Note for all: One of the benefits of Premium Membership is the ability to submit (via mail) DVDs for review, to critique work done to date, and possibly go over techniques to help improve quality and methods.
Note for dyfan: In the interest of the knowledge being shared, this post is being made for the public good -- our readers and members here at The Digital FAQ. For privacy needs, specifics are being left to PMs, this is only a broad overview of what comes next.
VIDEO:
Alright, based off what I see, quality of the video is stellar. There's not much that could be changed here. I do observe a few JVC VCR related jitter issues, in response to unique tape errors. You don't see them often, and they are easy to miss. I notice maybe 3 in about 6 hours of video. Of course, being content that interests me, I did watch the disc from start to finish in real-time (not something I'd normally do for a review!) So that's something I'll note as needing to be covered. All in all, being just a few fleeting portions of a second apiece, and only having that few, it's not a major issue.
AUDIO:
As with the video, audio appeared to be top notch most of the time. On some of the old B&W footage, I did notice a few errors inherent to archives of that era -- most notably advanced forms of hiss. While erring on the side of accuracy, I would suggest some degree of hiss could still be removed without affecting (or affecting in a major way) the current audio. There was tell-tale signs of film transfer on one, where the projector could be heard. This is a tougher noise to remove, but it can be done. It was mostly present on the first 10 minutes of the oldest piece.
MENUS:
This is the weakest area. You'll benefit greatly from a concept guide on menus that's being created. You're not doing bad, but I can suggest things that would improve your skills closer to that of retail DVDs.
CASE ARTWORK:
This is another weak area. But again, nothing here is bad. But with some design information, I think you could easily create cases similar to that of basic retail/commercial work. The big issue with menus and case art is that people are thinking too much about pictures used, and not enough about the purpose of these items. A concept guide on this clearly needs making, so it's being added to the to-do list.
... and the new templates, yes.
MEDIA:
There are some limitations to using Taiyo Yuden media. I want to go over those. While it's great for archival needs, there are known issue with DVD players that span the past near-decade. For distribution, I'd look to AZO or other high-reflective discs, as opposed to organics that can give players a harder time. (Verbatim, or even CMC.)
Did I miss anything?
