Making training videos - what resolution, make menus, and output format?

[asedesigns]

Im not sure if this is the right place to post this but i was wondering how to make those training dvds that gnomon and digital tutors as well as many other companies make for photoshop, illustrator etc.

I know you need software like camtasia studio which is what im using, however I have a few questions regarding it.

1) What settings do you record it at to produce good quality DVD 1280x1024 or 1024x768? Because some videos i notice they record at smaller resolution on their monitor size so you can see the buttons/icons so im wondering whats a happy medium?

2) how do you make those titles or navigations there at the beginning for the video to start up when you pop a video in your dvd player. Do you need other software for that and if so which one?

3) what format do you output it as quicktime ? is that the best and versitile for a dvd copy on both mac and pc right?

Thanks for your input. Using a Windows system to make the training videos.

[Baldrick]

should they work on standalone dvd players? or just computers?

this dvd authoring forum is mainly for dvd-video.

[asedesigns]

regular dvd players as well

[thecoalman]

To play in a DVD player it has to be within the DVD specs: https://www.videohelp.com/dvd

That gives you a max resolution of 720x480 (720 x 576 PAL), text pretty much becomes unlegible unless it's a very large font. however if you capture at a higher resolution then use an editor to pan and scan you will in affect be enlarging it.

To get started I'd suggest Ulead Video Studio , has both an editor including pan and scan capabilities and minor authoring features.

[asedesigns]

okay so i started the recording process for DVD software training videos however its hard to work with the software at a scaled down version. Basically what i did was set my recording software to record 720x480 dimension and then started it and reduced my software program to fit that dimension in full (photoshop). However the icons are huge now and its tough navigating the space inside the program.

Is there a way to make training videos at a higher resolution such as a full screen of 1280x1024 or something like that and then scale it later and on the text sections just use the zoom/pan thing with ulead or is that a bad idea?

also what other programs or what is really good software that can do the zooming/panning like ulead on zones and sections?

Im using a PC - 4gb ram - camtasia studio to record the video - looking to output to regular dvd players. Thanks.