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What's the best DVD Authoring software for Windows
  • peternappeternap

    I couldn't find anything here about it, but I've been making my DVD's straight out of Avid. I'm not using Avid anymore so I need to find a good authoring tool.

    Any suggestions? Thanks!

  • 18 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Don't know if it is best, but

    http://www.magix.com/us/movie-edit-pro/plus/functions/

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/3539/deals-software-stuff-video-sound-and-photo-related#Item_9

  • peternappeternap

    Thanks Vitaliy!

  • peternappeternap

    Thanks Subco. I downloaded the trial version.

    I've been videoing a demonstration all day and I'm too tired to play with it tonight but I'll work with it in the morning.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @subco My understanding is that it does not support any modern formats, like AVCHD.
    All video applications from Mediachance are not developed for quite a time.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @subco

    My understanding that it is good if you want complicated menus or various advanced features. If not, it will be too complicated to use it.

  • leonbeasleonbeas

    I will be honest Sony DVD architect 5 is simple powerful, and fast. In combination with afterfx its almost unlimited in what you can do.

    Sometimes though you cant get really nasty headaches because errors appear out of nothing, like bugs in software design, but thats the price to pay if you want to do everything with your mouse without entering code, or loose hours doing everything by hand.

    Encore DVD is also powerful, but it makes you loose much time, especially when you want something simple.

    Remember everything is always in creativity and time

    Good luck.

  • JiveJive

    If you're asking for the best DVD authoring software, I would have to agree with @subco on DVD-Lab Pro 2. It gives you the highest level of control over authoring a DVD and fully complies with DVD specifications.

    If however, you're looking for something that will let you spit out a video straight to DVD, then something like Sony Movie Studio ($95) should fit the bill, though I'm sure there are many free apps out there as well (DVDStyler for example).

  • peternappeternap

    Thanks @jive Lab pro is limited some from the little I've seen, but I'm not sure it's a factor. Nothing I do is AVCHD after I edit anyway and it is very configurable. Like everything else, there's a learning curve that I just started climbing, but it looks promising.

    I have one that I've been putting off burning, that I'm going use it on today.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @peternap

    Let us know how you use it, ok? I mean DVD Lab.

    Many of wedding shooters absolutely stopped making DVDs. They just put 1080p mkv files on USB stick. And you can play it in any modern Tv or computer.

  • peternappeternap

    @Vitaliy Be happy to.

    Wedding Photo/videographers have my greatest respect. I photographed one in 1972.The bride was a really ugly woman who apparently never looked in a mirror because she worried me to death about why she looked so ugly in the pictures. I vowed...never again!

  • RamboRambo

    Agree with VK, mkv files on a USB stick is the "new" DVD. I use Handbreak for the conversion, small file size top quality x264

  • peternappeternap

    @Rambo I'm already ready to chuck it. It doesn't support Blu-Ray and that accounts for 25% of what I send to the replicator.

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    I use Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD 5.0.

    http://www.womble.com/products/

    It's simple and 100% reliable. What's noteworthy is if you render a DVD compliant MPEG2 file out of your editing program, Womble will create the DVD without re-encoding it. As a result, it's also fast. The interface is a bit strange, but once you figure it out, it works fine.

  • RamboRambo

    @peternap! Ok that's different, I was assuming you were burning SD DVD, not BlueRay. For that I use Sony DVD architect 5 or TMPGEnc Authoring Works 5.

    http://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/taw5.html

  • onionbrainonionbrain

    @peternap Adobe Encore. Period. Game over.

    The issue is that it's not an easier consumer solution, and you'll probably need to sit through four or six hours of training over at Lynda.com. Get through it and you'll say "Adobe Encore. Period. Game over."

  • alcomposeralcomposer

    Well now since CC Adobe Encore is "Period, Game Over" EOL. Pity- as realistically DVD is a very good format for users, not to mention impulse buying- very hard to impulse buy iTunes card at shop! ;-)

  • rNeilrNeil

    You can still download & use Encore, though you both have to download the CS6 PrPro including Encore, then just install Encore ... and so either you have to have a previously purchased CS6 PrPro license or be a CC subscriber. Also, there's instructions for downloading the libraries of content & effects (such as menu items & buttons, styles, etc) without which it doesn't run. Takes a bit of fiddling, but it works.

    You can't still buy it as a stand-alone, however.

    Neil

  • MrZzMrZz

    A small, handy and free tool which worked wonders on some occasions (when under deadline pressure and some other previously named programs crashed repeatedly... cough Encore cough) is DVD Flick: http://sourceforge.net/projects/dvdflick-v2/

    eats your Same-as-Source Files (and a lot of other different formats) and fabricates a simple DVD in PAL or NTSC -with simple menus even!

    Still I prefer Encore though, but it's hell of a buggy piece of software, at least in my experience.

    Oh and another nice freeware for the same purpose: http://www.winxdvd.com/dvd-author/

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