Pinnacle 8 vs DVDA

chrishazel wrote on 10/19/2003, 11:07 PM
Hi, I've been using Pinnacle 8 for quite sometime and it only cost me $60 after Bestbuy matches internet price, DVDA? you know the price. I've tried DVDA cause i thought i could use that ac3 format when it comes to audio. I have a 1hr and 45mins proj. and it only took me about 4 hrs to render the projectwith pinnacle 8, with motion menus,sub menus, chapters,music etc. Not to mention motion menus included already. Then I try DVDA, it took me 22 hrs for the whole thing! with no motion menus. Why do people have to worry about the file has to be with DVDA accepted format? Otherwise it will re-render everything after you render the project with vegas for 10 plus hrs?, While the Pinnacle 8 here, just transfer your dv file then, it will do scene detection which is so very important! and presto! you can start your edit, erase those scenes you don't need, when you're done you can make your dvd without worrying about if you have the right format. The only thing I think that I miss is the AC3 encoder which i can always upgrade to vision express or impression. Can anyone please explain the big difference?

Thanks
Chris

Comments

aussiemick wrote on 10/20/2003, 5:19 AM
I'll refer you to the following link;
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=207499&Replies=9&Page=1
This will explain how to make DVD's properly and quickly. Pinnacle will give you an easy means to make a simple movie but if you want to explore your creativity Vegas is it, and it is far more stable than Pinnacle.
You do have to rethink how the workflow happens in Vegas but once mastered the sky is the limit. DVDA needs an upgrade to make it have all the functions easily, that should not be far off.
Tampa wrote on 10/20/2003, 5:56 AM
Chris please also tell us about the quality difference between the two. The 22 hours may be worth it if there is a huge quality difference.
LeeV wrote on 10/20/2003, 9:03 AM
AC3 will allow more footage on the DVD. Other than that the codec are different Ligos vs Mainconcept. I've tested both and I don't see a difference. The sound is better if it is not compressed with AC3. If I have a a project less than an hour I'll use Studio8.
chrishazel wrote on 10/20/2003, 11:12 AM
I'm kind of sensitive about quality also that's why I never stop looking for the best authoring software and I can tell you about Pinnacle's quality, I don't see the difference between the source (MMV) from the finished project. My bitrate is around 6 or 7, it will be less with longer projects means less quality while my DVDA proj. (same proj) resulted with unsinchronized audio, jittery video, maybe because the audio has to be rendered separately (another negative) then combining it. Like I said a $60 studio 8,I don't have to worry all about it, I little unstable sometimes, but waiting time wise alltogether will be a lot less than 22 hrs. no offense to DVDA users, just trying to make a point. :-)

thanks to all for the reply.
chrishazel wrote on 10/20/2003, 2:46 PM
Thank you! just what I thought, AC3 is not important when it comes to sound quality. Another major concern is the rendering time.
kameronj wrote on 10/21/2003, 4:54 PM
Welp Chris...I just have to chime in for a second (or two) with my two cents.

Yes, render (or rerender) time is a pain in the ying. Until I go to a hardware compressor....then software it is.

Depending on what you are doing and how you want your finished product - I have done renders in Vegas and DVDA prepares and burns the file in less than 20 minutes.

It's when you start wanting DVDA to compress the data (to fit more footage) that the re-render is going to kick in. So...in one sense it makes a person want to think out their project and render it to a file that DVDA will just take and run with.

I have been working on some projects lately that it takes a while to render in Vegas...then I bring in to DVDA. If I just stuck with three files (about an hour and a half of video) my DVD would be burned in about 20 minutes.

But NOOOOOOOO!! I have to want to put four files or five on the disc. This usually takes about another 9+ hours to rerender. So, I just do it when I'm sleep. No biggie.

DVD is done when I wake up and then I'm on to the next set of files.

Hope that helps.
chrishazel wrote on 10/22/2003, 12:09 AM
An hour and a half file in 20 minutes? or I wonder how long is that file to render or prepared in 20 minutes? cause i've done that so many times with 15 minutes or so project, or maybe you already have that 64 bit new chip?
and would you like using two programs to make dvd while you can use one program for everything with the same result and less waiting time? I never had a project with 9+ hours or rendering using Studio 8. This is the first time that i have experienced waiting 10+ hours rendering using DVDA. well, I don't know how you do it but good for you 20 minutes waiting is perfect!
chrishazel wrote on 10/22/2003, 12:21 AM
I've checked and look, thanks for the info but there's to much to worry about especially for the money, we all just want to make dvds like hopefully the pros i still prefer Studio 8 it's the same result with less headache, you can also do some creativity if you might wanna try it, it's like what everybody was saying about DVDA that you can use your creativity. And I've noticed about the replies that i get, its seems like everybody doesn't include the waiting time using Vegas. If you messed up you end up recopmressing your project again using DVDA.