Authoring

At Quest Media, we make it affordable to get professional DVD Authoring, Post-Production, and DVD Menu Design services for your DVD or CD-ROM. We also make it easy to customize your release by adding options like 5.1 surround, director commentary, motion menus, custom editing, and more. Whether you're in the planning stages or putting the final touches on your project, we can provide the assistance and expertise you need to create a professional and functional CD or DVD.

DVD Authoring
No need for expensive software or dealing with multiple vendors. Quest Media makes it easy and affordable to get professional DVD encoding, menu design, and authoring for your project. We'll take your film, video, and additional content and blend them into a dynamic professional DVD that is fully customized to your project. All with our 100% no-fine-print guarantee. And because we do both replication and authoring here in our San Fernando Valley headquarters, we provide the fastest turn times around. Plus, you don't have to worry about shipping your materials to multiple vendors. Our multiple packages offer you a range of award-winning design and technological expertise, giving your project the attention it deserves. With services that range from basic DVD encoding to fully customized menu design, director's commentary track, and motion menus, we can provide the customized functionality you need.

DVD Menu Design
Although not required by the DVD specification, most DVDs have some type of menu. This provides the user a quick and easy way to navigate the DVD and view items they want to watch. In DVD authoring, there are two methods of DVD menu design. The first method uses templates provided in your DVD authoring software. Some of these can be fairly complex with motion and sound. But they are limited in scope and are difficult to customize to your project. A better solution would be to design a custom DVD menu specific to the look and content of your DVD project. Custom DVD Menu creation requires knowledge of graphic design, video, and DVD authoring. The DVD menu designers and programmers at Quest Media are experienced in DVD menu design and DVD programming making sure your project will look professional and function the way you want. You'll receive a PDF proof via email so you can review it before the DVD authoring is performed.

DVD Encoding
Videotapes and digital video files are not ready - as is - to use as masters for DVD Authoring. Video in its native format is too large to fit on a 4.7GB DVD. An hour of uncompressed standard video can be as large as 101 GB and DV can be as large as 11GB per hour. To make video files small enough to fit on a DVD, they must be encoded or compressed. The Codec (compression/decompression) used for DVD encoding is Mpeg2 - required for Standard Definition (SD) DVDs. DVD encoding or compression can be accomplished utilizing either hardware or software based encoding. Hardware DVD encoding is performed by a DVD encoding card installed in a computer or by a standalone DVD recorder. Software DVD encoding is performed by a computer application such as Apple Compressorª. The type and brand of DVD encoder and settings selected can greatly effect the quality of your encode. The DVD encoding engineers at Quest Media are experienced and can help you attain the highest quality encode for your project with either software DVD encoding or hardware DVD encoding. As always, the quality of your video master will have the greatest impact on the quality of your final DVD. (Whenever possible make sure the master you send to Quest Media for DVD encoding is a high quality uncompressed video source.) So which method of DVD encoding does Quest Media use? That depends on the master you send us. If your videotape master is one of the acceptable formats*, hardware DVD encoding will be used.

DVD Hybrid (Enhanced DVD)
A DVD hybrid, or Enhanced DVD, is a standard DVD Video disc that also contains additional content only playable on a computer. When the DVD is placed into a set top DVD player it plays like any other DVD. But when placed into a DVD-ROM drive, the user has access to additional content only viewable on a computer (e.g. PDFs, computer applications, etc.). One example of a Hybrid is a DVD that includes a digital copy of a film for download to personal electronic devices. Just place the DVD into a computer, download the digital copy to your iPod or PSP¨, and you're ready to go. The great thing about Hybrid discs is practically any type of computer content can be added to your DVD (space allowing). Not only does this enrich the end users experience, but also adds value to your DVD. There are two ways to add this content to your DVD. Some programs allow the user to open this additional content directly from the DVD menu. For this to work, the end user will need to install an additional program to their computer, adding confusion and stress and making the overall process more difficult than it needs to be. (This method produces inconsistent results often times not working at all.) Therefore, when we create a Hybrid disc, the ROM (Computer files) and the DVD Video are not interconnected. They function separately and are not linked via menus. Placing files on the disc starts at $150 and includes autorun functionality for 1 file (if supported on your computer). Creation of an interface or menu from which multiple documents can be selected starts at $290. This pricing is in addition to normal DVD authoring costs.