Daniel Crush

Additional DVD Features

Subtitles: With most DVDs, there is normally an option to turn subtitles on or off. This is so
that the DVD can be used even if you may have a hearing impairment that may stop you
from enjoying or understanding the DVD. Furthermore, one of the most prominent types of
subtitles are the ones on DVDs that are in a different language. The subtitles may be turned
on to ‘English’ as this is one of the most widely used languages across the whole world. The
ability to change the subtitles to another language allows the DVD menu to be multi-
national, and will appeal to a wider target market. In
addition, having subtitles is a lot cheaper than having
different actors speaking different languages, and it
will save time during production. However, most DVD
menus do have the option to change to different
languages as the subtitles are mainly used for people
with hearing impairments.

Different Languages: As well as subtitles, a language selection menu is important when it

comes to a DVD menu. As you can see from the image on the right, for the DVD ‘The Last of
the Mohicans’, there is a ‘Languages’ heading which you can click and it will take you to
where you can select your desired language. As well as that, there are also different
language subtitles for you to select. This again allows
a DVD to be multi-national which should increase the
target market of the product. Moreover, in some DVD
menus there is sometimes not even an option to
select a different language, so the user would have to
guess what the actors are saying or doing. The user
shouldn’t have to do this and therefore having
multiple languages available is essential when
creating a DVD menu.

Text-Based Material: At the start of most DVDs/films there is normally some text-based
material that is displayed warning the viewer about copyright and protection laws. The text
can be easily ignored by most but it must be displayed by law as it can be a deterrent to
those who may think about committing a crime and as a reminded that it is against the law.
Furthermore, the text that is displayed is not skippable and it has to be displayed for at least
a few seconds before the film or DVD can be played. Additionally, for the ‘protection law’ it
may warm of viewer discretion, especially if it is rated 18. It may also warm the viewers that
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the stunts that are shown are performed by

specialists who have had years of training and
that they shouldn’t be performed at home. The
information that is displayed at the start of the
DVD or film must be clear and easy to read to
ensure that the viewer is fully aware of the
regulations. For example, as you can see from
the image on the right, it displays a large
‘Warning’ title in red so that it catches the viewers eye, making them take notice. Below the
‘Warning’ title, it goes over the copyright laws.

Easter Eggs: Easter eggs are hidden within a product for users to find. They are either a
hidden message or they can be a joke, purposely placed in by the developers, mainly there
to interest any hard-core fans that would find entertainment or excitement out of it.
However, Easter eggs are meant to be there to be the main focus within a product, they
should be placed in subtly so that it doesn’t draw the attention away from the main part of
the product, whether that be a film or a game. An
example of an Easter egg is in the ‘Finding Nemo’ film
where at the end in the credits you can see ‘Mike’
from ‘Monsters Inc’ swimming across the screen in a
scuba diving outfit. Throughout many films, Disney are
always including famous characters from different
films and featuring them in other ones, as hard-core
fans will really appreciate it.

Animations: Animations are a common feature used

in DVD menus. They usually consist of clips being
looped, showing a small section of a film or product.
They can also be used when clicking on a different
section on a DVD menu. In addition, including
animations is essential when creating a DVD menu as
it can keep the user engaged and entertained. The
amount of animations used and the complexity of
them is all down to the target market of the product.
If the product is aimed at a younger audience then it
will most likely include more animations to keep them
engaged, whereas, for an older audience, the product
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will most likely include fewer animations as the audience may be put off the DVD menu as
they may deem it to be unprofessional. An example of an animation is on the DVD menu
‘Pingu’. As you can see from the image on the right when I click on a section of the menu, a
chequered animation appears which takes me to the next page. As well as that, when I’m on
the ‘Select an episode’ screen, it shows small clips of each episode to entice the user into
watching it. It also allows the DVD menu to be more interactive

DTS (Digital Theatre Systems): Digital Theatre Systems are a series of multichannel audio
technologies, which is a company that is dedicated in specialising digital surround sound
formats, used for both commercial and consumer applications. Steven Spielberg was the
biggest factor, as he wanted to have high quality sound for all of his films. Moreover, DTS
works by having the LED reader scan the time code data of a particular film and then it
sends the data to the DTS processor which will then synchronise the sound with the film.
Additionally, DTS provides high definition audio wherever you are at any time and is a
mandatory audio format in Blu-ray discs and within media platforms such as, DVD players,
consoles and much more.

Dolby: Dolby Digital is the name given for audio compression technologies. It was developed
by ‘Dolby Laboratories’ and the audio compression is lossy. This means during the
compression, some of the data is lost. DTS (Digital Theatre Systems) have better sound
quality over Dolby; however, Dolby Digital has an easier, more accessible software for the
DVD. In addition, the Dolby Digital Technology was used in the film ‘Batman Returns’ that
was released in 1992.

Printable Discs: DVDs can be drawn or written on by using a CD/DVD inkjet printer. This is
done with an inkjet permeable coating on the top of a non-recording surface. Furthermore,
this allows DVDs to have high quality imagery placed on the DVD itself. This can be used for
all formats, for example, on DVDs, CDs and on video games. In addition, having the image
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printed gives companies an advantage. This is because it is much cheaper to print the
label/cover art than it is to buy them both separately. As well as that, it can be a lot easier to
print as the labels/cover art can be aligned perfectly
with an inkjet printer. Another advantage with using
an inkjet printer is that the label won’t peel, as
when doing it by hand, when the disc is spinning it
has the possibility of damaging the drives, therefore
breaking the reader.

Regional Codes: Regional codes were created to control the exportation of films to other
countries, therefore eliminating the possibility of purchasing a DVD that has not yet been
released at a local cinemas/theatre. To achieve this, region locks have been to DVD players
which will only accept DVDs that are from the same region. Moreover, there are different
associations that make it a requirement to have region locks built into their DVD players;
however, there are still players out there that play any DVD that is available on the market.
As well as that, it is possible to remove the lock from a DVD player. Furthermore, DVD’s can
have a range of codes such as a ‘multi-region’, which is a combination of codes, and there is
also ‘all regions’, which has every code. Finally, there is ‘region free’ which have no code
locks. Within the code regions, there are six different regions and two informal variations, as
you can see below.

Altogether, there are 8 region codes. 0 is given to the ‘region free’ setting which means that
the DVD can be played in any region without having a lock on it. Code 1 is for the United
States, Bermuda, Canada, US territories and the Caribbean. The next code, code 2 is for
Europe, parts of Africa, the Middle East and over sea territories of France. Moreover, code 3
is for parts of South East Asia, which include Hong Kong and the Philippines. Code 4 is for
South America and Central America. Code 5 is for India and some other countries that
surround it. The next code, code 6 is for China, and as it is such a large country, they have
their own region code which they regulate. Code 7 is reserved. It is reserved for future use,
for example, for media copies and MPAA DVD’s that
are pre-released in Asia. Finally, the last region
code is code 8. Code 8 is for international areas
such as aircraft and cruise ships that are
anywhere outside of the jurisdiction of any
government or country.
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Copyright Protection: To protect the copyright of a DVD or CD, there are certain things that
can be done. For example, things like ‘DRM’ which stands for Digital Rights Management.
Within copyright, DRM is a series of controversial technologies that try and control how the
content is being used after it has been released and sold. However, DRM can be quite
controversial as those in favour of it often say that it protects the creators work and
provides them with control over it. On the other hand, those not in favour of it often say
that it doesn’t prevent copyright infringement and that it will prevent legal things, such as
creating back-ups. Furthermore, most formats of media, such as Video game and DVDs, can
be copied and illegally recreated using machinery so that they can share them with friends.
This is most commonly known as digital sharing, the unauthorised sharing of products. In
the United States, there has been over a £2.4 billion loss due to this.
Moreover, the world met in Geneva Switzerland in 1994, where
they created a WIPO copyright treaty. This updated the copyright
laws so that it covered the advanced level of technical content
and data. This was an update to the previous convention, Berne,
which was hosted in 1887. During this convention, they outlined
all of the basic laws to do with copyright and how it worked
internationally.

Parental Controls: On a DVD Video disc, any film that is played will have a ‘PML’, which
stands for Parental Management Level. This level is from one to eight. Eight is the most
restrictive level, for adults only. One is the least restrictive level, as it is for all ages. In
addition, the idea of having these levels is to prevent children from watching adult content,
without consent from their parents. If a DVD navigator comes across a PML when it’s
reading the disc, it will appear with a parental lock which will consist of either a small scene
or chapters in the DVD. However, when the DVD is ready to be sold internationally, it
shouldn’t include a PML as the rating of the content can vary between locations.
Furthermore, not all DVD navigators enforce
there to be a PML, unless the parent has
specifically implanted a password control that a
DVD player will send out when it gets to a PML.
However, if this is not setup then the DVD will
play at the highest level, showcasing all of the
content even if it may be deemed inappropriate
for children.