What DVD authoring package would you recommend?

[Taliska]

Hi all,

Sonic, Nero, something else...

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Taliska

[Dr Mordrid]

At what level?

For beginners something like DVD MovieFactory 2, Pinnacles Expression or Power DVD

For intermediates who have their own MPEG encoder (TMPGEnc will do) it's hard to beat DVD-Lab at just $79.

For pros DVD Workshop AC3 or ReelDVD are favorites, though ReelDVD has no built in MPEG or AC3 encoder and requires separate audio and video files.

DVDiT should be off your list as it's just a mess.

Dr. Mordrid

[Taliska]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply - I knew you'd have some advice, Dr Mordrid, and I'm glad you're online!

I got the Panasonic drive and Matrox RT.X10 and they came with two Sonic offerings, MyDVD and DVDit! SE. I thought that I'd try them out tonight, but realised very quickly that they weren't brilliant.

I'm a beginner at this DVD game and I'd like a package that I can grow into with time and practice.

I'd like to be able to put my home video on the DVD (now that can't be hard!) and on the same disk, put on slideshows of all those digital pictures that one takes. Just to complete the set, it would be useful to be able to put all the raw jpegs as data on the disk, so that everything is in the same place.

I'm thinking that the 500 odd pictures of our holiday will bore the pants off people (including me) in no time at all, so I'd like to put all the pictures on the disk and then define a few pathways through the mass, so having themes like 'Everything', 'Just the Best', 'Scenery', 'Transport', 'Family', 'Animals' etc etc

I think that my requirements on the video front will be quite simple (when I get Premiere to work.) I'd edit the couple of hours of footage down to 1/2 hour or so and stick that on the disk.

Sounds like quite a few packages available... would one fit the bill particularly well?

Thanks for you help.

Taliska

[Taliska]

Hi,

Searched the web for the ones you mentioned...

Looks like DVD-Lab then - seems like the author(s) are really keen about their product and it looks very flexible.

Had a quick peek at ReelDVD - hummm $699 price tag puts that one beyond reach (even when translated to 'pounds, shillings and pence'.

Taliska

[Ted222]

Ulead just dropped the price of DVDWS (AC3) by quite a bit.

Ted

[Dr Mordrid]

Yup. DVDWS AC3 is now $299 boxed and $279 download.

You can always tell when an upgrade is coming, can't you? Expect news in Q4.

Don't worry Jack; someone at Ulead spilled the beans on the timetable earlier today.

Dr. Mordrid

[Ted222]

I will be in for the upgrade, whatever the improvements are. DVDWS has been very good for me.

Ted

[Brambus]

IMHO
DVDlab is unbeatable at 79$ if you are not a pro.
If you don't use multi language or more than one set of subtitles
it will do everything at a fraction of the price of all the Sonic and Pinnacle line of products.
DVDWS seems to me the only viable alternative but I don't like his interface.
Some cons:
it needs external encoding and has no audio preview.
I use it without problem (DVDs from holiydays DV movie)
Brambus

[Taliska]

So I've spent the last hour or so downloading DVD-lab. I've read bits of the help file, but I can't see any easy way of setting up a slideshow of still pictures?

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Taliska

[Taliska]

Look harder and you'll find the answers to your own question...

Looks like Version 1.3 Beta 2 has a Slideshow added (and fixed a bit)

Will download and see how it works.

Fingers crossed.

Taliska

[Debbie]

Try TMPGenc DVD Author. It is now very much improved.

[Jerry Jones]

[i]I got the Panasonic drive[/B]

For working with Panasonic drives, it's tough to beat Ulead's software.

1. DVD PictureShow 2 - Great DVD slideshows!

http://www.ulead.com/dps/runme.htm

2. DVD MovieFactory 2 - Video + Slideshows

http://www.ulead.com/dmf/runme.htm

3. DVD WORKSHOP AC-3

Pro-level DVD authoring:

http://www.ulead.com/dws/ac3.htm

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Taliska]

Thanks Jerry for more input...

There seem to be several products from Ulead - it's difficult to know which one to get.

There's DVD PictureShow 2 that makes both slideshows and video and then there's DVD MovieFactory 2 that does both video and slideshows.

But is one better?

I'd like good slideshows and good video (source material / editing skills permitting) on one DVD - but one package looks as if it has a bias one way, and the other package has the bias the other way.

Would they both work together? (I'd guess not here!)

Thanks,

Taliska

[Jerry Jones]

DVD PictureShow 2 is best for people who want to *primarily* publish still image slideshows on discs with an occasional video.

DVD MovieFactory 2 is best for people who want to *primarily* do video discs - with an occasional still image slideshow.

They are excellent as companion products.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Taliska]

Jerry,

Downloaded DVD Pictureshow 2 Trial version - I really did like the fades between pictures! It converts stills to movies to do that trick - so I presume that will take more space on the disk than a straight stills picture show ???

I think the lack of a comprehensive menu structure hasn't endeared me to the package.

I was about to download the DVD MovieFactory 2, but alas my time limited 56k (ha, ha) connection can't cut the mustard and I won't be able to download that one at home. (Where is ADSL around here?) Unfortunately I can't get to the documentation page for the product either.

Do you know if you can 'lift' the slideshows that DVD PictureShow creates and reuse them with other authoring packages? Having said that, 2 packages start to become a bit closer to the DVD Workshop product in price.

Taliska