Work instruction Training DVD

[Jericho]

I am working on creating a Work instruction training video for new manufacturing operators. I took this small project on since I have done several home movies.
I am combining written procedures, still photos and DV clips.
I found a way to save our written procedures in Power Point, and then save the slides as jpeg format, it works well.
I am currently using Ulead DVD Movie Factory 5, and not too happy with it, had several problems with the menu and creating chapters.
Any suggestion for good software for this kind of work, my final product will be DVD format.

thanks

[guns1inger]

It depends on how you want it to play.

If I were doing it, I would edit the videos in Vegas, if necessary, then encode with ProCoder. I would use DVD Lab Pro to author the disc.

If the jpegs were to flow in a continuous video, I would assemble them in Vegas. If they were to be navigated manually I would author them as menu pages with navigation buttons to move to next and previous slides etc.

It is not a complex project, but you do need to plan it out on paper first to make sure you know how each area works. You may find that will good planning you can get your existing tool to work better for you.

[Jericho]

Your are correct about the planning steps of this project. I looked up the software that you have recommended. I am trying to keep my software cost under $500, in your opinion, which ones should I get.
Questions:
I have some mini DVD clips recorded with a Sony DVD camera, which software I can used to edit these clips, I believe there are encoded
Which video card do you recommend for this type of work, as I am looking to upgrade.

Thanks

[guns1inger]

Video card isn't relevant and will have no effect on your editing.

To keep within that budget, I would look seriously at Vegas Movie Studio for editing. You can just copy the VOBs from your camera's discs and load then into Vegas. You can also encode for DVD from within this program.

You authoring requirements are probably more complex than Vegas Movie Studio can cope with, so I would use DVD Lab Pro.

You do realise that the camera you have used has recorded to a lossy format, and that you will have to re-encode the footage if you use something like Vegas Movie Studio. There are dedicated mpeg editors that can reduce the amount of re-encoding you have to do, but they are considerably limited in comparison, and may not handle all the still image work.

[Bjs]

Without costing you a cent ... just depends on how far you want to go ... either very basic ... or as far as you are willing to learn ... and blow the socks of those watching it ...

Dvdauthorgui - basic dvd comilation authoring .
Imgburn - burn project to media .
Besweet - convert audio to ac3 .
The gimp - for creating menu backgrounds (now has g.a.p - works well).
Mwsnap - screen snaps .
Pgcedit - ability to add content to already authored dvd folder ... fix up navigational error's fast .
Wax2 - just too much ... add a map with a little car going from point a to point b ... and more .
Blender - animation , 3d , game engine .
Koolplaya + ac3 filters + freedvdcodec ... for playing back dvd project ... check for error's prior to burning .
Virtualdub - Split / join avi , strip / can add audio (specific) , frameserve to bbmpeg .
Bbmpeg - encoder , mpeg1 , mpeg2 ... nstc , pal ... it dose the lot .
Rejig - for quick muxing to dvd from m2v / ac3 sources ...rejig can also shrink output .
Muxman - yet another just like rejig .
Ifoedit - as above , but really for experienced users .
Vobedit - demux vob's via chapter cell id or vob id ... strip streams , join vobs .
Dvdshrink - shink project to fit required media choice ... basic reauthoring .
Visualsubsync - go crazy and add perfectly synced subs of your own creation
Syncview - realign audio with video
Avisynth + addons - motion menus , blends , and more .
Developers notepad - handy editor that dose not mess up file formats when saving .
Pixia - can make buttons for dvdauthorgui projects .
Audacity - handy audio editing

Utilities :

Addchapter
ChapterXtractor
Vcdgear
Artisanplayer
Autoit
Camstudio
Canopus_DV_File_Converter
Undercoverxp - print cd covers and more
Gspot
Lame
Ac3filters
Super
Magicdisc - free cd/dvd emulator
Dvdslideshowgui
Ssmm - slideshow movie maker
Vobsub
Cdmage
Openfx
Vobblanker

And another hundred ... dont recall them all ...

Oh not to forget vidchanger ... change the vob id ... or if multiple vob cell's , change default cell id to be used as chapter points ... a great little tool to have

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As for the project's needs :

Dvdauthorgui - putting it all together , and basic intra nav connectivity
Besweet - convert to ac3 would give more room for clips
Virtualdub - convert still's to mpeg2 via frameserving to bbmpeg
Bbmpeg
The gimp - background menu layout and design
Imgburn - burn to media
Pgcedit - Fix up any navigational error's fast
Audacity - used to correct time length difference found between new audio and chosen video clip
- handy if you wish to add you own vocal dictation to video clip content .
Dvdshrink - to give a little more room for more content

And koolplaya + ac3filters + freedvdcodec for playing back prior to burning to media ... check for error's prior to burning .

----------------------------

I have both ulead video studio 9 and ulead dvd movie factory 5 plus ... and after having used the previous for some time ... I did not like the interface from the new tool at all ...

I prefer to use freeware , as it dosent impeed projects in anyway ... except it's not a one step sullution having to use a few tool's to complete the task .

The tool's listed above ... generally speaking dont have any major issue's ... none if used correctly and you know your intended project layout well before hand .

Finally :

Verbatim dvd-r , burn at 4x ... if second disc fails ... it's considered a dud package and returned for exchange or refund .