If you’ve Googled “DVD Duplication Ottawa” or “CD Duplication Ottawa”, then you’ve come to the right place. You can check out our Special Offers or you can Request a Quote. Beyond that, read on for some tips for properly preparing a DVD or CD Master…

In the last few weeks, we’ve had a few of our recent video production clients ask us a few things about DVD duplication, and the best prep method for ensuring that even a small run of DVDs is done the right way. I usually tell them all the same thing. Here’s a few pointers on ensuring that your disc project gets produced correctly, even if it’s a short run that you’re getting done. This really applies whether it’s a CD or a DVD project.

1. CD-R & DVD-R Media
For CD and DVD masters, you will need to use high-density, Red Book approved CD-R media. A few of the most widely accepted brands are, HHB, Mitsui, Maxell, Taiyo Yuden, Verbatim, and Ritek. Don’t skimp on this stage. Remember that the master you’re burning is what a run of thousands or hundreds of CD and DVDs is going to be the carbon copy of. With that said, it’s always good to keep a box of high grade media for this essential stage in the process.

2. Master Burn mode
Burn your master in Disk-At-Once mode for audio. This is because in the Disc-At-Once mode, there are no gaps placed in the audio data. When you burn your discs in the Track-At-Once mode, a gap of 2 seconds is added in between each song. These gaps can be read as errors or glitches in the audio, and may cause problems during the duplication process.

3. Master Burn speed
The optimal burn speed for your master depends on your CD burner’s drive speed. The optimal burn speed setting for your master discs will be 15 to 30 percent of your drive’s maximum capacity. I.E., if your drive’s max capacity is 52X, you’ll want to set the burn speed for your master to be 12-16X.

4. Master Labeling
We don’t recommend sharpies for labelling your master. The chemicals found in sharpies have a tendency to compromise the data burned onto a master if applied to the top of the disc. If you need to label your discs, it is recommended that you use either a water-based permanent felt tip marker, or label it with a sticker type label made for CD-R labeling. This will ensure that your data is not damaged and will be just as it was when you burned it to the disc. That, or simply don’t label it. Include a sticker on the plastic or paper sleeve you may have it in.

5. Testing and Quality Assurance
Make sure that after you’re done burning your CD-R, that you test it out on your home stereo and a variety of other types of players. Remember, increasingly, people are using video game consoles like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 2 and 3 as their DVD players. If you have access to any of these consoles, it would be wise to do a once over to ensure they work ok in there as well.