I started off using Ulead DVD Factory. Found it simple but effective. However, I was only using it to put together sound free clips.

When using clips with sound I found the sound became distorted.

I then moved on to Sonic DVD It Pro 6. This is a lot more powerful, incorporating motion menus and PSD files. Enjoying using it at the moment.

www.xinfinitymedia.com

Hmm, really. I thought I used that before.

Tell me about it, maybe I used a different version. How is the customizability compared to ULead DVD Workshop? Is it easy to use?

Tell me about it.

I'm using DVD Architect 3, it came in the Sony Vegas 6 bundle, and it's great. It lets you do all of the expected stuff like motion menues and other effects, along with dual-layer DVDs and copy-protection.

I'm using Sonic ReelDVD, which in my opinion is a steaming pile of poo: it's so buggy that if you move another window over the ReelDVD window ReelDVD will draw on top of that window, and it has crappy 'product activation' which prevented me from making DVDs for two days after I changed my graphics card. But it was free with Avid Xpress Pro, so I can't complain too much.

Hmmmm, any thoughts about Ulead though? I have a version (I'm not sure if it's the full or not). I can only put in 10 clips (no matter the length). Is this familiar to you guys who used Ulead DVD Workshop?

Tell me more about Sonic DVD It Pro and DVD Architect.

Are they easy to use?

By the way, I use cannopus ProCoder Express to encode for DVD before bringing my clips into the dvd authring program (if that makes any difference).

I find Sonic DVD It Pro 6 easy to use.

Import your assets and set up your disc. Pretty much covers it.

Only issue I have with it, is that it won't record onto CD. I made a showreel, which was only 200mB in size. To save costs, I planned to record onto CD but the software wouldn't allow it. Had to record a disc image then use burning software, although this is causing playback problems.

Still trying to figure out the best way to overcome this.

www.xinfinitymedia.com

Hmmmm. Have you used Ulead?

Would you reccommend Sonic DVD It Pro? Alsoi can you set up motion menus etc. fairly easy?

anyone?

???

Should I just give up with this?

I'm not really speaking from experience when I say this (the only advanced DVD authoring app I've used is DVD Studio Pro), but it seems to me that most up-to-date DVD authoring programs do pretty much the same things, just in different ways.

Ulead, Sony, Adobe, Apple; I think it really doesn't make a difference which one you use, although it might be tough to learn one program after getting used to another.

If you're getting problems with sound or picture quality, though, it may be worth it to use a separate program to do your compression -- I use Compressor (Apple), but I hear Cleaner is also good. These programs allow a lot more control over the type of compression (variable or constant bit rate, one or two passes, that sort of thing) which inbuilt compression systems on some DVD authoring programs may not allow you to change.

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Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
Check out my vodcast on iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=96931870
and my blog at http://www.exgfilms.com

Just Got Adobe Encore 2.0 but haven't really used it.

"Pain is tempoary, film is forever."

Strider, have you used encore yet? jw

anyone else any knowledge about anything on this thread?