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Dual Layer DVD Recording

September 12th, 2011

Dual Layer DVD RecordingHave you ever wondered how a full length feature movie plus bonus material fits onto a single DVD Disc? The answer is dual layer DVD technology and you may be surprised to know that this is not new technology we are talking about. Hollywood has been producing major motions pictures on stamped dual layer DVD Discs for years.
We are now witnessing the rise of recordable dual layer DVD technology on the consumer market. A look at the technology could explain this progression.
Dual layer or double layer DVD, also referred to as a DVD-9 disc, appears to be a natural progression of single layer 4.7GB recordable technology. For starters a DVD-9 disc offers up to four hours of high quality MPEG-2 video, or up to 8.5GB of data on a single-sided disc. This mean you can pack up to 12 CD’s worth of information on to one disc. Thanks to the additional layer of recordable space you can store approximately 2,000 songs in MP3 format or up to 17,000 high quality JPEG images.

In a dual layer DVD-9 disc, two individual recordable layers, like the one found on a standard single/ DVD-5 disc, are joined together with a transparent spacer and a thin metal reflector between the two.  The bottom layer is written and read in exactly the same manner as a standard DVD-5.  The difference with a DVD-9 is that the laser now focuses a fraction of a millimetre beyond the first recording layer, giving access to the second recordable layer.  A downside to this is that the layer change can display a noticeable pause in some DVD players, up to several seconds.
Certainly business users will appreciate the increased storage capacity of a dual layer DVD recordable disc especially when distributing a large amount of data on a single disc is needed. It can even be used for desktop system backup and single server backup with time and cost savings over older traditional technologies. IT managers can even create their system “images” for configuring client PCs on a single disc for rapid deployment of new computers on corporate networks.
Independent filmmakers and studios alike will appreciate the ability to author a dual layer DVD video disc and try it out without resorting to expensive and time consuming replication. This set of users can now fine tune their works on cost effective dual layer DVD recordable discs before creating the master for replication.
Dual layer discs are not as common, as the single layer format as the 4.7GB capacity of the single layer discs is usually sufficient for most business uses and dual layer discs are also a lot more expensive.  Also the question of compatible software arises. Typically only newer DVD recorder drives will be able to write to dual layer or double layer discs. Many current DVD recorders support dual-layer technology, and the price is now comparable to that of single-layer drives, though the discs remain more expensive.  However, the recording speeds reached by dual-layer media are still well below those of single-layer media.

3D technology still has a long way to go…

August 2nd, 2011

Creating 3D content is a complex process and care needs to be taken that the viewing experience does not cause discomfort.  However the 3D content is created, the technical and physiological aspects need to be considered, as it is very easy for technical issues to exist in 3D material which may possibly result in an unpleasant experience for the viewer.

In order to facilitate and speed the adoption of 3D technology in the home, it is of paramount importance that the viewing experience is of the highest order. The early adopters of 3D in the home will view it and share their opinions – bad as well as good – with their friends. These early adopters should receive the best possible 3D experience, and it is up to the industry to ensure that the 3D content delivered during these early stages and beyond is of the highest possible quality – and that can only be achieved by a detailed understanding of the obstacles and pitfalls which will allow these to be avoided.

The biggest problem is that we are trying to create the illusion of 3D from a flat source, whereas in nature, our 3D perception is the result of viewing truly 3-Dimensional material, and our senses are optimized for that.  It is not just a case of presenting a slightly different image to each eye and leaving the rest to the brain’s processing: there are issues of focus and convergence which can upset the viewing experience and, in a significant number of people, lead to unpleasant side effects which persist beyond the viewing.

‘Cardboarding’
This occurs a lot with movies that have been converted from 2D to 3D – objects on the screen appear to be at different depths, but are themselves totally flat, just like a series of cardboard cutouts.

Extreme Divergence
Divergence is the turning of the eyes inward or outward together to look at close or distant objects.  Objects which appear to be well behind the screen require the eyes to turn outwards, which is normally accompanied by distance focusing, but because the image is still at the same distance (the screen), this can make it difficult or impossible to focus on the object.  This is especially significant with children whose eyes are closer together, and often results in eye-strain and / or an uncomfortable viewing experience.

Extreme negative parallax
This is the opposite condition where the object appears well in front of the screen, causing the eyes to turn inwards and the brain to assume that it needs to focus closer – which is at odds with the image still being at the same distance from the viewer.  Again, an uncomfortable experience can result, and the effects on children’s eyesight development are still by no means fully understood.

Abrupt depth changes
When there are abrupt scene changes and the accompanying depth change is significant, the viewer’s eyes must quickly converge or diverge while at the same time resisting the natural reflex to refocus, again leading to an abrupt and uncomfortable experience.

Multiple reference points
This occurs when additional objects, such as titles, burned-in text, menu buttons, scores, statistics etc. and the depth of these does not correspond with the video content which is playing. It is then very tiring for the viewer to constantly select and change what he is focusing on.

These are only the major pitfalls from a much longer list, and highlight just how difficult it can be to create the optimum 3D experience for the viewer. Even with all of the planning and attention to both creative and technical details, issues can still arise which can negatively impact the 3D experience for the viewer, and it is in this respect that there is sill a fair way to go.
Avoiding and correcting these issues as much and as soon as possible is paramount in ensuring the quickest adoption of 3D technology in the homes of consumers.

Is There Still a Need for CD Duplication?

July 3rd, 2011

CD Duplication is still a cost-effective way to impress your fans and clients. Show them how much you care about your product by producing a well put-together CD package. Disc duplication is still a great way for a musician, corporation, or individual to create multiple copies of digitized media effectively. When CD duplication is needed, choosing quality media duplication and replication services is imperative. Trusting your project to a knowledgeable service provider is essential to acquiring a successful end product.

Looking to woo your fans? Consider rising above the competition with a fresh idea like eco-friendly packaging. A CD completed with recycled materials and attractive case-art can give you the edge needed to one-up your competition. Professional CD packaging will leave a lasting impression, giving the artist a chance to shine. A quality CD does wonders for a band’s reputation. Make a lasting impression. One that will keep them coming back for more.

Thinking of doing this from home? Think again! A home computer can take a lot of time and be less cost-effective than hiring a CD duplication company to offer quick turnaround, short run product. You want your project to look professional? Take it to a professional to duplicate it. Indie artists can definitely make it in today’s music scene with the right marketing and quality CD duplication services. After spending a lot of money on studio sessions to get the perfect tracks, sending out less than optimally duplicated discs is a definite mistake. Sending out premium duplicated discs to radio stations and fans is the only way. Always put your best foot forward!

Indie artists, writers, software programmers, businesses, and graphics developers often require manufactured CDs and trend-setting packaging. Professional CD manufacturing need not be a method open only to big name record companies and software manufacturers. Unfortunately, some CD manufacturing companies still require a large minimum quantity to place an order or only deal with lengthy and detailed contracts, leaving individuals who need these sorts of services with few choices. Luckily, here at DuplicationCentre, even the smallest jobs are important to us, and are very affordably priced.

When it comes to CD Duplication and printing, leave it to the pros. You’ve created the content, we can take it from here. Here at DuplicationCentre, we offer personal attention to even the smallest order, and we will take the time to explain the processes, options, and provide you with excellent customer service from start to finish.

Disc-based Promotion and Marketing

June 3rd, 2011

Optical disc media have traditionally been associated with entertainment content delivery: music; film; games; software etc., and that is by far where their major applications lie, but with the costs of mass duplication / replication tumbling, many other exciting uses are presenting themselves:

One case in point is promotion / marketing: for a business wanting to promote and present themselves, their products and the services they offer in a unique way, there is little to compete with the style, appeal and simplicity of a promotional CD-ROM, DVD etc…

Sending out a mailshot of promotional discs to a carefully-targeted list of potential clients and existing customers alike is a very effective way of generating interest – holding attractively-packaged physical media in the hand encourages viewing of the contents in a way that browsing online can never compete with. Instead of waiting for potential clients to stumble on your website, a promotional disc can present your product or services right on their desks and also then direct traffic to your website.

Promotional discs (whether CD-ROM; DVD or even Blu-ray) offer an ideal way for a company to circulate their corporate information on a once-off or regular basis.  The format will allow for the electronic reproduction of a complete catalogue if required, and could even be used as a replacement for a printed brochure, with a large saving on printing and postage costs.

Free from the limitations if the internet, such promotional discs can contain video documentaries, animated and musical introductions and other “bandwidth-hungry” forms of visual entertainment.

It is now easy and cheap to produce the material with interactive and animated menus, attractive sleeve artwork, and duplicating costs are very cheap – small wonder that so many businesses and institutions are taking advantage of the edge that promotional discs can give their businesses:

University / school prospectuses;

Charity promotion and awareness;

High-value Property marketing;

Religious;

Advertising;

Fashion…

Duplicationcentre can help with all aspects of design / production, so give us a call now to see how easily your business could get the edge.

What future for packaged media in an online world?

May 23rd, 2011

Over the past six years, the music sector has undergone a huge transformation – 94.8% of all singles are sold digitally, though 85% of albums are still sold in a packaged physical format.

But, specialist record shops are disappearing fast, and the large distributors such as Amazon are offering more and more titles as downloads only.

It’s obvious that many minority-appeal CDs will only be available as discs for as long as already pressed batches last.

Impulse buys

But, downloads are generally the result of a conscious online search for a specific title, and offering downloads only would kill the very significant Impulse-Buy market.

A survey in the UK in September 2010 found DVDs to be women’s second-favourite impulse buy, after shoes.  The demise of UK home entertainment chains Woolworths and Zavvi at the beginning of 2009 was acutely felt by the video industry, and it has struggled to regain those missing impulse buyers who made up a significant proportion of the £30 million of lost video sales that year.

Other attractions of packaged media

Packaged media are so much more than the core-product which is being sold – the packaging itself is a desireable item.  The artwork and accompanying booklets are still very important to customers, and it would be unwise to underestimate the “hold-in-your-hand” factor which is so important in impulse buying.  If people can see a large display of different titles, pick them up and handle them, they are far more likely to buy than if looking to download something from an online distributor.  Similarly, giving films / games / music as a gift can only be done with a packaged product.

Until the price of downloads becomes significantly cheaper than buying the physical product, the demand for packaged media will remain strong and reliable, as customers are happy to pay extra for the convenience of being able to pick up a product which they can use instantly, and swap or share as they wish.

Consuming Impulses

April 5th, 2011

According to a professional study, an average item which entices the impulse buying must be low-cost and purchased frequently with little cognitive effort required from the customer. DVD perfectly fits all the criteria. A professional survey conducted by the UK online research company showed that DVDs have been the top impulse items bought within last year by the majority of respondents. DVDs outnumbered even shoes which for the long time had been considered as women’s favourite impulse choice. Entertainment has this unquestionable advantage over other branches – to create and enhace the spontaneous urgence to consume more and more…

Impulse-based selling: a daily routine for packaged media and a challenge for online retailers?

Impulse-based selling: a daily routine for packaged media and a challenge for online retailers?

But once diagnosed, the spontaneous gap in consumers’ rational behaviour, the scientifically proven state of psychological disequilibrium can’t be left unmanaged. It’s all not about answering consumer needs instantly, but rather anticipating them. Here is the review of some popular tricks used by sellers to transform a sudden and spontaneous desire of buying into a solid part of volume sales.

The peak season for impulse-buying for packaged media is of course November and December which generate 40% of annual sales. In the holiday periods, the standard amount of shoppers increases and so does the likelihood of following the consumer choices made by others. Supermarkets are the crucial facilitators in driving these kinds of impulses through catalogue promotions, special events, sales and POS (Points of Sale) installed in the checkout space.

No doubts it is far easier to allure those customers who can touch the item before definitely parting with their money. Online retailers have a more though clientele to allure since those who buy online seem to do so in a more structured and responsible way. Besides, there are still no sufficient tools developed to boost the emerging phenomenon called ‘online impulse buying’. Recommendation engines, previous order history, reviews etc. are not enough. Online selling is 100% different from the high- street retail where you can reach consumers directly. And even the widely blessed advantage like offering a countless amount of products is limited by…the size of consumer’s computer screen! Since it turned out to be a fallacy that impulse – buying is driven entirely by price, maybe creating a fully bespoke online stores could tap all the impulses effectively? Price is important for those who are sensitive to it and therefore shop at supermarkets, but there are many other factors at each stage of the consumer segmentation. For example, those who pay attention to product’s quality are the most demanding and picky.

If you have ever found yourself trapped by any of those selling strategies you can be sure that your buying choices had been planned far in advance and there is hardly anything spontaneous when comes to marketing and sales.

Scanning archiving options…Who is the winner?

March 2nd, 2011

Digital media like Blu-ray are ideal for long - term archiving and retrieval

Data storage and its security is not a new problem. It is as old as the human race.Nowadays the speed with wich information is generated and processed is overwhelming. Second factor is its variety, including text documents, office documents, images, video, sound,databases etc.Many organizations and companies face the challenge to keep their digital history safe and easily accessed and identified for longer than five, twenty or even fifty years.

What is important while adopting storage solution? To clarify current and future needs, to consider the long – term disadvantages and maintainance costs, but most of all – to not be locked into one particular solution only. It must be able to daily evolve with our business.

An ideal archiving technology should also be an open standard, have a good existing base of machines that can read the data format,be fully storable in a normal office space and easy to duplicate. That is why CDs and DVDs are more frequently chosen as storage solution than RAID systems (Redundant Array of Independent Disks ) which are very energy – consuming and require permanent monitoring to prevent data loss. On top of this, it will face the problem of spare discs availability in 20 years.

But even optical disc media leave the problem of capacity.What evolved from CD/DVD and thus is backward compatible is Blu-Ray. This plus the huge installed base makes it a viable technology for future storage. To give the full picture, a 50GB Blu-ray discs holds: 76.9 CDs of 650MB capacity,10.6 DVDs of 4.7GB capacity,4.33 hours of video at 25 mbps,3.33 hours of video at 32 mbps,2.16 hours of video at 50 mbps,1.23 hours of video at 90 mbps,1.11 hours of video at 100 mbps HD and 4.16 minutes of uncompressed HD at 1600 mbps.Up to100 GB of information (scheduled for 2011) can be written on a single- sided disk, its super-tough coating prevents corrosion and the medium estimated archive life is 50 + year. Data can be written in UDF (universal data format) and any machine with Blu- Ray drive can read the format. Comparing to tiered archiving solutions like RAID, optical storage is also the most economic.

No matter which archive solution you choose, bear in mind that the quality of media is more important than the device. So you must always use only branded media to ensure the sustainability for a long term.

Physical media: between human nature and futurology

February 14th, 2011
CD and punched card - the speed with which one technology is supplanted by another is determined by many factors

CD and punched card - the speed with which one technology is supplanted by another is determined by many factors

It’s hard to answer prediction questions concerning physical media, letting alone assigning the exact date of their expiration. We might be laughed at by the future generations. Since the total disappearance of existing technologies is a sociological matter rather than technological, it’s always safer to predict the order of changes than to give exact rates.

It sounds trivial, but implementing a new technology into the market is always up to people. Those who live in big metropolies of the developed world may have an impression that certain technology (like Blue Ray) is so common that everyone and their dog is using it.Obviously, this is not the full picture.What about billions of people living in rural areas and in other places of the world?

Secondly, the speed with which the old technology can be supplanted by the newest one depends also on how well it fits the existing infrastructure. And the level of country’s existing infrastructure depends strongly on the level of its economic development, but also on the local business, politics, culture, even climat. Various technologies can be targeted at different groups of people and sectors of market, like cell versus land line phones. An intresting phenomena is observed in some developing countries of Africa with no previous landline infrastructure – they shifted directly to developing cell phone business.

And lastly, the human factor mentioned in the title. Basically, people vary as far as adopting new technologies is concerned. Not everyone is novelty-seeking, many wait to let the market verify the real value and suitability of the newest shiny gadget. Some simply attach sentimental value to items they possess and physical access is very important to them.There will always be traditionalists, sentimental collectors and fans of vintage. And this also stimulates the producers’ creativity. The more niches in the market, the better.

Piracy – Hydra – headed monster of entertainment industry

February 14th, 2011
Solutions developed to battle piracy become obsolete quickly

Solutions developed to battle piracy become obsolete quickly

Illegal downloading and counterfeit CDs and DVDs manufacturing, are threatening the entertainment industry which is extremely technology-oriented. On the other hand, piracy is also testing the industry’s creativity and ability to response rapidly.

It is estimated that one in three CDs sold worldwide is a counterfeit and 23.76% of worldwide internet traffic is generated by unauthorised content. In the USA, the commercial value of unlicensed software reached $51.4 billion, which was a 41% increase compared to previous years. But an exact loss figure is hard to calculate as there are many other factors, difficult to determine like whether someone would have purchased the content if it was impossible to obtain it illegally.

The UK, which is one of the leading digital music markets, with 67 legal services, also has to face the problem of illegal downloading. The first answer is education, which means making Internet users aware how physical and digital format piracy affects artists, songwriters and record producers.

But an informative and persuasive campaign is not enough to make users migrate to legal services. When there are no more carrots available, it’s high time to use the stick. Thus the UK, together with France, South Korea and Taiwan introduced legislation based on a gradual response. It was proved that 90% of P2P users would change their behaviour upon receipt of a second warning from their ISP, combined with a deterrent sanction if they continued their illegal activity.

Adopted in November 2009, the Anti Piracy Unit obliges the Internet service providers (ISP) to notify subscribers alleged to be infringing on copyright and produces a list of repeat infringers.

Piracy is like a multi-headed monster which continuosly transforms and forces people who deal with it to come up with one effective solution after another, as they become obsolete quickly. The next challenge is ‘cyberlocker’ sites with fast spreading illegal links, and no users to identify.

An interesting innovation was developed by Fortium. It’s a File Based Pin Play solution that secures the content at the moment of receipt. A special wrapper is attached to the file and the receiver has to enter a separately provided pin in order to open the content. It is aimed at protecting DVD’s from unauthorized duplication.

It seems that battling piracy can be effective if the efforts of all the parties involved: industry suppliers, assosiations and goverments, work together. But as always, there is also another side of the coin: what threatens the economic stability of a developed industry, boosts the rapidly growing markets like Brazil, India and China.

From 2D to 3D – a short course on brain deceiving

January 6th, 2011

The best is either to deliver high quality 3D or not to deliver it at all

The arrival of 3D has definitely thrilled the market and lifted consumers’ expectations. 3D broadcast channels, TVs with built in ‘on the fly’ conversion ability and 3D cinemas pop up like mushrooms. Not a long time ago just four 3D movies generated 33% of  total revenue of the box office.

At first glance, it may seem that auto conversion can save a lot of money and manual work, but it has to be remembered that the quality of auto-conversion is strongly linked with the source material. It is far easier to convert a movie that was made with 3D in mind than some old movies which used to be fully devoted to 2D. Auto – convertors do not like abrupt cuts and  vertical motion since the convertors’ depth detectors prefer horizontal plane. However the idea of turning old movies into 3D reminds many of the colorisation era in the 80’s and leaves them similarly disappointed. And as the latest damaging reviews for The Clash of the Titans showed, the idea of turning into 3D the movie with no previous intention for extra dimension brings literally nothing to the watching experience. We may also wonder if it will ever be possible to create a computer algorythm that can achieve the 3D perception equal to that of human brain, but so far the real quality conversion can only be done by skilled engineers.

The basic way to convert 2D to 3D is by ‘vertical location’. The image is cut into horizontal zones and the zones at the bottom of the screen seem to be closer than the others. Yet, many aren’t satisfied with the results. The more advanced method is  to simply clone the movie. By doing so, you get two identical picture sequences. One – for the left eye – remain untouched and the other is transformed in the search for a deeper dimension. Individual objects are isolated with a use of two techniques: rotoscoping and matting. The former traces the contour of an object in every single frame of the movie and the latter constructs a mask (using color, motion or brightness) that follows it around. Finally, the relative depths are measured using parallax.

There is also a physical phenomenon called the Pulfrich effect, where a visual lag between the left and right eye creates depth from 2D. A variation on this theme, combined with objects moving at different speeds in successive fields can bring interesting results as well.

Anyway, only the luckiest half of humanity will be able to fully appreciate the result of quality conversion. Let’s hope you are among them!

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