DVD Lab Pro or Ulead DVD Workshop 2?

[Prot]

I've been using TmpGenc DVD Author 1.6 for a little over a year now. While I've been satisfied with it since it did what I needed it to do, I would like to be able to be more creative with the menus. I'm in a position where I can afford the cost of either program.

What are the plusses and minuses of these authoring programs? I'm leaning towards DVD Lab Pro, but could be pursuaded to go with Ulead if it is superior.

One feature I would very much like is to have a different way to tell what track I am selecting other than just the text color changing as it is in TDA.

All input is appreciated.

Thanks

One more note: it needs to be able to support dual layer disks.

[lordsmurf]

DVD-Lab is clumsy to work with and has various bugs. I really do not have anything nice to say about that product, the author, or the "company" that makes it. The word "pro" is also marketing BS, not actually reflective of professionals using it in any measurable capacity.

Ulead DVDWS2 is what I firmly believe most TDA users should graduate to. It has a similar interface that is easy to use, but the software is very powerful in what it can do. In DVDWS2, you can use any number of selection methods, be it text highlights, buttons, thumbnails, whatever. You will likely be limited more by your own imagination that you will be by the software.

Do not burn DL media in authoring software. They ALL do crappy. Author a folder set, open the folder in PgcEdit, select the layer break position, and then let it burn with ImgBurn. There is a guide for using PgcEdit, it's very simple.

[pchan]

@Prot,
I have been using DVD LabPro for more than a year. There are several gurus in VideoHelp. It supports multi audio and subtitle tracks. The only problem I have with it, it the DVD slide show. On some DVD players, the audio is intermittent.
I did several dual layer DVDs but never its layer break feature. Use Sonic RecordNow to burn DL DVD+R instead. My compilation have DVD slide show and video. Video works fine, only slide shows is having some audio problem on some players. The audio issue goes away when I play it on Philips 5140 player.

[pchan]

multi posts. removed.

[GeorgeW]

I posted the following a few months ago:
DWS vs. DLP

NOTE: That post was before DLP 2.0 came out. There have been some reported bugs in the new version, but they have been releasing updates on their support pages. DLP2.0 adds many more features of SD DVD Authoring -- things like Buttons Over Video, Multiple Angles, up to 30 menu cells, etc...

Regards,
George

[Prot]

Thanks to lordsmurf and GeorgeW. I was searching the forums for answers to my question; guess I just didn't go back far enough.
Will DVDWS2 support .psd files?

My preferred utility for dvd burning is dvddecrypter. Can DLP and DVDWS2 create image files?

[guns1inger]

You don't need image file output any more, as imgburn 2 can create images on the fly and then burn them. imgburn2 is the improved version of the Decrypter burning engine from the same author

[KTH]

Count me as a vote for DVDWS2, and Yes DVDWS2 does support PSD files. There's a free demo you can download from Ulead. See the link below for the demo version limitations and it's download link.


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

[Prot]

I did download and install DVDWS2 and I'm going to do the same with DLP. I guess that's the best way to determine which is best for me.

Thanks for the input

[curlyween]

Let us know of your findings/opinions.
I'd be interested to hear what you have to say...

[sacajaweeda]

DVD Lab Pro (1.53) does a great job doing everything I need. Awesome program.

[terjeber]

What are the plusses and minuses of these authoring programs? I'm leaning towards DVD Lab Pro, but could be pursuaded to go with Ulead if it is superior.

I would look into alternatives to both of these if I was you. DVD Lab Pro has been covered elsewhere in the thread. I would be very skeptical to invest in DVD Workshop right now.

I have been a Ulead user for many years, DVD Workshop and Movie Studio Pro but moved to a competing product earlier this year. The main reason is that it doesn't seem like Ulead is updating it's prosumer software much (or at all) anymore. DVD Workshop is getting rather old, is in need of a few updates, and hasn't received anything but minor bug fixes for two years. The last minor bug fix is more than a year old. The reason for the lack of updates is definitely not that the product is Perfect, they definitely are not. DVD Workshop can not even create 16:9 menus, which is a shame, and something that Ulead should have fixed two years ago.

To me it seems like Ulead is dropping their premium line of products, Media Studio and DVD Workshop, in favor of their beginner line of products. This probably makes a lot of sense, Ulead probably makes a lot more money on their beginner line of products.

For this reason I would go with DVD Lab Pro over Ulead, rather a product with a few bugs that is maintained by it's owner than a product with a few issues that appears to be dead.

I moved from Ulead to Sony Vegas+DVD. Vegas Video is far superior to Movie Studio Pro (IMHO) and DVD Architect is every bit as good as DVD Workshop and has some features that DVDWS misses. Also, Sony is actively updating their product line, with new versions of Vegas and Architect scheduled for next month.

Going by the price of DVD WS, I imagine Vegas+DVD may be a little more expensive than what you are looking for, and I don't think Sony sells DVD Architect as a stand-alone product, so this may not be a solution for you. You can find out easily though, download the demo and try it out. The cheapest way to get Vegas+DVD right now is to go to bhphotovideo.com and buy Vegas Video for $99 (which is insanely cheap) and upgrade to Vegas+DVD for $299. This brings the price to about $400 for the whole thing, which is a bit more than DVDWS.

I would also download DVD Movie Studio+DVD (Platinum edition if that has features you need) to see if they match your needs.

[lordsmurf]

The main reason is that it doesn't seem like Ulead is updating it's prosumer software much (or at all) anymore. DVD Workshop is getting rather old, is in need of a few updates,

I don't agree with this. What's to update? Just because something is not brand-spanking-new does not mean it's not superior quality.

I will agree it does not do things like 16:9 menus or NTSC film (with latest updates), but then again, it's really not designed for that. It supports most sources that most people will be using. Legal sources, at least. There's not much 16:9 or 23.976 (3:2) sources out there, for the demographic they're after (home and small business). If you have such sources, usually you're either an online P2P pirate, or you're in the next level of production and would be using something like Scenarist anyway.

[canadateck]

I would love to see Transitions and being able to udate/edit \psd files on the fly.

[sdsumike619]

I agree with lordsmurf. DVDWS2 rocks. There's lots of tricks you can do with the software. I think it has an amateur type connotation becasuse of its very simple interface. Makes you feel like you're using a cheesy program because it's not complex with drop down menus and options everywhere you look. But don't judge the book by its cover.

[JimJohnD]

I have been using DVDLab Pro for more than a year and upgraded to version 2 as soon as it came out.
I have also been using the programming feautres it supports that no-one except Scenelizer has. While some people here seem to have a bug themselves about the application, I've found that it has been supported better than any other application I've used. Except for the forementioned slideshow audio, which has been reworked in the 2.0 version I have not personally had any problems using the application and my discs have worked in all of the players I've tried them in. I have found it VERY EASY to use and WORTH EVERY CENT!!! Everything I do is 16:9, I don't do 4:3, EVER!

Try the demo for yourself and do please let us know what YOU think.

[sdsumike619]

I tried the demo for DVD Lab when I was searching for a program to use. To me it was very cryptic and complicated, couldn't make anything happen in it and time is money of course.

[terjeber]

The main reason is that it doesn't seem like Ulead is updating it's prosumer software much (or at all) anymore. DVD Workshop is getting rather old, is in need of a few updates,

I don't agree with this. What's to update? Just because something is not brand-spanking-new does not mean it's not superior quality.

You are absolutely correct that upgrading software just to upgrade is not needed. That there is little to upgrade in DVD WS I totally disagree with though.

I will agree it does not do things like 16:9 menus or NTSC film (with latest updates), but then again, it's really not designed for that.

I am not quite sure what you mean by not being designed for that. 16:9 is part of the DVD standard. DVD Workshop is Uleads high-end DVD creation tool, and it doesn't support 16:9 menus while almost all newer mid-range, and a lot of low-range camcorders supports 16:9 filming. In addition to that, the Ulead competition has supported 16:9 for years, so the fact that Ulead hasn't touched this product in more than 12 months indicates they are not seriously looking at the competition for this particular market. That is not a good sign.

It supports most sources that most people will be using. Legal sources, at least. There's not much 16:9 or 23.976 (3:2) sources out there,

There wasn't two years ago. Today that is no longer true. Canon, Sony and Panasonic all support anamorphic 16:9 in a very large number of their camcorders.

If you have such sources, usually you're either an online P2P pirate, or you're in the next level of production

or you have a camcorder purchased the past two years costing more than $300.

[mltwitz]

I do not know DVD-lab, but I have been using DVD WS2 for 2 years now and I am 95% happy with the features and capabilities, especially coming from Nero. But 2 things bother me, as already mentioned, no 16:9, but most importantly, you can't chose set-in points for animated buttons, they all start at the beginning of the clip, nothing you can do about it. These and many other "bugs" and requests have been made on the Ulead DVD WS forum, but as people mentioned there, it looks like DVD WS will not be upgraded anymore. Too bad.

Therefore I am also in the process of moving up to Sony DVD Architect, which, to my understanding, is another skill level above DVD WS.

[terjeber]

Therefore I am also in the process of moving up to Sony DVD Architect, which, to my understanding, is another skill level above DVD WS.

The work-flow with DVD Architect is slightly different, it has one or two oddities that aren't 100% obvious before you understand them, but I would not say that DVD Architect is more complicated to use than DVD Workshop. Also, Sony is releasing DVD Architect 4 in a couple of weeks (or less) which has a few new features that sound great.

[lordsmurf]

you can't chose set-in points for animated buttons

It's really best to create separate clips anyway. Just use an MPEG editor and clip out what you want. It will speed up the authoring process for starters. And then professional workflow would have required you to edit the full menu clip in an NLE timeline anyway. What you request here is sort of a newbie-ware type feature. Probably not what you want to hear, but it's the truth of the situation.

As far as the 16:9 needs, I still do not see that happening. Widescreen is a special niche still, and there is special niche software for it. Sure, it would be nice to have that features and tons of others in DVDWS2, but I won't fault Ulead for picking a reasonable set of features. I'm not aware of any software aside from Scenarist and DVD Studio Pro that literally "does everything". Also, while some may interpret a lack of DVDWS2 updates as "Ulead not caring or listening", it might be more along the lines of "not many people are asking for those features".

Just some things to consider. Sometimes you have to put everything into perspective.

[Deane Johnson]

I've been using DVDLab Pro 2 for a while now and find it works pretty well. One complaint I might have is that the menu text doesn't seem as sharp as it should.

Following lordsmurf's early post in this thread, I downloaded the Ulead DVDWorkshop 2 trial. I was really surprised at how primitive it seems compared to DVDLab Pro 2. I never did figure out how to use it, and it crashed three or four times, which sort of surprised me.

I am now curious as to what it does that DVDLab Pro 2 doesn't do, why it's better. I'm always interested in using something that works better than what I already have.

[GeorgeW]

I've been using DVDLab Pro 2 for a while now and find it works pretty well. One complaint I might have is that the menu text doesn't seem as sharp as it should.

Some folks get better results by creating their menus externally (like Photoshop), then importing them as background for their menus. Then they add some buttons or "hotspots" within DLP.

Following lordsmurf's early post in this thread, I downloaded the Ulead DVDWorkshop 2 trial. I was really surprised at how primitive it seems compared to DVDLab Pro 2. I never did figure out how to use it, and it crashed three or four times, which sort of surprised me.

DVD WS 2.x has a very friendly user-interface that helps a newcomer "walk through" the steps/process of building their DVD. And yet the software also allows some advanced customizations as well as advanced features such as subtitles, multiple audio tracks, and title playlists. I'm not sure why it crashed several times, what type of files were you using as your source?

I am now curious as to what it does that DVDLab Pro 2 doesn't do, why it's better. I'm always interested in using something that works better than what I already have.

There's not much that DVD WS 2.x can do that cannot be done in DLP 2.0. Earlier in this thread I posted a link to some features I wrote down about these two packages. Off the top of my head, here are some things that DWS2 has that are not in DLP2 (nothing I really need, except maybe the realtime DVD simulation/preview)
-allows more subtitles (32 vs. 8 )
-has Disc Mastering functionality (i.e. preparation for DLT, adding copy protection flags such as CSS and Macrovision -- but how effective are those anyway?)
-has a builtin mpeg and AC3 encoder
-dvd simulation/preview with virtual remote control
-can also output VCD and SVCD disc formats

On the other hand, DLP2 has alot more features/options that are not found in DWS2 (and also not found in alot of other PC-based SD DVD Authoring packages).

If I were looking for an Advanced SD DVD Authoring package at the moment, I would also consider DVDiT Pro 6 -- because it comes with eDVD (which is something I have been thinking about getting anyway). And also Adobe Encore 2.0. NOTE: I have not used either of these, it's just that if I were shopping for an Authoring package today, I would take a look at these two as well.

Sony's DVD Architect 4 is due out soon, and I saw a list of new features that could make it one of the more "advanced" SD DVD Authoring packages on the PC - I will be downloading that Trial as soon as it is available just to see how some of the new features were implemented (and whether some of the existing features were modified). I don't know if they will sell it separately, or continue to only bundle it with Vegas.

Regards,
George

[terjeber]

As far as the 16:9 needs, I still do not see that happening. Widescreen is a special niche still, and there is special niche software for it.

This is, frankly, an absurd statement. Almost all camcorders today that cost $300 or more, support 16:9 shooting. DVD WS also does support, and has for quite a while, 16:9 movies. The only problem is that DVD WS doesn't support 16:9 menus. Now, this doesn't sound like that much of a problem, and it isn't, however it is a strong indication of how important DVD WS is to Ulead.

Why so? Well, changing DVD WS to output 16:9 menus would probably take a Ulead developer less than 10 minutes to implement, no kidding. He only needs to have the software set one single property in the output. You can do it your self if you want to hack around with it. Now, this wouldn't give you 16:9 menu design, but it would help. Adding 16:9 design would not be hard either, since DVD WS supports it everywhere else. Coming from a development background, I would guesstimate it to less than one weeks work for a single developer familiar with the source.

The question is therefore, why would Ulead not do this since all of their competitors did this at least two years ago? The answer is obvious to me, and the point of my original post, Ulead doesn't, at this stage, make enough money of DVD Workshop to worry about it. Ulead makes their money off their low-end software. This means that, for all practical purposes and intents, DVD Workshop is a product that will receive no more real attention from Ulead. I would never recommend purchasing a product the producer in reality has end-of-lifed.

I won't fault Ulead for picking a reasonable set of features.

Nobody is. I am faulting Ulead for picking a reasonable set of features more than two years ago, and then dropping the product more or less entirely. Or, to be more accurate, I am not faulting Ulead for it, Ulead is making their money off their low-end software like Movie Studio etc, so it is perfectly reasonable for Ulead to drop development on their high-end software. I am just stating that buying software that clearly has been abandoned by it's maker is not the best choice.

Also, while some may interpret a lack of DVDWS2 updates as "Ulead not caring or listening", it might be more along the lines of "not many people are asking for those features".

Actually, no, it probably couldn't be interpreted that way. A company that creates software for which there is competition will obviously have to improve that software with regular intervals to stay competitive. Ulead does this with Movie Studio and DVD Movie Factory. This is because Ulead are selling enough of these to make money, so they care. Ulead doesn't improve DVD WS because they haven't sold enough to make it worth their while. It seems unlikely that they will see a significant uptake in their high-end DVD creation software sales when they are not staying competitive feature-wise, so it doesn't seem likely that Ulead will pay any serious attention to DVD WS in the future.

I would love to be proven wrong on this, but given the state of Ulead (many years of ups and downs and too low profits), I don't think I am. Now, there is a chance that this might change now that Ulead has been acquired by InterVideo, but again, given InterVideos general market focus, the low-end, inexpensive software, I don't see the Ulead focus change back to the prosumer market, so I am not optimistic about DVD Workshop's future.

Again, this doesn't mean that Ulead is a "bad" company or anything, just that investing in software that is seemingly abandoned by it's creator is probably not the best option.

[GeorgeW]

Now, there is a chance that this might change now that Ulead has been acquired by InterVideo, but again, given InterVideos general market focus, the low-end, inexpensive software, I don't see the Ulead focus change back to the prosumer market, so I am not optimistic about DVD Workshop's future.

And now that Intervideo is being purchased by Corel, who knows what the future holds...

Regards,
George

[Deane Johnson]

George W., thanks for the extensive reply. I'll look into the idea of creating a background in Photoshop, or something. I have it, plus other choices (software junky, you know).

I was using some Mpeg exports from Canopus Edius. The crashing was pretty pervasive. I don't plan to pursue the reason, since DVDLab Pro2 works pretty good except for the less than sharp text, and I didn't find DVDWS2 as intuitive as I like. Reading instruction books or using help is for sissys.

[canadateck]

No help files are needed with DVDWS2 :P

[ozymango]

I am faulting Ulead for picking a reasonable set of features more than two years ago, and then dropping the product more or less entirely. Or, to be more accurate, I am not faulting Ulead for it, Ulead is making their money off their low-end software like Movie Studio etc, so it is perfectly reasonable for Ulead to drop development on their high-end software. I am just stating that buying software that clearly has been abandoned by it's maker is not the best choice.

I can see your point, and while I don't disagree with any of your facts, I don't agree with your conclusion -- some people, like me, buy software that does what we want, the way we want it, at what we consider an acceptable price. This is why I use DVD Workshop.

Yes, I would prefer that Ulead (or whomever) would continue to actively support the product. However, the fact that they don't continue to improve it does not negate the fact that the software is extremely useful to many people. Myself included.

Limiting myself to software that is in danger of being "abandoned" would be, to me, absurd -- sorta like knowing that if I buy a computer today for $3,000, there's a good chance that in just a few years, that computer will be worth much less, and may not even be supported in the future (anybody had to get a PCIExpress video card recently because your new MB won't support your AGP card?).

To me, it's all about current usefulnes, at a currently acceptable price. I have no problems with people preferring DVD-Lab Pro, and I have a copy, but for the majority of the work that I do, I can accomplish virtually every need using DVD Workshop, at a much, much, MUCH faster rate.

[terjeber]

Yes, I would prefer that Ulead (or whomever) would continue to actively support the product. However, the fact that they don't continue to improve it does not negate the fact that the software is extremely useful to many people. Myself included.

I agree that the software is very nice, I have been using it since 1.0. On the other hand, DVD Architect can do everything that DVD WS can do, it can do it easier, with fewer crashes and more elegant. In addition there are several things DVDA can do that DVDWS can not. This is why I suggested DVDA.

If you are looking into investing money in software I would generally recommend you invest in software that is likely to be around and supported in 12 months, so I recommended against DVD WS.

[sacajaweeda]

Yes, I would prefer that Ulead (or whomever) would continue to actively support the product. However, the fact that they don't continue to improve it does not negate the fact that the software is extremely useful to many people. Myself included.

That reminds me of another authoring app that I used to use alot and still do on occasion.... SpruceUp!