DVD Authoring Only « Videomaker Community Forums

nobody
Member

I have read through all the DVD Authoring Software articles in the most recent Videomaker, and searched back 2 years, but amazingly have found nothing to explain what you need to know to export a project to DVD with all the proper menus, etc.
I am well-versed in exporting fully prepared, Adobe-edited projects to tape, but now want to convert to DVD. It appears from the articles that all the software available is intended to be employed from camcorder to final product, and not suited to already edited and rendered material. Is that true? Is anyone aware of articles elsewhere that explain the in's and out's of the DVD format?

Posted 8 years ago #
nobody
Member

Exporting footage from your NLE is simple. Just export as an mpeg-2 file and you'll have to play with some bit rate settings to get the right combination of size versus quality. Most DVD authoring apps will read these mpeg2 clips as different events and then you go about building your menus and chapter points from within your DVD authoring app. Finally burn to disc.

Posted 8 years ago #
mrvideo
Member

As usual, there is no single answer to your question but here's an example: from Adobe Premiere 6.5 export using the Main Concept MPG encoder. Select a DVD profile and in the multiplexer tab, select DVD. This will export a single mpg file with both video and WAV audio included. Drag this file into Sonic MyDVD and select a background. When you go to burn a disk things go fairly quickly because the file is already converted to MPEG-2.
Now for the exceptions. Some authoring software demands separate audio and video files, which the Main Concept encoder will make by default if you don't select DVD under the multiplexer tab. In these cases you drag both audio and video into your authoring software (DVD Workshop, for example). Some apps will convert WAV to AC-3 (dolby) which is a better (because smaller) format for DVD, leaving extra bits for video quality on a 4.7 GB disk - but the licensing adds several hundred dollars to whatever app contains it.

You are right that much of the authoring software offers to capture, edit and burn, and some only offer chapter points while capturing so if you've already converted you can't add chapters. There is no solution that doesn't require some learning beyond the NLE, unless you just want an appliance that will take digital in and spit out DVDs.

David Hurdon
http://www.contentshop.tv

Posted 8 years ago #
ayed
Member

Check out http://www.dvdrhelp.com/ they have a "how to" section which offers help.

Ed

Posted 8 years ago #