Looking at new authoring software for use at work...

[auenf]

Boss has gotten some work for me the authorer to do, but some of it involves DVD9, which poor old DVDVirtuoso cant do, so i'm in the process of tracking down a good cheap(ish) authoring program to do DVD9, and other requirements are multiple audio tracks.

i initally narrowed it down to the big 4, Spruce, Daiken, Sonic and Apple;

Spruce - cant find their software (new or used) anywhere reliably, so keeping with a familiar platform goes out the window
Daiken - ReelDVD doesnt support DVD9, but Scenarist (3 varients) do.
Sonic - the only Sonic app that comes close to supporting DVD9 is DVD Producer, but more on that later.
Apple - iDVD doesnt support DVD9, but DVD Studio Pro does

starting with Daiken, i found out this:

Scenarist: AUD$15k - AUD$40k

whilst getting that info, i was also told that Sonic DVDProducer did DVD9 and that DVD Studio Pro was the quickest way to get 12,000 manufactured coasters.

after checking the sonic site, i decided that all that info could be discarded, and scenarist is out of the price range anyway, mainly due to this link:

http://sonic.com/products/dvdproducer/faqs/q18.htm

now what is the use of DVD9 support, if the VIDEO_TS can only be on the first layer?

onto DVD Studio Pro (and with 2.0 rapidly approaching, it looks like the "Up-To-Date" (http://www.apple.com/dvdstudiopro/newversion/uptodate.html) option will be very handy, especially at AUD$57 over the 1.5 price of AUD$950.

after ringing the apple store line to try to get more info on the 2.0 version, i found out that it is going to be OS X+, which makes the old G4 dual450 with OS 9 not happy.

DVD Studio Pro is currently the best option (probably will get the 2.0 uptodate thing and put it on the shelf for a while), but that will mean the G4 will have to stop being my footrest :(

any other DVD9 apps that anyone can think of, let me know (in the post is best).

now after all those problems, i think its almost time for a good nights sleep...

Enf...

[ultimatebilly]

Although I don't know anything about the programs myself, Doom9's feature matrix (http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvdauthoring.htm) suggests that there are other programs which support DVD9... (Or is it just the tape-support?)...
For example DVDMotion pro?!

But I guess if anybody knows this matrix, then it's you...:)

[auenf]

Originally posted by ultimatebilly
Although I don't know anything about the programs myself, Doom9's feature matrix (http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvdauthoring.htm) suggests that there are other programs which support DVD9... (Or is it just the tape-support?)...
For example DVDMotion pro?!

and DVDMotion Pro is not available according to the feature matrix too ;)


But I guess if anybody knows this matrix, then it's you...:)

possibly, altho my memory is bad sometimes, so its always good to check i haven't missed anything ;)

the final report is DVD Studio Pro will be picked up on monday, unless something better pops up in the meantime ;)

btw, i saw that pinnacle had a dvd program listed as a 'pro' app, but their site is really bad (again) and the app looks pretty bad in the screen shots too...

Enf...

[Arky]

I must admit that I have been looking longingly at DVD Studio Pro 2.0, for the last couple of weeks. It's a great app for the price, and another plus point for me is that I know it's the Spruce crew coding it. I am not prepared to play Job's game, and buy a MAC, just to use his software, however. I do not like the man and I do not like his attitude - in many ways, he's WORSE than Gates! I only wish I could emulate OS-X+ reliably on a PC, under which circumstances I'd happily buy DVD Studio Pro 2.0, using native Windows apps for every other job.

Adobe Encore is, as I see it, the only serious Windows competitor (in this price sector) in the current market. According to Adobe's own .PDF, Encore DOES support dual-layer...

...Only 'problem' is that it's based upon a Sonic SDK, so you'd be well-advised to check if it falls foul of the same issue you described for Sonic Producer.

Damn, what a difficult decision to make! If I was in your present position, and I was in a hurry to get on with the authoring, then I do think I'd seriously consider pressing a MAC into service, given that Studio Pro 2.0 is incredibly good value for the money, and could be financially written off quite easily, if a killer Windows app hits the market in a few months. This would not be true with a license price like that of Scenarist or Maestro - once you buy that you're inclined to stick with it, come hell or high water.


Arky ;o)

[auenf]

Originally posted by Arky
I must admit that I have been looking longingly at DVD Studio Pro 2.0, for the last couple of weeks. It's a great app for the price, and another plus point for me is that I know it's the Spruce crew coding it.

DVD SP 1.x was created by astarte from memory, and i noticed a lot of maestro like layouts in DVD SP 2, so was wondering if they were behind it, and my comment in an earlier thread about apple has the spruce team working behind the scenes to create an even better DVD SP for when a competitor comes close seems to be right, if Encore is as good as it looks.

I am not prepared to play Job's game, and buy a MAC, just to use his software, however. I do not like the man and I do not like his attitude - in many ways, he's WORSE than Gates! I only wish I could emulate OS-X+ reliably on a PC, under which circumstances I'd happily buy DVD Studio Pro 2.0, using native Windows apps for every other job.

you'll be lining up behind me when that happens ;)

Adobe Encore is, as I see it, the only serious Windows competitor (in this price sector) in the current market. According to Adobe's own .PDF, Encore DOES support dual-layer...

...Only 'problem' is that it's based upon a Sonic SDK, so you'd be well-advised to check if it falls foul of the same issue you described for Sonic Producer.

is Encore based on the Sonic SDK, or the Daiken SDK?

the other problem with Encore is, its not released, and we really need the software today.

Damn, what a difficult decision to make! If I was in your present position, and I was in a hurry to get on with the authoring, then I do think I'd seriously consider pressing a MAC into service, given that Studio Pro 2.0 is incredibly good value for the money, and could be financially written off quite easily, if a killer Windows app hits the market in a few months. This would not be true with a license price like that of Scenarist or Maestro - once you buy that you're inclined to stick with it, come hell or high water.

well, i moved the G4 from under my feet to on my desk, and ordered a SCSI card (to run the DVR-S201 and DLT4000) as well, and apple australia stuffed up and said that DVD SP 1.5 is not available 'yet'.

so after they fixed up their problem, 1.5 is ordered and is aparently a week away or something.

going to get the AUD$57 2.0 up-to-date thingy even tho the G4 only has OS 9.0.4 installed, will consider upgrading to OS X and 2.0 even if its for familiarity with the old software ;)

Enf...

[Arky]

Don't know if Daikin code is anywhere to be seen in Adobe Encore (although it'd make me a lot more confident if it was) - all I can say at the moment is that I've read that it is based upon an SDK licensed from Sonic.

I think we both agree that Encore needs to hit the shelves ASAP, and needs to be experimented with in a production-like environment before any real conclusions can be drawn, and the product (perhaps) purchased.

Personally, I see it as absolutely no coincidence that Studio Pro is due to be released just after Encore. Clever marketing, that.

Encore does look fairly promising, although I reckon Studio Pro will probably have the edge, which is a real pain for someone like myself who has no MAC, and has no intention of buying a MAC either. Both programs are at the 'right price' for me.

Let me know how you get on with Studio Pro 1.5/2.0. Easy2bcheesy also has company colleagues who use Studio Pro.


Arky ;o)

[auenf]

Originally posted by Arky
Encore does look fairly promising, although I reckon Studio Pro will probably have the edge, which is a real pain for someone like myself who has no MAC, and has no intention of buying a MAC either. Both programs are at the 'right price' for me.

Premiere+Encore is looking like a similar pairing to FinalCutPro+DVDStudioPro ;)

lets hope the rumours of OS X being ported fully to X86 to be true, but realistically it would be a driver nightmare.

Let me know how you get on with Studio Pro 1.5/2.0. Easy2bcheesy also has company colleagues who use Studio Pro.

got DVDSP 1.5 installed and running, and have run thru the tutorial, altho not without a share of problems.

the apple website even says that the DVDSP 1.5 cd contains necessary patches for OS 9 and OS X to bring them up to the required version, so you dont have to download the big files. they neglected to mention that only the US English version are on there, and Australia comes under International English.

i hope that Mac Help.img and ln.img arent too important, cause the updater(s) failed to update them, oh well.

playing with 1.5 with the tutorial was a weird thing, the interface is very confusing, and the windows dont seem to handle too well, altho that might be my not liking the mac (ive stopped counting the times ive tried to right click).

button over video was easy to put in (sits in between two chapter marks), but without at timeline it was a little confusing to picture it all properly.

as ive only played with the tutorial and the tutorial files, im not sure exactly how its alternative menu highlights actually work in the PSD file, but it involves a lot of layers, but you can still use the 2 bmp method.

im not going to try to learn this interface intimitaly, and will probably send away for the 2.0 Up-To-Date as soon as its out, and will have to get OS X as well.

as for Multi-PGC handling, it does it similar to Maestro, i havent analyzed the ifo's just yet, but you create 'tracks', then you create 'stories'.

ive read about the weird layerbreak positioning with the program, so i am going to have to check out how its done soon.

Enf...

[Arky]

Cheers for the feedback, auenf :)

Repost when you get your hands on 2.0 - that's the version I'm really pandering for.

P.S., no offence, but I reckon FCP4 is STREETS ahead of Premiere, hardware acceleration issues aside.


Arky ;o)

[auenf]

i havent tried fcp at all, so i have no idea, but premiere is powerful, and fairly easy to use, and ive used it since 3.something.

imovie on the other hand its just plain wierd, but its free (i think)

was a public holiday here today (monday), so i havent done anything on an apple since my previous post, but im going to have to read up on up-to-date thing and see when i can send the thing away for it.

going to start basic with a few old projects that originally had be authored in Virtuoso, get a feel for the program and its quirks, and work from there.

Enf...

[Lord of the Discs]

Could it be possible to set up the layer-break for DVD-9
by hand, with IFOedit or similar ?

It´s a silly idea, but I tought it´s worth posting ...

LotD

[auenf]

but even if i put the layer break in with IFOEdit, how would i get a DVD-5 only authoring software to create the 2 images on DLT for replication?

Enf...

[Lord of the Discs]

sorry, didn´t know it needs 2 separate images

was a silly idea I thought it´s worth posting


LotD