It's gonna happen whether you like it or not. Your beloved
collection of treasured VHS tapes will soon be sitting next to
your 8 Track tapes and vinyl record albums. It is a format that
is slowly, but surely, coming to its demise. The replacement?
DVDs, of course. By basic definition, the DVD is an acronym for
digital versatile disc, and by rapidly growing in popularity,
this optical disc is making DVD duplication a growing market as
well.
Thanks to smaller, more powerful and more affordable chips,
technology of every variety that once was available to only the
largest corporations is now within reach of nearly any size
business, and many consumers for home usage. First it was
computers and digital printers--now DVD duplication systems have
become an affordable commodity.
DVD duplication is a awesome technology. If you want an extra
copy of a movie you bought, or want to produce backup copies of
your games, DVD's or VHS tapes, this is your solution. DVD
duplication is similar to the process used to print information
on a CD. It's a burn-and-print technology that involves very
little set-up and is quite simple using some of the new software
that is currently available.
The technology to reproduce DVDs, once available to productions
studios and giant corporations, is now available at affordable
prices for businesses and organizations both large and small.
Churches, in particular, are using this new media technology.
"In the past, churches recorded sermons and music on cassette,"
recalls Tony van Veen, Disc Makers' Vice President of Sales and
Marketing. "These tapes often lacked quality and took hours,
even days, to reproduce. Today, with consumer demand for
quality, and the popularity of DVDs, churches must embrace this
new technology or risk falling behind."
Even if you do not want to become and independent film maker,
DVD duplication is useful for a multitude of reasons. Maybe you
would like to create a training product demonstration, a Power
Point presentation for work, or make a how-to-video to help
employees understand new software. Perhaps you want to video the
annual company softball game/picnic and give copies to everyone.
Or you would like to provide a DVD of your wedding ceremony to
each of your guests. With prices starting below $1,600, these
new technical marvels are fast becoming a main stay in many
businesses.
A money-saving word of advice: DVD duplication and DVD-ROM
replication sound similar, but there is an important
distinction. The burn-and-print duplication process is the way
to go for short runs--usually fewer than 1,000 copies. However,
if you are a major player and need more than 1,000 copies
duplication will end up being an expensive choice. DVD-ROM
replication is a more cost effective method of producing large
quantities. The company you select will produce a "master" disc,
then "press" copies that are perfect duplicates of your original.
Another tip: DVDs are not immortal. The thin aluminum layer that
reflects the light of the player's laser, is susceptible to
oxidation which causes the discs to "rot". Never use
off-the-shelf markers or ball point pens to write on the discs
or labels. Most markers contain chemicals which create
oxidation, allows air to penetrate the aluminum, which is eaten
up much like iron rusts in open air. Special pens are now sold
which are made specifically for writing on media.
Whether you choose to purchase your own DVD duplication system
or "farm out" your project to a professional duplication service
be sure to do some comparison shopping. No matter what your
project or how many copies you need, there is the precise
product or service out there for you.
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