Frequently Asked Questions - All Ulead Products

Items not falling into any other specific category

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:11 pm

A common misconception is that there are two video formats
AVI & MPEG.

Problem is that is all very misleading. I suppose you could call AVI as being uncompressed video gobbling a massive 65GB per hour.
AVI is shorthand for Audio Video Interleaved.

Instead the boffins came up with various methods to compress these huge files into something smaller and more manageable. When you compress a file you also need something else to decompress it back.

This is termed a codec. COmpression / DECompression.
I haven't counted how many there are but I wouldn't be surprised if it ran into a hundred or more.

The one most widely used for video editing purposes is termed DV
This gobbles a mere 13GB per hour and comes in two formats
Type 1: The Video and Audio are combined.
Type 2: The Video is separated from the audio sort of like stereo.

There are currently 3 popular 'AVI' formats which are extrememly highly compressed but retain high quality and so are popular formats for sharing video over the internet - such as the films and TV Programs being made available by the Television Companies.

DivX
Xvid
MPEG4

These formats are also starting to appear in some camcorders.
The problem though is that due to the high level of compression they are difficult and sometimes almost impossible to edit. This can often be overcome by 'decompressing' them into the more flexible DV format.

Now if that isn't problematic enough these so called AVI formats are not DVD compliant. they have to be converted yet again into MPEG2 format.
Here again we have a problem because MPEG2 can take on a variety of bit rates and screen sizes. Not everyone chooses to place their video files onto a DVD disc and may have good reason for choosing a MPEG2 format that is not DVD compliant.

DVD VOB files are more or less MPEG2 files with some extra information.
You can often treat a VOB file as a MPEG2 file by simply renaming the extension to MPG.

For some suggested DVD compliant MPEG2 settings please view:
http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic. ... 6707#56707

If you need to convert 'avi' files into DV format there is a free converter listed in this link:
http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=12931

Or you can Google for others.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:11 pm

DVD Chapters - Return to Menu or Play next Clip.

I received a private email from a forum member as follows:
Hello Steve,

Sorry for the trouble. Can I ask you a simple question?

On Ulead Movie factory 2 SE, is it possible to play an individual chapter and at the end of that chapter have it automatically go back to the main menu? . instead of it automatically playing the next chapter. Thanks

Cheers,
Kevin
Here is my reply:

On your DVD Menu you have two types of thumbnail. They appear to the user to be identical but in fact they are different and it was down to how the author of the DVD created the item.
  1. Videos.Perhaps you have a DVD containing 2 films lets say (to make things easy to understand)
    Film 1 = Goldfinger. Film 2 = Raiders of the Lost Ark.
    You can get the DVD to play Goldfinger and then return back to the DVD Menu.
    Alternatively you can Play Goldfinger and then it automatically plays Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  2. Chapters.
    Goldfinger is about 2 hours long, so you're sitting there watching Goldfinger and a visitor knocks on your door. You have to turn your DVD player off because the visitor is going to be there for a few hours. Placing it on pause is no good.
    Providing the author of the DVD split Goldfinger up into chapters, when you later pop the DVD back on you can now look at the chapter menu to try and find somewhere near to the point you had reached before you had to turn it off. You now continue watching Goldfinger from that point. At the end of that chapter play continues with the next chapter until you reach then end of the Goldfinger film.
Last edited by Administrator on Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:12 pm

Problems burning a DVD

The issue of DVD Burn speed has now surpassed the issue of audio/video synch issues as the number one frequently asked question.
Here is a copy of a post by forum member Devil.
Devil wrote:I've had a look at DVDs burnt with different speeds through a metallurgical microscope. There is no doubt that the slower the speed, the sharper are the "pits". At the time I did this, 8x was the fastest available. There was a distinct improvement with 4x compared to 8x and a slight further improvement at 2x. I also looked at 1x and 2x (on 2x blanks) burnt with an older burner and the 1x was distinctly better than 2x.

I conclude therefore that it is a mistake to burn at high speeds, especially for archival purposes.
From my own experience (I have a 16x burner and use 8x discs.) I have found that burning at speeds higher than 4x produces a DVD that is unreliable. The same disc will
Play correctly in some standalone DVD players
Play erratically in others
Refuse to play in yet others.

Never seem to have a problem though if I burn at 4x (or less)

Other issues that need to be taken into account when finding that a DVD will not play back correctly on a standalone DVD Player include:

Not all Standalone DVD Players are compatible with 'Home Made' discs.
Check to see the formats accepted by the DVD Player. the list will read something like DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, SVCD, VCD and JPEG picture CD compatible.

Check the DVD Player Compatibility List to know what disk might be suitable for your DVD player. And check the DVD Writer List to know what disk might be suitable for your burner.

Check the surface of the disc for errors - move it about so that you can see the reflection of the disc surface. I purchase my discs a few hundred at a time and every now and then you get a few faulty ones within a batch.

Check the firmware of your DVD Burner:
Recently my DVD burner Lite-On DVDRW SOHW-1653S developed a fault (a foreign object found its way inside) and so I had to go out a buy a new one. Went to a famous nationwide High Street Store. I bought the same make of DVD Burner and same specifications but the model number had changed Lite-On DVDRW SHW-160P6S.

First couple of disks I tried to burn failed. I checked the manufacturers website and lo and behold there was updated firmware for this brand new DVD writer. Updated the firmware and .... problem solved.

Disable any packet writing software.
One of the favourite causes of a failure to burn problem is the existence of "Packet Writing Software" on your machine. Packet Writing Software enables you to use the CD/DVD drive in much the same way as a regular hard drive where you can "drag and drop" using windows Explorer.
Popular packet Writing Software includes
  • Nero InCd
  • Roxio Drag to Disc
  • Ulead Data-Add 2.0
  • Sonic DLA IBM DLA and Veritas DLA software
  • CE Quadrat Just!Burn
  • File CD (Part of CD-Maker Pro)
  • Sony abCD
THoff wrote:Another possibility is that you have the Sony rootkit on your system that is intended to eliminate or reduce piracy -- the rootkit interferes with CD and DVD burning.

http://www.5starsupport.com/tutorial/sony-rootkit.htm

If you don't trust Sony to remove the rootkit completely and correctly (and you shouldn't), download Rootkit Revealer from

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/R ... ealer.html

to check your system.
Make sure you have Install the lastest Ulead CD/DVD burner update.
http://www.ulead.com/tech/vs/vs.htm

I will finish this topic how I started with a quote by forum member Devil.
Devil wrote:Some old DVD players will never play DVD R/RW discs of any sort, no matter what you do.
  • Many DVD players refuse to play DVD R/RW discs if the MPEG encoding exceeds a total (A + V) bitrate of about 7000 kbit/s (this is very common)
  • Many DVD players will play DVD-R but not DVD+R
  • A few DVD players will play DVD+R but not DVD-R
  • Many DVD players will play DVDR but not DVDRW
  • Many DVD players will not play DL DVD
There is therefore absolutely no sure-fire guarantee of any burnt disc playing in a given player.

Practically, to put most of the odds on your side for as near best possible quality for the widest range of players:
  1. Encode the MPEG-2 at, say, 6000 kbit/s CBR and Dolby Digital AC-3 2.0 at 192 kbit/s (projects shorter than ~90 mins)
  2. Make sure your encoded MPEG file is no greater than 4.1 Gb (many blanks have hairy outer edges and are damaged in the last few "grooves" by handling)
  3. Do not mess around with mixing several makes of software
  4. Choose a good quality SL DVD-R blank (no unnamed cheapos)
  5. Burn at a speed of the rated maximum or less
Last edited by Administrator on Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:12 pm

Which Camcorder Should I buy?
jchunter wrote:Your best reference, by far, is http://www.camcorderinfo.com which has in-depth technical and user reviews of just about every camcorder on the market. These are scored to facilitate quality comparisons. Check it out. :D

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:13 pm

Manuals and FAQ for older Ulead Products

Videostudio4
Videostudio5
Videostudio6
Videostudio7
Mediastudio Pro 5

Code: Select all

http://ftp.ulead.com/pub/Manual/phase_out/msp/MSP6/MSP6.0(E).zip -- Mediastudio Pro 6
http://ftp.ulead.com/pub/Manual/phase_out/msp/MSP6_5/MSP6.5(E).zip --  Mediastudio Pro 6.5
Dvd Moviefactory 1
Dvd Moviefactory 2
Cd & Dvd Picture Show 1
Cd & Dvd Picture Show 2
Cd & Dvd Picture Show Mac 1
PhotoImpact 6
PhotoImpact 7
PhotoImpact 8
Photo Express 1
Photo Express 2
Photo Express 3
Photo Explorer 6
Photo Explorer 7
Photo Explorer Mac
Gif Animator 4
Cool 3d 1
Cool 3d 2

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