[Alex Alexzander]

Use of the DVD Video logo is not automatic because you are replicating. A DVD-R is a DVD-ROM, and thus never going to have the Video logo. But replication doesn’t imply you get the logo rights either. Either you must have the right, or as a pass-through, your replicator must.

Check with your replicator and ask if you can use the logo when using their replication services.

From the DVD FLLC

—-

There are limited instances in which the Logo may be used by non-licensees. They may include:

1. Journalists and publishers who wish to use the Logo in connection with news stories/articles about DVD and/or the DVD Format;

2. Speakers and panelists who wish to use the Logo in their presentation materials at seminars; and

** Video productions, authoring studios, contents providers

If they use DVD FLLC

[Alex Alexzander]

Encore offers what everyone else offers. You flag for CSS, and your replicator stamps CSS encrypted DVDs. You flag it, they press it. Just remember, your replicator, not duplicator, is part of this effort. If you are burning DVD-Rs, you do not have this option. You need to be able to flag the project in Encore, then write to DLT, then have it stamped if CSS is what you want. Even then, there are lots of free applications on the web that will cut through CSS like a hot butter knife through butter. That doesn’t mean everyone out there uses such applications, but it does mean, if teh user is somewhat savy, CSS won’t stop them.

-Alex

[Alex Alexzander]

I own one, and I think it is great.

The Double Layer LightScribes only do 2.4x while most these days do 4x. Some are said be on the way that will do 6x. 2.4x vs 4x for double layer isn’t really much of an issue at all in terms of speed.

As for +R and -R, the recorder does 16x for +R and 8x for -R.

I have teh external model which sells at newegg for just $134. Considering it comes with a FireWire/USB case, and the drive, it’s better than a fair value even without teh LightScribe function.

LightScribe uses a coated a disc surface in conjuction with the hardware’s laser to create a gray-scale “scribed” surface on the media. That means you must buy LightScribe surfaced media. It’s about $18 for a package of 30 CD-Rs, and about that for a package of 10 DVD-R 8x DVDs. So the media cost more. You can use any media you want mind you. You just can’t scribe it, unless it has the LightScribe surface, and that’s what you pay extra for in those media prices.

It can burn simple text labels in a couple minutes, but an entire surface can easily consume 15 minutes or even 30 minutes depending on the speed of the write; 1x or 2x.

I bought one because it was so close in price to a regular drive, I thought, what the heck. It’s just an additional feature to have, even if you rarely use it.

-Alex

[Alex Alexzander]

The information does not need to go to the end of the DVD+R DL. Layer 0 simply must be greater than layer 1. If you have a project that is say 5.6 GBs in total for example, you can set the layer-break so that it does not go to the edge of the DVD and still create a situation where layer 0 is larger than layer 1.

You are experiencing a freeze because the layer-break is likely not properly setup.

Here is a good How To article that will help you better understand the layer-break issue.

https://www.gearsoftware.com/support/documentation/dvdvideobreakpoint.cfm

In section three, there is a section I would revise a bit.

See this image from Gear’s site:

https://www.gearsoftware.com/support/documentation/images/LayerBreakCell.JPG

STC discontinuity is not the same things as unselecting the cell for seamless playback. If you look at the cell number on their example, it says the cell value is 10.

https://www.editorsbin.com/posts/pgcedit/cell_type_flags.gif

Here is a Cell value table which shows that Seamless Joint holds a value of 8. Seamless Joint is seamless playback. At the layer break, this needs to be removed. If you have a cell value of 10, and you remove the seamless playback, you will be left with a value of 2.

In IFOEdit, double-click on the cell value and change it from 10 to 2, and that will remove the seamless joint.

https://www.editorsbin.com/posts/ifoedit/ifo_edit_seamless_cell.gif

See this image above.

Here my cell value is 2, and I get that from having the STC set to on, and the Seamless playback linked in PCI set to No, or Off. The only bit that is on in this situation is STC, so the value is 2.

Everything else in the How To is fine. I would say look for a cell value of 2, or change a value of 8 or 10 into a value of 2 to setup the condition correctly.

I’ll work with Gear later to make sure they change this little oversight.

-Alex

[Alex Alexzander]

Hi Bob,

I used Apple’s DVDAccess for a while, and it drove me insane. It’s a good attempt, but it just doesn’t work. So when I saw eDVD at $899, I contacted Sonic and begged for a reviewers copy. DVDAccess was such a popular function, but it would never be in wide spread use. Too many things the user has to do. I even wrote a DOS-based auto installer for DVDAccess.

So my doing a review for eDVD is payment in full. I am just happy to show anyone who needs those kinds of features the better, and surely easier way to do it. The fact that Sonic lowered the price to $599 and later $199 got me thinking it was time for anyone who authors DVDs to check this out.

eDVD is now on my radar because I just like the application so much. I wanted to do a review of version but I am on a project that consumes all my time at least into October of this year. I wanted to do an even bigger tutorial and review, but it just takes days to do it.

I wont be doing a review of it anytime soon. I have already used v4 in two projects. I didn’t go beyond what I normally would have done in version 3 though, so I have not really explored all that is new. I have a sheet someplace around here that says what the differences are, but I have not had the time to really throw a lot of time into it.

I know a lot of people write to me about DVDAccess issues, and so when I saw this $99 promo, I thought that’s just too good to pass up. Even people using very low cost authoring software ought to check this out for that price.

Thank you by the way for the very kind words. They are what keep me busy writing.

-Alex

[Alex Alexzander]

Sorry for the typo. “As in”.

My keyboard and I don’t get along sometimes. 🙂

-Alex

[Alex Alexzander]

I have not thrown a DVDLab disc through replication, but I can and will shortly. There are a few people on the DVDLab forum that throw their titles through replication quite often and have done so very successfully. Now as to why the Author of DVDLab Pro has text on his site that says you ought to stick with DVD Studio Pro for professional work, most of us feel that Oscar wrote that in the past, and has been too busy to remove it. I personally no longer think it is true. I did 18 months ago, but I don’t feel that way today.

Because of price, DVDLab Pro attracts a lot of kids, and because it offers to demux, and a lot of kids like to demux using alpha and beta software, they tend to run into problems and blame DVDLab Pro. Kids playing with authoring applications without knowing what they are doing are the worst poster-children for an application. In my opinion, they alone give it a bad name. I can take any authoring application and make nothing but coasters from it if I wanted to, and in their cases, if their not dealing with controlled media, that’s what they will do.

Real authors that really encode their own footage, will always have less if any problems than kids extracting MPEGs from VOBs of commercial DVDs. The problem is, both of these very different authors currently share the same forums, and so its difficult to get a read on what’s real and what isn’t real because on the one hand, you have skilled authors using it; sharing experiences, and on another hand, you have users that can’t operate Nero trying to make a go of it, and they have a completely different experience to share. Both of these groups share the same forum, and will confuse a passer by. The kids will often have screwed up MPEG streams and they will run around crying all day about how something doesn’t work correctly, when in fact, they lack the skill, resources, or both to author correctly.

Now, there are things you should know prior to buying DVDLab Pro since you plan on going so directly into replication. DVDLab Pro is a great authoring application. That’s all it does. It doesn’t even have a place for you to add ROM content or to output to DLT for replication. In fact, you should use a $29 application called CopyToDVD to burn your DVDLab Pro project to DVD-R.

Other applications have all of those functions built right in, where as DVDLab Pro focuses on being a great authoring application. You must extend it using 3rd party applications. Now I bet this sounds kind of crazy to you, and I understand that completely. I love the idea, but many will not.

A little background

DVD Studio Pro used to have a difficult time creating DVD-9s for replication. Many users reported no problems at all, while a large percentage reported nothing but problems. This hit or miss caused many to look for a 3rd party way to do the pre-mastering, because the features DVD Studio Pro has are so good, they didn’t want to scrap the entire authoring application just because of this one setback.

Now, this problem got worse, and better at the same time. As new features of DVD Studio Pro came out, you had to ask yourself, should you upgrade, and get that new feature, because if you do, how will know if by doing so you wont end up in a situation where your DVD-9s don’t work again. You see, because new updates can make changes to both the pre-mastering ability, and the feature set at the same time, it made it that much harder to depend on the application overall. Fixing one bug might after all introduce another. This caused me to wish that authoring and pre-mastering be separate jobs for two separate applications. Let the authoring application do great authoring, and let another application do great pre-mastering.

This is how DVDLab Pro works. It does the authoring. It builds the project to the hard drive. You can use a snap in application (CopyToDVD) so that going from authoring to DVD-R media is just as seamless as every other DVD authoring application. That adds $29 to the price tag. I use the TMPGEnc encoder, pretty much just to get from Linear PCM to AC3 in the timeline of DVDLab. DVDLab doesn’t have an encoder. Now, most Non-Linear Editors do, so its not a problem.

There are tons of 3rd party encoders, and many have their own preference on what the best encoder is. So if you are using Pinnacle Liquid Edition for example, you can output directly from Pinnacle to MPEG2 (video), and WAV (PCM) from the timeline. You now have all that you need to successful author in Lab Pro. However, if you want to compress the PCM audio to AC3, that’s where another 3rd party application comes into play. That’s what I am talking about when I say I use the TMPGEnc encoder. That snaps into DVDLab Pro, and so right in the assets tab of DVDLab Pro, I can compress PCM to AC3. That’s $39 to $79 depending on the features you want from the TMPGEnc encoder.

Now, say you want to go to Dual Layer. Well, you have the build files after all, so take your pick. You could use Nero, or CopyToDVD, or any other application that formats a VIDEO_TS folder to a DVD+R DL disc. I like to use Gear Pro Mastering Edition, which is $399. The reason for this is, I can set a precise layer break in Gear, and I can use that to make a Double Layer DVD+R, or my DLTs for replication. In addition to that, I have all the other features Gear offers. One of which is going from DLT tape image to DVD-R. A handy feature to have. I can also use Gear to copy DVDs and CDs, and so many other great things. Gear is a great application to have anyway, so I don’t mind the cost at all.

What about adding that PCFriendly ROM content you see on professional Hollywood DVDs? That you can do with Sonic’s eDVD. That also works with the build files. That is your VIDEO_TS folder. eDVD is just $199.

So as you can see, DVDLab Pro is the foundation. You edit with your editor. You encode with your encoder. You author with DVDLab Pro. You output with CopyToDVD or any DVD burning application you like. You pre-master with Gear, or for DVD-5 titles, just turn those into your replicator. Most all of them will gladly take a DVD-R for DVD-5.

I hope I have given you a very fair view of what Lab Pro is like. Now, moving along to the rest of the question.

My thought on Sonic’s ReelDVD is that no one has done a good enough job reviewing it to really tell it like it is, and I have not played with it. I have some second hand word of mouth, that it authors all your tracks and menus into one video title set. If that works for you, grab it. I’ll ask Sonic for a copy some time in the future, and do a really hardcore review of it at that time. Everything I have seen on the free web is just paragraphs of useless information. A good review is needed. One that doesn’t care how long it takes to explore the application and articulate its ability or lack there of. So I reserve judgment until that time.

Now, for a bit of speculation. Sonic charges a lot more for DVD Producer than ReelDVD, and I use Producer. I really like Producer. It’s like a Jr. DVD Studio Pro, without scripting capabilities. It feels like a more functional face on the DVDit Engine if you ask me. Let me break that down.

DVDit! is a $299 application. It does MPEG2/WAV(PCM) audio. No DLT functions. DVDIt has a strange way of doing menus, which is a lot like how Encore DVD does their menus. Rather than an overlay, you have these elements that together create the subpicture. In my opinion, its great for the beginner, lousy for the pro.

Encore DVD is a $349 application. It is based on DVDit, so it has the clunky feel of menu design that DVDit has, but it also adds AC3 audio, and DLT functions, which DVDit does not have.

Here comes the mud…

Then Comes Sonic DVD Producer, which I believe is $1,199 and up depending on encoder. This is a lot like Encore DVD and DVDit, but the menu design uses standard principles. A background and overlay. That is my preferred way to make a DVD menu. It has AC3, and DLT functions. Producer can also use Sonic’s encore cards making it a real-time solution. The funny thing is, Encore has a slightly better presentation then Producer. But, the menu process in Producer wins it for me. Id rather author in Producer then Encore. No doubt about it for me.

Switching platforms for a second, we go to DVD Studio Pro. $499, and you get a lot of bang for the buck. Too many features to begin to mention here. This application does almost everything. It has one big setback though. All of it is done via an abstraction layer to make the application easy to use. It’s very hard to discount DVD Studio Pro. It’s feature-set is just that good. You can create conditional navigation, and interactivity through the use of scripting. It support PCM, AC3, and DTS. It comes with its own encoders with the exception of DTS. It has the best simulator I have ever used, and that makes learning to script a lot easier. As a result, you can take yourself pretty far with DVD Studio Pro. I’ve been using it for years, and I’ll likely keep on using it for years to come.

DVD Studio Pro takes you so far into the pro area, that soon you find out that you want to go even further, but all the applications that are better start in the multi thousand dollar range.

Oddly enough, this is where the $199 DVDLab Pro comes in. You have access to placing your menus where you want them. Not so in DVDSP or any of the above mentioned applications. None of the above application give you access to the PGCs pre- and post-commands either, which is far more effective for conditional scripting. Its as if someone decided to make Scenarist Jr for $199. It doesn’t make sense, but that’s what it is. It doesn’t have the built in encoders, or the DLT writing abilities. But then I like those separate for all the reasons I already mentioned. There is a very light abstraction layer to DVDLab, and you can modify it at will or even exclude it all together. It can be quite easy to use if used to do basic things, but it can grow with you as you decide to get more creative with it.

Which authoring application to use is a hard question to answer. It really depends on you. I know editors for example that love iDVD. I like it too for a lot of good reasons. They have DVD Studio Pro, but basically use it like iDVD. They just want the more templates. Some will never script, so much of DVD Studio Pro’s true power is wasted on said users.

For many Sonic Producer is perfection. Easy to learn, and easy to use, yet it has real-time abilities, and uses standards in menu creation. A great all around authoring application that lets creative people focus on being creative, and not authoring gurus.

Others want to do all kinds of crazy things that just can’t be done. They blame the authoring applications when really most of the issues are just the limitation of the DVD spec itself, just like my walking on water goes against basic physics. I’d love to walk on water, but I want waste any roaming charges calling God and giving the all mighty an earful for this limitation. Still others will waste time getting upset with what can’t be done. Still, some applications and people are so creative together, that they can find a good middle-ground.

So the question is a good one. Not one I can answer. If the vendor offers a free trial, why not take them up on it, and join a forum and ask questions. See what fits the bill for you. You want to go to replication, so look for good layer break, and DLT support. Talk to those that replicate, and ask them what issues they face. No matter what you choose today, you’ll change your mind later anyway. Why do suppose so many authors know so many authoring applications? We keep looking for something better. There are no mistakes. Just good choices and later, even better and more informed choices.

-Alex

[Alex Alexzander]

Encore DVD is not horrible software. It just needs a few more basic features is all.

Encore is strongly tied to Photoshop, and uses an odd method of creating menus that is easy if you already understand Photoshop’s layer palette. Once you get past that, their method makes it easy to make lots of adjustments.

See this image:

https://www.editorsbin.com/posts/cow/buttons_encore.gif

I prefer to work in the way most authoring applications work where I create the subpitcure overlay. I like that method, because it is so easy to work with almost any outside application when making motion menus, and looping menus. Adobe Encore DVD makes things easier when you consider that you have a lot of nice integration with their other applications. However, I like to think of DVD authoring as a completely separate task, that should be done, almost all by itself in a standard sort of way. The benefit to this is that as you switch from one authoring application to the next, you take what you have learned with you.

It’s not uncommon for DVD authors to know several authoring applications, and use them when authoring in different situations. I like that my motion assets made for DVD Studio Pro for example, work in DVDLab Pro, because both use the same standard for background and overlay. Sonic’s Producer is the same way, so all of these applications can be used with exactly the same preparation.

The other big issue with Encore in my opinion, is the VTS order.

See Image:

https://www.editorsbin.com/posts/adobe_encore_dvd/vts_order.jpg

Here I have the Project window opened, and I used TFDVDEdit in this image to show how the VTS order is defined in Encore. When you import a track asset in Encore, the first one is always VTS1. The second one is always VTS 2, and so on. Say you are creating a DVD-9 and you want to author two separate episodes each of them 50 minutes in length. This is the perfect candidate for setting a layer break in a dummy track between the two episodes so that the viewer never actually has to visually pass over the layer break. If they watch episode 1 for example, and the layer break is set in the small VTS that is after that episode, then they never see the break. If they watch episode 2, and that starts in the VTS after the layer break, then they again, they never see the layer break.

Now in order to pull that off, you need to be able to say that you want the intro, the montage, the extras, on VTS1, 2, and 3 for example, and episode 1, on VTS4. Then you create VTS 5, add a 2 minute black track and set a layer break in the middle of that track, that being VTS 5. Next, create a VTS6 and add episode 2 to that. Now in your menus, you call upon VTS1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. You never call VTS 5 because it is just there to serve as an island where the layer break will be created.

Another reason for VTS order even in a DVD-5 is so that I can tell the authoring application I want my longest playing asset to be the last VTS. That way, I have faster access to the other smaller assets because they have less distance to cover when going from menu to asset, and back.

In Encore, you can’t adjust this simple property. You will see this come up on Adobe’s forums all the time. Many people will have their own reasons for wanting the track layed in a certain order. I think it is important for faster navigation, and setting the layer break where I want it.

In DVDSP for example, like the Project view in Encore DVD, you have an Outline view, and just altering the order of that outline view alters the order the VTSs are muxed into the final DVD. In Encore, the Project view has no such authority. What ever order you imported in, is what you are stuck with. If you want to change that order, you have to start a new project, and be careful as to what order you imported the items.

See my image, I have the Main Title as VTS1, and I should be able to move it to VTS 5, but I cannot.

Another issue is that Encore lacks any kind of scripting, and it is basically the same as Sonic Producer, and Sonic DVDIt, with a better face on it. It does cost little, and it does write to DLT, which DVDIt does not, and it can use AC3 which Sonic DVDit cannot. So it has a couple feature DVDIt does not have, but that’s about it. It’s not horrible, but it could stand some improvements at the same time. Perhaps Adobe has some improvements around the corner since they showed nothing at NAB.

You have probably read me slamming Encore, and I wanted to say I don’t hate the application. I just think it needs a lot of improvements. It does have one thing going for it. Once you master its menu editing, you can make a nice menu with it, and its sister applications like Premiere and After Effects. I just think it is easier to do motion menus the standard way, and those standards also make use of After Effects, and any other compositing application out there.

-Alex

[Alex Alexzander]

Personally, I don’t think these super low end ones are worth it. There is a wide difference in price between companies. Some people will pay $800 to $1,250 for a MiniDV based job with a main menu and a chapter menu. If you want motion menus, it can start to go up to $1,500 per menu for the artwork alone.

Other formats cost more and varying encoders then come into play. I mean, if someone has a D5 master and wants a DVD, its another issue. How will the artist create the cover wrap, and disc art? Do we have to go back to film to get a good shot for the artwork or was a photographer on location taking high resolution images in anticipation of the artwork needed later for the cover, ad slicks, and so on.

I mention all that because, just spending time on the artwork for the Amaray case and film output for the prints alone is going to cost around a $60 to $140 each alone. It requires that someone knows layout pretty well too. If you have to be someone who already knows a little about print design and layout, you’re that much better off.

Software encoders are rarely faster than real-time, and good encodes take a while in software. You have to be ready to accept varying formats from your clients, and be ready to encode them quickly. Factor in the menu, if there is even to be a menu, and the time it takes to format the DVD, and send it. Then you have the overhead of even dealing with the client in the first place. All of this has to be paid for by the client.

So in doing the math, you will find two things.

1. Your price.
2. You belief in its viability

In other words, will the client get value from what you need to charge for you to be able to provide this service to your client?

[Alex Alexzander]

I don’t recall any limitations.

Go for it.

-Alex