DVD authoring
Encyclopedia
DVD authoring is the process of creating a DVD
video capable of playing on a DVD player
. DVD authoring software must conform to the specifications set by the DVD Forum
group in 1995. The complexity of these specifications results from the number of companies that were involved in creating them.
Strictly speaking, DVD authoring differs from the process of MPEG encoding
, but most DVD authoring software has a built-in encoder (though separate encoders are still used when better quality or finer control over compression settings is required).
Most DVD-authoring applications focus exclusively on video DVDs and do not support the authoring of DVD-Audio
discs.
Stand-alone DVD recorder
units generally have basic authoring functions, though the creator of the DVD has little or no control over the layout of the DVD menus, which generally differ between models and brands.
), one must first licence the particular book of DVD specifications from DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation, a Japanese corporation. The different DVD formats have different books; each book contains hundreds of pages and costs approximately $5000. After obtaining this licence, the developer
must become a licensee — which requires an additional fee. Without becoming a licensee, the book can be used only for reference, not for actual creation of DVD applications.
The DVD specifications were written in Japanese
and then translated to other languages such as English
. This process has resulted in text that can be difficult to interpret, and to this day, many companies interpret various parts of the specifications in different ways. This is the reason DVD players from different manufacturers do not always conform to the same rules – each developer understands the specifications in a slightly different way.
, Sony
, and Toshiba
. Such companies strictly forbid the sale of their systems outside each company: internal and DVD laboratories or movie studio
partners use them to produce DVDs for customers.
Daikin, a large Japanese air conditioning and refrigeration contracting company, developed Scenarist
, a high-end DVD authoring software package. (Daikin has partnered with Sonic Solutions
for development and marketing in the U.S.) The software was translated to English and has since become the standard for DVD production in Hollywood amongst other places. Like the other high-end and very expensive systems, it conforms to the DVD specifications more closely than other software. In 2001, Sonic Solutions
acquired the DVD authoring business, including ReelDVD and Scenarist, from Daikin and now sells Scenarist.
Sonic, a U.S. corporation, has a major share in the market for selling DVD-authoring tools. They previously manufactured computer based audio recording applications. They soon realized that at some point DVD recorders would become as widely available as CD recorders and that there was no affordable application for the home market or that DVD recorder makers could license as an OEM
. At that time, all DVD authoring applications cost many thousands of dollars.
Sonic developed DVDit, an application that started selling below $500. It used only a small part of the whole DVD specification and it presented it in a form that didn't require any knowledge of internal DVD structure. Later, this form became the building block of many other simplified consumer DVD applications. OEM licensing allowed Sonic to very soon become a major player. Sonic is now part of Rovi Corporation.
For a short period of time around 2000, Spruce Technologies emerged as another major player in the market. They created DVD Maestro, a software and hardware system in the same price bracket as the Scenarist system but with a much more user friendly
interface. While Scenarist could require months of learning and training, DVD Maestro could be used productively in a much shorter time. DVD Maestro implemented almost all of the DVD specifications like Scenarist, however unlike Scenarist it borrowed an abstraction layer
from the consumer oriented applications such as ReelDVD or DVDit. Creating DVDs became a far easier task, yet it only sacrificed a bit of Scenarist's universality. When Spruce started selling SpruceUp, a watered-down consumer incarnation of their DVD Maestro far below the price of Sonic's DVDit, and very similar to Sonic's MyDVD, there was obvious competition between Sonic and Spruce. Both companies were trying to address the very same market, but the market was not big enough. A surprising resolution of this conflict came from Apple Computer
, who bought Spruce Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Apple was at that time already marketing its own DVD authoring system after acquiring German software developer Astarte
, but decided to go with Spruce for their next incarnation of DVD Studio Pro
. This also required Spruce to stop selling and developing applications for PC.
Since then, many other companies — including Adobe Systems
, Mediachance, and Ulead — have developed prosumer
and home-authoring tools.
Various free and shareware utilities exist which allow end-users to modify existing DVDs. DVDAfterEdit reads and writes DLTs
for manufacturing. Other applications include replacing copyright or corporate logos, and changing region coding and/or copy protection, for example. Rights-holders must grant permission to make such changes.
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
video capable of playing on a DVD player
DVD player
A DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...
. DVD authoring software must conform to the specifications set by the DVD Forum
DVD Forum
The DVD Forum is an international organization composed of hardware, software, media and content companies that use and develop the DVD and formerly HD DVD formats...
group in 1995. The complexity of these specifications results from the number of companies that were involved in creating them.
Strictly speaking, DVD authoring differs from the process of MPEG encoding
MPEG encoding
MPEG encoding is the process of capturing or converting video and/or audio to one of several MPEG video and/or audio standards for distribution or for archiving to optical disc...
, but most DVD authoring software has a built-in encoder (though separate encoders are still used when better quality or finer control over compression settings is required).
Most DVD-authoring applications focus exclusively on video DVDs and do not support the authoring of DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....
discs.
Stand-alone DVD recorder
DVD recorder
A DVD recorder , is an optical disc recorder that uses Optical disc recording technologies to digitally record analog signal or digital signals onto blank writable DVD media...
units generally have basic authoring functions, though the creator of the DVD has little or no control over the layout of the DVD menus, which generally differ between models and brands.
The DVD specification
To develop a DVD application (software or hardwareHardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
), one must first licence the particular book of DVD specifications from DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation, a Japanese corporation. The different DVD formats have different books; each book contains hundreds of pages and costs approximately $5000. After obtaining this licence, the developer
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
must become a licensee — which requires an additional fee. Without becoming a licensee, the book can be used only for reference, not for actual creation of DVD applications.
The DVD specifications were written in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and then translated to other languages such as English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. This process has resulted in text that can be difficult to interpret, and to this day, many companies interpret various parts of the specifications in different ways. This is the reason DVD players from different manufacturers do not always conform to the same rules – each developer understands the specifications in a slightly different way.
Applications
Many different DVD authoring applications help create digital video discs. Many high-end authoring applications evolve in-house in companies such as Matsushita, PhilipsPhilips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, and Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
. Such companies strictly forbid the sale of their systems outside each company: internal and DVD laboratories or movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
partners use them to produce DVDs for customers.
Daikin, a large Japanese air conditioning and refrigeration contracting company, developed Scenarist
Sonic Scenarist
Sonic Scenarist is a DVD-Video, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring package developed by Sonic Solutions.-History:Scenarist was originally sold by Daikin, a Japanese chemical company, which eventually partnered with Sonic Solutions for development and marketing in the United States...
, a high-end DVD authoring software package. (Daikin has partnered with Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions, acquired by Rovi Corporation in 2010, was a computer software company headquartered in Novato, California. In addition to having a number of offices in the U.S., the company also maintained offices in Europe and Asia.-History:...
for development and marketing in the U.S.) The software was translated to English and has since become the standard for DVD production in Hollywood amongst other places. Like the other high-end and very expensive systems, it conforms to the DVD specifications more closely than other software. In 2001, Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions, acquired by Rovi Corporation in 2010, was a computer software company headquartered in Novato, California. In addition to having a number of offices in the U.S., the company also maintained offices in Europe and Asia.-History:...
acquired the DVD authoring business, including ReelDVD and Scenarist, from Daikin and now sells Scenarist.
Sonic, a U.S. corporation, has a major share in the market for selling DVD-authoring tools. They previously manufactured computer based audio recording applications. They soon realized that at some point DVD recorders would become as widely available as CD recorders and that there was no affordable application for the home market or that DVD recorder makers could license as an OEM
OEM
OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...
. At that time, all DVD authoring applications cost many thousands of dollars.
Sonic developed DVDit, an application that started selling below $500. It used only a small part of the whole DVD specification and it presented it in a form that didn't require any knowledge of internal DVD structure. Later, this form became the building block of many other simplified consumer DVD applications. OEM licensing allowed Sonic to very soon become a major player. Sonic is now part of Rovi Corporation.
For a short period of time around 2000, Spruce Technologies emerged as another major player in the market. They created DVD Maestro, a software and hardware system in the same price bracket as the Scenarist system but with a much more user friendly
Usability
Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, or anything a human interacts with. A usability study may be conducted as a primary job function by a usability analyst or as a secondary job...
interface. While Scenarist could require months of learning and training, DVD Maestro could be used productively in a much shorter time. DVD Maestro implemented almost all of the DVD specifications like Scenarist, however unlike Scenarist it borrowed an abstraction layer
Abstraction layer
An abstraction layer is a way of hiding the implementation details of a particular set of functionality...
from the consumer oriented applications such as ReelDVD or DVDit. Creating DVDs became a far easier task, yet it only sacrificed a bit of Scenarist's universality. When Spruce started selling SpruceUp, a watered-down consumer incarnation of their DVD Maestro far below the price of Sonic's DVDit, and very similar to Sonic's MyDVD, there was obvious competition between Sonic and Spruce. Both companies were trying to address the very same market, but the market was not big enough. A surprising resolution of this conflict came from Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, who bought Spruce Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Apple was at that time already marketing its own DVD authoring system after acquiring German software developer Astarte
Astarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...
, but decided to go with Spruce for their next incarnation of DVD Studio Pro
DVD Studio Pro
DVD Studio Pro was a high-end software tool published by Apple Inc. to allow users to create DVD masters to be sent out for replication at production houses. Its tight integration with other Apple applications allows users to take Final Cut Pro and Motion projects and render them into the DVD...
. This also required Spruce to stop selling and developing applications for PC.
Since then, many other companies — including Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
, Mediachance, and Ulead — have developed prosumer
Prosumer
Prosumer is a portmanteau formed by contracting either the word professional or less often, producer with the word consumer. For example, a prosumer grade digital camera is a "cross" between consumer grade and professional grade...
and home-authoring tools.
Various free and shareware utilities exist which allow end-users to modify existing DVDs. DVDAfterEdit reads and writes DLTs
Digital Linear Tape
Digital Linear Tape is a magnetic tape data storage technology developed by Digital Equipment Corporation from 1984 onwards. In 1994 the technology was purchased by Quantum Corporation, who currently manufactures drives and licenses the technology and trademark. A variant with higher capacity...
for manufacturing. Other applications include replacing copyright or corporate logos, and changing region coding and/or copy protection, for example. Rights-holders must grant permission to make such changes.