Video Factory vs Movie Studio

slatergeneral wrote on 10/25/2003, 4:42 PM
Ever since I found VF I have had a blast with making video's, video cd's and slideshows. My best was a 400 still slideshow for my dad's 80 th b-day, There were 20+ people there and not a dry eye in the house.

I have tried almost every other resonably priced editing software and frankly they all suck compared to VF.

I now have a new computer with a DVD burner and I want to advance to making dvd movies.

Is Move Studio an add on to Video Factory, does it have the same time line and functions as VF, I have looked at the comparison chart on the web and Movie Studio seems to have all VF did and more "but is it the same interface"?

I have Sony click to my DVD and it sucks. I would download a trial but there isn't one. Sony hasn't even posted screen shots so I have no idea what it is.

Thanks Robert

Comments

IanG wrote on 10/25/2003, 5:35 PM
Screenblast is the latest update to VF. The interface is identical but the features have been extended to include a third video track and extra effects, chromakey being the high profile one. It's also been bundled with MyDVD so you can author DVDs. I'm not sure if it's the same program you mentioned, but I'm told it sucks! On the other hand, the upgrade is only $30 and it would cost you that just to get the mpeg-2 codec.

Ian G.
slatergeneral wrote on 10/25/2003, 9:19 PM
Can you tell me after the upgrade are all the functions intergrated in one program or after you make your movie do you have to render and save then open mydvd and then burn. What I don't like about click to my dvd is there is almost 0 flexability in the creation of your chapters. I have downloaded a trial copy of ulead's program but I am not very impressed with it.

Thanks again Robert
JohnnyRoy wrote on 10/26/2003, 8:09 AM
> after you make your movie do you have to render and save then open mydvd and then burn

Yes, you cannot use the MPEG2 encoder that comes with MovieStudio. When you select the option to make a DVD, it saves as an AVI file and then it will open MyDVD for you to author and burn the DVD.

> What I don't like about click to my dvd is there is almost 0 flexability in the creation of your chapters.

I would have to agree. I don’t think Sony could have picked a worse program to package with MovieStudio. MyDVD was at the bottom of my list when I was evaluating which DVD authoring software to buy. You cannot set chapter points with it when used with MovieStudio.

> I have downloaded a trial copy of ulead's program but I am not very impressed with it.

What didn’t you like about it? It’s template driven so you can’t make Hollywood Style DVD’s with a Play option and Special Features, etc. so if that’s what you were looking for I understand your disappointment. The best low cost program for that was Dazzle DVD Complete but Pinnacle Systems bought them and killed of the product line.

If you really want great flexibility in authoring a DVD at a low price, look at DVD Lab by MediaChance ($79). This NOT a beginner’s tool but it is powerful and cheap. I have some of their other products and they are great. I use their Real-DRAW PRO to make titles and lower thirds.

~jr
IanG wrote on 10/26/2003, 9:56 AM
>If you really want great flexibility in authoring a DVD at a low price, look at DVD Lab by MediaChance ($79). This NOT a beginner’s tool but it is powerful and cheap.

~jr, I agree with you about it not being a beginner's tool, but only up to a point. It's easy to use, but you need to spend a little time getting to know what's available to you. If you like playing with s/w then it's a joy - much like VF IMHO.

BTW, have you looked at it since beta4 (I think)? - motion menus and motion thumbnails. It keeps getting better!

Ian G.
slatergeneral wrote on 10/26/2003, 10:30 AM
So since I already have video factory and Mydvd I can create my movie in VF render as an avi file, then open mydvd and create and burn.

On Unlead, I have alot of music videos captured from vh1 etc. and ulead kept giving error message of corput file and would not allow in. I downloaded Pinnacle studio 8 and I like it (still does not compare to VF) but I have some clips recorded at differant frame rates and studio 8 would not allow those to mix. VF has not given me any error messages at all. I will look into DVD lab

Thanks Robert
slatergeneral wrote on 10/26/2003, 11:51 AM
I have tried DVD lab and it will not work with the mpg files I have, I keep getting error messages. I am rendering a video in VF as an AVI and I wll try to make a DVD using the trial versions of Studio 8, Ulead and My DVD and see whats better
JohnnyRoy wrote on 10/26/2003, 1:30 PM
It sounds like your MPEG files are not DVD compliant. I would not blame Ulead, Pinnacle, or DVDLab for that. Your files must be MPEG2 with 720x480 resolution, 29.97 fps, and no more that 9000 kbps bitrate. (Most people don’t go above 8000 kbps). It you captured these from TV and they are 640x480 instead of 730x480 this could be your problem. Also if they are at different frame rates, as you suggested, that will also cause problems. You need to fix your MPEG2 files to be DVD compliant. Trying new software is not going to help.

~jr
dand9959 wrote on 10/26/2003, 2:40 PM
While Pinnacle may have killed their purchase of Dazzle's DVD Complete, DVD Complete lives on as another product, DVD X MAKER from 321 Studios. You can find it on the shelves at best buy, etc.
slatergeneral wrote on 10/26/2003, 5:37 PM
I used VF and rendered as an avi file and then opened my dvd and made a dvd, first time around I did not get the chapters right. It seems like VF is the only program that dosen't care about bit rate etc. I may try the upgrade to see if I can render as a mpeg2 file. I am also going to try the other trial programs to make a dvd out of the avi file from VF.

Thanks Robert