4. BUILDthe DVD (muxthe file/folder data or a disc image).
5. DELIVER—BURN a DVD or WRITE a DLT tape master.
In each one of these steps, an important part of the DVD Production process takes place—when this complete workflow is finished, the DVD has been completely premastered, and this finished DVD mas- ter (as it is known) may either be burned to some fla- vor of DVD-recordable or re-writable disc, or delivered to a DVD replicator on DLT (Digital Linear Tape) for the mass production of large quantities of DVD discs (called replicationof discs). Let’s outline what happens in each stage of the DVD workflow:
13
What Is a DVD?
Figure 1-14 — GB versus BB in DVD Disc sizes.
Figure 1-15a — Five Steps of DVD Workflow.
1—Plan the Project, then Acquire the Assets You Need
Planninga DVD Project should begin by developing an idea of what you wish to present and how DVD can be used to present it. Planning is helped immea- surably by understanding a bit about how DVDs work—the basic building blocks of DVD as used in DVD Studio Pro are Tracksthat deliver the Video, Menusthat present interactive choices,Slideshows that display linear sequences of graphics, and Scripts to control enhanced navigation.
Planning should define the structure of the DVD project and the relationships of all of these elements.
During the planning stage, you will need to define the length of video program including any additional audio or subtitle tracks desired, as this will determine the video encoding bitrate required to make the proj- ect fit on the desired DVD disc size. This calculation is generically called bit budgeting, reflecting the need to carefully plan the usage of the limited number of bits available on the DVD disc. Proper bit budgeting will outline the specific requirements for not only video (MPEG) encoding rates, but also how best to take advantage of audio compression (typically Dolby Digital in most DVD regions), and also how to allow bandwidth for any subtitle streams that may be needed.
We have included a working bit budget spreadsheet in the Tidbits folder on the accompanying DVD.
Open this sheet in Microsoft Excel, and work with it while reviewing the bit budgeting instructions found in Chapter 2, “What is DVD Studio Pro 4?” This will make your bit budgeting simpler, and faster.
Once the bit budget has defined the asset encode rates,Acquiring the Assetsconsists of gathering the video, audio, graphics, and any ROM data required for the DVD. In Chapter 6, “Making Audio for DVD,”
we will discuss in detail how to properly create audio programs for DVD using A.Pack(for any of you still
using DVD Studio Pro 2 and 3) and Compressor 2 (which is new with DVD Studio Pro 4 and Final Cut Studio). And in Chapter 15, “Graphics Issues for DVD Images,” we will outline methods used in correctly creating graphics assets for DVDs—this is primarily of interest for making menus, but also relevant for slides and generic info screens. While there are a lot of new features in DVD Studio Pro that allow you to create Menus directly within the program, it is invaluable to know these DVD graphics basics.
2—Encode the Video
Once the list of video presentations (Tracks and Motion Menus) that will be needed has been deter- mined during planning, and the video programs cre- ated or acquired, the video must eventually be converted into compressed digital files using the MPEG-2 Codec. (MPEG-1 also works, and is cur- rently implemented in DVD Studio Pro, but has some restrictions on its use. Consult DVD Studio Pro help.)
This process is usually called encodingif it means transferring programs from Videotape, or transcod- ingif it means converting an existing digital file into an MPEG file. In either case, the end result is an MPEG-compressed video bitstream (sometimes just called a Stream). This MPEG Stream must contain ONLY the video program for that particular presen- tation. DVD Authoring requires this type of Stream, called an elementary MPEG Stream, which is differ- ent from an MPEG-2 Program StreamorTransport Stream, which some encoders can create.
DVD Studio Pro installs a new software encoder called Compressor 2, as well as a new background encoder that can create MPEG-2 streams from QuickTime movies while authoring in DVD Studio Pro. While DVD Studio Pro 1, 2, and 3 added encode components into the Macintosh QuickTime engine to enable MPEG-2 encoding functions in QuickTime,
DVD Studio Pro 4 relies on Compressor 2 exclu- sively. The QuickTime MPEG-2 Export Component (a.k.a. MPEG-2 encoder) facilitates the MPEG export/encode function in any QuickTime applica- tion that can use export components.
Apple’s own Final Cut Pro is capable of exporting (encoding) directly into MPEG-2 either through Compressor or QuickTime. The QuickTime Pro Player can also export to MPEG-2 directly. There are several other software MPEG-2 encoders that can be used with DVD Studio Pro. (See Appendix B,
“Alternative Encoders.”)
3—Author the Project
Authoring the DVD involves assembling the content (the assets) while adding the navigation and interac- tivity that will control the presentation of the content created in the encoding stage. Authoring defines the functionality of the DVD, and what the DVD user will experience when this particular disc is viewed.
During Authoring, you will use Previewing and Simulating to verify the proper operation of the var- ious DVD functions that have been created during Authoring. DVD Studio Pro is the Authoring pro- gram, and includes an integral preview solution that allows simulated playback of the DVD in progress.
(We will cover each aspect of Authoring in subse- quent chapters as we go forward.)
4—Build the Project
Building (a.k.a. multiplexing, or mux-ingfor short) means reassembling the raw DVD data from the orig- inal asset files (the elementary streams used for authoring) into the finished interleaved data file for- mat, called the DVD Volume that all DVD players require. DVD Studio Pro can build this DVD Volume to your Macintosh hard drive, or to any hard disk vol- ume attached to the host Macintosh. FireWire Drives have made this a very inexpensive and trouble-free
process. Building the DVD is absolutely essential to creating a working DVD. Until you build, you just have a DVD Project, not a real DVD!
5—Deliver the Project—Burn a DVD or Write a DLT
The final output of a DVD project is generally a recorded DVD Disc (of any format), or a DVD repli- cation masterwritten on DLT (digital linear tape).
Final distribution of the DVD can take one of three possible forms:
A “ONE-OFF” DISC on DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, or DVD+R DL
A DVD disc may be written on any acceptable recordable DVD media using a suitable DVD Burner (like the Apple SuperDrive). These kinds of discs are created with DVD-R or DVD+R discs, typically DVD-R. Typical DVD burners are manufactured by Pioneer (DVD±R/RW +R/RW), Panasonic (DVD- R/RAM), Ricoh and H/P, (DVD+RW/+R), Sony (DVD±R/RW), and many, many others. Many new drives (including the newest generation of Apple SuperDrives) offer the capability for burning the new double-layer recordable media (generally +DL). Be careful to use the correct drive for the chosen media!
Duplication
In the event that more than one disc is needed for final delivery, a DVD duplicatormay be used to cre- ate multiple copies of the original disc (see Chapter 16, “Duplication and Replication”). These disc copies are typically created with DVD-R discs, but may be created on any recordable or rewritable format, including the new +DL. From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, duplication loses its advantage when the quantity of discs required exceeds 50–100 discs or more. As the cost of recordable DVD media contin- ues to plummet, this number will continue to 15
What Is a DVD?
increase, making duplication more cost-effective for even larger runs.
Replication
When more than 100 discs are needed (or more typ- ically 1,000 or more), DVD replicationis used to cre- ate large quantities of identical discs. These discs are the most compatible DVDs you can make. Their manufacture is accomplished at a DVD replication facility, and prior to manufacture, the manufacturing parts (called stampers) must be created through a process known as glass mastering.
If you are going to replicate your DVDs, the most accurate delivery method is the DLT, although not all replicators require DLT any more. Many can use the DVD-R (G) media that you can burn on your own SuperDrive using DVD Studio Pro. Be careful, how- ever, that you deliver the highest quality master you can. If you are going to deliver DVD-R (G) instead of a DLT, take care to deliver two discs, and do NOT play them more than once after they have been burned. Believe it or not, playing the discs may com- promise the data recorded on the discs, making the mastering process more complicated. If you are going to deliver a DVD-9 dual-layer project, you shoulddeliver on DLT, as this is the method gener- ally used by replicators to create your DVD’s glass master(s).
Today’s Workflow Is Different
Of course, new developments mean sometimes we have to update our old standards and dogma. DVD Studio Pro has brought new tools and methods to the DVD party, so it is no longer necessary to create encoded video before authoring, and it is now possi- ble to create a menu entirely within DVD Studio Pro’s very powerful Menu Editor! The DVD Studio Pro 3 update added video and still transitions so, in effect, you now have access to a powerful composit- ing engine within DVD Studio Pro—ah, you’ve got to love progress! (See Figure 1-15b.)
OK, I’m Going to
Replicate—What Now?
If you are going for replication, prepare your master DVD disc or DLT master using the methods we will outline in Chapter 14, and then deliver it to the repli- cation facility. (Be sure to verify that they will accept something other than DLT, though.) The replicator will then prepare the DVD manufacturing parts by the method we outline in Chapter 16.
Figure 1-15b — A revised modern-day DVD workflow.
How Do I Plan My DVD?
Planning a DVD requires a combination of authoring insight, graphics design, and technical number crunching. Planning a DVD begins by designing the structure and layout of the disc, based on the naviga- tion and project needs, and then determining the disc size desired, and video encoding parameters. This last part is called bit budgeting.
Creating a bit budget involves determining three important things:
1. Determine the audio and subtitle encode rate overhead required for the DVD project.
You’ll do this by adding up all of the bitrates for the audio and subpicture (subtitle) Streams you need for your DVD project.
Subtracting that total value from 9.8 (for a one-angle DVD) will give you a video
“maximum bit rate” value. You will use this value if you are performing a VBR (variable bit rate) encode, but may not need it for a CBR (constant bit rate) encode.
2. Determine the average bitrateof the project.
This can be done easily by dividing the total bit size of the disc by the number of seconds of video program you wish to include.
3. Subtract1from2to determine the video- only encode rate. The video-only encode rate determined in this last step will be used to program the encoding software that you choose to use in creating your MPEG video files. (See Chapter 5 for more information.) To make life easy for you, the DVD with this book includes a copy of the “Make a Bit Budget” spread- sheet that I designed a few years ago, and that has been downloaded by DVD authors around the world.
(See Figures 1-16 and 1-17.) It requires a recent ver- sion of Microsoft Excel to run (although I heard that several users have successfully loaded it into Appleworks!).
Helpful Data for Use While Calculating a Bit Budget
17
What Is a DVD?
Figure 1-16 — Table of Nominal Encode/Data Rates.
Figure 1-17 — Table of DVD Disc size equivalents and usable Megabits.
Figure 1-18 — Disc Running Times in seconds.
Significance of Encode Rates
The MPEG video encode rate, more than anything else, is the key to good-looking video on your disc.
(See Figure 1-19 and Table 1-5.) If you use the proper encode rate for your proposed project (and also assuming you have good-looking source video, and a decent software encoder), you should be able to create good-looking MPEG files for your DVD.
Remember, though, that you should create a bit budget for each DVD project to verify the proper encode rates required. You are also bound by this relationship, which I always preach in my encoding seminars and classes:
“Running time and encode rate are interrelated!”
Table 1-5 SD Encode Rate Benchmarks for Reference Disc Size Prgm Length Encode Rate Mbps*
DVD-5 <60 Minutes 6 Nominal 8 Max DVD-5 60 Minutes 6 Nominal 8 Max
DVD-5 90 Minutes 6 Max
DVD-5 120–130 Minutes 4.5 Max
DVD-9 120–130 Minutes 6 Nominal 8 Max**
DVD-9 180 Minutes 6 Nominal and Max DVD-9 240–260 Minutes 4.5 Max
* Assumes one Dolby Digital Soundtrack at 192 kbps
** Why would you do this? Make a DVD-5!
What Is HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc?
What could be better than one new format for next-generation DVDs? TWO formats, right? (Well, not really—actually two for- mats are a huge accident waiting to hap- pen, but I digress….)
HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD for short) represent two different approaches to extending the current DVD specification to take into account the newer high-definition video formats, and the desire for more storage options and interactive features to go with the improved video.
While both formats are attempting to accomplish similar goals, the methodology used by the two dif- ferent camps hasn’t been resolved into a single, uni- fied format (yet—there’s always hope, but the odds are getting slimmer).
If there is a format compromise, we will all be the better for it. But frankly speaking, it looks like the next version of DVD is going to go forth into the world with two different and not necessarily com- patible formats… I guess it will remain to see what happens when the consumers (that’s you!) make their judgment with their checkbooks and credit cards.
Figure 1-19 — Lower encode rate = longer run time;
higher encode rate = shorter run time.
In the interim, we can discuss what we do know about the HD DVD format, since that format is included in the DVD capabilities of DVD Studio Pro 4.
First on the Block for HD DVD Authoring
DVD Studio Pro 4 is the first application to be able to create discs that conform to even a small part of the new HD DVD specification. Apple has taken the 0.9 version of the HD DVD specification (the part that was stabilized at the prerelease point) and has
implemented those capabilities within DVD Studio Pro 4.
This means you can make widescreen DVDs that uti- lize many of the great newest video formats, like DVCPRO HD and HDV. If you have Final Cut Pro, you can even capture and cut all the way up to 1920
⫻1080i (you’ll need a pretty powerful system for that, though—not a Powerbook).
This might be a good time to outline what these new video specs are, so we’re all on the same page.
NOTE! **
These formats are not allowed in HD DVD using the MPEG 1 codec.
19
What Is a DVD?
NTSC for HD DVD
Rates with “i” indicate interlaced; Rates with “p” indicate progressive scan.
Resolution Frame rate Aspect ratio Notes
352 x 240 29.97i 4:3 a.k.a SIF format **
352 x 480 29.97i 4:3 a.k.a 1/2 D1
704 x 480 29.97i 4:3, 16:9 a.k.a. Cropped D1;
16:9 is anamorphic
720 x 480 29.97i 4:3, 16:9 a.k.a. Full D1;
16:9 is anamorphic
720 x 480 59.94p 16:9 HD only, a.k.a. 480p; is anamorphic
1280 x 720 59.94p 16:9 HD only, a.k.a. 720p
1440 x 1080 29.97i 4:3, 16:9 HD only; 16:9 is anamorphic
1920 x 1080 29.97i 16:9 HD only a.k.a. 1080i
PAL for HD DVD
Rates with “i” indicate interlaced; Rates with “p” indicate progressive scan.
Resolution Frame rate Aspect ratio Notes
352 x 288 25i 4:3 a.k.a SIF format **
352 x 576 25i 4:3 a.k.a 1/2 D1
704 x 576 25i 4:3, 16:9 a.k.a. Cropped D1
16:9 is anamorphic
720 x 576 25i 4:3, 16:9 a.k.a. Full D1;
16:9 is anamorphic
720 x 576 50p 16:9 HD only, a.k.a. 576p; is anamorphic
1280 x 720 50p 16:9 HD only, a.k.a. 720p
1440 x 1080 25i 4:3, 16:9 HD only; 16:9 is anamorphic
1920 x 1080 25i 16:9 HD only, a.k.a. 1080i
There is more to cover on the HD DVD, but we will cover those topics as we go along in subsequent chapters. Each reference of interest for HD will have the HD alertlogo that is shown here.
Some Notes on How This Book Is Arranged
Beginning with Chapter 3, each chapter of this book deals with one specific topic regarding DVD Studio Pro, and covers it in depth.
The book is best experienced when used with the demonstration project contents from the accompany- ing DVD, and also in conjunction with the tutorial media from DVD Studio Pro itself.
Shipping with every copy of DVD Studio Pro is a folder of tutorial project media. This media includes pre-encoded MPEG files, prepared PCM Audio Files, as well as menu graphics and MPEGs and a host of other media used to build the DVD Studio Pro tutorial projects and explore the operation of the application programs.
Added to this, we have provided you with a second complete project and one full-length video clip to use as source media for MPEG encoding using the DVD Studio Pro encoding system.
We have also included a number of folders of addi- tional source material on the DVD accompanying this book and some great resources for learning more about available enhancements for your DVD Studio Pro authoring system.
Please note that Apple’s QuickTime MPEG-2 encoder requires a G4 or G5 processor in order to encode—this is due to the encoder’s use of the Velocity Engine (the AltiVec instruction set) avail- able only on G4 or G5 chips.
In cases where our tutorial materials are used, the book will refer you to the proper asset contained in the DVD that accompanies this book. If you wish, you can build our tutorial project along with us.
Our goal has been to provide you with an authorita- tive guide to DVD Authoring, as well as the ancillary issues you will need to know to produce and effec- tively distribute a DVD. We sincerely hope you will find the remainder of this book useful and enjoyable.
Summary
DVD is a digital delivery medium for Video, Audio, and Data, and the fastest growing Home Entertainment medium ever introduced. There are a wide variety of DVD formats, both logical(DVD- ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio), and physical (DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, +DL, DVD-RAM).
DVD-Video discs combine digitally compressed MPEG Video files (streams) with digitized Audio programs (usually PCM or Dolby Digital AC-3) and graphical Subtitle streams to provide a high-quality nonlinear, random-access delivery format.
To properly create a DVD requires the right software tool (an Authoring application), and to properly burn a DVD requires the proper hardware drive, and soft- ware to drive the burner. DVD Studio Pro provides this built-in burning function, and can also connect to a Digital Linear Tape (DLT) tape drive to create a DVD Tape Master.
Understanding the navigation of a DVD using the DVD remote control is a key to creating good DVD
projects, as is understanding the proper creation of video, audio, and graphics Assets used in the making of a DVD. Planning a DVD project requires knowing the structure of the disc, as well as calculating the various encoding parameters that will be used. This is called Bit Budgeting, and must be done carefully to avoid wasting time or money by re-encoding assets.
Running time, encode rates, and disc space are all interrelated, and must be balanced properly for the DVD to be technically successful.
DVD Studio Pro 4 running on a PowerMac G5 or G4 with the Apple SuperDrive gives you a complete self- contained DVD-Video Authoring station, capable of encoding, authoring, and burning professional-qual- ity DVD-Video discs in both the Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) DVD formats. If you have a G5, you can be one of the first to create the new format HD DVD discs and play them back with the Apple DVD player on any suitable Mac running OS 10.4 Tiger.
If you still have a G4, trust me, you’ll have a lot of fun making DVDs, but you won’t be able to play back HD DVDs. Is it upgrade time?
21
What Is a DVD?