Questions about DVD WS 2.0 and dual-layer

[pennstat]

One of the things that has always been an issue with dual-layer, commerical DVDs (DVD-9) is that switching layers results in a "pause" while the player switches layers. Most DVD-9s also put a warning about the layer change on the back of the box. So I did some research into DVD DL authoring to get more information about that. Since the Ulead BBS doesn't have much, I went to the web. The one thing that I have found during my searches is to let "the application" select where the layer change occurs. I'm not comfortable with that at all.

How does DVD WS with the new 2.232 patch handle layer changes? I've downloaded the patch, but I have not installed it or tried to burn a DL disc yet. I'd rather go into it as informed as possible since dual-layer DVDs are still very expensive relative to their single layer counterparts.

Also, what about authoring a DVD-DL disc on one PC but writing it on another? For reasons that are not worth going into at the moment, my main authoring PC is in my basement, but my new DVD DL writer is upstairs in one of the PCs in my computer room. Can I create an ISO image or VIDEO_TS directory on my video editing system and have it write to the DL drive upstairs while maintaining a layer change as asked above? (Gigabit network, so that's not an issue. )

My real fear is that DVD WS doesn't let me put the layer break where I want it do go or that I should just "trust the application". I don't want to do that where my work and reputation are at stake. (Fine, just call me a controll freak.) I write my discs through Nero, if that makes a difference.

So, can anyone allay my concerns regarding DVD WS and dual-layer?

[Devil]

I'm also in limbo, as I don't consider DL is worth it for projects < 2-2½ hours and since obtaining a DL burner, all my projects have been shorter. However, my personal view is that I tend to agree with the "give the app its head" school, rather than trying to force the changeover at a spot, with the risk that you may overrun the capacity of one or the other layer. Modern players do not pause between layers. The disk read speed and buffer take you easily over the "gap" where the head adjusts itself. On my older player (c. 1999), I can just discern the pause if I look hard (~2 or 3 frames hesitation) but not at all on my newer one (c. 2004).

However, as I said, I have no experience with home-brewed DLs.