Table of Contents

Foreword by Andy Parsons

Chapter 1 - Introduction

• What Is DVD?
  • DVD-Video versus DVD-ROM
• What Does DVD Portend?
• Who Needs to Know About DVD?
  • Movies
  • Music and Audio
  • Music Performance Video
  • Training and Productivity
  • Education
  • Computer Software
  • Computer Multimedia
  • Video Games
  • Information Publishing
  • Marketing and Communications
  • And More...
• About This Book
  • Units and Notation
  • Other Conventions

Chapter 2 - The World Before DVD

• A Brief History of Audio Technology
• A Brief History of Video Technology
  • Captured Light
  • Dancing Electrons
  • Metal Tape and Plastic Discs
  • The Digital Face-Lift
• A Brief History of Data Storage Technology
• Innovations of CD
• The Long Gestation of DVD
  • Hollywood Weighs In
  • Dissension in the Ranks
  • The Referee Shows Up
  • Reconciliation
  • Product Plans
  • Turbulence
  • Glib Promises
  • Sliding Deadlines and Empty Announcements
• The Birth of DVD
  • Disillusionment
  • Divx: A Tale of Two DVDs
  • Ups and Downs
  • The Second Year
  The Second Year
  • The Second Wind
• The Year of DVD
  • DVD Gets Connected
  • Patents and Protections
  • Blockbusters and Logjams
  • Crackers
• The Medium of the New Millennium
  • That's No Moon, That's a PlayStation!
  • DVD Turns Four

Chapter 3 - DVD Technology Primer

• Gauges and Grids: Understanding Digital and Analog
• Birds Over the Phone: Understanding Video Compression
  • Compressing Single Pictures
  • Compressing Moving Pictures
• Birds Revisited: Understanding Audio Compression
  • Perceptual Coding
  • MPEG-1 Audio Coding
  • MPEG-2 Audio Coding
  • Dolby Digital Audio Coding
  • DTS Audio Coding
  • MLP Audio Encoding
  • Effects of Audio Encoding
• A Few Timely Words About Jitter
• Pegs and Holes: Understanding Aspect Ratios
  • How It's Done with DVD
  • Widescreen TVs
  • Aspect Ratios Revisited
  • Why 16:9?
  • The Transfer Tango
  • Summary
• The Pin-Striped TV: Interlaced versus Progressive Scanning
  • Progressive DVD Players

Chapter 4 - DVD Overview

• The DVD Family
  • The DVD Format Specification
• Compatibility
  • Physical Compatibility
  • File System Compatibility
  • Application Compatibility
  • Implementation Compatibility.
  • New Wine in Old Bottles: DVD On CD
  • Compatibility Initiatives
• Bells and Whistles: DVD-Video and DVD-Audio Features
  • Over Two Hours of High-Quality Digital Video and Audio
  • Widescreen Movies
  • Multiple Surround Audio Tracks
  • Karaoke
  • Subtitles
  • Different Camera Angles
  • Multistory Seamless Branching
  • Parental Lock
  • Menus
  • Interactivity
  • On-Screen Lyrics and Slideshows
  • Customization
  • Instant Access
  • Special Effects Playback
  • Access Restrictions
  • Durability
  • Programmability
  • Availability of Features
  • Beyond DVD-Video and DVD-Audio Features
• DVD Myths
  • Myth: "DVD Is Revolutionary"
  • Myth: "DVD Will Fail"
  • Myth: "DVD Is a Worldwide Standard"
  • Myth: "Region Codes Don't Apply to Computers"
  • Myth: "A DVD-ROM Drive Makes Any PC a Movie Player"
  • Myth: "There Are Competing DVD-Video Formats"
  • Myth: "DVD Players Can Play CDs"
  • Myth: "DVD Is Better Because It's Digital"
  • Myth: "DVD Video Is Poor Because It's Compressed"
  • Myth: "Compression Doesn't Work for Animation"
  • Myth: "Discs Are Too Fragile to Be Rented"
  • Myth: "Dolby Digital Means 5.1 Channels"
  • Myth: "The Audio Level From DVD Players Is Too Low"
  • Myth: "Downmixed Audio Is No Good Because the LFE Channel Is Omitted"
  • Myth: "DVD Lets You Watch Movies As They Were Meant to Be Seen"
  • Myth: "DVD Crops Widescreen Movies"
  • Myth: "DVD Will Replace Your VCR"
  • Myth: "People Won't Collect DVDs Like They Do CDs"
  • Myth: "DVD Holds 4.7 To 18 gigabytes"
  • Myth: "DVD Holds 133 Minutes of Video"
  • Myth: "DVD-Video Runs at 4.692 Mbps"
  • Myth: "Some Units Can't Play Dual-Layer or Double-Sided Discs"
• Bits and Bytes and Bears
  • Pits and Marks and Error Correction
  • Layers
  • Variations and Capacities of DVD
  • Hybrids
  • Regional Management
  • Content Protection
  • Licensing
  • Packaging

Chapter 5 - Disc and Data Details

• Physical Composition
  • Substrates And Layers
  • Mastering And Stamping
  • Bonding
  • Burst Cutting Area
  • Optical Pickups
  • Media Storage and Longevity
• Writable DVD
  • DVD-R
  • DVD-RW
  • DVD-RAM
  • DVD+RW
  • Phase-change Recording
  • Real-Time Recording Mode
  • Summary of Writable DVD
• Data Format
  • Sector Makeup and Error Correction

Chapter 6 - Application Details: DVD-Video and DVD-Audio

• General Details
  • Data Flow And Buffering
  • Disc Organization
  • File Format
  • DVD-ROM Premastering
  • Improvement over CD
  • Data Flow and Buffering
  • File Format
• DVD-Video
  • Navigation and Presentation Overview
  • Physical Data Structure
  • Domains and Spaces
  • Presentation Data Structure
  • Navigation Data
  • Summary of Data Structures
  • Menus
  • Buttons
  • Stills
  • User Operations
  • Video
  • Audio
  • Subpictures
  • Closed Captions
  • Camera Angles
  • Parental Management
  • Seamless Playback
  • Text
• DVD-Audio
  • Data Structures
  • Navigation
  • Bonus Tracks
  • Audio Formats
  • High-Frequency Audio Concerns
  • Downmixing
  • Stills and Slideshows
  • Text
• Super Audio CD (SACD)
• DVD Recording
  • DVD-VR
  • DVD-AR
  • DVD-SR

Chapter 7 - What's Wrong with DVD

• Regional Management
• Copy Protection
• Hollywood Baggage on Computers
• NTSC versus PAL
• Tardy DVD-Audio
• Incompatible Recordable Formats
• Late-blooming Video Recording
• Playback Incompatibilities
• Synchronization Problems
• Feeble Support of Parental Choice Features
• Not Better Enough
• No Reverse Gear
• Only Two Aspect Ratios
• Deficient Pan & Scan
• Inefficient Multitrack Audio
• Inadequate Interactivity
• Limited Graphics
• Small Discs
• False Alarms
• No Bar Code Standard
• No External Control Standard
• Poor Computer Compatibility
• No WebDVD Standard
• Escalated Obsolescence
• Summary

Chapter 8 - DVD Comparison

• Laserdisc and CDV
  • Advantages of DVD-Video over Laserdisc
  • Advantages of Laserdisc over DVD-Video
  • Compatibility of Laserdisc and DVD-Video
• Videotape
  • Advantages of DVD-Video over Videotape
  • Advantages of Videotape over DVD-Video
  • Compatibility of VHS and DVD-Video
• Digital Videotape (DV, Digital8, and D-VHS)
  • Advantages of DVD-Video over Digital Videotape
  • Advantages of Digital Videotape over DVD-Video
  • Compatibility of Digital Videotape and DVD-Video
• Audio CD
  • Advantages of DVD over Audio CD
  • Advantages of Audio CD over DVD-Video
  • Compatibility of Audio CD and DVD-Video
• CD-ROM
  • Advantages of DVD-ROM over CD-ROM
  • Advantages of CD-ROM over DVD-ROM
  • Compatibility of CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
• Video CD and CD-i
  • Advantages and Disadvantages of CD-i
  • Advantages of DVD-Video over Video CD
  • Advantages of Video CD over DVD-Video
  • Compatibility of CD-i and DVD
  • Compatibility of Video CD and DVD
• Super Video CD
  • Advantages of DVD-Video over Super Video CD
  • Advantages of Super Video CD over DVD-Video
  • Compatibility of Super Video CD and DVD
• Other CD Formats
  • Compatibility of CD-R and DVD
  • Compatibility of CD-RW and DVD-ROM
  • Compatibility of Photo CD and DVD
  • Compatibility of Enhanced CD (CD Extra) and DVD
  • Compatibility of CD+G and DVD
• MovieCD
• MiniDisc (MD) and DCC
  • Advantages of DVD-Video over MiniDisc
  • Advantages of MiniDisc over DVD-Video
  • Compatibility of MiniDisc and DVD-Video
• Digital Audio Tape (DAT)
  • Advantages of DVD over DAT
  • Advantages of DAT over DVD
  • Compatibility of DAT and DVD
• Magneto-optical Drives (MO)
  • Advantages of DVD-ROM over MO
  • Advantages of MO over DVD-ROM
  • Compatibility of MO and DVD-ROM
• Other Removable Data Storage

Chapter 9 - DVD at Home

• Choosing a DVD Player
• How to Hook Up a DVD Player
  • Signal Spaghetti
  • Connector Soup
  • Audio Hookup
  • A Bit About Bass
  • Video Hookup
  • Digital Hookup
• How to Get the Best Picture
  • Viewing Distance
• THX Certification
  • Software Certification
  • Hardware Certification
• Understanding Your DVD Player
  • Remote Control and Navigation
  • Player Setup
• Care and Feeding of Discs
  • Handling and Storage
  • Cleaning and repairing DVDs
• To Buy or Not to Buy
  • Extol the Virtues
  • Beware of Bamboozling
  • DVD Is to Videotape What CD Is to Cassette Tape
  • Think of It as a CD Player That Plays Movies
  • The Computer Connection
  • On the Other Hand
  • The DVD-Video Buying Decision Quiz

Chapter 10 - DVD in Business and Education

• The Appeal of DVD
  • The Appeal of DVD-Video
  • The Appeal of DVD-ROM
• Sales and Marketing
• Communications
• Training and Business Education
• Industrial Applications
• Classroom Education

Chapter 11 - DVD on Computers

• DVD-Video Sets the Standard
• Multimedia: Out of the Frying Pan...
• A Slow Start
• DVD-ROM for Computers
  • Features
  • Compatibility
  • Interface
  • Disk Format and I/O Drivers
• DVD-Video for Computers
  • The DVD-Video Computer
  • Hardware DVD-Video Playback
  • Software DVD-Video Playback
  • DVD-Video Drivers
  • DVD-Video Details
• DVD By Any Other Name: Application Types
  • Pure DVD-Video
  • Computer Bonus DVD-Video
  • Computer-augmented DVD-Video
  • Split DVD-Video/DVD-ROM
  • Multimedia DVD-ROM
  • Data Storage DVD-ROM
  • DVD Production Levels
• WebDVD
  • WebDVD Applications
  • Enabling WebDVD
  • Creating WebDVD
  • WebDVD for Windows
  • WebDVD for Macintosh
  • WebDVD for All Platforms
  • Why Not WebDVD?
  • Why WebDVD?
• Copy Protection Details
  • CSS
  • CPPM
  • CPRM
  • HDCP
• Region Management Details

Chapter 12 - Essentials of DVD Production

• General DVD Production
  • Project Examples
  • CD or DVD?
  • DVD-5 or DVD-9 or DVD-10?
  • DVD-Video or DVD-ROM or Both?
• DVD-Video and DVD-Audio Production
  • Tasks and Skills
  • The Production Process
  • Production Decisions
  • Multiregion and Multilanguage Issues
  • Supplemental Material
  • Scheduling and Asset Management
  • Project Design
  • Menu Design
  • Navigation Design
  • Balancing the Bit Budget
  • Asset Preparation
  • Preparing Video Assets
  • Preparing Animation and Composited Video
  • Preparing Audio Assets
  • Preparing Subpictures
  • Preparing Graphics
  • Putting It All Together (Authoring)
  • Formatting and Output
  • Testing and Quality Control
  • Replication, Duplication, and Distribution
  • Production Maxims
• DVD-ROM Production
  • File Systems and Filenames
  • Bit Budgeting
  • AV File Formats
  • Hybrid Discs

Chapter 13 - The Future of DVD

• The Prediction Gallery
• New Generations of DVD
  • The Death of VCRs
  • DVD Players, Take 2
  • Hybrid Systems
  • HD-DVD
  • No Laserdisc-Sized DVD
• DVD for Computer Multimedia
  • Faster Sooner
  • The Death of CD-ROM
  • The Interregnum of CD-RW
  • Standards, Anyone?
  • Mr. Computer Goes to Hollywood
• The Changing Face of Home Entertainment
• DVD in the Classroom
• The Far Horizon

Appendix A - Quick Reference

Appendix B - Standards Related to DVD

Appendix C - References and Information Sources

• Recommended References
• Newsletters and Industry Analyses
• Standards Organizations
• Other Related Organizations

Glossary

Index