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View Full Version : some 'basic' dvd authoring questions.


smok3
23rd April 2004, 15:46
ok, the project on paper looks like this at the moment:
----------------------------------------------
1st thingy is a really short intro, then jump to the navigation ->

navigation screen:

1. button1 - play1
2. button2 - play2
3. button3 - play3
4. button4 - subs on/off
5. button5 - play all (1-3)

playback:

1. header1 - section1 - return
2. header2 - section2 - return
3. header3 - section3 - return
4. --- dunno, how to nicely implement that really
5. section1 - section2 - section3 - return
(where return goes back to navigation screen)
----------------------------------------------

iam planning to use dvd-lab (which does not support subs at the moment?), so i will just double everything (or at least thats my smart plan :P) where the second version of everything will have subs simply burned in.

the questions:

1. the assets will be prepared/encoded before the authoring, so 1st question would be, do i need to recut them before importing into authoring app, or can i just leave everything as one big file for this particular scenario? basicaly how to encode recut (what tools) if that is needed , or what?

2. if i find a good app that support the actual subs, how to check for quality on pc? seems to me that none of the pc dvd players really antialias subs as they should be?

3. if the subs are implemented via burning into the picture, is there a way to use standard dvd controls somehow (where subs selection will simply skip to the different video at the same position)?

4. basically is the dvd lab good/stable enough for such an enterprise?

5. actually this will be miniDVD at first, there will be like 15 minutes of video i guess, any suggestion considering the max/min bitrates, or maybe i should use (pal d1 / 2)?

tia,

smok3

Sakuya
23rd April 2004, 21:47
DVD-lab is great. I really enjoy its menu configuring. :) For subtitles, first go download DVD-lab. Then go download the DVD-lab PRO which I think is a beta at this moment. The PRO version is DVD-lab only with subtitles support. I think it allows SRT subtitles though. The reason you need DVD-lab is because the PRO beta only has the EXE file for the program. So extract that to your DVD-lab folder.

I know another free DVD authoring program that allows subtitles, still menus, AC3 sound, etc. It's called DVDAuthorGUI for Windows here: http://users.adelphia.net/~liquid64/dvdauthorgui.html

It can accept JPEG files and create an M2V file which you can then use for the menu. The subtitle file formats are wide and include SSA as well as SRT. However, the links are simple underlines and you select the right space on the menu. It's not accurate and I would recommend DVD-lab's menu configuration tool. It also has post commands that commands what to do after a specific title is done playing. But, it does not allow you to make a meny for turning the subs on or off.

Basically, it's your call. Both of them are great. :)

smok3
30th April 2004, 13:46
bump :)
tnx for info Sakuya, now forget question 5. (i allready got the dvd burner (nec 2500a that is)), still some comments on the 1st question would be welcome?

tia,

smok3

burnman99
27th July 2004, 06:59
Originally posted by Sakuya
DVD-lab is great. I really enjoy its menu configuring. :) For subtitles, first go download DVD-lab. Then go download the DVD-lab PRO which I think is a beta at this moment. The PRO version is DVD-lab only with subtitles support. I think it allows SRT subtitles though. The reason you need DVD-lab is because the PRO beta only has the EXE file for the program. So extract that to your DVD-lab folder.

I know another free DVD authoring program that allows subtitles, still menus, AC3 sound, etc. It's called DVDAuthorGUI for Windows here: http://users.adelphia.net/~liquid64/dvdauthorgui.html

It can accept JPEG files and create an M2V file which you can then use for the menu. The subtitle file formats are wide and include SSA as well as SRT. However, the links are simple underlines and you select the right space on the menu. It's not accurate and I would recommend DVD-lab's menu configuration tool. It also has post commands that commands what to do after a specific title is done playing. But, it does not allow you to make a meny for turning the subs on or off.

Basically, it's your call. Both of them are great. :)

DVDAuthorGUI has been updated and now allows for a box instead of just an underline. Also, I'm pretty sure you can make a subtitle menu, but it does involve editing the .XML file. I have not tried this, but I have successfully created a 2nd Audio Track Menu this way, so i would guess it's similar.

Hope this helps.

Have fun stormin' the castle!

Rog