I cannot emphasize more the importance of setting the correct layer breakpoint for dual-layer DVDs, the so-called DVD-9.

Most software, including the famous ones such as DVD Studio Pro and Encore, sometimes set the layer breakpoint at the wrong place.  But your question is: It works though.  Yes, it may work on your DVD player but may not work on other players.  There is a very funny phenomenon in the DVD player market; i.e. the cheaper the DVD player, the more compatible it is.  Why?  Because cheap DVD players are created to play the cheap bootleg discs and if the requirement is too tight they may fail to play.  On the other hand, brand name players such as Pioneer, Sony, Philips, etc. confirm the DVD forum standard so they will reject bad discs, including dual-layer discs with a bad breakpoint.

When you have a dual-layer order please make sure to hire a company that knows how to set the correct layer breakpoint.  If the layer breakpoint is set incorrectly a knowledgeable replicator such as New Cyberian should be able to fix it without the need for re-authoring.

This question is occasionally raised by mastering houses whether it is better to submit the master in DDP format or in Redbook CD format.  The answer is: either way, the result will be the same.

DDP is the acronym for Disc Description Protocol.  It is the native format used by many types of equipment in the disc replication industry.  According to Wikipedia, DDP is a format for specifying the content of optical discs, including CDs and DVDs.  It is commonly used for the delivery of disc masters for duplication.

Some replicators, especially many brokers, will refuse to accept DDP format because they don’t have the equipment to reverse the DDP to a physical copy.  These replicators will only accept Redbook CD as master.  Well, there is nothing wrong with that because by its digital nature a copy of a Redbook CD should be exactly the same as the master. There is one catch though.  The equipment used to make the copy has to be compatible with the Redbook standard.  Otherwise not all the information will be carried over to the new copy.  For example, some CD-ROM drives cannot copy CD-Text and CD+G information.  In that case, supplying a DDP image will be safer.  So to eliminate such possibility, we encourage the submission of DDP if all possible.

It depends.  Almost all Hollywood DVDs have CSS copy protection on them. The DVDs you get from NetFlix also have CSS copy protection.  The intention is to deter normal users from making copies.  When one tries to copy a DVD with CSS copy protection the software will inform the users that the DVD cannot be copied.  But this only applies to reputable software such as NERO, ImgBurn, etc.  Since the algorithm of CSS has long been cracked, there is hacker software that can make DVD copies with just a few mouse clicks.

So CSS copy protection is meant for the gentlemen and not for the villains. Ask yourself how valuable your content is before making the decision on adding CSS.  The cost of having CSS is very minimum; $150 per title if you purchase your DVD replication from New Cyberian. If you are selling your DVD for a couple of hundred dollars, then CSS is worth the money.  If you are only selling at $10 to $20, ask one more question whether your prospect buyers will tend to make copies for archiving or distributing.  If just for archiving then not having CSS probably will not hurt your sales.  Otherwise, add it anyway.

If you need to add CSS on your DVD you can just send your master as if there is no need for CSS.  New Cyberian is among the very few companies that can add CSS to an already authored DVD.  If your current replicator request you to have DDP or DLT then tell them to send the master to New Cyberian instead.  We don’t have all these updated requirements.

I was asked many times by my customers that corpulent companies such as the Makers et al are lowering their prices and how we are going to cope with such competition.  My answer is simple: Quality!

When I say quality I mean quality in the sense of product and customer services.

For the product quality, I think the 80/20 rule fits. To be fair, the quality from those corpulent companies is ok.  If a 100 is perfect then they are at about 75 to 80.  When there is no comparison a B- or B student at 75 ~ 80% is not too bad.  Since I was an A student during my school era I am definitely not satisfied with a B.  The extra 20% is what we are striving to attain here at New Cyberian. Customers who bought from us and the Makers et al immediately notice the subtle difference in quality.  If the Makers et al are selling the Cadillac’s, we are selling the Rolls Royce’s; at the same or even lower prices.

As far as customer services, we always train our sales as sales engineers, not just a salesperson.  Our sales need to be able to handle all the artwork issues with hands-on Photoshop skills.  The assembly line approach used by our corpulent competitions is error-prone and cold.  When customers call us we don’t need to pass the line around because our sales are well-equipped and are aware of every aspect of the steps.

Unlike corpulent companies which expand by buying companies, we build our company from the ground up.  As an analogy, we got our Ph. D. by hard work studying, and someone can also get a Ph. D. by buying a diploma.  Unfortunately, flamboyant marketing brainwash used by the corpulent companies captures 80% of the market and leaves 20% of the market to smart shoppers who have the intelligence to cogitate.  Now next time when you need to get your CD or DVD replication, who do you want to call?

For some reason most of our customers always have very tight deadlines.  I guess that has to do with the human nature that we tend to do things until the last minute.  That’s why I always advise my clients to plan ahead.  Not only that will prevent potential errors due to rushing, but also save a lot on shipping costs.

That said, just in case you are competing against time and even one day will make the “hit or miss” scenario, sending you content master via the Internet will be your only option.  In our article “Using Disc Image for Disc Replication” we have outlined the details.  This is a recap of the article.

1. Use ImgBurn to create a disc image
2. Reverse the disc image by burning a test copy and verifying the disc is correct
3. Zip up the disc image files in chunks of 200MB
4. Upload the zip files to an FTP site.

I can’t emphasize more on #3, i.e. the zipping of the files.  If you don’t zip the files there will be a very big chance that the image file will be corrupted.  This is because of the ASCII and binary settings used by most FTP programs.  Zipping the files also adds one more level of assurance.  If your files cannot be unzipped then there must be something wrong with the uploading.  Without this check-sum protection, it will be hard to say whether the uploading-downloading is a one-to-one mapping.

Silkscreen and offset printing are the terms you will definitely encounter when you need to do a CD replication project. What is the difference?

The differences are the methods and the results. If you have done T-Shirt printing you probably know what silkscreen printing is. Essentially it uses a piece of screen with small holes for the ink to get through.  Offset printing uses a roller (or plate) to transfer the color over to the object to be printed.

From your perspective, the only thing you should care is whether the graphic is vector or bitmaps. Vector graphics are created using programs such as Illustrator and CorelDraw. Bitmap graphics are created most likely by Photoshop or the equivalents.

What happens when one uses the wrong printing method? For example, using silkscreen for bitmap artwork and offset for vector artwork?

If silkscreen printing is used on photographic artwork the most obvious result is that the pictures will be pixelated.  Depending on the density of the screen lines, a high-density screen can produce relatively acceptable and less obvious pixelated results. But when the line density is low, the printed CD face can be as coarse as a piece of sandpaper.

On the other hand, if offset printing is used on a vector artwork with a large solid area, the result is that the solid area will not be as solid as it should be.  Color washout is commonly seen when offset printing is used to print vector artwork.

For silkscreen printing, you will normally provide PMS number for the colors used on the artwork.  PMS stands for Pantone Matching Systems and is the language for talking about colors.  When a color is specified by a PMS number, you should expect the color will be exactly the same color on a Pantone color chart. Color matching for offset printing is a bit more difficult. But when color is a big concern for you, it is always a good idea to make a printout to your CD replicator and the most knowledgeable printer should be able to color match close to the printout you provide; 100% matching is almost impossible though.