Mastering - an expensive and highly complex technical process!

In the glass mastering process, a round glass plate is coated with photo-resist using a laser. The resist is exposed from the inside outwards in a spiral movement, with the length of exposure corresponding to the digital data on the input CD/DVD.

The exposed glass master is developed using the chemical NaOH, rinsing off the exposed resist.

Indentations are made, a bit like those in a waffle iron, and these are known as 'pits', which can be read at a later stage by the laser in a CD or DVD drive, and transformed into digital music and images.

The master which has been created is metallized with nickel, so that it can go on to be processed during electroforming to form a stamper for the injection moulding machines.

Mastering a CD/DVD takes several hours, depending on the amount of data and the checking procedures.

OK Media has an ultra-modern proprietary system called Singulus Mastering, with the latest generation optics and encoding and a 900GB server capacity.

We use Eclipse ImageAnalysis and ImageVerify software, working round the clock allowing us to manufacture up to 50 masters a day.

We can process the following input media:

Input Media
CD, CD-R, DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD–R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, if possible no CD-RW, DVD–RW, DVD+RW, no incremental CD-R, Exabyte tapes, DLT III-, DLT IV-, SDLT1-tapes, compatible with DLT 2000-, DLT 4000-, DLT 8000-, SDLT 320-, SDLT220-, VS80-, DLT1–drives, via ftp-OK Media Server, DDP or CMF images on external, USB or FireWire hard discs, with clear marking/order also on CD-R or DVD-R, DAT via the Nortorf plant, other media by arrangement.

Inner hub text
up to 26 characters, a logo can be added by arrangement (max. dimensions c. 150x50 pixels)

Barcode
max. 20 characters!

If you have any further questions about this, please contact:
Axel Zimmerman, Dipl-Ing. (MSc), Head of Mastering
Tel: 0049 (0) 38847 – 29 350
email: azimmermann@ok-medien.de