CD & DVD Authoring

We have experience in authoring multimedia CD-ROMs using Adobe Director, former clients including the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and PW Image Studio. If you want to deliver text, images, video, audio and interactive content the CD-ROM is still the cheapest option for delivering material offline. We can even program CD-ROMs with an automatic web update feature to keep content fresh.

DVDs allow up to 2 hours of full quality video and we have experience of editing video and authoring DVDs for the Third Age Project and West Euston Time Bank. This format is less suitable for interactive content, though DVD-ROMs allow this if you know your audience will be viewing on computers.


Blu-ray discs are the format of choice for HD video, and the good news is that the AACS licensing fee for these was reduced by 50% in 2009 to $1,000 per title (see dvd-intelligence.com). This applies to replication only, and if you know exactly what hardware your audience is going to be using then duplication is an option (e.g. for playback on the Sony PS3 game console, Sony BDPS300, Sony BDP-S350, and Samsung BD-P 1500 Blu-ray players), with no licensing fee and a similar authoring fee to DVDs.


How We Work

At an initial consultation we will discuss your requirements, and collect any necessary files. If you live outside the vicinity of London or Cambridge it may be more convenient to communicate by phone, email, and Skype.


To minimise your costs we can suggest ways in which you can prepare material for us. For example, we can supply you with a simple program, PT-VidWidget, for selecting the best clips from a collection of video files, as often this is the most time consuming part of video editing. If footage has been shot on a camcorder rather than professional camera it's not necessarily a problem, we can correct for low light levels and washed out colours.


Before starting we will agree a schedule for the work, consisting of (1) a Design Approval Date, (2) an Editorial Check Date, and (3) the Final Disk Duplication Date.


Workflows for DVD Production

Show details

Option 1

You participate in the first stage of video editing, ensuring only appropriate footage is used and reducing the hours we bill for.


Advantages: Cost saving
Disadvantages: More work for you


1. Video camera files transferred to PixelTiger via 16GB USB stick or similar media
2. We convert video files to .mp4 and return them to you with our
PT-VidWidget application
3. Using PT-VidWidget you choose the video files (or parts of files) to be used
4. We edit approved video clips to produce DVD version 1
(Design Approval Date)
5. You check DVD version 1 and advise us of any amendments
6. We implement amendments, produce DVD version 2, which you check (Editorial Check Date)
7. After final amendments we send you DVD version 3. Upon approval we send this as master for...
8. Disk duplication or replication...
typical price for duplicating & printing 500 DVD-R = £365 + VAT (£0.73 each)

Option 2

You give us general guidelines on which video footage to use, which gives us greater scope for creativity but also increases our total hours.


Advantages: Less work for you, potentially more creative product
Disadvantages: More expensive


1. You give us video camera files together with written instructions on what footage to use
2. We edit approved video clips to produce DVD version 1
(Design Approval Date)
3. You check DVD version 1 and advise us of any amendments
4. We implement amendments, produce DVD version 2, which you check (Editorial Check Date)
5. After final amendments we send you DVD version 3. Upon approval we send this as master for...
6. Disk duplication or replication...
typical price for duplicating & printing 500 DVD-R = £365 + VAT (£0.73 each)

Prices in detail


Job Type Price
CD-ROM from £500
DVD from £1,000
Blu-ray from £1,250

Prices quoted here do not include disk duplication/replication or travel costs for client meetings.