Is there any point in authoring a DVD these days when blu-ray is so much better quality?

I think the better question would be:

Is there any point in authoring SOURCING a DVD FROM HD FOOTAGE these days when blu-ray is so much better quality?

KISSMAD: Is there any point in authoring a DVD these days when blu-ray is so much better quality?

There are some people who refuse to buy a BluRay player, and thus can’t watch HD video and prefer DVDs to nothing.

But if I had HD source video, I don’t see a big reason to be creating DVDs anymore… But that’s just my opinion.

ron:But if I had HD source video, I don’t see a big reason to be creating DVDs anymore.

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One reason I still make DVD versions is because if I don’t, someone will download the blu-ray, make their own DVD version, and then upload it. They might create a nice DVD version – or one that looks like shit. Either way, it will not be encoded using the original raw HD files – although sourcing a DVD from a blu-ray still usually looks nice **if** it is encoded properly. Since I include my authoring nickname at the end of DVDs/blu-rays that I author to avoid confusion between different versions of the same show – my name (and reputation) are still associated with spin-off DVD productions sourced from blu-rays that I have authored. And the same thing happens when you only create a DVD9 version of a show – there is a good chance that some hero will take it upon himself to re-author it as a 2xDVD5 version and upload it – and even though it can be done without any re-encoding – if the person doing isn’t experienced, they can create a piece of crap. And unfortunately, even if it looks like crap – inevitably, it still gets uploaded and spread around.

Guitard….

Have you ever thought of creating your own VHT YouTube channel?

I thought it would be cool, and possibly connect with others who shoot or have shot footage.

With YouTube HD being as clear as broadcast HD… I really like YouTube now. I watch YouTube on my TV through my Apple TV.

Back in ’07-’08 YouTube pretty much sucked because the quality was so bad, but now that is no longer true.

You could put up individual songs, or entire shows if you so choose.

I don’t have a Blu Ray burner

I’m not really much of a fan of putting entire shows on Youtube. People download them and author alternate versions of shows.

I don’t like DVD’s anymore. They look terrible on my LCD TV.

If I author a BD and DVD set then I’ll only author a DVD5 version and not a DVD9. It’s just not worth doing a DVD9 when the price of a DVD9 is the same price as a BD or they are $1 cheaper, depends on how I buy them. I only use Verbatim. I just know that someone will shrink the DVD9 to a DVD5 anyways.

The last few BD authors I’ve done, I didn’t create a DVD version. Authoring isn’t a quick task, I just didn’t want to spend the time for something that I will never use.

KISSMAD: I don’t like DVD’s anymore. They look terrible on my LCD TV.

If I author a BD and DVD set then I’ll only author a DVD5 version and not a DVD9. It’s just not worth doing a DVD9 when the price of a DVD9 is the same price as a BD or they are $1 cheaper, depends on how I buy them. I only use Verbatim. I just know that someone will shrink the DVD9 to a DVD5 anyways.

The last few BD authors I’ve done, I didn’t create a DVD version. Authoring isn’t a quick task, I just didn’t want to spend the time for something that I will never use.

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My blu-ray player can upscale DVDs to make them look a lot better than they ever did when I played them in a DVD player on a standard def tv. But for me (and I think more and more a lot of other people), I basically don’t burn shows anymore and hence, I don’t watch many shows using the blu-ray player. I just hook up the harddrive to my WD video player (which is hooked up to my HD tv) and watch them that way.

guitard: My blu-ray player can upscale DVDs to make them look a lot better than they ever did when I played them in a DVD player on a standard def tv.But for me (and I think more and more a lot of other people), I basically don’t burn shows anymore and hence, I don’t watch many shows using the blu-ray player.I just hook up the harddrive to my WD video player (which is hooked up to my HD tv) and watch them that way.

does the WD TV player support a .m2t or a 25Mbps BluRay MPEG-2 codec? all I see is MP4..

single-8: does the WD TV player support a .m2t or a 25Mbps BluRay MPEG-2 codec? all I see is MP4..

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1270#Tab3

additional thoughts and comments …

I don’t have a Blu Ray burner so a show authored as Blu Ray does nothing for me.

I still burn DVDR5s and lots of them. I burn concert videos to DVDR5. I burn data DVDR5s, back ups of files (FLAC, SHN, APE, etc). I sometimes watch DVDR5s, concert videos. I like DVDR5s. I can burn DVDR9s but I find the media expensive (maybe I need to look into that more). I’m also not certain what DVDR9s are Grade A media. I still look for TY made in Japan, Grade A media (DVDR5s). I know TY merged with JVC, I look for Premium TY label.

I do a lot of what guitard does. I have a Blu Ray player with a USB port. It will play just about any format I throw at it (AVI, MP4, DIVX, TS, etc). I put files on a USB drive and watch it on my HDTV.

I like using YouTube to sample but if I find something I like I go find the real deal and not just the sample.

Just my two cents, for what it is worth … which I guess is two cents

I am in the process of authoring CBG’s video collection to DVD. I’m still working on 1988 videos, so I have roughly 19 years more of standard def stuff to work through. That’s thousands of standard def videos. He wants everything authored to DVD5 versions – no DVD9s.

Back when we made the switch from VCR to DVD player, the tapes – which took up a lot of room and suffered generation loss when copied – quickly became obsolete. I think one of the reasons that DVD5s have survived the changeover to blu-ray is because blu-ray players can play DVD5s – so unlike VHS tapes: the hardware to play them is essentially the same, they are the same size, and they don’t lose any quality when copied. Having said this – with the advent of media players (like the aforementioned WD TV), I think the day of physical media (except for harddrives) becoming obsolete is quickly approaching.

Doing a price check of what I buy (or would buy) today shows DVD9′s a little more than double the price of a DVD5. Since they hold close to twice the data, having them be around twice the cost seems mostly reasonable.

29 cents a disc
JVC Taiyo Yuden (JDMR-ZZ-SK8) 8X DVD-R Silver Lacquer Media – 100 Pack $28.89

66 cents a disc
Titan Duplication Grade DVD+R DL White Inkjet Clear Hub Printable 8X 8.5GB Double Layer Media – 50 Pack $32.99

90 cents a disc
Titan Blu-ray White Inkjet Hub Printable Media Disc (BD-R Disc) 25GB 6X BDR Media Discs Single Layer – 10 Pack $8.99