Authoring conventions

+R

Plus R is an optical disc that is recordable and

holds 4.7 on each layer, this adds up to 8.5GB in
its memory. It was developed by DVD+RW which
was a coalition of companies. It was mostly made
by Sony Company and was created in 2002. The
format is almost the same as DVD-R but has a few
differences, this was made by DVD forum, the
Forum didn’t back DVD+R format until 2008. The
capacity could be doubled using double layers,
this gives +R the ability to store 8.5GB. DVD+R can only be written on once
unlike the DVD+RW, this makes it more suitable for files such as audio and
video.
-R
DVD -R is a DVD format which is recordable and
usually has a size of around 4.7GB, this can be
doubled using a double layer, this was
developed by pioneer who developed both the
types, the double layer allows the DVD to have a
capacity of 8.5GB. double layer is called DVD-R
DL and came out in 2005. DVD-R data cannot be
changed once it has been written. The first DVD-
R was developed in 1997 and is compatible with
all normal DVD players as it is approved by the
DVD forum. On the DVD-R there are additional pits where the laser lands in-
between the grooves, this gives the disc and constant wobble frequency used
for motor control. The difference with DVD-R and DVD+R is that +R is less likely
to create an error as it doesn’t use the land pre-pit system which is used on the
-R. +R has a better ADIP system that creates a faster speed and is more effect
at error management. The two were incompatible until there was a hybrid
DVD player which could play them both.
+RW
+RW is a format that is used for rewritable DVDs and can hold up to 4.7GB, the
DVD+RW alliance created this which is a collection of disc and drive
manufacturers. The DVD allows the use of lossless linking which helps random
access, this improves compatibility. +RW was created after the creation of the
non-rewritable +R. the format was created in
1997 but wasn’t finished, it was then finished
later and the capacity was also increased from
2.8GB to 4.7GB. +RW can record and be
rewritable because it has a phase change
metal alloy whose crystalline phase and
amorphous phase have different reflectivity. A
dual layer was created in 2006 but it wasn’t
manufactured because of completion from
the blue ray which could hold 25GB on a
single layer.
-RW
DVD-RW has the exact same storage as -R but can be rewritten, the disc was
developed in 1999 by the pioneer organisation, it is also approved by the DVD
forum. The best advantage of the disc is that it can be re-written on as many
times as someone could want, pioneer stated that it can be written on 1000
times. Due to this ability, they are mainly used for things such as back-ups as
when you do a back-up if you want to redo it,
it will need to be written again, they are also
used for home video recording, the second
layer for the disc was approved like the +RW
but wasn’t manufactured because of the blue
ray disk which could store 25GB on one layer.
Pioneer also created a smaller DVD called the
mini DVD-RW which could hold 1.46GB, these
were normally used for advertisement
purposes as it lacked size for any big
applications.
Dual layer
Dual layer is the ability to add another layer onto a disc, this improves the size
of the storage capacity, on the +R and -R it makes the storage go from 4.7GB to
8.5GB and for the +RW and the -RW it goes from 2.8GB to 4.7GB. adding more
layers to the discs is pointless is because the development of blue ray which
can store far more on a single layer. The first example of dual layer was
DVD+RL which came out in 2003 and was soon approved by the DVD forum.
Dual layer works because the laser shines
through the semi-transparent first layer to
reach the second layer. The change of the
reading cause a pause and sound which led
to many people thinking that the disc was
broken, this led to a notice being printed
which stated that the pause and the sound
was the change in the disc not the disc
breaking. This let the customer know it
wasn’t broken.
Writing speed
Modern optical discs can support speeds up to 52X and higher. The rate is
much faster than it was for CD-ROMs but the speed in which data is written is
determined on the type being stored. The writing of data on a DVD is 9x faster
at 1X than a CD at 1X. A blue ray disk
goes even faster than the DVD and can
hold a lot more data, the creation of new
technology and drivers has allowed the
writing speed to increase and will lead to
further developments of the disc’s ability
to be written on.
Audio
Audio on DVDs are encoded with compressed Dolby Digital and DTS. You can
also get the option of surround sound 5.1 which would give you a better sound
and a more immersive experience. Dolby Digital is a company that uses the
lossy compression to make their audio, this means the quality of the sound
won’t be as good as DTS but it is the standard and is easier accessible than
other audio software’s. DTS started to
maintain a high-quality sound in the
movies. “DTS works by having an LED
reader scan the time code data from
the film and sends the data to the DTS
processor”.
Video
DVD- video is the most common video format and is used to store digital video
data on DVD discs, to play the DVDs you require a drove that has a MPEG-
2/H.262 decoder, this can be found in most DVD players, computers and video
game consoles. The publicity of the specification is not released anywhere as
every person that subscribes needs to sign a non-disclosure agreement which
says how confidential the information is. This stops the release of the
information as the DVD forum may make a lawsuit against the subscriber. The
specification was created by the DVD forum and the licence for the logo has a
fee of $5,000
Menu
A DVD menu have certain requirements for the options that they give the user
but most vary in complexity, more high brand film companies add in
complicated animations to make their menus more professional. The
requirements include play, chapters, settings and special features. Some DVDs
may not include all these as they are much simpler as there are only one or
two assets on the DVD, this is like an image slideshow or text based file, they
won’t need many sections. A film menu has the movie separate from the
settings or special features, the play and scene selection are for the main
playing of the film and the other sections are separate assets. The special
features on a DVD are often things such as behind the scenes as there isn’t
much they can add in for this section, the settings section often adds in the use
of subtitles and sing a long sections it makes it more user interactive and lets
them personalise the film.