Output to disc media
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Studio can output movies directly onto DVD and Blu-ray discs, if the requisite disc-burning hardware is available on your system.
Whether or not you have a disc burner, Studio can also create a ‘disc image’ – a set of files containing the same information as would be stored onto the disc – to a directory on your hard drive. The image can subsequently be burned to disc.
If your system has a DVD burner, Studio can create two types of DVD disc: standard (for DVD players) and AVCHD format (for Blu-ray players).
If your system has a Blu-ray recorder, you can record onto any recordable media supported by the device.
Your standard DVD discs can be played back:
· On any DVD player that can handle the recordable DVD format your burner creates. Most players can handle the common formats.
· On a computer with a DVD drive and suitable playback software.
· On any HD DVD player.
Your Blu-ray disc, or DVD disc in AVCHD format can be played back:
· On the Panasonic DMP‑BD10, the Playstation 3, and other Blu-ray players (not all players support the AVCHD format, but most do).
· On a computer with a Blu-ray drive and suitable playback software.
Studio creates your disc or disc image in three steps:
1. First the entire movie must be rendered to generate the MPEG-encoded information to store on the disc.
2. Next, the disc must be compiled. In this phase, Studio creates the actual files and directory structure that will be used on the disc.
3. Finally, the disc must be burned. (This step is skipped if you are generating a disc image rather than an actual disc.)
To output your movie to disc, or to a disc image:
1. Click the Disc tab to bring up this display:
The circular display summarizes your disc usage. It also shows an estimate of the time the movie will occupy on your writable disc.
Use the folder button to change the hard drive location Studio uses for storing auxiliary files. If you create a disc image, it too will be stored in that folder. The dropdown list on the lower display specifies the disc burner to use if more than one is available.
2. On the Settings panel, select the disc Type you are using, then whichever video quality and disc usage Preset best matches your intent.
If you wish to fine-tune your output settings, choose the Custom preset then click the Advanced button to bring up the Advanced Settings panel.
3. Click the Burn Disc button.
Studio goes through the steps described above (render, compile, and burn) to create the disc. Click the Create Image button to perform the identical steps but omit the burn step.
4. When Studio has finished the burning operation, it ejects the disc.
5. If you want to burn a previously created image press the Burn Image button.
Quality and capacity of disc formats
The differences amongst the various disc formats can be boiled down to these rules of thumb regarding the video quality and capacity of each format:
· DVD: Each disc holds about 60 minutes of full-quality MPEG-2 video (120 minutes if the disc recorder supports dual-layer recording).
· DVD (AVCHD): Each disc holds about 40 minutes of full-quality AVCHD video per layer.
· BD: Each disc holds more than 270 minutes of HD video per layer.