Big question for me is whether it will include the ability to author B-R to plain old DVDR.

I think it is true - it is also there:

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/news/ShowRelease.asp?ReleaseID=684&CatID=0

SD-DVDs will become out of interest, for BDMV-authoring. Maybe SD-DVD-DL will remain for some time. Even if I expect that the DVDA 5 will support DVDs too - since Veags 8b does so!

I've tried making red laser DVDs which will play in BluRay players using the very same files, folders, and UDF format I use when I author BluRay media using my BluRay burner on 25GB blue laser disks. I have ****NEVER*** been able to get these disks to play.

For whatever it is worth, AVCHD disks of lesser quality ***can**** be authored on DVDs and I do this all the time with animated menus and HD content using programs lioke Ulead Movie Factory 6Plus and Nero Vision Express. both of which are way below 100 bucks and have been on the market for a year or more. Red laser HD DVDs also play properly in HD DVD players using the same authoring tools.

It is therefore noteworthy and extremely irritating to me that I have yet to find any way to make HDV to BluRay compatabile disks other than using BluRay media and a BluRay burner. My Verbatim disks cost $20 apiece (about 100 times the cost of a red laser DVD blank), and my burner costs $450, about 15 times the cost of a red laser burner. I believe that this is totally a marketing decision on the part of the BluRay consortium, since it would be very easy to permit the identical files to play from red disk surafces just as they do from Blu laser disks, as Toshiba has supported from day 1.

Larry

LSHorwitz wrote:
----------------
I've tried making red laser DVDs which will play in BluRay players using the very same files, folders, and UDF format I use when I author BluRay media using my BluRay burner on 25GB blue laser disks. I have ****NEVER*** been able to get these disks to play.

=======================

LSHorwitz,

Download my guide from this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13065746#post13065746

MozartMan,
Any way to download that pdf via link other than at that forum? I'm not big on registering at sites if not necessary. It'd be greatly appreciated.

"My Verbatim disks cost $20 apiece (about 100 times the cost of a red laser DVD blank)"

Verbatim 25GB BD-R Blu-Ray discs are $10.69 at Tape and Media.

http://www.tapeandmedia.com/blu-ray_disc.asp

Message deleted by user.

Very nice... thanks much.

I sat in the demo at the SCS booth at NAB today. It will burn a suitably small high def project to a plain old DVDR for play in a blue ray player. Within the limits of automation you can setup up once and then burn both a 16:9 BR and a 4:3 SD DVD.

They also mention at the FullHD event a full featured BR authoring tool from $ony Entertainment. But you can get pretty darn fancy with DVDA 5 very fast.

If you're at NAB and sit through a SCS presentatio; pay attention, sit in front of the presenter and be the first to raise your hand. If you can remember any three points about the presentation you get a full retail version of Vegas 8 free. I love free :)

This is REALLY a GREAT forum! Thanks John Cline and MozartMan for really useful info / feedback!!

Larry

The clean, drag-and-drop DVD Architect interface, powerful layout and authoring tools work seamlessly with the Sony Vegas Pro video editing and production software,
=================
Now the question remains:

Will Sony Vegas Pro work seamlessly with Sony Vegas Pro?

John