ULead DVD Workshop features

[cmangeot]

I have a need for both 5-1 AC3 in/out and menus with submenus.
I own Ulead DVD Workshop, and last week-end I made a big mistake. I bought the AC-3 add-on ($199). I didn't read the fine print and didn't notice that even if it takes 5-1 AC3 in, it down mixes to two channels stereo only (I think $100 bucks per channel is a rip-off).
On the menu/submenu issue, I asked the question in a different message may be two days ago, someone said that he was able produce multiple menus with this product, but when I asked 'how', I got no answer.
Can anyone answer this question.
Finally, is there an affordable product (< $400) that can do what I need.

[dvcd]

Make submenu in DVD workshop:
We may call the first menu "Main Menu", and call the second, third... menus "Submenu", if this is what you want.
Place a button on the "main Menu" and link it to the second menu (by drag and drop the second menu into the button). The same for the third menu...

[sLiMpAuLy]

On your machine somewhere the is a file called DVDWS.ini

On my system it was in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Ulead Systems\Ulead DVD Workshop\1.0

In this file is a line with the string

PlayAC3=0

just change this to:

PlayAC3=1

and save it.

Then make sure to uncheck the "convert complient files" box when you make you disc or folder at the end of the authoring phase.


Ulead WILL NOT encode to 5.1 ........BUT if you input a DD5.1 AC3 file it will alow you to preveiw it and provided you have unchecked the box I metioned earlier Ulead won't reencode your files so you will be left with a DD 5.1 DVD. This is basically what I have been doing " with a few unrelated tweeks" and have had very good success.

Hope this helps

BTW-I stole the quote about the ini file from this forum some time ago but forgot the origional posters name, you know who you are and Thank you.

[cmangeot]

thanks to both in removing my frustration.

[leebo]

Unless Ulead has changed it, the box says "Do NOT convert compliant files" and should be left checked.

[FT Shark]

After the first menue is created, wen you are in the "Menu" part of the process. In the top left are some buttons, one of them is create a menu. if you choose that it will give you three options again (blank, templete, and wizard). It doesn't matter what you pick, just select your type of choice and it will create another menu. The default for the first menu is "MENU" and the next one you make will be "MENU1" and so forth for each additional menu. You can rename them for your ease if you wish. After that just link buttons that you create to these sub menus and there you go. I have done menus with 10+ submenus.

[sLiMpAuLy]

My bad leebo
your right

sorry I hadn't had my morning coffee yet and my head was on backwards

[cmangeot]

I did as described by sLiMpAuLy. In fact PlayAC3 was already set to 1 (may be because the AC3 plugin-in was installed). Then I tried to de-install the AC3 plug-in (no de-install procedure). So de-installed everything and re-installed DVD Workshop only. At this point PlayAC3=0. Set it to 1.
But DVD Workshop rejects opening an AC3 file as replacement audio.
I am using DVD workshop 1.3.
sLiMpAuLy please help.
Thanks.

[Scheif]

Without the AC-3 Pack, you cannot use .ac3 files as replacement audio. You can, however, use a multiplexed .mpg file with MPEG-2 video and AC3 audio.

[cmangeot]

I reinstalled the AC3 PowerPack. DVD Workshop can now see the ac3 files. But even with the 'do no convert compliant files' checked, it goes into step 1/4 'converting video title (audio track only)'.
I am at loss.

[leebo]

cmangeot,

So to make things clear, your question is:

With the DVD Wkshop AC3 pack, will Wkshop allow you to use 5.1 AC3 w/o re-encoding it down to 2 channel AC3?

My guess is no.

[cmangeot]

that's what I suspected (I just lost $199). I am back to my first question. Which affordable product ( < $400) can take a 5-1 AC3 input and produce without conversion a 5-1 AC3 DVD.

[Scheif]

Actually, I think DVDWS with the AC-3 Power Pack is supposed to accept 5.1, even though it will only encode to stereo. I am not 100% certain, so more research is required, but don't give up yet.

[leebo]

Actually, I think DVDWS with the AC-3 Power Pack is supposed to accept 5.1, even though it will only encode to stereo. I am not 100% certain, so more research is required, but don't give up yet.

Thats repeating what we've just said. He dosn't want it downmixed to stereo.

[Scheif]

Perhaps I was not clear, but that is not what I meant. I think DVDWS with the AC-3 Power Pack will accept and preserve DD5.1 audio -- not downmix it. (Heck, even without the AC-3 Power Pack, it preserves DD5.1 audio if it is already multiplexed in a .mpg file.)

However, given non-DD material, DVDWS w/AC-3 can encode only to DD2.0.

I hope that's more clear.

[leebo]

Ahh. The complications of written communication.

[MoovyGuy]

I have made many DVD's with Ulead Workshop 1.2 and 1.3 that have DD 5.1.

The big trick here is that the video & audio MUST be muxed together BEFORE you bring it into Workshop.

The AC3 add-on is not needed.

Make sure that on the final dialog that "Do not convert compliant file" is indeed checked. And don't forget to ignore the warning that says that your audio is non-compliant, because it is.

Do this & you will get a DVD with DD 5.1

[cmangeot]

I am actually converting PAL DVDs into NTSC. So upfront audio and video are split, because I need to re-encode video. And I don't know of any product that can produce an mpeg-2 taking 5.1 input.
I currently use DVD Decrypter, DVD2AVI (demuxing AC3), TMPGEng and finally ULead DVD Workshop.

[Metaluna]

I'm not sure if this helps, but TMPGEnc Author can take separate MPEG-2 and AC-3 streams and create (presumably muxed) VOB files out of them. I don't know if it works with 5.1 but I've done it with 2-channel AC-3's encoded via BeSweet. Maybe you could use TMPGEnc Author to create a "dummy" DVD, then extract the muxed MPEG-2's and feed them to DVD Workshop.

[MoovyGuy]

You can also use BBMpeg to mux audio & video back together.

BBMpeg is a lousy encoder, but a very good muxer, it can mux as many as three audio streams with the video stream.

Audio can be either AC3 or MP2

[Specialist]

If you MUX the audio and video, you should be able to import the AC-3 audio and export... unchanged... as long as the box in Ulead DVD WORKSHOP is checked.

This is not an officially supported feature, as far as I know.

But it works, nevertheless.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[cmangeot]

I tried BBMpeg, but it rejects opening the 5.1 AC3 file.