The articles addressing DVD problems are some of the most popular on this site. As a professional video producer, I understand he frustration that DVD problems can create. Just last week, a client from 5 years ago called me to say her wedding DVD won't play anymore; another video producer asked me to convert a DVD from PAL to NTSC; and a local business wanted to know if it would be possible to change the logo at the start of their promotional DVDs, which were already burned.
Troubleshooting DVD problems, fussing over formats and testing menu buttons can be tedious, and it's not my favorite thing to do. I met a video producer a few months ago who told me he doesn't work with DVDs at all. He'll do the shooting and hand over the tape, or put an edited project onto a hard drive for the client to deal with. "I'm a video producer," he said, "not a DVD monkey."
In my business, I don't think I could get away with this kind of attitude; too many of my clients want a DVD to play, and they're not going to make it themselves. A playable disk is just a standard deliverable for most of my projects.
But I'm thinking about adding a hard drive storage charge to each project. That way, I can give clients the DVD they want, as well as a thumb drive with an uncompressed master version of the project. Then, if the disk fails, they'll have a backup. And if they decide they want the video online or in another format, it'll be easier to convert.
How do you handle DVD problems and delivery of video projects? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.