has anyone created a DVD using your photographs and want to distribute to family and friends? i.e., you don't need a thousand copies of it (maybe 25:) i have but am having trouble finding a company that will replicate that small amount and make the replications permanent (not fragile like i get out of my DVD writer). any thoughts on this? thanks to all

Why do you think the ones from your DVD writer are fragile? Maybe you should look into better media? Anyway, I don't think you'll find a company that makes that small amounts concidering they'll have to make a glass master. It just too expensive.

i've just been told that the DVD's you write yourself are more delicate and content can be lost just by smudging the surface...true? i certainly don't know but don't want to find out its true the hard way :) thanks

Smudging the surface as in fingerprints can't really hurt. Just wipe it off. The layer you burn is under the plastic. Scratches are different, although the format should contain enough error correction data to cope with a few scratches. What you don't want to do is leave them out in sunlight, that is bad for the dye (the datalayer). So if you're going to make them yourself get some good cases for them, preferably black, no see though cases. So in terms of scratching and smudging, factory pressed dvd's are just as vulnerable.

There should be DVD's available that are more durable, intended for longterm storage, you may want to look into that. They're probably a bit more expensive, but from the sound if it, you need it.

Now you can always burn one and see how much abuse it can take. In the end, destroying one will only set you back 1-2 dollars :) ps. when wiping a CD/DVD clean, always wipe from the center outwards. Never wipe in a circle. Why? Because if something is caught in your cloth, you're going to draw a nice circular groove on the surface. Wiping from the center would only leave a scratch that the player should be able to cope with.

Message edited on: 12/27/2005 22:35

thanks...good info :)

oldworld I use memorex and aout of 250 CDs and over 100 DVDs I have had only one fail. That was the burning software not the DVD. I use Memorex to distribute to clients as well and I haven't had a single one come back. I use Proshow Gold ($70US) to create slideshows and it will burn as many as I am willing to feed it. When I worked for a software company our fail rate was 14% and that was acceptable. the media was cheap and it showed. What 3Dguy says is right on, give it a go! Magick Michael

thanks....i've been using Philips (cheap) and i've quite a few failures....guess i'll give memorex a shot :) thanks

Has far as I know using a DVD-8 4.7GB at home is the best as it is tough and a single layer so only a limited space can get damaged. Often shop brought or manufacurer made DVD's are actually of pretty temprimental quality. It untilmently boils down to how the DVD is handled in human hands...

Attached Link: Proshow Gold

thanks...i'll give the product a try

I've always use Verbatim and had no issues, moved over to Memorex coz they were cheaper, no problem's yet - touch wood...

Message edited on: 12/29/2005 01:37