and the award for most pointless layer-change... (1 Viewer)

[TheoGB]

The Godfather discs have annoying ones. It's really irritating when they don't use Reverse Spiral discs so that the change takes ages.
It has been pointed out that the cheaper the player the better the layer change by many people I've spoken too. Odd. And DVD-ROMs seem to be able to buffer enough to ignore them.
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My band is @ http://www.mokita.net
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[Doug Schiller]

TheoGB said...

It's really irritating when they don't use Reverse Spiral discs so that the change takes ages.

Are you sure these discs aren't using RSDL?
The only disc that I have seen that doesn't use RSDL for its layer change is the LE version of Bridge Over River Kwai.
Not only is the change slower, the chapter stops start back at zero, IIRC.
I love talking about the different technical information on DVD, its not much talked about anymore.
Doug

 

[LukeB]

Why don't they just use one layer of the DVD for the film and then put the extras on the rest of the open space and the other layer so there aren't any layer changes? Its always annoying...

Well because obviously that would result in sacrificing video quality to get rid of a one second (tops) pause. Would you rather only have 1 layer devoted to the movie's video/audio or 1.5 layers with a layer split? Seems obvious to me. Even though layer changes are kinda annoying now, I'm sure we'll see some kind of buffer on future players that takes care of this.

 

[Derek Miner]

It has been pointed out that the cheaper the player the better the layer change by many people I've spoken too. Odd. And DVD-ROMs seem to be able to buffer enough to ignore them.

I think these are related. Some of those cheapie players are merely boxes built around DVD-ROM drives. This is probably why many of those cheapie players were the first to introduce MP3 playback.
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= Derek =

 

[stephen abbot]

I happended to see this thinly plotted film couple of weeks ago (in P&S no less!!!) on a trip back from working in Greece, this one also interupted about 2mins from the end but I beleive the APU cycled rather than a layer change. Bit scary really as we were somewhere near Pakistan over the Indian ocean, just kept supping my Gin, kept my head down and noted never get this DVD.
Cheers
Stephen

 

[MikeEckman]

One thing that alot of people dont understand is that in very few instances, do the studios or the people involved with the film have any input on the physical making of the DVD. When a DVD is being mastered, it is sent to a mastering facility, at which the disc is made and in most cases, there isnt someone familiar enough with the film to specially look for a good place for a layer change. Typically, the movie is mastered to the DVD and whereever it happens to fall, is where its put.
Only in times when theres someone special working on a disc like Van Ling or JM Kenny. And in reality, these high profile special editions are relatively new and only affect a small percentage of discs. I would guess that within the next few years, greater attention will be paid to the techincal details of DVD, including layer changes.
Like someone said, that Tomb Raider probably had its layer change put where it was on purpose, to keep it away from any critical action moments.