Not all DVD-Rs are created equally, and that's our biggest problem with
them. Sometimes they are a straight VHS to DVD transfer without
authoring (e.g. no menus, chapter breaks, etc.); sometimes they are very
professionally produced and it's difficult to tell the difference
between a DVD and a DVD-R. Because of the inconsistency in playback,
we've affixed a brightly-colored label to all DVD-R cases suggesting
that instructors check to be sure their equipment will play the disc
before their scheduled class-time.
I've come to see them as a necessary evil of sorts -- with economies of
scale, it's simply the only way many specialized educational videos will
ever be released on DVD. However, it is very frustrating to run across
the cheaply-made ones (which are often sold at an institutional price)
that do not play without skips and pixelations, or will only play on a
handful of machines. Another pet peeve is when VHS programs are
transferred to DVD-R with little quality oversight. We recently had a
very frustrating instance where we sent back a FMG title no less than
four times because portions were subtitled, and the change in aspect
ratios meant that the subtitles were masked out in the DVD transfer.
The subtitles could only be read when viewed on a computer screen, and
although the content would have been very useful, we decided to
eventually cancel our order since we can't control what will be used to
play back our programs.
*************************
Meghann Matwichuk, M.S.
Associate Librarian
Instructional Media Collection Department
Morris Library, University of Delaware
181 S. College Ave.
Newark, DE 19717
(302) 831-1475
http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/instructionalmedia/
On 4/19/2011 1:53 PM, CROWLEY, CHRISTINE wrote:
*Yeecchhh. We avoid them when possible. They are simply transfers to
DVD format from a VHS tape and are not chaptered ( one of the
characteristics people are looking for on a DVD). *
* *
*If I am wrong, I am sure someone on the list will hasten to correct
me. The advantage is that you may not have VHS capability anymore
(because some dunderhead on campus has put them all out to pasture) so
the DVD-R is better than not having it at all.*
* *
* *
* *
*Christine Crowley*
Dean of Learning Resources
Adjunct Faculty, Theatre
*Northwest Vista College*
3535 N. Ellison Dr.
San Antonio, TX 78251
210.486.4572 voice
210.486.4504 fax
* *
"A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along
with people, of getting things done
<http://thinkexist.com/quotation/a_sense_of_humor_is_part_of_the_art_of_leadership/159947.html>"--Dwight
David Eisenhower
* *
*From:* [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of
*[email protected]
*Sent:* Tuesday, April 19, 2011 12:47 PM
*To:* [email protected]
*Subject:* [Videolib] Fw: DVD R
Lisa Flanzraich
Media and Reference Librarian
Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library
Queens College
Room 344
718-997-3673
----- Forwarded by Lisa Flanzraich/LIB/Staff/Queens College on
04/19/2011 01:46 PM -----
Dear Colleagues,
I have a colleague who has asked me in general about the quality of
DVD-R recordings. Truthfully, I am not an expert about this, so I am
relying
on the experts on this list.
Thanks so much for your help.
Lisa Flanzraich
Media and Reference Librarian
Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library
Queens College
Room 344
718-997-3673
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control,
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and
distributors.
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control,
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and
distributors.
