Reprinted from an Adobe Systems press release:
Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe Encore DVD, a professional DVD authoring application that extends the Adobe digital video product line. Adobe Encore DVD software lets professional videographers, DVD authors and independent producers create sophisticated, multi-language DVDs with stunning interactive menus, multiple audio tracks and subtitles. Adobe’s latest video application combines an integrated authoring environment; a flexible, creative design interface; and unrivalled integration with Adobe Photoshop, the most widely used application in DVD authoring.
Adobe will debut the product during its keynote Super Session at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) tradeshow on Monday, April 7th in Las Vegas.
“Adobe Encore DVD opens the door for video professionals to take advantage of powerful DVD features and deliver their video projects in the format embraced by both consumers and professionals,” said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president of Digital Imaging and Video Products at Adobe Systems. “By integrating Adobe Encore DVD with applications critical to the authoring process–Photoshop, Adobe Premiere and After Effects–we have created a superior DVD authoring environment that will enable our customers to take their work to the next level.”
Adobe Encore DVD includes a comprehensive set of design tools and a powerful menu editor, adding a new level of creativity to the DVD authoring process. The integration between Adobe Encore DVD and Photoshop allows users to edit menus, without flattening or re-rendering Photoshop files that make up the menu backgrounds for the majority of professionally-produced DVDs. Changes are instantaneous, easily reversible, and save hours of production time. The sophisticated menu designer also provides access to Photoshop text design tools–to edit, style and align text within the project window.
Getting started with Adobe Encore DVD is straightforward and intuitive with pre-designed button and menu styles that incorporate motion and still backgrounds. A simple interface within Adobe Encore DVD provides full control over navigation, allowing authors to specify playback behavior for their DVDs. A customizable library palette lets users save their favorite button and background designs for future use. In addition, Adobe Encore DVD automatically creates chapters from recognized marker points in Adobe Premiere and can import After Effects AVI files to create motion menu loops.
“Our research indicates the DVD authoring market is exploding this year with a CAGR of 391%. Adobe’s introduction of Adobe Encore DVD couldn’t come at a better time,” said Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research, a leading multimedia market research firm. “By incorporating professional-level control with entry-level functionality, Adobe is positioned to fill the needs of professional videographers at either end of the spectrum, allowing virtually anyone to create and burn their own professional DVDs.”
Flexible Production Environment
Using a familiar Adobe interface and project timeline, users can combine video, audio and subtitles with up to 8 tracks of audio and 32 subtitle tracks. An efficient project management system keeps everything organized and allows users to track a project’s structure; sort and find specific elements; and apply global changes to projects. Before burning a DVD, users can view their work in the integrated project preview window to check the navigational design for broken and orphaned links.
Adobe Encore DVD offers the highest degree of playback compatibility with support for all recordable DVD formats including DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and DVD-RAM. It also provides integrated video and audio transcoding, which automatically converts video source files to MPEG-2, audio source files to Dolby Digital and optimizes file compression. For more control, professionals have the option to manually adjust the settings to their own specifications.
Pricing and Availability
Adobe Encore DVD for Windows XP is expected to ship in the United States in the third quarter of 2003. The estimated street price is US $549. Adobe Encore DVD will be available for purchase from Adobe.com, retail outlets and Adobe certified resellers. Information regarding international pricing and support policies is available on the Adobe website at www.adobe.com .