Many attorneys, paralegals and court reporters do not know what video formats are being used inside the courtroom. Many attorneys will order a DVD without really understanding what a DVD is or what a DVD can do. Simply put, a DVD is just a storage disk and it can be many different things depending on what is stored on it. DVD has pretty much completely taken over as the preferred delivery method for the legal community. A full day of videotaped deposition testimony can now fit on one DVD and be synced to the transcript.
There are two main formats that are delivered on DVD. The first is MPEG-2, the standard video format for making a DVD video disk. This is what an attorney usually means by “I’ll take a DVD.” The DVD video disk is limited, but can make a solid fixed presentation. A well authored DVD can have extensive menus and hours of video, images and graphics. Yet, its limitations are it can not be edited, meaning you need to have your presentation locked in before creating the DVD video disk. This format is useful when trial deposition designations have been agreed upon early in the case, for simple viewing or for making a video settlement brochure.
The second format is called a video text synchronized DVD. This is the format that you see in trial more and more these days. The talking head video with a few lines of text running underneath, precisely synced with the audio. Understanding the tools available on these disks can be a real game changer and money saver. A professionally synced DVD gives the user the ability to make video clips with ease, a simple drag and drop. After making clips the user can then watch the clips in a presentation mode, export the clips for emailing and export video clips directly into PowerPoint. You can also hyper-link exhibits to the transcript for viewing. It’s like an E-Tran on crack, fully search-able and editable video disk that can hold between 6 and 7 hours of good quality MPEG-1 video.
MPEG-1 is the chosen video format for text syncing and trial presentation. The reason is file size. Two hours of MPEG-2 video is over 4 gb, while two hours of MPEG-1 is barely over 1 gb. MPEG-1 encoding is based on saving file size by repeating pixels that do not change or move. This is the reason why MPEG-1 can be used in legal video. Meaning a deposition that will always have very little movement in the video frame can look very sharp when encoded to MPEG-1 by a video professional with professional equipment.
Another important part to these text synced DVDs is that they are ready to be imported to any trial presentation software. Trial Director, Visionary and Sanction are the three main players in the courtroom presentation programs. It is important to let the people handling your video text syncing know if you are using any of these software to manage your discovery. This will allow them to provide you with the correct files for importing into your case management software. You do not have to have case management software to take advantage of these tools, but you will be prepared when it comes time for trial.
Save invaluable trial time by having a witness always available and be able to edit the video “on the fly” when that last minute objection comes in, by having your videotaped depositions synchronized with the transcript. Being prepared is an attorneys best weapon in trial.