1) Not being able to just type text and link it to the file/menu/video that you want is baffeling.

Both of these are actually the same. And you're working at them backwards. You create the LINK and then change the text and/or picture to what you want.


3) Is there no way to " Play All " ?

Yes there is. You give DVDA a SINGLE file. Then it will play that file all the way through. You can still create subchapters from that single file.


4) If you put a scene on the menu, as in click it to play it, after its done it goes back to the menu instead of playing the rest ? Your kidding right ?

It was done - it went back to the menu. Everything you are complaining about is the result of the lack of end actions. If you do a search, you will see that end actions has been a huge discussion. No they're not in version 1. There are some workarounds available.

5) No Transparency for images ? Doesnt look as though I can use em as buttons anyway so whats the point right ?

Never tried this. I usually use text for my links.

6) What is with this navigation ? Could it be any less intuitive or any more counter productive to a decent work flow ? There's no back ? I have to go to the drop down menu to change what I'm working on ?

Yes, there is a "back". Look at the three arrows beside the dropdown box.

7) Double clicking on text doesnt allow you to edit it. I have to find the little buttion or F2.

Agreed. I've tried that more than once!

8) Is it possible to get a video clip to play as an intro before going to the main menu ? As in, it plays this clip first as soon as you put in the video.

Yes. File - Properties and set the Introductory Media.

9) Considering all the software they make with timelines, how hard would it have been to add one to this ? Uleads doing what SF should have. A tileline at the bottom, drop in your clips, make em chapters or play all. C'mon, this is SF and Vegas's forte' !!!

You would need to create a sub-menu and then place only text on that menu page.

11) How much does this thing cost ?
Depends on where and how you buy it. Remember that it also includes the $280 AC3 encoder!


Personally, I feel version 1 works very well. Yes, there are some limitations but it IS STABLE!

5) No Transparency for images ? Doesnt look as though I can use em as buttons anyway so whats the point right ?

This is the only thing I have not found out how to do. I was able to figure
out how to do it with Pinnacle 8 with a static background using the alpha
channel of an image only. There are some workarounds
transparent button
animated button

And if you have a font editor you can create some button shapes
other than wingdings and use that as button text. But still TOO much work for
a cute menu.

I still like DVDA with its AC3 ability but this one limitation has been frustrating.

Thanks for the tips RCourtney, not exactly the answer I was hoping for but I'll keep it in mind. I'm just surprised by how limiting this all is. Even something as simple as rotating text seems to have been left out.

Let me just say that I'm a custom junkie, I try as hard as I can to make everything I do look as unique as I possible. The shortcomings I'm discovering by further use of DVD Architect are so vast and so profound that I am simply mystified by their decision it to let it go to market, let alone the gall it took in making it a $300.00 upgrade. By all accounts it lacks much of the most basic functionality that is common in any other DVD authoring program from Ulead to Sonics MyDVD which you can get for $69.00 ! A program this inferior would have only been acceptable as a free add on, not a $300.00 upgrade.

I am surprised that there has not been more of a groundswell of frustration from dissatisfied customers such as myself. DVD Architect has absolutely no place in the Vegas line of products or justification for its over-inflated price. As stated before, I am a long time customer who has a tremendous regard for SF and their software. To date, I have been nothing less than thoroughly impressed with every product that I have purchased or that I have had a opportunity to use. I sincerely feel as though I was conned. It appears to me that they knowingly slapped the Vegas name on an inferior product just to make a buck. It can be nothing less than obvious to anyone with even the slightest experience with DVD authoring that this program is lackluster at best and quite bluntly not up to par with with programs readily available at half the cost. For me this has completely tarnished the Vegas name and greatly dulled my enthusiasm for their software.

Ultimately, even if I had gone with another program, this would still not excuse what I see as a grievous err on the part of SoFo and Sony in releasing a sub-standard product at an inexcusably over inflated price. This decision could only have been made out of either arrogance or greed, or both.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

P.S. jetdv, thanks for the reply. Somehow when I came in I overlooked your post. I think that as I scrolled down, at a peripheral glance I thought it was mine. Who else would make such a lengthy post ? I do appreciate your feedback and insights and will call on your advice often as I work thought this. I still however, feel as though this is not near as robust or feature rich as I had hoped and the lack of end actions is simply inexcusable. Be comforted that you have helped and since this is the software I'm not stuck with, I am grateful for you taking the time to share your experience.

I could see from the off that I already possessed several authoring programs that would do the job better & although I bought DVD Architect from day one I've not really used it in anger (just tinkering about with the workflow).

I too have been happy with all my other Sofo software & took a leap of faith. For me I viewed it as I was purchasing an AC3 5.1 encoder (for far cheaper than anywhere else would do one) & DVD Architect was thrown in for free. It's no good to me now, but it has placed me in a possession to be in for cheaper upgrades (based on past policies & my faith in Sofo/Sony getting the product right in version 2). It was a leap of faith I was willing to take & as I say I don't even look on it as I was buying DVD Architect in the first place. Only my opinion but for me I think at the time it was worth it for the Ac3 encoding alone.

Point taken, and perhaps if my priorities were different I would feel the same. AC3 is nice but far from being on the top of my list of things I would spend $300.00 for. And after all, it is sold as DVD Architect, not AC3 Architect. I would have been more than happy if they had set AC3 as a separate purchase and developed a DVD authoring program worth having. The simple fact that you like the AC3 and don't use Architect speaks volumes.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

One of the interesting points of all these discussions is that there is a need for an upgrade.

We are patiently or not so patiently working with workarounds to solve short commings in the program, Sony have failed to give us any indications as to when an upgrade is imminant and the only real indication is a good while off when they asked what we would like to see in Vegas 5 on the Vegas Audio forum.
This must mean they are still in the development phase of an upgrade a nd are a while off putting a final product to test. DVDA won't be upgraded before Vegas 5 as they are integrated products.
Other products are being upgraded to much higher standards in the meantime, and I am sure sony is losing customers to the opposition in numbers, eg, DVD Workshop 3 Disc Creator.
Basically the ball is in Sony's court and the longer it stays there the more players leave the other end.

I am surprised that there has not been more of a groundswell of frustration from dissatisfied customers such as myself

I think one of the reasons you don't see more frustration in this forum is that an awful lot of people have given up on DVDA because it is such a poor product. Many of them have gone elsewhere.

I am beginning to wonder if Sony has given up on us as well. There are fewer and fewer appearances by Sony people on this forum. Also, it has now been over a year since DVDA was first released, and while there were three bug fix releases in the few months following the releases, there has been no attempt whatsoever to address any of its amazing shortcomings. In the few times Sony has appeared in this forum (only five posts from Sony in this forum this year), they haven't provided much info.

When asked two months ago whether DVDA was dead or alive, SonyEPM responded with a one word post: Alive. Well, that's nice to know, but actions so far haven't kept up with that one word promise.

In addition, read this post, from last October, and make of it what you will:

Sony's Look Into the Future

That was posted over a quarter of a year ago. I certainly don't expect leaks or pre-announcements, but I do expect -- given the price of the product -- a much greater attempt to fix bugs, provide workarounds, and smooth the rough edges without forcing us all to wait an indeterminate amount of time until a major upgrade. As just one example, the "recipe" I provided late last year for how to use IFOEdit to patch the files created by DVDA shows that it is possible to create a workaround to the "end actions" mess. Such a workaround could be coded into a "push-button" program and provided "as is" to customers who were looking for a way to get useful work done. It wouldn't be elegant, but it sure as heck beats waiting indefinitely. And it wouldn't require re-coding or re-releasing DVDA until Sony is ready to do that.

Of course, the solution most people have opted for is to switch to the Adobe product. It is a good product, and those customers won't be coming back.

Also, I think Sony's lack of disclosure and lack of action (no fixes, no patches, etc.) is why the traffic on this forum has declined. Just look at the number of posts compared to Sony's other products.

If Sony really had something in the works, the rational thing to do would be to announce it now, even if it won't ship for three months, because otherwise they're going to lose everyone to Adobe's DVD product (and others). If they aren't announcing because they are afraid it will kill DVDA sales for the three months (or whatever the time is until they can ship), believe me, they are losing far more sales by keeping quiet.

Dave Hill from Sony said all that in October, four months later ... nothing.

It's a shame when a company works so hard to build up a brand name just to chunk it out the window. I have been one of the most vocal, loyal, and devout fans of Vegas since I discovered it years ago. I can't tell you how many people I've gotten to use the software or make the switch, but there are many. With the lack of support and follow through with DVDA and no new updates with Vegas, I am for the first time questioning my decision to devote all my resources to Vegas. I suppose for now I will not be quite the Vegas advocate I once was and just see what happens.

Really disappointed.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

I imagine Sony feels stuck between a rock and a hard spot. They probably do want to let us know when DVDA will be out, but by doing so they invariably let us know when Vegas 5 will be out. If that were to be only a few months away it would kill their vegas sales. True, DVDA has much to be desired, but stability is #1.

I don't think Sony is between a rock and a hard place. They showed how quickly they can move when they not only re-branded VideoFactory, but added several new features as well (none of which is available in Vegas). Their quickness updating that product coupled with the snail's pace in addressing issues with DVDA (and the much more manageable, but still annoying, issues with Vegas), indicate to me that the consumer business is more valuable to them than the professional business.

Sony could communicate their direction and long range plans without jeopardizing their competitive edge and without revealing specific product plans. Microsoft, Oracle, and most other companies do this all the time.

Silence is not an option.

DVD Lab from MediaChence does all you fellas want, desire and lust for. It's cheap too - but about as stable as cornered rat...

30-day trials available!

-Pete

Actually, I'm being unfair. If you avoid using its built in browser and use Windows Explorer instead, you'll be OK.

I agree with Muttley re. the AC3 - that is a peripheral thing to most of us. When I discovered that DVDA could not do end actions I felt very let down. I could use it for any of my work in the education field. Then when I found that menus did not work properly on some dvd players (a problem since patched) I had to just shelve DVDA, disappointed that I had apparently been 'burned' by a company like Sonic Foundry. So it was back to buggy Ulead products for me.

If a proper update for current users does not come out at a modest price I will be quite disillusioned with Sony/Sonic Foundry

That should have read:

"I could NOT use it for any of my work in the education field"

Wow....I just read the first post of this thread - and haven't go through reading the rest of the replies. But I hope the rest of the replies have set the original poster straight that most of his complaints are relatively Non-Issues (as long as you know what you can and can't do with the software).

For sure, it has always been a sorespot that end actions are not available - but that is pretty much about it when it comes to what you can and can't do with this version of the software.

The other being setting up menu items to go where you want.

But other than that - there is nothing too much you can't do with this version of the software - and I have been able to make some pretty intense DVDs. Fantastic animated backgrounds - "buttons" to click that are part of the background graphics....a bunch of stuff.

All you have to do is use your imagination and let the software do the rest.

As for intro files....that's an easy point-and-click away. Any novice will tell you that this can be done very easy being set up in the properties. But, I'm sure someone else has already told you that.

What gets me the most, I think, is when people run across what they think is a problem and get huffy puffy before figuring out that it is not a problem....or, there are already very easy work-arounds in place.

Learn something new everyday.

Wow....I just read the first post of this thread - and haven't go through reading the rest of the replies. But I hope the rest of the replies have set the original poster straight that most of his complaints are relatively Non-Issues

Quite the opposite. If you read the replies, almost all of them agree with the original poster -- DVDA is a dog. (And the replies don't even begin to get into the long litany of other deficiencies, like clunky re-sizing and alignment of menu items; lack of theme editor — although there is an external theme editor; buggy time estimates; no accurate way to predict what compression rates to use to maximize quality without building title sets that are too large; no way to combine multiple MPEG2/AC3 files prior to building title sets — so they will play without a break, ....

I can go on.

I keep posting here because I thought I could goad Sony into taking some action that would be beneficial to us customers ( ... business would be great if it wasn't for the darn customers ... ), but they remain silent. As I pointed out in an earlier post, this silence is not the way it has to be, and this certainly isn't the way the desktop computer software industry has done business since it started in the early 1980s.

kameronj, ya know, I've dug all through these forums trying to find solutions and workarounds to the issues I've had with DVDA ( when in fact, I shouldn't need workarounds ). And mind you I did say in my original post " If I missed something here, please clue me in. " I have no problem with being corrected, and was more than anything hoping that I had overlooked somthing(s). But regardless, by the feedback on this forum it seems as though I'm not alone in thinking that this program has a myriad of faults and shortcomings. Even Sony has admitted in another thread that this software is lacking quite a few of the " must have " features. The point is that I am not the only one who finds this software to be lackluster, especially when held to the standard of Sony's ( originally SoFo's ) other software.

But what's funny to me is that while digging around looking for answers to the ever expanding list of questions that I've had, I stumbled on the following topic:

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?Forum=22&MessageID=222121

This was just last night, and I'm humored that here you are today giving me crap when, without having any clue who you were, last night I was reading that entire thread thinking " This guy is an a*hole *. The guy had said " Why does the manual never feature the particular problem you have? ", which I took as humor, you took as an excuse to pounce. My god man, and here you are today trying to do the exact same thing to me. Whatever , feel free to just step back and step off. I'm looking for solutions, not criticism. You like DVDA, that's great, but don't you even dare try to get personal. Your slight of " when people run across what they think is a problem and get huffy puffy before figuring out that it is not a problem....or, there are already very easy works-around in place. " was completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unacceptable. Ya couldn't have just said " Well ya can do this, or try this, or do this. " You have absolutely no justification to try to put me down. You drew first blood without provocation ( as you've done before ) and if you think that I will sit idly by while you try to flaunt your ego at my expense, your sadly mistaken.

If you have no answers, suggestions, solutions, please do not bother hitting " Reply ". Your arrogance and " better than thou " attitude are repulsing at best and I'll tell ya right now that if you were half as intelligent as you seem to think you are your web site wouldn't look like the work of a 9 year old on crack playing with FrontPage. Ya aint all that, not here, not now, not never. I have no qualms with sinking to your level in order to defend myself. You're not better than anyone, you werent better than pjam when you attacked him and you sure as hell aint better than me. I've read your posts, I've seen your site, I've watched your vids, and from what I've seen your a talentless thieving hack who has no problem pilfering other peoples work. You may have a better handle on DVDA than I do, but buddy from what I've seen that's all you got. You have no grounds to put yourself above anyone. You didn't seem to get that last time, perhaps this time you will.

The last I checked this forum was a place where people come to voice they're opinions about the software as well as finding and asking for solutions to problems that they face. If what you want to say doesn't fit in there, just stfu and go to another topic.

My deepest apologize to every other member of this forum. I'm acutely aware of the general temperament of these boards but simply will not allow kameronj to talk down to me, or anyone else for that matter, as he has so flagrantly done to others in the past.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

I'm just wondering why Sony it's not replying to "their"(SoFo) customers.
So much complaints,bugs... and no update, but in the meantime they still selling the software and making money from what SoFo made(DVD-A).
It's good to see someone(Muttley and others) that speaks up and asking for something that should've been done ages ago with DVD-A.
However after playing with DVD Workshop 2.0 trial for some time, I'm updating my 1.3 version for sure,I like it.Lots of new features.

AudioIvan

Muttley,

Calm down. We had a flamefest on these forums a few months back. Let's not go down that path again.

Reguarding Transparency,

I skimmed through the list and didn't see obvious notes on image transparency, so I wanted to say that a PNG image works perfectly fine from Photoshop 7 using the "Save for Web" method and checking the use Transparency box on the PNG 24 file type.

Pefect transparency this way.

JBJones

Why should DVDA2 be tied to Vegas 5 anyway? What am I missing?

Flamefests aside.....

If you don't like the software or can't figure out how to use it - go play in another field.

Geez...wheter you think I'm pouncing on you or someone else - that is your Prozac to swallow. I've been using this particular software pretty much since it came out and haven't had too many problems with it.

People who complain about software without reading the manual...or....people who complain about the manual without reading the manual pretty much get what they get from me because it is entirely too easy to give it.

The software does what the software does. Deal with it - or move on.

The never ending belly aching and constant "why can't the software drive my car or wash my hair" is just a waste of bytes.

But you are looking for answers - and I guess I don't have any for you. Well, non that you want to hear, anyway. So I guess, you are not lookign for answers....you are looking for your own personal solutions to have the software do exactly what you want it to do.

You know, there is a name for people like you.....they are called "programmers". Go out and build a better mousetrap if the one you are currently moaning about isn't doing the job for you.

Geez....next time why not have them put in a couple extra pills to tide you over a few extra days.

>The never ending belly aching and constant "why can't the software drive my car or wash my
>hair" is just a waste of bytes.

Nobody is saying anything like that. The fact is that DVDA, no matter how nice it is with some 'bells and whistles' layout features, does not provide essential functionality that comes with competing, cheaper (even free bundled 'light' version) software. I, like some others, have waited silently for months for Sony / SoFo to put right that they sold us at a substantial price software which is close to a total dud on functionality for professional use. But nothing happens, and no feedback is given.

The sorts of fair criticism that have been made in this and other threads will be picked up elsewhere and used to promote competing products. So I think Sony is fast running out of time to do something.