Please set me straight...

newUzer wrote on 5/10/2005, 11:04 AM

I've been reading threads about authoring using this, that, or the other thing, and have even asked my own questions on the topic, but I'm not sure I've got it completely straight. Aside from figuring out what app I'll ultimately go with, what's the deal on whether it has encoders or not? For example, I thought I could use Vegas 5 to render an MPEG2 stream and AC3 stream in 5.1, if so desired. If I choose an authoring tool that accepts elemental streams, why do I care if it has an AC3 plug-in or MPEG encoder?

Basically, all I want to do is make a single title disk with widescreen content (from Vegas 5), have one 5.1 audio stream, and have a static menu with nice buttons and stills that don't look cheesy. I'm weighing DVD-Lab (standard), TMPGenc DVD Author, Vegas Movie Studio, and anything else in the sub-$100 regime. I don't care about capture or burning, because Vegas, Shrink, and Decrypter cover those areas. Tempaltes are fine, but being able to create buttons, stills, and other backgrounds would be nice. Besides DVD-Lab, any thoughts on which low-end app would best suit my needs?

Comments

beerandchips wrote on 5/10/2005, 11:11 AM

I use nero for simple stuff. It is less than 100 bucks US. Not bad software.

BillyBoy wrote on 5/10/2005, 11:15 AM

To make a MPEG-2 (for a DVD) you need a decent MPEG-2 encoder. They are licensed software. The price you pay for the application you use includes this license fee for the encoder. Not all encoders are created equal. The Main Concept encoder that comes with Vegas is first rate. If you aren't overly worried about quality and good is good enough, then ignore what I just said.

Seems for what you want to do Vegas is overkill. Try downloading Movie Studio, its Vegas' little brother. TMPGenc is also good.

newUzer wrote on 5/10/2005, 11:43 AM

Overkill or not, I've got Vegas 5.0 - eBay bargains are hard to pass up. So, the question still stands: If I'm happy with the quality of the AC3 / MPEG2 content rendered from Vegas, do I necessarily care about whether my authoring app can transcode and encode to AC3. I guess I thought, to first order, that a basic authoring app should simply put parts together. Am I wrong?

johnmeyer wrote on 5/10/2005, 11:45 AM

If I'm happy with the quality of the AC3 / MPEG2 content rendered from Vegas, do I necessarily care about whether my authoring app can transcode and encode to AC3.

No, you shouldn't care.

jetdv wrote on 5/10/2005, 12:00 PM

I believe you must have DVD Architect in order to render to AC3. In Vegas without DVDA, the AC3 encoder is EXTRA. So unless you get DVDA, you can't get your AC3 5.1 files anyway. And if you DO get DVDA in order to get AC3, you might as well use DVDA to author.

Look at the second entry of the comparison chart