rates are useful in audiophile applications, studio work, 

noise shaping, advanced digital processing, and three-dimensional sound 

field reproduction. DVD players are required to support all the variations of 

LPCM, but many subsample 96 kHz down to 48 kHz, and some may not 

use all 20 or 24 bits. The signal provided on the digital output for external 

digital-to-analog converters may be limited to less than 96 kHz and less 

than 24 bits. 

Dolby Digital is multichannel digital audio, using lossy AC-3 coding technology 

from original PCM source with a sample rate of 48 kHz at up to 24 

bits. The bitrate is 64 kbps to 448 kbps, with 384 or 448 being the normal 

rate for 5.1 channels, and 192 being the typical rate for stereo (with or without 

surround encoding). (Most Dolby Digital decoders support up to 640 

Kbps, so nonstandard discs with 640 kbps tracks play on many players.) 

The channel combinations are (front/surround) 1/0, 1�1/0 (dual mono), 2/0, 

3/0, 2/1, 3/1, 2/2, and 3/2. The LFE channel is optional with all eight combinations. 

For details, see the Advanced Television Systems Committee 

(ATSC) document A/52 at www.atsc.org/document.html. Dolby Digital is the 

format used for audio tracks on almost all DVDs. 

MPEG audio is multichannel digital audio, using lossy compression from 

original PCM format with a sample rate of 48 kHz at 16 or 20 bits. Both


MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats are supported. The variable bit rate is 32 to 

912 kbps, with 384 being the normal average rate. MPEG-1 is limited to 384 

kbps. Channel combinations are (front/surround) 1/0, 2/0, 2/1, 2/2, 3/0, 3/1, 

3/2, and 5/2. The LFE channel is optional with all combinations. The 7.1 

channel format adds left-center and right-center channels, but it will probably 

be rare for home use. 

MPEG-2 surround channels are in an extension stream matrixed onto the 

MPEG-1 stereo channels, which makes MPEG-2 audio backwards compatible 

with MPEG-1 hardware (an MPEG-1 system will only see the two 

stereo channels.) MPEG Layer 3 (MP3) and MPEG-2 AAC (also known as 

NBC or unmatrix) are not supported by the DVD-Video standard. MPEG 

audio is not used much on DVDs, although some inexpensive DVD recording 

software uses MPEG audio, even on NTSC discs, which goes against 

the DVD standard and is not supported by all NTSC players. 

DTS Digital Surround is an optional multichannel digital audio format, 

using lossy compression from PCM at 48 kHz at up to 24 bits. The data rate 

is from 64 to 1536 kbps, with typical rates of 754.5 and 1509.25 for 5.1 channels 

and 377 or 754 for 2 channels. (The DTS Coherent Acoustics format 

supports a variable data rate for lossless compression up to 4096 kbps, but 

this isn’t supported on DVDs. DVDs also do not allow DTS sampling rates 

other than 48 kHz.) Channel combinations are (front/surround) 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 

2/1, 2/2, and 3/2. The LFE channel is optional with all combinations. 

DTS ES supports 6.1 channels in two ways: through a Dolby Surround 

EX-compatible matrixed rear-center channel, or through a discrete seventh 

channel. DTS also has a 7.1-channel mode (8 discrete channels), but no 

DVDs have used it yet. The seven-channel and eight-channel modes 

require a new decoder. 

The DVD standard includes an audio stream format reserved for DTS, 

but many older players ignore it. The DTS format used on DVDs is different 

from the one used in theaters (Audio Processing Technology’s apt-X, which 

is an ADPCM coder, not a psycho-acoustic coder). All DVD players can play 

DTS audio CDs, because the standard PCM stream holds the DTS code. 

See “What’s the Deal with DTS and DVDs?” in Chapter 1 for general DTS 

information. For more info, visit www.dtstech.com and read Adam Barratt’s 

article at home.clearnet.nz/pages/adbarr/page1.html. 

SDDS is an optional multichannel (5.1 or 7.1) digital audio format, compressed 

from PCM at 48 kHz. The data rate can go up to 1280 kbps. SDDS 

is a theatrical film soundtrack format based on the Adaptive Transform 

Acoustic Coding (ATRAC) compression format also used by Minidisc. Sony 

has not announced any plans to support SDDS on DVD. 

THX (Tomlinson Holman Experiment) is not an audio format. It’s a certification 

and quality control program that applies to sound systems and


acoustics in theaters, home equipment, and digital mastering processes. 

The LucasFilm THX Digital Mastering program uses a patented process to 

track video quality through the multiple video generations needed to make 

a final format disc or tape, set up video monitors to ensure the filmmaker is 

seeing a precise rendition of what is on tape before approving the master, 

and other steps along the way. 

THX-certified 4.0 amplifiers enhance Dolby Pro Logic with the following: 

a crossover that sends bass from front channels to the subwoofer; reequalization 

on front channels (to compensate for the high-frequency boost 

in the theater mix designed for speakers behind the screen); timbre matching 

on the rear channels; decorrelation of rear channels; a bass curve that 

emphasizes low frequencies. THX-certified 5.1 amplifiers enhance Dolby 

Digital and improve on 4.0 with the following: rear speakers are full range, 

so the crossover sends bass from both front and rear to the subwoofer; 

decorrelation is turned on automatically when rear channels have the same 

audio, but not during split-surround effects, which don’t need to be decorrelated. 

More info can be found at the Home THX Program Overview 

(www.thx.com/consumer_products/home_overview.html). 

Discs containing 525/60 (NTSC) video must use PCM or Dolby Digital on 

at least one track. Discs containing 625/50 (PAL/SECAM) video must use 

PCM or MPEG audio or Dolby Digital on at least one track. Additional tracks 

may be in any format. A few first-generation players, such as those made 

by Matsushita, can’t output MPEG-2 audio to external decoders. 

The original spec required either MPEG audio or PCM on 625/50 discs. 

A brief scuffle was led by Philips when early discs came out with only twochannel 

MPEG and multichannel Dolby Digital, but the DVD Forum clarified 

in May of 1997 that only stereo MPEG audio was mandatory for 625/50 

discs. In December of 1997, the lack of MPEG-2 encoders (and decoders) 

was a big enough problem that the spec was revised to allow Dolby Digital 

audio tracks to be used on 625/50 discs without MPEG audio tracks. 

Because of the 4 percent speedup from 24 fps film to 25 fps PAL display, 

the audio must be adjusted to match before it is encoded. Unless the audio 

is digitally processed to shift the pitch back to normal, it will be slightly high 

(about half a semitone). 

For stereo output (analog or digital), all players have a built-in two-channel 

Dolby Digital decoder that downmixes from 5.1 channels (if present on 

the disc) to Dolby Surround stereo. That is, five channels are phase 

matrixed into two channels to be decoded to four channels by a Dolby Pro 

Logic processor or five channels by a Pro Logic II processor. PAL players 

also have an MPEG or MPEG-2 audio decoder. Both Dolby Digital and 

MPEG-2 support two-channel Dolby Surround as the source in cases 

where the disc producer can’t or doesn’t want to remix the original onto discrete 

channels. This means that a DVD labeled as having Dolby Digital


sound may only use the left and right channels for surround or plain stereo. 

Even movies with old monophonic soundtracks may use Dolby Digital, with 

only one or two channels. Some players can optionally downmix to nonsurround 

stereo. If surround audio is important to you, you will hear significantly 

better results from multichannel discs if you have a Dolby Digital 

system. 

The new Dolby Digital Surround EX (DD-EX) format, which adds a rear 

center channel, is compatible with DVD discs and players, as well as with 

existing Dolby Digital decoders. The new DTS Digital Surround ES (DTS-ES) 

format, which likewise adds a rear center channel, works with existing DTS 

decoders and with DTS-compatible DVD players. However, for full use of 

either new format, you need a new decoder to extract the rear center channel, 

which is phase matrixed into the two standard rear channels in the 

same way Dolby Surround is matrixed into standard stereo channels. Without 

a new decoder, you’ll get the same 5.1-channel audio you get now. 

Because the additional rear channel isn’t a full-bandwidth discrete channel, 

it’s appropriate to call the new formats “5.2-channel” digital surround. There 

is also DTS-ES Discrete, which adds a full-bandwidth discrete rear center 

channel in an extension stream that is used by DTS-ES Discrete decoders 

but ignored by older DTS decoders. DTS-ES decoders include DTS Neo:6, 

which is not an encoding format but a matrix decoding process that provides 

5 or 6 channels. 

The Dolby Digital downmix process does not usually include the LFE 

channel and may compress the dynamic range in order to improve dialog 

audibility and keep the sound from becoming muddy on average home 

audio systems. This can result in reduced sound quality on high-end audio 

systems. The downmix is auditioned when the disc is prepared, and if the 

result is not acceptable, the audio may be tweaked or a separate left or 

right Dolby Surround track may be added. Experience has shown that 

minor tweaking is sometimes required to make the dialog more audible 

within the limited dynamic range of a home stereo system. Some disc producers 

include a separately mixed stereo track rather than fiddle with the 

surround mix. 

The Dolby Digital dynamic range compression (DRC) feature, often called 

midnight mode, reduces the difference between loud and soft sounds so 

that you can turn the volume down to avoid disturbing others yet still hear 

the detail of quiet passages. Some players have the option to turn off DRC. 

Dolby Digital also includes a feature called dialog normalization (DN), 

which should more accurately be called volume standardization. DN is 

designed to keep the sound level the same when switching between different 

sources. This will become more important as additional Dolby Digital 

sources (digital satellite and DTV) become common. Each Dolby Digital 

track contains loudness information so that the receiver can automatically


adjust the volume, such as turning it down, for example, during a loud 

commercial. (Of course, the commercial makers can cheat and set an 

artificially low DN level, causing your receiver to turn up the volume during 

the commercial.) Turning DN on or off on your receiver has no effect on the 

dynamic range or sound quality; its effect is no different than turning the 

volume control up or down. 

All five DVD-Video audio formats support karaoke mode, which has two 

channels for stereo (left and right) plus an optional guide melody channel (M) 

and two optional vocal channels (V1 and V2). 

A DVD-5 with only one surround stereo audio stream (at 192 kbps) can 

hold over 55 hours of audio. A DVD-18 can hold over 200 hours. 

For more information about multichannel surround sound, see Bobby 

Owsinski’s FAQ at www.surroundassociates.com/fqmain.html. 

Can You Explain This Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround, Dolby Pro 

Logic, and DTS Stuff in Plain English? 

Almost every DVD contains audio in the Dolby Digital (AC-3) format. DTS is 

an optional audio format that can be added to a disc in addition to Dolby 

Digital audio. Both DTS and Dolby Digital can store mono, stereo, and multichannel 

audio (usually 5.1 channels). 

Every DVD player in the world has an internal Dolby Digital decoder. The 

built-in two-channel decoder turns Dolby Digital into stereo audio, which 

can be fed to almost any type of audio equipment (receiver, TV, boombox, 

and so on) as a standard analog stereo signal using a pair of stereo audio 

cables or as a digital PCM audio signal using a coax or optical cable. Refer 

to “How Do I Hook up a DVD Player?” for more information. 

A standard audio mixing technique called Dolby Surround “piggybacks” 

a rear channel and a center channel onto a two-channel signal. A Dolby 

Surround signal can be played on any stereo system (or even a mono system), 

in which case the rear- and center-channel sounds remain mixed in 

with the left and right channels. When a Dolby Surround signal is played on 

a multichannel audio system that knows how to handle it, the extra channels 

are extracted to feed center speakers and rear speakers. The original 

technique of decoding Dolby Surround, called simply Dolby Surround, 

extracts only the rear channel. The improved decoding technique, Dolby 

Pro Logic, also extracts the center channel. A brand-new decoding technology, 

Dolby Pro Logic II, extracts both the center channel and the rear 

channel and also processes the signals to create more of a 3-D audio 

environment. 

Dolby Surround is independent of the storage or transmission format. In 

other words, a two-channel Dolby Surround signal can be analog audio,

oadcast TV audio, digital PCM audio, Dolby Digital, DTS, MP3, audio on 

a VHS tape and so on. 

Unlike Dolby Surround, Dolby Digital encodes each channel independently. 

Dolby Digital can carry up to five channels (left, center, right, left surround, 

right surround) plus an omnidirectional low-frequency channel. The 

built-in, two-channel Dolby Digital decoder in every DVD player handles 

multichannel audio by downmixing it to two channels using Dolby Surround 

(refer to “Audio Details of DVD-Video”). This allows the analog stereo outputs 

to be connected to just about anything, including TVs and receivers 

with Dolby Pro Logic capabilities. Most DVD players also output the downmixed 

two-channel Dolby Surround signal in digital PCM format, which can 

be connected to a digital audio receiver, most of which do Dolby Pro Logic 

decoding. 

Most DVD players also output the raw Dolby Digital signal for connection 

to a receiver with a built-in Dolby Digital decoder. Some DVD players have 

built-in multichannel decoders to provide six (or seven) analog audio outputs 

to feed a receiver or amplifier with multichannel analog inputs. Refer to 

“What Are the Outputs of a DVD Player?” for more info. 

DTS is handled differently. Many DVD players have a DTS Digital Out feature 

(also called DTS passthrough) that sends the raw DTS signal to an 

external receiver with a DTS decoder. A few players have a built-in twochannel 

DTS decoder that downmixes to Dolby Surround, just like a 

two-channel Dolby Digital decoder. Some players have a built-in multichannel 

DTS decoder with six (or seven) analog outputs. Some DVD players 

don’t recognize DTS tracks at all (refer to “What’s the Deal with DTS and 

DVD” in Chapter 1). 

If you have a plain old stereo (POS), a Dolby Surround receiver, or a 

Dolby Pro Logic receiver, you don’t need anything special in the DVD player. 

Any model will connect to your system. If you have a Dolby Digital receiver, 

you need a player with Dolby Digital out (all but the cheapest players have 

this). If your receiver can also do DTS, you should get a player with DTS 

Digital Out. The only reason to get a player with six-channel Dolby Digital or 

DTS decoder output is if you want use multichannel analog connections to 

the receiver (see the component analog section of “How Do I Hook up a 

DVD Player?”). 

Why Is the Audio Level from my DVD Player So Low? 


Many people complain that the audio level from DVD players is too low. In 

truth, the audio level is too high on everything else. Movie soundtracks are 

extremely dynamic, ranging from near silence to intense explosions. In 

order to support an increased dynamic range and hit peaks (near the 2-volt 

RMS limit) without distortion, the average sound volume must be lower.


This is why the line level from DVD players is lower than from almost all 

other sources. So far, unlike on CDs and laserdiscs, the level is much more 

consistent between discs. If the change in volume when switching between 

DVDs and other audio sources is annoying, you can adjust the output signal 

level on some players, or the input signal level on some receivers, but 

other than that, you don’t have many other options. 

How Do the Interactive Features Work? 

DVD-Video players (and software DVD-Video navigators) support a command 

set that provides rudimentary interactivity. The main feature is menus, 

which are present on almost all discs to allow content selection and feature 

control. Each menu has a still or motion background and up to 36 highlightable, 

rectangular buttons (only 12 if widescreen, letterbox, and pan and 

scan modes are used). Remote control units have up/down and left/right 

arrow keys for selecting onscreen buttons, along with numeric keys, a 

select key, a menu key, a top menu (title) key, and a return key. Additional 

remote functions may include freeze, step, slow, fast, scan, next, previous, 

audio select, subtitle select, camera angle select, play mode select, search 

to program, search to part of title (chapter), search to time, and search to 

camera angle. Any of these features can be disabled by the producer of the 

disc, an act which is called user operation control (UOP). It’s commonly 

used to lock you into the copyright warning or movie previews at the beginning 

of the disc, or to keep you from changing audio or subtitle tracks during 

the movie. 

Additional features of the command set include simple math (add, subtract, 

multiply, divide, modulo, and random); bitwise and; bitwise or; bitwise 

xor; plus comparisons (equal, greater than, and so on); and register 

loading, moving, and swapping. Twenty-four system registers exist for 

information such as the language code, audio and subpicture settings, and 

the parental level. Sixteen general registers are available for command use. 

A countdown timer is also provided. Commands can branch or jump to 

other commands. Commands can also control player settings; jump to different 

parts of the disc; and control the presentation of audio, video, subpicture, 

camera angles, and so on. The command set enables the creation 

of relatively sophisticated discs, such as games or interactive educational 

programs. 

DVD-V content is broken into titles (movies or albums) and parts of titles 

(chapters or songs). Titles are made up of cells grouped into programs and 

are linked together by one or more program chains (PGC). A PGC can be 

one of three types: sequential play, random play (may repeat), or shuffle 

play (random order but no repeats). Individual cells may be used by more 

than one PGC, which is how parental management and seamless branch-

ing are accomplished: Different PGCs define different sequences through 

mostly the same material. 

Additional material for camera angles and seamless branching is interleaved 

together in small chunks. The player jumps from chunk to chunk, 

skipping over unused angles or branches, to stitch together the seamless 

video. Because angles are stored separately, they have no direct effect on 

the bit rate, but they do affect the playing time. Adding one camera angle 

for a program roughly doubles the amount of space needed (and cuts the 

playing time in half). Examples of branching (seamless and nonseamless) 

include Kalifornia, Dark Star, Stargate Special Edition, and The Abyss. 

What Is the Difference Between Interlaced 

and Progressive Video? 


Basically, video can be displayed using two different methods: interlaced 

scan or progressive scan. Progressive scan, used in computer monitors and 

digital TVs, displays all the horizontal lines of a picture at one time as a single 

frame. Interlaced scan, used in standard television formats (NTSC, PAL, 

and SECAM), displays only half of the horizontal lines at a time (the first 

field, containing the odd-numbered lines, is displayed, followed by the second 

field, containing the even-numbered lines). Interlacing relies on the 

phosphor persistence of the TV tube to blend the fields together over a fraction 

of a second into a seemingly single picture. The advantage of interlaced 

video is that a high refresh rate (50 or 60 Hz) can be achieved with 

only half the bandwidth. The disadvantage is that the horizontal resolution 

is essentially cut in half, and the video is often filtered to avoid flicker (interfield 

twitter) and other artifacts. 

It may help to understand the difference by considering how the source 

images are captured. A film camera captures full frames in intervals that are 

1/24th of a second long, whereas a video camera alternately scans fields of 

odd and even lines in 1/60th of a second intervals, resulting in interlaced 

frames that are 1/30th of a second long. (Unlike projected film, which shows 

the entire frame in an instant, many progressive-scan displays trace a series 

of lines from top to bottom, but the end result is about the same.) 

DVDs are specifically designed to be displayed on interlaced-scan displays, 

which cover 99.9 percent of the more than one billion TVs worldwide. 

However, most DVD content comes from film, which is inherently progressive. 

To make film content work in an interlaced form, the video from each 

film frame is split into two video fields, 240 lines in one field, and 240 lines 

in the other, and encoded as separate fields in the MPEG-2 stream. 

A complication is that film runs at 24 frames per second, whereas TV 

runs at 30 frames (60 fields) per second for NTSC, or 25 frames (50 fields)


per second for PAL and SECAM. For a PAL/SECAM display, the simple 

solution is to show the film frames at 25 fps, which is a 4 percent speed 

increase, and to speed up the audio to match. For an NTSC display, the 

solution is to spread 24 frames across 60 fields by alternating the display of 

the first film frame for two video fields and the next film frame for three video 

fields. This is called 2-3 pulldown. The sequence works as shown here, 

where A through D represent film frames; A1, A2, B1, and so on represent 

the separation of each film frame into two video fields; and 1 through 5 represent 

the final video frames: 

Film frames: | A | B | C | D | 

Video fields: |A1 A2 | B1 B2 | B1 C2 | C1 D2 | D1 D2| 

Video frames: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 

For MPEG-2 encoding, repeated fields (B1 and D2) are not actually 

stored twice. Instead, a flag is set to tell the decoder to repeat the field. 

(The inverted order of C2 and C1 and D2 and D1 is because of the requirement 

that top and bottom fields alternate. Because the fields are from the 

same film frame, the order doesn’t matter.) MPEG-2 also has a flag to indicate 

when a frame is progressive (the two fields come from the same 

instant in time). For film content, the progressive_frame flag should be true 

for every frame. (Refer to “What Are the Video Details?” for more MPEG-2 

details.) 

As you can see, a couple of problems are inherent in 2-3 pulldown. Some 

film frames are shown for a longer period of time than others, causing judder, 

or jerkiness, that shows up especially in smooth pans. Also, if you 

freeze the video on the third or fourth video frame when motion is taking 

place in the picture, you will see two separate images combine to be a flickering 

mess. Most DVD players avoid the second problem by only pausing 

on coherent frames or by only showing one field, although some enable you 

to freeze on flicker frames. (This is what the frame/field still option in the 

player’s setup menu refers to.) 

Most DVD players are hooked up to interlaced TVs, so not much can be 

done about artifacts from film conversion. However, see “What’s a Progressive 

DVD Player?” in Chapter 1 for information about progressive DVD 

players. 

For more on progressive video and DVDs, see Part 5 and Player Ratings 

in the excellent DVD Benchmark series at “Secrets of Home Theater and 

High Fidelity” at www.hometheaterhifi.com.

NOTE: 2-3 pulldown is the same term as 3:2 pulldown, but this book 

uses the 2-3 notation to indicate that it’s a sequence, not a ratio, and 

that in practice two fields are usually created from the first film frame. 

What Is Edge Enhancement? 

When films are transferred to video in preparation for DVD encoding, they 

are commonly run through digital processes that attempt to clean up the 

picture. These processes include digital video noise reduction (DVNR) and 

image enhancement. Enhancement increases the contrast (similar to the 

effect of the sharpen or unsharp mask filters in Photoshop), but it can tend 

to overdo areas of transition between light and dark or different colors, 

causing a chiseled look or a ringing effect, such as the haloes you see 

around streetlights when driving in the rain. 

DVNR is a good thing, when done well, because it can remove 

scratches, spots, and other defects from the original film. Enhancement, 

which is rarely done well, is a bad thing. The video may look sharper and 

clearer to the casual observer, but fine tonal details of the original picture are 

altered and lost. 

Note that ringing can also be caused by the player and by the TV. Scan 

velocity modulation (SVM), for example, causes ringing. 

Does DVD Work with Barcodes? 


If your humble book author and other long-time developers of laserdiscs 

had prevailed, all DVD players would support barcodes. This would have 

made for really cool printed supplements and educational material that 

could jump to any part of a disc with a swipe of a barcode wand. But the 

rejection of our recommendations after an all-star meeting in August of 

1995 is another story for another day. 

So the answer is “mostly no.” A few industrial players, the Pioneer 

LD-V7200, Pioneer LD-V7400, and Philips ProDVD-170 support barcodes, 

including compatibility with the LaserBarCode standard. The DVD must be 

authored with one sequential PGC titles in order for the timecode search to 

work. More info can be found in the Pioneer technical manuals (www. 

pioneeraus.com.au/multimedia/manuals/op_manuals_index.htm).


What Is BCA? 

BCA stands for burst cutting area, a zone near the hub of a DVD reserved 

for a barcode that can be etched into the disc by a YAG laser. Because barcode 

cutting is independent of the stamping process, each disc can have 

unique data recorded in the BCA, such as a serialized ID. DVD readers can 

use the laser pickup head to read the BCA. The BCA is used by CPRM 

(refer to “What Are the Copy Protection Issues?” in Chapter 1) and Divx (see 

“What is Divx?” in Chapter 2) to uniquely identify each disc. 

How Long Do DVDs Last? 

Pressed discs (the kind that movies come on) last longer than you will, anywhere 

from 50 to 300 years. The expected longevity of dye-based DVD-R 

and DVD�R discs is anywhere from 40 to 250 years, about as long as CD-R 

discs. The phase-change erasable formats (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, and 

DVD�RW) have an expected lifetime of 25 to 100 years. 

A good discussion of CD-R longevity and test info can be found at the 

Kodak web site. Also see www.ee.washington.edu/conselec/CE/kuhn/ 

otherformats/95x9.htm and www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/ 

Media/Kodak.html for more info. 

For comparison, magnetic media (tapes and disks) last 10 to 30 years, 

high-quality, acid-neutral paper can last 100 years or longer, and archivalquality 

microfilm is projected to last 300 years or more. Note that computer 

storage media often becomes technically obsolete within 20 to 30 years, 

long before it physically deteriorates. In other words, before the media 

becomes unviable, it may become difficult or impossible to find equipment 

that can read it. 

What About the HD-DVD and Blue Laser Formats? 

HD-DVD (HD stands for both high-density and high-definition) was under 

development before DVDs came out and finally emerged in 2003 (refer to 

“Will High-Definition DVDs or 720p DVDs Make Current Players and Discs 

Obsolete?” in Chapter 2 for general info). Some high-definition versions of 

HD-DVD use the original DVD physical format but depend on new videoencoding 

technology, such as H.264, to fit high-definition video in the space 

that used to hold only standard-definition video. High-density formats use 

blue or violet lasers to read smaller pits, increasing the data capacity to 

around 15 to 30 GB per layer. High-density formats use high-definition 

MPEG-2 video (for compatibility with ATSC and DVB HD broadcasts, refer 

to “Do DVDs Support HDTV (DTV)? Will HDTV Make DVDs Obsolete?” in

TABLE 3-2 HD-DVD Proposals 

Chapter 2) and may also use advanced encoding formats, probably supporting 

1080p24 video. 

As of early 2003, five proposals have been made for HD-DVD, with the 

possibility of others. Table 3-2 provides a summary. 

HD discs will not play on existing players. Even HD-DVD-9 discs, which 

the player can physically read, require new circuitry to decode and display 

the HD video. HD-DVD-9 discs could play on DVD PCs with the right software 

upgrades. Blue-laser discs require new optical assemblies and controllers. 

HD players will undoubtedly read existing DVDs, so your collection 

will not become obsolete when you buy a new player. None of the HD formats 

will be used for movies until 2005 or 2006. 

HD-DVD-9, aka HD-9 


Data Capacity (single 

Format depth Laser Video layer/dual layer) Data rate 

HD-DVD-9 0.6 mm Red (650 nm) New codec NA/8.5G (ROM) 11 Mbps 

AOD 0.6 mm Blue (405 nm) HD MPEG-2 15G/30G (ROM), 36 Mbps 

and new 20G/40G 

codec (recordable) 

Blue-HD-DVD-1 0.6 mm Blue (405 nm) AVC 17G/NA 25.05 Mbps 

Blu-ray 0.1 mm Blue (405 nm) HD MPEG-2 27G/50G 36 Mbps 

Blue-HD-DVD-2 0.1 mm Blue (405 nm) AVC 17G/NA 31.59 Mbps 

HD video on existing dual-layer DVD-9 discs, or HD-DVD-9, will require new 

players to handle the new video encoding format and the higher data rate. 

The format is under development within the DVD Forum, primarily backed 

by Warner. It was originally positioned as a transition format to future HD- 

DVD, but it is now touted as a compatible but cheaper to replicate companion 

to blue-laser HD-DVD. 

A two-hour movie can fit on a DVD-9 at data rates of 6 to 7 Mbps. Given 

advances in video compression technology, it should be possible to get HD 

quality of at least 720p24 at these data rates (720 lines of progressive video 

at 24 fps). Shorter movies could be encoded in 1080p24 format. H.264 

(MPEG-4 part 10) is the likely encoding standard.


Advanced Optical Disc (AOD), aka DVD2 

The DVD Forum’s next-generation DVD is Advanced Optical Disc (AOD), or 

DVD2. AOD is a modification of the existing DVD physical format to enable 

about 15 GB per layer using a blue-ultraviolet readout laser. The same 0.6millimeter 

data depth is used. AOD is designed to improve data capacity 

while theoretically being able to use existing replication equipment. It is primarily 

supported by Toshiba and NEC. 

Blu-ray Disc (BD) 

The Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a new high-density physical format that will hold 23 

to 27 GB per layer using a blue-ultraviolet laser and a 0.1-millimeter data 

depth. Because of the 0.1-millimeter cover layer, it requires significant 

changes to production equipment. Blu-ray is initially intended for home 

recording, professional recording, and data recording. Mass-market distribution 

of prerecorded movies will come later, after a read-only format is 

developed and the details of video, audio, interactivity, and copy protection 

are hammered out. The Blu-ray backers include LG, Panasonic, Philips, 

Pioneer, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Thomson. Sony 

released the first BD recorder in Japan in April of 2003. 

As far as technical details, a BD holds up to 27 GB per layer using a 

0.1-millimeter recording depth (to reduce aberration from disc tilt). It uses a 

405-nanometer blue-violet semiconductor with 0.85 numerical aperture 

(NA) lens design to provide a 0.32 �m track pitch (half that of DVDs) and as 

small as a 0.138 �m pit length. Variations include 23.3 GB of capacity with 

a 0.160 �m minimum pit length or 25 GB of capacity with a 0.149 �m minimum 

pit length. The physical discs will use phase-change groove recording 

on a 12-centimeter diameter, 1.2-millimeter-thick disc, similar to 

DVD-RW and DVD�RW. It has a 36 Mbps data transfer rate. The recording 

capacity on a single layer is about 2 hours of HD video (at 28 Mbps) or 

about 10 hours of standard-definition video (at 4.5 Mbps). The cartridge 

size is 129 � 131 � 7 millimeters. Plans are to produce dual-layer recordable 

discs, holding about 50 GB per side, but such discs will take a few 

additional years to appear. 

Blue-HD-DVD-1 and Blue-HD-DVD-2 

The Advanced Optical Storage Research Alliance (AOSRA), formed by Taiwan’s 

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has its own variations 

of blue-laser formats. Blue-HD-DVD-1 uses a 0.6-millimeter data depth 

similar to AOD, and Blue-HD-DVD-2 uses a 0.1-millimeter data depth 

similar to Blu-ray.

Can I Play DVD Movies on My Computer? 


DVD and 

Computers 

Yes, if your computer has the right stuff. Almost all Windows and Mac OS 

computers with DVD drives come with software to play DVDs. 

The computer operating system or playback software must support 

regional codes and be licensed to descramble copy-protected movies. If 

the computer has TV video out, it must support Macrovision in order to play 

copy-protected movies. You may also need software that can read the UDF 

file system format used by DVDs. You don’t need special drivers for Windows 

or Mac OS, since the existing CD-ROM drivers work fine with DVD- 

ROM drives. In addition to a DVD-ROM drive you must have software (or 

extra hardware) that knows how to play the DVD-Video format and decode 

MPEG-2 video and Dolby Digital or MPEG-2 audio. Good-quality softwareonly 

playback requires a 350-MHz Pentium II or a Mac G4. Almost all new 

computers with DVD-ROM drives use software decoding instead of hardware 

decoding. Hardware upgrade kits can be purchased for older computers 

(usually minimum 133 MHz Pentium or G3), starting at $150. 

Mac OS X 10.0 (Cheetah) had no support for DVD playback when 

released in March 2001, and also did not support Apple’s DVD authoring 

applications (iDVD and DVD Studio Pro). (More info at CNET.) Support for 

DVD playback was added to version 10.1 (Puma). 

If you’re having problems playing movies on your computer, see the section, 

“Why Do I Have Problems Playing DVDs on My Computer?” 

Certain MPEG decoding tasks such as motion compensation, IDCT 

(inverse discrete cosine transform), IVLC (inverse variable length coding), 

and even subpicture decoding can be performed by special circuitry on a 

video graphics chip, improving the performance of software decoders. This 

is called hardware decode acceleration, hardware motion comp, or hardware 

assist. Some card makers also call it hardware decode, even though 

they don’t do all the decoding in hardware. All modern graphics cards also 



provide hardware colorspace conversion (YCbCr to RGB) and videoport 

overlay (some graphics card makers make a big deal about this even 

though all their competitors’ cards have the same feature). 

Microsoft Windows 98, 2000, Me, and XP include DirectShow, which 

provides standardized support for DVD-Video and MPEG-2 playback. 

DirectShow can also be installed in Windows 95 (it’s available for download). 

DirectShow creates a framework for DVD applications, but a thirdparty 

hardware or software decoder is required (see below). Windows NT 

4.0 supports DVD-ROM drives for data, but has very little support for playing 

DVD-Video discs. Margi DVD-To-Go, Sigma Designs Hollywood Plus, 

and the related Creative Labs Dxr3 are among the few hardware decoders 

that work in NT 4.0. InterVideo WinDVD software works in NT 4.0 (National 

Semiconductor DVD Express and MGI SoftDVD Max also work in NT 4.0, 

but they aren’t available retail.) Windows 98 and newer can read UDF discs. 

Version 6.1 of Windows Media Player enabled scriptable DVD playback in 

an HTML page (see “How Do I Play DVD Video in HTML, PowerPoint, Director, 

VB, and So On?” for more on DVD playback control). Version 7 of Windows 

Media Player dropped all DVD support. Version 8 of Windows Media 

Player added a user interface for DVD playback, but no scripting. Adaptec 

provides a free filesystem driver,UDF Reader, for Windows 95/98/NT. Software 

Architects sells Read DVD for Windows 95. 

Apple QuickTime 6 is partially ready for DVD-Video and MPEG-2 but 

does not yet have full decoding or DVD-Video playback support in place. 

Mac OS 8.1 or newer can read UDF discs. Roxio provides a free utility, UDF 

Volume Access, that enables Mac OS 7.6 and newer to read UDF discs. 

Software Architects sells UDF reading software for Mac OS called DVD- 

RAM TuneUp. Intech’s CD/DVD SpeedTools software allows most any DVD 

drive to be used with a Mac. 

NOTE: The QuickTime MPEG Extension for Mac OS is for MPEG-1 

only and does not play MPEG-2 DVD-Video. 

DVD player applications (using either software or hardware decoding) are 

virtual DVD players. They support DVD-Video features (menus, subpictures, 

and so on) and emulate the functionality of a DVD-Video player remote control. 

Many player applications include additional features such as bookmarks, 

chapter lists, and subtitle language lists. 

Microsoft Windows includes a DVD software player, but does not include 

the necessary decoder. You must have a third-party software or hardware

decoder in order to play a DVD. Most PCs that come with a DVD drive 

include a decoder, or you can purchase one. See “How Do I Get the Microsoft 

Windows DVD Player Application to Run?” and “I Upgraded to Windows 

XP. Why Did My DVD Software Stop Working?” for more info. 

Software decoders and DVD player applications for Microsoft Windows 

PCs: 

• ATI: A special version of CineMaster software for certain ATI graphics 

cards 

• ASUS: ASUSDVD (a custom version of InterVideo WinDVD software or 

CyberLink PowerDVD software) 

• KiSS: CoolDVD (DirectShow [Windows 98/Me/2000/XP]) 

• Creative Technology: SoftPC-DVD 

DVDs and Computers 117 

• CyberLink: PowerDVD (DirectShow [Windows 98/Me/2000/XP]; NT 

4.0; available for purchase) 

• ELSA: ELSAMovie, German only 

• InterVideo: WinDVD (DirectShow [Windows 98/Me/2000/XP]; NT 4.0; 

available for purchase) 

• Matrox: special version of CineMaster software for certain Matrox 

graphics cards 

• National Semiconductor: DVD Express (DirectShow [Windows 

98/Me/2000/XP]; OEM only) 

• NEC (NEC PCs only) 

• Odyssey: Odyssey DVD Player (available for purchase) 

• Orion Studios: DirectDVD (DirectShow, downloadable shareware) 

• Sonic (formerly Ravisent, formerly Quadrant International): CinePlayer 

(DirectShow [Windows 98/Me/2000/XP]; available for purchase) 

• Varo Vision: VaroDVD 

Xing DVDPlayer is no longer available since the company was purchased 

by Real Networks 

Software decoders need at least a 350 MHz Pentium II and a DVD-ROM 

drive with bus mastering DMA to play without dropped frames. Anything 

slower than a 400 MHz Pentium III will benefit quite a bit from hardware 

decode acceleration in the graphics card. An AGP graphics card (rather 

than PCI) also improves the performance of software decoders.


Hardware decoder cards and DVD-ROM upgrade kits for Microsoft Windows 

PCs: 

• Creative Technology: PC-DVD Encore Dxr3, Sigma EM8300 chip (no 

DirectShow yet); PC-DVD Encore Dxr2, C-Cube chip (DirectShow, 

Win2000) 

• Digital Connection: 3DFusion, Mpact2 chip (DirectShow) 

• Digital Voodoo: D1 Desktop 64, Digital Voodoo chip (professional, 

QuickTime) 

• E4 (Elecede): Cool DVD, C-Cube chip (E4 has gone out of business) 

• IBM: ThinkPad laptops, IBM chip (DirectShow) 

• LeadTek: WinFast 3D S800, Mpact2 chip (DirectShow) 

• Margi: DVD-to-Go, ZV PC card for laptops (DirectShow, Win2000) 

• Ravisent: Hardware Cinemaster, C-Cube chip (DirectShow) 

• Philips Electronics: PCDV632, PCVD104 (K series come with Sigma 

Hollywood card, R series come with software decoder) (DirectShow) 

• Samsung: Revolution, Samsung SD 606 6x, Sigma Hollywood Plus 

card (DirectShow) 

• Sigma Designs: Hollywood series, Sigma EM8300 chip (no Direct- 

Show yet) 

• STB: DVD Theater, Mpact2 chip (DirectShow) 

• Stradis: Stradis Professional MPEG-2 Decoder, IBM chip (professional, 

no DirectShow) 

• Toshiba: Tecra laptops, C-Cube chip (DirectShow) 

• Vela Research: CineView Pro (professional, no DirectShow) 

All but the Sigma Designs decoder (including Creative Dxr3) have WDM 

drivers for DirectShow. The Sigma Designs decoder card is used in hardware 

upgrade kits from Hitachi, HiVal, Panasonic, Phillips, Sony, Toshiba, 

and VideoLogic. The advantage of hardware decoders is that they don’t eat 

up CPU processing power, and they often produce better quality video than 

software decoders. The Chromatic Mpact2 chip does 3-field analysis to 

produce exceptional progressive-scan video from DVDs (unfortunately, 

Chromatic was bought by ATI and the chip is no longer supported, although 

some of the technology is now in ATI’s Radeon). Hardware decoders use 

video overlay to insert the video into the computer display. Some use ana-


log overlay, which takes the analog VGA signal output from the graphics 

card and keys in the video, while others use video port extension (VPE), a 

direct digital connection to the graphics adapter via a cable inside the computer. 

Analog overlay may degrade the quality of the VGA signal. See “Why 

Can’t I Take a Screenshot of DVD Video? Why Do I Get a Pink or Black 

Square?” for more overlay info. 

Many Macintosh models come standard with DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, or 

DVD-RW drives. The included Apple software DVD player uses hardware 

acceleration in the ATI graphics card. The still-unreleased QuickTime MPEG- 

2 decoder may use the Velocity Engine (AltiVec) portion of the PowerPC (G4) 

chip for video and audio decoding. DVD-ROM upgrade kits and decoder 

cards for Macintoshes were made by E4 (Elecede) (Cool DVD, C-Cube chip) 

[E4 has gone out of business], EZQuest (BOA Mac DVD), Fantom Drives 

(DVD Home Theater kit: DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM drive with Wired MPEG-2 

card), and Wired (Wired 4DVD, Sigma EM8300 chip [same card as Hollywood 

plus]; MasonX [can’t play encrypted movies]; DVD-To-Go [out of production]; 

Wired was acquired by Media100 but later reconstituted). 

The Sigma Designs NetStream 2000 DVD decoder card supports Linux 

DVD playback. InterVideo and CyberLink have also announced DVD player 

applications for Linux, although the CyberLink player is only available to 

OEMs. In addition, there are free software players for Linux, Unix, BeOS, 

and other operating systems: MPlayer, OMS (LiViD), VideoLan, and Xine. 

Computers have the potential to produce better video than set-top DVD- 

Video players by using progressive display and higher scan rates, but many 

PC systems don’t look as good as a home player hooked up to a quality TV. 

If you want to hook a DVD computer to a TV, the decoder card or the 

VGA card must have a TV output (composite video or s-video). Video quality 

is much better with s-video. Alternatively, you can connect a scan converter 

to the VGA output. Scan converters are available from ADS 

Technologies, AITech, Antec, AverLogic, AVerMedia, Communications Specialties, 

Digital Vision, Focus Enhancements, Key Digital Systems, RGB 

Products, and others. Make sure the scan converter can handle the display 

resolution you have chosen: 640x480, 800x600, and so on, although keep 

in mind that even 800x600 is beyond the ability of a standard TV, so higher 

resolutions won’t make the TV picture better. 

The quality of video from a PC depends on the decoder, the graphics 

card, the TV encoder chip, and other factors. The RGB output of the VGA 

card in computers is at a different frequency than standard component 

RGB video, so it can’t be directly connected to most RGB video monitors. 

If the decoder card or the sound card has Dolby Digital or DTS output, you 

can connect to your A/V receiver to get multichannel audio.


A DVD PC connected to a progressive-scan monitor or video projector, 

instead of a standard TV, usually looks much better than a consumer player. 

See “Does DVD Support HDTV (DTV)? Will HDTV Make DVD Obsolete?” in 

Chapter 2, “DVD’s Relationship to Other Products and Technologies.” Also 

see the Home Theater Computers forum at AVS (www.avsforum.com). 

For remote control of DVD playback on your PC, check out Animax Anir 

Multimedia Magic, Evation IRMan, InterAct WebRemote, Multimedia Studio 

Miro MediaRemote, Packard Bell RemoteMedia, RealMagic Remote Control, 

and X10 MouseRemote. Many remotes are supported by Visual 

Domain’s Remote Selector software. 

Can I Play DVD-Audio Discs on My Computer? 

Usually not. DVD-ROM drives can read DVD-Audio discs, but as of mid- 

2003 only the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card includes the software needed to 

play DVD-Audio on a computer. Part of the reason for general lack of support 

is that very few computers provide the high quality audio environment 

needed to take advantage of DVD-Audio fidelity. 

It’s possible that Microsoft could add DVD-Audio playback to a future 

version of Windows, in which case you would only need to download some 

inexpensive decoding software to get DVD-Audio playback. 

What Are the Features and Speeds of DVD-ROM Drives? 

Unlike CD-ROM drives, which took years to move up to 2x, 3x, and faster 

spin rates, faster DVD-ROM drives began appearing in the first year. A 1x 

DVD-ROM drive provides a data transfer rate of 1.321 MB/s (11.08 � 106 / 

8/220 ) with burst transfer rates of up to 12 MB/s or higher. The data transfer 

rate from a DVD-ROM disc at 1x speed is roughly equivalent to a 9x 

CD-ROM drive (1x CD-ROM data transfer rate is 150 KB/s, or 0.146 MB/s). 

DVD physical spin rate is about 3 times faster than CD (that is, 1x DVD 

spin � 3x CD spin), but most DVD-ROM drives increase motor speed when 

reading CD-ROMs, achieving 12x or faster performance. A drive listed as 

“16x/40x” reads a DVD at 16 times normal, or a CD at 40 times normal. 

DVD-ROM drives are available in 1x, 2x, 4x, 4.8x, 5x, 6x, 8x, 10x, and 16x 

speeds, although they usually don’t achieve sustained transfer at their full 

rating. The “max” in DVD and CD speed ratings means that the listed speed 

only applies when reading data at the outer edge of the disc, which moves 

faster. The average data rate is lower than the maximum rate. Most 1x DVD- 

ROM drives have a seek time of 85-200 ms and access time of 90-250 ms. 

Newer drives have seek times as low as 45 ms (see Table 4-1).

TABLE 4-1 DVD and CD speed ratings 


DVD Equivalent CD reading 

drive speed Data rate CD rate speed 

1x 11.08 Mbps (1.32 MB/s) 9x 8x–18x 

2x 22.16 Mbps (2.64 MB/s) 18x 20x–24x 

4x 44.32 Mbps (5.28 MB/s) 36x 24x–32x 

5x 55.40 Mbps (6.60 MB/s) 45x 24x–32x 

6x 66.48 Mbps (7.93 MB/s) 54x 24x–32x 

8x 88.64 Mbps (10.57 MB/s) 72x 32x–40x 

10x 110.80 Mbps (13.21 MB/s) 90x 32x–40x 

16x 177.28 Mbps (21.13 MB/s) 144x 32x–40x 

The bigger the cache (memory buffer) in a DVD-ROM drive, the faster it 

can supply data to the computer. This is useful primarily for data, not video. 

It may reduce or eliminate the pause during layer changes, but has no effect 

on video quality. 

Rewritable DVD drives (see “What About Recordable DVD: DVD-R, 

DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R?”) write at about half their 

advertised speed when the data verification feature is turned on, which 

reads each block of data after it is written. Verification is usually on by 

default in DVD-RAM drives. Turning it off will speed up writing. Whether this 

endangers your data is a subject of debate. Verification is off in DVD-RW 

and DVD�RW drives. 

In order to maintain constant linear density, typical CD-ROM and DVD- 

ROM drives spin the disc more slowly when reading near the outside where 

there is more physical surface in each track. (This is called CLV, constant linear 

velocity.) Some faster drives keep the rotational speed constant and use 

a buffer to deal with the differences in data readout speed. (This is called 

CAV, constant angular velocity.) In CAV drives, the data is read fastest at the 

outside of the disc, which is why specifications often list “max speed.” 

NOTE: When playing movies, a fast DVD drive gains you nothing 

more than possibly smoother scanning and faster searching. Speeds 

above 1x do not improve video quality from DVD-Video discs. Higher 

speeds only make a difference when reading computer data, such as 

when playing a multimedia game or when using a database.


Connectivity of DVD drives is similar to that of CD drives: EIDE (ATAPI), 

SCSI-2, USB, etc. All DVD drives have analog audio connections for playing 

audio CDs. No DVD drives have been announced with their own DVD 

audio or video outputs (which would require internal audio/video decoding 

hardware). 

Almost all DVD-Video and DVD-ROM discs use the UDF bridge format, 

which is a combination of the DVD MicroUDF (subset of UDF 1.02) and ISO 

9660 file systems. The OSTA UDF file system will eventually replace the ISO 

9660 system originally designed for CD-ROMs, but the bridge format provides 

backwards compatibility until more operating systems support UDF. 

What Is the Audio Output Connector on a DVD Drive For? 

DVD-ROM drives and DVD recordable drives have an RCA connector or a 

4-pin flat (Molex) connector to send analog audio to the audio card in the 

PC. This is just like the connecter on a CD drive, and in fact it’s only for playing 

audio CDs. The audio from DVDs comes through the computer, not out 

of the drive. Playing audio from a CD used to require the analog audio output, 

but most PCs can now play digital audio directly from the CD so the 

analog connector is not needed. 

What About Recordable DVD: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, 

DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R? 

There are six recordable versions of DVD-ROM: DVD-R for General, DVD-R 

for Authoring, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R. DVD-R and 

DVD�R can record data once, similar to CD-R, while DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, 

and DVD�RW can be rewritten thousands of times, similar to CD-RW. 

DVD-R was first available in fall 1997. DVD-RAM followed in summer 1998. 

DVD-RW came out in Japan in December 1999, but was not available in the 

U.S. until spring 2001. DVD�RW became available in fall 2001. DVD�R 

was released in mid-2002. 

Recordable DVD was first available for use on computers only. Home 

DVD video recorders (see “Can DVD record from VCR/TV/and so on?” in 

Chapter 1, “General DVD”) appeared worldwide in 2000. This book uses the 

terms “drive” and “video recorder” to distinguish between recordable computer 

drives and home set-top recorders. 

DVD-RAM is more of a removable storage device for computers than a 

video recording format, although it has become widely used in DVD video 

recorders because of the flexibility it provides in editing a recording. The 

other two recordable format families (DVD-R/RW and DVD�R/RW) are 

essentially in competition with each other. The market will determine which

of them succeeds or if they end up coexisting or merging. There are many 

claims that one or the other format is better, but they are actually very similar. 

In 2003 many companies began making drives that could record in both 

“dash” and “plus” format. 

Each writable DVD format is covered briefly below. See Chapter 6’s 

“Hardware and computer components” for hardware manufacturers. For 

more on writable DVD see Dana Parker’s article at www.emediapro.net/ 

EM1999/parker1.html. More information on writable DVD formats is available 

at industry associations: RW Products Promotion Initiative (RWPPI), 

Recordable DVD Council (RDVDC), and DVD+RW Alliance. Also DVD Writers 

and DVDplusRW.org. If you’re interested in writable DVD for data storage, 

visit Steve Rothman’s DVD-DATA page for FAQ and mailing list info. 

Is It True There Are Compatibility Problems 

with Recordable DVD Formats? 


Yes. 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 combo drive that writes 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 logo 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, and even 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 store—see Chapter 5, “DVD Production”), 

and not all players have been correctly designed to read them. 

There are compatibility lists at CustomFlix, DVDMadeEasy, DVDRHelp, 

YesVideo.com, HomeMovie.com, and Apple web sites that indicate player 

compatibility with DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. DVDplusRW.org maintains a 

list of DVD�RW compatible players and drives. 

NOTE: Test results vary depending on media quality, handling, writing 

conditions, player tolerances, and so on. The indications of compatibility 

in these lists are often anecdotal in nature and are only 

general guidelines. 

Very roughly, DVD-R and DVD�R discs work in about 85 percent of 

existing drives and players, whereas DVD-RW and DVD�RW discs work in


TABLE 4-2 DVD-R compatibility 

DVD-R(G) DVD-R(A) DVD-RW DVD-RAM DVD�RW 

DVD unit unit unit unit unit unit 

DVD-ROM 

disc 

reads reads reads reads reads reads 

DVD-R(G) often reads, reads reads, reads reads 

discreads writes writes 

DVD-R(A) usually reads reads, reads reads reads 

discreads writes 

DVD-RW often reads reads reads, usually usually 

discreads writes reads reads 

DVD-RAM rarely doesn’t doesn’t doesn’t reads, doesn’t 

discreads read read read writes read 

DVD�RW often usually usually usually usually reads, 

discreads reads reads reads reads writes 

DVD�R often usually usually routinely reads reads, 

discreads reads reads reads usually writes 

around 70 percent. The situation is steadily improving. In another few years 

compatibility problems will mostly be behind us, just as with CD-R (did you 

know that early CD-Rs had all kinds of compatibility problems?). 

Table 4-2 is a summary of recordable DVD compatibility. Below each 

drive is a column indicating how well it can read or write each format (for 

simplicity, “doesn’t write” is implied if something else is not specified). 

DVD-R 

DVD-R (which is pronounced “dash R” not “minus 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 (see “What Are the Copy Protection Issues?” in Chapter 

1), 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. 

Pioneer released 3.95G DVD-R(A) 1.0 drives in October 1997 (about 6 

months late) for $17,000. New 4.7G DVD-R(A) 1.9 drives appeared in limited 

quantities in May 1999 (about 6 months late) for $5,400. Version 2.0 drives 

became available in fall 2000. Version 1.9 drives can be upgraded to 2.0 via 

downloaded software. (This removes the 2,500 hour recording limit.) New 

2.0 [4.7G] media (with newer copy protection features), can only be written 

in 2.0 drives. 1.9 media (and old 1.0 [3.95G] media) can still be written in 2.0 

drives. Version 1.0 (3.95G) discs are still available, and can be recorded in 

Pioneer DVD-R(A) drives. Although 3.95G discs hold less data, they are 

more compatible with existing players and drives. 

Pioneer’s DVR-A03 DVD-R(G) drive was released in May 2001 for under 

$1000. By August it was available for under $700, and by February 2002 it 

was under $400. The same drive (model DVR-103) was built into certain 

Apple Macs and Compaq PCs. Many companies now produce DVD-RW 

drives, all of which also write CD-R/RW. As of mid-2003 DVD-RW drives are 

selling for under $200. Most DVD-RAM drives also write DVD-R discs, and 

some also write DVD-RW discs. Many new drives write both DVD-R/RW 

and DVD�R/RW. 

Pioneer released a professional DVD video recorder in 2002. It sells for 

about $3000 and provides component video (YPbPr) and 1394 (DV) inputs 

(along with s-video and composite). It has 1-hour (10 Mbps) and 2-hour (5 

Mbps) recording modes, and includes a 2-channel Dolby Digital audio 

encoder. 

Prices for blank DVD-R(A) discs are $10 to $25 (down from the original 

$50), although cheaper discs seem to have more compatibility problems. 

Prices for blank DVD-R(G) discs are $2 to $6. Blank media are made by 

CMC Magnetics, Fuji, Hitachi Maxell, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Pioneer, Ricoh, 

Ritek, Taiyo Yuden, Sony, TDK, Verbatim, Victor, and others. 

The DVD-R 1.0 format is standardized in ECMA-279. Andy Parsons at 

Pioneer has written a white paper that explains the differences between 

DVD-R(G) and DVD-R(A) (www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/Files/ 

DVDR_whitepaper.pdf). 

It’s possible to submit DVD-R(A) and DVD-R(G) discs for replication, 

with limitations. First, not all replicators will accept submissions on DVD-R. 

Second, there can be problems with compatibility and data loss when 

using DVD-R, so it’s best to generate a checksum that the replicator can


verify. Third, DVD-R does not directly support CSS, regions, and Macrovision. 

Support for this is being added to DVD-R(A) with the cutting master 

format (CMF), which stores DDP information in the control area, but it will 

take a while before many authoring software programs and replicators 

support CMF. 

DVD-RW 

DVD-RW (formerly DVD-R/W and also briefly known as DVD-ER) is a 

phase-change erasable format. Developed by Pioneer based on DVD-R, 

using similar track pitch, mark length, and rotation control, DVD-RW is 

playable in many 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. DVD-RW discs can be rewritten about 

1,000 times. 

In December 1999, Pioneer released DVD-RW home video recorders in 

Japan. The units cost 250,000 yen (about $2,500) and blank discs cost 

3,000 yen (about $30). Since 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 recorded on DVD-R(G) discs and used the 

DVD-Video format for better compatibility with existing players. 

DVD-RW drives write DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-R, and CD-RW discs. DVD- 

RW disc prices are around $5 to $10 (down from the original $30). Blank 

media are made by CMC Magnetics, Hitachi Maxell, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, 

Pioneer, Ricoh, Ritek, Sony, Taiyo Yuden, TDK, Verbatim, Victor, and 

others. 

There are three kinds of DVD-RW discs, all with 4.7G capacity. Version 

1.0 discs, rarely found outside of Japan, 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. (See “What Are the Copy Protection Issues?” in 

Chapter 1 for more on CPRM; see “What Is BCA?” in Chapter 3, “DVD 

Technical Details,” for more on BCA.)

NOTE: The original Apple SuperDrive (even with older 1.22 firmware) 

can write to DVD-RW discs, but not from the iDVD application. You 

must use a different software utility, such as Toast, to write to DVD- 

RW discs. 

DVD-RAM 


DVD-RAM, with an initial storage capacity of 2.58 billion bytes, later 

increased to 4.7, 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 were initially available 

in sealed cartridges only, but now come in removable versions as well. Cartridge 

dimensions are 124.6 mm � 135.5 mm � 8.0 mm. DVD-RAM discs 

can be rewritten more than 100,000 times, and the discs are expected to 

last at least 30 years. 

DVD-RAM 1.0 drives appeared in June 1998 (about 6 months late) for 

$500 to $800, with blank discs at about $30 for single-sided and $45 for 

double-sided. The first DVD-ROM drive to read DVD-RAM discs was 

released by Panasonic in 1999 (SR-8583, 5x DVD-ROM, 32x CD). Hitachi’s 

GD-5000 drive, released in late 1999, also reads DVD-RAM discs. Blank 

DVD-RAM media are manufactured by CMC Magnetics, Hitachi Maxell, 

Eastman Kodak, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Ritek, TDK, and others. 

The spec for DVD-RAM version 2.0, with a capacity of 4.7 billion bytes per 

side, was published in October 1999. The first drives appeared in June 2000 

at about the same price as DVD-RAM 1.0 drives. Single-sided discs were 

priced around $25, and double-sided discs were around $30. Disc prices 

were under $10 and retail drive prices were under $200 by 2003. DVD-RAM 

2.0 also specifies 8-centimeter discs and cartridges for portable uses such 

as digital camcorders. Future DVD-RAM discs may use a contrast enhancement 

layer and a thermal buffer layer to achieve higher density.


Samsung and C-Cube made a technology demonstration (not a product 

announcement) in October 1999 of a DVD-RAM video recorder using the 

new DVD-VR format (see the preceding DVD-RW section for more about 

DVD-VR). Panasonic demonstrated a $3,000 DVD-RAM video recorder at 

CES in January 2000. It appeared in the U.S. in September for $4,000 (model 

DMR-E10). At the beginning of 2001, Hitachi and Panasonic released DVD 

camcorders that use small DVD-RAM discs. The instant access and on-thefly 

editing and deleting capabilities of the DVD camcorders are impressive. 

Panasonic’s 2nd-generation DVD-RAM video recorder appeared in October 

2001 for $1,500 and also wrote to DVD-R discs. 

The DVD-RAM 1.0 format is standardized in ECMA-272 and ECMA-273. 

How Do I Remove a DVD-RAM Type 2 Disc from the Cartridge? 

Type 2 DVD-RAM cartridges allow the disc to be removed so that it can be 

played in standard players or drives. (However, most players and drives still 

aren’t able to read the disc; see “Is It True There Are Compatibility Problems 

with Recordable DVD Formats?”) 

First break (yes, break) the locking pin by pushing on it with a pointed 

object such as a ballpoint pen. 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—do not touch 

it. 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. Some 

will not allow you to write to a cartridge if the disc has been removed. 

DVD�RW and DVD�R 

DVD�RW is an erasable format based on CD-RW technology. It became 

available in late 2001. 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.) 

DVD�RW backers claimed in 1997 that the format would be used only 

for computer data, not home video, but this was apparently a smokescreen 

intended to placate the DVD Forum and competitors. The original 1.0 for-

mat, which held 3 billion bytes (2.8 gigabytes) per side and was not compatible 

with any existing players and drives, was abandoned in late 1999. 

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 

recording 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 (down from 100,000 times in the original 1.0 version). 

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. Original DVD�RW drives did not fulfill the promise of a simple 

upgrade to add DVD�R writing support, so they have to be replaced with 

newer models. The original Philips DVD�RW video recorders, on the other 

hand, can be customer-upgraded to write �R discs. 

Philips announced a DVD�RW home video recorder for late 2001. The 

Philips recorder uses the DVD-Video format, so discs play in many existing 

players. HP announced a $600 DVD�RW drive (made by Ricoh) and $16 

DVD�RW discs for September 2001. HP’s drive reads DVDs at 8x and CDs 

at 32x, and writes to DVD�RW at 2.4x, CD-R at 12x, and CD-RW at 10x. 

In 2003 DVD�R discs cost around $2 to $6 and DVD�RW discs cost 

around $5 to $10. DVD�RW media are produced by CMC Magnetics, 

Hewlett-Packard, MCC/Verbatim, Memorex, Mitsubishi, Optodisc, Philips, 

Ricoh, Ritek, and Sony. 

More DVD�RW information is at www.dvdrw.com and www. 

dvdplusrw.org. The obsolete DVD�RW 1.0 format is standardized in 

ECMA-274. 

Other Recordable Optical Formats 


Competitors to recordable DVD were announced but never appeared, 

thanks in part to the success of the entire DVD family. These formats 

included AS-MO (formerly MO7), which was to hold 5 to 6 billion bytes, and 

NEC’s Multimedia Video Disc (MVDisc, formerly MMVF, Multimedia Video 

File), which was to hold 5.2 billion bytes and was targeted at home recording. 

ASMO drives were expected to read DVD-ROM and compatible 

writable formats, but not DVD-RAM. MVDisc was 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 were not expected to be able to read DVD-ROM or compatible discs. 

There was also FMD (see “What Effect Will FMD Have on DVD?” in 

Chapter 2). And there are HD formats (see “What’s New with DVD Technology?” 

in Chapter 6, “Miscellaneous”). 

How Long Does DVD Recording Take? 

The time it takes to burn a DVD depends on the speed of the recorder and 

the amount of data. Playing time of the video may have little to do with 

recording time, since a half hour at high data rates can take more space 

than an hour at low data rates. A 2x recorder, running at 22 Mbps, can write 

a full 4.7G DVD in about 30 minutes. A 4x recorder can do it in about 15 

minutes. 

NOTE: The -R/RW format often writes a full lead-out to the diameter 

required by the DVD spec, so small amounts of data (such as a 

very short video clip) may take the same amount of time as large 

amounts. 

Why Can’t I Take a Screenshot of DVD Video? 

Why Do I Get a Pink or Black Square? 

Most DVD PCs, even those with software decoders, use video overlay hardware 

to insert the video directly into the VGA signal. This an efficient way to 

handle the very high bandwidth of full-motion video. Some decoder cards, 

such as the Creative Labs Encore Dxr series and the Sigma Designs Hollywood 

series, use a pass-through cable that overlays the video into the analog 

VGA signal after it comes out of the video display card. Video overlay 

uses a technique called colorkey to selectively replace a specified pixel 

color (often magenta or near-black) with video content. Anywhere a colorkey 

pixel appears in the computer graphics video, it’s replaced by video 

from the DVD decoder. This process occurs downstream from the computer’s 

video memory, so if you try to take a screenshot (which grabs pixels 

from video RAM), all you get is a solid square of the colorkey color. 

Hardware acceleration must be turned off before screen capture will 

work. This makes some decoders write to standard video memory. Utilities 

such as Creative Softworx, HyperSnap, and SD Capture can then grab still 

pictures. Some player applications such as PowerDVD and the Windows 

Me player can take screenshots if hardware acceleration is turned off.

Why Can’t I Play Movies Copied to My Hard Drive? 


Almost all movies are encrypted with CSS copy protection (see “What are 

the Copy Protection Issues?” in Chapter 1). Decryption keys are stored in 

the normally inaccessible lead-in area of the disc. You’ll usually get an error 

if you try to copy the contents of an encrypted DVD to a hard drive. However, 

if you have used a software player to play the movie it will have 

authenticated the disc in the drive, allowing you to copy without error, but 

the encryption keys will not be copied. If you try to play the copied VOB 

files, the decoder will request the keys from the DVD-ROM drive and will 

fail. You may get the message “Cannot play copy-protected files.” 

Why Do I Have Problems Playing DVDs on My Computer? 

There are thousands of answers to this question, but here are some basic 

troubleshooting steps to help you track down problems such as jerky playback, 

pauses, error messages, and so on. 

• Get updated software. Driver bugs are the biggest cause of playback 

problems, ranging from freezes to bogus error messages about 

regions. Go to the support section on the Web sites of your equipment 

manufacturers and make sure you have the latest drivers for your 

graphics adapter, audio card, and DVD decoder (if you have a hardware 

decoder). Also make sure you have the latest update of the 

player program. 

Apple has released numerous updates for audio drivers and the DVD 

player application. Make sure you have the latest versions. Go to the 

downloads page and search for DVD. 

• If you have problems loading a DVD on a Mac, hold down the Command, 

Option, and I keys when inserting the disk. (This mounts the 

disc using ISO 9660 instead of UDF.) 

• Make sure DMA or SDT is turned on. In Windows, go into the System 

Properties Device Manager, choose CD-ROM, open the CD/DVD 

driver properties, choose the Settings tab, and make sure the DMA 

box (for IDE drives) or the Sync Data Transfer box (for SCSI drives) is 

checked. Download CD Speed to check the performance of your drive 

(if it’s below 1x, you have problems). 

CAUTION: You may run into problems turning DMA on, especially 

with an AMD K6 CPU or VIA chipset. Check for a BIOS upgrade, a 

drive controller upgrade, a bus mastering driver upgrade, and a


CD/DVD-ROM driver upgrade from your system manufacturer before 

turning DMA on. If the drive disappears, reboot in safe mode, uncheck 

DMA, and reboot again. You may have to tell Windows to restore the 

registry settings from its last registry backup. 

• If you get an error about unavailable overlay surface, reduce the display 

resolution or number of colors (right-click the desktop and 

choose the Settings tab). 

• Try turning off programs that are running in the background. (In Windows, 

close or exit applets in the system tray—the icons in the lower 

right corner. In Mac OS, turn off AppleTalk, file sharing, and virtual 

memory.) 

• Allocate more memory to the Apple DVD Player. 

• If you are using a SCSI DVD-ROM drive, make sure that the it’s the first 

or last device in the SCSI chain. If it’s the last device, make sure it’s terminated. 

• Reinstall the Windows bus mastering drivers. (Delete them from the 

device manager and let Windows ask for the original disc.) 

• Bad video when connecting to a TV could be from too long a cable or 

from interference or a ground loop. See “Why Is the Audio or Video 

Bad?” in Chapter 3. 

Can I Stream DVD over a Network or the Internet? 

Short answer: Not if the disc is copy protected. 

With a fast enough network (100 Mbps or better, with good performance 

and low traffic) and a high-performance server, it’s possible to stream 

DVD-Video from a server to client stations. If the source on the server is a 

DVD-ROM drive (or jukebox), then more than one user simultaneously 

accessing the same disc will cause breaks in the video unless the server 

has a fast DVD-ROM drive and a very good caching system designed for 

streaming video. 

A big problem is that CSS-encrypted movies (see “What Are the Copy 

Protection Issues?” in Chapter 1) can’t be remotely sourced because of 

security issues. The CSS license does not allow decrypted video to be sent 

over an accessible bus or network, so the decoder has to be on the remote 

PC. If the decoder has a secure channel to perform authentication with the 

drive on the server, then it’s possible to stream encrypted video over a network 

to be decrypted and decoded remotely. (But so far almost no 

decoders can do this.)

One solution is the VideoLAN project which runs on GNU/Linux/Unix, 

BeOS, Mac OS X, and other operating systems. It includes a player with 

built-in CSS decryption. Although the code is different from DeCSS, it’s an 

unlicensed implementation and is probably illegal in most countries (see 

“What is DeCSS?”). 

An alternative approach is to decode the video at the server and send it 

to individual stations via separate cables (usually RF). The advantage is that 

performance is very good, but the disadvantage is that DVD interactivity is 

usually limited, and every viewer connected to a single drive/decoder must 

watch the same thing at the same time. 

Many companies provide support for streaming video (MPEG-1, 

MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and so on) over LANs, but only from files or realtime 

encoders, not from DVD-Video discs. 

The Internet is a different matter. It takes over a week to download the 

contents of a single-layer DVD using a 56k modem. It takes about seven 

hours on a T1 line. Cable modems theoretically cut the time down to a few 

hours, but if other users in the same neighborhood have cable modems, 

bandwidth could drop significantly. 

Author’s prediction, made in 2001: The average DVD viewing 

household won’t have sufficiently fast Internet connections before 

2007 at the earliest. Around that time there will be a new highdefinition 

version of DVD with double the data rate, which will once 

again exceed the capacity of the typical Internet connection. 

What Is DeCSS? 


CSS (Content Scrambling System) is an encryption and authentication 

scheme intended to prevent DVD movies from being digitally copied. See 

“What are the Copy Protection Issues?” in Chapter 1 for details. DeCSS 

refers to the general process of defeating CSS, as well as to DeCSS source 

code and programs. 

Computer software to decrypt CSS was released to the Internet in October 

1999 (see Dana Parker’s article at www.emediapro.net/news99/ 

news111.html), although other “ripping” methods were available before that 

(see “DVD Utilities and Region-free Information” in Chapter 6). The difference 

between circumventing CSS encryption with DeCSS and intercepting 

decrypted, decompressed video with a DVD ripper is that DeCSS can be 

considered illegal under the DMCA and the WIPO treaties. The DeCSS 

information can be used to “guess” at master keys, such that a standard


PC can generate the entire list of 409 keys, rendering the key secrecy process 

useless. 

In any case, there’s not much appeal to being able to copy a set of movie 

files (often without menus and other DVD special features) that would take 

over a week to download on a 56K modem and would fill up a 6G hard disk 

or a dozen CD-Rs. An alternative is to recompress the video with a different 

encoding format such as DivX (see “What Is Divx?” in Chapter 2) so that 

it will take less space, but this often results in significantly reduced picture 

quality. In spite of lower data rates of DivX et al, the time and effort it takes 

to find and download the files is not worth the bother for most movie viewers. 

The reality is that most people ripping and downloading DVDs are 

doing it for the challenge, not to avoid buying discs. 

The supporters of DeCSS point out that it was only developed to allow 

DVD movies to be played on the Linux operating system, which had been 

excluded from CSS licensing because of its open-source nature. This is 

specifically allowed by DMCA and WIPO laws. However, the DeCSS.exe 

program posted on the Internet is a Windows application that decrypts 

movie files. The lack of differentiation between the DeCSS process in Linux 

and the DeCSS.exe Windows application is hurting the cause of DeCSS 

backers, since DeCSS.exe can be used in the process of copying and illegally 

distributing movies from DVD. See OPENDVD.ORG and Tom Vogt’s 

DECSS CENTRAL for more information on DeCSS. 

Worthy of note is that DVD piracy was around long before DeCSS. Serious 

DVD pirates can copy the disc bit for bit, including the normally unreadable 

lead in (this can be done with a specially modified drive), or copy the 

video output from a standard DVD player, or get a copy of the video from 

another source such as laserdisc, VHS, or a camcorder smuggled into a 

theater. It’s certainly true that DVD piracy is a problem, but DeCSS has little 

to do with it. 

Shortly after the appearance of DeCSS, the DVD CCA filed a lawsuit and 

requested a temporary injunction in an attempt to prevent web sites from 

posting (or even linking to!) DeCSS information. The request was denied by 

a California court on December 29, 1999. On January 14, 2000, the seven 

top U.S. movie studios (Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony [Columbia/TriStar], 

Time Warner, Twentieth Century Fox, and Universal), backed by the MPAA, 

filed lawsuits in Connecticut and New York in a further attempt to stop the 

distribution of DeCSS on web sites in those states. On January 21, the 

judge for the New York suit granted a preliminary injunction, and on January 

24, the judge for the CCA suit in California reversed his earlier decision 

and likewise granted a preliminary injunction. In both cases, the judges 

ruled that the injunction applied only to sites with DeCSS information, not 

to linking sites. The CCA suit is based on misappropriation of trade secrets 

(somewhat shaky ground), while the MPAA suits are based on copyright cir-

cumvention. On January 24, 16-year old Jon Johansen, the Norwegian 

programmer who first distributed DeCSS, was questioned by local police 

who raided his house and confiscated his computer equipment and cell 

phone. Johansen says the actual cracking work was done by two anonymous 

programmers, one German and one Dutch, who call themselves 

Masters of Reverse Engineering (MoRE). 

This all seems to be a losing battle, since the DeCSS source code is 

available on a T-shirt and was made publicly available by the DVD CCA itself 

in court records—oops! See Fire, Work With Me (www.brunching.com/ 

copyfire.html) for a facetious look at the broad issue. 

How Do I Play DVD Video in HTML, PowerPoint, 

Director, VB, and So On? 

A variety of multimedia development/authoring programs can be extended 

to play video from a DVD, either as titles and chapters from a DVD-Video 

volume, or as MPEG-2 files. In Windows, this is usually done with ActiveX 

controls. On the Mac, until DVD-Video support is added to QuickTime, the 

options are limited. Newer versions of the Apple DVD Player can be controlled 

with AppleScript. 

DVD-Video and MPEG-2 video can be played back in an HTML page in 

Microsoft Internet Explorer using many different ActiveX controls (see Table 

4-3). Some ActiveX controls also work in PowerPoint, Visual Basic, and 

other ActiveX hosts. Netscape Navigator is out of the game until it supports 

ActiveX objects. Simple MPEG-2 playback can be done in PowerPoint 

using the Insert Movie feature (which requires that a DirectShow-compatible 

MPEG-2 decoder be installed). DVD and MPEG-2 playback can be integrated 

into Macromedia Director using specialized Xtras. 

Of course, if you simply treat DVD-ROM as a bigger, faster CD-ROM, you 

can create projects using traditional tools (Director, Flash, Toolbook, Hyper- 

Card, VB, HTML, and so on) and traditional media types (CinePak, Sorenson, 

Indeo, Windows Media, and so on in QuickTime or AVI format) and 

they’ll work just fine from DVD. You can even raise the data rate for bigger 

or better quality video. But it usually won’t look as good as MPEG-2. 

What Are .IFO, .VOB, and .AOB Files? 

How Can I Play Them? 


The DVD-Video and DVD-Audio specifications (see “Who Invented DVD 

and Who Owns It? Whom to contact for Specifications and Licensing?” in 

Chapter 6) define how audio and video data are stored in specialized files.


TABLE 4-3 Active X Controls for DVD Playback 

ActiveX 

HTML host (VB 

Product Price (IE only) PowerPoint and so on) Director 

Microsoft MSWebDVD 

or MSVidWebDVD free yes yes yes no 

Microsoft Windows 

Media Player 6.1 free yes no no no 

InterActual PC Friendly not Certain 

InterActual Player 2.0 $2000 

available versions no no no 

and up yes yes yes yes 

SpinWare iControl PE: $120, Web PE no no 

Web: $1200 version version 

and up 

Visible Light $500 ActiveX ActiveX ActiveX Director 

Onstage DVD and up version version version version 

Sonic EDK (InterActual 

engine) $4000 yes no no no 

Sonic DVD Presenter 

(InterActual engine) $40 no yes no no 

Tabuleiro $200 no no no MPEG-2/ 

DirectMediaXtra VOB files 

but not 

DVD- 

Video 

volumes 

LBO Xtra DVD $500 no no no yes 

Matinée Presenter ? Separate presentation application. Plays 

MPEG-2 files (not DVD-Video).

The .IFO files contain menus and other information about the video and 

audio. The .BUP files are backup copies of the .IFO files. The .VOB files (for 

DVD-Video) and .AOB files (for DVD-Audio) are MPEG-2 program streams 

with additional packets containing navigation and search information. 

Since a .VOB file is just a specialized MPEG-2 file, most MPEG-2 

decoders and players can play them. You may need to change the extension 

from .VOB to .MPG. However, any special features such as angles or 

branching will cause strange effects. The best way to play a .VOB file is to 

use a DVD player application to play the entire volume (or to open the 

VIDEO_TS.IFO file), since this will make sure all the DVD-Video features are 

used properly. 

Many DVDs are encrypted, which means the .VOB files won’t play when 

copied to your hard drive. See “Why Can’t I Play Movies Copied to My Hard 

Drive?” in Chapter 4. 

If you try to copy the .IFO and .VOB files to a recordable DVD it may not 

play. See “How Can I Copy a DVD?” in Chapter 5. 

You may also run into .VRO files created by DVD video recorders using 

the -VR format. In some cases you can treat the files just like .VOB files, but 

in other cases they are fragmented and unplayable. You’ll need a utility such 

as Heuris Extractor to copy them to a hard disk in usable format. 

How Do I Get the Microsoft Windows 

DVD Player Application to Run? 


Windows 98 and Windows 2000 included a simple player application. It 

requires that a DirectShow-compatible DVD decoder be installed (see “Can 

I Play DVD Movies on My Computer?” in Chapter 4). During setup, Windows 

installs the player application if it finds a compatible hardware 

decoder. You must install the player by hand if you want to use it with a software 

decoder or an unrecognized hardware decoder. Using WinZip or 

another utility that can extract from cab files, extract dvdplay.exe from driver17.cab 

(on the original Windows disc). This is the only file you need, but 

you can also extract the help file from driver11.cab, and you can extract 

dvdrgn.exe from driver17.cab if you intend to change the drive region.) 

Windows Me includes a much improved player, although it still requires a 

third-party DirectShow-compatible decoder. Windws Me DVD Player is 

always installed, but it usually does not appear in the Start menu. To use the 

player, choose Run ...from the Start menu, then enter dvdplay.


Windows XP moved DVD playback into Windows Media Player. It requires 

a DVD Decoder Pack, which contains a DirectShow-compatible DVD 

decoder. See Microsoft’s DVD Support in Windows XP page for more info 

and links to Decoder Packs. Microsoft also has a list of supported software 

decoders for Windows XP. 

I Upgraded to Windows XP. Why Did My 

DVD Software Stop Working? 

DVD player software written for Windows 98 and Me does not work in Windows 

XP. Most Windows 2000 software also requires an upgrade. Check 

with your DVD software manufacturer or your PC manufacturer for an 

upgrade, which in many cases is free. Or you may want to buy a low-cost 

Windows XP DVD Decoder Pack (see the preceding “How Do I Get the 

Microsoft Windows DVD Player Application to Run?”). 

How Can I Rip Audio from a DVD to Play 

as MP3 or Burn to a CD? 

Keep in mind that unless you are copying something for your own personal 

use from a DVD that you own, copying a DVD is usually a copyright violation, 

which is illegal and dishonest. 

Use a DVD ripping tool (see “What is DeCSS?” in Chapter 4 and “DVD 

Utilities and Region-free Information” in Chapter 6) to extract Dolby Digital 

or PCM (WAV) files from a DVD. Then use a utility to convert to MP3, WMA, 

or other formats, or to burn to an audio CD. 

Alternatively you can connect the audio output from a DVD player (see 

“What Are the Outputs of a DVD Player?” in Chapter 3) to an audio recorder 

or to audio inputs on a computer.


DVD Production 

DVD production has two basic phases: development and publishing. Development 

is different for DVD-ROM and DVD-Video, publishing is essentially 

the same for both. Cheap, low-volume productions can be duplicated on 

recordable discs, whereas high-volume, mass-market products such as 

movies must be replicated in specialized factories. 

DVD-ROM content can be developed with traditional software development 

tools such as Macromedia Director, Visual BASIC, Quark mTropolis, or 

C��. Discs, including DVD-R check discs, can be created with UDF formatting 

software (see “What DVD-ROM Formatting Tools Are Available?”). 

DVD-ROMs that take advantage of DVD-Video’s MPEG-2 video and multichannel 

Dolby Digital or MPEG-2 audio require video and audio encoding 

(see “What DVD Production Tools are Available?”). 

DVD-Video content development has three basic parts: encoding, 

authoring (design, layout, and testing), and premastering (formatting a disc 

image). The entire development process is sometimes referred to as authoring. 

Development facilities are provided by many service bureaus (see 

“Who Can Produce a DVD for Me?”). If you intend to produce numerous 

DVD-Video titles (or you want to set up a service bureau), you may want to 

invest in encoding and authoring systems (see “What DVD production tools 

are available?” and “What DVD Authoring Systems Are Available?”). 

Replication (including mastering) is the process of “pressing” discs in 

production lines that spit out a new disc every few seconds. Replication is 

done by large plants (see “Who Can Produce a DVD for Me?” for a list) that 

also replicate CDs. DVD replication equipment typically costs millions of dollars. 

A variety of machines are used to create a glass master, create metal 

stamping masters, stamp substrates in hydraulic molds, apply reflective layers, 

bond substrates together, print labels, and insert discs in packages. 

Most replication plants provide “one-off” or “check disc” services, where 

one to a hundred discs are made for testing before mass duplication. Unlike 

DVD-ROM mastering, DVD-Video mastering may include an additional step 

for CSS encryption, Macrovision, and regionalization. There is more information 

on mastering and replication at Technicolor and Disctronics. 



For projects requiring fewer than 50 copies, it can be cheaper to use 

recordable discs (see “What About Recordable DVD: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, 

DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R?” in Chapter 4). Automated machines 

can feed recordable blanks into a recorder, and even print labels on each 

disc. This is called duplication, as distinguished from replication. 

How Much Does It Cost to Produce a DVD? Isn’t It More 

Expensive than Videotape, Laserdisc, and CD-ROM? 

Videotape, laserdisc, and CD-ROM can’t be compared to DVD in a straightforward 

manner. There are basically three stages of costs: production, premastering 

(authoring, encoding, and formatting), and mastering/replication. 

DVD video production costs are not much higher than for VHS and similar 

video formats unless the extra features of DVD such as multiple sound 

tracks, camera angles, seamless branching, and so on are employed. 

Authoring and pre-mastering costs are proportionately the most expensive 

part of DVD. Video and audio must be encoded, menus and control 

information have to be authored and encoded, it all has to be multiplexed 

into a single data stream, and finally encoded in low level format. Typical 

charges for compression are $50/min for video, $20/min for audio, $6/min 

for subtitles, plus formatting and testing at about $30/min. A ballpark cost 

for producing a Hollywood-quality two-hour DVD movie with motion 

menus, multiple audio tracks, subtitles, trailers, and a few info screens is 

about $20,000. Alternatively, many facilities charge for time, at rates of 

around $300/hour. A simple two-hour DVD-Video title with menus and various 

video clips can cost as low as $2,000. If you want to do it yourself, 

authoring and encoding systems can be purchased at prices from $50 to 

over $2 million. See “How Do I Copy my Home Videos/Movies/Slides to 

DVD?” for more on low-cost DVD creation. 

Videotapes don’t really have a mastering cost, and they run about $2.40 

for replication. CDs cost about $1,000 to master and $0.50 to replicate. 

Laserdiscs cost about $3,000 to master and about $8 to replicate. As of 

2003, DVDs cost about $1000 to master and about $0.70 to replicate. 

Double-sided or dual-layer discs cost about $0.30 more to replicate, since 

all that’s required is stamping data on the second substrate (and using 

transparent glue for dual layers). Double-sided, dual-layer discs (DVD-18s) 

are more difficult and more expensive (see “When Did Double-sided, Duallayer 

Discs (DVD-18) Become Available?” in Chapter 3, “DVD Technical 

Details”).

What DVD-ROM Formatting Tools Are Available? 

• Ahead (www.nero.com) 

• Nero. DVD formatting software for Windows. Can make disc image 

files and bootable discs. $70. 

• GEAR (www.gearcdr.com) 

DVD Production 141 

• GEAR Pro DVD. DVD formatting software for Windows 95/98/NT4. 

Writes to DVD-R, DVD-RAM, jukeboxes, and tape, along with general 

UDF formatting and CD-R/RW burning features. $700. 

• DVD RomMaker. DVD formatting systems with RAID hardware. 

$60,000 to $100,000. 

• Philips (www.philips.com) 

• DVD-ROM Disc Builder. DVD formatting software for Windows NT. 

Writes to tape. 

• Roxio (www.roxio.com) 

• Toast DVD. DVD formatting software for Mac OS. Writes to DVD-R 

and tape. Can create DVD-Video discs from VOB and IFO files. $200 

• SmartDisk (www.smartdisk.com, acquired MTC) 

• ForDVD. DVD formatting software for Windows. Writes to DVD-R 

and tape. Can create DVD-Video discs from VOB and IFO files. 

$1200. 

• Smart Storage (www.smartstorage.com) 

• SmartDVD Maker. DVD formatting software for Windows NT. Writes 

to DVD-R and tape. Can create DVD-Video discs from VOB and IFO 

files. $2500. (Discontinued as of March 2001.) 

• Software Architects (www.softarch.com) 

• WriteDVD Pro and WriteUDF. DVD formatting software for Mac OS 

and Windows. Writes to DVD-R and DVD-RAM. 

• Sonic (www.sonic.com, acquired Daikin and Veritas DMD) 

• DVD-ROM Formatter. DVD formatting software for Windows 

NT/2000/XP. Writes to DVD-R and tape. Can create DVD-Video 

discs from VOB and IFO files.


• Stomp (www.stompinc.com, retail distributor for certain Sonic 

products) 

• RecordNow and MaxRecordNow MAX Platinum. CD and DVD burning 

software for music, photos, and video. Windows. $50 and $80. 

• Backup MyPC and Simple Backup. Windows file backup software 

for recordable DVD and CD. 

• Veritas (acquired Prassi) 

Veritas Desktop and Mobile Division was acquired by Sonic in November 

2002. Veritas products such as RecordNow and Drive Letter Access are 

now from Sonic, distributed by Stomp. 

• Young Minds (www.ymi.com) 

• DVD Studio and MakeDisc for DVD. DVD formatting software for 

Windows NT and Unix. Writes to DVD-R. 

Features to Look for in DVD Formatters: 

• Support for UDF file system, including MicroUDF (UDF 1.02 Appendix 

6.9) for DVD-Video and DVD-Audio zones. 

• Support for UDF bridge format, which stores both UDF and ISO-9660 

file systems on the disc. 

• Ability to recognize VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS directories (containing 

IFO, VOB, and AOB files) and place them contiguously at the physical 

beginning of the disc for compatibility with DVD-Video players. Placement 

of directory entries in the first UDF file descriptor is also needed 

for compatibility with certain deficient consumer players. 

• Support for long filenames in Windows (Joliet format recommended). 

• Full equivalence between UDF and Joliet (ISO-9660) filenames. (Windows 

NT 4.0 and Windows 98 read Joliet filenames; Mac OS 8.1�, 

Windows 98, and Windows 2000 read UDF filenames. MS-DOS and 

Windows 95 and earlier read ISO-9660 filenames. Mac OS 8.0 and 

earlier read HFS or ISO-9660 filenames.) 

• Proper truncation and translation of ISO-9660 filenames to 8.3 format 

for discs intended for use with MS-DOS and certain other OSs. 

• Support for Mac OS file information within the UDF file system (for use 

with Mac OS 8.1 and later). 

• Support for Mac OS HFS file system if icons and other file information 

is needed for Mac OS versions earlier than 8.1.

• Ability to create a bootable disc using the El Torito specification in the 

ISO-9660 sectors. 

What DVD Production Tools Are Available? 

Video Encoding Tools 

• Brent Beyeler (various download sites) 

• bbMPEG. Basic MPEG-2 encoder for Windows. Free. 

• Canopus (www.canopus.com) 


• ProCoder. Software video format converter with MPEG encoding. 

Two-pass VBR. Advanced features such as NTSC-PAL conversion, 

de-interlacing, 2-3 pulldown, and batch processing. Windows. 

$700. 

• MVR1000. Hardware real-time video capture and MPEG encoder 

board for Windows. VBR and CBR. Includes Sonic DVDit SE for 

DVD/VCD authoring. 

• Amber. MPEG-2 hardware designed for encoding and archiving 

video in MPEG format. VBR and CBR. (Panasonic MN85560 encoder 

chip). Windows. $2,000. 

• DVRaptor RT. Hardware DV video editing with MPEG output. Windows. 

$600. 

• DVStorm. Hardware video editing/encoding system for MPEG and 

DV. Includes Ulead DVD Workshop for DVD/VCD authoring. Windows. 

$1,100. 

• DVRex RT Professional. Hardware video editing/encoding system 

for MPEG and DV. Includes Sonic DVDit SE for DVD/VCD authoring. 

Windows. $4,400. 

• Custom Technology (www.cinemacraft.com) 

• Cinemacraft Encoder-PRO. MPEG-2 real-time NTSC video encoding 

software for Windows NT. $38,000. 

• Cinema Craft Encoder-SP. MPEG video encoding software for Windows 

XP and 2000. CBR and VBR. $2,000. 

• Cinema Craft Encoder-Basic. MPEG video encoding software for 

Windows. CBR and VBR. $60. 

• Darim (www.darim.com) 

• MPEGator 2. MPEG-2 real-time encoding hardware for Windows 

and Windows NT. $1,800.


• Dazzle (www.dazzle.com) 

• Digital Video Creator II. MPEG-2 video capture/edit/encode system 

with PCI card. Includes Sonic DVDit LE. Windows 98/2000. $300. 

• Digital Ventures (www.dvdcomposer.com) 

• DVDComposer. MPEG-2 video encoding system for SGI. VBR and 

CBR. (C-Cube chip). $50,000. 

• Digital Vision (www.digitalvision.se) 

• BitPack. MPEG-2 video encoding workstation. Extendable to HDTV. 

• DVNR system for video preprocessing. 

• Digigami (www.digigami.com) 

• MegaPeg. MPEG-2 video encoding software for Windows. VBR and 

CBR. $500. Also available as Adobe Premiere plug-in for Windows 

or PowerMac. $400. 

• DV Studio (www.dv-studio.com) 

• Apollo Expert. MPEG-2 video encoding (and decoding) hardware for 

Windows NT. $2,000. 

• FlaskMPEG (www.flaskmpeg.com) 

• Freeware encoding software for Windows. 

• Gunjarm Digital (www.gunjarm.co.kr) 

• MPEGRich. Professional MPEG-2 real-time encoding hardware. 

CBR and VBR. Windows NT. 

• Heuris (www.heuris.com) 

• MPEG Power Professional 1, MPEG Power Professional 2, MPEG 

Power Professional DVD, MPEG Power Professional DTV-SD, and 

Power Professional DTV-HD. MPEG-2 video encoding software for 

Mac OS and Windows. DVD and DTV versions include VBR encoding. 

$350, $1,000, $1,500 and $2,500. 

• Cyclone. MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 encoding software designed for 

OEMs. Mac OS and Windows NT. 

• Ligos (www.ligos.com) 

• LSX-MPEG Encoder. MPEG-2 video encoding software. CBR and 

VBR. Windows. $150. 

• LSX-MPEG Suite. Adobe Premiere plug-in for producing MPEG-1 or 

MPEG-2 output. Includes standalone LSX-MPEG player. Windows 

9x/NT. $400.

• Media100 (www.media100.com) 

• iFinish RealTime MPEG Option. Editing software with MPEG-2 

video encoding add-on. Windows NT. $6,000 to $18,000. 

• Microcosmos/Nanocosmos (www.nanocosmos.de) 

• MPEG SoftEngine. MPEG-2 video encoding software for Windows, 

Solaris, and Linux. $250 to $3500. 

• Minerva (www.minervasys.com) 


• Compressionist 110, 200, and 250. Professional MPEG-2 real-time 

encoding hardware. CBR and VBR. Mac OS host computer. 

$70,000. [No longer available.] 

• Publisher 300. Professional MPEG-2 video and MPEG Layer 2 audio 

real-time encoding hardware. CBR and VBR. Mac OS. [No longer 

available.] 

• Optibase (www.optibase.com) 

• MPEG MovieMaker 200. Professional MPEG-2 video and Dolby 

Digital audio real-time encoding hardware for Windows and Windows 

NT. CBR and VBR. $7,000 to $22,000. 


• DVS3110. Professional MPEG-2 video encoder for PAL and NTSC. 

CBR and VBR. 

• PixelTools (www.pixeltools.com) 

• Expert-DVD. MPEG-2 video encoding software. CBR and VBR. 

Windows. $2,000. 

• Simple-DVD. AVI-to-DVD conversion utility for Windows. $1,500. 

• Snell & Wilcox (www.snellwilcox.com) 

• Prefix CPP100, Prefix CPP200, NRS500, Kudos NRS50, and Kudos 

NRS30. Video preprocessors (noise reduction and image enhancement). 

• Sonic Solutions (www.sonic.com) 

• SD-1000. Professional MPEG-2 video encoding hardware. CBR and 

VBR. Segment-based reencoding. Mac OS and Windows OS. 

$13,000. 

• DVD Fusion. Encoding/authoring plug-in for Media 100 and Quick- 

Time video editing systems. Hardware-accelerated version (velocity 

engine) encodes VBR and CBR in real time. Mac OS. $8,000 and 

$12,000.


• Sony (www.sony.com/professional) 

• DVA-V1100. High-end MPEG-2 video encoding hardware. CBR and 

VBR. Windows NT. 

• Spruce Technologies (www.spruce-tech.com) 

Spruce was acquired in July 2001 by Apple. The MPX-3000 encoder will 

continue to be sold by dealers. 

• MPX-3000. Professional MPEG-2 real-time encoding hardware. 

CBR and VBR. Windows NT. 

• MPEGXpress 2000 (formerly from CagEnt). Professional MPEG-2 

real-time encoding hardware. CBR and VBR. Windows NT. 

• TMPGEnc (www.tmpgenc.net) 

• TMPGEnc and TMPGEnc Pro. MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 software 

video encoders, plus multiplexing/demultiplexing, file joining, and 

trimming tools. Free. 

• VisionTech (www.visiontech-dml.com) 

• MVCast. Low-end real-time MPEG-2 video/audio encoding hardware 

for Windows NT and Solaris. AVI-to-MPEG-2 conversion. 

$2000. 

• Vitech (www.vitecmm.com) 

• MPEG Toolbox-2. AVI to MPEG-2 VBR/CBR. MPEG-2 video editing. 

Windows 95/98/NT. $250. 

• Wired (www.wiredinc.com) 

• MediaPress. MPEG-2 encoding hardware (PCI). CBR and VBR. Mac 

OS and Windows 95/98/NT. $2,500. 

• Zapex (www.zapex.com) 

• ZP-200. Real-time PCI encoder for MPEG-2 video and PCM Audio. 

Non-real-time encoding and VOB multiplexing from Adobe Premiere. 

Windows NT. 

• ZP-300. Real-time PCI Encoder for CBR/VBR MPEG-2 video, 

2-channel Dolby Digital, and PCM Audio. Non-real-time encoding 

and VOB multiplexing from Adobe Premiere. Windows NT. 

Audio Encoding Tools 

• Digital Vision (www.digitalvision.se) 

• BitPack. Multichannel audio encoding workstation for Dolby Digital, 

MPEG-2, and PCM.

• Dolby (www.dolby.com) 

• DP569. Multichannel Dolby Digital audio encoding hardware. 

• Kind of Loud Technologies (www.uaudio.com) 

• SmartCode Pro/Dolby Digital. 5.1-channel encoding software plugin 

for Digidesign Pro Tools. $1000. 

• SmartCode Pro/DTS. 5.1-channel encoding software plugin for 

Digidesign Pro Tools. $2000. 

• Microcosmos (now www.nanocosmos.com) 

• MPEG SoftEngine/Audio. MPEG audio encoding software for Windows/Solaris. 

$95/$350. 


• Audio Compressionist. Professional Dolby Digital real-time, 

5.1-channel encoder. Windows NT. 

• Minnetonka Audio Software (www.minnetonkaaudio.com) 

• SurCode for Dolby Digital. Multichannel Dolby Digital audio encoding 

software. $1000. 

• SurCode DVD Professional for DTS. Multichannel DTS audio encoding 

software. $2000. 


• DVD3310. Professional MPEG-2 multichannel audio encoder. 


• Expert-Audio. MPEG Layer 2 audio encoding software. Windows. 


• Sonic DVD Studio. Professional real-time Dolby Digital 5.1, MPEG- 

2, and PCM audio encoding hardware. Mac OS. 

• MLP Encoder. $9,000. 

• Sonic Foundry (www.sonicfoundry.com) 

• Soft Encode. Dolby Digital 2-channel or 5.1-channel audio encoding 

software. Windows 95/98/NT. $500 (2 channels) or $900 (5.1 

channels). 


• DVA-A1100. High-end, real-time Dolby Digital 5.1, MPEG-2, and 

PCM audio encoding hardware. Windows NT. 


DVD Production 147


Spruce was acquired in July 2001 by Apple. The ACX-5100 encoder will 

continue to be sold by dealers. 

• ACX- 5100 (formerly from CagEnt). Professional Dolby Digital realtime, 

5.1-channel encoder. Windows NT. 

• ACX-2000 (formerly from CagEnt). Professional Dolby Digital realtime, 

2-channel encoder. Windows NT. 

• Zapex (www.zapex.com) 

• ZP-100. Real-time PCI encoder for 2- or 5.1-channel Dolby Digital 

and MPEG Layer 2. Windows NT. 

Other Production Tools 

• Alcohol Software (www.alcohol-software.com) 

• Alcohol 52%. Emulate CDs and DVDs without physical disc. Windows. 

$28. 

• Alcohol 68%. Copy CDs and DVDs. Windows. $30. 

• Alcohol 120%. Combination of Alcohol 52% and Alcohol 68%. Windows. 

$50. 

• ASINT (www.asintgroup.com) 

• Industrial DVD players, touchscreens, and DVD kiosk products. 

• BCD Associates (www.bcdusa.com) 

• DVD controllers for custom installations. 

• Cambridge Multimedia (www.cmgroup.co.uk) 

• Touchscreens and other custom interfaces for industrial DVD 

players. 

• Computer Prompting & Captioning Co. (www.cpcweb.com) 

• CPC-DVD. Closed Caption production system. DOS. $6,000. 

• DCA (Doug Carson & Associates, www.dcainc.com) 

• MIS (Mastering Interface System). Mastering interface system for 

DVD and CD. Windows NT. 

• ITS (Image Transfer System). Transfer and convert DVD and CD 

images. 

• DVS� (Data Verification System). Checks DVD and CD images. 

Includes Interra Surveyor to check for DVD-Video spec compliance. 

Can transfer between discs and tape. Windows NT.

• INMS (Integrated Network Mastering System). Combination of MIS, 

ITS, DVS� in a system with a RAID. 

• Eclipse Data Technologies (www.eclipsedata.com) 

• EclipseSuite. DVD and CD premastering tools to copy and verify 

images, copy tapes, and so on. Windows NT. 

• ImageEncoder. LBR mastering interface for CD and DVD mastering. 

Windows NT. 

• FAB (www.fab-online.com) 

• FAB Subtitler DVD Edition. Subtitle generator program (text and 

bitmap formats) that works with most DVD authoring systems. Windows. 

• Heuris (www.heuris.com) 

• Xtractor. Software to extract video and audio streams from unencrypted 

DVD-Video discs and DVD-VR discs. $150. 

• Isomedia (www.isomedia.com) 

• DVD DLT utilities: copy DLTs, extract images, inspect ISO/UDF/DDP 

info, checksums, and so on. 

• Museum Technology Source (www.museumtech.com) 

• DVD controllers for Pioneer industrial players in custom installations. 

• Novastor (www.novastor.com) 

• TapeCopy. Copy DLTs, inspect tape blocks. 



• MPEGRepair. Software to analyze, repair, insert Closed Captions, 

add panscan vectors, and do other handy things to MPEG files. 

Windows. 

• Smart Projects (www.ping.be/vcd/isobuster.htm) 

• ISOBuster. Inspect CD and DVD volumes and image files. Free. 

• SoftNI (www.softni.com) 

• The DVD Subtitler. Subtitle graphics preparation software. Windows 

95/98/NT/2000. 

• The Caption Encoder. Closed Caption production system. DOS, 

Windows 95/98. 

• The Caption Retriever. Closed Caption recovery and decoding system. 

Windows 95/98/NT/2000.


• Tapedisk (www.tapedisk.com) 

• TD Raw. Reads raw data from a SCSI tape drive as if it were a hard 

disk. DOS/Windows. $500. 

• TD RAW NT. Version of TD Raw for Windows NT 4.0. $750. 

• Technovision (www.technovision.com) 

• Touchscreens and other custom interfaces for industrial DVD 

players. 

• Teco (www.tecoltd.com) 

• ParseMPEG ($500) and Bitrate Viewer (free). Software to analyze 

MPEG streams. Windows. 

Also see “What Testing/Verification Services and Tools Are Availble?” for 

DVD emulation, verification, and analysis tools. 

Other Production Services 

• Captions, Inc. (www.captionsinc.com, Burbank, CA), 818-729-9501. 

Captioning and subtitle services. 

• European Captioning Institute (ECI) (www.ecisubtitling.com, London, 

UK). �44 (0)20 7323 4657. Captioning and subtitle services. 

• Captioneering (www.captioneering.com, Burbank, CA), 888-418- 

4782. Captioning and subtitle services. 

• National Captioning Institute (NCI) (www.ncicap.org, LA 818-238- 

4201; NY 212-557-7011; VA 703-917-7619). Captioning and subtitle 

services. 

• SDI Media Group (www.sdi-media.com, worldwide), �44 (0)20 7349. 

Subtitle services. 

• Softitler (www.softitler.com, Los Angeles, CA). Subtitle services. 

• Tele-Cine (www.telecine.co.uk, London, UK), �44 (0) 171 208 2200. 

Film-to-video conversion. 

• TelecineMojo (www.telecinemojo.com, Los Angeles, CA), 323-697- 

0695. Film-to-video conversion. 

• Vitac (www.vitac.com, Canonsburg, PA) 888-528-4822. Captioning 

services. 

What DVD Authoring 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.

• Apple (www.apple.com) 

• DVD Studio Pro. Mid-level DVD-Video authoring tool for Mac OS. 

$1,000. 

• iDVD. Simple, drag-and-drop DVD-Video authoring, bundled with 

Macs that have DVD-R drives. 

• DVDMaestro. Windows. See Spruce, below. 

• Astarte (www.astarte.de) 


Astarte was acquired April 2000 by Apple, so their products are generally 

no longer available. They resurfaced in March 2001 as iDVD and DVD 

Studio Pro from Apple. 

• DVDirector and DVDirector Pro. Low-end and mid-level DVD-Video 

authoring tools for Mac OS. Pro version includes MediaPress hardware 

MPEG-2 encoder from Wired. Millennium Bundle turnkey 

workstation includes DVDirector Pro, Mac G4, and more. $5,400, 

$10,00, $15,000. 

• DVDelight. Simple, drag-and-drop DVD-Video authoring for Mac 

OS. $1,000. 

• DVDExport. Software to convert Macromedia Director presentations 

to DVD-Video format. Mac OS. $900. 

• Authoringware (www.authoringware.com) 

• DVD WISE. Mid-level authoring system for Windows 95/98/NT. 

$950. 

• DVD Quickbuilder. Multiplexing software. 

• Avid (www.avid.com) 

• Xpress DV. Video editing software with DVD-Video output (using 

Sonic AuthorScript). $1,700. 

• Xpress DV Powerpack. Xpress DV with other software, including 

Sonic DVDit SE. $3,000. 

• Blossom Technologies (www.blossomvideo.com) 

• DaViD 2000, 4000, 6000, and 10000. Turnkey Windows NT 4.0 systems 

using Daikin Scenarist authoring software and Optibase 

encoding hardware or Sonic Foundry audio encoding software. 

$20,000 to $100,000. 

• Canopus (www.canopus.com) 

• Amber for DVD. Amber MPEG-2 encoding hardware with Spruce 

DVDVirtuoso authoring software. $3,300.


• Daikin (www.sonic.com/products/scenarist, Daikin US Comtec Laboratories) 

Daikin’s DVD business was acquired by Sonic in February 2001. Scenarist, 

ReelDVD, and ROM Formatter are now carried by Sonic. 

• DV Studio (www.dv-studio.com) 

• Apollo Expert Author and Apollo Expert DVDer. Mid-level DVD- 

Video authoring system for Windows NT, using DV Studio Apollo 

Expert MPEG-2 encoding hardware and Intec DVDAuthorQuick 

authoring software (Author package, $4,000) or Sonic DVDit (DVDer 

package, $2,500). 

• Apollo Expert Archiver. MPEG-2 encoding system for archiving 

video to DVD-RAM. $2,500 (DVD-RAM drive included). 

• Futuretel (www.futuretel.com) 

• Crescendo. 

• Gunjarm Digital (www.gunjarm.co.kr) 

• DVDRich. Mid-level DVD-Video authoring/encoding on Windows 

NT. Uses MPEGRich encoder and Daikin Scenarist or Intec DVDAuthorQuick. 

$30,000. 

• Houpert Digital Audio (HDA, www.cube-tec.com) 

• CubeDVD-A. DVD-Audio authoring plug-in module for Cube-Tec 

AudioCube digital audio workstation. Uses audio assets mastered 

by NuendoCube. Windows 2000. 

• Intec America 

• DVDAuthorQuick. Mid-level and low-level DVD-Video authoring 

software line for Windows NT. Comes in three versions: Pro, Desktop, 

and LE. $8,000, $2,500, and $400. 

• Margi Systems (www.margi.com) 

• DVPublish-to-Go. Simple DVD authoring to DVD-R or CD-R/W. 

Includes Margi’s 1394-to-Go PC, MGI’s VideoWave III, and Sonic 

Solution’s DVDit LETx. Windows 98 SE or 2000. $300. 

• Matrox (www.matrox.com) 

• Matrox RT2000 and DigiSuite DTV. Video capture and editing in DV 

and MPEG-2 formats. Includes Sonic Solution’s DVDit LE for simple 

DVD authoring. Windows 98. $1,300.

• Microboards (www.microboards.com) 

• DVD AuthorSuite. DVD-Video authoring/encoding for Windows NT. 

Uses Intec DVDAuthorQuick software, Zapex encoders, and Sigma 

Designs decoder. $25,000. 


Minerva DVD authoring software was acquired by Pinnacle in 2000, so it 

is no longer generally available. Impression was re-released by Pinnacle in 

July 2001. 

• DVD-Professional SL and DVD-Professional XL. DVD-Video authoring/encoding 

systems for Windows NT. Includes Publisher 300 and 

Minerva Studio. $100,000. 

• Impression. DVD-Video authoring/encoding system for Windows. 

$10,000. 

• Minnetonka Audio Software (www.minnetonkaaudio.com) 

• DiscWelder Steel. Basic DVD-Audio authoring software. Windows. 

$500. 

• A-Plus. Basic DVD-Audio authoring software. Windows. $2,000. 

• DiscWelder Chrome. Professional DVD-Audio authoring software. 

Windows. $3500. 

• MTC (www.mtc2000.com, Multimedia Technology Center) 

MTC was acquired by SmartDisk in 2000. 


• StreamWeaver Express and StreamWeaver Pro. Simple and midlevel 

DVD-Video authoring, and $900 premastering on Windows. 

$900 and $3,000. 

• DVDMotion. Authoring systems for Windows, oriented toward multimedia 

DVD-ROM production. Comes in three versions: Pro, SE 

(Standard), CE (Consumer). $1,000, $400, $95. 

• DVDMotion CE. Entry-level authoring system for Windows 98/NT4. 

$75. 

• NEC (www.nec-global.com) 

• DV Editor. IEEE-1394 card and and software, plus Sonic’s DVDit LE. 

Windows 98. Available in Japan only. 

• Optibase (www.optibase.com)


• DVD-Fab XPress and DVD-Fab. Turnkey DVD-Video authoring/ 

encoding systems for Windows NT. Includes Optibase MPEG 

Fusion MPEG-2 encoder and Daikin Scenarist authoring software. 

$35,000. 

• Panasonic (http://matsushita.co.jp/info/mei.html) 

• LQ-VD2000S. Turnkey professional DVD-Video authoring system, 

including Windows NT 4.0 workstation. Uses Panasonic MPEG-2 

encoder and LQ-VD3000 emulator. $120,000. 

• LQ-VDS120. Additional workstation software for networking with 

LQ-VD2000S. $22,550 

• LQ-VD3000. DVD Emulator. $15,000 

• Pinnacle (www.pinnaclesys.com) 

• DVD1000. MPEG-2 video editing and DVD-Video authoring system 

for Windows. Pinnacle DVD1000 hardware with Adobe Premiere 

and Minerva Impression. $8,000. 

• Impression DVD. Mid-level DVD-Video authoring/encoding system 

for Windows. $1,000. 

• Pinnacle Pro-ONE. DVD editing/authoring package. Uses Adobe 

Premiere and Impression DVD-SE. $1,300. 

• Pinnacle Edition. Video editing with linear-play DVD/SVCD output. 

$700. 


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

NT. 


• DVDPlug-in. Simple encoding/authoring plug-in for Adobe Premiere. 

Generates single-program, autoplay images that can be 

copied to recordable discs. 

• Q-Comm 

• EasyDVD 

• Roxio (www.roxio.com) 

• Easy CD and DVD Creator. Basic VCD and DVD creation for Windows. 

$80. 

• SADiE (www.sadie.com) 

• DVD-A Direct. DVD-Audio authoring package for SADiE editing and 

mastering system. Windows.


• Scenarist SGI. DVD-Video authoring for SGI. The original professional 

system. $25,000. 

• Scenarist NT. Professional DVD-Video authoring on Windows NT. 

Comes in two versions: Advanced, $15,000; Professional, $22,000. 

• DVD Creator. Professional DVD-Video authoring/encoding systems 

for corporate and industrial applications. Mac OS. Various configurations: 

DVD Creator All-in-One Workstation, $80,000; DVD Creator 

Encoding, $24,500, DVD Creator Authoring, $15,000. 

• DVD-Audio Creator. DVD-Audio authoring system (co-developed 

with Panasonic). Windows. DVD-Audio Complete Workgroup, 

$53,000; DVD-Audio Creator, $13,000; DVD-Audio Creator LE, 

$6,000. 

• OneClick DVD. Simple DVD-Audio authoring. Mac OS. $15,000. 

• DVD Fusion. Mid-level DVD-Video authoring system. Mac OS. 

• DVD Producer (formerly DVD Fusion for Windows). Mid-level DVD- 

Video authoring system. Windows. $3,000. 

• ReelDVD. Low-end authoring for NT and Windows 2000. $1,500. 

• DVDit LE (limited), SE (standard), and PE (professional). Simple, 

drag-and-drop DVD-Video authoring for Windows. $300 (SE), $400 

(PE). LE version is designed to be bundled with other hardware and 

software products. 

• MyDVD. Simple personal DVD-Video authoring for Windows. $79. 

Generally bundled with DVD recorders. 


• DVA-1100. High-end authoring/encoding system with one to eight 

stations. Price range starts at $175,000. 



Spruce was acquired in July 2001 by Apple. DVDMaestro may still be 

available from some dealers. 

• DVDMaestro. High-end authoring/encoding systems for Windows 

NT. $25,000. 

• DVDConductor, DVDVirtuoso, DVDPerformer. Mid-level authoring/encoding 

systems for Windows NT. Also allow DVD content to 

be recorded and played from CD-R. $10,000, $1500, $?. 

• SpruceUp. Simple personal DVD-Video authoring for Windows 

(NT4/98/ME/NT/2000). $129. 

• DVDStationCX. Turnkey system using DVDConductor. $25,000.


• DVDStationNLE. Turnkey system using DVDConductor and Heuris 

MPEG Power Professional encoding software. $10,000. 

• DVDTransfer. Turnkey automated tape-to-DVD system. $30,000. 

• Ulead (www.ulead.com) 

• MediaStudio Director’s Cut. Video editing software with built-in DVD 

authoring. $190. 

• DVD Workshop. Basic video editing and DVD authoring. $300. 

• Visible Light (www.visiblelight.com) 

• Macarena and Macarena Pro. DVD-Video authoring for Power Mac 

G4. Software encoding or hardware encoding (Pro version). Uses 

Astarte DVDirector software. $10,000 and $15,000. 

• Vitech (www.vitecmm.com) 

• DVD Toolbox. AVI to DVD-Video. Write to CD-R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, 

etc. Windows 95/98/NT. $400. 

• DVD Cut Machine. Hardware audio/video encoder bundled with 

DVD Toolbox software. $800. 

Who Can Produce a DVD for Me? 

There are various steps to producing a DVD, but they can be split into two 

major parts: 1) authoring (creating the content and formatting a disc image), 

and 2) replication (cutting a master disc and stamping out hundreds or millions 

of copies). See the beginning of this chapter for more details. 

[A] � authoring (including encoding, DVD-R duplication, and premastering). 

[R] � replication (mastering, check discs, and mass production). Note 

that almost all replicators also have in-house authoring facilities or 

partnerships with authoring houses. 

Other lists are available at DVDInsider, DVDMadeEasy, and Post Magazine. 

Also see “How Do I Copy My Home Videos/Movies/Slides to DVD?” 

for companies specializing in video-to-DVD-R transfers. 

• [A] 12CM Multimedia (www.12cm.com, Mountain View, CA, 650-564- 

9000; Santa Clara, CA 408-350-9000). 

• [A] 24-7DVD (dvd@24-7dvd.co.uk, Mogger Hanger, UK), �44 (0) 

7764 187388.

• [A] Abbey Road Interactive (www.abbeyroad.co.uk, London, UK), 

�44 171 266 7000. 

• [A] Acutrack (www.acutrack.com, Pleasanton, CA), 888-234-3472. 

• [A] Advanced Media Post (www.ampost.com, Burbank, CA), 818- 

973-1668. 

• [A] Advanced Visual Communications (AVCOM@aol.com, AVCOM 

Video) (Tampa, FL), 813-875-0888. 

• [A] All Post (CA), 818-556-5756. 

• [R] Americ Disc [also see MPO], www.amerdisc.com, Salida, CA, 

888-545-7350; Miami, FL, 800-364-0759; Drummonville, Quebec, 

Canada, 800 263-0419. 

• [A]Ascent Media (www.ascentmedia.com, Santa Monica, CA, 

818-840-7235; Northvale, NJ, 201-784-2129). (Merger of companies 

including 4MC, ToddAO, and POP) 

• [A] asv multimedia (asvid@gmx.de, Mengen, Germany), �49 (0) 

7572-78361. 

• [A] Atelier Digital (www.atelierdigital.com, Birmingham, AL), 

205-263-7678. 

• [A] Audio Plus Video International, www.apvi.com, Northvale, NJ, 

201-767-3800; Burbank, CA, 818-841-7100. 

• [A] AVCA (www.avca.com, Austin, TX), 512 472-4995. 

• [A] AVM Dialog AB (www.avmdialog.se, Goteborg, Sweden). 

• [A] B1 Media (www.b1media.com, Sherman Oaks, CA), 

818-905-9902. 

• [A] BCD Associates (www.bcdusa.com, Oklahoma City, OK), 

405-843-4574. 

• [A] Blink Digital (www.blinkdigital.com, New York, NY), 212-661- 

6900. 

• [A] Blue City Digital (dvd@rbw.net, North Kansas City, MO), 

816-300-0441. 

• [A] California DVD (www.caldvd.com, San Francisco, CA), 

1-800-864-1957. 


• [A] Cambridge Multimedia (www.cmgroup.co.uk, Cambridge, UK), 

�44 (0) 1954 262030.


• [A] CAT Technologies (www.thecatwebsite.com, London, UK), 

�44 (0)20 8332 6548. 

• [A] CDA (www.cda.de/index.php4, Albrechts, Germany), 

�49 (0) 36 81 / 3 87 - 1 53. 

• [R] CD Digital Card (www.cddigitalcard.com, Rancho Cucamonga, 

CA), 800-268-1256 [specialize in shaped discs]. 

• [R] CDman (www.cdman.com, Vancouver, BC, Canada), 

800-557-3347. 

• [R] CD Press (www.cd-press.ch, Bergdietikon, Switzerland), 

�41 (0)1 745 90 60. 

• [R] CD-ROM-Works (www.cd-rom-works.com, Portland, OR), 

503-219-9331. 

• [A] Chicago Recording Company (Chicago, IL), 312-822-9333. 

• [R] Cine Magnetics (www.cinemagnetics.com), Armonk, NY, 

914-273-7500; Studio City, CA, 818-623-2560), 800-431-1102. 

• [A] Cinram/POP DVD Center (www.dvdinfo.com, Santa Monica, CA). 

• [R] Cinram (www.cinram.com, Huntsville, AL, 256-859-9042; 

Anaheim, CA, 714-630-6700; Richmond, IN, 800-865-2200; 

Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, 416-298-8190), 800-433-DISC. 

• [A] CKS|Pictures (ianni@cks.com, CA & NY), 408-342-5009. 

• [A] ComChoice (www.comchoice.com, Gardena, CA), 877-633-4241. 

• [A] Complete Post (www.completepost.com, Hollywood, CA), 

323-860-7622. 

• [R] Concord Disc Manufacturing (www.concorddisc.com, Anaheim, 

CA), 714-666-2266. 

• [A] Crafted Timbre (http://home.twcyny.rr.com/craftedtimbre, 

Cortland, NY) 607-756-4780. 

• [R] Crest National (www.crestnational.com, Hollywood, CA), 

323-860-1300. 

• [A] CruSh Interactive, (www.crushinteractive.com, Houston, TX), 

713-972-1133. 

• [A] Cubist Post & Effects (www.cubistpost.com, Philadelphia, PA), 

215-627-1292. 

• [A] CustomFlix (www.customflix.com, San Luis Obispo, CA), 

978-626-1110.


• [A] Cut & Copy (studiowien@cutcopy.com, Vienna, Austria), 

�43 1 523 98 24. 

• [A] CVC (www.cvcdigital.com, Los Angeles, CA), 818-972-0200. 

(Time Warner California Video Center) 

• [A] D2 Productions (www.d2prod.com, CA), 818-576-8113. 

• [A] Dallas Digital Transfer (www.dallasdigitaltransfer.com, Dallas, TX), 

214-336-6292. 

• [R] Davenport (Van Nuys, CA). 

• [A] DAVID (www.davidmedia.it, Aprilia, Italy), 39-6-92704597. 

• [R] Deluxe Video Services (www.bydeluxe.com, Carson City, CA), 

310-518-0710. (Formerly Pioneer Video Manufacturing) 

• [R] Denon Digital (now MD Digital) 

• [A] Designlab Systems, (www.designlab.co.uk, London, UK), 

�44 (0) 207 437 5621. 

• [A] Digidisc (www.digi-disc.com, Atlanta, GA), 770-925-1839. 

• [A] Digisonics DVD (www.digisonics.com, Northridge, CA), 

818-882-3444. 

• [A] Digital Farm (www.digitalfarm.com, Seattle, WA), 206-634-2677. 

• [A] Digital Group (London, UK) 

• [A] digital images (www.digim.de, Halle, Germany), �49 (0)345/2175 

-101. 

• [A] Digital Metropolis (www.digitalmetropolis.com, Denver, CO), 

303-292-4692. 

• [A] Digital Outpost (www.dop.com, CA), 800-464-6434. 

• [A] Digital Safari (www.digitalsafari.net, UK), �44 (0)7092 144 480. 

• [A] Digital Video Compression Corporation (www.dvcc.com, CA), 

818-777-5185. 

• [A] Digital Video Dynamix (Seaford, NY), 516-826-6414. 

• [A] Digital Video Mastering (Sydney, Australia). 

• [A] Digitonium (www.digitonium.com, Los Angeles, CA), 

818-889-2215. 

• [A] Digiverse (www.digiverse.co.uk, London, UK), 

�44 (0) 20 7287 3141. 

• [R] DISC (Orem, UT).


• [R] Disc Makers (www.discmakers.com, Pennsauken, NJ; Fremont, 

CA), 800-468-9353. 

• [R] Disc Manufacturing Inc. (now part of Cinram). 

• [R] DiscBurn.Com (St. Paul, MN), 612-782-8200. 

• [R] Disctronics (www.disctronics.com, Southwater, UK; Plano, TX; 

Saint Mande, France; Italy). 

• [A] Directorsite (www.directorsite.net, Manhattan Beach, CA), 

310-727-2770. 

• [A] DGP (www.dgpsoho.com, London, UK), �44 0 207 734 4501. 

• [R] DOCdata (www.docdata.com, Tilburg, The Netherlands, 

�31 13 544 6444; Berlin, Germany, �49 30 467 0840; Sanford, ME, 

USA, 207-324-1124; Canoga Park, CA, USA 818-341-1124). 

• [A] DownStream Digital (www.downstream.com, Portland, OR), 

503-226-1944. 

• [A] DVD Austin (www.dvdaustin.com, Round Rock, TX), 

800-831-3774. 

• [A] DVD Labs (www.dvdlabs.com, Princeton, NJ), 888-DVD-LABS. 

• [A] DVD Master (www.dvdmaster.com, Fountain Valley, CA), 

714-962-4098. 

• [A] DVD Power (www.dvdpower.co.nz, Auckland, New Zealand), 

�64 (9) 415 5639. 

• [A] DVD Power (www.dvdpwr.com, Singapore), �65 7796155. 

• [A] DVD Recording Center (www.dvd-recording.com, Acton, MA), 

800-321-8141. 

• [A] DVD Technologies (www.dvdtech.com.au, Sydney, Australia), 

1-300-FOR-DVD. 

• [A] DVD Transfer.com (www.dvdtransfer.com, Minneapolis, MN), 

612-676-1165. 

• [A] DVDworx (www.dvdworx.com, Philadelphia, PA), 215-238-9679. 

• [A] Dynamic Media (www.dynamicmediainc.com, Ellicott City, MD), 

410-203-2553. 

• [R] DV Line (e-yu882@hitel.net, Seoul, Korea), 82-2-3462-0331. 

• [A] DVM - Digital Video Mastering (www.dvm.com.au, Sydney, 

Australia), �61 2 9571 6767.

• [A] EagleVision (www.eaglevisiontv.com, Stamford, CT), 

800-EAGLE73. 

• [R] Ecofina (www.ecofina.it, Milan, Italy), �39 024816121. 

• [A] EDS Digital Studios (CA), 213-850-1165. 

• [A] Electric Switch (lindsayh@owl.co.uk, London), 

�44-0-131-555-6055. 

• [R] EMI Operations Italy (www.emioperations.it, Caronno Pertusella 

(VA), Italy), �39 02 965111. 

• [A] E-M-S (www.e-m-s.de, Dortmund, Germany), 0231 442411-0. 

• [A] Ent/Gates Productions (www.entgates.com, Buffalo, NY), 

716-692-0064. 

• [A] escape lab (www.escapelab.com, Brussels, Belgium) 

�32 2 644 99 62. 

• [R] Euro Digital Disc (www.euro-digital-disc.de, Görlitz, Germany), 

�49 (0) 35 81 - 85 32 0. 

• [A] FatDisc (www.fatdisc.com, Seattle, WA), 206-547-3055. 

• [A] Film- und Videotechnik B. Gurtler (Munchen, Germany). 

• [A] Firefly (Ireland). 

• [A] Fitz.com (Santa Monica, CA) 310-315-9160. 

• [A] Flare DVD (London, UK), �44 (0) 20 7343 6565 


• [A] Forest Post Productions (www.ForestPost.com, Farmington Hills, 

MI), 248-855-4333. 

• [A] Full Circle Studios (www.fullcirclestudios.com, Buffalo, NY), 

716-875-7740. 

• [A] FULLSTREAM DVD (www.fullstreamdvd.com, Dallas, TX), 

214-969-1820. 

• [R] Future Media Productions (www.fmpi.com, Valencia, CA), 

661-294-5575. 

• [A] Future Disc Systems (www.futurediscsystems.com, West 

Hollywood, CA), 323-876-8733. 

• [A] G9 Interactive (www.gatewaymastering.com, Monrovia, CA), 

626-358-0859. 

• [A] Gateway Mastering Studios (Portland, ME), 207-828-9400.


• [R] Gema OD (Madrid, Spain), �34 91 643 42 55, 

• [A] Gnome Digital Media (www.gnomedigital.com, Burbank, CA), 

818-563-6539. 

• [R] GoldenROM (www.goldenrom.com, Canonsburg, PA), 

888-757-3472. 

• [A] GTN (www.gtninc.com, Oak Park, MI), 248-548-2500. 

• [A] GVI (www.g-v-i.com, Washington, DC), 202-293-4488. 

• [A] HAVE (www.haveinc.com, Hudson, NY), 518-828-2000. 

• [A] hdmg (www.hdmg.com, Minneapolis, MN), 952-943-1711. 

• [A] HD Studios [DVD-Audio only] (www.hd-studios.com, CEDEX, 

Suresnes, France). 

• [A] Hecker & Schneider GmbH (Dortmund, Germany). 

• [A] Henninger Interactive Media (www.dvdexperts.com, Arlington, 

VA), 703-243-3444. 

• [A] HNC Video/DVD Production (chip@HouseNation.com, Chicago, 

IL), 847-338-6560. 

• [A] Hoboken Entertainment (Los Angeles, CA), 310-470-9440. 

• [A] Hoek & Sonépouse (www.hoek.nl, Diemen, The Netherlands), 

�31 020 - 69 09 141. 

• [R] Home Run Software Services (www.home-run.com, Huntington 

Beach, CA), 714-375-5454. 

• [A] Ibis Multimedia (www.ibismultimedia.co.uk, Suffolk, UK), 

�44 01473 288865. 

• [A] IBM InteractiveMedia (interactive@vnet.ibm.com, GA), 

770-835-7193. 

• [A] IBT Media (www.ibtmedia.com, Merriam, KS), 913-677-6655. 

• [R] Imation (formerly 3M) (WI), 612-704-4898. 

• [A] Immediate Impact (www.d-v-d.net, UK), �44 01322 553 505. 

• [R] Infodisc (www.infodisc.com.tw, Taipei, Taiwan, 886-2-22266616; 

El Paso, TX). 

• [A] Instinct Video & Film Productions (www.instinctfilms.com, 

Orlando, FL), 407-647-9555. 

• [A] International Digital Centre (IDC) (www.idcdigital.com, New York, 

NY), 212-581-3940. 

• [A] IPA Intermedia (www.ipahome.com, IL), 773-871-6033.


• [R] IPC Communication Services (www.ipc-world.com, Foothill 

Ranch, CA), 949-588-7765. 

• [A] JamSync (www.jamsync.com, Nashville, TN), 615-320-5050. 

• [A] Javanni Digital Video (www.javanni.com, Atlanta, GA), 

704-795-7712. 

• [R] JVC Disc America (www.jvcdiscusa.com, Sacramento, CA), 

310-274-2221. 

• [R] KAO Infosystems (www.kaoinfo.com, Fremont, CA), 

800-525-6575. 

• [R] Kao (Ontario, Canada), 800-871-MPEG. 

• [A] kdg mediatech (www.kdg-mt.com, Elbigenalp, Austria, 

�43 (0) 5634-500; Parc d’Activités, France, �33 (0) 3 29 58 40 70). 

• [A] k-kontor[Hamburg] kommunikations (www.k-kontor.de, Hamburg, 

Germany), �49-40-850-9021. 

• [A] The Lawrence Company (www.lawrenceco.com, Santa Monica, 

CA), 310-452-9657. 

• [R] LaserPacific (www.laserpacific.com, CA), 213-462-6266. 

• [R] Lena Optical Disc (www.lenaoptical.com, Hong Kong), 

852-2556-8198 

• [A] Look and Feel New Media (www.lookandfeel.com, Kansas City, 

MO), 816-472-7878. 

• [A] The Machine Room (www.themachineroom.co.uk, London, UK), 

�44 171 734 3433. 

• [A] Mares Multimedia (www.maresmultimedia.com, Nashville, TN), 

615-356-3905. 

• [A] Marin Digital (www.marin-digital.com, Sausalito, CA), 

415-331-4423. 

• [A] Main Point Interactive (www.mainpoint.com, Oley, PA), 

610-987-9320. 

• [R] Marcorp (www.marcopr.com, Pittsburgh, PA), 800-284-6277. 

• [A] Mastering Studio München (www.msn-muenchen.de, Munich, 

Germany), �49-89-286692-0. 

• [R] MD Digital Manufacturing (Madison, GA), 706-342-3425. 

• [R] Maxell Multimedia (now MD Digital). 

• [R] Maxwell Productions (Scottsdale, AZ). 

• [A] Media Tech (www.mediatech1.com, Denver, CO), 303-741-6878.


• [R] Memory-Tech Corporation (Tokyo, Japan). 

• [A] MEP Medienhaus (www.mep-ffm.com, Frankfurt, Germany), 

�49 (0)69 78960202. 

• [R] Mercury Entertainment (www.jaring.my/mercury, Selangor Darul 

Ehsan, Malaysia). 

• [R] Metatec (www.metatec.com, Dublin, OH, 614-761-2000; Milpitas, 

CA, 408-519-5000; Breda, www.metatec.nl, Netherlands, �31 76 

5333 100) 

• [A] Metropolis Group (www.metropolis-group.co.uk, London, UK), 

�44-20-8742-1111. 

• [A] Microsoft Studios Digital Video Services (dvs@microsoft.com, 

Redmond, WA). 

• [A] Microvision Services (www.microvision.org.uk, Huddersfield, UK), 

�44 1484 644852. 

• [A] Mills/James Productions (www.milljames.com, Columbus, OH), 

614-777-9933. 

• [A] Mirage Video Productions (www.miragevideo.com, Boulder, CO), 

303-786-7800. 

• [A] MPEG Production (www.mpeg.se/index.htm, Stockholm, 

Sweden), �46-8-324030. 

• [R] MPO (www.mpo.fr, Europe, North America, and Asia), 

�33 01 41 10 51 51. 

• [R] MRT Technology [Ritek partner] (www.mrttech.com, City of 

Industry, CA), 626-839-5555. 

• [R] Multimedia Info-Tech [Ritek partner] (www.mitcds.com, Belfast, 

Ireland), �44 (0) 2890 300883. 

• [R] Multi Media Replication (www.replication.com, Andover, UK) �44 

(0)1264 336 330. 

• [R] Nimbus CD International (www.nimbuscd.com, see Technicolor). 

• [A] NOB Interactive (www.nob.nl, Netherlands), �31 (0)35-677-5413. 

• [A] NordArt Video & Multimedia (www.nordart.se, Sundbyberg, 

Sweden), �46 8764 66 90. 

• [R] Nordisc (www.nordisc.no, Rjukan, Norway), �47 35 08 01 00. 

• [A] Oasis Post (www.oasispost.com.au, Kent Town, South Australia), 

�61 8 8362 2888.


• [A] Oasis Television (www.oasistv.co.uk, London, UK), �44 (0) 20 

7534 1808. 

• [R] OEM (www.oemdisc.com, Charlotte, NC), 704-504-1877. 

• [R] Optical Disc Corporation, 562-946-3050. (www.optical-disc.com, 

LaserWave DirectCut DVD recorder for creating single copies.) 

• [R] Optical Disc Media (CA). 

• [R] Optimes (www.optimes.it, L’aquila, Italy), �39-0862-3311. 

• [A] Option Facilities (www.option-av.be, Mechelen, Belgium), 

�32/15/28 73 00. 

• [A] The Other Side [nee TwoPlusOne] (www.twoplusone.co.uk, 

London, UK), �44 (0) 207 494 8290. 

• [A] OUTPOST (merrickgroup@earthlink.net, Charlotte, NC), 

704-344-3577. 

• [A] Pacific Coast Sound Works (CA), 213-655-4771. 

• [R] Pacific Mirror Image (Melbourne, Australia). 

• [A] Pacific Ocean Post (CA), 310-458-9192. (Now part of Ascent 

Media) 

• [A] Pacific Video Resources (www.pvr.com, CA), 415-864-5679. 

• [R] Panasonic Disc Services Corp (www.panasonicdvd.com, 

Torrance, CA; Pinckneyville, IL; Guadalajara, Mexico; Youghal, 

Ireland), 310-783-4800. 

• [A] Paris Media System (Paris, France). 

• [A] Paul Stubblebine Mastering and DVD (www.paulstubblebine.com, 

San Francisco, CA), 415-469-0123 

• [A] The Pavement (www.the-pavement.com, London, UK), 

�44 (0) 207 426 5190. 

• [A] Performance Digital Labs (www.performancedigital.com, San 

Diego, CA), 800-253-3085. 

• [A] Phaebus (www.phaebus.co.uk, Manchester, UK), 

�44 (0) 161 950 8105. 

• [A] PIMC (Professional Interactive Media Centre) (www.pimc.be, 

Diepenbeek, Belgium), �32 11 303690. 

• [A] Pioneer France (Nanterre, France), 33 1 47 60 79 30. 

• [R] Pioneer Optical Disc (Barcelona, Spain), �34-93-739-99-00.


• [R] Pioneer Video (www.pvc.co.jp, Kofu, Japan). 

• [A] Pixel Farm Interactive (www.pixelfarm.com, Minneapolis, MN), 

612-339-7644. 

• [A] Positive Charge Ltd. (www.positivecharge.com.pl, Warszawa, 

Poland), �48 22 632 97 32. 

• [R] Pozzoli (www.pozzolispa.com, Milan Italy) �39 02 954341. 

• [A] PRC Digital Media (www.prcdigital.com, Jacksonville, FL), 

904-354-5353. 

• [A] Prime Disc [Ritek partner] (www.primedisc.com, Wiesbaden, 

Germany), �49-611-9628644. 

• [A] Provac Disc Media (anne.brown@sympatico.ca, Toronto, Ontario), 

800-876-9013. 

• [R] Racman Avdio Video Studio (www.racman.si, Ljubljana, Slovenia), 

�386 1 5819-201. 

• [A] Riccelli Creative (www.riccellicreative.com, Fort Worth, TX), 

817-332-7777. 

• [A] The Richard Diercks Company (www.dvdauthor.com, 

Minneapolis, MN), 612-334-5900. 

• [R] Ritek (www.ritek.com, HsinChu, Taiwan, ROC, �886-3-598 5696; 

Taipei, Taiwan, ROC, �886-2-8521-5555). [Also see MRT U.S.), 

Multimedia Info-Tech (Ireland), Prime Disc (Germany), and Ritek 

Australia.] 

• [R] Ritek Australia (www.ritek.com, Alexandria, Australia), 

�61-2-9669-3311). 

• [A] Rivetal (www.rivetal.com, Provo, UT), 801.818.2222. 

• [R] Saturn Solutions (www.saturndisc.com, Markham, Ontario, 

905-470-0844; St. Laurent, Quebec, 514-856-5656; Provo, Utah, 

801-370-9090; Dublin, Ireland, �353-1-403-8599). 

• [A] ScreamDVD (www.screamdvd.com, New York, NY), 

212-951-7171. 

• [R] SDC Group (www.sdc-group.com, Brabrand, Denmark), 

� 45 87 45 45 45. 

• [A] Sharpline Arts (www.sharplinearts.com, Glendale, CA), 

818-500-3958. 

• [R] SKC (www.sk.com, Chonan, South Korea). 

• [R] SNA (www.snacompactdisc.com, Tourouvre, France), 

�33 (0) 2 33 85 15 15.

• [R] Sonopress (www.sonopress.de, Gütersloh, Germany), �49-5241- 

80 5200; Weaverville, NC, USA, 828-658-2000; Dublin, Ireland, �353 

1 840 9000; Madrid, Spain, �34-91-6 71 22 00; Forbach, France, 

�33-1-53 43 82 32. 

• [R] Sony DADC (www.sonydadc.com, Niederalm, Austria), �43 624 

688 0555. 

• [R] Sony Disc Manufacturing (http://sdm.sony.com, Terre Haute, 

Indiana), 800-358-7316. 

• [A] Sound Chamber Mastering (www.sound-chamber.com, North 

Hollywood, CA), 

818-752-7581. 

• [A] SOUNDnVISION (m.fiocchi@snv.it, Milano, Italy), 

�39 02 55 18 02 45. 

• [R] Spool Multi Media (www.smmuk.co.uk, Deeside, UK), 

�44 (0) 1244 280602. 

• [A] Squash DVD (www.squashpost.co.uk, London, UK), 

�44 (0) 20 7292 0222. 

• [A] Star Video Duplicating (www.starvideo.com, Phoenix, AZ), 

602-437-0646. 

• [A] Stay Tuned (www.staytuned.be, Brussels, Belgium), 

�32 2 7611100. 


• [A] Stimulus (Calgary, Alberta). 

• [A] Sté EXILOG (EXILOG.JML@WANADOO.FR, Vendoeuvres 

FRANCE), 33 02 54 38 30 95. 

• [A] Stonehenge Filmworks (www.stonehenge.ca, Toronto and 

Ontario, Canada), 416-867-1189. 

• [A] Stream AV (www.streamav.com.au, Melbourne, Australia), 

�61 3 9376 6444. 

• [A] Studio Reload (www.reload.tv, Boise, ID), 208-344-4321. 

• [A] Sunset Post (www.sunsetpost.com, CA), 818-956-7912. 

• [A] Super Digital Media (www.superdvd.com, Santa Clara, CA), 

408-727-5091. 

• [A] Sync Sound (NY), 212-246-5580 (5.1 audio). 

• [A] Syrinx music & media GmbH (www.syrinx.de, Hamburg, 

Germany), �49-40-63709230. 

• [A] Systeam (www.systream.it, Rome, Italy), �39-06-508141.


• [A] Tape House Broadband (www.tapehousebroadband.com, New 

York, NY), 212-557-4949. 

• [R] Takt (www.takt.pl, Warsaw, Poland), �48 22 874 35 75. 

• [A] TC Video (tcvideo@btinternet.com, Middlesex, UK), �44 

(0)208 904 6271. 

• [R] Technicolor (scorso@nimbuscd.com, Camarillo, CA, 

805-445-1122; Charlottesville, VA, 804-985-1100; Cwmbran, Wales, 

UK, 44-1163-465-000), 800-732-4555). 

• [R] TIB (www.tib.co.uk, Merthyr Tydfil, UK), � 44 (0)1685 354700. 

• [A] Tobin Productions (www.tobinproductions.com, New York, NY), 

212-727-1500. 

• [R] Tocano (www.tocano.dk, Smoerum, Denmark), �45 44666200. 

• [A] Tree Falls (www.tfsound.com, Los Angeles, CA), (323) 469-1068. 

• [R] Universal Manufacturing & Logistics (www.u-m-l.com, Blackburn, 

UK, �44 (0) 1254 505300; Langenhagen, Germany, 

�49 (0) 511-972-1755). 

• [A] Valkieser Solutions (www.valkieser.nl, Hilversum, Netherlands), 

�31-35-6714-300. 

• [R] Japan Victor (Kanagawa, Japan), 45-453-0305. 

• [A] Video Movie Magic (www.videomoviemagic.com, Laguna Hills, 

CA), 949-582-8596. 

• [A] Video Replay (www.videoreplaychicago.com, Chicago, IL), 

• [A] Video Transfer (www.vtiboston.com, Boston, MA), 617-247-0100. 

• [A] Visible Light Digital (www.vldigital.com, Orlando, FL), 

407-327-7804. 

• [A] Visom Digital (www.visomdigital.com.br, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 

�55 21 539-7313. 

• [A] The Vision Factory (www.tvf.com, St. Louis, MO), 314-963-7887. 

• [A] Vision Wise (www.visionwise.com, Irving, TX), 888-979-9473. 

• [R] Warner Advanced Media Operations (www.ivyhill-wms.com, 

WAMO), 717-383-3291. 

• [A] The Zak Studio (www.thezakstudio.com, Paris, France), 

�33 1 49823773. 

• [R] Zomax, (www.zomax.com, Plymouth, MN, 612-577-3515; 

Fremont, CA, 510-492-5191; Indianapolis, IN, 510-492-5191; Dublin, 

Ireland, 353-1-405-6222; Langen, Germany, 49-6103-9702-23).

• [A] Zuma Digital. Now part of Tape House Broadband 

(www.tapehousebroadband.com). 

What Testing/Verification Services 

and Tools Are Available? 

• AudioDev (www.audiodev.com, Sweden, USA, Hong Kong), 

�46 40 690 49 00. 

• CD Associates (www.cdassociates.com, CA). Testing equipment and 

software. (714) 733-8580. 

• ContentWise (www.contentwise.com, Rehovot, Israel), 

�972-8-940-8773. Second Sight software for checking compatibility 

of DVD titles on multiple players. 

• Hitachi (Japan). Testing services and test discs. Official DVD Forum 

verification lab. 

• Intellikey Labs (www.intellikeylabs.com, Burbank , CA), 

(818) 953-9116, fax (818) 953-9144. 


• Interra Digital Video Technologies (www.interra.tv/), Surveyor software, 

$6,000. DProbe, $10,000. 

• ITRI (www.oes.itri.org.tw, HsinChu, Taiwan). Testing services and test 

discs. Official DVD Verification Lab. 886-3-591-5066, 

fax 886-3-591-7531. 

• Matsushita (Japan). Testing services, test discs, and test equipment. 

Official DVD Verification Lab. �81-6-6905-4195, 

fax �81-6-6909-5027. 

• Matsushita/Panasonic (Japan). Panasonic LQ-VD300P emulator. 

Hardware player with Windows NT software. $15,000. 

• Philips (www.philips.com, Europe), DVD-Video Verifier software, 

$500. Official DVD Verification Center. 

• Pioneer (Japan). Testing services and test discs. Official DVD Verification 

Lab. �81-3-3495-5474, fax �81-3-3495-4301. 

• PMTC (Professional Multimedia Test Centre) (www.pmtctest.com/ 

new/upgrade_flash/upgrade_flash.html, Diepenbeek, Belgium), 

�32 11 303636. 

• Sonic Solutions (www.sonic.com, USA). DVD PrePlay software. Emulation 

and diagnosis tools for Windows. $5000. 

• Sony (Japan). Testing services and test discs. Official DVD Format 

Lab. �81-3-5448-2200, fax �81-3-5448-3061.


• Testronic Labs (www.testroniclaboratories.com/, Burbank, CA), (818) 

845-3223, 

fax (818) 845-3236. 

• Toshiba (Japan). Testing services and test discs. Official DVD Verification 

Lab. �81-3-3457-2105, fax �81-3-5444-9202. 

• Victor (Japan). Testing services and test discs. Official DVD Verification 

Lab. �81-3-3289-2813, fax �81-45-450-1639. 

• WAMO (www.ivyhill-wms.com, USA). Testing services and test discs. 

Official DVD Forum verification lab. 1-570-383-3568, 

fax 1-570-383-7487. 

Also see “Other Production Tools” for tools to analyze and verify coded 

bitstreams, disc images, and DLTs. 

Can I Put DVD-Video Content on a CD-R or CD-RW? 

NOTE: This section refers to creating original DVD-Video content, 

not copying from DVD to CD. The latter is impractical, since it takes 7 

to 14 CDs to hold one side of a DVD. Also, most DVD movies are 

encrypted so that the files can’t be copied without special software. 

There are many advantages to creating a DVD-Video volume using an 

inexpensive recordable CD rather than an expensive recordable DVD. The 

resulting “cDVD” (also called a “miniDVD”) is perfect for testing and for 

short video programs. Unfortunately, you can put DVD-Video files on CD-R 

or CD-RW media, or even on pressed CD-ROM media, but almost no settop 

player can play the disc. There are a number of reasons DVD-Video 

players can’t play DVD-Video content from CD media: 

1. Checking for CD media is a fallback case after DVD checking for, at 

which point the players are no longer looking for DVD-Video content 

2. It’s simpler and cheaper for players to spin CDs at 1x speed rather 

than the 9x speed required for DVD-Video content 

3. Many players can’t read CD-R discs (see “Is CD-R compatible 

with DVD?” in Chapter 2, “DVD’s Relationship to Other Products and 

Technologies”).


The only known players that can play a cDVD are the Afreey/Sampo 

LD2060 and ADV2360 models, and the Aiwa XD-DW5 and XD-DW1. Some 

of these players use 1x or 2x readers so they can’t handle data rates over 

4 Mbps. It’s possible to replace the IDE drive mechanism in the player with 

a faster drive, which can then handle higher data rates. See robshot.com for 

details on cDVD-capable players. (Note: there have been many reports of 

players able to play DVD content from CD-R. Upon investigation it turns out 

that they play Video CDs but not cDVDs. The players mentioned above 

have been verified to play DVD-Video files (.VOB and .IFO) from CD media.) 

Computers are more forgiving. DVD-Video files from any source with fast 

enough data rates, including CD-R or CD-RW, with or without UDF formatting, 

will play on most DVD-ROM PCs as long as the drive can read the 

media (all but early model DVD-ROM drives can read CD-Rs). On a Mac, 

you need version 2.3 or newer of the Apple DVD Player. 

To create a cDVD, author the DVD-Video content as usual (see “What 

DVD Authoring Systems Are Available?”) then burn it to a CD-R or CD-RW. 

If your authoring software doesn’t write directly to CD-R/RW discs, use a 

separate utility to copy the VIDEO_TS directory to the root directory of the 

disc. To be compatible with the few settop players that read cDVDs, turn on 

the UDF filesystem option of the CD burning software. To achieve longer 

playing times, encode the video in MPEG-2 half-D1 format (352 � 480 or 

352 � 576) or in MPEG-1 format. 

An alternative is to put Video CD or Super Video CD content on CD-R 

or CD-RW media for playback in a DVD player. Set-top DVD players that 

are VCD or SVCD capable and can read recordable media will be able to 

play such discs (see “Is Video CD Compatible with DVD?” in Chapter 2). 

The limitations of VCD apply (MPEG-1 video and audio, 1.152 Mbps, and 

74 minutes of playing time). All DVD-ROM PCs able to read recordable CD 

media can play recorded VCD discs. An MPEG-2 decoder (see “Can I Play 

DVD Movies on My Computer?” in Chapter 4) is needed to play SVCDs. 

See “How Do I Copy My Home Videos/Movies/Slides to DVD?” for more 

on creating Video CDs. 

How Do I Copy My Home Video/Film/Photos to DVD? 

This used to be almost impossible, but luckily for you it’s getting cheaper 

and easier all the time. 

For a simple video-to-DVD transfer you can buy a DVD video recorder 

($500 to $3,000) and connect it to your VCR or camcorder. It works just like 

a VCR but it records onto a disc instead of tape.


For transferring photos, or for making a customized DVD with menus, 

chapters, and other fun stuff, you’ll need the following: 

• A computer 

• A DVD recordable drive ($200 to $600, or it might come with the 

computer) 

• DVD authoring software (usually comes with the drive or computer, or 

you can buy it for $40 to $27,000, see “What DVD Authoring Systems 

Are Available?”) 

NOTE: You must use authoring software. You can’t just put MPEG 

or AVI files on a disc and expect it to play in DVD players. 

Then take the following steps 

• If the video and pictures are not already in digital form (AVI, WMV, DivX, 

QuickTime, JPEG, and so on) you need to transfer them to your 

computer. For analog video, such as VHS and Hi8, you need a video 

capture device or a computer with built-in analog video input; for digital 

video such as DV or D8 you need a 1394/FireWire input on the 

computer. For film, first have it transferred to tape or digital video at a 

camera shop or video company. For slides or photos, use a scanner 

(or rent scanning time at a place such as Kinkos). 

• Import the video and audio clips into the DVD-Video authoring program. 

Many DVD authoring programs will convert and encode the 

video and audio for you. If not, you have to 

• Encode the video into MPEG-2 (make sure the display frame rate is 

set to 29.97 for NTSC or 25 for PAL). 

• Encode the audio into Dolby Digital (or, if your video is short enough 

that you have room on the disc, format the audio as 48 kHz PCM). 

You can also use MPEG Level 2 audio, but it won’t work on all 

players. 

• Create some chapter points in your video tracks or let the DVD recording 

software do it for you. 

• To put photos on the disc, use the slideshow feature in the authoring 

software or make each picture a menu. Most DVD authoring software 

will directly read TIFF, JPEG, BMP, and Photoshop files. 

• Create menus that link to your video clips and slideshows. 

• Write your finished gem out to a recordable DVD ($2-$15). (But see “Is 

It True There Are Compatibility Problems with Recordable DVD Formats?” 

in Chapter 4 for compatibility worries.)


John Beale has written a page about his experiences making DVDs 

(www.bealecorner.com/trv900/DVD/authoring.html). 

Another option is to use a service that does all the work for you at a reasonable 

fee. Here are a few choices. 

• 3-Lib (http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/dvd/, Reading, UK). Up to 2 hours for 

£25. PAL format. 

• American Digital Media (www.AmericanDigitalMedia.com, Hoover, 

AL). Up to 2 hours for $99. 

• Digital Video Dynamics (www.vcdtransfer.com, Orlando, FL). Up to 2 

hours for $40 (chapters at 5-minute intervals). 

• DVD ELF (www.movieblowout.com, Miami, FL). Up to 1 hour for $60. 

2 hours for $95. 

• DVD Wedding Productions (www.dvdweddings.com, South 

Pasadena, CA). One tape for $150 (� VHS dubbing charge). 

• HomeMovie.com (Everett, WA). Up to 2 hours for $50 (chapters 

included). 

• ImageStation (www.imagestation.com/a2dvd/, Sony/Vingage; Reston, 

VA). Up to 90 minutes for $40. 

• Latale Productions (www.thevideodisc.com, Flushing, NY). 1 tape for 

$99 (chapters extra). 

• ScreamDVD (www.screamdvd.com, New York, NY). Up to 1 hour for 

$40, up to 2 hours for $70 (chapters at 3-minute intervals). 

• VHS-to-DVD (www.vhs-to-dvd.com, Pembroke Pines, FL). Up to 1 

hour for $18 to $25, up to 2 hours for $28 to $35. 

• Visualisation Systems (www.visualisationsystems.co.uk, Preston, UK). 

Up to 1 hour for £35. Up to 2 hours for £40. VCD for £20. 

• Wedding DVD (www.weddingdvds.com) no longer offers the service. 

• YesVideo.com (San Jose, CA; kiosks at Target, Walgreens, and elsewhere). 

$37 for 1 hour, $60 for 2 hours (chapters included). 

Or, if near-VHS quality is sufficient, make a Video CD. Get MPEG-1 video 

encoding software and a CD-R/RW formatting application that supports 

Video CD such as Easy CD Creator or Toast from Roxio (formerly Adaptec), 

InstantCD from Pinnacle (formerly from VOB), InternetDiscWriter from 

Query, MPEG Maker-2 from VITEC, MyDVD or RecordNow Max from Sonic, 

Nero Burning ROM from Ahead, NTI CD-Maker from NTI, or WinOnCD from 

Cequadrat. Quality is not as good as DVD, and playing time is not as long, 

but hardware and blank CDs are cheaper. Just make sure that any players


you intend to play the disc in can read CD-Rs (see “Is CD-R compatible 

with DVD?” in Chapter 2) and can play Video CDs (see “Is Video CD compatible 

with DVD?” in Chapter 2). See VCDhelp.com for more on making 

Video CDs. A variation on this strategy is to make Super Video CDs (see “Is 

Super Video CD compatible with DVD?” in Chapter 2), which have better 

quality but shorter playing time. A few of the authoring/formatting tools 

listed above can make SVCDs, but few DVD players can play SVCDs. 

Another option is a home Video CD recorder, such as the Terapin CD 

Audio/Video Recorder or the TV One MPEG-2@disk, which record video 

from analog inputs to CD-R or CD-RW. 

How Can I Copy a DVD? 

This section is about copying disc-to-disc. See “How Can I Record from 

DVD to Videotape?” in Chapter 2 for copying to tape. 

First, please understand that copying a commercial DVD may be illegal, 

depending on what you do with the copy. Copying video for your own personal 

use is legal, but making copies of copyrighted discs for friends is not. 

Second, be aware that almost all DVD movies are protected from casual 

copying. See “What Are the Copy Protection Issues?” in Chapter 1, “General 

DVD,” for details. However, any protection measure is usually broken, 

see “What is DeCSS?” in Chapter 4. 

Third, realize that many movies come on dual-layer discs (DVD-9s), 

which can’t be directly copied to recordable DVD since there are no duallayer 

recordable discs, although you may be able to break up the content 

from on DVD-9 onto two recordable discs. 

Fourth, understand that copying the files from a DVD to a recordable DVD 

often produces a disc that won’t play in a set-top DVD player, since the files 

have to go in specific order and specific places on the disc. Some DVD writing 

software recognizes the files and places them correctly, but other software 

doesn’t. In other words, you can’t just copy the .IFO and .VOB files (see 

“What are .IFO, .VOB, and .AOB files? How Can I Play Them?” in Chapter 4). 

If you have a legitimate need to copy a DVD, such as a disc you made 

yourself, there are a number of options. You can hook a DVD player to a 

set-top DVD video recorder. Some DVD authoring software (see “What 

DVD authoring systems are available?”) can import video from an unprotected 

disc. There are computer software utilities you can use to extract 

video and audio from a disc, which you can then use to make a new disc. 

There are also software tools for copying entire discs. See “DVD Utilities 

and Region-free Information” in Chapter 6, “Miscellaneous,” and “Other 

Production Tools” for tools; see “How Do I Copy My Home Videos/Movies/ 

Slides to DVD?” for how to make your own DVDs.

Beware of e-mail and ads touting DVD copying software for sale. See 

“What’s with Those ‘Copy Any DVD’ E-mails?” below. 

What’s with Those “Copy Any DVD” E-mails? 

It’s true you can copy any DVD movie. However the people selling DVD 

copying software conveniently don’t mention the many free alternatives, nor 

do most of them mention that their applications only copy to CD-R/RW in 

Video CD format, which means the video quality is crummy and the copies 

don’t play in about half the DVD players out there (see “Is CD-R Compatible 

with DVD?” and “Is Video CD compatible with DVD?” in Chapter 2). 

They also neglect to mention that copying movies from rental stores or from 

friends is illegal. 

How Do I Get a Job Making DVDs? 

Read this book through a few times. For extra credit read my book, DVD 

Demystified, and visit some of the DVD information sources listed in “Where 

Can I Get More Information About DVD?” in Chapter 6. Then attend a conference 

(see “How Do I Get a Job Making DVDs?”) to learn more and to 

make contacts in the DVD industry. Take a few training courses (see “How 

Do I Get a Job Making DVDs?”). Consider joining the DVDA. If you can, volunteer 

to be an intern at a DVD production house (see “Who Can Produce 

a DVD for Me?”). 

Once you have a little experience, you’ll be in great demand! 

Where Can I Get DVD Training? 


A variety of workshops and seminars on various DVD topics are presented 

at conferences such as DVD Pro, DVD Summit (Europe), or DVD Production. 

Training companies offer DVD courses and “boot camps”: 

• adicomm (www.adicomm.com, Costa Mesa, CA) 

• dvd.learn (www.dvdlearn.com, Denver, CO) 

• Ex’pression Center for New Media (www.xnewmedia.com, Emeryville, 

CA) 

• Gnome Digital Media (www.gnomedigital.com, Burbank, CA), maker 

of the DVD 101 training/template discs 

• I.N.C. Technologies (http://inc-tech.com, Glendale, CA), oriented 

towards amateur DVD users 

• TFDVD.com (Havertown, PA), DVD Studio Pro training


• Seneschal (http://seneschal.net, San Francisco, CA) 

• Texas State Technical College (http://waco.tstc.edu/dvd/, Waco, TX) 

• Video Symphony (www.videosymphony.com, Burbank, CA) 

Some schools offer full-term courses: 

• Ngee Ann Polytechnic Digital Media Authoring Studio (www.np. 

edu.sg, Singapore) 

• Seneca College (http://scaweb.senecac.on.ca, Toronto, CA) 

• South Seas Film and Television School (www.southseas.co.nz, Auckland, 

New Zealand) 

The major DVD authoring software companies offer training classes 

around the world, sometimes for free: 

• Apple Computer (www.apple.com) 


How Can I Sell DVDs That I Made? 

• Amazon zShops sales referrals. Your disc is listed on Amazon site, 

Amazon processes orders, you are responsible for producing, packaging, 

and shipping discs. 

• CustomFlix duplication and e-commerce consignment. You give them 

a disc (or tape that they turn into a disc), and they handle order processing, 

copying onto DVD-Rs, labeling, packaging, and shipment. No 

minimum is required. 

• Auction sites such as eBay, Amazon Auctions, Yahoo Auctions, uBid, 

and many others. The Site runs the auction, you are responsible for 

taking payment, producing, packaging, and shipping discs. 

If you are looking for someone to deliver your titles to retailers, see “Studios, 

Video Publishers, and Distributors” in Chapter 6 for distributors. 

How Do I Put a PowerPoint Presentation on DVD? 

There’s not yet a feature in PowerPoint to export directly to video on DVD, 

but you can convert a PowerPoint presentation to stills or video for import 

into a DVD authoring program (see “How Do I Copy My Home 

Videos/Movies/Slides to DVD?”). Recent versions of PowerPoint allow you 

to save your slides as graphic images (JPEG or PNG files) that can be


imported into a DVD authoring program that supports slideshows. The 

advantage of using the slideshow feature is that you can have the DVD 

player pause indefinitely on each still until you press the Enter or Play key 

on the remote control. (Note: make sure the authoring software supports 

true slideshows with “infinite stills,” since many programs just render slides 

as video.) The disadvantage of using stills is that you won’t get animations 

and other fancy PowerPoint effects. Alternatively you can record the PowerPoint 

presentation as a video file (use a PowerPoint add-in or a motion 

screen capture program) and import the video file into the DVD authoring 

program. This preserves the full visual effect but locks you into the timing 

you used when recording the presentation.



Miscellaneous 

Who Invented DVD and Who Owns It? 

Whom to Contact for Specifications and Licensing? 

DVD is the work of many companies and many people. There were originally 

two competing proposals. The MMCD format was backed by Sony, Philips, 

and others. The SD format was backed by Toshiba, Matsushita, Time 

Warner, and others. A group of computer companies led by IBM insisted that 

the factions agree on a single standard. The combined DVD format was 

announced in September of 1995, avoiding a confusing and costly repeat of 

the VHS versus Betamax videotape battle or the quadraphonic sound battle 

of the 1970s. 

No single company “owns” DVD. The official specification was developed 

by a consortium of ten companies: Hitachi, JVC, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, 

Philips, Pioneer, Sony, Thomson, Time Warner, and Toshiba. Representatives 

from many other companies also contributed in various working 

groups. In May 1997, the DVD Consortium was replaced by the DVD Forum, 

which is open to all companies, and as of 2003 had over 220 members. Time 

Warner originally trademarked the DVD logo, and has since assigned it to the 

DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation (DVD FLLC). The written term 

“DVD” is too common to be trademarked or owned. See “Who Is Making or 

Supporting DVD Products?” for a list of companies working with DVD. 

The official DVD specification books are available after signing a nondisclosure 

agreement and paying a $5,000 fee. One book is included in the initial 

fee; additional books are $500 each. Manufacture of DVD products and 

use of the DVD logo for nonpromotional purposes requires additional format 

and logo licenses, for a one-time fee of $10,000 per format, minus $5,000 if 

you have already paid for the specification. (For example, a DVD-Video 

player manufacturer must license DVD-ROM and DVD-Video for $20,000, or 

$15,000 if they have the spec.) Contact DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation 

(DVD FLLC), Shiba Shimizu Building 5F, Shiba-daimon 2-3-11, 

Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0012, tel: �81-3-5777-2881, fax: �81-3-5777-2882. 

Before April 14, 2000, logo/format licensing was administered by Toshiba. 



ECMA International has developed international standards for DVD- 

ROM (part 1, the smallest part of the DVD spec), available for free download 

as ECMA-267 and ECMA-268 from www.ecma-international.org. ECMA 

has also standardized DVD-R in ECMA-279, DVD-RAM in ECMA-272 and 

ECMA-273, and DVD�RW as ECMA-274 (see “What About Recordable 

DVD: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD�RW, and DVD�R?” in Chapter 4, 

“DVDs and Computers”). Unfortunately, ECMA has the annoying habit of 

spelling “disc” wrong. Also confusing, if you’re not from Europe, is ECMA’s 

use of a comma instead of a period for the decimal point. 

The specification for the UDF file system used by DVD is available from 

www.osta.org. 

Many technical details of the DVD-Video format are available at the 

DVD-Video Information page (www.mpucoder.com/dvd/). 

Any company making DVD products must license essential technology 

patents from a Philips/Pioneer/Sony pool (3.5 percent per player, minimum 

$5; additional $2.50 for Video CD compatibility; 5 cents per disc), a Hitachi/ 

Matsushita/Mitsubishi/Time Warner/Toshiba/Victor pool (4 percent per 

player or drive, minimum $4; 4 percent per DVD decoder, minimum $1; 7.5 

cents per disc) and from Thomson. Patent royalties may also be owed to 

Discovision Associates, which owns about 1300 optical disc patents (usually 

paid by the replicator). 

The licensor of CSS encryption technology is DVD CCA (Copy Control 

Association), a non-profit trade association with offices at 225 B Cochrane 

Circle, Morgan Hill, CA. There is a $10,000 initial licensing fee, but no perproduct 

royalties. Send license requests to css-license@lmicp.com, technical 

info requests to css-info@lmicp.com. Before December 15, 1999, CSS 

licensing was administered on an interim basis by Matsushita. 

Macrovision licenses its analog antirecording technology to hardware 

makers. There is a $30,000 initial charge, with a $15,000 yearly renewal fee. 

The fees support certification of players to ensure widest compatibility with 

televisions. There are no royalty charges for player manufacturers. Macrovision 

charges a royalty to content publishers (approximately 4 to 10 cents 

per disc, compared to 2 to 5 cents for a VHS tape). 

Dolby licenses Dolby Digital decoders for $0.26 per channel. Philips, on 

behalf of CCETT and IRT, also charges $0.20 per channel (maximum of 

$0.60 per player) for Dolby Digital patents, along with $0.003 per disc. 

An MPEG-2 patent license is required from MPEG LA (MPEG Licensing 

Adminstrator). Cost is $2.50 for a DVD player or decoder card and 4 cents 

for each DVD disc, although there seems to be disagreement on whether 

content producers owe royalties for discs. 

Many DVD players are also Video CD (VCD) players. Philips licenses the 

Video CD format and patents on behalf of themselves, Sony, JVC,

Matsushita, CNETT, and IRT for $25,000 initial payment plus royalties of 2.5 

percent per player or $2.50 minimum. 

Nissim claims 25 cents per player and 78/100 of a cent for parental management 

and other DVD-related patents. 

Various licensing fees add up to over $20 in royalties for a $200 DVD 

player, and about $0.20 per disc. Disc royalties are paid by the replicator. 

Who Is Making or Supporting DVD Products? 

Consumer Electronics 

Miscellaneous 181 

• Afreey: DVD-Video players 

• Aiwa: DVD-Audio and DVD-Video players 

• Akai: DVD-Video players 

• Alba: DVD-Video players 

• Alpine: DVD car navigation/entertainment 

• Altec Lansing: DVD audio technology 

• Amitech: DVD-Video players 

• Amoisonic: DVD-Video players 

• Apex Digital: DVD-Video players (made by VDDV; info at www. 

nerd-out.com/apex and aenow.com/apex/) 

• Arcam: DVD-Video players (UK) 

• Ariston: DVD-Video players 

• Atlantis Land: DVD-Video players 

• A-trend: DVD-Video players 

• Atta: DVD-Video players 

• Audiologic: DVD-Video players 

• Audiosonic: DVD-Video players 

• Audiovox: Car DVD players 

• Axion: DVD-Video players 

• AV Phile (Raite): DVD-Video Players 

• Bluesky: DVD-Video players 

• BUSH: DVD-Video players 

• California Audio Labs: DVD-Video players 

• CAT: DVD-Video players 

• Camelot: DVD-Video players 

• Casio: DVD-Video players


• CCE: DVD-Video players 

• CD Playright: protective film for discs 

• Centrum: DVD-Video players 

• Chunlan: DVD-Video players 

• Clairtone: DVD-Video players 

• Clarion: DVD car navigation/entertainment 

• Comjet: DVD-Video players with Web connection 

• Compro: DVD-Video players 

• Conia: DVD-Video players (Australia, made by VDDV) 

• Cougar: DVD-Video players 

• Cyberhome (Yamakawa/Raite): DVD-Video players 

• Daewoo Electronics: DVD-Video players 

• Dantax: DVD-Video players 

• Denon: DVD-Audio and DVD-Video players 

• Denver: DVD-Video players 

• Digitor: DVD-Video players 

• Digitron: DVD-Video players 

• DiViDo: DVD-Video players (Netherlands) 

• Dual: DVD-Video players 

• DVDO: video deinterlacing processors 

• Dynamic: DVD-Video players 

• Eagle Wireless International: DVD Internet appliances 

• Eclipse: DVD-Video players 

• Electrohome: DVD-Video players 

• Elta: DVD-Video players 

• Eltax: DVD-Video players 

• Emerson (Funai): DVD-Video players 

• Encore: DVD-Video players 

• Enzer: DVD-Video players 

• Esonic: DVD-Video players 

• ESS Technology: DVD-Video players and WebDVD players 

• Euro Asia Technologies: DVD-Video players (UK) 

• Faroudja: DVD-Video players 

• Finlux: DVD-Video players 

• Fisher (Sanyo): DVD-Video players 

• Funai (Emerson/Orion/Sylvania/Symphonic): DVD-Video players 

• GE (Thomson): DVD-Video players 

• Genica: DVD-Video players 

• Goodmans: DVD-Video players

• GPX/Yorx: DVD-Video players 

• Gradiente: DVD-Video players 

• Grandin: DVD-Video players 

• Great Wall: DVD-Video players (Hong Kong) 

• Grundig: DVD-Video players 

• Guangdong Jinzheng Digital: DVD-Video players 

• Gynco: DVD-Video players 

• Haier: DVD-Video players 

• Harman Kardon: DVD-Video players 

• Himage: DVD-Video players 

• Hitachi: DVD-Video players and recorders 

• Hiteker: DVD-Video players (made by VDDV) 

• Homemighty: DVD-Video players 

• Hoyo (Raite): DVD-Video Players 

• Hyundai: DVD-Video players 

• iDVDBox: Enhanced DVD-Video Players 

• I-Jam: DVD-Video players 

• Innovacom: PC/TV with DVD support 

• Irradio: DVD-Video players 

• Jasmine: DVD-Video players 

• Jeutech: DVD-Video players 

• JNL: DVD-Video players 

• Jocel: DVD-Video players 

• JVC (Victor): DVD-Video players and recorders 

• Kendo: DVD-Video players 

• Kennex: DVD-Video players 

• Kenwood: DVD-Video players 

• Keymat: DVD-Video players 

• KiSS (Raite): DVD-Video players 

• Kioto: DVD-Video players 

• KLH: DVD-Video players 

• Kones: DVD-Video players 

• Konka: DVD-Video players 

• Labway: DVD-Video players 

• Lafayette: DVD-Video and DVD-Audio players 

• Lasonic (Yung Fu): DVD-Video players 

• Lawson: DVD-Video players 

• Lecson: DVD-Video players 

Miscellaneous 183


• Lector: DVD-Video players 

• Legend: DVD-Video players 

• Lenco: DVD-Video players 

• Lenoxx: DVD-Video players 

• LG Electronics (GoldStar): DVD-Video players 

• Lifetec: DVD-Video players 

• Limit: DVD-Video players 

• Loewe: DVD-Video players 

• Logix: DVD-Video players 

• Lumatron: DVD-Video players 

• Luxman: DVD-Video players 

• Madrigal (Mark Levinson): DVD-Audio and DVD-Video players 

• Magnavox (Philips): DVD-Video players 

• Magnex: DVD-Video players 

• Majestic: DVD-Video players 

• Malata: DVD-Video players 

• Manhattan: DVD-Video players 

• Marantz (Philips): DVD-Audio, SACD, and DVD-Video players 

• Mark: DVD-Video players 

• Matsushita (Panasonic/National/Technics/Quasar): DVD-Video 

players and recorders, DVD-Audio players, DVD car 

navigation/entertainment 

• Matsui: DVD-Video players 

• Medion: DVD-Video players 

• Memorex: DVD-Video players 

• Meridian: DVD-Video players 

• Metz: DVD-Video players 

• MiCO: DVD-Video players 

• Microboss: DVD-Video players 

• Micromega: DVD-Video players 

• Minato: DVD-Video players 

• Mintek: DVD-Video players 

• Mishine: DVD-Video players 

• Mitsubishi: DVD-Video players 

• Mitsui: DVD-Video players 

• Monica/Monyka (Raite): DVD-Video players 

• Mossimo: DVD-Video players (China) 

• Mustek: DVD-Video players


• NAD: DVD-Video players 

• Nakamichi: DVD-Audio and DVD-Video players 

• Napa: DVD-Video players 

• NEC: DVD-RAM video camera 

• Neufunk: DVD-Video players 

• Nintaus (Guangdong Jinzheng): DVD-Video players 

• Noriko: DVD-Video players 

• Odyssey: DVD-Video players 

• Olidata: DVD-Video players (Italy) 

• Omni: DVD-Video players 

• Onkyo: DVD-Video and DVD-Audio players 

• Optics-Storage: DVD-RW video recorders (supplier) 

• Optim: DVD-Video players 

• Orava: DVD-Video players 

• Orion: DVD-Video players 

• Oritron: DVD-Video players 

• Palsonic (Australia): DVD-Video players 

• Panasonic (Matsushita): DVD-Video players and recorders, 

DVD-Audio players 

• Philco: DVD-Video players 

• Philips (Magnavox/Marantz/Norelco): DVD-Video players and 

recorders 

• Phoenix: DVD-Video players 

• Phonotrend: DVD-Video players 

• Pioneer: DVD-Video players and recorders, DVD-Audio players, DVD 

car navigation/entertainment 

• Primare: DVD-Video players 

• Proceed: DVD-Video players 

• Proline: DVD-Video players 

• Proscan (Thomson): DVD-Video players 

• Proson: DVD-Video players 

• Proton: DVD-Video players 

• Quadro: DVD-Video players 

• Raite: DVD-video players (Taiwan) 

• Rankarena: DVD-Video players 

• RCA (Thomson): DVD-video players 

• RCR: DVD-Video players (China) 

• REC: DVD-Video players (UK, made by VDDV, same as APEX)


• Redstar: DVD-Video players 

• Revoy (Netherlands): DVD-video players 

• Roadstar: DVD-Video players 

• Rotel: DVD-video players 

• Rowa: DVD-Video players 

• Runco: DVD-video players and changers 

• Saivod: DVD-Video players 

• Sampo (Afreey): DVD-Video players 

• Samsung: DVD-Video players 

• Samwin: DVD-Video players 

• Sanyo: DVD-Video players 

• SAST: DVD-Video players 

• Schaub Lorenz: DVD-Video players 

• Schneider: DVD-Video players 

• Scott: DVD-Video players 

• SEG (Yamakawa/Raite): DVD-Video players 

• Sharp: DVD-Video players 

• Shinco: DVD-Video players (Hong Kong) 

• Shinsonic: DVD-Video players 

• Singer: DVD-Video players 

• Skyworth: DVD-Video players 

• SMC: DVD-Video players 

• Sonic Blue: DVD-Video players and combo DVD-VHS players 

(formerly Sensory Science and Go-Video) 

• Sony: DVD-Video players and changers 

• Soyea: DVD-Video players 

• Spatializer Audio Laboratories: 3D audio processing 

• Sublime: DVD-Video players 

• Sylvania (Funai): DVD-Video players 

• Symphonic (Funai): DVD-Video players 

• Tatung: DVD-Video players 

• Teac: DVD-Video players 

• Technics (Matsushita): DVD-Video and DVD-Audio players 

• Teknema (Ravisent): Web-connected DVD-Video players 

• Telestar: DVD-Video players 

• Tevion: DVD-Video players 

• Thakral: DVD-Video players (China, Hong Kong) 

• Theta: DVD-Video players

• Thomson (RCA/G.E./Proscan/Ferguson/Nordmende/Telefunken/ 

Saba/Brandt): DVD-Video players 

• Tokai (Raite): DVD-Video Players 

• Toshiba: DVD-Video players and recorders, DVD-Audio players 

• Tredex: DVD-Video players 

• Umax: DVD-Video players 

• United: DVD-Video players 

• Unity Motion: DVD-Video players 

• Universum: DVD-Video players 

• Venturer: DVD-Video players 

• Vialta (ESS): WebDVD players 

• Victor (JVC): DVD-Video players 

• Vieta: DVD-Video players 

• Visual Disc and Digital Video: DVD-Video players (China) 

• Waitec: DVD-Video players 

• Walkvision: DVD-Video players 

• Wharfedale: DVD-Video players 

• Wintel: DVD-Video players 

• XMS: DVD-Video players 

• Xwave: DVD-Video players 

• Yamaha: DVD-Audio and DVD-Video players 

• Yamakawa (Raite): DVD-Video players 

• Yami (Raite): DVD-Video players 

• Yelo: DVD-Video players 

• Yukai: DVD-Video players 

• Zenith (becoming a subsidiary of LG): DVD-Video players 

Studios, Video Publishers, and Distributors 

DVD File maintains a list of studio addresses, as well as DVD producer and 

distributor information. 

• A2O Entertainment (wholesale distributor) 

• A.D. Vision (anime) 

• Acorn Media 

• Aftermath Media (Tender Loving Care, interactive movie) 

• All Day Entertainment 

• Alphaville Pictures (distributed by Universal) 

Miscellaneous 187


• Amazing Fantasy 

• Amblin Entertainment (distributed by Universal) 

• American Gramaphone 

• American Software 

• Anchor Bay Entertainment 

• Animeigo 

• A-Pix Entertainment 

• Artisan Home Entertainment (formerly LIVE Entertainment) 

• Arts & Entertainment DVD 

• Atomic Video (adult) 

• Avalanche 

• Baby Einstein (infant development) 

• Baker & Taylor (distributor) 

• Beyond Music (distributor) 

• Black Chair Productions (independent films) 

• Black Entertainment Television (BET) 

• BMG (Sonopress) 

• Brentwood 

• Brilliant Digital Entertainment (multipath movies) 

• BroadcastDVD 

• Buena Vista Home Video (Disney) 

• CAV Distributing (distributor) 

• Castle Music Pictures (music performance) 

• Castle Home Video 

• Cecchi Gori 

• Celebrity 

• Central Park Media 

• Cerebellum (educational) 

• Chesky 

• Classic Records 

• Columbia TriStar (Sony) 

• Compact Media (distributor) 

• Concert @ Home (Platinum Entertainment) 

• Concorde Video (12 Monkeys, German) 

• Corinth Films (Wade Williams Collection) 

• Creative Design Art 

• Criterion Collection 

• DaViD Entertainment


• Delos International (mostly audio) 

• Delta Entertainment 

• Deluxe (distributor and replicator) 

• DG Distributors (distributor) 

• Diamond Entertainment (distributor) 

• Digital Disc Entertainment 

• Digital Leisure (formerly ReadySoft) (Dragon’s Lair, Space Ace) 

• Digital Multimedia 

• Digital Versatile Disc 

• Dimension Films (Miramax) 

• Direct Source 

• Direct Video Distribution (distributor, UK) 

• Disney (Buena Vista Home Video, Dimension Films, Hollywood 

Pictures, Miramax, Touchstone) 

• Dream Theater 

• DreamWorks SKG 

• DVD International (distributor) 

• D-Vision 

• Eaton Entertainment 

• Elite Entertainment 

• EMI Records 

• E Real Biz 

• Essex Entertainment 

• Fantoma 

• Filmways (distributor, Argentina/Spain) 

• FOCUSFilm Entertainment 

• Fox Lorber 

• Front Row 

• Full Moon Pictures 

• Gainax (anime) 

• General Media Communications (Penthouse) (adult) 

• Goldhil Home Media 

• Goodtimes Entertainment 

• Gramercy Pictures (distributed by Universal) 

• Hallmark Home Entertainment (Artisan) 

• HBO Home Video (Warner) 

• HODIE (multimedia recording label) 

• Hollywood Pictures (Disney, folded into Touchstone)


• Hot Body International (adult) 

• Ice Storm Entertainment (distributor, Germany) 

• Ideal Entertainment 

• Image Entertainment (distributor) 

• Impressive (adult) 

• IndieDVD (publisher; alliance of independent filmmakers) 

• Ingram (distributor) 

• Key East 

• King’s Road (distributed by Trimark) 

• Kino International 

• Laserdisc Entertainment (adult) 

• Laserlight 

• Lee & Lee Films 

• Leo Films 

• Living Arts (health) 

• LucasFilm (distributed by Twentieth Century Fox or Paramount) 

• Lucerne Media (educational) 

• Lumivision (distributed by SlingShot) 

• Lyric 

• MacDaddy 

• Madacy 

• Magic Lantern 

• Marin Digital (Your Yoga Practice) 

• Master Tone 

• MCA (Universal) 

• MCA Music 

• Media Galleries 

• Media Group (distributor) 

• Metro Global Media (adult) 

• Metromedia 

• MGM/UA (Warner) 

• Mill Reef (Earthlight) 

• Miramax Films (Disney) 

• Monarch Home Video 

• Monterey 

• MPI Home Video 

• MTI 

• Multimedia 2000 (aka M-2K)


• Music Video Distributors (distributor) 

• N2K Music 

• Navarre (distributor) 

• NET TEN (distributor) 

• Nettwerk Productions 

• New Horizons Home Video 

• New Line (Warner) 

• New Video Group 

• New Vision 

• New York Entertainment 

• NuTech Digital (adult) 

• October Films (Universal) 

• Opera World 

• Orion Pictures (MGM, some older DVD titles distributed by Image 

and Criterion) 

• Overseas Filmgroup (distributor, partner with Image) 

• Pacific Digital 

• Palm Pictures 

• Panasonic Interactive Media (defunct) 

• Panorama 

• Paramount Home Video (owned by Viacom) 

• Parasol 

• Passport Video 

• Phantom Video 

• Picture This Home Video 

• Pioneer Entertainment (distributor) 

• Platinum 

• Playboy Home Video 

• PM Entertainment 

• Polygram (Philips partner) 

• Pony Canyon (Japan) 

• PPI Entertainment 

• Private Media Group (adult) 

• Pro7 Home Entertainment (Germany) 

• Program Power 

• Real Entertainment 

• Red Distribution (distributor) 

• Renegade


• Republic Pictures (defunct, distributed by Artisan) 

• Rhino Home Video 

• Roadshow Entertainment (Australia) 

• Roan Group 

• Rykodisc 

• Samsung Entertainment Group 

• Shanachie 

• Showtime 

• Simitar Entertainment 

• Sierra Vista Entertainment (Innovacom) 

• Silver Screen 

• SlingShot (acquired Lumivision titles) 

• Sony Music Entertainment 

• Sony Pictures (Columbia, Epic, Sony Music, Sony Wonder, TriStar) 

• Sony Wonder (kids) 

• Steeplechase 

• Sterling Home Entertainment 

• Super Digital Media 

• SyCoNet.com (distributor, anime) 

• Synapse Films 

• Tai Seng 

• Technicolor (distributor and replicator) 

• Tempe Entertainment 

• Thakral (distributor; Hong Kong, China) 

• Toho (Japan) 

• Tone Home Video 

• Toshiba EMI 

• Touchstone (Disney) 

• Trimark Pictures 

• Troma Entertainment 

• Turner Home Entertainment 

• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment 

• Unapix Entertainment 

• United American 

• United Artists (MGM) 

• Universal Studios Home Video (owned by Seagram) 

• USA 

• U.S. Laser

• Valley Media (distributor) 

• VCA Interactive (VCA Pictures, VCA Labs; adult) 

• VCI Home Video 

• Ventura 

• Victor Entertainment (JVC) 

• Victory 

• Video Watchdog 

• Video One Canada (distributor) 

• Vidmark 

• Vista Street 

• Vivid Video (adult) 

• Walt Disney Pictures 

• Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music (Toshiba partner) 

• Warner Home Video (Toshiba partner) 

• Waterbearer Films 

• WIT Entertainment (distributor) 

• WGBH 

• WWF Home Video 

• Wolfe 

• World Video 

• Xenon 

• Xoom 

• York 

Hardware and Computer Components 


• Acer Laboratories: DVD decoder/controller chips 

• Advent: DVD-ROM-equipped computers 

• Alliance Semiconductor: display adapters with hardware acceleration 

for DVD playback 

• Allion: DVD mirroring servers 

• AMLogic: DVD player chipset 

• Analog Devices: 192-kHz/24-bit audio DAC 

• Apple: DVD-ROM- and DVD-RAM-equipped computers, playback 

hardware and software (QuickTime) 

• ASACA: DVD-RAM towers 

• AST: DVD-ROM-equipped computers (with MMX-based playback 

software) 

• ASM: DVD jukeboxes


• ATI Technologies: display adapters with hardware acceleration for 

DVD playback 

• Avid Electronics: DVD decoder/controller chips 

• Axis Communications: DVD-ROM storage servers 

• Bridge Technology: optical pickup assemblies 

• Canopus: DVD-RAM video archiving. 

• CD Associates: Software and hardware for production and testing. 

• CEI: DVD playback hardware and software 

• Cirrus Logic: MPEG-2 encoder/decoder chips 

• CMC Magnetics: recordable discs 

• Compaq: DVD-ROM-equipped computers 

• Creative Technology: DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM upgrade kits, DVD 

decoder software 

• Cygnet: DVD-RAM jukeboxes 

• DIC (Dainippon Ink and Chemicals): ink, organic pigments, 

thermosetting resin 

• Dave Jones Design: controllers for industrial DVD players 

• Diamond Multimedia: DVD upgrade kit (Toshiba drive) 

• Digimarc: watermarking technology 

• Digital: DVD software playback (for Alpha workstations), DVD 

encoder chips 

• Digital Stream: optical pickup assemblie 

• Digital Video Systems: DVD-ROM drives 

• Disc, Inc.: DVD-RAM jukeboxes. 

• DSM: DVD jukeboxes 

• DVDO: video deinterlacing chips 

• DynaTek: DVD upgrade kit 

• EPO Technology: DVD-ROM drives 

• Escient: DVD-ROM changer 

• ESS Technology: playback chipset, player reference design 

• Fantom Drives: DVD-RAM and DVD-ROM kits 

• Fujitsu: DVD-ROM-equipped computers 

• Gateway: DVD-ROM-equipped computers 

• Genesis Microchip: video chips (progressive-scan, scaling) 

• Granite Microsystems: IEEE-1394 DVD-ROM drives 

• Harman Int.: DVD jukebox 

• Hitachi: DVD-ROM drives, DVD-RAM drives, decoder chips 

• Hi-Val: DVD playback hardware (upgrade kit)


• Hyundai: DVD decoder chips 

• IBM: DVD-ROM-equipped computers, decoder chips 

• I-Jam: DVD-ROM drives 

• Imation: DVD-RAM media. 

• Inaka: DVD jukebox software 

• Infineon: DVD reader circuitry 

• Innovacom: DVD encoder and decoder systems 

• Intel: DVD playback hardware (MMX) and software 

• Interactive Seating: Battle Chair 

• I/OMagic: IEEE-1394 DVD-ROM drives 

• JVC: DVD-ROM drives, DVD-RAM jukebox 

• Kasan: decoder hardware 

• KOM: DVD-RAM changer 

• LaCie: DVD-RAM drives 

• Leitch: DVD-RAM video recording 

• LG Electronics: DVD-ROM drives 

• LSI: DVD encoder and decoder chips (acquired C-Cube) 

• Luminex: Unix software for DVD-based archiving and duplication 

• LuxSonor: DVD playback chips 

• Margi: DVD decoder card for notebook PCs 

• Matrox: display adapters with hardware acceleration for DVD 

playback 

• Matsushita (Panasonic): DVD-ROM drives, DVD-RAM drives, 

upgrade kits, DVD/Web integration, DVD-RAM still-image recorder 

• Media100: DVD authoring tools, DVD playback hardware and 

software 

• Mediamatics: DVD playback software and hardware 

• Medianix: Dolby Digital decoder hardware with Spatializer 3D audio 

• Memorex: DVD-ROM drives 

• Microboards: DVD drive (VAR) 

• Microsoft: DVD playback support (DirectShow) and player 

applications 

• Microtest: DVD-ROM jukeboxes 

• Mitsubishi: DVD players, DVD-ROM drives 

• Motorola: DVD decoder chips 

• National Semiconductor: DVD playback and reference designs 

• Number 9: display adapters with hardware acceleration for DVD 

playback


• Nuon Semiconductor: DVD playback reference platform (Nuon) 

• NEC: DVD-ROM drives 

• Net TV: DVD-ROM PC for home entertainment 

• NSM: DVD-ROM jukebox, DVD-RAM jukebox 

• Oak Technology: DVD playback hardware and software 

• OTG Software: DVD jukebox software 

• Packard Bell: DVD-ROM-equipped computers 

• Philips: DVD-ROM drives, DVD�RW drives, decoder chips 

• Pioneer: DVD-ROM drives, DVD-R drives, DVD-RW video recorders 

• Plasmon Data: DVD-RAM jukebox 

• Procom: DVD-ROM jukebox 

• Ricoh: DVD-ROM/CD-RW drives 

• Rimage: DVD duplication and printing equipment 

• RITEK: DVD-R, DVD-RAM 

• S3: display adapters with hardware acceleration for DVD playback 

• Samsung: DVD-ROM drives and DVD-ROM-equipped computers 

• Spectradisc: limit-play technology 

• STMicroelectronics (formerly SGS-Thomson): DVD decoder chips 

• SICAN: DVD decoder chips 

• Sigma Designs: DVD playback hardware 

• Software Architects: DVD-recordable utilities for UDF and Mt. Rainier 

writing 

• Sonic Solutions: DVD-Video decoding software (acquired a portion 

of Ravisent, formerly Quadrant International) 

• Sony: DVD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM-equipped computers 

• ST Microelectronics: DVD decoder chips (acquired a portion of 

Ravisent, formerly Quadrant International) 

• STB Systems: DVD playback hardware (upgrade kit) 

• Technovision: Controllers and synchronizers for consumer and 

industrial DVD players 

• TDK: blank DVD-RAM discs 

• Toshiba: DVD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM-equipped computers, DVD- 

RAM drives 

• Tracer Technologies: DVD jukebox software and DVD recording 

software (Unix) 

• TribeWorks: custom player software 

• Trident Microsystems: DVD decoder chips, DVD-accelerated video 

controller chips 

• Truevision: DVD playback software (Microsoft Active Movie 2.0)

• Verbatim Australia (ActiveMedia): DVD playback hardware 

(upgrade kit) 

• VisionTech: MPEG-2 encoder/mulitplexer 

• Wired: DVD playback hardware and software (acquired by Media 

100) 

• X-10.com: (wireless DVD transmitter) 

• Xing: DVD playback software 

• Yamaha: AC-3 decoder chips 

• Zen: multi-beam DVD reading technology 

• Zoran/CompCore: DVD software and hardware playback, DVD 

decoder chips 

Computer Software Titles on DVD-ROM 


• 2 Way Media: Launch 

• Access Software: Overseer, Tex Murphy 

• Acclaim Entertainment: Reah 

• Accolade: Jack Nicklaus 4, Family Spectacular 

• Action Zone: games 

• Activision (Quicksilver): Muppet Treasure Island, Spycraft: The Great 

Game, Zork: The Grand Inquisitor 

• Aftermath Media: Tender Loving Care 

• ALLDATA: automotive information databases 

• Aludra: Beat 2000 DVD, Language Tutor DVD, Virtual Makeover DVD 

• Apple Computer: Mac OS Anthology (available to developers only) 

• BBC Interactive 

• Black Isle Studios (Interplay): Baldur’s Gate 

• Broderbund: Riven, PrintMaster Platinum, ClickArt 300,000. 

• Byron Preiss/Simon & Schuster: The Timetables of Technology 

• ComChoice: Marketing, sales, and training 

• Creative Multimedia: Billboard Music Guide, Blockbuster 

Entertainment Guide to Movies and Video 

• Creative Wonders (The Learning Company): Schoolhouse Rock, 

Sesame Street, Wide World of Animals 

• DeLorme: AAA Map’n’Go DVD Deluxe 

• Data Becker: Clipart Collection, Sound Collection 

• Digital Directory Assistance: PhoneDisc PowerFinder USA One 

• Digital Versatile Disc: Shaodan 

• Digital Leisure: Dragon’s Lair, Hologram Time Traveler, Space Ace


• Discovery Channel: Leopard Son/Animal Planet, Connections 

• Dorling Kindersley 

• Electronic Arts: Wing Commander IV 

• Electronic Publishing Association: LANGMaster Collins COBUILD 

Student Dictionary 

• EuroTalk Interactive: Language Learning 

• Firebrand: Lost in Crazy Town 

• genX Software: Dead Moon Junction 

• Global Star Software: 100 Great Action Arcade Games, Excessive 

Speed, Gubble, 303 Professional Legal Forms 

• Graphix Zone 

• Grolier: Multimedia Encyclopedia 

• GT Entertainment: Forrest Gump, Reah 

• Hachette Multimedia: Hachette Encyclopedia 

• IBM Interactive Media: The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend 

• Index+: Dracula Resurrection, Dracula the Last Sanctuary, Louvre the 

Final Curse 

• Interactual Technologies: Star Trek VideoSaver 

• Interplay: Baldur’s Gate, Starfleet Academy 

• Into Networks: PlayNow (unlockable games) 

• IVS: The Union Catalogue of Belgian Research Libraries 

• Japan Travel Bureau: DVD-Web product 

• Kunskapsforlaget (Sweden): Focus Encylopedia 

• The Learning Company (SoftKey): Battles of the World, Clickart, 

Digital Library, The Genius of Edison, National Geographic, 

Printmaster 7. 

• Liris (Havas) Interactive: Découvertes (Junior Discovery) 

• Magnum Design 

• Mechadeus: The Daedalus Encounter 

• MediaGalleries: Multimedia Bach 

• MediaOne: VersaDisc 

• Microsoft: Encarta, MSDN/TechNet, Works Suite 

• Mill Reef: Earthlight, Coral Sea Dreaming 

• Mindscape 

• Mitchell Repair Information Company: ON-DEMAND 

• Monolith: Claw 

• Montparnasse Multimedia: Microcomsos, Voyage to the land of the 

Pharaohs

• Multimedia 2000 (aka M-2K, formerly Multicom): Birds of the World; 

Bubblegum Crisis; HomeDepot’s Home Improvement 1-2-3; Warren 

Miller’s Ski World ‘97; Exploring National Parks; Great Chefs, Great 

Cities; Better Homes and Gardens Cool Crafts 

• Natif 

• NB Digital/Mill Reef: Earthlight 

• Not A Number: Blender 

• Oeil Pour Oeil: Death Dealer 

• Organa: The Book of Lulu 

• Pro CD: Select Phone 

• Project Two Interactive: Reah (distributed by GT in U.S., Acclaim in 

UK and Ireland) 

• Psygnosis: Lande 

• Red Orb Entertainment: 

• Sega: 4 game/instruction titles to be released in early 1997 

• Sierra Online 

• Sumeria: Vanishing Wonders of the Sea, Wild Africa 

• SuperZero: adult DVD-Video 

• SuSE: SuSE Linux 6.3 

• TerraGlyph Interactive Studios: Buster and the Beanstalk (Tiny Toons) 

• Torus Games 

• Tsunami: Crazy 8’s, Silent Steel, Silent Steel II 

• VR Sports (Interplay): Virtual Pool 

• Warner Advanced Media 

• Westwood Studios: Command & Conquer 

• Xiphias: Encyclopedia Electronica 

• Zombie VR Studios: Liberty 

Where Can I Buy (or Rent) DVDs and Players? 

(See “How Much Do Discs Cost?” in Chapter 1, “General DVD,” for price 

comparisons and coupons.) 

• 800.com (players) 

• 999Central (DVDs for shipping and handling cost only) 

• A&B Sound (Canada) 

• abcDVD (UK, region 1) 

• abt Electronics (players) 

Miscellaneous 199


• AccessDVD.com 

• Ace VCD DVD (Hong Kong/anime) 

• Airplay (Japan, region 2) 

• All DVD Movies (DVDs) 

• AllCheapMusic.com (DVDs for $10 or less) 

• Amazon.com (players and DVDs) 

• Amazon.co.uk (UK; players and DVDs) 

• AnimeNation (DVDs) 

• Anime Depot (DVDs) 

• Asian Xpress (Hong Kong films) 

• Bargainflix (DVDs) 

• Best Buy (players and DVDs) 

• Best Buy Movie (Germany; DVDs) 

• Bensons World (UK; players) 

• Beyond Music (DVDs 

• Big Emma (used DVDs) 

• BigStar (players and DVDs) 

• BigWheelOnline.com (DVDs; $1 shipping worldwide) 

• BlackStar (UK, region 2 DVDs; free shipping worldwide) 

• Blockbuster (rental and sales of DVDs) 

• Brainplay.com (DVDs) 

• Buy.com (players and DVDs) 

• C&L Internet Club (Canada; DVDs) 

• CD JAPAN (Japan, region 2) 

• CDNOW (DVDs) 

• CDRealm (Switzerland) 

• Columbia House (DVD mailorder club) 

• Consumer Direct Warehouse (players) 

• Critics’ Choice Video (DVDs) 

• DeepDiscountDVD.com 

• DeVoteD (Australia, region 4 DVDs) 

• Digibuster Media (online rental) 

• Digital Entertainment (Indian films) 

• Digital Eyes (DVDs) 

• Digital Playtime (Australia, region 4) 

• Digitallageret.com (Asian imports) 

• The Digital Shop (Greece) 

• Direct Video

• Disc and Picture Company (Australia) 

• discShop.com (UK, region 1 and 2) 

• DVDCity 

• DVD City (Australia) 

• DV Depot 

• DVD Domain 

• DVD Empire 

• DVDIt Italia (Italy) 

• DVD North (Canada) 

• DVDONE 

• DVD Overnight (online rental) 

• DVD Palace (formerly Liquidata) 

• DVD Planet (formerly Ken Crane’s, now a division of Image 

Entertaiment) 

• DVDPlus (Europe) 

• DVD Rent (Australia, sales and online rental) 

• DVDshoppingCenter (region 2) 

• The DVD Movie Store (Australia, offline rentals) 

• DVDstreet (region 2) 

• DVD Supercenter.com (adult) 

• DVD titlewaves (discs and players) 

• DVD VideoPlanet (New Zealand, regions 1 and 4) 

• DVD Wave 

• DVD World (UK, region 2) 

• DVD World (New Zealand, regions 1 and 4) 

• DVD Zone 2 (region 2) 

• eBay (buy and sell new and used DVDs) 

• Elvic (Netherlands) 

• EntertainmentStudios.com (DVDs) 

• Evolution Audio & Video 

• Express.com 

• Fantastic Movies (Switzerland) 

• FeatureDVD 

• Fotosound (UK) 

• Gamestech.com (multi-region players) 

• German Music Express (Germany) 

• GreenCine (online rental of rare and alternative titles) 

• Just Watch It (regions 1 and 2) 

Miscellaneous 201


• Karaoke - Show (Switzerland) 

• LADA Universal (regions 1 and 2, new and used) 

• Laser Corner (Greece) 

• Laserdisc DVD Outlet 

• Laser Discovery (online rental, Hong Kong movies) 

• The LaserDisc Division 

• Laserdisc House (UK, regions 1 and 2) 

• Laser’s Edge 

• Laservisions Direct 

• LearningStore.co.uk (educational and non-violent DVDs) 

• GoDVD (UK, regions 1 and 2) 

• Half.com (used discs and players) 

• Hastings Entertainment (buy or rent DVDs) 

• Hifi.com (players) 

• HKFlix.com (Asian DVDs) 

• InsideDVD (free disc subscription) 

• Hollywood Video (rental) 

• Ken Crane’s 

• Kotiteatteri (Finland) 

• Media Play 

• MegaDVD 

• MovieClubOnline (discount video rentals) 

• MovieGallery.com (new and used movies and games) 

• Musicland 

• NetFlix (online rental, monthly fee) 

• North American DVD (retail and wholesale) 

• On Cue 

• OneCall (players) 

• OZDVD Warehouse (region 4) 

• Reel.com (no longer sells discs) 

• Reg2.net (Spain) 

• Rent A DVD (online rental, Switzerland) 

• Ro-Disc (Netherlands, regions 1 and 2) 

• RPM Records (rare discs) 

• Sam Goody 

• Second Chance DVD (used) 

• Shopping.com 

• Shopping Matrix (South Africa, region 2)

• Sony Music Direct 

• Stardust DVD (Puerto Rico) 

• Starship Industries 

• SublimeDigital.com (players and drives) 

• SVS (UK, region 2) 

• Swinging Planet (UK, cult video; region 2) 

• TLA Video 

• Trans World Entertainment (TWEC) 

• Universe of Entertainment (Switzerland) 

• VideoCave 

• VideoLtd.com 

• Virgin Megastore 

• Xchangecity (trade DVDs with other members) 

• (Disclosure: Some of the links above include affiliate program 

information that may result in a commission to Jim.) 

Where Can I Buy Blank Recordable DVDs? 

Important note: With blank DVDs the adage “you get what you pay for” is 

usually true. Cheaper discs are more likely to produce errors when burning 

and are less compatible with players. 

• 800 CDR 

• Buy-DVD-R.com 

• CD-DVD-Supplies.com 

• CD-Recordable.com 

• J&R Electronics 

• Meritline.com 

• Memorex 

• Pro Tape Northwest 

• Shop4tech.com 

Where Can I Get More Information About DVD? 

A Few of the Top DVD Info Sites 


• Robert’s DVD Info (tons of links to news articles and other pages, but 

not updated for over a year) 

• DVDPhD www.dvdphd.com (DVD tech support)


• The Digital Bits www.thedigitalbits.com (top DVD news site) 

• DVDFile www.dvdfile.com (another good DVD news site) 

• DVD Review www.dvdreview.com (DVD news and production 

information) 

• DVDAnswers www.dvdanswers.com (general DVD info site) 

• Home Theater Forum www.hometheaterforum.com (general DVD 

discussions) 

• TheDVDPlayer www.thedvdplayer.com (immense collection of links 

to other DVD pages) 

• Chad Fogg’s DVD technical notes 

www.mpeg.org/�tristan/MPEG/DVD/ (from 1996) 

• Quantel Digital Fact Book (digital video info and glossary) 

www.quantel.com/dfb 

• DVD for not-so-Dummies, from Technicolor 

www.technicolor.com/services/DVD2000v1.pdf 

• DVD White Papers, from Sonic Solutions 

www.sonic.com/tech_whitepapers.html 

• Disctronics’ (Graham Sharpless’s) DVD Technology pages 

www.discusa.com/dvd/dvdmain.htm 

• Tristan’s MPEG Pointers and Resources www.mpeg.org 

• DVD discussion list. Send “subscribe DVD-L �your name�” to 

listserv@listserv.temple.edu 

• For details on YUV, RGB, YCbCr, etc., read Charles Poynton’s Color 

FAQ (or buy his book). 

DVD Utilities and Region-Free Information 

(See “What Are ‘Regional Codes,’ ‘Country Codes,’ or ‘Zone Locks’?” in 

Chapter 1 for more information about regions.) 

• DVD Infomatrix www.inmatrix.com (a wealth of information about 

DVD PCs) 

• MPEGX www.mpegx.com (PC utilities for video and audio, more) 

• DVDSoft.net www.dvdsoft.net (PC utilities, more) 

• Doom9 www.doom9.net (PC utilities for DVD backup) 

• Visual Domain www.visualdomain.net (PC utilities, including Drive 

Info) 

• DVDCity www.dvdcity.com/codefree/codefree-dvd-info.html (codefree 

DVD player FAQ) 

• Code Free DVD www.codefreedvd.com (region-free DVD players)

• Region Free DVD www.regionfreedvd.net (region workarounds for 

players and PCs) 

• RegionFreeDVDPlayes regionfreedvdplayers.com 

• ZoneFreeDVD zonefreedvd.com 

• dvdkits.com www.dvdkits.com (modification chips for DVD players) 

• DVD Upgrades www.dvdupgrades.ch (region-free DVD players and 

modification chips) 

• DVDoverseas www.dvdoverseas.com (region-free DVD players) 

• Link Electronics www.linkonline.co.uk (region-free DVD players and 

upgrades) 

• Techtronics www.techtronics.com (region-free DVD players and 

upgrades) 

• Upgrade Heaven www.homecinemaheaven.com (region-free DVD 

players) 

• Eric’s DVD Information www.brouhaha.com/�eric/video/dvd (tech 

info on early players) 

• Google Deja Usenet Archive www.deja.com (search the 

rec.video.dvd and alt.video.dvd newsgroups) 

• The Mac DVD Resource 

www.wormintheapple.gr/macdvd/?action=intro (region-free info for 

Macs) 

• RipDifferent Forum www.ripdifferent.com (discussion of audio and 

video ripping on Macs) 

• PowerBook DVD Source 

http://www.dfbills.com/powerbook/dvd.html (info about DVD on 

Macs) 

Information and Discussion Groups for DVD Authors 

• DVD Made Easy dvdmadeeasy.com (tutorials, forums, and other 

resources; fee-based) 

• EZ DVD Advisor www.ezdvdadvisor.com (forums and other 

resources) 

• DVD Developer Club at Yahoo clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/dvddeveloper 

(discussion of authoring techniques and problems) 

DVD Info for Specific Regions 


• uk.media.dvd FAQ www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/umdvdfaq/ 

• UK DVD FAQ movieuk.com/dvdfaq.htm (not updated since 12/98)


• DVD Debate www.dvddebate.com (news, info, and user discussions; 

mainly region 2) 

• DVD Times www.dvdtimes.co.uk (news, info, and reviews; mainly 

region 2) 

• DVD Reviewer www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk (news, info, and reviews; 

mainly UK) 

• DVDLink www.dvdlink.co.uk (news and links to hundreds of other 

DVD sites) 

DVD Info in Other Languages 

• DVDUpdate www.dvdupdate.nl (Dutch) 

• dvdfr.com www.dvdfr.com ( French) 

• Area DVD www.areadvd.de (German) 

• DVD-Inside www.dvdinside.ch (German) 

• DVDPrime www.dvdprime.com (Korean) 

• dvdnett.no www.dvdnett.no (Norwegian) 

• DVD’mension dvd.wp.pl (Polish) 

• DVDSpecial www.dvdspecial.ru (Russian) 

• Audio Video Cine en Casa club.idecnet.com/�modegar/ (Spanish) 

Books About DVD 

• DVD Demystified, by Jim Taylor 

• DVD Authoring and Production, by Ralph LaBarge 

• Desktop DVD Production, by Douglas Dixon 

• From VHS to DVD, by Mark-Steffen Goewecke 

• CD-R/DVD Disc Recording Demystified, by Lee Purcell 

• DVD Production, by Phil De Lancie and Mark Ely 

What’s New with DVD Technology? 

June 2003 

There are rumors that there’s a sixth HD format in the works based on the 

�RW format.

March 2003 

There are now at least 5 candidates for high-definition DVD. (See “What 

About the HD-DVD and Blue Laser Formats?” in Chapter 3, “DVD Technical 

Details,” for details). 

• HD-DVD-9 (aka HD-9). 

• Advanced Optical Disc (AOD). 

• Blu-ray (BD). 

• Advanced Optical Storage Research Alliance (AOSRA), Blue-HD- 

DVD-1. 

• AOSRA Blue-DVD-DVD-2. 

June 2002 

Philips demonstrated a blue-laser miniature pre-recorded optical disc. The 

3-cm (1.2-inch) disc holds 1 Gbyte of data. The prototype drive to read the 

disc measured 5.6 x 3.4 x 0.75 cm (2.2 x 1.3 x 0.3 inches). 

February-March 2002 


A group of 9 companies announced February 19th a new high-density 

recordable DVD standard, known as Blu-ray. At the DVD Forum general 

meeting in March, the Forum announced that it will investigate next-generation 

standards to choose the best one. Since the 9 companies are all 

members of the DVD Forum, it’s likely that Blu-ray will eventually be 

approved by the Forum. 

Also at the March meeting, the Forum announced that according to AOL 

Time Warner’s request it will work on a standard for putting high-definition 

video on existing DVDs. The format is being called “HD-DVD-9.” (See 

“What About the HD-DVD and Blue Laser Formats?” in Chapter 3 for 

details).


Notation and Units 


Leftovers 

There’s an unfortunate confusion of units of measurement in the DVD world. 

For example, a single-layer DVD holds 4.7 billion bytes (G bytes), not 4.7 

gigabytes (GB). It only holds 4.37 gigabytes. Likewise, a double-sided, 

dual-layer DVD holds only 15.90 gigabytes, which is 17 billion bytes. 

The problem is that the SI prefixes kilo, mega, and giga normally represent 

multiples of 1000 (10 3 , 10 6 , and 10 9 ), but when used in the computer 

world to measure bytes they generally represent multiples of 1024 (2 10 , 2 20 , 

and 2 30 ). Both Windows and Mac OS list volume capacities in “true” 

megabytes and gigabytes, not millions and billions of bytes. 

Most DVD figures are based on multiples of 1000, in spite of using notation 

such as GB and KB that traditionally have been based on 1024. The “G 

bytes” notation does seem to consistently refer to 10 9 . The closest I have 

been able to get to an unambiguous notation is to use kilobytes for 1024 

bytes, megabytes for 1,048,576 bytes, gigabytes for 1,073,741,824 bytes, 

and BB for 1,000,000,000 bytes. 

This may seem like a meaningless distinction, but it’s not trivial to someone 

who prepares 4.7 gigabytes of data (according to the OS) and then 

wastes a DVD-R or two learning that the disc really holds only 4.3 gigabytes! 

(See “What Are the Sizes and Capacities of DVD?” in Chapter 3, 

“DVD Technical Details,” for a table of capacities.) 

Here’s an analogy that might help. A standard mile is 5,280 feet, whereas 

a nautical mile is roughly 6,076 feet. If you measure the distance between 

two cities you will get a smaller number in nautical miles, since nautical 

miles are longer. For example, the distance from Seattle to San Francisco 

is about 4,213,968 feet, which is 798 standard miles but only 693 nautical 

miles. DVD capacities have similarly confusing units of measurement: a billion 

bytes (1,000,000,000 bytes) or a gigabyte (1,073,741,824 bytes). DVD 

capacities are usually given in billions of bytes, such as 4.7 billion bytes for 

a recordable disc. Computer files are measured in gigabytes. Unfortunately, 

both types of measurements are often labeled as “GB.” So a 4.5GB file 



(4.5 gigabytes) from a computer will not fit on a 4.7-GB disc (4.7 billion 

bytes), since the file contains 4.8 billion bytes. 

To make things worse, data transfer rates when measured in bits per 

second are almost always multiples of 1000, but when measured in bytes 

per second are sometimes multiples of 1024. For example, a 1x DVD drive 

transfers data at 11.08 million bits per second (Mbps), which is 1.385 million 

bytes per second, but only 1.321 megabytes per second. The 150 KB/s 

1x data rate commonly listed for CD-ROM drives is “true” kilobytes per second, 

since the data rate is actually 153.6 thousand bytes per second. This 

book uses kbps for thousands of bits/sec and Mbps for millions of bits/sec 

(note the small “k” and big “M”). 

In December 1998, the IEC produced new prefixes for binary multiples: 

kibibytes (KiB), mebibytes (MiB), gibibytes (GiB), tebibytes (TiB), and so on. 

These prefixes may never catch on, or they may cause even more confusion, 

but they are a valiant effort to solve the problem. The big strike against 

them is that they sound rather silly. 

Acknowledgments 

This book and the online FAQ has been written and is maintained by Jim 

Taylor. The following people contributed to early versions of the DVD FAQ. 

Their contributions are deeply appreciated. Information has also been taken 

from material distributed at the April 1996 DVD Forum, May 1997 

DVD-R/DVD-RAM Conference, and October 1998 DVD Forum Conference. 

Robert Lundemo Aas 

Adam Barratt 

David Boulet 

Espen Braathen 

Wayne Bundrick 

Irek Defee 

Roger Dressler 

Chad Fogg 

Dwayne Fujima 

Robert “Obi” George 

Henrik “Leopold” Herranen 

Kilroy Hughes 

Mark Johnson 

Ralph LaBarge

Martin Leese 

Dana Parker 

Eric Smith 

Steve Tannehill 

Geoffrey Tully 

Leftovers 211 

Thanks to Videodiscovery for hosting the online FAQ for the first two and 

a half years.


Note: Boldface numbers indicate 

tables. 

720p DVD, 77–78 

A 

AC 3 (See also Dolby Digital), 83, 87 

acceptance of DVD, 14–18 

Accuphase, 7 

ActiveX, 135, 136 

adaptive transform acoustic coding 

(ATRAC), 103 

ADPCM coder, 103 

ADS Technologies, 119 

advanced optical disk (AOD/DVD 2), 

114 

Advanced Optical Storage Research 

Alliance (AOSRA), 114, 207 

Advanced Television Systems 

Committee (ATSC), 71–73, 102 

advantages of DVD, 31 

Aiwa, 7 

AIX Entertainment, 10 

AlTech, 119 

AltiVec, 119 

Amaray keep cases, 31 

AMI, 15 

analog audio, 87 

analog CPS (Macrovision), 21–22 

analog protection system (APS), 21 

anamorphosis (See also letterbox; 

widescreen DVD), 96–100 

animation on DVD, 34 

Antec, 119 

AOB files, 135–137 

AOL, 79, 207 

Apple, 116, 123 

Apple QuickTime, 116 

application formats, 1 

Index 

apt X, 103 

Aries, 80 

Aris, 28 

artifacts, compression, 5 

AS MO format, 129 

aspect ratios, 35, 49, 94, 96–100 

ATI, 118 

audio details, 100–108 

audio encoding tools, 147–148 

audio hookup, 87–89 

computers, 122 

audio output, 82–83 

Audio Processing Technology 

Inc., 103 

audio quality, 6, 100–108 

Dolby technology, 106–107 

DTS technology, 101–107 

DVD Video, 5–6 

laserdisc vs. DVD, 69–70 

low level, 107–108 

problems in, 89 

Audio Review, 10 

audio synchronization problems, 

41–42 

authoring, 139 

authoring systems for DVD, 151–157 

automatic gain control (AGC), 

21–22, 65 

autoswitching players, 20 

AV DVD, 39 

availability of DVD, 70 

AverLogic, 119 

AverMedia, 119 

AVIA Guide to Home Theater, 60 

B 

barcodes, 111 

BASES, 15 

Baskerville, 16 


214 Index 

bass management, 29 

BBFC Censoring, 60 

BeOS, 133 

black and white picture from DVD, 41 

black bars at top and bottom of 

screen, 43–44 

black level, 10 

blank (recordable) DVDs, 203 

block, 46 

Blu ray disk (BD), 77, 114, 207 

Blue Book CD-standards, 67 

Blue HD DVD 1, DVD 2, 114, 207 

Blue laser DVD, 112–114, 112, 207 

Blue Spike, 28 

BMG Entertainment, 11 

bob, 47 

books about DVD, 206 

Buena Vista, 20, 73 

burning CDs, ripping audio from 

DVD, 138 

burning DVDs, 130 

burst cutting area (BCA), 112 

buying DVDs and players, 199–203 

C 

C��, 139 

capacity of DVD, 34–35, 69, 89–92 

care of DVDs, 30–31, 44–46 

labeling, 58 

laser rot, 36–37 

lifespan of DVD, 112 

CCS, 180 

C-Cube, 14, 66, 119, 128 

CD-Etra, 67 

CD-i, 67 

CD-players, 9 

CD-Plus, 67 

CD-R, 6, 8, 9, 63, 65–65 

DVD Video content on CD-R or 

CD-RW, 172–173 

CD-ROM, 1, 13, 18, 63, 115 

DVD-ROM and, 64, 65 

CD-RW, 65 


CD-RW, 172–173, 172 

CD��G, 67 

CDs, 1, 31, 64–68 

CDV, 67–68 

CEMA, 15 

censoring, 60 

Checkpoint security systems, 61 

China video CD-(CVD), 66 

chipped DVD, 40 

Chromatic Mpact2 chips, 47, 118 

Cinematrix, 48 

Circuit City, 73, 74 

cleaning DVDs, 44–46 

closed captioning, 59, 95 

CMC Magnetics, 126, 127, 129 

coaxial inputs, 9 

code free players, 20 

code switchable players, 20 

Cognicity, 28 

Color Corrector, 22 

colorkey, 130 

ColorStream Pro, 85 

Columbia TriStar, 20, 61, 134 

Communications Specialties, 119 

compact disc (See CD) 

compatibility of disc and player, 

49–50, 51–56 

compatibility problems in recordable 

DVD, 123–124 

component analog audio, 88 

component progressive analog 

video, 82 

component video, 84 

composite video (CVBS), 81, 84 

compression (See also MPEG), 4, 6, 

68, 78–79, 93, 94, 100, 105 

animation and, 34 

streaming media, 133 

compression artifacts, 5 

computer software (See software) 

computers and DVD, 115–138 

ActiveX, 135, 136 

DeCSS, 133–135 

DirectShow, 137–138 

DVD Audio discs played on 

computer, 120–122 

DVD movies played on computer, 

115–120 

DVD-RAM, 127–128 

DVD-ROM, 132–133, 135

DVD-RW, 126–127 

DVD�R, 128–129 

DVD�RW, 128–129 

HTML, PowerPoint, Director, VB, 

etc., 135 

ifo, vob, aob files, 135–137 

movies copied to hard drive, 

playing, 131 

other optical recordable formats, 

129–130 

problems playing DVDs on 


recordable DVD (DVD-R, RAM, RW, 

1RW, 1R), 122–130 

recording to DVD, time 

required, 130 

ripping audio from DVD, 138 

screenshots of DVD Video, 130–131 

streaming DVD over network, 

Internet, 132–133 

Windows, 137–138 

Comtrad, 85 

constant angular velocity (CAV), 121 

constant bit rate (CBR), 93 

constant linear velocity (CLV), 121 

Constellation 3D, 78 

Consumer Electronics Association 

(CEA), 24 

content protection for prerecorded 

media (CPPM), 23 

content protection for recordable 

media (CPRM), 23–24 

content protection system architecture 

(CPSA), 21 

content scrambling system (CSS), 

20–23, 83, 126, 139 

convenience of DVD, 69 

Copy Control Association (CCA), 180 

copy generation management system 

(CGMS), 22, 26 

copy protection, 6, 21–27, 126, 

176–177, 180 

4C Entity, 21 

analog CPS (Macrovision), 21–22 

analog protection system (APS), 21 

automatic gain control (AGC) 

in, 21–22 



Index 215 

content protection for recordable 

media (CPRM), 23–24 

content protection system 

architecture (CPSA) in, 21 

content scrambling system (CSS), 

20–23, 83, 126, 139 

copy generation management 

system (CGMS), 22, 26 

Copy Protection Technical Working 

Group (CPTWG), 21, 26 

copyright, 26 

DeCSS, 133–135 

digital copy protection system 

(DCPS), 24, 25 

Digital Millennium Copyright Act 

(DMCA), 26, 133, 134 

digital transmission content 

protection (DTCP), 24 

Divx, 74 

DVD Audio, 27–29 

DVD Copy Control Association 

(DVD CCA), 23 

DVD-ROM, 23 

embedded signaling (See also 

watermarks), 28 

high bandwidth digital content 

protection (HDCP), 25–27 

laserdisc, 70–71 

Macrovision, 42–43 


playing, 131 


SACD, 28–29 

secure digital music initiative 

(SDMI), 27 

streaming DVD over network, 

Internet, 132–133 

VCR connection between DVD and 

TV, 89 

watermarks, 26–27, 28 

World Intellectual Property 

Organization (WIPO), 25–26 

Copy Protection Technical Working 

Group (CPTWG), 21, 26 

copying DVDs, 176–177 

copying home video/film/photos to 

DVD, 173–175 

CopyMaster, 22

216 Index 

copyright (See also copy 

protection), 26 

cost of discs, 13–14 

cost of DVD players and drives, 7, 70 

cost of DVD production, 140 

country codes, 18–21, 70–71 

Creative Labs, 7, 116 

Creative Technology, 118 

cross platform DVD, 39 

CustomFlix, 123 

cutting master format (CMF), 126 

CyberLink, 119 

D 

D region code, 59–60 

data encryption standard (DES), 74 

Dataquest, 15 

decoders, DVD movies played on 


DeCSS, 27, 133–135 

Dell, 128 

Denon, 7 

development phase, production of 

DVDs, 139 

dialog normalization (DN), 105–106 

Diamond Multimedia, 7 

Digimarc, 26 

digital audio, 83, 87–88 

digital compression, 6 

Digital Connection, 118 

digital copy protection system (DCPS), 

24, 25 

Digital Display Working Group 

(DDWG), 25 

Digital Millennium Copyright Act 

(DMCA), 26, 133, 134 

Digital Theater Systems (DTS), 5, 8, 9, 

29, 35–36, 69, 70, 81, 83, 87, 88, 

93, 100, 106–107, 119 

digital transmission content protection 

(DTCP), 24 

digital TV (DTV), 9, 71–73 

digital video, 85 

Digital Video Express (See Divx), 73 

digital video noise reduction 

(DVNR), 111 

Digital Vision, 119 

digital visual interface (DVI), 82 

Digital Voodoo, 118 

direct stream digital (DSD) format, 

28, 101 

Director, 135 

DirectShow, 118, 137–138 

disadvantages of DVD, 6 

Discovision Associates, 180 

Disctronics, 139 

discussion groups for DVD 

authors, 205 

Disney, 73, 134 

Divx, 26, 73–76, 79, 134 

DivX Deux, 76 

Divx discs, 31 

DivX Owners Association, 74 

DivXNetworks, 76 

Dolby, 100, 180 

Dolby Digital, 5, 8, 28, 29, 33–38, 40, 

41, 69, 70, 81, 83, 87, 88, 93, 101, 

102, 106–107, 115, 119, 139, 180 

Dolby Digital Surround EX 

(DD EX), 105 

Dolby Pro Logic, 9, 104, 106–107 

Dolby Surround, 36, 38, 69, 70, 

104, 106–107 

double sided dual layer discs 

(DVD 18), 92 

downmixing, 104 

DreamWorks, 73 

DTS Digital Surround (DTS-ES), 40–41, 

103, 105 

dual layer discs, 31–32, 34–35, 91–92, 

209 


(DVD 18), 92 

layer change, 37 

DVD 14, 40 

DVD Audio, 1, 11, 100–101 

audio quality in, 100–108 



copy protection, 27–29 



region lockouts and, 20 

SACD, 28–29 


(SDMI), 27 

watermarks, 28

DVD Audio Recording (DVD AR), 1 

DVD burners, 30 

DVD Consortium, 179 

DVD Copy Control Association (DVD 

CCA), 23 

DVD Demystified, 60 

DVD Entertainment Group, 16 

DVD explained, 1–2 

DVD Express, 58, 116 

DVD File, 58 

DVD Format/Logo Licensing 

Corporation, 179 

DVD Forum, 26, 27, 179, 210 

DVD PROM, 40 

DVD-R, 1, 9, 121, 122–130, 203 

DVD-RAM, 1, 39, 40, 121–130 

DVD-RAM TuneUp, 116 

DVD-ROM, 1, 11, 13, 38, 39, 40, 67, 

68, 93, 120–122, 129, 132–133, 

135, 139 

CD-ROM and, 64, 65 

copy protection, 23, 26 



formatting tools for, 141–143 

labeling, 59 

region lockouts and, 20–21 

software titles available on, 197–199 

DVD-RW, 1, 121, 122–130 

DVD Stream Recording, 1 

DVD To Go, 116, 118, 119 

DVD V, 108 

DVD Video (See also production of 

DVD), 1, 2–4, 11, 38, 68 

audio quality in, 5–6, 100–108 

content on CD-R or CD-RW, 

172–173 

Dolby Digital and, 35–36 


115–120 

features of, 2–4 

high definition TV (HDTV), 71–73 

quality of, 4–5 

screenshots of, 130–131 

sharpness setting on TV and, 5 

specifications and standards, 92–96 

DVD Video Recording (DVD-VR), 1 

DVD�R, 1, 121, 123, 128–129 

DVD�RW, 1, 121, 123, 128–129, 206 

DVD�RW Video Recording 

(DVD�VR), 1 

DVD�R, 122–130 

DVD�RW, 122–130 

DVDBuyingGuide, 10 

DVDFile, 10 

DVDMadeEasy, 123 

DVDPlusRW.org, 123 

DVDRHelp, 123 

Dxr3, 116 

dynamic range, 6, 102, 105, 107–108 

dynamic range compression (DRC), 

105 

E 

E4, 118 

Easter eggs in movies, 43 

Eastman Kodak, 127 

ECMA International, 180 

eCoustics.com, 10 

edge enhancement, 111 

Elecde, 119 

embedded signaling (See also 

watermarks), 28 

EMI Music, 11 

encoding, 139 

encryption, 24, 25, 74, 76, 139 

enhanced CDs, 67 

enhanced DVD, 39, 79 

Er, 119 

error correction code (ECC), 46 

Euro connector (EC), 81 

Europe, titles available, 11 

extended conditional access (XCA), 24 

extended data service (XDS), 22 

external deinterlacing, 48 

EZQuest, 119 

F 

Index 217 

Fantom Drives, 119 

Faroudja, 48 

FAT16 and FAT 32 Windows 

systems, 92 

features of DVD, 69 

Federal Communications Commission 

(FCC), high definition TV and, 71 

field adaptive deinterlacing, 47

218 Index 

film/photos to DVD, 173–175 

FireWire/IEEE 1394, 22, 24, 25, 26, 83 

firmware, 60 

first generation DVD, 38–39 

5.1 Entertainment, 11, 35–36 

FlikFX Recomposition System, 44 

flipping DVDs, 34–35 

fluorescent multilayer disc (FMD), 78 

Focus Enhancements, 119 

formats for DVD, 61 

formatting tools for DVD-ROM, 

141–143 

Forrester Research, 15 

Fox, 20 

Fujitsu, 7 

G 

Galaxy Group, 26 

Galaxy technology, 28 

GE, 73 

generations of DVD, 38–39 

Genesis microchip, 48, 80 

Gibbs effect, 34 

gibibytes (GiB), 210 

gigabytes (GB), 209 

GNU, 133 

Green Book CD-standards, 67 

H 

Harman, 73 

HD DVD 9/ HD 9, 77–78, 113, 207 

headphones, 9 

heat damage to DVD, 45 

Henninger Interactive, 60 

Hewlett Packard, 128, 129 

Hi Val, 7 

hidden features on movies, 43 

high bandwidth digital content 

protection (HDCP), 25–27 

high definition compatible digital 

(HDCD), 9, 68 

high definition DVD (HD DVD), 77–78, 

112–114, 207 

HD DVD 9/ HD 9, 113, 207 

high definition multimedia interface 

(HDMI), 22, 26, 82, 83 

high definition TV (HDTV), 6, 70, 

71–73, 96 

high resolution digital audio, 83 

history of DVD penetration, 16–18 

Hitachi, 7, 26, 118, 126, 127, 128, 

179, 180 

HiVal, 118 

Hollywood Plus, 116, 130 

Home Theater Forum, 10 

home video/film/photos to DVD, 

173–175 

HomeMovie.com, 123 

hooking up a DVD player, 83–89 


video hookup, 84–86 

horizontal resolution, 96, 109–111 

HQ VCD, 66 

HTML, 135 

hybrid DVD, 39–40 

I 

IBM, 21, 26, 28, 118, 179 

IDC, 15, 16 

IEEE 1394 (See FireWire) 

IFO files, 135–137 

Image Stabilizer, 22 

IMAX movies, 10 

IMT, 59 

Industrial Technology Research 

Institute (ITRI), 114 

Infinifilm DVDs, 62 

information on DVD, 203–206 

InfoTech, 14, 15 

initials for DVD, 2 

Intech, 116 

integrated deinterlacing, 47 

Intel, 15, 21 

interactive features, 108–109 

interlaced video, 93, 109–111 

internal deinterlacing, 47–48 

International Data Corporation 

(IDC), 11 

International Telecommunication 

Union Radio Communication Sector 

(ITU-R), 72, 86 

Internet, streaming DVD over network, 

Internet, 132–133

InterVideo, 119 

invention of DVD, 179–181 

IRMA, 16 

J 

Japanese Electronics and Information 

Technologies Association, 16 

JC, 48 

jewel boxes (See packaging for DVD) 

job opportunities in DVD 

production, 177 

Joe Kane Productions, 60 

judder or jerkiness, 110 

JVC, 7, 27, 73, 179 

K 

Kagan, Paul, 15 

karaoke DVDs, 67, 106 

Kardon, 73 

Kenwood, 7, 73 

Key Digital Systems, 119 

kibibytes (KiB), 210 

kilobytes, 210 

L 

LaBarge, Ralph, 79 

labeling DVDs, 58 

language features, 9, 206 

laser rot, 36–37 

laserdisc, 36–37, 68–71, 83, 88 

upgrade to DVD, 71 

layer change, 37 

LeadTek, 118 

legacy or CD-Compatible discs, 39 

legacy titles, 70 

letterbox format, 43–44, 96–100 

Letterbox/Widescreen Advocacy 

Page, 44 

licensing, 179–181 

lifespan of DVDs, 112 

light and dark in picture, 42–43 

line doubling, 47 

line multipliers, 47 

linear PCM, 102 

linear pulse code modulation (LPCM), 

100–101 

lines of resolution (See also 

resolution), 95–96 

Linux, 119, 133 

Livid, 119 

lockouts, 6, 7, 9, 18–21, 23, 70–71 

lossy compression, 4–5 

low frequency effects (LFE), 102, 103 

low-level audio, 107–108 

M 

Index 219 

Mac OS X, 133 

Macintosh, 131–132 


119–120 

Macromedia Director, 139 

Macrovision, 21–22, 26, 42–43, 89, 

126, 139, 180 

Madrigal, 7 

magnetic strips on DVDs, 58 

main profile at main level (MP/ML), 93 

makers of DVD products, 181–199 

Marantz, 7 

Margi DVD To Go, 116, 118, 119 

Markertek, 85 

MasonX, 119 

Masters of Reverse Engineering 

(MoRE), 135 

Matsushita, 7, 14, 21, 22, 27, 73, 

179, 180 

Maxwell, 126, 127 

MCC, 129 

mebibytes (MiB), 210 

Memorex, 129 

memory chips, 40 

meridian lossless packing (MLP), 100 

MGI SoftDVD Max, 116 

MGM, 20, 73, 134 

Microsoft (See also Windows), 15, 67, 

76, 79, 116 

Microsoft Xbox (See Xbox) 

midnight mode, 105 

Millennium technology, 26 

Minidisc, 103 

Miramax, 20

220 Index 

Mitsubishi, 126, 127, 129, 179, 180 

Mitsui, 126, 127 

mixed media disc, 40 

MO7, 129 

Mobile Fidelity Labs, 29 

Molex connectors, 122 

motion adaptive deinterlacing, 47 

movies (See also DVD Video; titles 

available on DVD), 2, 10–13, 

115–120 

MP3, 68, 138 

MPAA, 56–57, 134 

Mpact2 chip, 118 

MPEG, 34, 68, 87, 88, 100, 

102–104, 133 

MPEG 1, 4, 94, 103, 133 

MPEG 2, 4, 34, 47, 48, 59, 65, 78, 83, 

93, 103, 104, 115, 116, 119, 133, 

135, 139, 180 

MPEG 4, 76, 78–79, 133 

Mplayer, 119 

MRJ Technology, 24 

MSB Progressive Plus, 48 

Multi logo, 123 

multichannel analog audio, 83 

Multimedia Video Disc (MVDisc), 129 

multimedia video file (MMVF), 129 

multiple camera angle DVD, 57–58 

multirating features, 50, 56–57 

MultiRead logo, 65 

music DVDs (See DVD Audio) 

N 

NASA and DVD, 19 

National Semiconductor, 116 

National Television Systems 

Committee (NTSC) standards, 

19–20, 32–34, 41, 65–66, 71–73, 93, 

95–96, 104, 109–111 

NDS, 24 

NEC, 26, 129 

NetStream 2000, 119 

networks, streaming DVD over 

network, Internet, 132–133 

New Line, 62 

new technology in DVD, 206–207 

noise, 69 

notations and units used, 209–211 

numbers of DVDs in use, 16–18 

Nuon players, 79–80 

O 

Odixion, 58 

Omega, 48 

OMS, 119 

open DVD format, 73, 76 

OpenDivX, 76 

opposite track path (OTP), 31–32 

optical connectors, 83 

optical discs, 207 

optical recordable formats, 129–130 

optimization DVD discs, 60–61 

Optodisc, 129 

Orange Book CD-standards, 67 

Original Equipment Manufacturers 

(OEM), 13 

outputs, 81–83 

Ovation Software, 60 

P 

packaging for DVD, 31 

Sensormatic and Checkpoint, 61 

pan and scan titles, 37, 97, 98 

Panasonic, 7, 27, 48, 65, 73, 118, 

127, 128 

PanelLink technology, 25 

parallel track path (PTP), 31–32 

Paramount, 73, 134 

parental control, 50, 56–57, 62 

passwords, setting, 62 

patent on DVD, 179–181 

PC upgrade kits for DVD, 7 

Peddie, Jon, 16 

Peritel connector, 81 

Phase Alternate Line (PAL) standards, 

19–20, 32–34, 41, 65–66, 71–73, 87, 

93, 95–96, 104, 109–111 

Philips, 7, 14, 24, 26, 28, 101, 104, 

111, 118, 128, 129, 179, 180, 207 

photo CDs, 66–67 

photos to DVD, 173–175 

physical formats, 1 

picture CDs, 66–67

Pioneer, 7, 14, 26, 27, 29, 42, 65, 

67–69, 73, 83, 111, 126, 179, 180 

pit signal processing (PSP), 101 

plastic used in DVDs, 36 

players and drives 

availability of, 6–10 

buying or renting, sources for, 

199–203 

code free, code switchable, 

switchable, 20 

compatibility problems with discs, 

49–50, 51–56 

compatibility problems in recordable 

DVD, 123–124 

cost of, 7, 13 

dual layer discs, 31–32 

features of, 8–9 

hooking up, 83–89 

incompatibility in, 6 

multilanguage features, 9, 206 

problems with, troubleshooting 

chart for, 51–56 

progressive DVD players, 46–49 

recording from VCR and TV to, 

29–30 

selecting, 8–10 

standards for, 32–34 

test and optimization discs for, 

60–61 

testing for quality of, 8 

web sites of interest for, 8 

PlayStation 2, 1, 64 

region lockouts and, 20 

Polygram, 20 

PowerPoint, 116, 135, 178 

predictors of DVD future, 14–18 

premastering, 139 

pressing DVDs, 139 

price (See cost) 

Primera, 58 

producers of DVD products, 181–199 

production of DVDs, 139–178 

audio encoding tools for, 147–148 

authoring, 139 

authoring systems for, 151–157 

copying DVD, 176–177 

copying home video/film/photos to 

DVD, 173–175 

cost of, 140 

development phase in, 139 

DVD-ROM formatting tools for, 

141–143 


CD-RW, 172–173 

encoding, 139 

job opportunities in, 177 

miscellaneous production tools for, 

148–150 

PowerPoint presentation and, 178 

premastering, 139 

pressing, 139 

production services for, 150–151 

production studios and companies 

for, 157–170 

production tools available for, 

143–151 

publishing phase in, 139 

replication, 139 

selling, 178 

software for, 139 

testing/verification services and 

tools for, 170–171 

training for, 177 

video encoding tools for, 143–147 

production services, 150–151 

production studios and companies, 

157–170 

program chains, (PGC), 108–109 

progressive DVD players, 46–49 

progressive scan displays, 9, 

109–111 

progressive video, 85, 109–111 

Proscan, 73 

publishing phase, production of 

DVDs, 139 

pulldown, two-three, 110, 111 

pulse code modulation (PCM), 28, 

69, 81 

pulse density modulation (PDM), 101 

Q 

Q Pack case, 31 

quality, DVD Video, 4–5 

Quark mTropolis, 139 

QuickTime, 116 

Index 221

222 Index 

R 

Radeon, 118 

radio frequency (RF) digital audio, 

88–89 

radio frequency (RF) video, 82, 85–86 

Radio Shack, 85 

ratings of movies, 57 

Ravisent, 118 

RCA, 73, 80 

RCA connectors, 82, 83, 84, 88 

Real Networks, 117 

recordable DVD (DVD-R, RAM, RW, 

1RW, 1R), 71, 122–130 

compatibility problems in, 123–124 

recorders, cost of, 6 

recording DVD from television, 29–30 

recording DVD from VCR, 29–30, 

76–77 

recording to DVD, time required, 130 

Red Book CDa, 64 

region code enhancement (RCE), 20 

region codes, 70–71, 205–206 

region free information on DVD, 

204–205 

region lockouts, 6, 7, 9, 18–21, 23, 

70–71, 139 

regional codes, 18–21, 23, 59–60 

reinterleaving, 47 

relationship of DVD to other 

technologies, 63–80 

720p DVD and, 77–78 

CD-i and, 67 

CD-R and, 63, 64–65 

CD-ROM and, 63 

CD-RW and, 65 

CD��G and, 67 

CDs and, 64–68 

CDV and, 67–68 

China video CD-(CVD) and, 66 

Divx, 73–76 

DVD-ROM and, 67 

enhanced CDs and, 67 

fluorescent multilayer disc (FMD) 

and, 78 

high definition compatible digital 

(HDCD) and, 68 

high definition DVD (HD DVD) and, 

77–78 

high definition TV (HDTV), 71–73 

laserdiscs and, 68–71 

MP3 and, 68 

MPEG 4, 78–79 

MultiRead logo, 65 

Nuon players, 79–80 

picture CDs or photo CDs, 66–67 

super video CDs (SVCD) and, 66 

VCR and, 63 

video cassette recorders (VCR), 

76–77 

video CDs and, 65–66 

Web DVD, enhanced DVD, 79 

release dates for DVD titles, 12 

rental discs, 30–31 

renting DVDs and players, 199–203 

repairing DVDs, 45–46 

repeat A-B feature, 38 

replication, 139 

resolution of DVD, 70, 95–96, 109–111 

restrictions on DVD, 70–71 

reverse spiral dual layer (RSDL), 32, 34 

reviews of DVD titles, 12 

rewritable sandwich disc, 40 

RGB Composite Sync (RGBS), 81 

RGB format, 81 

RGB Horizontal Sync Vertical Sync 

(RGBHV), 81 

RGB Products, 119 

Ricoh, 126, 128, 129 

Rimage, 58 


Ritek, 126, 127, 129 

Roxio, 116 

RPC2 DVD-ROM, 21 

RTFM, 35 

S 

S video (Y/C), 81, 84 

SACO, 40 

Samsung, 80, 118, 128 

SCART connectors, 81, 82, 84, 85 

Screen Digest, 15 

scratched discs, 30–31 

Screen Digest, 16 

screenshots of DVD Video, 130–131 

SDDS, 103 

SECAM standards, 20, 32–34, 71–73, 

87, 93, 104, 109–111

second generation DVD, 38–39 


(SDMI), 27 

selecting DVD players, 8–10 

selling DVDs, 178 

Sensormatic security systems, 61 

Sharp, 7 

sharpness setting on TV, DVD Video, 5 

Sigma Designs, 48, 116, 118, 130 

Silicon Image, 25 

Silverline, 11 

simple visual profile, 78 

single layer/dual layer/mixed layer 

(SL/DL/ML), 90 

single sided/double sided (SS/DS), 90 

size of DVD (See capacity of DVD) 

size of picture, 94 

smart discs, 20 

SMD, 15 

soft matte, 97 

SoftDVD Max, 116 

software (See also DVD-ROM), 11, 

197–199 

production of DVDs, 139 

Software Architects, 116 

Solana, 28 

Sony, 7, 26–29, 42, 64, 101, 103, 118, 

126, 128, 129, 134, 179, 180 

Sony PlayStation 2 (See PlayStation 2) 

source tagging, 61 

SPDIF coax format, 83 

specifications for DVD, 49–50, 6, 

92–96, 179–181 

SpeedTools, 116 

squashed picture, 35 

standard definition (SD) TV, 71 

statistics on DVDs, 14–18, 32–34, 

49–50, 92–96, 179–181 

STB, 118 

stereo audio, 87 

Stradis, 118 

stream recording (SR), 72 

streaming DVD over network, Internet, 

132–133 

studios supporting DVD, 29 

substrates, 39–40 

subtitles, 37, 59 

Super Audio CD-(SACD), 1, 7, 11, 

28–29, 100–101 

super multi drives, 123 

super video CDs (SVCD), 66 

Superbit DVDs, 61 

support for DVD, by studios, 29 

surround sound, 38, 87, 103 

synchronization problems, 41–42 

system managed audio resource 

technique (SMART), 101 

system renewability messages 

(SRMs), 25 

T 

Index 223 

tagging, 61 

Taiyo, 126 

Taylor, Jim, 79 

TDK, 126, 127 

tebibytes (TiB), 210 

technical details of DVD, 81–114 

advanced optical disk 

(AOD/DVD 2), 114 

aspect ratios, 96–100 

audio details, 100–108 


audio output, 82–83 

Blu ray disk (BD), 114, 207 

Blue HD DVD 1, DVD 2, 114, 207 

Blue laser DVD, 112–114, 

112, 207 

burst cutting area (BCA), 112 

capacity of DVD, 89–92 

Dolby technology, 106–107 


(DVD 18), 92 

DTS technology, 101–107 

edge enhancement, 111 

HD DVD 9/ HD 9, 113, 207 

high definition DVD (HD DVD), 

112–114 

hookup of DVD player, 83–89 

interactive features, 108–109 

interlaced video, 109–111 

new technology, 206–207 

outputs, 81–83 

poor quality audio or video, 89 

progressive video, 109–111 

resolution, 95–96 


TV, 89

224 Index 

video details, 92–96 


video outputs, 81–82 

widescreen DVD, 96–100 

Technicolor, 139 

Technics, 7, 27 

Telarc, 29 

television 

DVD recording from, 29–30 

hooking up DVD player to, 83–89 


TV, 89 

test DVD discs, 60–61 

testing/verification services and tools, 

170–171 

third generation DVD, 38–39 

Thomson, 24, 73, 80, 179 

THX, 103–104 

time base correctors (TBC), 22 

time required to record to DVD from 

computer, 130 

Time Warner, 14, 31, 79, 134, 179, 

180, 207 

timeline of DVD penetration, 16–18 

titles available on DVD, 10–13 


115–120 

Easter eggs or hidden features, 43 


playing, 131 

multiple camera angles in, 57–58 

pan and scan only, 37, 97 

parental controls and multirating 

in, 50, 56–57 

release dates for, 12 

re-releases of favorites on, 12 

reviews of, 12 

special features, formats, 

characteristics in, 13 

Widescreen type, 13 

Tomlinson Holman Experiment (THX), 

103–104 

Toshiba, 7, 14, 15, 21, 22, 42, 48, 65, 

118, 179, 180 

Toslink format, 83, 87 

Touchstone, 20 

Trace Affex, 58 

training for DVD production, 

177–178 

troubleshooting chart for players, 

51–56 

TV lines (TVL), 95 

Twentieth Century Fox, 73, 134 

two channel stereo, 87 

two/three pulldown, 110, 111 

U 

UDF Volume Access, 116 

Ultimate DVD Series, 60 

Understanding & Solutions, 16 

units of measurement, 209–211 

Universal, 20, 73, 134 

Universal Music, 11 

universal or AV DVD, 39 

UNIX, 133 

upgrading firmware DVD, 60 

use of DVD, 14–18 

user operation control (UOP), 108 

utilities for DVD, 204–205 

V 

variable bit rate (VBR), 93 

variations on DVD, 61–62 

VB, 135 

Vela Research, 118 

Velocity Engine, 119 

Verance, 28 

Verbatim, 126, 129 

verification services and tools, 

170–171 

VHS vs. DVD, 31 

Victor, 126, 180 

video capable audio players 

(VCAPs), 27 

video cassette recorders (VCR), 18, 

63, 76–77 

DVD recording from, 29–30, 76–77 


TV, 89 

Video CDs, 9, 65–66 

Video Clarifier, 22 

video details, 92–96

video encoding tools, 143–147 

Video Essentials, 60 


video outputs, 81–82 

video quality 

laserdisc vs. DVD, 70 

problems in, 89 

Video Software Dealers Association 

(VSDA), 31 

video synchronization problems, 

41–42 

VideoLan, 119 

VideoLogic, 118 

Videon, 48 

Viewer Freedom, 57 

Visual BASIC, 139 

VM Labs, 79–80 

VOB files, 135–137 

volume control, 105–106 

W 

Warner Brothers, 10, 20 

Warner Music, 11 

Watermarking Review Panel 

(WaRP), 26 

watermarks, 26–27, 28 

weave, 47 

Web DVD, 79 

web sites of interest, 203–204 

players and drives, 8 

reviews of DVD titles, 12 

titles available, 11 

WebDVD, 39 

widescreen DVD, 13, 35, 94, 96–100 

letterbox format and, 43–44 

one side full screen, 41 

Widescreen Review, 10 

Windows, 92, 116–117, 131–132, 

137–138 


116–120 

Windows Media Player, 76, 116 

Windows XP, 138 

Wired, 119 

World Intellectual Property 

Organization (WIPO), 25–26 

World System Teletext (WST) format 

(See also closed captioning), 95 

X 

XA CD-standards, 67 

Xbox, 1, 20 

Xine, 119 

Xing DVD Player, 117 

Y 

Y’PbPr format, 81, 82 

Yamaha, 7, 27, 128 

Yankee Group, 16 

YesVideo.com, 123 

YUV format, 82, 84 

Z 

Zenith, 24, 73, 74 

zone locks, 18–21, 23, 70–71 

ZoomTV, 73 

Index 225

About the Author 

Jim Taylor is chief of DVD technology and general manager of the 

Advanced Technology Group at Sonic Solutions, the leading developer of 

DVD authoring systems. The author of McGraw-Hill’s best-selling DVD 

Demystified, he was called “a minor tech legend” by E! Online. Creator of 

the legendary DVD FAQ web site at dvddemystified.com, he also writes articles 

and columns about DVD, serves as president of the DVD Association, 

and sits on several advisory boards of leading-edge companies in the DVD 

industry. Jim was named one of the 21 most influential DVD executives by 

DVD Report, and was an inaugural inductee into the Digital Media Hall of 

Fame. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

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