Home >DVD>Are You Ready To Author

DVD Session Time

The studio time required will vary according to each project. Please call or email Tom Ryan for a specific quote based on your project requirements and length. We do not charge a flat rate.

207 828 9400 staff@gatewaymastering.com

If you’re thinking about a dual layer disc, you may want to think about where to put the layer break. All DVD-9 (dual layer) discs need to re-focus from layer 0 to layer 1. In order to mask the “pause” that some players display, we recommend that you look at your video. If your program has a natural pause in any spot after (but near) the mid point, let us know and we’ll make the layer break appear organically. Assuring that the user experiences your DVD the way you intended it to be viewed

We book sessions many weeks in advance so we can’t always accommodate last minute requests for DVD projects, but we always try to rearrange our schedule so that we can meet your deadline. If you know that you would like to work at Gateway Mastering & DVD please call when you start to gather elements together and put a day(s) on hold for the approximate time you would like to author & design. That way we have time held for you that we can move if need be.

If you would like to have specific chapter points on your DVD, you can provide either visual cues or audio cues and we’ll do the rest. Or the exact time code from your digital Betacam master and we’ll make sure that we include them during the encoding process. Don’t forget to make chapter selection menus. It’s not essential but it does look great and makes it easier for the user to navigate the DVD.

When you call for a quote or to book a session we’ll need to know program length, video(aspect ratio) and audio formats(sample rate/bit depth), how many menus (incuding motion), copy protection and deadlines.

DVD projects range in time from one day to many months depending on the complexity of the project. References will be made as soon as all elements are incorporated into the authoring and shipped that day or the next, depending on courier deadlines. Revisions that are requested will be scheduled as quickly as possible and subsequent references sent out for approval.

There isn’t always enough room to draw buttons around the text or highlight areas. In order to minimize revisions to your menu, please leave enough space between texts for button placement. Keep navigation from one button to another in mind when you provide your menus to Gateway. The authoring tool allows for only 1 up, down, left and right command per button. Not all menu designs lend themselves easily to navigational commands. Does your menu design and button layout make it difficult to know where to go from here? If you have specific ideas, please let us know. We’d prefer to navigate the menus the way you intend, rather than guess.

The creative aspects of menu design can be simple (one menu does it all), or complex (multiple motion menus with audio and transition video), it’s all up to you. If you’ve prepared still photos, lyric sheets, credit pages, chapter selection points, bonus features, commentary audio tracks, you’re going to need to access these features from a menu. Keep in mind all the various parts of your DVD, how you want them to be displayed together, and that should give you a good idea of how many menus you might need. If you decide on motion menus, think about whether or not you want transitions between menus, menu audio, hidden buttons (Easter eggs) or anything else you can dream up.

Our standard DVD replication format is DLT. When we format a DVD video disc image, we can include regional encoding, flag for CSS and Macrovision encryption. These offer copy protection of the video and audio on your disc. We can also allow audio copy protection by flagging for CPPM encryption for DVD audio discs. Please check with your manufacturer to make sure they can accept encrypted masters.

When we author your DVD, we strive to include every feature that you envision, provide the best possible video encoding compression as well as the best audio options that the DVD will allow. We try to maximize both the thru-put as well as the capacity on every DVD that we work on. This philosophy can yield a very attractive DVD both from a visual as well as an audio perspective.

We would strongly suggest that you plan ahead BEFORE you decide to author your DVD. This will streamline the authoring and encoding process and keep the costs on budget, because some changes to the content may be difficult and time consuming to execute.

Attended sessions
All clients are welcome to attend DVD sessions, however it sometimes lengthens the amount of hours in the studio, which will affect your final cost.

Methods of Payment Accepted

• Cash In Advance payment required for foreign and first time clients.
• The balance due is payable upon completion of the session and before parts ship. Any credit balance will
  be returned to you with the final invoice.
• Please have the funds to us 5 business days before the session.
• We do not accept credit cards.
• Personal or company checks payable to Gateway Mastering Studios Inc.
• Wire transfers in US dollars including all bank fees. Please call or email for bank wire information.
• If a client takes references or production parts with them, rather than shipping, the State of Maine
  charges 5% sales tax on the studio time. Any Maine clients must be charged sales tax whether the
  session is attended or not.

Terms and Conditions

Online Privacy Policy