Dvd authoring program?

[Shifty268]

Whats a good dvd authoring program

[disturbed1]

Scenarist is a good authoring programing, but so is Ulead's DVD Movie factory. Each has their own place.

What do you wanting to do, how much money do you have to work with, and what type of source files do you have?

Have you at least had a look at the tools section to see what other people like, or done a search to come across the two polls that ask the exact question you just did

[guns1inger]

One that does what you need without making things too difficult, and produces consistently good results.

What sort of DVDs are you planning to make ?

How much money are you willing to spend ?

How much effort are you prepared to invest to learn a tool ?

[Shifty268]

I Just want to make home movies, surfing videos etc...

I Just watn a good all round tool

[disturbed1]

3 that come to mind are TMPG's DVD Author, Ulead's DVD Movie Factory, and DVD Lab.

All in the sub $100 department. TMPG is just authoring with basic editing and a menu creator, DVD Lab is pretty much the same, but supports more advanced authoring features. Ulead can capture, edit, encode, and author.

You didn't mention how you are getting you footage, so I'm going to assume it's DV. Opt for a good DV - MPEG encoder, like Procoder Express or CCE Basic, both under $70. Add TMPG DVD Author with the AC3 audio option for ~$90. Or you can get TMPG MPEG Encoder Express, TMPG DVD Author, and the AC3 audio option for $130.

Though, in my oppinion, Canopus Procoder Express will deliver a much higher video quality at only $30 more.

All of the above programs have free demos available, give them a try, and find the one that works best for you.

[Shifty268]

Yea ill probably be working with dv

O is adobe encore a very good program

[guns1inger]

Over complicated and over-priced for what you want. I would recommend tmpgenc DVD author or DVD Lab

[Garibaldi]

Whats a good dvd authoring program

I would recommend GUI for DVD Author. Its free and has many customizable features to make the menus exactly what you want. Give it a try. I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have.

[Tommyp1972]

Have you given Nerovision Express 3.0 a look?.Its the EZ Version of ULEAD DVD Moviefactory.If you used ULEAD in the past using NEROVISION EXPRESS 3.0 will be very familiar and much easier.There is a full working trial version on the NERO site.I think you might like it if you try it.

[jimmalenko]

I'll say TMPGEnc DVD Author for a reasonably-intuitive interface and features sufficient for the average home user.

For the simplest of authoring jobs it's gotta be IFOEdit, or dvdauthorgui (both free). I'm yet to try GUI for DVDAuthor, so no comment on that.

[Tommyp1972]

what makes every program out there BETTER than NVE3...can they combine as many vobs.,,,mpegs.,,,avi's all on 1 dvd...with ac3/2 audio..with custom backgrounds with audio?and re-encode in about 1 1/2 hrs or less for a 4.7GB dvd?

[jimmalenko]

what makes every program out there BETTER than NVE3...can they combine as many vobs.,,,mpegs.,,,avi's all on 1 dvd...with ac3/2 audio..with custom backgrounds with audio?and re-encode in about 1 1/2 hrs or less for a 4.7GB dvd?

NVE3 is what is known as crapware.

The old adage "Garbage in, garbage out" is transposed to read "quality in, crap out"

[Tommyp1972]

you talk crap..but can't explain why you think it suks..

[jimmalenko]

I could get technical, but I wouldn't want to confuse you

[Tommyp1972]

thers nothing technical about talking crap..u do it well...but making a dvd isn't as technical as YOU want people to believe.. Easy to use programs make all the difference

[jimmalenko]

Easy to use programs make all the difference

You're right, they do ... but unfortunately (as I said in the other thread) one-click solutions just don't have the range of options or flexibility required for all situations I'm afraid

Hey, if you're happy with it, all power to ya

[Tommyp1972]

what situations are there?
1.backup personal copy of retail dvd video
2.backup copy of homemade dvd video
3.covert .vob files from a vcd to a dvd
4.convert avi's to a dvd
5.covert mpegs to a dvd
6.convert xvids and divx to a dvd..
..there are probably more but those in my years of doing video seem to be the most common things people SEEM TO want to do and NVE does EVERY ONE OF THEM FLAWLESS

[jimmalenko]

filters ?

[Tommyp1972]

for example?

[jimmalenko]

noise removal on VHS --> DVD conversions
deinterlacing
custom frame sizes
color correction

... just to name a couple.

[bugster]

NVE does EVERY ONE OF THEM FLAWLESS

Your definition of FLAWLESS is obviously different from mine

[Tommyp1972]

mine means... no skips or errors and no pause between the merged disks..sound matches with video no out of sync problems..everything works the way it should like on a regular dvd..skip chapters fast forward..pause..thats what i mean by flawless..no mistakes

[bugster]

mine means... no skips or errors and no pause between the merged disks..sound matches with video no out of sync problems..everything works the way it should like on a regular dvd..skip chapters fast forward..pause..thats what i mean by flawless..no mistakes

Mine adds on top of that best possible quality mpeg encode. NVE does not fit here.

[Tommyp1972]

sure it does...i can make quality as good as it gets as long as dvd doesn't exceed 4.4GB's in size

[bugster]

sure it does...i can make quality as good as it gets as long as dvd doesn't exceed 4.4GB's in size

Have to disagree with you here. The Nero mpeg encoder is nowhere near as good as Tmpgenc, CCE, Procoder or MainConcept. If the quality it produces is acceptable to you then fine, I am glad you are happy with it, but from my view it is far from flawless in that respect.

[jimmalenko]

sure it does...i can make quality as good as it gets as long as dvd doesn't exceed 4.4GB's in size

Have to disagree with you here. The Nero mpeg encoder is nowhere near as good as Tmpgenc, CCE, Procoder or MainConcept. If the quality it produces is acceptable to you then fine, I am glad you are happy with it, but from my view it is far from flawless in that respect.

I'm with bugster (no surprise there).

While you are happy with what you're getting, you really don't know what you're missing out on. It will take time to learn, but if you're prepared to put in the man hours you'll reap the rewards.

[Tommyp1972]

what makes those encoders better?

[bugster]

what makes those encoders better?

Try one and see for yourself.

Its possible you won't see any difference, and they all have a bit of a learning curve (some more than others) when it comes to setting them up for the best results, but there are plenty of guides and articles here and elsewhere to help. If after spending a decent amount of time with one of these encoders, and doing some learning on how to use it, you are not satisfied with the results, then go back to Nero. I will be surprised if you can't see ANY improvement in quality tho. (unless of course you watch your DVD's on a 30 year old 14" TV with an out of focus tube!).

[burnman99]

Shifty I'd give DVDAuthorGUI a try. It's a simple free DVD Authoring program and with avisynth you can make motion menus. It also supports multiple audio tracks and subtitles. All in all, a great free program.

Have fun stormin' the castle!

Rog