by Alan Sheckter, Videomaker news editor
A proprietary version of Sonic Solutions MyDVD application will be bundled on Hewlett-Packard’s newly introduced HP DVD-writer dvd100i drive, Sonic announced August 20. Co-branded as HP MyDVD Video by Sonic, the home DVD authoring software enables customers to record, edit and share video content when using DVD+RW and CD-R/RW media.
HP MyDVD Video by Sonic, incorporating a new technology called DVD editing, is said to be the first application that allows consumers to transform custom home videos directly to DVD+RW. It burns videos from a camcorder or VCR to the HP DVD-writer.
The process is simple and fast, the companies say. After connecting a camcorder or VCR to a PC, hitting the “Record to DVD” button in the applications wizard sets the process in motion. The software automatically converts the video and audio into the correct DVD format, adds menus and navigation, and records to a DVD+RW disc viewable on many DVD players and PCs with a DVD-ROM drive. Projects can also be recorded to CD-R/RW media and played back on most multimedia PCs. HP MyDVD Video by Sonic also enables users to re-edit recorded discs by changing menus and adding or deleting videos.
In authoring mode, interactive DVDs can be created by dragging and dropping different types of multimedia elements into a DVD project – video from camcorders, video files on hard disk in .avi, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats, audio and graphics data. HP MyDVD Video by Sonic includes a built-in transcoder that automatically converts all incoming video formats into those compatible with DVD players, freeing the user from the headaches of determining DVD file compatibility.
HP MyDVD Video by Sonic is built on Sonics Hollywood-standard DVD formatting engine, ensuring that DVDs produced with the application, in conjunction with the DVD+RW format, are playable on the widest range of consumer DVD players.
