Best app to author DVD

[icemanatvcd]

I am trying to convert my home DV into DVDs. I am wondering what is the best app to use? There are hundreds of apps out there. I am looking for some motion menu authoring like the one in Matrix!

What are my options? Don't want to spend more than $1000. It has to be easy to use withount having to read 600 pages of materials to learn it!

Thanks.

[gotodvdr]

It's TMPGEnc DVD Author. It's good and easy to me. It supports AC3 and menu.

[Bullworth]

Try DVD Lab. It's only $79 and does everything the overbloated and overpriced packages do and then some. Got it and I like it. Check out the link on the Latest News.

[icemanatvcd]

Correct if I am wrong, DVDLab does not support motion menus?

It can not encode wave to AC3 sound?

[bugster]

I am looking for some motion menu authoring like the one in Matrix!

Thanks.

No DVD authoring app will produce complex motion menus automatically. For this you have to produce yoyur own animations, (in mpeg), overlay subpictures etc, etc. Its a fairly complex process.

DVDLab will allow you to use externally produced motion menus, as will several other authoring packages.

If you can be satisfied with simple motion thumbnails of your chapter points, then try Dazzle DVD complete (a bit buggy tho) or Ulead DVD Workshop 1.3 (also a bit unstable, at least for me). I am sure there are others.

[icemanatvcd]

Thanks for that bugster. You seem to know your stuff. I will give Ulead a try.

Does anybody else knows other apps which will do simple motion thumbnails of your chapter points?

Thank you.

[Bullworth]

Ulead DVD Movie Factory or Sonic ReelDVD will create motion menus; these packages are in the entry level to semi-pro price range

[housepig]

DVD Lab will do motion menus... it just won't do it all for you, you have to author the motion menu clips in a video-editing app and import them as assets.

check here for more info: http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/Help/index.htm

[mkelley]

The best thing is to download and try out a few of these apps -- only you will know how they suit you.

Ulead has demos of all of their stuff, although it's usually crippled somewhat (and usually isn't the latest :<() DVDLab has a fully functioning demo and I would *strongly* advise you to at least download it and try it out (it will work for 30 days -- if you can't create anything you like in that period it isn't the program for you).

[mkelley]

Oh, should add that "best" is a subjective term in this context. DVDLab is probably the "best bang for the buck" -- at $79 it's at least as powerful as Ulead's $500 program. Adobe's Encore (coming soon to a theater near you) will probably end up being the "best professional DVD authoring solution for the PC that's currently being sold" and at $600 it ought to be. The TEMPGenc author solution looks to be a cheap and easy to use app (I'm not sure if it does motion menus, though).

[icemanatvcd]

Thank you guys. I have tried DVDReel, preview window sucks on this app.

I hve to wait for Adobe Encore.

I am trying DVDLab, it seems great so far. I hve will follow the guide on doing a motion menu, see how it turns out. At that price it seems a bargain and easy to use.

[JamesB69]

I wouldnt suggest anything other than DVDLab, or Sonic DVD Producer 3.5 for your purpose. I think Sonic DVD Producer is more than 1000 dollars though, not sure. Otherwise stick with DVDLab. Definitely not the ulead stuff.

Not sure but maybe DVD-Architect?

[Jolard]

As has been stated above, if you want motion menus like the matrix, you are going to have to have a fairly hefty video editing application like Adobe Premier with After Effects, or something similar. No program can make menus like that on their own, the reason being that all these menus are is a movie playing in the background of the menu. So what you need is to create this movie, loop it in the menu, and then place buttons on top of it.

Not all authoring apps can do this, and not many you could probably afford. DVD-Lab is a good option that is affordable, and it does the same stuff that others closer to $500 and even more can do. I am impressed with it so far.

[Specialist]

Ulead DVD WORKSHOP supports motion menus:

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

Here is a step-by-step tutorial that explains how to do animated backgrounds:

http://www.ulead.com/learning/dws/dws_01_1.htm

Here is a step-by-step tutorial that explains how to do animated buttons:

http://www.ulead.com/learning/dws/dws_02_1.htm

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Vejita-sama]

Actually you can make those Matrix like motion chapter selection menus very easily with some freeware tools:

TSCV
http://www.doom9.org

ChapterAnim V0.89
http://membres.lycos.fr/luckyrip/en/index2.htm

AVISynth (IF you get really creative)
http://www.doom9.org

The key being 'fairly easy.' A lot of people have trouble using TSCV (it appears to be unsupported and dead at this point). CHaperAnim is written by a french author so all the defaults are in PAL (720x576). The documentation is 'lite' but it's fairly easy to figure out. I just used M$ paint and photoshop to make new images (at NTSC resolutions).

TSCV is a much better program for making these chaper based motion menus IMHO. As you can more easily move everything around AND add text prior to encoding the MPEG.

There is a guide 'somehwere' for making motion menus with AVISynth. Bottom line is it can be done but is a pain in the a&&...

[willy_annand]

It's TMPGEnc DVD Author. It's good and easy to me. It supports AC3 and menu.

He asked about motion menus.

Right now, TMPGEnc DVD Author cannot even handle audio background in menus, let alone motion menus.

I have tested many packages in the last three weeks, DVD Lab seems to be the best by far. (Unless you can afford Scenarist )

Best bet is to grab some of the demos and play around with a DVD-RW, see which one you like. Sonic have a couple, Ulead have some.... but DVD-Lab is my choice. http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/index.html

Hope this helps.