I think there is middle ground for constructive comment.
Just as Vegas and MainConcept MPEG compression suits some work, others will find Vegas+satishFrameServe+TMPGEnc suits them despite some extra labor.

Same goes for DVD production IMHO. Unless you already had SoftEncode, you need DVDA with Vegas to give you the gateway to licensed AC3 2.0 or AC3 5.1 audio. DVDA has enough about it to handle 80% or more of my DVD authoring requirements. I like its construction, ethos and am pleased with how it is improving even so early in its lifecycle.

DVD Lab is appropriate, like TMPGEnc is, for situations where something specific is required.

Of course some people will rant about relative values and costs. Also some folk will be reluctant to either learn a new tool or use more than one selectively.

Seemingly Adobe Encore (for 2 channel audio initially) is better than both DVDA and DVD Lab. Competition is healthy. The lions share of development in each of these sub-$700 outfits is probably done. The complete DVD spec is probably authorable within months using any of them, should the competition and intention be there.

I wouldn't be without DVDA or DVD Lab, and would rather have liked to have been able to stick Encore on my credit card! I've said this now and must go wash this soap off my feet ;) .

Have you heard of a company named Sonic Solutions?

You can expect a slate of new products to be announced and some released before year's end that will go head-to-head with Encore, DVDSP and more.

Can someone please explain how a software developer can create programming code for a program that adheres to strict standards and rules when the author doesn't have access to those standards?

The author of DVDlab is not a member of the DVD Forum nor has he purchased any of the DVD-Video specifications. These are not public documents. Each part of the specifications comes with a $10K price tag. Therefore, either DVDlab is based on code from others or it's a conglomeration of guess work. Regardless, the postings on their forum clearly indicate that the market is now the beta test center for this product. Clearly there are problems with the program as it relates to compatibility with playback devices. I'm not knocking the effort but the methods are suspect and unworthy of any investment until there's some serious clarification of what's actually going on.

SF aren't in the DVD forum members list, would they be under another company name?

"unworthy of any investment ..." seems a bit harsh, people have reverse engineered far more complex specs than DVD and there is heaps of info on the net about the spec.

Radcamdvd,

"The author of DVDlab is not a member of the DVD Forum nor has he purchased any of the DVD-Video specifications. These are not public documents. Each part of the specifications comes with a $10K price tag. Therefore, either DVDlab is based on code from others or it's a conglomeration of guess work."

I don't think it is necessarily a conglomeration of guess work. Several books have included a lot of detail from the DVD-Video specifications. For example, "DVD Demystified, Second Edition" by Jim Taylor, McGraw Hill 2001, 691 pages + DVD $49.95 gives one reason for purchasing the book as "if you can't afford $5,000 for the official DVD specification books." For more details on that, see:

Why buy DVD Demystified?

Another book with considerable detail on the DVD-Video specification is "CD-R/DVD Disc Recording Demystified" by Lee Purcell, McGraw-Hill 2000 528 pages + CD-ROM $49.95.

"Can someone please explain how a software developer can create programming code for a program that adheres to strict standards and rules when the author doesn't have access to those standards?"

I don't think the standards information is proprietary. And I think the necessary details may be available without a big investment.

-- Seeker --

I also recommend an additional book, "DVD Authoring and Production," by Ralph LaBarge. The reference in Jim Taylor's book you're referring to isn't meant to suggest that the book is a replacement for the specs. In fact, the Second Edition was printed 2 years ago and the standards have been revised since then.

I agree that there are a lot of clever people in the world for whom the reverse engineering of any software product based on any specifications or standards is an easy task. But as a professional DVD publisher I can not afford to risk my livelihood on a product that was derived from the work of another.

I believe that the standards as set by the DVD Forum are proprietary at minimum in the sense that they are not officially available in the public domain. You can't check one out of the library (although they may be in the Library of Congress but I'll have to check).

Look, to each his own, but why would anyone take the risk? Just because the price is so low it? And it doesn't really matter if it has shortcomings and takes moths to overcome them? Hogwash I say. Unless the authoring program follows the strict specifications for DVD-Video authoring and DVD-ROM recording then your success as an author is a crap shoot.

IMHO, it's not about the money. It's about the money I can make or lose based on the stuff I use to make the money. In my case, DVDlab isn't worth the time or investment. I would rather keep poking Sonic Solutions with a sharp stick to unleash Scenarist Studio for $800 instead of $8K than spend time with products that are currently unstable and may spell disaster down the road.

DVDLab work very well ( AND SUPER FAST ) on my P4-2,4........

You are total comand to create MENUs, MENUs TRANSITION, END-POINT FOR, etc...

I recorded DVD+R/-R and DVD+RW and they played in stand-alone-DVDs

I suggest the SFTeam to call the DVDLab creator for work on DVDA ( hi,hi,hi)

Radcamdvd,

"The reference in Jim Taylor's book you're referring to isn't meant to suggest that the book is a replacement for the specs. In fact, the Second Edition was printed 2 years ago and the standards have been revised since then."

I agree that "DVD Demystified" is overdue for a third edition.

"Unless the authoring program follows the strict specifications for DVD-Video authoring and DVD-ROM recording then your success as an author is a crap shoot."

I concede your need for a professional DVD authoring program if you are authoring DVDs professionally. However, not all of us are authoring DVDs commercially. Many hobbyist enthusiasts author DVDs for their personal use and for the use of their friends and family. Sonic Solutions' high priced programs are beyond our budget.

However, I don't know if any existing authoring program implements all of the features of the DVD-Video standard. Since many DVD players were manufactured before the last revision of the standards, it stands to reason that those players may very well not follow the new standards. Absolute standards compliance is problematic for both players and authoring programs. And it is also apparent that DVD players do not limit themselves to the DVD-Video standards and variously support such things as Audio-CD, MP3, VCD, SVCD, XVCD, XSVCD, etc.

-- Seeker --

Not to fan the flames any more than they have been, but Scenarist offers the ability to nearly completely access all the options that the dvd specs will allow(including HD type discs later this year). Spruce's Maestro did back before Apple bought out Spruce technologies. Although some dvd players may not allow for all the features the specs will allow, they must allow for the minimum standards set forth by the dvd forum in order to display the dvd logo on their players. I have both JT's and RL's books, and even a third/fourth/fifth/etc. edition will not contain the complete dvd spec's. It's not just about what frequency the audio has to be/aspect ratios/audio format/etc.; it (the dvd specs) also includes the code that is used to create the ifo files--the guts if you will--that tells your dvd player exactly how to access your video content/display menus/ remote functions, etc. That is what costs the 'big' bucks to own, and can't just simply be stuck in a $45 book.

I have used DVD-Lab since it's beta release, own DVD-A, ReelDVD, Impression Pro, DVDit PE, SpruceUP, and DVDWS. DVD-Lab for the hobbyist is certainly positioned (from a cost/feature ratio) quite well. However, it has a ways to go to be a reliable professional tool (IMO). It is not by accident that Scenarist is used to create the majority of dvd's we watch from Hollywood. It's compiling code is the cleanest and most reliable, and is the foundation for ReelDVD as well. If a disc fails to play on a set top player, it's not because of the way it was authored (if one is using ReelDVD or Scenarist). Few other authoring apps can make the same claim.

Jim

The problem is no application, save perhaps one or two of the very expensive ones that can cost as much as good used car do everything. I think for their first offering DVD-A is very good. Rought edges in a couple areas, yes, but feature wise a good start. I'm looking forward to version two.