Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

DVDs created on burners are not archival - they will become unreadable after some years. I think the flash drive is a much better option. Also, DVDs are about to go the way of the CD, 3.5" and 5.25" and 8" floppy drives, 8 track and cassette tapes, VHS, Betamax, Hi8, DVC and other media that was once popular and nearly universal.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

The problem with your solution is that it puts the responsibility on the customer, which is exactly the wrong way to run any business. What should be done, as has been suggested by others here, is to make it as seamless for the customer as humanly possible. You do not give the customer the responsibly of acquiring a CD/DVD drive. That's just plain terrible customer service. It's an example of the way many small outfits drive themselves out of business. As a very successful owner of several auto dealerships wisely said, "The customer may not always be right but s/he is always the customer." Words to live by.

>Alan

RER

I agree with the USB responses. You can buy small capacity USB drives in bulk at fairly affordable prices. But even the bulk rate is significantly more than a dvd. Good luck at school this year. Sounds like you enjoy what you do.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

My last computer that I bought I made sure that it had a DVD drive. I am not all the hip on all of the progress that is made eliminating some tried and true sources. When I talked to my son about a problem I was having he stated that he did not have a DVD drive in his most recent purchases. Puzzled, I asked for an explanation. He said he did not need it. Immediately some of the uses came rushing to my memory and I thought what about the rare occasion that it would be necessary. He was not bothered, saying he could work around it. I am still not convinced.

bschafer

One other nice thing about a usb drive is that you could get a business card like drive and customize it for your organization. Not advocating this company just using it as an example. https://www.customusb.com/micro-flip-usb-wallet-card/

aellman Loc: Boston MA

I wholeheartedly agree. I recently bought an HP Pavilion laptop. As you did, I made sure to order a model with a multi-disk drive. I have already had several occasions when it came in really handy. >Alan

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Check out Pro Show at photodex.com. You can output to various media. I always use USB's to plug into my TV or you can do DVD's and BluRay's. They have a free trial download and lots of examples and tutorials. I use Pro Show Gold, about $80 for a download.

timcc Loc: Virginia

Agree that thumb drives are the way to go, at least until USB connections become obsolete.

pahtspix

I purchased an dvd/cd reader/writer made by LG and has a usb connection!..around $20 USD at Best buy!

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Have you considered putting the finished movie into, say, Dropbox, then sending the link to the students (or their parents) after payment? They can then download the movie directly to whatever gadget they use to watch it, make their own DVD, attach laptop to TV, or whatever.
Another option may be to put it on and SD card; many TV sets today accept those.

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

Go to "pens.com" and get 4gb thumb drives with your info/advertisement on them.
We used to buy them for a sales aid and the price is not bad.

bigguytf

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

About another issue you raised:
Have you checked with your school's attorney to be sure what you are doing is legal? Have you thought about whether it is safe? Selling pictures of children (or even just giving them away) without parental permission can be dangerous legally as well as providing a treasure trove for child molesters and other bad people.

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

I think the answer is to post the movies on multiple sites for viewing
We videographers use Vimeo. Youtube is the powerhouse. Their tech is
friendly for all kinds of playback. Thumb drives that are quality are cheap theses
days but when you need a lot of them well not cheap.

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

The post about legal online is a very good point. Most people have no problem
with the media being online. You could put the video on vimeo and put a password
on it for families to view. This is easy to do. I pay 10 bucks a month on Vimeo
and I can limit who see's it or copies it. Most of us video guys use it. And their
mp4 files can be downloaded by the family. But access to view can be limited
to password. Easy to do on Vimeo. I have 66 videos thier.
Good luck.
PS I have a Big ballet school client. And she likes to post quick youtube videos
to attract customers for the school. My video for them had 100's of visits which
was people interested in thier kids going to great ballet school. This response number
was fine for me. They only have 250 students. My client posts quick youtube videos
to attract new business. One was of our young students doing extreme stretching
and yoga, pilates etc. She posted it and raved about a couple of thousand views.
I did not say to her that the most of the viewers were probably looking at these
young girls in tights in crazy positions. Complicated world we live in.