Video on DVD can be played on a DVD player, the type most people have at home with their TV, and on most new computers but not all.

A DVD played on a computer will show the whole widescreen frame while a DVD player and its monitor will crop the edges by various amounts depending on the type.

Consequently when we edit for DVD we have to leave a “safe” area around the edge which may not be viewed by everyone. Obviously words and graphics have to be contained within the area guaranteed to be seen by everyone. Even in these circumstances you have to ensure the monitor is set up correctly or you may lose important information.

As with commercial DVDs they can be programmed with an interactive menu of choices and individual programmes can be split into chapters so users can skip directly to the sections they want to view.

The capacity of a DVD means it can contain up to two hours on a one-sided disc. By using specialised discs information can be recorded on both sides extending the video content to three and a half hours at reasonable quality.