MEASUREMENT VIDEOS ON DVD

• In 1995 Tom Benjamin proposed that a measurement video be made.
• At the 1991 Annual Meeting Tom McBrayer showed a preview of a video he was working on.
• At the 1992 Annual Meeting Tom McBrayer distributed copies of his finished measurement video. It was made available through distribution by USATF.
• In early 1993 I received a video from Jean-Francois Delasalle. It is in French, and has the McBrayer video coupled on at the end. I had the European VHS tape converted to US format.

Last year I had the VHS, containing both versions, converted to a DVD. I asked the people who did the work to make the DVD copyable on a PC. The disc I received played OK on my DVD player, but I was unable to copy it using Windows XP’s Nero application. I asked the people who made the DVD what was wrong – there is no copy protection involved. They suggested using a disc cloning program. It worked, but the demo version had a life of only 14 days, and the purchase price was more than I cared to pay.

That’s the present status of the measurement video on DVD. I see from the internet that DVD copies can be obtained in lots of 100 for about $2.00 each, which isn’t bad. I am unsure where to go from here. Should the DVD option be made available? Who will do it?
Can the disc be made so that it can be copied using standard DVD-copying software, as is available on Windows?

Does anyone on this BB have the capability to do this? It is beyond my present abilities. I'll be happy to send a disc to anyone wishing to give it a try.

Where should we go from here?

I could assist if need be. I also know a local company that deals with production / replication. If you have a DVD, I have the software to RIP it, and that can be turned over to someone for replication, menuing, etc.

Just let me know. Offline you can reach me at kstone at crewstone dot com.

Dear Keith,

How about I send you the original disc? What I hope you can provide will be a disc that plays in a DVD player and can be copied using Windows XP and Nero.

Anything you can do beyond that would be gravy. What is RIP?

Plans for distribution remain up in the air for now.

If you can do this – or think you can, and want to take a shot - send me a mailing address and I will send you the disc. Please return it ASAP, as I have only one original.

Pete,

If you are using a PC and the source DVD is a single layer DVD (usually less than 4.7 GB) and you have a DVD burner on your computer then you can do it yourself using software available for free.

It's a two step process. First, you'll need to convert the source DVD to an ISO file and second, burn the ISO file onto blank DVDs. Once you have the ISO image, you can burn as many DVDs as needed whenever you need them.

Both steps can be accomplished using the free ImgBurn program available at:

ImgBurn

There are plenty of alternatives. For example you can copy the DVD to an ISO file using LC ISO Creator available at:

Portable Freeware

That's a very simple application that can even run off a thumb drive.

Then you could use WinImg or Small CD-Writer available at:

Small CD-Writer

Small CD-Writer is another portable application that may be run from a thumb drive. There is an English version available.

If you want, I can burn a few of the DVDs, add labels and return them to you.

Thank you. -- Justin

Both Justin and Keith offer the simplest solution of making the copies on your own, but if you are interested in just sending the disc away and getting a 'bunch' back, I have someone I can ask.

While most people have a 'plumbing guy' or an 'electrical guy' that they can call when needed, I have a 'video guy'. I should really work on completing a full roster of helpful people...

I now have two offers of help.

Where I am confused is where to go from here. I can get a DVD from whoever helps which I can hopefully copy using my Windows software. I don't want to do it myself if there is someone who can get it done without enduring the learning curve.

What about mass distribution? Production is impractical doing it in the one-at-a-time mode.

Should RRTC buy a bunch once we know we have a usable DVD?

Bright ideas, anyone?

Keith,

I am mailing the original to Justin Kuo tomorrow. Once he has his go at doing something with it, I'll ask him to send it on to you after the 30th. You can then return it to me or maybe somebody else, if another offer appears.

Between the two of you we ought to be able to come up with something.

Any problems with this?

Best, Pete

Pete,
How many minutes long is the full video? What about the English portion?
If it isn't too long, you might be able to load it onto a video sharing site and you'd then have it distributed instantly.

The entire video is about an hour, with 2/3 being the French version. It has ten chapters: six French, three US, one static.

I'm sure someone more expert than I am can take it apart and do things with it, but I'm not the guy.