Well, I've been "ranting" about it in the DVDA forum. It boils down to this. A little Buggy, in my opinion. New version patch due soon. Overall nice features, but manual is weak, nothing in completeness compared to the Vegas manual. Not many illustrtations. You're probably going to be scratching your head if you try to do anything beyond the basics.

Some clumsy things, for example the scrubber to play the timeline is nearly invisible. Totally different then in Vegas that has a nice big button you can drag around. IN DVDA you just click anywhere on the timeline while holding down your left mouse and drag to move. The default position of the curson on the timeline is extreme left and only a one pixel wide gray vertical line about five times thiner than the seperator lines you drag in Vegas to move the window panes at the bottom. Very hard to see. I totally missed it. SPOT clued me in or I still would be looking for it.

I had an issue with DVD-A and my DVD burner (Sony external drive 500 something). The Sonic Foundry techs helped me with a patch. Everything's working fine now for my needs. If you go to the DVD-A forum, you'll read lots of comments both pro and con. Well worth the read.

Ted

In my opinion, I would say that I was VERY disappointed with such a limited feature set of the 'released' version (1.0) of DVD Architect. If one just goes on Sonic Foundry's brilliant reputation with Sound Forge and Vegas Pro while taking into consideration the high-end pricing scheme in which DVD Architect currently resides, one would expect a truly well designed and a more mature product than what is currently offered.

I have also tested both Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 2 and MedioStream's NeoDVDPlus, priced about two-thirds less than DVD Architect, and while DVD Architect does allow a more "freehand" approach to creating the DVD menu page,it lacks a lot of the customizations (themes, backgrounds, buttons, etc.), ease of use (the GUI at times works against the user, hindering the natural flow of ideas with awkward object placement and at times will prevent the user from creating similar, alternative or additional functionality (kept within the program's parameters), without providing sufficient logic to support those situations. The manual serves best as a brief guide to menu descriptions, button placements and the benefits of using the program, but it neglects to provide much in the way of fundamental user guidelines or essential troubleshooting techniques that can be easily understood and implemented by 'most' people (various levels) who just follow natural logic.

Using the AC-3 encoder/decoder in DVD Architect is pretty straightforward, however, when used in conjunction with Vegas 4, it may be confusing / frustrating since both programs seem to be incongruous in their use (import/export) of AC-3 files. It's taken me considerable time to research and understand why some single MPEG files (Video + AC-3) will play fine on a WinDVD player, show as having both Video and Audio streams within DVD Architect, yet when importing to Vegas 4, the file will only be recognized (imported by Main Concept driver??)as an MPEG Video file. If that file is edited and rendered in Vegas 4, the AC-3 Audio will no longer be found (written over?) or play when used in WinDVD or DVD Architect........ it would certainly make things a lot easier if Vegas 4 imported AC-3 Audio/MPEG Video files or AC-3 files alone....

Have you tried Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 2 or NeoDVDPlus?

Well i should maybe try them as well....haven't received yet my box copy of the V4+DVD...now i am thinking of cancelling my order of the package.... get a V4 instead and buy those two u suggested....
thanks for the comments... i really wanted to make sure that i avoid troubles later on when i start doing projects....

rllagas,

Just wanted to chime in here so that you didn't think everyone was having problems with DVDA. I've used DVDIt! and DVD Complete, and I like DVDA better. DVD Complete doesn't have the flexibility in the "look" of menus, while DVDIt! doesn't have motion menus, AC-3, and decent chapter points. The only problems I'm having with DVDA (and there are always bound to be some in a 1.0 version product) are:

1. AC-3 audio on a menu seems to confuse the project size calculations. A known bug that has been discussed lots, and is fixed in an update supposedly being released this week.

2. While the look of the menus is very flexible, the functionality isn't. There are no "end actions" that you can specify on movies, and this is kind of a drag. Hopefully they will enhance this soon.

That being said, I've done several (1/2 dozen?) projects with it and am very happy with the software.

After using DVDit PE for over a year, I find DVDA to be VERY usable. Yes, there are some areas that are lacking but it has MORE features than DVDit PE. The only thing I have really missed so far is End Actions.

I've used DVDit PE which was terribly buggy and unstable. Ulead MovieFactory which was ok but limited and a little buggy. I now use Ulead DVD Workshop and it is very stable and very flexible and I think simpler to use as well as more powerfull than DVD-A. They also now have a AC-3 add on which I have not used yet. I think DVD-A could be a little easier to use and figure out and certainly it is limited. It seems to be very stable thou and it did a very good job with the AC-3 needs. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't to bad but it is not very intuitive and it needs more functionality as well as integration with V4 to be a 1 2 punch. I still use Studio 8 once in a while for simple edits and if you have a good avi file from V4 with simple menu needs, you can do the DVD in S8 with great results. The Mpeg encoder is very good and the DVD menus and pre-mades are excellent but some people have had trouble.Mine works great and you can get it all for about $60.00. I do think that DVD-A has great potential and the quality is good. I've never had any problems with the final output of the burn at any time.


Have a good day!!!

I just authored 2 DVDs with V4 and DVDA. Had a problem with DVDA making coasters instead of working prints, but I overcame that by building the image out of DVDA then using RecordNowMax to actually burn the DVDs. One title had six clips on it, the other had two. The second title needed to have the videos loop continuously which the SoFo tech gurus helped me with (simple once they showed me how.)

Client loves both and it took me no time at all to create them. Lots faster than DVD Workshop and DVD Complete and DVDit and MyDVD, etc. Except for the record engine problem I've been happy as a clam so far.