A bigger, faster CD that can hold video as well as audio and computer data. DVD aims to encompass home entertainment, computers, and business information with a single digital format, eventually replacing audio CD, videotape, laserdisc, CD-ROM, and perhaps even video game cartridges. DVD has widespread support from all major electronics companies, all major computer hardware companies, and about half of the major movie and music studios.

DVD-Video vs. DVD-ROM
DVD-Video (often simply called DVD) holds video programs and is played in a DVD player hooked up to a TV.
DVD-ROM holds computer data and is read by a DVD-ROM drive hooked up to a computer.

• Over 2 hours of high-quality digital video (over 8 on a double-sided, dual-layer disc).
• Support for widescreen movies on standard or widescreen TVs (4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios).
• Up to 8 tracks of digital audio (for multiple languages, DVS, etc.), each with as many as 8 channels.
• Up to 32 subtitle/karaoke tracks.
• Automatic "seamless" branching of video (for multiple story lines or ratings on one disc).
• Up to 9 camera angles (different viewpoints can be selected during playback).
• Menus and simple interactive features (for games, quizzes, etc.).
• Multilingual identifying text for title name, album name, song name, cast, crew, etc.
• "Instant" rewind and fast forward, including search to title, chapter, track, and timecode.
• Durable (no wear from playing, only from physical damage).
• Not susceptible to magnetic fields, resistant to heat, noncomedogenic.
• Compact size (easy to handle, store, and ship)
• Players can be portable
• Replication is cheaper

As we have all seen when we watch the weather on TV, people can be placed over backgrounds or be made to look as though they are in a simulated setting by a process called Chroma Key. It begins with shooting the subject in front of an evenly lit, bright, pure blue background. An electronic compositing process replaces all the blue in the picture with another image, known as the background plate. Blue screen composites can be made optically for still photos or movies, electronically for live video, and digitally to computer images. In addition to blue, other colors can be used, such as green is the most common, although sometimes red has been used for special purposes.

AVI (audio/video interleave) is the file format used by Video for Windows, one of three video technologies used on personal computers. (The others are MPEG and QuickTime.) In AVI, picture and sound elements are stored in alternate interleaved chunks in the file.

MPEG is a standard for compressing sound and video files into an attractive format for downloading--or even streaming--across the Internet. The MPEG-1 standard streams video and sound data at 150 kilobytes per second--the same rate as a single-speed CD-ROM drive--which it manages by taking key frames of video and filling only the areas that change between the frames. Unfortunately, MPEG-1 produces only adequate quality video, far below that of standard TV. MPEG-2 compression improves things dramatically.

QuickTime (Developed by Apple Computer) is a method of storing sound, graphics, and movie files. If you see a MOV file on the Web or on a CD-ROM, you'll know it's a QuickTime file. Although QuickTime was originally developed for the Macintosh, player software is now available for Windows and other platforms. If you don't have a QuickTime player, you can always download versions for either Mac or PC from Apple's Web site.

The Troupe can shoot your video footage and compress it into any of the above formats. When and why people choose to use one or another format depends on a variety of factors, and our multimedia producers can assist you in deciding which type of movie will be best for your application.

Creating an interactive CD is no small undertaking. Our clients approach The Troupe with certain needs and objectives specific to their projects. Whether it is for a Trade Show kiosk, a Computer Based Training Application, or a Marketing Piece, in order to get started, the common elements that every interactive CD needs are:

1. Concept (Objective and approach to obtaining it)
2. Content (Script)
3. Flowchart
4. User interface & navigation (The visual "look and feel" as well as usability design)
5. Assets and media (sound, images, footage, etc.)

Concept and content could be discusses and refined in pre-production meetings, but the FLOWCHART must be defined before any production can begin on an interactive project.
The Troupe can help you author your chart if you need assistance.