There are many differing opinions about the relative quality of DVD and VHS. As can be imagined, those distributors or institutional consumers (such as libraries) that are most tied to their VHS market or holdings had the most negative things to say about DVD, while those groups leading the way for the transition to DVD were the most dismissive of the future for VHS. Many preferred DVD to VHS because of the quality of the image. Others feel that the menus and chapters in DVDs represent a significant advantage. Still others talk about the durability and smaller size of DVD vs. VHS. Finally, observers talked about the quality issues between DVD and DVD-R. Clearly, there is room for improvement in DVD technology.
DVD vs. VHS
Jim Taylor, Chief of DVD Technology and General Manager of the Advanced Technology Group at Sonic Solutions, the leading developer of DVD and CD creation software, explains why he believes DVD is superior to VHS: “The primary advantages of DVD are video quality, surround sound, and extra features. In addition, DVD will not degrade with age or after many playings like videotape will (which is an advantage for parents with kids who watch Disney videos twice a week!). This is the same thing that makes CDs more collectable than cassette tapes. Did I mention video quality? The better your TV, the bigger the difference in picture quality between VHS and DVD. If none of this matters to you, then VHS probably is good enough.”
Eventually, DVD will replace VHS. As Taylor notes: “DVDs have many advantages over tapes, such as no rewinding, quick access to any part of a recording, and fundamentally lower technology cost for hardware and disc production.”
Most observers concur with Taylor’s opinions. Bob Bowen of CineMagnetics, a company that replicates DVDs, says that “DVD is a very strong product. The only way to destroy it is with scissors. VHS machines can crease the tape. I’ve never had a problem with DVDs replicated from a glass master.” Nancy Kranich, the former head of the American Library Association and a senior manager at the New York University Library, said: “DVDs are fabulous for libraries. They are less destructible than videotape, which is awful.”
Gary Handman, Head of Media Resources at UC-Berkley, feels that VHS tapes are preferable in high circulation situations such as his academic library, because DVDs can get fingerprints and cracks near the edges. Taylor agreed that this may be true in high circulation situations, but counters that the availability of less expensive disc cleaning and polishing equipment mitigates this concern.
Although DVD’s ability to provide menus and chapters is seen as an advantage, many noted the occasional problems with authoring, particularly on personal computers. Poor video and audio compression on DVD also raise quality issues. Emily Russo, the Co-President of Zeitgeist Films said that more than 50 percent of their submissions come in on DVD and that many have bad authoring, including skipping or lack of chapters, making it hard to watch the whole DVD. DVDs burned from a computer can be especially buggy.
DVD vs. DVD-R
There are also problems with DVD-R, the cheaper alternative to traditional DVDs made from glass plates. Milos Stehlik, Executive Director of the distributor and exhibitor Facets Multimedia, has experienced quality problems with both DVD and DVD-R. He noted that while Facets does make DVD-R, they aren’t a solution quality-wise. Stehlik also expressed concerns about ensuring that DVDs are authored in a way that plays equally well on all players. (For a summary on DVD-Rs, see Jim Taylor’s DVD FAQ text, sections 4.3 and 4.3.2 www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#4.3) Taylor notes that the compatibility of DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD+R discs in DVD players has gone up more than 90 percent in all cases within the past year from previous levels of about 80-85 percent. The compatibility level will only go higher as new DVD players are absorbed into the market, making DVD-Rs less of a technical problem.
The basic reason for making DVD-Rs is the need to produce DVDs within a short timeframe or for a very short run. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a plethora of DVD-Rs released without the quality control provided by a more professional facility replicating DVDs from a glass master. The DVD-R problem doesn’t affect companies that replicate larger runs of DVDs. For example, Plexifilm, a relative newcomer to the ranks of media distribution focused on the sell-through market, and only replicates DVDs from a glass master. Gary Hustwit, the CEO of Plexifilm, said, “If it’s not worth pressing 3,000, then we don’t do it.”
A significant issue in DVD culture is the minimum number of DVDs to be replicated from a glass master. Replicating 1,000 or less units is too expensive for many smaller distributors, much less individual media makers. No one predicts that the 1,000 minimum would come down anytime in the near future. While 500 units is the smallest run for DVDs replicated from a glass master at CineMagnetics, making 500 DVDs is more expensive per unit than making 1,000, because the charge for the glass master is pro-rated into the quantity of the run, so the per unit cost is higher.
Bob Bowen pointed out that once the order size gets to 250-300 DVDs, it becomes less expensive to replicate 1,000 DVDs He noted that larger companies like CineMagnetics can offer a helpful solution to the dilemma of quantity and pricing. If someone wants to package 350 DVDs, they can do a run of 1,000 but only pay for the packaging for the 350, keeping the remaining DVDs until needed. That way, the client doesn’t pay the higher upfront packaging costs but still gets the benefit of the lower per unit charge from the run of 1,000 DVDs.
Many agree that as technology advances and compatibility problems become less of an issue, smaller distributors and individual film and videomakers will have more confidence in runs of DVD-Rs. This bodes well for the future proliferation of DVDs in the independent media field.
