Creation
There are a variety of formats for burning your own DVDs. The DVD-R format which is a permanent (record-once) format, seems to be the most widely compatible with different makes and models of DVD players, and it is the only DVD format supported by some of our stand-alone DVD recorders. Note that it is the ONLY format which will be accepted in this course!
Simple programs like iDVD or Toast are designed for short projects and work very well for most of our class assignments. They produce very high quality audio and video (these are separate files on a DVD, by the way) for programs under 60 minutes. You may see some slight reduction in quality for programs that exceed 60 minutes, and while some software may allow you to burn programs of 4, or even 8 hours in length, anything over 2 hours will have very poor quality.
Complex programs with a lot of branching menus, or programs that exceed 2 hours, should be produced on more sophisticated programs such as Apple's DVD Studio Pro.
To transfer projects to DVD which have been edited on digital tape, digitizing and burning to disk is inefficient and may sacrifice some quality. A stand-alone DVD recorder is a much better device to accomplish this task, and the newest generation are as easy to operate as VHS recorders.
Preservation
There are already horror stories circulating about commercial DVDs which seem to self destruct in two or three years rather than lasting the 100 years that some manufacturers have promised. While early DVDs may have had some problems, users have been partly responsible for this short life expectancy.
DVDs are far more fragile than CDs at the hub. For this reason, never store a DVD in a jewel case designed for a CD. DVD cases have fewer prongs and place much less pressure on the hub of the disk. DVDs should also be stored in a vertical position, as the disk will "sag" a bit with time and warp, or even crack the hub if stored flat.
DVDs produced on a computer or stand-alone recorder are considerably more sensitive to light than commercial DVDs. Avoid exposing them to light or heat!
With these few tips in mind, your DVDs should last for many years.
