DVD funcationality online?

[64mulford]

Hi all, 

Every 2 years I am involved in producing a DVD of a major dance competition featuring thousands of dancers in over 30 different teams. What I usually do is have a simple 2 camera set up, multi cam edit the footage together and put onto a DVD with a menu and ability to play all, choose to watch a specific night, or select a specific group to watch. On top of that there were bonus sections with photo slideshows, and bts footage. The DVD is vital to the financial success of the festival - they sell over a thousand copies, and without that they'd be running at a loss.

We have reached the point now where maybe DVD isn't the answer. I have been saying for the last few years that we will need to find an alternative method for delivery due to the decline in the DVD medium, I feel that this is the year we do it but what are the alternatives?

Is there anything out there (online) that allows menus, skipping, chapter selection, bonus etc AND is something you can get people to pay for!? 

And yes, I have thought about YouTube annotations but lacks that purchasing ability.

 

[Tim Sewell]

https://videodirect.amazon.com/home/landing - not sure if this will offer everything you need - but it may get close.

[fuzzynormal]

I use Vimeo Pro. VOD.  

Any title you put on the service can have "bonus features". These bonus videos could be segregated clips of your production. 

The last title I listed had 5 extra bonus clips. They're easy to see and access on a browser or streaming device. 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Mediazilla offers similar functionality via an internet link

[Zak Forsman]

VHX.com is what I use to sell our films direct to fans. you can sell from their site or use their service through your own site. for example, at http://artisentertainment.com the links labeled "powered by VHX".

[Nikkor]

Maybe there is some kind of HDMI dongle that is cheap, just a random idea.

[Kisaha]

DVD will never die! People still need physical proofs of their buy. Why don't you give password protected USB sticks, and send the password 12 hours after the end of the festival? Better than writing 1000 DVDs.

[rdouthit]

13 hours ago, Kisaha said:

DVD will never die! People still need physical proofs of their buy. Why don't you give password protected USB sticks, and send the password 12 hours after the end of the festival? Better than writing 1000 DVDs.

If you're going to do passwords and a digital download of the video, just use Vimeo Pro to set up a PWD protected video download. You can use pwd-protected albums (with a single password) if every attendee gets access. Where I live hardly anyone uses DVD anymore, so for school events they're useless. Commercially, our DVD sales fell off a cliff by 2010 -- there wasn't enough volume to justify producing them (and we have a 4-drive robotic duplicator... now gathering dust.)

Or if you need to do individual sales, use Vimeo VOD and distribute discount cards at the event that gives attendees %off for a set period of time after the event. With Vimeo they can then easily watch it on mobile, desktop and even some set-top box solutions using the Vimeo app. It also promotes the option, gives a timely call to action and is secured. With a key drive, regular consumers will be extremely limited in how they watch it. Some may just upload it to YouTube.

I've used almost every service. I have videos currently available on iTunes, Amazon, and many other platforms. For what you describe, Vimeo Pro is probably the best solution. 

[Kisaha]

@rdouthit 

Where do you live? Here, the grand parents and parents they do not even know what Vimeo is, if you don't give them something they can hold, they do not understand the value of it, they know that a DVD is a DVD, they can take it, hold it, put it somewhere and see image in their TVs, which is the center of their entertainment, and usually their home.

The next thing they understand, is that a USB stick can connect to their TVs, or laptops (most they do not own a desktop anymore) and they can play some video files from there (they do not understand what video file, why, and how), saying this, I can not convince them of the differences between a full HD file on a USB stick, and a DVD disc, DVDs are here for more time, and easier to understand, for most of them, is just a flatter video tape.

Newer parents understand more of course, but when you have to do with the masses, the masses won, every time.

[rdouthit]

9 minutes ago, Kisaha said:

@rdouthit 

Where do you live? Here, the grand parents and parents they do not even know what Vimeo is, if you don't give them something they can hold, they do not understand the value of it, they know that a DVD is a DVD, they can take it, hold it, put it somewhere and see image in their TVs, which is the center of their entertainment, and usually their home.

The next thing they understand, is that a USB stick can connect to their TVs, or laptops (most they do not own a desktop anymore) and they can play some video files from there (they do not understand what video file, why, and how), saying this, I can not convince them of the differences between a full HD file on a USB stick, and a DVD disc, DVDs are here for more time, and easier to understand, for most of them, is just a flatter video tape.

Newer parents understand more of course, but when you have to do with the masses, the masses won, every time.

I'm in the Seattle area. I think you underestimate older users. If you give them a card that says "go to this web site" (you can make custom URLs for your VOD accounts) most will be able to accomplish the task. Though, maybe in your area things are different. That said, my larger experience is with international sales and in that area DVDs are long dead. 

9 minutes ago, Kisaha said:

@rdouthit

The next thing they understand, is that a USB stick can connect to their TVs, or laptops (most they do not own a desktop anymore) and they can play some video files from there (they do not understand what video file, why, and how), saying this, I can not convince them of the differences between a full HD file on a USB stick, and a DVD disc, DVDs are here for more time, and easier to understand, for most of them, is just a flatter video tape.

 

"So I can just use that USB stick on my iPad?" -- you see the issue here, right?

[Kisaha]

@rdouthit Yes, the Seattle area is one of the most advanced in the whole universe, while middle class (to lower) Greek is one of the least technologically advanced in Europe. iPads are a rare commodity around here, there is almost 50% unemployment and an average wage is close to 600-800$ with taxes eat most of that.

Anyways, this is a very interesting topic, and still am not sure how we go in the present (and near future) for delivering to customers. I will look at Vimeo Pro, but I am not sure this is the final solution.

[rdouthit]

3 minutes ago, Kisaha said:

@rdouthit Yes, the Seattle area is one of the most advanced in the whole universe, while middle class (to lower) Greek is one of the least technologically advanced in Europe. iPads are a rare commodity around here, there is almost 50% unemployment and an average wage is close to 600-800$ with taxes eat most of that.

Anyways, this is a very interesting topic, and still am not sure how we go in the present (and near future) for delivering to customers. I will look at Vimeo Pro, but I am not sure this is the final solution.

That's a good point. My family is from Croatia (g-grandparents, but I still have family I'm in touch with over there), and the older generation there doesn't even own a computer in most cases.

It is a struggle. VHS sucked, but at the time EVERYONE had one. Lol.