All I need is a single authoring program: But which one?

[Brave Dave]

Hi, I'm a newbie and I joined this place to find out one very simple thing.

I'm well into filming video and I am creating my own DVDs. I use Adobe Premiere 6.0 to edit footage and have just completed a final copy of my video in raw avi format.

The video is 97 minutes long and over 20 gigabytes in size.

ALL I NEED is decent software to convert that 20gig file into as good quality a DVD format as possible, to be able to make decent looking DVD menus for it and to be able to create DVDs in every one of the 6 world regions (or even better, "region-free" DVDs which I have heard about).

I can then burn off my own disks and sell them to the masses without having to worry whether or not the disks will play on their DVD players.

I've trawled through the thousands of different softwares out there but I have heard how they all produce different quality final DVD videos and things like that and I don't want to buy one which doesn't create very clear pictures or anything.

I think that the smilie who best represents my current state of mind is this little guy here ---> :confused:

Please, a forum as big as this with as many experts on it MUST be able to give me ONE SINGLE software name which I can confidently buy knowing that I'll be able to create great looking DVDs from it with minimal effort.

WHAT IS THIS MAGIC SOFTWARE? Once I know I will be complete and my DVD authoring days will have truly begun.

Thanks in advance, oh wise one(s).

Dave.

[Raziel6969]

Hello,

I'm a newbie too :)
You should detaio more, what software you used and what codec is your source .

To me, the quality is related to the encoding, not the authoring.
To encoding: i like 'cinema craft encoder', is a good balance in quality & speed. i did listen that canopus procoder has better quality but i din't tried, i've read good things of freeware dvd encoders: quenc & HCenc! (they can have similar quality to commecial ones). Maybe you need an AC3 encoder, the one plugin from TMPGenc do the job, and works with DVD-Lab Pro, but you can use toolame to encode in mp2 (at NTSC land is obligatory AC3), you can use BeSweet to encode in AC3 also (free).
To authoring: i prefer DVD-Lab Pro is simple and flexible. I did tried DVDauthor but is not so flexible.

Bye

[ammck55]

Welcome to the Forum, Dave:

Well, why not stay close to home, to begin with? From the description, it looks as if you have a project file saved and are waiting to do something with it. Premiere 6.0 has an embedded MPEG2 encoder, click on File > Export and take a look at the available export options.

If you have a project file ready to export, at this point, you have some familiarity with capture, importing to the timeline, and the frustrations of simple edits and transitions that are common to any NLE interface. You've invested many hours of work, so far, and are to be commended on your effort.

DVD-lab is a great little program, and quite affordable for noobs that are trying to break into the field, and there's always Adobe's Encore; it has the added functionality of being able to seamlessly integrate changes in a project file back into Premiere. I will add, though, 6.0 is four generations old, so you may want to upgrade to the latest version of Premiere Pro; may as well get the latest and greatest if you're already an Adobe man.

I'd suggest for the time being that you concentrate on the "Editing > Authoring > Send to disc" workflow; you'll have plenty of time to figure out how to make and market your product in the times when you're so burned out from just this part of the learning curve.

But, if you've got the hottest movie in the world that everyone "has" to have, you won't need to worry about regions and disc compatibility! At that point, you'll have cut a deal with a major production house that produces glass masters and presses discs by the thousands. That'll put you in Hollywood, with wraparound sunglasses, limo's, and the corresponding, uh, eye candy. :) Good luck!

ammck55

[Brave Dave]

Haha, thanks for the help, guys.

Ammck, whereas I will inevitably make it into Hollywood within a few years, maybe even months, right now I am in an awkward situation due to a good number of people already having paid for my DVD. I have the completed video but no actual completed disks. Therefore time is a factor if I want to avoid a small army of annoyed people the world over hunting me down, or at the very least calling me rude names.

I have checked my Adobe for the MPEG2 export but all it seems to have is MPEG:

http://www.muaythailand.com/hostedstuff/adobe1.jpg

I really do need to upgrade from 6.0., I know :(

I'm perfectly fine with the actual capture and editing of all my footage. It's just the last bit -compressing it into a DVD format and organising it on a disk with a menu- which I know nothing about. I have read around a lot of places and I have gathered that there are no less than five billion different compressors and authorers and compress-authorer-compressors and auth-ressers and all of them are a bit better than the last in some ways but not as good as the next in other ways etc etc

Surely there's just ONE program that someone out there has used which will turn whatever avi file I give it into DVD file of about 4.5gig so I can get maximum quality and then allow me to burn it to a disk with a menu.

You both mention DVD-Lab. If I was to buy this then would it be able to do what I just mentioned and produce great looking disks?

Thanks everyone who can help. I know it must be annoying especially as 100 people might have asked this before me but to be fair, this forum is MASSIVE and the thread titles aren't always so specific as to what answers will be found in them.

Damn, I hate being a n00b :(

[ammck55]

Your screenshot shows the "Save for Web" options.

Open up your help files, click on "Index"; then click on the letter "E". Look for "Export" in that menu. All of your export options will be covered, there.

Adobe comes stock with the Mainconcept encoder, if you'd like to test a different encoder, I'd suggest Procoder, the interface is clean and easy to navigate. If you put up a question on "which encoder to use....etc.", you'll get lots of comments, but the thread will boil down to personal preference; any good MPEG2 encoder will do the job.

I'm doubtful as to whether Premiere 6.0 will accept the output of DVD-lab and be able to encode from there. Premiere Pro has plug-ins available that will allow you to import MPEG2 source, but 6.0 is so old that it's not even discussed, nowadays. You could always learn to frameserve files into 6.0, but you may be a little busy with your current task to take that one on. If you have to work with 6.0 for this project, you may end up editing within it, pulling up that file and authoring a menu in DVD-lab, and encoding with a standalone encoder. No problems, just take your time and figure it out.

Here are links to a 30-day demo of DVD-lab Pro and a good tutorial. Actually, the first link goes to a product page, but you can find the demo from there.
DVD-lab Pro demo (http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/dvdlabpro.html)
DVD-lab tutorial (http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/Helppro/index.htm)

You can also go do Adobe's website and download a 30-day demo of Adobe Encore. I can't say for sure if it has 100% functionality, but the doc's do not indicate that they've disabled any of it's functions. Poke around and see for yourself...

Well, you've got an editing program, links to an authoring program, and a good tutorial. Let me know when you get to Hollywood, I could use some free tickets. :)

ammck55

[niann]

The MPEG2 exporter for Premiere 6.0 is a plug-in you can get from Adobe I believe, that may be why it is not showing up there. I may be mistaken it has been a long time since I have installed and used Premiere 6.0 :) In any case the suggestions here are spot on. If you are serious about producing your own DVDs you may want to look at the Adobe Creative suite. You get Encore, Premiere, Audition, and one more thing I can't recall, plus if you are a student you can get a great deal on that bundle. DVDlab Pro has some excellent qualities as well, however remember it does not have an encoder, so your video files will need to already be in the proper MPEG2 format prior to using that software.

Cheers!

[Brave Dave]

You guys ROCK.

Thanks, I'm looking into everything you all said and hopefully I will have quality DVDs being watched and enjoyed around the world in no time :)

[Brave Dave]

Damn it.

Teeny tiny problem, was hoping someone knew a quick answer.

I have downloaded a trial version of TMPGenc Plus as I read that it is ideal for converting raw AVI into MPEG-2.

However, TMPGenc Plus refuses to have anything to do with my AVI files. It works with other things but won't even accept the AVIs which have come out of Adobe Premiere 6.0.

How do I make TMPGenc Plus happy with my AVI files? Why doesn't Premiere 6.0 produce AVI files which are accepted by the masses? Why is life so cruel?

[Paulcat]

Go to OPTION (top tab), ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING, VFAPI PLUG-IN and make sure you have a tick besides the box 'AVI2(Open DML)File Reader' , 'Direct Show Multimedia File Reader' or 'AVI VFW compatibility Reader'. Each of these options selects what type of files TMPGEnc can open, and for best speed, flag only the one(s) you will be using. Hovering the mouse over each option will give you a tooltip showing you which file extensions each one can read.
There are two useful downloadable plug-ins, one for opening Quicktime *.mov files and one for opening *.m2v (MPEG-2 files). The quicktime one is available in the download page here, I have a link for the other in the 'Other MPEG-2 encoders' forum here.

EDIT: TMPGEnc may not recognize certain types of audio in your AVI files (like AC3 for example). You may have to strip out this type of audio and remux it back when you are authoring your dvd.

[niann]

What codec are you using to export your timeline in Premiere? I am guessing TMPGEnc can not find a good codec to read your file. If you are exporting in DV look around the web for the Panasonic DV codec, this will allow other programs to read the .avis you export in DV format.

Cheers!

[Cogar]

EDIT: TMPGEnc may not recognize certain types of audio in your AVI files (like AC3 for example). You may have to strip out this type of audio and remux it back when you are authoring your dvd.
Tsunami's "newer" product (different interface as well) will work with AC3 files. It is called TSUNAMI MPEG Video Encoder XPress.
http://www.tmpg-inc.com/product/tsve.html

Note: The downloadable "trial version" does not have this capability. You have to purchase the retail package to get it.

[Brave Dave]

Paulcat, I did what you said but all the boxes are ticked already.

Maybe I am missing something totally obvious so here are some screen caps for any experts who might recognise something is amiss...

These are the settings I have for my Adobe Premiere 6.0 projects before I start them.
http://www.muaythailand.com/hostedstuff/adobe2.jpg

This is what I get in TMPGEnc Plus when I try and open any .avi file that was created in Adobe Premiere 6.0.
http://www.muaythailand.com/hostedstuff/adobe3.jpg

This is what I see when I open the options and settings as described by Paulcat in his last post.
http://www.muaythailand.com/hostedstuff/adobe4.jpg

I also found this http://www.moonlight.co.il/products/consumer/adobe/ which looks like a promising purchase if it really does allow my Adobe Premiere 6.0 to immediately convert all complete avi videos into MPEG-2. Has anyone had any experience with this plug-in before?

http://www.muaythailand.com/hostedstuff/adobe5.jpg

EDIT----------EDIT------------EDIT

I installed the Panasonic codec that Niann suggested and whoa and behold my TMPGEnc Plus can now read my .avi files :)

I tested it on a tiny file and it compressed a 72mb .avi file into a 19.5mb m2v and a 3.75mb wav file. Does this sound about right? At this rate of conversion (just over a third) my 20gb video should become about 7gb of MPEG-2. When this is done will it be easy for me to then compress that MPEG-2 file even more to make it fit on a DVD seeing as how all the DVD authorers work perfectly well with MPEG-2?

Basically, am I at last on the right track or have I made a glaring error somewhere?

Thanks to you all :)

PS: It says this when I convert into MPEG-2

http://www.muaythailand.com/hostedstuff/adobe6.jpg

I do in fact have two DVD players on my computer (Interactual and Cyberlink) but are there any particular ones out there which you would recommend I download to use as default?

[Cogar]

Responding to the part of your post after the edit, it appears you are on the right track. Regarding the information popup, I believe it is just that--information for those who may not be aware of how the different files are played back. The clue is in the "Do not show this message again" checkbox.

[MilesAhead]

On the VFAPI Plugin settings, make sure you bump "DirectShow Multimedia File Reader" to the top of the list. If you don't, TMPGEnc can still crap out when you try to load some .avi files. I couldn't find it right now, but I know on www.videohelp.com there's a guide on how to tune TMGEnc settings. I've been using TMGEnc Plus for a few years and once tweaked, it works well with lots of video freeware. :)

[Brave Dave]

Cogar, good point :)

MilesAhead, I have reprioritised "DirectShow Multimedia File Reader".

You say you have used TMPGEnc Plus for years? Well could you tell me if it's possible to set it so that it compresses .AVI into as high quality MPEG-2 as possible within the size of a DVD?

I put my 20gb .AVI file through TMPGEnc Plus last night. I said in an earlier post that it seemed to compress to about a third with some smaller files I tested but last night it spent just under 6 hours compressing the 20gb .AVI into a 1.5gb MPEG-2.

Obviously, the quality of this 97 minute file isn't quite as high as I would hope so I was wondering if I can set it to compress the 20gb AVI into something a bit higher like 4.5gb MPEG-2 or so?

I've looked through the Help files and it seems to explain how to adjust output levels except one problem. I can't find how to reach the actual menus in the program itself. It's a free 14 day trial download but it should still include everything, shouldn't it?

Once I have a good quality MPEG-2 file I can start sorting out which DVD Authoring program I am going to use and I will be THAT much closer to completing this forsaken task.

Thanks :)