DVD WORKSHOP TIPS & TRICKS

[rip-in-peace]

Anyone know why the 16:9 & 4:3 options are "greyed out" in v.1.3 ?
Has anyone been able to use this feature ?

[jopereira]

My experience with DVDWS is that VBR stream WILL be re-encoded, no matter what bitrate was used...
CBR from the same prog (CCE) will not be re-encoded.

[sunmiztres]

okay i am strting to get it where dvdws does not reencode my vbr but now i am running int another prob. when i load my clips into dvdws it is not giving me the right timecode on them which is bad if you want to make chapters. i am loading two 90 minute clips but it is saying that they are 71 minutes and of course will only let me make chapters up to the 71 minute mark. the whole movie is there when i preview it but it won't go past 71 minutes on the edit tab. Does anyone know why this is happening and what i can do to get it to work? thanks for any info you could give.

[JasonK]

okay i am strting to get it where dvdws does not reencode my vbr How did you get it to stop reencoding your VBR?

[sunmiztres]

okay i am strting to get it where dvdws does not reencode my vbr How did you get it to stop reencoding your VBR?

I had to make sure i didn't set the max bitrate above 8,224 because that is the highest dvdws will let a dvd vbr setting go. On the finidh tab i click on cutomize and set it to vbr and then put 8000 in there and it doesn't reencode for me, but of course i am running into the problem i stated above. Any ideas why i am running into this problem?
thanks

[flander1]

Trying simple test of DVDWS download trial program.
Everytime I get to 'finish project' burn DVD I get the error messages
"MPEG is not a standard audio type for a NTSC DVD"
I've taken two 20 second .avi clips and created mpegs using two different methods:
---- TMPNGEnc, default settings.
Audio Properties of clips are
audio type MPEG audio Layer 2 files
44100 Hz, 16 bit, Stereo
Layer 2
Bit rate 192 kbps
---- Premiere 5.1c with the Digigami MegaPEG plug in.
Audio Properties of clips are
audio type MPEG audio Layer 2 files
32000 Hz, 16 bit, Stereo
Layer 2
Bit rate 256 kbps
Try two seperate projects using these files and get same error.
Can Anyone help???
Thanks

[Jimmyvcdfuckwit]

I need to know if there is a way to get DVDWS to convert the MPeg audio to AC3 DD?

[romanoj]

Since this is supposed to be a place where you can find tips. Here's one tip on how to get a highlighted menu option.
For example:
Let's say you have two menu options and you want to highlight the menu choice with a special symbol:
Like this:
* play dvd *
special features
or this:
play dvd
* special features *

Here's how to do it.

1) create the text for menu choices but don't create links to them.
2) select a symbol from any font. I used the Windings 3 fonts to get
cool characters, such as:
g f
(of course, you wont see the letter g or f)
3) put spaces between the two symbols
4) right click on the text and select Arrange -> send to back
5) set display transparency to 99% for the text
6) link this new text to a video clip or menu
7) This will give you an attribute of text state colors
8) select the state colors where the focused color is the
color you desire when the cursor is over the selection.
9) put this text behind the text you want to highlight.

That's it. Good luck.

[rip-in-peace]

@flander1 - Audio MUST be 48000Htz for DVD spec !

@Jimmyvcdfuckwit - DVDWS cannot create AC3 streams from Mpeg audio !

[Felix_2000]

I've tried using Ulead DVD Workshop ver 1.0 and 1.2 but I still get the same problem when I import some MPG that have been converted in TMPGEnc from SVCD sources (Ran them through DVD2AVI first). It always clips the last 10-20 min off of each MPG. Though I can always play it the MPG files fine from within PowerDVD and such.

Reading through some of the threads someone said in TMPGEnc it needed to be done with a setting (Top Field First (Field A)) I've check and that was done. Not sure whatelse to try.

SVCD Settings
4:3 Ratio
23.976 Film

DVD Enc Settings
MPEG-2 720x480
23.976fps
CBR 4000kbps,
Layer-2 48000Hz 384kbps
Top Field First (Field A)

Hope someone can help.

Thanks
-=| Felix |=-

[GaryStebbins]

See Configuring TMPGEnc for some good information on setting up TMPGEnc for encoding for DVDs.

Gary

[strangezero]

hi to all..........

I was wondering how good is the dvd workshop mpeg2 encoder??

I always burn dvd-r with 1hour of video (no more than 1 hour). So should i use constant bitrate at 8000 or not??? Is it good or there are better out there???

I tried tmpeg and cce but they have so many settings that gives me a headache..!!!

If i capture my dv avi, edit, make menu and then encode to mpeg2 ALL with dvd workshop..... will i have Good results??

Thank you all in advance and sorry for my poor english

[solarfox]

Flander1 -- strictly speaking, the software is correct; MPEG-encoded audio is not the standard for NTSC DVD's. (Apparently, it is standard for PAL discs, which is yet another example of a standards committee deciding "why have one standard when we can have a dozen instead?"... ) NTSC DVD's are supposed to have a 44.1KHz PCM-encoded audio stream instead; support for MPEG audio streams is "optional."

That being said, I've always ignored the warning and carried on with the burn, and never yet had the discs fail to play properly in a variety of DVD players, so apparently the current generation of players implements MPEG-audio support as standard regardless of whether the DVD Forum considers it "optional" or not.

[WARM3CH]

Is there any way to author DVD-SVCD using DW? Apparantly there should be such a possibility as the software should support non-standard resolutions for templates but so far I could not activate it as the custom options were are gray.... What should I do if I want to put two SVCDs on a single DVD-R with a simple menu to select between them?
Also, if anyone answers that, can you please tell me what will happen if one the SVCDs is PAL and the other is NTSC? (well, I thought it should be basically possible if the software put them in to two separate VOB files and ...)

Regards
WARM3CH

[jopereira]

Flander1 "why have one standard when we can have a dozen instead?"... ) "

But then a dozen is no more a standard...

[musicnyman]

has anyone had any problems with choppy/flickering video when using dvd workshop 1.3 using VHS as a source? i've tried using DV and MPEG2 as a source file for workshop and they both flicker and are choppy when going to dvd. the source files are fine and no frames dropped when capturing using the pinnacle PCTV card. other authoring softwares are fine including dvdit and spruceup. also tried changing the fields when capturing and doesn't make a difference.

thanks,

[odedia]

Hi all.

I have a very neat trick for you all concerning the DVD chapters:

For setting the chapters in Ulead DVD Workshop, don't use Ulead DVD's
navigation, because it's slooooooowwww....

Instead - use DVD2AVI, which uses the exact same timestamp, and is
about 20 times faster - i'm not kidding here .

I just set all my chapters in less than 5 minutes for a 90 minutes
DVD.

What you need to do is seek for the exact timecode of the chapter you want from within DVD2AVI, then simply punch in that exact timecode into the time bar in DVD workshop, then click "add chapter". This is MUCH faster than trying to seek for the exact chapter start from within workshop.

Do this step for every chapter in your movie and you'll have your movie ready in no time.

Oded S.

[caulnguyen]

Here is my work around for DWS lack of transition effect.

Using Ulead VS6 to add effect, transition, text, .... Save file in DV (*.avi)
Using TMPGEnc to encode to MPEG2
Using Ulead DWS to authorizing. Since there is only one title, you will need to select multiple scenes to make chapters.

CN

[gav28uk]

Being a complete newbie I have spent the past 3 days trying to get to grips with TMPGENC and Ulead DVD Workshop. Seeing as so many other newbies have had issue with VBR MPEG files and DVD Workshop re-encoding the video I thought I would share what I did to stop this happening.

Basically within Ulead DVD Worksop within the "Finish" section, select the "Make a Disc" option, you are presented with a listing of video options. Select "Customize" and then Select the "Compression" tab. Within this window change the "Video Date Rate" from CBR to VBR and set the VBR to 8000kbps. I then click OK, and then within the main burn window ensure that "Do not convert compliant file" option is ticked.

So far, after hours of failures and re-encodes this has always worked for me. I hope this helps somebody

Gavin

[Lula1]

Hi guys,

I was out of town for the last week.

I am pretty happy to have started this topic as I see that more and more DVDWS users are dropping in with questions and solutions.

I am thinking of a way to summarize all questions and respective solutions, tips and workarounds that have been covered up to now. If anyone has suggestions please post them here.

[bigballs]

Im useing dvd factory 1.0. I have a large mpeg file made with TMPGEnc using the wizard, its about 4.3 gig. I set tmpgenc to make a wide screen dvd. The mpeg plays fine on power dvd xp, but when I put it through dvd factory to author it the lip sync gradually gets worse and at the end of the movie its about 2 seconds out of sync. (the sound comes before the lips move) I installed the xp audio patch when it came out. I have done loads of other dvd mpegs and they have been o.k until now. Also why does dvd factory re-multiplex the audio and sound when its already been done in tmpgenc. I have tried re-installing dvd factory and the xp patch with out any luck.HELP

[daflan72]

Hi all ....

I GOT A BIG SYNC PROBLEM WITH DVDWS.

I ' m tryng to put into a single DVD-r some mpeg2 (18):
1152 Const. bitrate
128 Mpg1 Audio 48K

I realized those MPEGS with TMPEG and i played them all perfectly as singles files(Using POWERDVD and WinMediaPlayer).

BUT ...
After preparing all my menus and DVD structure with NO PROBLEM at all ----
I Create the DVD (both CIF - and Customized .... then NO ULEED REENCODING NEEDED - so it directly wrote the files as they are) and
the AUDIO in evry single TRACK-(corrisponding to 1 Mpeg) went progressively OUT OF SYNC (5 sec. at the and of all TRACKS)!!!

WHY !?!?
The original MPEG were perfectly in SYNC !
DVD WORKSHOP didn't re-encode so why OUT OF SYNC !?!?!?!?

PLEASE HELP ME !!!!
I tried everything .... I'm lost ....

Thanks...

[q1aqza]

This is a great thread although the original concept of Tips and Tricks has been largely replaced with re-encoding problems.

I thought I'd add a success story to all the unfortunate failures that people are experiencing (otherwise threads are often always bad news!!). My PAL MPEG2s are encoded with VBR with a max of 9000 with Mpeg Layer II audio at 224. When I finish the project and select Make Disc I just select the high quality option (which I think is max 8000) and then select Do Not Convert Compliant. This has worked for me 100% of the time. Mine is a completely standard V1.0 installation with V1.3 patch applied, I've not made any changes to any .ini files. This has worked on various MPEGS created by CCE, TMPG and MainConcept. I'm sorry to hear so many people having problems with this great program.

Somewhere earlier in this thread somone said that DVDWS encoding is not good quality. I haven't tried it myself but I was wondering if anyone has done any comparision tests. I understand that V1.3 uses the MPEG.Now encoder which is actually using SDK from MainConcept, of which the Adobe Premiere, Sonic Foundry Vegas Video and standalone versions of MainConcept are very good. Just curious to know if it is that bad.

[TuyetDinh]

Hi all,
I have problem with ac3 in DVDWS. I use DVstorm2 for encoding .mpeg and .wav, then convert file .wav to .ac3 by Besweet software. I did to change file DVDWS.INI (PlayAc3=1), but does not work. My DVDWS version 1.3, some one can help me how DVDWS work with .ac3
Thank.

[Lula1]

Hi again,

TuyetDinh : although I use DVDWS 1.0 , I know that version 1.3 accepts elementary streams ( separate audio and video streams ). Have you tried that ? You can also multiplex your video stream and your audio stream (AC3) using TMPGEnc , producing your MPEG2 , which will then be your input for DVDWS.

q1aqza : I always use TMPGEnc to encode. But it would be worth a try , to see how different (better or worse ) is DVDWS's built-in encoder. Please report your test results with us.

daflan72 : what version of DVDWS are you using ? there was an audio synch patch for the very first trial versions ...

EVERYBODY : take a look at my post DVD ARCHITECT TIPS & TRICKS .

[CaliDogg]

For those of you experiencing audio sync problems with DVD Workshop, as I was, check out the solution I found. It may help some of you even if you use different software to edit your videos than I do.

Here's some background:

I use the Dazzle DVC II to capture mpeg2 from cable TV and edit those with M2Edit Pro 5.0

I have been making SVCD with no sync problems for a long time. It was not until I just got my first DVD burner that I ran into this audio sync problem.

I thought the sync problem was being caused by DVD Workshop as my mpegs played in sync before authoring with it.

However, my audio sync problem was being introduced by the method I was using to edit out commercials, with M2Edit Pro. This being true even tho the edited mpegs play in sync before authoring to DVD
_____________________________

UPDATE 4-16-2003

To get my projects in sync, I was spending a lot of time editing (with M2EditPro). Sometimes they would sync first try. Other times, I'd have to try editing a slightly different way to make it work. This could take several trys. Each try meant authoring with DVD Workshop since, that's when the sync problem can bee seen. Not fun

So...

I've developed a new method of editing with M2 Edit pro. So far, all the TV shows, I have edit this way, have had perfect audio sync, first try

In this order:

1. Set Preferences to “Zero” for edl “time offset”

2. Cut on I frames only (when needed, make your cut an extra I frame out so, you have room to get more accurate in step 4.) No other editing at this point.

3. Multi-trim to separate files

4. One file at a time, apply any needed dissolves to get more frame accurate results. Produce each re-edited file separately.

5. Produce the final file from these (without any additional editing)

This new method incorporates a couple ideas I had. I am not sure which one seems to have brought success. As I refine this method, I'll update here with a hopefully shortened method.

[Petraman]

Howdy Everyone!

I found this string and was So Excited! I absolutely LOVE this program, but have not been able to get any of my files to burn without being re-converted by DVDWS and becoming out of sync.
Here has been my process

- My beginning file is a large divx avi; Video is Divx Pro 5.0.2 codec, audio is MPG Layer3 codec

- I use Virtualdub 1.4 to separate the audio and video (audio is pulled as 48khz, LPCM)

- I convert the new files in TMPEGEnc using the Project Wizard .. NTSC/CBR 3000kbps/4.7 GB, non-interlace, 4:3 525 line
I have also done the file with older version of tmpeg as CBR LPCM, and also a VBR 3000-7000

I then try to build dvd files with DVDWS 1.3 and I have tried setting it at exact same speeds, higher speeds, CBR, VBR, custom, etc..
and yes of course I have the "do not encode..." button selected.

No matter what I do the same result... it re-encodes and audio is out of sync.

I have pm'ed lula to get this patch he is talking about to use with version 1.0 but so far no response.

Any ideas anyone? Anyone have the patch file for 1.0 to fix audio problem? Can you send me?

Thanks for your help...

Petraman

[bombart]

WOW!! This thread is reviving my faith in DVDWS. I had also given up on it because I was having so many of the problems some others were having here. I CAN'T WAIT TO GET HOME AND TRY THE SOLUTIONS, ESPECIALLY THE TIP ABOUT SETTING THE BITRATE TO HIGHER THAN WHAT YOU HAVE USED SO IT DOESN'T REENCODE. THAT'S GOLD! I think I'm going to leave work now...

Cheers.

I'll post results in a day or two, after playing around extensively with DVDWS (and oh yeah, reinstalling it) I was sooo depressed after paying so much for it and it not doing what I'd like.

SWEET!

B.

[Robert Simandl]

Now that DWS has this AC-3 Power Pack out, can someone tell me if it fixes some of the bugs in the current version 1.3? Or does it just add AC-3 support without fixing any of the bugs?

Thanks....

[igalan]

- My beginning file is a large divx avi; Video is Divx Pro 5.0.2 codec, audio is MPG Layer3 codec
- I use Virtualdub 1.4 to separate the audio and video (audio is pulled as 48khz, LPCM) - I convert the new files in TMPEGEnc using the Project Wizard .. NTSC/CBR 3000kbps/4.7 GB, non-interlace, 4:3 525 line
[...]
I then try to build dvd files with DVDWS 1.3 and I have tried setting it at exact same speeds, higher speeds, CBR, VBR, custom, etc..
and yes of course I have the "do not encode..." button selected.

How big are the files that you import into DVD WS? I mean the video stream (m2v) and the audio stream (WAV, I guess)? If they are too big (over 4.3 GB) DVD WS will reencode even if the WAV file encoded in MPEG1 layer2 would fit onto on DVD-R.