[DMCA-Activists] "Professional" vs. "Consumer" DVDs from Pioneer!

[Seth Johnson]

Forwarded from DVD Discussion list.  PDF file text pasted
below.

Salient passage:


Two Formats for Two Markets: Professional and Consumer 

To support consumer applications for DVD­R, the DVD Forum
determined that another  type of DVD­R media was necessary.
The newest member of the DVD­R family uses a  recording
wavelength of 650nm, and discs are recorded on different
drives than the  existing 635nm format. This new format is
called ``DVD­R for General'', because it is  aimed at a
broad base of applications. Meanwhile, the existing 635nm
format has been  renamed ``DVD­R for Authoring'' to reflect
its use in professional applications.  Why are there two
formats? The key reason for the introduction of DVD­R for
General  media is that it contains content protection
measures that make it physically impossible to  make
bit­for­bit copies of CSS encrypted entertainment titles.  


-------- Original Message --------
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 13:28:44 -0500
From: "Roy Murphy" <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden

> http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/Files/DVDRMedia-GeneralvsAuthoring.pdf

-- 
Roy Murphy      \ CSpice -- A mailing list for Clergy
Spouses
address@hidden \  http://www.panix.com/~murphy/CSpice.html

----


DVD White Paper 

Pioneer New Media Technologies, Inc. 
2265 E. 220th Street, Long Beach, CA 90810 
(310) 952­2111 Fax: (310) 952­2990 
www.pioneerelectronics.com 

DVD­R Authoring vs. General Media: What's the Difference? 

Key Points of This Paper: 

There are two types of DVD­R media: 

1. DVD­R for Authoring (635 nm wavelength recording
sensitivity) 

2. DVD­R for General (650 nm wavelength recording
sensitivity) 
   .  Each type of DVD­R disc must be recorded on the proper
drive (see chart below). 
   .  Both types of DVD­R media can be played equally well
on any DVD video player  or DVD­ROM drive that supports
DVD­R playback. Playback devices do not  care which type of
DVD­R media was used for recording. 
   .  DVD­R for Authoring media can be recorded only on the
Pioneer DVR­S201 and  DVR­S101 (3.95 GB only). 
   .  DVD­R for General media can be recorded only on the
Pioneer DVR­A03 and  DVR­103 (OEM) drives, as well as the
DVR­2000 set top video recorder. 
   .  Either type of DVD­R disc can contain any type of
information, including  authored DVD video titles. 
   .  CSS encrypted video programs cannot be stored on
either type of DVD­R media. 


Introduction 

There are now two different types of DVD Recordable (DVD­R)
media: DVD­R for  Authoring and DVD­R for General. It is
important to understand how these two formats  differ, and
just as importantly, how they are alike. In a nutshell, it's
important to match  the correct type of DVD­R media with
specific DVD­R recorders, but after recording,  either type
can be used for playback on any playback device that
supports DVD­R. 

Background 

DVD­R is an official member of the DVD Forum's family of
formats. Its write­once  characteristic allows users to make
their own DVD discs, very similar to how CD­Rs are 
recorded. As with CD­R, playback compatibility is one of
DVD­R's most important  attributes -- nearly all existing
DVD video players and DVD­ROM drives will play one or  both
of the two available disc capacities (3.95 or 4.7 billion
bytes). Another key feature  is the security inherent in
DVD­R's write­once nature -- no one can accidentally erase 
valuable information once it's been recorded. And because at
least one media  manufacturer (Pioneer) specifies a 100­year
life expectancy of recorded DVD­R discs,  the format is well
suited for long term archival applications. 

Until early 2001, DVD­R was used primarily in professional
applications such as video  authoring and storage of imaging
data. For DVD authoring users, DVD­R allows testing  and
approval of finished titles prior to mass production, and
can even be used by some  replicators as the final program
source in place of DLT tape. In many cases, recorded  DVD­R
discs are the finished product when only a few discs are
needed for deployment  in vertical applications such as
museums or videowalls in retail stores. In medical 
environments, x­rays, CT­scans and ultrasound video images
are stored in automated  DVD­R library systems to provide
physicians much faster access to information as well  as
better reliability than tape solutions. In the banking
industry, the format is used for  storage and retrieval of
checks and credit card receipt images generated each day in
retail  transactions. 

During this initial three year period, the underlying
technology of these professional  applications employed 635
nanometer (nm) lasers for writing information to 3.95 and
4.7  GB DVD­R discs. This technology has allowed DVD­R
products to become vital and  dependable components of many
DVD authoring suites and library systems around the  world. 

Two Formats for Two Markets: Professional and Consumer 

To support consumer applications for DVD­R, the DVD Forum
determined that another  type of DVD­R media was necessary.
The newest member of the DVD­R family uses a  recording
wavelength of 650nm, and discs are recorded on different
drives than the  existing 635nm format. This new format is
called ``DVD­R for General'', because it is  aimed at a
broad base of applications. Meanwhile, the existing 635nm
format has been  renamed ``DVD­R for Authoring'' to reflect
its use in professional applications.  Why are there two
formats? The key reason for the introduction of DVD­R for
General  media is that it contains content protection
measures that make it physically impossible to  make
bit­for­bit copies of CSS encrypted entertainment titles.  

Meanwhile, the 4.7 GB Authoring media specification has
introduced a new and unique  feature that is potentially
quite valuable to professional users: the Cutting Master
Format  (CMF). CMF allows 4.7 GB Authoring media to be used
as a direct replacement for  DLT master tapes when
submitting a title for replication, thus saving valuable
time in the  final authoring stage. This is accomplished by
using a portion of the DVD­R disc's lead­  in area to store
the DDP (Disc Description Protocol) header information
normally used  on DLT master tapes. The CMF capability is
one reason why Pioneer anticipates that  Authoring drives
and media will continue to be utilized in the professional
DVD  environment; General media does not accommodate this
feature. 

Either type of DVD­R media can be used for DVD video
authoring, which is the process  of preparing video content
for use in DVD video players. It should be noted, however, 
that CSS encryption cannot be used with either type of DVD­R
media. 

Recording Compatibility 

The two types of DVD­R media use different recording laser
wavelengths, which means  that the proper type of media must
be recorded in the corresponding type of DVD­R  drive.
Authoring media must be recorded in either a DVR­S101 (3.95
GB only) drive or  a DVR­S201 (both capacities) drive, and
General media must be recorded in a General  drive such as
the DVR­A03 or DVR­2000 video set top recorder. Pioneer
expects that  future drives, including those from other
manufacturers, will most likely be General type  drives. 

Playback Compatibility 

For playback, there is no compatibility consideration. Both
Authoring and General  DVD­R media can be played back
equally well in any DVD video player or DVD­ROM  drive that
supports DVD­R (most existing models). 

1­19­01

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