I have no complaints about DVDA. Great program and does all I need for DVD creation... now if we can only get Bluray authoring out of it... I can dream can't I?

j razz

it takes a little getting used to because you can't do any editing & such in DVDA, but it's REALLY nice once you get the hang of it (took me 1 DVD).

F1 helps a lot too.

I found several things unintuitive about DVD Architect in the beginning, like the outline of menus and files on the left and the fact I couldn't just easily rearrange them where I wanted them. However after reading the help file a little and experimenting I then found it the easiiest DVD authoring program I've ever used and it keeps getting better. So spend a little time with the trial.

I just started playing around with it myself, and it does take a little bit of reading and playing. But once you start getting the hang of it, you begin to get an idea of how detailed it is... pretty bloody good author program.

Spend some time and piss around with it... IMO it's well worth it

Used it since DVD V1.

DVD menu navigation is a different animal.

Have the wife/husband/significant other learn every detail of the program or hire someone to specialize in navigation points, so that you can concentrate on content capture/editing.

he he,
wow, thanks all for your really quick responses.....

...you have all got it covered and I think that spending a bit of time with it is what I need to do...it is just that I have had some video training along the way to learn Vegas, which helped me get to grips with it really quick, then I opened DVDA and thought! hmmm, what do I do now?...

...problem is that I wanted to be able to create something really whiz bang in about 5 minutes, without knowing the app....since my first post, I have been playing around with DVDA and am getting the hang of it I think.;)

Thanks heaps for the quick replies, as per normal for this forum, everyone is amazingly quick to offer their help :) :)

Cheers
Rossco

...problem is that I wanted to be able to create something really whiz bang in about 5 minutes
=================================================

That really is your problem and one I understand well. First off you probably need to understand HOW a DVD works, it's kind of got another dimension compared to what we're used to editing in a linear space. Add to that the many limitations imposed by how the players work and you'll start to appreciate why no authoring app is intuitive.
In the end you can spend more time designing a DVD than editing the movie.
Bob.

I disagree with Bob - nothing new there!

You have NO problem! 'cos DVDA is so "feature-rich" the simplicity of it can be obscured in its wish to be helpful - which it IS!!

OK - 5 minutes? 5 minutes? As long as that huh? - Without sounding like a wise arse here, I just prepared a DVD in DVDA4 in 30 seconds!!

#1 - Open DVDA4 - that's the bluey Icon thingy.

#2 - Accept ALL the defaults - BOOM!

#3 - Using DVDA4 Explorer find your file and drag to the default Blue "Menu 1" area - BOOM!

#4 - If you wanna Preview, hey go ahead and confirm the ONLY button works and plays your DVD.

#5 - Click "Make DVD" - Boom!

#6 - Assuming you AINT got any issues, go burn - BOOM and BURN BABY!

OK, once you've done a few of these simpler projects then add to your skill/toolset for DVDA4.

But easier s/w than this? Huh . .. I can't think of one? Yup! MS Notepad!

Get back here if you want any further tips. You can try the DVD Forum too!

DVD creation can be loadsa fun. However, and what I WILL agree with Bob on, is that I/you/we can spent humongous amounts of time on the creation of the DVD, almost as much as the video content. Well, not soooo much, but DVDA is a remarkable platform to work on.

Lurking about are some Sony Tutorials. Maybe some kind soul hereabouts can locate them for you?

Now that you are playing with it, you are starting to find just how easy it is. But me writing this hopefully will persuade "others" starting out on DVD creation to just go ahead and experiment. Until yah burns that puppy, you aint lost anything.


( No animals - puppies - were harmed in the making of this commercial - thank you!)

Great tutorial Grazie. Might I add that the Preview tool is absolutely necessary to test more complex projects/navigation. Also, grab a rewritable DVD and spend an afternoon playing around with it, navigating/connecting multiple mpg clips, etc.

following on from Grazies post...
i used to do demo's of vegas and DVDA at trade shows here in aus, and within 3 minutes i went through and showed total newbies how to run the app according to their delivery options, and create a motion menu with chapter selection screen in under 3 minutes..
then spent another 2 to 3 minutes refining it and tweaking colours and buttons etc etc

in regard to the clips on teh left hand side, their status in the chain of events is irrelevant.. hell u can even have certain clips be "easter eggs" and hidden from view, and activated only by a numberpad button.. ;)

also dont forget, Playlists are your friend... :)

One thign i do hate abotu DVDA, is the lack of 2pass encoding, in addition to the very dirty in built ac3 encoder.. sure it works, but converting 2 channels to 5.1 in this program is a BIG no no.. use Vegas instead.. create a proper mix and export accordingly..
Another thing i dont like abotu it, is that if u create a 5.1 project, u CANT have a 2.0 menu... DVDA2 let u do this, DVDA3 and above doesnt..
Oh and why isnt the ac3 encoder multithreaded?

I'll be happy as long as I can author Bluray or Bluray/HD-DVD. I suspect they are pulling their hair out on this one, then who would spend 5K for Blueprint? Or is it 50K? Oh you know 5K here, 5K there and pretty soon your into some real K's.
JJK

Not wishing to dump on Sony here, but I find DVDlabPro2 much more intuitive and sophisticated.

For years I used Maestro, one of the two heavyweights in the authoring industry back in 2001(the other being Scenarist). From time to time, I would check out other options, including Mediachance's DVDlab. Last year it looks like they finally matured the product to the point that I felt like making the switch.

DLP2 is very much like Maestro but with a WYSIWYG navigation panel like Reel or Scenarist. You can build a navigation flow by simply connecting icons with your mouse, and then afterwards you can see exactly how things work by observing the links between them. To me that's much more intuitive than Maestro's Connections table, plus Maestro development was frozen 6 years ago when Apple bought them and turned the program into DVD Studio Pro. It's a remarkable product, in my view.

To be fair, I've not looked seriously at DVD-A since the first version.

Seems like a preference thing to me.
Just sat through a DVDLabpro tutorial and thre's really nothing there that we don't have in DVD4.
May come down to what one is used to.

That mouse/icon/arrow thing in Reel was like looking into an old Western Electric wiring diagram---you didn't know if you were up/down/colorblind/or watching MTV speeded up.I still have Reel laying around somewhere with the dongle. I am so glad DVD-A came out to rescue me.
JJK

j razz,
to you think there will be support for blu-ray this year? I am thinking about buying DVDit Pro HD. It WILL author complete discs, but I don't want to spend the money outside of DVDA unless I have to.

ps
haven't a clue what happened with the deleted messages.....

He he,
thanks Grazie and all, very much appreciated tips and help....

I will muck on through DVDA as I don't really want to splash out on other apps if I don't need to :)

This has certainly sparked some good feedback and debate on the pros/cons of DVDA ;)

Cheers
Rossco...

PS: Is there a way I can get notified when a post is replied to on this forum?

PS: Is there a way I can get notified when a post is replied to on this forum?

Sure!! For a small fee I'll email yah!!

Nope . . there aint.

The significant word in the original post was "killer"!

A simple DVD with a PLAY button is hardly a "killer DVD" in this day and age.

Someone mentioned that the order of things in that left pane doesn't matter, sorry but I have to disagree, it can matter very much but you will not find out until you burn a physical DVD and check how well it plays on a STB player.

For some good insight into DVDA, Volume 6 of Absolute Training for Vegas + DVD is pretty good. This only covers DVDA 3 and you really should be using 4.0b if you want to avoid jumping through a few hoops to get a fully compatible DVD.

Bob.

WTG - Bob!

I found several things unintuitive about DVD Architect in the beginning, like the outline of menus and files on the left and the fact I couldn't just easily rearrange them where I wanted them.

Are you saying you couldn't then, but you've figured out how to since then? Or just that you can't at all?

'Cause you can. :) Just click and drag.

Rob

>>>Get back here if you want any further tips.<<<<

Thanks for the offer.

Q 1: How do I use my own background? I assume I drag it in but where do I place it?

To the right of the Preview Screen, click the Background Media Tab.

Now drag your background and drop it onto the TEXT entry for the existing background, under Video