QUICK NOTE: Instead of just a "term of the day" (which will still be done here and there), I'm gonna also do tidbit "howtos".
Stuff like "To create sequential numbering in Excel, highlight the number of cells you want to number, hit "edit", "Fill", "series".

I'll be doing all kinds of these, from Linux to Windows, from GTA: Vice City to the latest released demos, and possibly little bits of news as well! I'd like to get back to doing some more serious how-tos.

Anyway... let's get crankin'!

Today's post is about the joys of DVD formats. I've gotten a couple requests for explaining these, so I'm gonna do my best to try.

DVD FORMATS?

Basically, if you're looking at buying a DVD burner, there are currently two standards. These are DVD + and DVD -. Also, if you're looking to understand stuff like "Regional Encoding", keep readin'!

DVD +R/ +RW Versus DVD -R/ -RW

Both "+" and "-" are standards of the way that a DVD is formatted. + doesn't run on - systems very well (if at all), and vice versa.

Now then, if you were to ask "Dark.. what the hell should I do about this if I can't decide which was to go?"

I'd say pick up one of those spiffy new combo DVD +-R/+-RW. They've dropped in price, and handle both formats ('bout damn time!). Still, you're going to run into the same issue if you're trying to run a +R disc on a -R player.

WHAT'S BETTER?

Now, I personally have access to a +R. Is it any faster, or does it hold any more than a -R? Nope...

Now then, for compatibility, by all reports, "-" is still the most compatible. "+" is catching up in leaps and bounds, and it's said it's going to be THE standard... but for right now, "-" is still reported to be the better way to go.

WHY BURN DVDs?!?

Well, 4.7 gigs backs up a lot of MP-thre.... uhh.. information (seriously though, I converted all my CDs to MP3 and backed 'em up onto a DVD just in case). Now then, for those of you who want to create a "backup" of your DVD media, you have several options. DVD X-Copy Gold has come up as the best of the bunch by most folks, but if you're thinking "Why can't I just copy a movie to a DVD-R?", let me explain!

A factory DVD has roughly 7.8 gigabytes of space ('cause they can do double-layering) . You've got DVD "Lite" it seems, as home burners can only currently handle burning 4.7 gigs (maximum capacity).

REGIONAL ENCODING?

Basically, there are regional standards to movie DVD formats. These aren't overly helpful, as they aren't called "Asia", "USA", "Europe"... they're called "Region 1", "Region 2", etc...

REGIONS:
1: U.S./ Canada
2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East
3: Asia
4: Australia, Mexico, South America
5: Eastern Europe Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
6: China

There are also 7 and 8, but they're probably not gonna be stuff you're gonna see anytime soon.

Regional coding is only really important to you if you're trying to burn off a movie from a factory DVD. Basically, a Region 1 DVD isn't gonna work in a Region 2 DVD player. They did this on purpose to prevent people from sending movies that are out on video in one country to another country where it's just hitting the theatre.

OTHER DVD STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW:

4.7 Gigs is BS! I'm gettin' 4.3 max!!!

Current DVD standards are based off "1000Kb per Meg". Under the standards most of us wish they'd freakin' stay with, one megabyte is "1024KB". So you're losin' 24K per meg, which adds up! They've been having this little arguement with Hard-Drives for years.

"My DVD burner is 4X... why can I only burn at 2x?!?"

If you're using any other burning software than what came with your burner, the older software may only recognize the 2X drives.

Still, you might check and see if there is a patch for it...

Why is it when I burn off a movie, the sound is far ahead or behind of the action?!?

When you compress a movie, you're compressing video. Compressing sound has to be done as well. I'm not gonna say I've had a lot of luck with this (I have DVD to DIVX conversion software... I've wasted MANY hours with trying to get it to line up).

Compression?!?

Compression of video is crunching it down by picture quality (number of pixels per frame) and/or by dropping the frames per second (higher levels of compression can cause a lot of distortion). That's one of the reasons the audio may not keep pace. The frames are actually moving along a little quicker because there aren't as many of them.

This sounds complicated... what should I do to get this crap?

Buy a book, or check out the link listed below. There are freakin' TOMES of understanding DVD technologies.

"I have a CD burner... can I copy DVDs to that?"

Yep. I've seen compressed versions of movies that actually came out rather well when compressed from a DVD to two CDs. You just need the right software.

Is burning off movies illegal?

Not if it's your own stuff. I prefer to have everything on my computer 'cause to me, digging through discs to find one thing I want to watch is now a waste of my time. I just pull up the file and watch it.

Also, if you loan a movie to a friend, it's better to loan 'em something you're not gonna cry 'bout when the idiot scratches it, leaves food bits all over it or loans it to a friend who loans it to a friend who loans it to a friend... (still, you might want to check out the legalities of that, I don't want to get ya'll in trouble for loaning "burned" discs to friends... especially if they make a habit of not givin' 'em back...)


IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE: Hit this sweet web-site: DVD FAQ

Nice summary Dark. Here's another website with links to all sorts of DVD and AVI stuff: http://www.doom9.org

Very interesting and informative, Man I miss 3DFX I miss telling people my VC is a V00D00 Banshee or whatnot.