TMPGEnc DVD Author question/

[ingeborgdot]

I saw many reviews and a very high rating for this product. For those of you that use it what seems to be the strengths and weaknesses.

[yoda313]

Strengths - point an click simpilicity - some decent menu creation options, included transcoder for shirnking a movie before burning -

weakness - not many to be honest. Though for some power users it may be too simplistic. Also is a tad pricey. I bought version 2.0 a few years ago at 100.00 or so. TDA 3.0 is out now wiht divx support and I don't know the current price.

[Semaphoric]

I find it more than adequate for my needs. My main gripe is that the instructions in the Help for some of the more advanced menu-creation features are incomplete or even wrong. But once you figure it out, you can do quite a lot with it.

[Alex_ander]

TDA3 is excellent for menu creation, but it can re-encode some places in video (mpeg file join points etc.) and this can't be turned off (sometimes this even produces video/audio glitches). So I finally came to using it for menus only (author the main content in TDA1.6, then assemble in DVDRemake).

[ingeborgdot]

TDA3 is excellent for menu creation, but it can re-encode some places in video (mpeg file join points etc.) and this can't be turned off (sometimes this even produces video/audio glitches). So I finally came to using it for menus only (author the main content in TDA1.6, then assemble in DVDRemake).

When you say it can re-encode some places in video what do you mean? What is happening?
I would like to know a little info of what you use when you capture from a dv camera please.
So what do you capture in?
Would you please tell me your steps from capture to finish of the products you use? Thanks.
Capture, editor, and author and any steps in between.
Your burning tool.

[ingeborgdot]

I downloaded and have been working with this but this is what I get at the start. I have reinstalled several times.
This application has failed to start because pthreadGC2.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.

[RabidDog]

When you join or split mpeg streams the join or split HAS to be re-encoded otherwise it might not conform to DVD specs..The best editors, authors are clever enough to only re-encode the small joins or split portions rather than to re-encode the whole mpeg stream. Encoding only the joins takes minutes rather than the hours it would take to re-encode the bloomin' lot!

[ingeborgdot]

Does anyone know what that error message is? After the message I click ok and another one comes up and I click ok and the program starts.

[ingeborgdot]

Got it. Downloaded it and put it in the file and it works.

[Alex_ander]

When you say it can re-encode some places in video what do you mean? What is happening?
I would like to know a little info of what you use when you capture from a dv camera please.

I mainly use already encoded DVD compliant mpegs. In case the parts are encoded separately, they are joined in a mpeg editor like MVW (or have commercials cut out in case of DVB source). The problem with TDA3 is that it can re-encode short parts of video (mainly in places you joined/cut your mpegs) if it finds something irregular by its own criteria and this sometimes gives visible artifacts (dropped or inserted frames, short audio drop-outs etc.). It always re-encodes the last GOP in mpeg which may result in frame freezing or pixellation in the last frames.
In case you use an avi source (full encoding in TDA) maybe it will work without these problems.

Would you please tell me your steps from capture to finish of the products you use? Thanks.
Capture, editor, and author and any steps in between.
Your burning tool.

I use AviSynth for editing, CCE2.70 for encoding, MVW for synching video/audio and cut/join operations. For making menus in TDA3 I use small mpeg file (1 or 2 MB) and make fake chaptering, adding it as a new track etc. - to get the desired menu structure. This gives a dummy DVD with complete menu and navigation. The content parts are separately authored with chapters but without menus in TDA1.6 or Muxman. Then (with DVDRemake) each part is used for replacement of a dummy part in the piece made in in TDA3.
ImgBurn for burning.

[ingeborgdot]

I will have capture from a dv camera of one football game each week. I will capture with WinDv. This is the first year using WinDv. I am pretty sure it will be AVI, right?
I will then edit with Sony Vegas 8 Pro and author with TDA. I still don't know for sure what I will burn with whether it be TDA or Imgburn.
Tonight because I will have limited time to capture, edit and author and get the final dvd out I am going to be using ConvertxtoDVD. I have been having some problems with it but everyone says it is a good product if you need fast production.

[milindb1]

Go For ConvertXToDVD ..........the best solution