Will I really benefit by upgrading to DVD Studio Pro?

[jbaugh]

I'm a rank amateur beginner. I bought an Optura 40 and I've been recording a series of lectures to burn to DVD. I started out with iMovie and iDVD. I'm now using FCE HD and I find it to be far superior to iMovie. I export Quicktime movies from FCE and burn them to DVD with iDVD. I am reasonably pleased with the final results. But I'm wondering if I would get better final video output on my DVDs if I were using DVDSP instead of iDVD. I guess I just don't know the differences between these products. Does DVDSP allow one to produce higher quality video than obtained with iDVD? Or is it just the extra bells and whistles that make DVDSP appealing to some?

I imagine that I will eventually want to move to HD video as this becomes more mainstream and as the HD camcorders fall in price. Will this make a difference in terms of the DVD software I use?

And just what is Compressor and what are its benefits, if any, to a user like me?
Thanks.
John

[Cornucopia]

Just as you found a huge difference between the capabilities of iMovie and FCP, so you will also find differences between iDVD and DVDSP. This includes encoding quality (via "Compressor") and authoring flexibility/complexity (via "DVDSP")--the "bells and whistles". Plus you will be able to make better use of available disc space by encoding audio to AC3 (via "APACK", or whatever it's called now) as opposed to PCM. Better use usually translates to either longer available clips and/or higher quality video.
Particularly, the new version enhances the menu possibilities, and is the best choice for an HD upgrade path.

HTH,

Scott

[terryj]

However, and I will say HOWEVER, that if you are just looking to enhance the footage coming out of FCE,
before burning with DVDSP, then rather than spend
the money on DVDSP, you should take some time
and learn more about using FCE and making sure you
get the best quality footage in you can as the rules of
"GOGO" apply tremendously with DV and HDV.

What "bells and whistles" you get with DVDSP
are the ability to control the most minute structures
of your desk layout...You can set transitions between
the start of certain video clips, you can create stories
that play only certain parts of certain clips and then return
to menus or sub-menus, you can custom create graphics
in Adobe Photoshop and use them rather than the
pre-defined "canned" menus and buttons in iDVD.

There is a wealth of things you can do in DVDSP, but
the learning curve is not for the weak willed or
those who get frustrated easy.

As for Compressor, it can enable you ( along with a
combination of either A.Pack or the much less costly
ffmpegx) to save space/optimize your video and audio
to enable the best quality or the longest length,
which ever you prefer, onto a standard DVD-R.

But regardless of whether you use Compressor,
BitVice, Soreson, ffmpegx, etc. to encode your
video, it all relies on having the best footage possible.

Can Compressor make your footage look better than
what is inputted? no.

Can it enable you to squeeze the most out of the bitrate
so that you can get the highest quality output for you
to burn in iDVD, by using a pre-determined calcualtion
that will result in less loss of data than say iDVD's
standard compression engine? sure, you betcha.

Does it have a steep learning curve as well?
To answer that I have to first ask
do you know what the following mean?

BitRate
Bit Rate Calculator

If you know what these are, then you are half way there.
If you know how to use one to get the other, then you
most assuredly can handle Compressor.

I don't mean to sound negative, but without knowing
your skill level and you did say you were a
"rank amateur", I am only giving you the upfront skinny
BEFORE you make such an expensive purchase, and I
just don't mean software. Time is also a commodity too.

[Cornucopia]

I just assumed that when somebody is able to successfully graduate from iMovie to FCP they should be able to do the same with iDVD-->DVDSP,

WHOOPS! FCE.

Oh, didn't notice that distinction. That makes quite a difference. Got the rank amatuer bit now.

OTOH, just about any mpeg encoder is better than iDVD's, but most are much more arcane and/or expensive, so manuevering around to get something better out of your mpeg might not be worth doing any other route besides "Compressor"

Try going to a Mac Store with a DV cam and see if they'll let you play with a Mac that has FCE/FCP and DVDSP. You don't have to actually burn a disc, but you could always capture a clip from the cam, use Compressor to encode and just watch the clip within DVDSP and see if it's acceptable. It will also be a good way to try out the app to see if it fits your MO.

Scott

[jbaugh]

Wow! Is this a great forum or what! Thank you Terryj and Scott. You've done an excellent job of helping me understand the pros and cons of upgrading to the professional line of digital video editing applications.

I found the switch from iMovie to FCE to be a relatively easy challenge. I have mastered the basics fairly well. Tom Wolsky's "Final Cut Express 2 Editing Workshop" was a great help. I still don't feel comfortable with the compositing and animation features. But since my video work has not required these specialized techniques I have not experimented in these areas. I suspect that the learning curve for FCP and/or DVDSP is more than I can take on at the present time. I'm not going to completely exclude looking at this issue again when I have more time to devote to the effort (semi-retirement in 3- 4 years).

And as you've probably deduced from my above comments I don't have a clue about the meaning of BitRate or Bit Rate Calculator.

I've owned numerous Macs since I bought my first Mac Plus in 1985. I currently own three (my PB, my daughter's PB and my wife's aging iBook). I intend to buy the next iteration of the desktop PM whenever it makes an appearance. I almost succombed to the latest dual 2.7 model.
So I consider myself a moderately advanced Mac user. But this can't make up for the fact that I have very little digital video experience and no formal training.

Thanks again for taking the time to discuss these issues with me.
John

[terryj]

John,
your welcome!

Again, I'm not trying to discourage you...
DVDSP has grown to become my number one
"hobby", and I admidt that if it wasn't for the fact of
having several years of VCD building and/or
video compositing in Director under my belt, I probably
would not have taken to the program like
a "duck to water". But from the sound of it,
you have a pretty extensive Mac background.

The interface of DVDSP is very Mac like, and having
gained a foothold in FCE, you will be familiar with
the interface right off, I can tell you that.


If you want to get a feel for what the program can do,
I know for a fact that you should be able to get through
your public library Martin Sitter's excellent
VQS for DVDSP3 ( or even VQS for DVDSP2)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0321267893/qid=1117082153/sr=1-2/ref=sr_...glance&s=books,
which is what I did to get a heads up on what it would be
to learn the program.
( I eventually bought the book, as it is an
EXCELLENT resource)
Check it out, I think you could swing it after getting FCE down a little more, so your load wouldn't be "off-balance".

if you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

[820am]

See, I actually prefer the simplicity of iMovie to Final Cut (whatever, I've tried both).

Apple's video offerings are all inferior, IMO, to Premiere, which doesn't run nicely anymore, so poopy.

As for DVDSP, I'm using it right now. It takes a while to get used to (the interface was best under DVDSP 1.5), but it's so damned powerful, what's not to love.

[terryj]

That's funny...I actually prefer DVDSP 2/3's interface
to 1.5's...but Since I started first with FCP 3, when they
finally standardized on the interface between apps
with DVDSP 2, things seemed to get much more.....
intuitive.

Have only seen demos of Premiere (4.0)..reminded me too
much of Avid...*shudder*..very glad when I got
a hold of FCP. But I will say the jump from :

Avid Videoshop3
to iMovie 2
to iMovie 3
to FCP 3
was very easy for me.


but yes, DVDSP is pretty powerful, more so than iDVD.

[Cornucopia]

Videoshop--that was a joke of an editor compared to anything, and certainly not worthy of the AVID name. Real AVID interfaces are a little daunting and industrial to a novice, but smooth and streamlined within the usual video professional's workflow.

I use AVID Composer, Xpress, FCP, Media100, Premiere, ULead VSP/MSP, DVStorm, and many others, and I would say that FCP and AVID Composer have the best interfaces--with FCP being more PC/Mac/Computer-oriented and AVID being more Film/VideoEditor-oriented. All the rest are further down the list (newest Premiere and Vegas steadily improving though).

**If the money's not tight, Go with DVDSP and a tutorial book/dvd and you'll be glad you did.

Scott

[jbaugh]

I just ordered Martin Sitter's DVDSP book from Amazon.com. It can't hurt to explore a little and then decide if I really want to invest the time and money in upgrading. I seem to invision myself eventually working in FCP and DVDSP, probably after I upgrade to the next version of the PM desktop whenever it arrives. A little preliminary climb on that learning curve can't do any harm.
John

[terryj]

that's the spirit John!!