will Sonic Foundry produce a DVD Authoring app?

stevemcx wrote on 7/22/2002, 1:40 PM

I just want to express the hope that SF will introduce DVD Authoring software. I have tried a few apps, and am now using DVDit SE as the lesser of the available evils. I have figured-out how to use it and can confidently author my DVDs...but that doesn't mean I like it. In fact, I think the interface is very poorly conceived, and it makes me wonder what planet their engineers come from ;-)

I've been very happy with my various Sonic Foundry apps, so I have some confidence that they would (will?) do a good job with this, as well.

Here's hoping! - SM

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dsanders wrote on 7/25/2002, 1:17 PM

I don't know if Dolby has "blown" it yet. The ability for consumers to burn DVDs is really only a couple of months old. Sure, DVD burners have been out for two years or so, but they generally were close to $1000 and blank media was $10 a pop. But now you can buy a Pioneer DVR-A04 for $250 and blank (generic) disc for $1.50 People who spend $1000 can also afford (I guess) to spend the money on a high price encoder. But the story has changed recently with cheap recorders being available. It would not suprise me if VV included a stereo Dolby encoder in its next release due to a much lower licensing fee. But I bet a full blown 5.1 or DTS encoder will still be pricy. Just my 2 cents.

seeker wrote on 7/25/2002, 9:49 PM

Don,

> "But I bet a full blown 5.1 or DTS encoder will still be pricy." <

Agreed. But it would be a good thing if Dolby and DTS reduced prices to compete with each other. Competition can be a healthy thing. Just as lack of competition can be unhealthy. Perhaps they will take note that Walmart became the biggest, most profitable retail corporation on the planet by cutting prices. And perhaps Dolby and DTS will realize that they aren't endearing themselves with consumers by their perceived price gouging.

From what I hear, the next generation of discs will use blue laser technology and will have much more capacity than DVDs. That will probably make both Dolby and DTS obsolete, because no proprietary compression technologies will be necessary for these higher capacity discs. Even today, unless you need to pack a lot of video onto a DVD, you might want to consider dispensing with Dolby and DTS altogether on your current projects.

With regard to that, the following quote is taken from the book, "TechTV Secrets of the Digital Studio, Insider's Guide to Desktop Recording" by James Maguire and Jim Louderback, Que 2002 (April) 418 pages + CD-ROM $24.99. The book covers the subject of audio recording, and not video editing, but it is relevant to the audio tracks in our videos. On page 314, in the section titled Encoding software--or maybe not, it says,

"To encode for the DTS format, you can use, for example, SurCode DTS by Minnetonka Audio ($499). This enables you to create a DTS CD with any standard CD burning program. (Listening to this CD will require a CD or DVD player with a DTS decoder.) To encode Dolby Digital Files, examples of programs include Sonic Foundry's SoftEncode 5.1 ($995) or Winnetonka Audio's SurCode Dolby Digital ($995). Both programs enable you to create a 44.1 kHz version of an AC-3 file, which you can burn to a CD-R disc. (Again, though, you can't simply play this in your CD player--you'll need a Dolby Digital decoder.)"

The book then continues with what I think is a significant passage:

"The most desirable option is no encoding at all. If, as it looks at this point, the DVD-Audio format becomes the medium of choice, unencoded surround sound audio (with a stereo option on each disc) will become the standard mixdown format. That would be good. Encoding is a process that most musicians would gladly leave behind. It colors audio profoundly and, for many listeners, in undesirable ways."

-- Burton --

riredale wrote on 7/26/2002, 1:36 AM

seeker:
Interesting quotes. The only gripe I would have is with the comment that encoding "...colors audio profoundly...". I think most listeners can hardly tell the difference between mp3 at 128kb/sec and the raw PCM original for most types of music. This is certainly a far cry from the "old" days of 30 years ago where anyone could hear the pops of an LP, or the constant hiss of even a Dolby-B cassette recording. Will there be a need in the future to deliver audio at a 96KHz/24bit (DVD-audio) rate? I don't think so.

Anyway, I guess this thread has gotten pretty far away from the original posting regarding SF making a DVD authoring app...

SonyDennis wrote on 7/31/2002, 5:44 PM

> "The most desirable option is no encoding at all. If, as it looks at this point, the DVD-Audio format becomes the medium of choice, unencoded surround sound audio (with a stereo option on each disc) will become the standard mixdown format. That would be good. Encoding is a process that most musicians would gladly leave behind. It colors audio profoundly and, for many listeners, in undesirable ways."

Actually, to do surround with deep bit depths, DVD-Audio must use MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing), which also carries a licensing fee. It's not possible to do 24-bit, 96KHz, 6-channel in straight uncompressed PCM. Not enough bandwidth. Fortunately, MLP can't color the audio because it lossless.

///d@