Limitations of Ulead DVD Workshop2

[raouliii]

I’ll start out by saying that I’m certainly a novice in this area and become a little overwhelmed with the idea that my project workflow would need 6 or 8 different software packages. My projects consist primarily of SD MiniDV camcorder output and digital stills that I edit, author and burn to DVD.

I have done a few projects using the following primary software packages: Ulead Videostudio9 for NLE and DVD Workshop2 for encoding and authoring. Because DVDWS2 has no flexible button assignment/order capabilities, I use MenuEdit to fix button assignment order and ImgBurn to create the disc. The results have been very well received and products that I am proud of. In particular, I am very happy with the almost professional menus that DVDWS2 is capable of producing as well as the ease of use of the Ulead GUIs.

I am now, for the first time, attempting to produce a fully anamorphic 16:9 DVD of a mix of anamorphic squeezed MiniDV camcorder output and high resolution stills. I have very quickly come to the realization that DVD Workshop2 can’t do 16:9 menus. I have tried MovieFactory 6 as an alternate authoring package but its flexibilities pale in comparison to DVDWS2. MF6 has VERY few options on menus and I would hate to revert to such simple menuing in my projects.

Are there any workarounds that can be used with DVDWS2 so that the resulting menus will be 16:9? Can I squeeze the menu background pre-authoring and use a package such as PGCEdit to define it as anamorphic post-authoring?

If there are no DVDWS2 workarounds, are there any recommended alternatives that are as easy to use as DVDWS2? I ran a quick trial of DVDLabPro, but found it to be, for me, very non-intuitive and among other things I had trouble with the strict input format requirements. Since they have abandoned the prosumer, should I just dump Ulead for Vegas? Is DVD Architect an option? Any other recommendations?

Thanks for any feedback
Raouliii

[guns1inger]

When you say DVD Lab Pro has 'Strict input requirements" do you mean that it only accepts DVD compliant assets ?

As for DVD Workshop 2, you could try using anamorphic videos/images for your backgrounds, then changing flags afterwards with DVD Patcher and/or PGCEdit.

However you also need to be aware that there are other restrictions when creating anamorphic menus, including less allowable buttons. You will also find issues with getting sub-pictures to correctly line up.

DVD Architect is certainly capable of doing what you want. Personally I find it clunky and old fashioned to work with.

I use DVD Lab Pro and find it incredibly flexible. I find that tools like DVD Workshop and DVD Architect are counter intuitive because you start out limited by what they provide, and have to un-build to get to what you want. DLP starts with no pre-conceptions, so you build what you want from the start. Yes, it does mean you need to plan and prepare ahead, but you should be doing that anyway.

However, everyone works differently, and it is good that there are alternatives to meet the way we all work.

[raouliii]

Thanks for the response gunslinger.

I only worked with DVDLabPro for an hour or two, so I have to admit that I didn't give it much time. Having used Videostudio for a number of years, I am very used to timeline based editing and the fairly simple GUI that it offers. As for the strict input requirements, yes, I guess I did, without actually knowing, mean that it only accepts DVD compliant assets.

I tried a couple of ways to create a simple project. I had a 1st play intro mpeg, a single video mpeg and a motion menu mpeg, all encoded by Videostudio9. I became a little frustrated trying to add text and buttons to the menu when it appeared that I would need to reencode/render the video, text and button text to create a new mpeg. I couldn't see how I would end up with nice active, clickable, buttons after that step, if that makes any sense. In other words, in DVDWS2, a button's attributes allow it to change color as it is depressed, giving a cool effect if the right colors are selected. I switched gears and decided to try a jpg as a non-motion background but I now needed to add audio, but an mp3, which worked fine for the Ulead products, was not an acceptable audio or music asset. Ignoring this I compiled the DVD and when viewed on a software player, no text appeared on the menu.

I hope I've explained myself well enough. Maybe its just a steep learning curve for me, especially knowing very little about what DVD compliant assets actually are. I still have an interest in DVDLabPro because of its flexibility. My problem is that its flexibility may only be found by me through many hours of use.

BTW, I assume Videostudio doesn't have a high quality encoder. Are there any good freeware encoders that will take a Videostudio 16:9 DV/AVI output and convert to a 16:9 DVD compliant Mpeg?

[guns1inger]

Part of your problem appears to be not understanding just how limited the DVD specification, and how the software you have used has sheltered you until now. The DVD spec is a simple beast in many respects. DVD menus are not complex, and are in fact, very limited in just how much interaction they have. The real art to menu complex creation is in how you work around these limitations. Some software does this for you in certain instances, such as creating simple animated buttons. Usually this happens through the use of templates, which can speed the authoring process for beginners, but don't cut the mustard when you want to start creating more sophisticated product.

Just to give you an example, let's use your animated button idea form above. To create the effect of a button being pressed and changing colour you have two choices. The first is a simple static menu with a sub-picture highlight that changes colour. Standard fair, not very exciting. The second is an animated button that does visually depress. To create this you need three assets : A static image of the button before being pressed, a video of the button being depressed and changing colour, and a static image of the button after it has changed state. The menu is setup as a static menu that links to the video when activated, and after the video plays, the second menu appears. A template driven authoring tool will hide all of this from you. A dedicated authoring tool requires that you understand how this works, and create the appropriate assets to do it.

DVD Compliant assets are basically and video or audio files that you are going to use when authoring. See What is DVD ? (Top left corner) for a description of what these are.

HCEnc is a very capable, freeware encoder that produces high quality, DVD compliant mpeg-2 video files. The only catch is that it requires some basic avisynth scripting to load the video. FitCD can be used to create this script for you.

Aften, with EncWAV2AC3, is a freeware AC3 (Dolby Digital) audio encoder.

[thecoalman]

BTW, I assume Videostudio doesn't have a high quality encoder.

All Ulead products use Mainconcept which is one of the better encoders, the one in DVDWS shouldn't be any different that the one in VS. I guess it's possible it's newer version in VS. Just to add you can unlock the advanced options in DVDWS by doing the following:

Go to search and search C:\Documents and Settings\

For: dvdws.ini

Open it with notepad and find the following lines:

[VIODRIVER]
Advance=0

Change it to:

[VIODRIVER]
Advance=1

Save the file.

Open DVDWS, if you check the compression screen you'll now have a shiny new button labled "advanced" .

This might even work on VS or MF , you'll have to find and try the .ini to see.

[raouliii]

I am continuing to experiment with DVD-Lab Pro. I have read up on DVD structure, a few DVDLabPro help files and tutorials and am excited about its flexibility. However, I continue to have what I assume are basic problems.

I am using Videostudio11 for NLE and encoding of a simple AVI 16:9 clip. I am overlaying a MP3 file over it. I can't seem to get an encoded output that is fully audio compliant. VS11 has a NTSC DVD template and I customized a template. I have tried both with mixed success.

NTSC DVD 16:9
MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First
(DVD-NTSC), 16:9
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48000 Hz, Stereo

Using this encoding template results in having to convert the audio into a .pcm and a .wav converted file when opened as an asset. The resulting audio files take up more hd space than the video! This seems like a very inefficient way to handle audio. It will work, but I'll need a new hd just to handle the audio.

Custom
MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First
(DVD-NTSC), 16:9
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 224 kbps
MPEG audio layer 2, 48 KHz, Stereo

Using this encoding template results in only a .mpv file after demultiplexing. No audio file at all.

I realize that there are other encoders available, but I would like to minimize the number of applications I have to jump through to get from A to Z. The VS11 encoder output can be further customized but I have no idea what settings to adjust. I assumed that "MPEG Audio Layer 2" would work but it didn't.

I must be missing something. There must be an encoder setting that will produce a .mpv and .mpa file after demultiplexing.

[guns1inger]

If you can get a wav file, use Aften to convert it to AC3. It is more compatible than mpeg layer2, especially in older US players.

That said, you should be able to get an audio stream that is mpeg layer 2. It could be hiding under another extension.

[thecoalman]

Use the selection for Dolby Digital (aka ac3) instead of wav or MPEG.

[raouliii]

The ONLY way I can seem to produce a .mpa audio file from VS11 is to create one seperate from the video file. No encoder template in VS11 seems to be able to create an output with a compliant audio track that can be demultiplexed in DVDLabPro. I'm sure its just me.

[lordsmurf]

Depending on the full projects needs, Encore might work for you.

[guns1inger]

The ONLY way I can seem to produce a .mpa audio file from VS11 is to create one seperate from the video file

Which is what you want. Import the .mpa and the .mpv files into DLP, and they will be muxed when authored. You don't want to have to be creating mpg file, and then having DLP demux them all the time. I only ever use elementary streams in DLP.