DVDA Studio version

ggrussell wrote on 6/29/2008, 7:25 PM
I haven't used this much and have found a few things very annoying. One thing : What is the purpose of Project Properties, if I STILL have to tell DVDA to transcode the audio when I get to Make Disc/Prepare?

When I get to 'Make DVD', Review Message List, I see nothing. But when I click on 'Optimize', choose Audio 1, it states audio will not be recompressed EVEN THOUGH the audio stream is LPCM and Project Properties is AC3 stereo.

Kind of odd wouldn't you say? Now that I know this option is there, I will have to check the defaults each time I burn.

Comments

bStro wrote on 6/30/2008, 5:22 AM
That's not the purpose of the audio format setting in Project Properties. It doesn't mandate which format every item in your project should use -- it only determines what format DVD Architect will use if there are items that need to be recompressed because they are not DVD compliant. The default for all video and audio streams is to not recompress if they are DVD compliant.

Consider the flipside: Someone may have a project that uses several files with different audio formats, all of which are DVD compliant. They want to retain the current audio formats. Wouldn't they find it equally, if not more, annoying if DVDA automatically converted all their audio streams to the project default?

Best solution for you would be to encode all your files to the desired format before bringing them into DVD Architect.

Second best solution would be to go to Optimize DVD and, for each item, go to the Audio tab and set "Recompress" to Yes. By default, this recompression will use the setting from Project Properties.

Rob
ggrussell wrote on 7/1/2008, 1:49 PM
Just not what I'm used to as most other 'consumer' products do the exact opposite. I'm not sure why anyone would 'want' to use several media with different audio formats - DVD compliant or not. But each to their own I suppose.

As I pointed out in another thread, DVDA was not recompressing my video files with MPEG 2 audio and that is not DVD complaint as far as I know (Only PCM and AC3 are?). As far as I'm concerned, DVDA SHOULD make any file added 'compliant' regardless of user settings.

Yes, I have to remember to go to Optimize DVD. Somewhat annoying, but I'll get use it eventually.

oh yeah, and I need to make myself a note about video with AC3 audio - rename to VOB thing. :) I keep forgetting that.
bStro wrote on 7/1/2008, 2:36 PM
I'm not sure why anyone would 'want' to use several media with different audio formats - DVD compliant or not.

1. Giving the user the option of which format they'd like to hear, for one. The choice between PCM and AC3 isn't very common, but I've certainly seen it. The choice between AC3 stereo and AC3 5.1 is something you see on nearly every movie DVD available.
2. Saving on encoding time when the DVD producer is just fine with having different formats, particularly when he needs higher quality (PCM) for some items than for others (AC3) and wants to dedicate more disc space to the more important pieces.
3. Quality assurance tests -- put the same audio on a disc in different formats, compare the output, then decide which format makes better sense for that project.

To name a few.

As I pointed out in another thread, DVDA was not recompressing my video files with MPEG 2 audio and that is not DVD complaint as far as I know (Only PCM and AC3 are?).

Sorry, why should -- let alone would you want -- DVDA to recompress the video when it's the audio that's not compliant?

As far as I'm concerned, DVDA SHOULD make any file added 'compliant' regardless of user settings.

DVDA does make files DVD compliant if they are not already, and I didn't say any differently. The question you posed earlier was why DVDA doesn't automatically re-encode files that aren't the format you want them to be. There's a difference between a file not being DVD compliant and it simply not being what you wanted.

Rob