What is best authoring program for SVCD on DVD?

[LisaB]

I've tried TMPGEnc DVD Author and DVD-lab. Neither of these are ideal.

TMPGEnc DVD Author:

Pros:
1. Makes multi-title VOB sets. I really like this because I can mix and match different frame-sizes, etc. on one DVD.

2. Has a great video editor. This is important, since SVCD movies are usually in 2-3 parts, and there is overlap, so it's good to be able to trim.

Cons:
1. Absolutely horrid menu creation capabilities. You get to pick from about 6 ugly templates, can't position text, etc...

2. Can't mix PAL and NTSC on one DVD.

DVD-Lab:

Pros:
1. Good and flexible menu creation; it does everything I'm looking for in this respect.

2. Accepts SVCD Frame sizes, so no need to patch sequence headers.

Cons:
1. Program insists on transcoding the audio from 44.1k to 48k as soon as you add a clip to the asset bin. Why can't it wait and do this during the compile, like DVD-Author? Also, the audio transcoder is buggy and won't work on some files. Anyway, this I can get around by first batch demultiplexing and transcoding with SVCD2DVDMPG.

2. Makes single title sets. I assume this means that I can't mix frame sizes, can't mix PAL/NTSC, can't mix Aspect Ratio's, etc. on one DVD. I've not done much testing in this regard.

3. There is always a delay when it goes from one "movie" to the next, even if they are linked together (because they are actually two halves of the same movie). This makes DVD-Lab not so good if you have SVCD movies that are in more than one part.

Is there anything else out there that may be better for my purposes?

[EpiMann]

I've been also struggling with DVD creation (my very first).

Anyhow it seems that you can mix PAL and NTSC with TMPGEnc DVD Author if you create different tracks for them.

I've had very many problems when trying TMPGEnc DVD Author and Ulead DVD MF 2 because I've different kind of sources: DVD MPEG2, SVCD, PAL, NTSC, AC3 etc. and want to get them on the same DVD.

First I had a problem with AC3 audio with MF2 but found a solution for that (from this forum ). I just edited the hidden dvdmf.ini and changed all AC3 related things from 0 to 1. Anyhow there's a problem with that software that I cannot solve ... it doesn't accept SVCD and PAL to the same DVD.

With TMPGEnc DVD Author I've had problems with DVD-SVCD because it says that GOP is incorrect and even if I press the Ignore button, it doesn't add the file to the project. In fact if I use Add File instead of drag'n'drop, it says that Failed to initialize decoder or something like. (used DVDPatcher to patch the header and also audio changed from 44.1khz to 48khz)

Now it seems that I've been able to overcome this also. I have to mux audio and video with TMPGEnc using the multiplex option instead of Simple multiplex and also patch the entire file instead of the first header.

The only problem with TMPGEnc DVD Author is now (as you mentioned) that templates are not so professional looking and advanced as I want them to be. I've tried to find additional templates all over the net but kind find any.

If there exists any, could you please tell me where I can find them. And if someone knows how to overcome that MF2 NTSC/PAL problem, please tell.