First things first: we're speaking of DVD Movie, aka: DVD-Video. DVD-ROM is handled the same way as any other data source. DVD-Audio will be a whole other set of issues when it settles down. So the question is, essentially, how does one record a DVD Movie onto some recordable, flat medium.
Part one of the answer is that you can capture the movie in analogue or by some digital mechanisms to your hard drive. Whether that capture is AVI, MPEG1 or MPEG2, it can be processed to a form suitable for CD recording: VCD, SVCD or what have you. The result will be at best a collection of CD-Rs playing chunks of the original, usually in poorer quality and in violation of copyright. For example, a 160-minute DVD Movie will convert to three VCD's at less than VHS quality and without the supplements, alternate angles, subtitles and other goodies of the original. If that's what you're after, go to it and keep the copyright cops away.
The following material was provided by a person knowledgable in the industry and represents a snapshot as of early 2000. The industry is changing steadily and we may not be able to keep this page up to date. As of 2006, it serves to prove that progress is unexpectedly rapid.
The thoughts of creating, storing and reproducing long video material with high quality on a single disc are very seductive, and some consumers may be tempted to invest in this technology in order to make their own DVD-Videos. Regrettably, the state of the technology for creating one's own DVD-Videos is nowhere near the ease of use and (relatively) low cost of creating CD-Audio and CD-ROM discs.
First, there's the matter of disc standards. At present, there are four different systems for recording directly onto a DVD-format disc. One, Pioneer's DVD-R, creates discs which can be played in many standalone DVD-Video players, but both the recorder and the blank discs are expensive and are designed for use by professional DVD authoring facilities for testing purposes. The other three systems are intended for consumer use. Only one of these systems is currently available: DVD-RAM, promoted by Matsushita. This system creates discs which can be re-recorded. Two types of DVD-RAM blanks are available: single-sided discs which hold 2.6 gigabytes, and double-sided ones which hold a total of 5.2 gigabytes (2.6 gigabytes per side). DVD-RAM discs must be in a special carrier in order to be used in a DVD-RAM drive. A single-sided DVD-RAM disc can be removed from the carrier to be played in a conventional DVD or DVD-ROM unit.
There are two other systems: DVD+RW, developed by Philips, Sony and Hewlett-Packard, and DVD-RW, developed by Pioneer. Only one such, the Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-1000, is shipping at least in Japan. DVD-RW is also a re-recordable format, but the discs hold more than the DVD-RAM discs and don't require a carrier. Further, DVD-RW is not backward compatible. DVD+RW is compatible, does not use a caddy and is supported by Philips, Sony, et al.
Even with current hardware, though, one still has to capture the video and audio material, digitize it (if it is not already digital), compress the video in MPEG-2 form, and confirm that the video and audio are accurately synchronized before writing a DVD-Video disc. It is possible to make a DVD-Video disc without menus, chapter entry points and the like, and the above process results in such a disc. However, we generally want to be able to access intermediate points in a long video without having to "fast forward" to them. To accomplish this, one must create "chapter stops" at the access points, and menus which allow one to skip directly to a key moment must be created. These are not trivial issues. I am also not discussing subtitling and other features which are usually taken for granted on commercial DVD-Video discs.
Until recently, the hardware and software for the above functions cost US $40,000-$50,000 for entry-level systems, and considerable skill is required to use them. Astarte, a German software company, developed considerably less expensive DVD-Video authoring software. This software and its developers were recently acquired by Apple Computer. Sonic Solutions, one of the primary developers of professional DVD authoring software, has announced lower cost systems, as well. Perhaps it will be possible in a few years for consumers to create their own DVD-Video discs as easily as they can now create CD-Audio and CD-ROM discs. However, for at least the near term, consumer-level recordable DVD systems are only suitable for computer data storage and retrieval.
E-mail me at cdrecording@mrichter.com
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