Best All-purpose software to use for DVD Authoring.

[chodges84]

Hi all

First off, sorry to ask this question as it has probably been asked a hundred times in the past, but i haven't been here for about a year cuz my damn computer decided to not go online anymore and so i havent been here.

It hasnt been a wasted year mind, I can now use the VideoCD toolkit and am getting better with XML. What I would like to know is, which is the best software to use for DVD authoring as I am getting a brand spanking new computer and am gonna take it up.

I want to be able to add my own subtitles (and NOT just extract them off other DVDs) to wedding videos and the like and edit standard DVD's with Chapters and menus that you can control with the Arrow buttons.

I dont know if any of this is possible, but i had a quick read though and saw IFOedit and DVDmaestro mentioned. Do these allow me to add my own subtitles and have menus like these?

Any help would be much appreciated.

thanks,
Craig

[Craig Tucker]

There is no Best

Its what will fulfill your needs at a price you are willing to pay. Reading through this thread may help you make a decision.

When the poll was first posted there were products not yet on the market that have since proved to be popular (eg. DVDlab and TMPGenc dvd author), but these are also discussed later on in the thread.

[SoupStain]

chodges84,

The fact that you want to do your own subtitles will limit your choice of software. Here are a few packages to think about (in ascending order of price) which might suit your needs.

DVD Junior (trial available - limits video to 1 minute in length)
Pinnacle Impression (trial not available)
Adobe Encore (trial available "soon")
Sonic ReelDVD (fully-functional time-limited trial available)

The list continues with higher-end (ie more expensive) packages, which might be overkill for your needs at the moment.

You mentioned DVD Maestro, but unless you can get hold of a second-hand copy (no longer sold new), forget it.

I haven't tried IFOedit, so can't comment.

Try out the ones with trials available and see how you get on with them.