Abet Disc Introducing : Ronaldo
The best of Rachmaninoff – Guitar. This new CD shows the various influences on his unique style, including, Mayan, Spanish, Latin and classical music.
for more on Ronaldo visit AbetDisc.com
Learning the theme, not the example by Derek Sivers 2009-10-14
Learning how to read metaphorically was a major turning point in my life.
At Berklee College of Music our teacher Rob Rose made us read the book “Positioning”, about defining a marketing niche for your business.
It was the first assignment of anything non-musical in years. I resisted. (“But that’s not about music! There’s no mention of music at all! What the hell is this? I just want to be a successful musician, not learn how to be some corporate suit!”)
But then he showed us how to apply this to our music: Even though they make no mention of music, just translate the examples to whatever you’re doing.
Aha! So obvious, but I’d never looked at it that way before.
- My band might get more famous if we dominate a tiny niche instead of trying to please everyone
- My recording studio might get more business if I specialize in recording only vocals, and make that clear in my name and marketing
- As a freelance guitarist, I might get more gigs as a funk specialist instead of general-purpose
OK. I was getting the lesson. This isn’t even about Positioning. It’s realizing I can learn how to advance my music career by reading books that make no mention of music. (In fact I’ll have a competitive advantage by doing so, since most musicians won’t!)
For more Music Marketing and Production tips visit : Abet Disc Plus
August 2009 Design Contest Winner!
Please join us in congratulating our August 2009 Design contest winner!
To all contest participants, thank you for your submissions. The designs we have received were very impressive.
Once again, we appreciates your participation in the design contest.
Congratulation!
Abet Disc
Emphasize meaning over price = More paid sales
If you are a performing musician that sells CDs at your shows, please consider this:
Terry McBride of Nettwerk told this story at a recent conference:
A band he was managing was doing the usual thing of selling CDs for $15. They’d mention it once or twice from the stage, and sell about $300 per night on average.
He asked them to try a completely different approach:
- Say to the audience, “It’s really important to us that you have our CD. We worked so hard on it and are so proud of it, that we want you to have it, no matter what. Pay what you want, but even if you have no money, please take one tonight.”
- Mention this again before the end of the show, adding, “Please, nobody leave here tonight without getting a copy of our CD. We’ve shared this great show together so it would mean a lot to us if you’d take one.”
It changes the request from a commerical pitch to an emotional connection. (Replace market mindset with social mindset!) Allowing them to get a CD for no money just reinforces that.
Terry said that the band did this for a while, and soon they were selling about $1200 per night on average, even including those people who took it for free! I think the average selling price was about $10.
But the important part came next:
Because every person left each show with a CD, they were more likely to remember who they saw, tell friends about it, listen to it later, and become an even bigger fan afterwards.
Then, when the band came back to a town where they had insisted that everyone take a CD, attendance at those shows doubled! The people that took a CD became long-term fans and brought their friends to future shows.
Want to try it? Document specifics.
So far this is just rough word-of-mouth from Terry, but it seems like it’d work. Anyone want to try it? If so, I’d like to tell your tale here in a future article.
So please log some specifics, before and after.
BEFORE: How many CDs did you sell at your last 5-10 shows? Average the number and price to come up with an average per-night total and average per-CD price.
AFTER: What were those same numbers for the next 5-10 shows using this method?
Also, please note any specific things you did or said that worked exceptionally well, and perhaps any interesting responses you heard back from the audience.
If you’re able to note attendance at the same venue for a concert where you did this, then at that same venue afterwards, that’s a nice bonus.
Save these specific numbers, and either post them as a comment below, or email me at derek@sivers.org. Be able to give the venue info, too, because if this goes exceptionally well I’ll be contacting the venue for their verification and perspective.
Previous title for this post was “Experiment: Everyone must have a CD, even if free.” but I think the new title describes the real point better
Independent Artist Eileen Carey
|
Eileen Carey
CD Duplication Services – Los Angeles
If you’re interested in distributing your music on disc or your CD-ROM, you’ll need to look into CD duplication services. You’re probably interested in the least expensive option, so cheap CD duplication companies will be a big priority. However, price isn’t the only thing you should consider. There are a lot of other things to think about when you’re trying to get a large run of high quality discs made on time and well. CD duplication, the advantages of duplicaion, and the things you should look for in a quality CD duplication company. That way, you’ll be able to tell which companies are right for your needs.
CD Duplication
CD duplication is a method producing small runs, if you don’t need 1000 discs CD duplication is the best option. The price depends on the quantity of discs you want to duplicate. It’s the best method to use if you’re a musician just getting started and doing promotions, or if you’re trying to do some small scale advertising. You can even get high quality full-color printed discs, just like the kind a big label would produce.
If you’re looking for scale 100 to 300 copies CD duplication is your best choice. Each CD will be an exact copy of the master. These discs are constantly checked for quality and fidelity to the original master disc you provide to the factory. Every discs will be checked to make sure they can be played in just about any device, so you’ll know there won’t be problems getting your information out there. Generally, factories producing CDs will have a minimum order you need to comply with. The larger your order, however, the cheaper it’ll be per unit.
What To Look For In CD Duplication Services
If you’re interested in finding cheap CD dupliation companies, but want to make certain that you’ll end up with a high quality product and good service, you should pay attention to a few things. Find out the company’s reputation and whether or not they have a good return customer base, for instance. You’ll also want to see how you feel about their customer service. Working with a service that treats you poorly isn’t worth it in the long run, even if their prices are relatively low. It’s better to choose a company that can really do what you need them to.
Make sure you find out what’s including in the price you’re quoted. Are you just receiving bulk CD duplication, or will you also be getting disc printing, printed cardboard sleeves, and insertion into the sleeves, shrink wrapping, CDs in Digipaks or CDs in jewel-cases it can make a big difference in the final cost of your product if you don’t pay attention. You’ll often find that it’s better to pay a few more cents per disc to do it at the factory, even if cheap CD duplication is a priority. CD duplication can be a great way to get your information and your message out there!
I adore U – effusion – video
Traveling through space – powered by starburst – lost in darkmatter – surrounded by dancing stars and planets.
Chill Mood – CD Cover Design
Turn off the world’s distractions and turn on your inner peace.
Let the gentle sounds and soothing melodies from stream of rejuvenation provide you with a sanctuary to indulge your sense.
Ambient Music | Relaxation Music | Yoga Music | Meditation Music | Healing Music | New Age Music | Nature Music.
Therapeutic Massage Music, Essential Music for Massage Therapist.
CHILL MOOD – Stream of Rejuvenation
Active ingredient (in each track) Purpose %Daliy Value
New Age 40mg…………………………………Healing…………………………..8%
World 108mg……………………………………………Meditation………………..18%
Ambient 120mg………………………………..Relaxation…………………28%
Use as needed for
• temporary relief of pressure
• Mood improvement
• Mind and body healing
Directions
• play as needed
• do not repeat more than 6 times in 24 hours
• adults and children 12 years of age and over: can play
• children under 12 years of age: ask your parents
Warning
My cause sudden up swing in wood, feeling, thoughts of joy and happiness, in some rare cases extreme happiness. Discontinue if disc is skipping and immediately contact your supplier.
Chill Mood manufactured in USA.
Distributed by Abet Music http://www.abetmusic.com
Questions? call 1-866-574-0275 between 9am – 5pm PST Monday – Friday.
DVD FAQs
| This DVD FAQs is collected from books, magazines, web forums as well as many other conferences and presentations, to help answer any DVD questions you may have. |
| What is DVD? |
| DVD is the new generation of optical disc storage technology. DVD is essentially a bigger, faster CD that can hold cinema-like video, better-than-CD audio, still photos, and computer data. DVD aims to encompass home entertainment, computers, and business information with a single digital format. It has replaced laserdisc, is well on the way to replacing videotape and video game cartridges, and could eventually replace audio CD and CD-ROM. DVD has widespread support from all major electronics companies, all major computer hardware companies, and all major movie and music studios. With this unprecedented support, DVD became the most successful consumer electronics product of all time in less than three years of its introduction. In 2003, six years after introduction, there were over 250 million DVD playback devices worldwide, counting DVD players, DVD PCs, and DVD game consoles. This was more than half the numbers of VCRs, setting DVD up to become the new standard for video publishing.
It’s important to understand the difference between the physical formats (such as DVD-ROM and DVD-R) and the application formats (such as DVD-Video and DVD-Audio). DVD-ROM is the base format that holds data. DVD-Video (often simply called DVD) defines how video programs such as movies are stored on disc and played in a DVD-Video player or a DVD computer. The difference is similar to that between CD-ROM and Audio CD. DVD-ROM includes recordable variations: DVD-R/RW, DVD-RAM, and DVD+R/RW. The application formats include DVD-Video, DVD-Video Recording (DVD-VR), DVD+RW Video Recording (DVD+VR), DVD-Audio Recording (DVD-AR), DVD Stream Recording (DVD-SR), DVD-Audio (DVD-A), and Super Audio CD (SACD). There are also special application formats for game consoles such as Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox. |
| What do the letters DVD stand for? |
| All of the following have been proposed as the words behind the letters DVD.
*Delayed, very delayed (referring to the many late releases of DVD formats) And the official answer is? "Nothing." The original acronym came from "digital video disc." Some members of the DVD Forum tried to express that DVD goes far beyond video by retrofitting the painfully contorted phrase "digital versatile disc," but this has never been officially accepted by the DVD Forum as a whole. The DVD Forum decreed in 1999 that DVD, as an international standard, is simply three letters. After all, how many people ask what VHS stands for? (Guess what, no one agrees on that one either.) |
| What’s the quality of DVD-Video? |
| DVD has the capability to produce near-studio-quality video and better-than-CD-quality audio. DVD is vastly superior to consumer videotape. However, quality depends on many production factors. As compression experience and technology improves we see increasing quality, but as production costs decrease and DVD authoring software becomes widely available we also see more shoddily produced discs. A few low-budget DVDs even use MPEG-1 encoding (which is no better than VHS) instead of higher-quality MPEG-2.
DVD video is usually encoded from digital studio master tapes to MPEG-2 format. The encoding process uses lossy compression that removes redundant information (such as areas of the picture that don’t change) and information that’s not readily perceptible by the human eye. The resulting video, especially when it is complex or changing quickly, may sometimes contain visual flaws, depending on the processing quality and amount of compression. At average video data rates of 3.5 to 6 Mbps (million bits/second), compression artifacts may be occasionally noticeable. Higher data rates can result in higher quality, with almost no perceptible difference from the master at rates above 6 Mbps. As MPEG compression technology improves, better quality is being achieved at lower rates. Video from DVD sometimes contains visible artifacts such as color banding, blurriness, blockiness, fuzzy dots, shimmering, missing detail, and even effects such as a face that "floats" behind the rest of the moving picture. It’s important to understand that the term "artifact" refers to anything that is not supposed to be in the picture. Artifacts are sometimes caused by poor MPEG encoding, but artifacts are more often caused by a poorly adjusted TV, bad cables, electrical interference, sloppy digital noise reduction, improper picture enhancement, poor film-to-video transfer, film grain, player faults, disc read errors, and so on. Most DVDs exhibit few visible MPEG compression artifacts on a properly configured system.. If you think otherwise, you are misinterpreting what you see. Some early DVD demos were not very good, but this is simply an indication of how bad DVD can be if not properly processed and correctly reproduced. In-store demos should be viewed with a grain of salt, since most salespeople are incapable of properly adjusting a television set. Most TVs have the sharpness set too high for the clarity of DVD. This exaggerates high-frequency video and causes distortion, just as the treble control set too high on a stereo causes the audio to sound harsh. For best quality the sharpness control should be set very low. Brightness should also not be set too high. Some DVD players output video with a black-level setup of 0 IRE (Japanese standard) rather than 7.5 IRE (US standard). On TVs that are not properly adjusted this can cause some blotchiness in dark scenes. There may be an option in the player menu to use standard black level. DVD video has exceptional color fidelity, so muddy or washed-out colors are almost always a problem in the display (or the original source), not in the DVD player or disc. DVD audio quality is superb. DVD includes the option of PCM (pulse code modulation) digital audio with sampling sizes and rates higher than audio CD. Alternatively, audio for most movies is stored as discrete, multi-channel surround sound using Dolby Digital or DTS audio compression similar to the digital surround sound formats used in theaters. As with video, audio quality depends on how well the processing and encoding was done. In spite of compression, Dolby Digital and DTS can be close to or better than CD quality. |
| How do I put a PowerPoint presentation on DVD? |
| There’s not yet a feature in PowerPoint to export directly to video on DVD, but you can convert a PowerPoint presentation to stills or video for import into a DVD authoring program. Recent versions of PowerPoint allow you to save your slides as graphic images (JPEG or PNG files) that can be imported into a DVD authoring program that supports slideshows. The advantage of using the slideshow feature is that you can have the DVD player pause indefinitely on each still until you press the Enter or Play key on the remote control. (Note: make sure the authoring software supports true slideshows with "infinite stills," since many programs just render slides as video.) The disadvantage of using stills is that you won’t get animations and other fancy PowerPoint effects. Alternatively you can record the PowerPoint presentation as a video file (use a PowerPoint add-in or a motion screen capture program) and import the video file into the DVD authoring program. This preserves the full visual effect but locks you into the timing you used when recording the presentation. Another alternative is 321 Studio’s DVD X Point, which directly converts PowerPoint presentations (version 2002 only) to DVD slideshows. |
| How do I copy my home video/film/photos to DVD? |
| This used to be almost impossible, but luckily for you it’s getting cheaper and easier all the time.
For a simple video-to-DVD transfer you can buy a DVD video recorder ($500 to $3,000) and connect it to your VCR or camcorder. It works just like a VCR but it records onto a disc instead of tape. For transferring photos or music, or for making a customized DVD with menus and chapters and other fun stuff, you’ll need the following: *A computer Note: You must use authoring software. You can’t just copy MPEG or AVI or JPEG files onto a disc and expect it to play in DVD players. Then take the following steps *If the video and pictures are not already in digital form (AVI, WMV, DivX, QuickTime, JPEG, and so on) you need to transfer them to your computer. For analog video, such as VHS and Hi8, you need a video capture device or a computer with built-in analog video input; for digital video such as DV or D8 you need a 1394/FireWire input on the computer. For film, first have it transferred to tape or digital video at a camera shop or video company (see a list at HomeMovieDay.com). For slides or photos, use a scanner (or rent scanning time at a place such as Kinkos). Another option is to us do all the work for you at a reasonable fee. |
| How much does it cost to produce a DVD? Isn’t it more expensive than VHS? |
| VHS and CD-ROM can’t be compared to DVD in a straightforward manner. There are basically three stages of costs: production, pre-mastering (authoring, encoding, and formatting), and mastering/replication.
DVD video production costs are not much higher than for VHS and similar video formats unless extra features of DVD such as multiple sound tracks, camera angles, seamless branching, etc. are employed. Authoring and pre-mastering costs are proportionately the most expensive part of DVD. Video and audio must be encoded, menus and control information have to be authored and encoded, it all has to be multiplexed into a single data stream, and finally encoded in low level format. Typical charges for compression are $50/min for video, $20/min for audio, $6/min for subtitles, plus formatting and testing at about $30/min. A ballpark cost for producing a Hollywood-quality two-hour DVD movie with motion menus, multiple audio tracks, subtitles, trailers, and a few info screens is about $20,000. Alternatively, many facilities charge for time, at rates of around $300/hour. A simple two-hour DVD-Video title with menus and various video clips can cost as low as $2,000. If you want to do it yourself, authoring and encoding systems can be purchased at prices from $50 to over $2 million. Another option is to have us author your next DVD project, at a reasonable fee of $250 – $500. Videotapes don’t really have a mastering cost, and they run about $2.40 for duplication. CDs cost about $490 to master and $0.50 to replicate by us. |
| How is DVD doing? Where can I get statistics? |
| DVD did not take off quite as fast as some early predictions, but it has sold faster than videotape, CD, and laserdisc. In fact, before its third birthday in March 2000, DVD had become the most successful consumer electronics entertainment product ever.
Here are some predictions: *InfoTech (1995): Worldwide sales of DVD players in 1997 will be 800,000. Worldwide sales of DVD-ROM drives in 1997 will be 1.2 million, with sales of 39 million drives in 2000. Here’s reality: *1997 For comparison, there were about 700 million audio CD players and 160 million CD-ROM drives worldwide in 1997. 1.2 billion CD-ROMs were shipped worldwide in 1997 from a base of about 46,000 different titles. There were about 80 million VCRs in the U.S. (89% of households) and about 400 million worldwide. 110,000 VCRs shipped in the first two years after release. Nearly 16 million VCRs were shipped in 1998. In 2000 there were about 270 million TVs in the U.S. and 1.3 billion worldwide. When DVD came out in 1997 there were under 3 million laserdisc players in the U.S. For latest U.S. player sales statistics, see the CEA page at The Digital Bits. Other DVD statistics and forecasts can be found at IRMA, MediaLine, Twice. Industry analyses and forecasts can be purchased from Adams Media Research, Alexander & Associates, British Video Association, Cahners In-stat, Centris, Datamonitor, Dataquest, DVD Intelligence, eBrain, International Data Corporation (IDC), InfoTech, Jon Peddie Associates (JPA), Paul Kagan Associates, Screen Digest, SIMBA Information, Strategy Analytics, Understanding & Solutions and others. |
| What are "regional codes," "country codes," or "zone locks"? |
| Motion picture studios want to control the home release of movies in different countries because theater releases aren’t simultaneous (a movie may come out on video in the U.S. when it’s just hitting screens in Europe). Also, studios sell distribution rights to different foreign distributors and would like to guarantee an exclusive market. Therefore they required that the DVD standard include codes to prevent playback of certain discs in certain geographical regions. Each player is given a code for the region in which it’s sold. The player will refuse to play discs that are not coded for its region. This means that a disc bought in one country may not play on a player bought in another country. Some people believe that region codes are an illegal restraint of trade, but no legal cases have established this.
Regional codes are entirely optional for the maker of a disc. Discs without region locks will play on any player in any country. It’s not an encryption system, it’s just one byte of information on the disc that the player checks. Some studios originally announced that only their new releases would have regional codes, but so far almost all Hollywood releases play in only one region. Region codes are a permanent part of the disc, they won’t "unlock" after a period of time. Region codes don’t apply to DVD-Audio, DVD-ROM, or recordable DVD (see below for more detail). Seven regions (also called locales or zones) have been defined, and each one is assigned a number. Players and discs are often identified by their region number superimposed on a world globe. If a disc plays in more than one region it will have more than one number on the globe. Region 01 Region 02 Region 03 Region 04 Region 05 Region 06 Region 07 Region 08 |
| Notation and units |
| There’s an unfortunate confusion of units of measurement in the DVD world. For example, a single-layer DVD holds 4.7 billion bytes (G bytes), not 4.7 gigabytes (GB). It only holds 4.37 gigabytes. Likewise, a double-sided, dual-layer DVD holds only 15.90 gigabytes, which is 17 billion bytes.
The problem is that the SI prefixes "kilo," "mega," and "giga" normally represent multiples of 1000 (10^3, 10^6, and 10^9), but when used in the computer world to measure bytes they generally represent multiples of 1024 (2^10, 2^20, and 2^30). Both Windows and Mac OS list volume capacities in "true" megabytes and gigabytes, not millions and billions of bytes Most DVD figures are based on multiples of 1000, in spite of using notation such as GB and KB that traditionally have been based on 1024. The "G bytes" notation does seem to consistently refer to 10^9. The closest I have been able to get to an unambiguous notation is to use "kilobytes" for 1024 bytes, "megabytes" for 1,048,576 bytes, "gigabytes" for 1,073,741,824 bytes, and "BB" for 1,000,000,000 bytes. This may seem like a meaningless distinction, but it’s not trivial to someone who prepares 4.7 gigabytes of data (according to the OS) and then wastes a DVD-R or two learning that the disc really holds only 4.3 gigabytes! Here’s an analogy that might help. A standard mile is 5,280 feet, whereas a nautical mile is roughly 6,076 feet. If you measure the distance between two cities you will get a smaller number in nautical miles, since nautical miles are longer. For example, the distance from Seattle to San Francisco is about 4,213,968 feet, which is 798 standard miles but only 693 nautical miles. DVD capacities have similarly confusing units of measurement: a billion bytes (1,000,000,000 bytes) or a gigabyte (1,073,741,824 bytes). DVD capacities are usually given in billions of bytes, such as 4.7 billion bytes for a recordable disc. Computer files are measured in gigabytes. Unfortunately, both types of measurements are often labeled as "GB." So a 4.5-GB file (4.5 gigabytes) from a computer will not fit on a 4.7-GB disc (4.7 billion bytes), since the file contains 4.8 billion bytes. To make things worse, data transfer rates when measured in bits per second are almost always multiples of 1000, but when measured in bytes per second are sometimes multiples of 1024. For example, a 1x DVD drive transfers data at 11.08 million bits per second (Mbps), which is 1.385 million bytes per second, but only 1.321 megabytes per second. The 150 KB/s 1x data rate commonly listed for CD-ROM drives is "true" kilobytes per second, since the data rate is actually 153.6 thousand bytes per second. This FAQ uses "kbps" for thousands of bits/sec, "Mbps" for millions of bits/sec (note the small "k" and big "M"). In December 1998, the IEC produced new prefixes for binary multiples: kibibytes (KiB), mebibytes (MiB), gibibytes (GiB), tebibytes (TiB), and so on. (More details at NIST, also released as IEEE Std 1541-2002) These prefixes may never catch on, or they may cause even more confusion, but they are a valiant effort to solve the problem. The big strike against them is that they sound rather silly. |
| Who invented DVD and who owns it? Whom to contact for specifications and licensing? |
| DVD is the work of many companies and many people. DVD evolved from CD and related technologies. Some of the early proposals for "high-density CD" were made in 1993, and these efforts gradually coalesced into two competing proposed formats. The MMCD format was backed by Sony, Philips, and others. The SD format was backed by Toshiba, Matsushita, Time Warner, and others. A group of computer companies led by IBM insisted that the factions agree on a single standard. The combined DVD format was announced in September of 1995, avoiding a confusing and costly repeat of the VHS vs. Betamax videotape battle or the quadraphonic sound battle of the 1970s.
No single company "owns" DVD. The official specification was developed by a consortium of ten companies: Hitachi, JVC, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Philips, Pioneer, Sony, Thomson, Time Warner, and Toshiba. Representatives from many other companies also contributed in various working groups. In May 1997, the DVD Consortium was replaced by the DVD Forum, which is open to all companies, and as of February 2000 had over 220 members. Time Warner originally trademarked the DVD logo, and has since assigned it to the DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation (DVD FLLC). The written term "DVD" is too common to be trademarked or owned. See section 6.2 and visit Robert’s DVD Info page for links to Web sites of companies working with DVD. The official DVD specification books are available after signing a nondisclosure agreement and paying a $5,000 fee. One book is included in the initial fee; additional books are $500 each. Manufacture of DVD products and use of the DVD logo requires additional format and logo licenses, for a one-time fee of $10,000 per format, minus $5,000 if you have already paid for the specification. (E.g., a DVD-Video player manufacturer must license DVD-ROM and DVD-Video for $20,000, or $15,000 if they have the spec.) Allowances are made for production houses and content providers to use the logo in conjunction with a licensed replicator, and for non-licensees to use the DVD logo in publications or presentations (with an option to request logo art). For more spec and logo information contact DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation (DVD FLLC), Shiba Shimizu Building 5F, Shiba-daimon 2-3-11, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0012, tel: +81-3-5777-2881, fax: +81-3-5777-2882. Before April 14, 2000, logo/format licensing was administered by Toshiba. ECMA has developed international standards for DVD-ROM (part 1, the smallest part of the DVD spec), available for free download as ECMA-267 and ECMA-268 from www.ecma-international.org. ECMA has also standardized DVD-R in ECMA-279, DVD-RAM in ECMA-272 and ECMA-273, and DVD+RW as ECMA-274. Unfortunately, ECMA has the annoying habit of spelling "disc" wrong. Also confusing, if you’re not from Europe, is ECMA’s use of a comma instead of a period for the decimal point. The specification for the UDF file system used by DVD is available from www.osta.org. Many technical details of the DVD-Video format are available at the DVD-Video Information page. Any company making DVD products must license essential technology patents from the "3C’ pool (LG, Philips, Pioneer, Sony: 3.5% per player/drive, minimum $3.50; additional $0.75 for Video CD compatibility; 3.75 cents per disc), the "6C" pool (Hitachi, IBM, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Time Warner, Toshiba, Victor: 4% per player/drive, minimum $3, maximum $8; 4% per "DVD Video decoder", minimum $1; 4.5 cents per ROM/Video/Audio disc; 4% of DVD-R/RW/RAM disc, minimum 6.5 cents) and from Thomson (~$1 per player/drive). Patent royalties of 20 cents per disc are also owed to Discovision Associates, which owns about 1300 optical disc patents. Per disc costs are paid by the replicator. The licensor of CSS encryption technology is DVD CCA (Copy Control Association), a non-profit trade association with offices at 225 B Cochrane Circle, Morgan Hill, CA. There is a $20,000 annual licensing fee, but no per-product royalties. Send license requests to css-license@lmicp.com, technical info requests to css-info@lmicp.com. Before December 15, 1999, CSS licensing was administered on an interim basis by Matsushita. Macrovision licenses its analog anti-recording technology to hardware makers. There is a $30,000 initial charge, with a $15,000 yearly renewal fee. The fees support certification of players to ensure widest compatibility with televisions. There are no royalty charges for player manufacturers. Macrovision charges a royalty to content publishers (approximately 4 to 10 cents per disc, compared to 2 to 5 cents for a VHS tape). Dolby licenses 2-channel Dolby Digital decoders or encoders for $0.66. The fee for a system with both a 2-channel decoder and 2-channel encoder is $0.71. Multichannel decoders are approximately $1.50. Philips, on behalf of CCETT and IRT, also charges $0.20 per channel (maximum of $0.60 per player) for Dolby Digital patents, along with $0.003 per disc. DTS licenses optional DTS decoders. Dolby licenses MLP decoders for DVD-Audio players. An MPEG-2 patent license is required from MPEG LA (MPEG Licensing Adminstrator). Cost is $2.50 for a DVD player or decoder card and 4 cents for each DVD disc, although there seems to be disagreement on whether content producers owe royalties for discs. Many DVD players are also Video CD (VCD) players. Philips licenses the Video CD format and patents on behalf of themselves, Sony, JVC, Matsushita, CNETT, and IRT for $25,000 initial payment plus royalties of 2.5% per player or $2.50 minimum. Nissim claims 25 cents per player and 78/100ths of a cent for parental management and other DVD-related patents. Various essential licensing fees add up to over $14 in royalties, and about $0.20 per disc. Disc royalties are paid by the replicator. Royalties for DVD+R patents are charged by Philips (approximately $0.06 per disc) and Sony (1.5 to 3.5% of disc price). |
Replication Process
Step 1: Pre-Mastering
In this stage Abet Disc inspects the format and structure of the media that is supplied by the customer.
Step 2: Mastering
A substrate treated with a photosensitive layer is prepared.
An LBR (Laser Beam Recorder) is used to transfer your data/music and forms the pits and tracks onto the substrate.
A developing solution enables the zones that were exposed by the laser to be removed.
The substrate is placed into a vacuum deposition chamber and covered with a layer of silver.
The end product is a metalized glass master. It is then inspected and analyzed for electrical signal properties.
Step 3: Electroplating
Glass master is mounted and immersed into a solution of nickel sulfamate.
A process of electrolysis takes place between two electrodes, the anode and the cathode. This creates a nickel layer which is separated from the glass master in order to obtain the stamper.
The stamper is rinsed, dried & covered with a protective film.
The back face is sanded and polished in order to prepare it for pressing.
The stamper is then punched in the center and the outside and checked for uniform thickness.
Step 4: Molding
The stamper is placed in a special mold and clamped together under very high pressure. Molten polycarbonate is then injected into the mold and after a few seconds of cooling, a clear disc is ejected, now containing the information or pit track from the stamper.
A fine layer of aluminum is sputtered onto the surface of the transparent disc. This allows the disc to be read by the reflection of the laser on the layer of information.
A fine layer of clear lacquer is then deposited on the metallic surface of the disc, then dried under a UV lamp. This is done in order to protect the CD and
prepare it for screen or offset printing.
Each CD is then inspected for physical imperfections and common molding flaws using a high speed camera inspection system.
All orders are tested at the beginning and the end through the High Tech Optical Testing Equipment to Phillips and Sony specifications.
Step 5: Pre-Press
The film or file is initially reviewed by trained graphic staff and checked for conformity, colors, size, resolution, fonts etc…
Pre-stretched screens are coated with a light sensitive emulsion, dried and measured.
Once dried, a film positive is positioned upon the coated screen and exposed in a light unit for a set time.
After exposure, the developed emulsion protected by the film is washed away with water. This leaves a hardened stencil with print area free of exposed emulsion.
Step 6: Screen Printing
Press-ready screens are mounted on the printing press.
Ink is placed on the screen and a squeegee passes across the image area pressing ink through the screen and onto the CD surface. One screen is required for each color.
Once the ink is applied, it is instantly cured or dried under a UV light before the next color is printed.
Each CD is inspected through sophisticated optics for correct inner hub identification and print quality.
