DVD alternative?

[64mulford]

Hi there,

For years now I have been involved in filming and editing a large dance event involving 50+ schools from around the region. The event is every two years and in that time there is obviously a big jump in not only equipment that I film and edit with, but the problem I am having is with finding a solution to publish it on. DVD has always been the answer but sales have been slowly declining every year (still not too bad though) but it has got to the point where I can no longer run DVD Studio Pro as it is no longer supported on any of my Macs so I need to find another solution.

Here's my requirements:

• I want to include all 50+ school dance performances on one "disk" that parents then purchase.
• It needs to have chapters so they can either play from start to finish or skip to their chosen school.
• Some sort of protection - the non-profit that runs the event heavily relies on DVD sales. I'm afraid if I put it on USB or something it will just be copied and will lose profit.
• Cheap - DVD's are very cheap to make.
• Professional look - DVD studio was great, custom designed menus and buttons, sub menus, slideshows etc. Such a great piece of software. 

Any ideas? Is there an online publishing equivalent? Is there any DVD authoring tools out there that still work and provide the above? How are you guys publishing things these days that you sell?

[BTM_Pix]

One option would be package it within an iOS and Android apps.

There are a large number of services that offer template based creation tools that would be suitable to build a similar structure to a DVD.

The advantage to doing it this way would be that it is secure in terms of piracy (of the sort that the average consumer would get up to at least), has no reproduction cost in terms of time or materials aside from the initial master, is easy to manage financially as all the transactions are done through the app stores and is more convenient for the customer as it is done directly onto their device rather than through the mail etc.

Consuming media on a phone/device is not the hurdle it once was in terms of acceptance but even so most people are now able to cast the output one way or another on to a TV if they still want a big screen shared experience.

Another alternative would be to pick up a used older Mac to dedicate to DVD Studio Pro if you still wanted to stick with physical media. Or even use something like Parallels to let you run an instance of an older version of OSX on your current Mac.

 

[Geoff CB]

I think there are tons of open source DVD and Blu-ray creation software if you still want to go that route.

[newfoundmass]

There's still authoring software out there, both for free and for under a hundred dollars. The big problem is that most of them are very limited when it comes to customizing menus. Many limit you to templates. You're not going to find something that gives you the flexibility that DVD Studio Pro or Adobe Encore gave you, at least not on a budget. 

I'm on PC these days, so I don't have any recommendations for Mac software since leaving Apple 5 years ago (DVD Studio Pro still worked then) but you might want to head over to VideoHelp.com and check out their software database to see what's available for DVD authoring on a Mac. 

[Kisaha]

The point is: what can we give to customers that is at least 1080p quality, but "write" protected, so they have to spend their 10-15€ to buy, instead of copying it from someone else?

Write protected USB sticks would be ideal.

[BTM_Pix]

18 minutes ago, Kisaha said:

The point is: what can we give to customers that is at least 1080p quality, but "write" protected, so they have to spend their 10-15€ to buy, instead of copying it from someone else?

Write protected USB sticks would be ideal.

You can encrypt them but as soon as you give the legal owner the key then there is nothing to stop them duplicating the file and giving someone else the key.

You can host it online behind a paywall but having to go online every time to view it won't be appealing to consumers and, again, the login can be shared.

The app route is the option that gives you the most protection because it is directly delivered to a single device in a form that isn't easy to duplicate. The app can be designated in the app stores as a family sharing app so everyone in the family can share access to it on their own device which I guess would be appropriate for the content that the OP is producing if it involves parents and kids.

[Kisaha]

5 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

You can encrypt them but as soon as you give the legal owner the key then there is nothing to stop them duplicating the file and giving someone else the key.

You can host it online behind a paywall but having to go online every time to view it won't be appealing to consumers and, again, the login can be shared.

The app route is the option that gives you the most protection because it is directly delivered to a single device in a form that isn't easy to duplicate. The app can be designated in the app stores as a family sharing app so everyone in the family can share access to it on their own device which I guess would be appropriate for the content that the OP is producing if it involves parents and kids.

You know that I still deliver DVDs?

People still need something to "hold" and buy. I can't tell them "I will give you s key that you can watch online". They need a physical product, with cover - art work that they can hold in their hands!

A usb stick that can not be copied could be it, but I haven't heard of anything such.

[BTM_Pix]

4 hours ago, Kisaha said:

You know that I still deliver DVDs?

People still need something to "hold" and buy. I can't tell them "I will give you s key that you can watch online". They need a physical product, with cover - art work that they can hold in their hands!

A usb stick that can not be copied could be it, but I haven't heard of anything such.

I've nothing against DVDs at all. Aside from the production time, production cost, delivery mechanism, their fragility and how easy they are to copy

It was just a suggestion in response to the OP asking for an alternative to them.

The video is embedded in the app by the way so is offline and requires no key

 

[Kisaha]

5 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I've nothing against DVDs at all. Aside from the production time, production cost, delivery mechanism, their fragility and how easy they are to copy

It was just a suggestion in response to the OP asking for an alternative to them.

The video is embedded in the app by the way so is offline and requires no key

 

No, yes! I mentioned it quite explicitly, as it is a mystery to me too! Can't stand delivering DVDs in this era! I deliver 4K files and DVDs the same week!

But in a way it is easier for them to sell the DVDs than anything else.

These days I am completing a 4 camera live performance with almost 100 performers (dance/music/theater), the company that gave me the job will certainly want to sell to all 100 of them, and additional copies to grand parents, friends and co..

I am exporting 10GB files (3parts) to keep as "masters" and then I have to deliver to them the "master DVD" which in 2019 is a terrible thing to do!

I was just thinking loudly that maybe a locked USB stick could be a tradeable idea..

 

[BTM_Pix]

25 minutes ago, Kisaha said:

 

I was just thinking loudly that maybe a locked USB stick could be a tradeable idea..

 

They do exist but whether financially they are viable versus what people would expect to pay for them is another matter.

This is one system where you either buy their own USB sticks (at $35 per pop for an 8 gig !) or buy a credit license from $9.95 per disk to encrypt your own.

If you source cheap 8 gig sticks then the total cost price is going to be around £12 so it would be hard to make too much of a profit on them compared to how much you'd make at the same retail price if you were using DVDs.

https://www.truscont.com/usb-copy-protection/buy-usb-online#credits

[Kisaha]

5 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

They do exist but whether financially they are viable versus what people would expect to pay for them is another matter.

This is one system where you either buy their own USB sticks (at $35 per pop for an 8 gig !) or buy a credit license from $9.95 per disk to encrypt your own.

If you source cheap 8 gig sticks then the total cost price is going to be around £12 so it would be hard to make too much of a profit on them compared to how much you'd make at the same retail price if you were using DVDs.

https://www.truscont.com/usb-copy-protection/buy-usb-online#credits

That is very interesting. I am been payed by job, and not DVDs but something simalar can make sense if it was close to 3-4€ (usually DVDs going for 10-12€).

For some customers could be an interesting proposition.

Thanks for the note, I'll do a little research about it.