Ulead DVD Movie Factory...

mmitchell_houston · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2001 Location: Houston

Has anyone here used Ulead's DVD Movie Factory? The product sounds pretty dang good and I'm interested in getting it. I've already got enough editing tools (Premier, Video Wave, etc.). This sounds like it has some robust features (sound files in the background, chapter templates, two-tier menus).

Check out features at:
http://www.ulead.com/dmf/features.htm

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Mike Mitchell
Houston, Texas

video567 · Member Joined: 15 Aug 2000

im using it now. it rocks alot better than nero. very good qualities, but it could use alot of improvements. for example it doesnt let you change the font or size of the text. you also have to use their templates. so if you find a template that you like but only holds four pictures thats all you can use.. granted it will make more pages to add your thumbnails for the menues bt i like to be able to choose how many entry points perpage you could have. im also having trouble with it capturing video it stops after a while but i thinks its because my computer is so old. i work around it by capturing with my old program and then letting the dvd movie factory convert the movies to vcd format so thats no problem. i already made my first vcd with it of my wedding and i like the fact that i can add an intro explaining abit more about the video my logo and then goes staright to the menu pages with back ground music. i also like it saves the image of the vcd so you can go back and edit it or keep making more vcds if the need arises. its a pretty good app ints not a professional level program but to share home videos with family and friends it rocks.. looks nicer than the ones made by nero. plus you can also change the back ground image for your menus with your own images so thats a nice feature. again the only main problem i have is the templates i wish there where more options or an option to choose or create your own. or like nero if you dont want to have thumbnails of your videos tojust have the txts intead.. im sure in the next update it will be added. hope this helps you out some

mmitchell_houston · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2001 Location: Houston

Thank you very much. That's EXACTLY the sort of info I was looking for. I was planning on editing my clips elsewhere, so what I'm really interested in is a good-quality authoring program that lets me create menus and control the navigation. The bit about having to use their templates is a bit of a turn off, though. Does it come with lots of them and are they good?

Did you download it or buy it in a store? Does the store-bought version come with a printed manual? I'm thinking of picking it up soon -- the price is definitely right: $44.

Also, about something you said: you said you could add an intro, your logo, and then go to the menu. Do you mean you inserted a video clip, a still image, and then had it flow to the menu?

On the other hand, is there a better, more powerful tool for authoring VCD & SVCD menus?

Thanks again for the info!

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Mike Mitchell
Houston, Texas

ejai · member Joined: 13 Jun 2001 Location: New York USA

I also found that using Uleads DVD creation package a godsend. I was using nero to burn SVCD's that wouldn't play properly in my DVD player as well as some of my friends. After using this product I was able to apply menus and entry points that worked properly in all the DVD players that had previous problems playing it.

I like this product alot, and I found it to be hassle free and compatible with the DVD players that my friends have that are SVCD compatible.

I also agree that if I had more options in creating templates I would give this product 4 stars out of 5.

ej

mmitchell_houston · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2001 Location: Houston

Ejai,

Thanks a bunch for the comments. It's good to know that this produces SCVDs are easy to use and distribute, which is, of course, as important as its ease of use.

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Mike Mitchell
Houston, Texas

video567 · Member Joined: 15 Aug 2000

Quote:

Q: The bit about having to use their templates is a bit of a turn off, though. Does it come with lots of them and are they good?
A: ---- the program does come with many templates enough to find a use for all of them of a few of them. i wish more could be added or edited. but im sure in the future evrsions they will be better. Heck look at the dvd plug for video studio and media studio this is a major update

Q: Did you download it or buy it in a store? Does the store-bought version come with a printed manual? I'm thinking of picking it up soon -- the price is definitely right: $44.

A: --- as of now there is no store version. they havent done it yet. heck i even checked all over town before reading in their webpage that it was only available for download and the box verion should be out soon. the PDF manual though is not that big and you can pretty much use the program without reading the manuals. though highly recommended. gives you really good info

Q: Also, about something you said: you said you could add an intro, your logo, and then go to the menu. Do you mean you inserted a video clip, a still image, and then had it flow to the menu?

A: ----what i mean it lets you add an intro clips and i have a few intros i used that i made with my company logo and my nickname so when i insert my cd it automatically plays before the menus comes to the screen

Q: On the other hand, is there a better, more powerful tool for authoring VCD & SVCD menus?

A:--- i dont know other people recommend spruce up , reeldvd, and others but ive used spruce up but my dvd wont play mini dvds so i dont like it because of that. the only reason im into vcds is so i can share my home videos with friends and family and no one else i know their dvds will play mini dvds. so spruceup is out. Nero has been good to me has made my vcds since i first started in this hobby so ill always keep it around to burn cds and the occasional vcd. My dad has the roxio 5 and says is great for vcds but he has not sent me a vcd yet made by roxio so i can tell you how they look. he lives out of the country so i cant go and try the program myself either. so yes DVD movie factory is very good for vcds. In my opinion

JohnWestbury · Member Joined: 17 Oct 2001

It is good, (better than nero). Limited menu templates, but you can change the background image to your own.

You can have one mpeg as intro before menu.

can have ONE mpeg with chapters/entry points as menu items.

No multiple files. No other menus other than the one after the intro.(can be more than one page but still from the same clip)

worth the $45 (compared to other products) for ease and reliability.

Does anyone know about Easy CD 5 platinum (roxio) menu capabilities for VCD/SVCD.

ejai · member Joined: 13 Jun 2001 Location: New York USA

Quote:

On 2001-10-18 16:15:21, JohnWestbury wrote:
It is good, (better than nero). Limited menu templates, but you can change the background image to your own.

You can have one mpeg as intro before menu.

can have ONE mpeg with chapters/entry points as menu items.

No multiple files. No other menus other than the one after the intro.(can be more than one page but still from the same clip)

worth the $45 (compared to other products) for ease and reliability.

Does anyone know about Easy CD 5 platinum (roxio) menu capabilities for VCD/SVCD.

I have Easy CD 5 platinum and it sucks, it's only good for audio creation

Dhruv · Member Joined: 19 Aug 2001 Location: Australia

DON'T GET EASY CD CREATOR 5 PLATINUM...

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Fred Stokkel · Member Joined: 08 Sep 2001

Have you thought of Pinnacle Express?
This product seems to be a competitor to Ulead DVD Move Factory. It costs only about $4 more and for that amount it seems to offer some more freedom for menu styles.
See also: http://www.pinnaclesys.com/docloader.asp?templ=19&doclink=/We ... plash.html

video567 · Member Joined: 15 Aug 2000

but does pinnacle capture mpgs i thought when i read on it you can only capture in avis

JohnWestbury · Member Joined: 17 Oct 2001

Just checked out the pinnacle. It has a lot of what I am not looking for and what I am looking for is not fully described. I don't what a different capture system or editor. I wish that they had a demo or at least a manual to download. I'm not gonna spend another $50 find out the menu caps are not what I am after.

It seems like the best deal is the phillips video CD creator, but it is such a hassle.

mmitchell_houston · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2001 Location: Houston

Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread!

I'm interested in the product, but I think I'm gonna research the Pinnacle Express DVD before I buy anything.

I checked out their site and wasn't impressed with the info available.

I did some research on their product line, though, and found a $700 program that would do everything I want: Pinnacle Impressions Pro. I sure as heck ain't gonna buy that anytime soon!

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Mike Mitchell
Houston, Texas

fdumlao · Member Joined: 18 Oct 2001 Location: Fred Dumlao

Ulead has posted the free 30day trial. This looks just like the DVD Plugin the had available. I am still having problems burning a CDR with this app using a LG CED 8080B drive.

travisawhite · Member Joined: 18 Oct 2001

Hello All,
I'm the Ulead DVD MovieFactory Product Manager. I thought I might be able to answer some of the questions posted here.

1) The retail version will be available in stores in the next week or so for $49.95. Depends on how fast the retail stores get their act together and get it on the shelves.
2) There are about 40 templates included. With each template you can change the background image, text color and add music. Each menu generated can use a different template and be customized differently.
3) Spruce Technologies has been bought by Apple and they have killed the SpruceUp product.
4) You can bring in multiple videos and put chapter/scene markers on each of them. So that provides you with two levels of navigation, one to choose the video and the next to choose a scene.
5) Pinnacle Express DVD can only capture DV AVIs though a firewire interface and it will not allow import of any video format other than DV AVI. DVD MovieFactory can capture from any device and can import any type of video file to be converted.
6) For any of you still debating, the DVD MovieFactory trial is available at http://www.ulead.com/dmf/trial.htm

Happy Authoring!

~Travis~

Lamont Cranston · Member Joined: 17 Mar 2001

Quote:

On 2001-10-19 17:35:00, travisawhite wrote:
Hello All,
I'm the Ulead DVD MovieFactory Product Manager. I thought I might be able to answer some of the questions posted here.

It looks like the trial version at ulead.com is corrupt. I downloaded the trial version twice and both times install failed reporting the file was corrupt. In the meantime I have a few questions.

- As I read the specs seamless capture is limited to DV capture only. If yes, this means users will have to use programs like VirtualDub and AVI_IO for seamless capture of VFW and WDM (WDM-VFW wrapper) video files.

- Will the editor handle VFW AVI open dml 4G files? Currently MSP Director's Cut V6.5 will not.

- Does the Editor provide the capability to Edit on Key and I frames avoiding the need to rerender and the potential loss in quality?

- The DVD Plug-in is gone and I did not see an upgrade offer at the Ulead web site for all the folks who bought the DVD Plug-in. The only real functional difference between the DVD plug-in, which is used with VS5 or MSP, and DVD Movie Factory is the two tier menu which is not worth $45/$50. Ulead cut it's product users off at the knees!

[ This Message was edited by: Lamont Cranston on 2001-10-20 17:32:13 ]

HHH_THE_GAME · Member Joined: 28 Mar 2001

can u create photo albums with this software like a slide show with music and pauses?
cuz i will like to make some vcd's with bmps,jpgs and other pics

thankx in advance

mmitchell_houston · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2001 Location: Houston

Travis,

I downloaded the trial app without a hitch -- it installed and ran perfectly the first time I tried it (maybe "Lamont Cranston" needs technical help from Burbank or Margo?). However, it won't let me convert an AVI file for VCD or SVCD. It runs fairly quickly as it encodes the file, but when it's complete the app returns a fatal error and dies. My efforts to open the MPEG file it created are unsuccessful. Every program I try to open it with returns this error: "This application has performed an illegal opperation and will be shut down."

I'm now trying to make an MPEG with VideoWave so I can test the Movie Fatory's menu authoring capabilities. At that time, I'll check to see if this sortware can be used to make video scrapbooks.

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Mike Mitchell
Houston, Texas

Lamont Cranston · Member Joined: 17 Mar 2001

Quote:

On 2001-10-21 18:50:50, mmitchell_houston wrote:
Travis,

I downloaded the trial app without a hitch -- it installed and ran perfectly the first time I tried it (maybe "Lamont Cranston" needs technical help from Burbank or Margo

If you are interested in giving some constructive help when did you download your trial version and what was the size of your install file under properties? Mine was 32,473,088 bytes. When I run Winzip against the file it reports problems with 'some' files packaged in the zip file. Problems of this type are not caused during download but occur when the zip file was created by Ulead.

[ This Message was edited by: Lamont Cranston on 2001-10-21 19:21:46 ]

mem_user · Member Joined: 29 Aug 2001 Location: USA

Lamont Cranston...you can also add more clips to a project with Moviefactory, change the thumbnail in the menu (the dvd plugin would choice this for you and you can not change it) and there are a few other differences. I truly think it is worth the money, even if you have allready bought the DVD Plugin (of which I have).

HHH_THE_GAME - Video Studio 5 will make great photo albums with transitions and music. You can mix video in, have picture in picture, titles. It makes great DVD and SVCD's
It also takes care of the proportions/sizing so that the pictures dont come out distorted.

[ This Message was edited by: mem_user on 2001-10-21 19:39:14 ]

Lamont Cranston · Member Joined: 17 Mar 2001

Quote:

On 2001-10-21 19:37:58, mem_user wrote:
Lamont Cranston...you can also add more clips to a project with Moviefactory, change the thumbnail in the menu (the dvd plugin would choice this for you and you can not change it) and there are a few other differences. I truly think it is worth the money, even if you have allready bought the DVD Plugin (of which I have).

I believe the multiple clips is what is called the two tier menu. But when you say you can change the thumbnail do you mean you don't have to use the first frame of the scene? I have not been able to down load the trial version so my opinions are based on the specs.

I have AVI_IO because Ulead does support seamless VFW capture. I have VS5 + DVD plug-in and MSP Directore Cut V6.5 + DVD plug-in so I don't need another Editor. The Ligos encoder in both products is poor when compared to the LIGOS LSX35 or TMPGEnc (everybody who has compared encoders agrees). This leaves only authoring features of interest.

[ This Message was edited by: Lamont Cranston on 2001-10-21 20:18:33 ]

mmitchell_houston · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2001 Location: Houston

Lamont,

I downloaded the trial before 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. Here's what it reports under Properties:
"31.5MB (33,053,808 bytes) 33,054,072 bytes used"

There are no version notes on the install program.

By the way, I think they should offer you guys a very cheap upgrade from the plug-in. Maybe $10-$15 would be fair?

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Mike Mitchell
Houston, Texas

Lamont Cranston · Member Joined: 17 Mar 2001

Quote:

On 2001-10-21 19:55:39, mmitchell_houston wrote:
Lamont,

I downloaded the trial before 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. Here's what it reports under Properties:
"31.5MB (33,053,808 bytes) 33,054,072 bytes used"

There are no version notes on the install program.

By the way, I think they should offer you guys a very cheap upgrade from the plug-in. Maybe $10-$15 would be fair?

Thanks for the info. I downloaded mine on Saturday October 20 at 12:41 am. It is 30.9MB (32,473,08:cool: same used. It was created Oct 19, 2001 10:10:51 PM. Since yours is good and was downloaded later I'll try again.

I am sure the DVD Movie Factory is a good product. Unfortunatley, I already have capture, edit, authoring and burning software. When Ulead closed the door on the DVD Plug-in they closed the door on future enhancements of authoring and burning. It just seemed logical to provide an update path though the DVD Movie Factory for authoring and burning for the DVD plug-in folks. Enough said

I just started the download again and the file size is 31.5MB which is a good sign.

This file is also corrupt.
The file info is 29.6MB (31,133,696) 31,137,792 used.

[ This Message was edited by: Lamont Cranston on 2001-10-21 23:17:48 ]

Octagon · Member Joined: 12 Apr 2001 Location: Sacrmento

can I take a mpeg2 made in Tmpeg and author it to a dvdr using this prog. any help is appreaciated.

mmitchell_houston · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2001 Location: Houston

Hmmm, Lamont, I don't know what to tell you.

I'll download it at the office and see if it works there.

Octagon: I believe thatyou can use ANY compliant MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 file with this software. All that matters is that the frame rate, resolution, and audio properties are correct.

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Mike Mitchell
Houston, Texas

Lamont Cranston · Member Joined: 17 Mar 2001

Quote:

On 2001-10-23 12:59:23, mmitchell_houston wrote:
Hmmm, Lamont, I don't know what to tell you.

I'll download it at the office and see if it works there.

I downloaded the file again today and it was corrupt. Winzip reported the zip file was fine but 6 of the internal files had problems. I will be interested in the results of your download at the office. Thanks!

Octagon: If DVD MovieFactory is the same as the DVD Plug-in it will handle mpegs produced by TMPGEnc. It should also handle X(VCD)s, X(SVCD)s, and the SVCD file and folder naming campatibily options. As soon as I can get a successful trial file download I will be able to answser.

[ This Message was edited by: Lamont Cranston on 2001-10-23 15:01:46 ]