Understanding the applications and practice of DVD menu design and authoring

Conventions

+R- DVD+R are recordable only once so once they have content on them they can’t be used again.

+RW- DVD+RW are rewritable which means can be used multiple times by the user.

-R and -RW- DVD–R and –RW have a quicker write speed. Apart from this they are fairly similar to the other plus DVDs.

Dual Layer: This is an upgraded disc with a higher capacity of storage size within the DVD. Storage is up to 8.5GB per disc which is almost double the amount on a standard disc. Although because these discs can store more information they don’t burn as fast as the other formats may.

Writing Speed – Writing speed is the speed that the disc will burn at for example a disc could burn information at so many megabits per second. Writing speeds differ on what format you use for example if you use a DVD or CD the information will burn faster than a Blu-Ray.

Audio – There are a few formats of audio. The most popular are Mono or Stereo or Surround Sound. Mono is routed through one channel, stereo is routed through two. The quality of the DVD is key to the quality of sound.

Video –Depending on the quality of the film and the size of the DVD the film may need a higher sized format. For example the more information being put on the DVD will affect the quality of the film.

Menus – When you play a DVD you are handed options for example there are the play button, scene selection, extras and in some cases an interactive side of the DVD (This is more common on children’s DVDs). They are created to help sell the film and to offer more to the DVD buyer.

Additional Features – Things like subtitles are common place now on most DVDs if not all and allows the viewer who may be hard of hearing of if the film is in a different language to at least enjoy the film like everyone else. Different languages are something that would take a lot of time for the production company to do but it has the advantage of selling the film on an international scale. Easter Eggs are little surprises placed into a DVD by the film maker maybe the director and are like a reward to the customer for buying the DVD. Animations are the first thing that you see when a DVD menu comes up – The animation can be anything from the animation of the ‘play’ and other buttons available for you to press, or what’s going on in the background. Animations can be used to keep the audience interested before the start of the film. Digital Theatre Systems The first commercial use of digital sound on a large scale, this was first used during the release of Jurassic Park. It’s a digital surround system that offers up to six channels HD audio. The first use for this technology was in the film Jurassic Park, but since then the technology has been applied to DVDs and Blu-Ray. Dolby is the sound used to bring a DVD menu to life. This is a sound system that makes the sound quality much better, reducing unwanted noise or ‘hiss’. Printable discs are a common place on all DVDs that are professional produced; any movie that you buy from the store will more than likely have a print already of them showing the poster of the DVD itself. Regional codes were designed for Film Distributors to protect content, release dates, and change prices according to a certain region. For example a film bought in the US can’t be played on a UK DVD player as the American DVD is Region 1 and the UK is region 2. Copyright protection is put in place by the makers of the film to prevent thief’s having their work for free and this means that the film can be protected by law. Parental Controls are a relatively new thing and are used now there is even a special DVD player specifically designed to stop anything you don’t want your child to see.

Functions and elements within DVD menus

I have started my DVD analysis using the DVD menus for Inglorious Bastards and No Country for old men. All the screenshots have all have decriptions of why there are there along with the different functions the buttons offer.