From Camcorder to DVD with Video Studio

VideoStudio

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:31 pm

Part 1. Introduction.

The purpose of this tutorial is to show how to get your Video Footage from your camcorder onto a DVD using Ulead Video Studio Editor in conjunction with a digital camcorder (Mini Dv Camcorder). Other input sources such as cameras using mini DVD's or hard discs will be included at a later date.

A tutorial written specifically for Capture and Editing of High Definition Video
has been written by forum member JcHunter here

The basic steps remain the same no matter which version of VideoStudio you are using. I shall be creating this tutorial so that it will begin with the basic steps concerning connecting your camcorder to the computer, capturing, saving and basic authoring. Over a period of time I shall then add more specific tasks such as cutting and splicing, adding Titles and other effects.

A help file is included when you first install VideoStudio and is often overlooked by users who may not even be aware of its existence.
VS10: \"C:\\Program Files\\Ulead Systems\\Ulead VideoStudio 10\\vstudio.chm\"
VS9: \"C:\\Program Files\\Ulead Systems\\Ulead VideoStudio 9.0\\vstudio.chm\"

I will create links to other material provided by other forum members where applicable. I am mainly gathering together material already available for our members who can use this as a workflow checklist.

I shall be keeping this tutorial locked . The reason for this is because I do not want the tutorial to bloat. The forums recommended procedure is currently 8 pages long and so a new user who probably only needs to read the initial post by forum member JcHunter possibly avoids this important post due to the current length of that thread.
(Please see \"MPEG2 Capture –v- DV Type 1 Capture\" further down this article)
I do however want to encourage members to post ideas and suggestions for this tutorial and so please send ideas and suggestions to my PM sjj1805.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:32 pm

Part 2. Connecting the Camcorder to the Computer
and optimising the computer for video Editing.


This is perhaps the most crucial part of the process and I urge members to take a few minutes to read this section.

Most camcorders are supplied with a USB lead
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However these cables are not considered to be suitable for the purpose of transferring your camcorder footage into the computer.
You should instead use an IEEE1394 cable also named firewire / i-Link. Firstly check to see if your computer has a firewire
socket usually found on the back of the computer

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If you do not have connections like these then you need to fit an IEEE1394 Card into your computer.
They are reasonably cheap and can be bought as a kit so that you get a motherboard card and also a lead in one box.

The card fits into the computer as follows:
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The firewire cable required for most camcorders is termed 4 pin to 6 pin
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The smaller end fits into your camcorder
(The exact location of the firewire socket on your camcorder will vary between camcorders and may be
concealed behind a cover.)

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You should also ensure that when you are transferring your video from the camcorder to the computer, the camcorder
should be plugged into the mains electricity supply - do not rely upon its batteries.


Pre capture stage notes.

Check to make sure that your computer system meets the required minimum standards

Windows®-compatible DVD writer for installation. Also to burn the completed DVD Video.
Hard drive space for video capture and editing - AVI files in type 1 DV format consume approx 13Gb per hour, add to
this space required for editing and creation of MPEG2 files and DVD VOB files.
So for 1 hour you need at least 25GB, 2 hours will require at least 40GB.
256 MB of RAM (512 MB or more recommended)
Windows®-compatible display card with at least 1024x768 resolution

For VideoStudio9:
Intel® Pentium® III 800 MHz or higher
Microsoft® Windows® 98 SE, 2000, Me, XP
1.2 GB of available hard drive space for program installation
Windows®-compatible sound card

For VideoStudio10:
Intel® Pentium® 4 or higher
Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4, Windows® XP SP2 Home Edition/Professional,
Windows® XP Media Center Edition, Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition
1 GB of available hard disk space for program installation
Windows®-compatible sound card (multi-channel sound card for surround sound support recommended)

If you have two hard drives in your system, it is recommended that you install VideoStudio to your system drive (usually C)
and store captured videos in your other drive (usually D).
You may also be interested in reading my suggestions for setting up a multi-boot system I have also included further down this topic how to set up a multi-hard drive system involving 3 Hard Drives.

Another tip is to create a permanent Paging File (Swap File)
There is an interesting guide here
This guide also describes how to optimize the permanent paging file.

Create a Video Editing Profile
This item is too large to fit in this tutorial and so has been provided in the form of a separate standalone tutorial here.

The purpose of a video editing profile is to disable anything unconnected with the video capture/editing/authoring process.
This means that your computer has more RAM and more use of the computers processor chip to deal with your task.
It also reduces problems often associated with conflicting software.

Hard Drive Considerations

Another important point to consider is the format of your Hard Drives.
Earlier versions of Windows® used the FAT32 filing system but if you have Windows® XP / Windows® 2000 or later then your operating system should be using the NTFS filing system. FAT32 restricts the size of files to 4GB and so if you plan to capture an hours worth of DV type 1 (13GB) then you will find your video has been split into 3 sections.
Conversion is easy and is described here

Obviously you need space on your hard drive(s) to capture your video but another often overlooked point is space for temporary files. Their files can also consume large quantities of Hard Drive Space and is another cause of error messages during the video capture/editing process. If you have more than 1 hard drive then my suggestion is to move the temporary files folder to another hard drive or partition with plenty of free space.

From VideoStudio select
File | Preferences
Then on the General Tab you will see “Working folderâ€
Last edited by Administrator on Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:33 pm

Part 3. The Capture Stage.

Preparing VideoStudio for Capture.

With your camcorder and computer connected to each other with your IEEE1394 firewire/i-Link cable. Your Camcorder connected to the mains electricity supply and at this point your camcorder turned OFF.
Open VideoStudio. Unless you have selected the “Do Not Show this Messageâ€

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:35 pm

Part 4. Editing your Video.

This article will form a separate topic. Click here.

Links to contributions by other forum members:

Brian Cee Website

\"How to\" video created by Ulead.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:36 pm

Part 5. Authoring a DVD.

Index to this section:Before starting off on our journey of discovery relating to this part of the process I would like to reproduce here what I consider to be an excellent post by forum member Ken Berry relating to the for/against arguments of authoring a DVD from a VideoStudio Project file.
http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic. ... 7002#67002
Ken Berry wrote:Astro -- sorry, but I can't let your post here go with at least some sort of comment. :roll: Now, of course, any method which works for you is fine, so stick with it if it works. We don't claim to be infallible. But your posting -- which I realise is probably only shorthand for the detailed work flow you follow -- contains something which are potentially misleading to newbies.

On this Board, we generally encourage people to capture first to DV/AVI where at all possible, and particularly if the source of the video is digital. You don't say whether your original captures were of full-uncompressed AVI (65 GB per hour more or less) or DV/AVI (13 GB per hour). Anyway, I realise that capturing to DV/AVI is not always possible. Some people have hard disc or mini DVD video cameras, which of course film in mpeg-2 format. Others are capturing analogue video through capture devices which may not allow DV capture but only uncompressed AVI or mpeg-2. In all those circumstances, it is clearly not feasible to capture in DV.

Some people, however, don't have computers which are powerful enough to capture direct to mpeg-2 format, particularly from a digital source where large packets of data are being sent at relatively high speed to the computer in one format and the computer is having to both handle that signal and convert it to mpeg-2 on the fly. More often than not, with less powerful computers, this process falls over sooner rather than later.

As you will also know, editing mpeg-2s -- and especially extensive editing of it -- is not generally recommended (and not only, this time, by this Board but much more widely. This is why specialised mpeg editors such as Video Redo or Womble were developed in the first place.) Again, there is the potential for too many errors to creep in, including out of sync audio and video, particularly if the mpeg-2 is cut extensively. That is why we recommend capturing AND editing in DV/AVI format wherever possible. The same potential for error simply does not exist.

You talk about capturing to AVI and in the next breath talk about 'the output ... on DVD'. This shorthand could also hide a multitude of sins :lol: since it implies you may have gone directly from capturing (and editing?) in AVI format to the burning module. Again, if that workflow generally works for you, then by all means use it. But there is a broad range of experience on this Board which suggests that, with Video Studio at least, it is probably better to do your capture and edits in DV/AVI, and then go to Share > Create Video File > DVD. This will produce a DVD-compatible mpeg-2, which is ready for burning. And it is then burned as a separate step.

There is a separate thread here in which some of our members are experimenting to see whether, with VS10, you can go straight from the project in the timeline to burning a disc without first producing the mpeg-2 I mentioned. And the results, while promising, are mixed. Certainly, in earlier versions of Video Studio, and again mainly for people with less powerful computers, such a work flow imposes further stress on already thin computer resources -- asking the computer both to render your original project in AVI format into mpeg, and then also creating the menus and multiplexing and then burning, all on the fly, has the very great potential to introduce problems into the whole process. Jittering video on the final DVD is a very common factor here, though of course there are a variety of other poor results possible.

The same potential for error is heavily reduced if the workflow is broken down into simple, separate steps: first, capture in DV where possible. Second, edit in that format. Third, produce a DVD-compatible mpeg-2 (Share > Create Video File > DVD). And fourth, only then open the burning module, construct your menu and burn the disc (Share > Create Disc > DVD). :lol:
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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:37 pm

Create a Ulead VideoStudio 9 Training Video.

What I now intend to do is to create a DVD with you that I am sure will be a worthy addition to your DVD collection. The only cost involved is the time taken and one blank DVD upon which to burn the results of this tutorial. The Following videos are for version 9. I will later discuss the new enhancements contained in version 10. I have previewed a further video tutorial relating to version 10 currently being developed by Ulead. That video when completed will complement not replace those below.

To do this I ask that you download the following files from the Ulead Tutorial Website:

Chapter....................................................................Minutes.......Size...............Download
0 - Introduction...........................................................1:14..........7.5MB.............FTP
1 - Getting to Know VideoStudio.................................8:39....... 16.3MB.............FTP
2 - Capturing Video.....................................................5:36....... 26.5MB.............FTP
3 - Adding Transitions.................................................6:50....... ..1.6MB.............FTP
4 - Applying Corrective and Enhancement Filters........2:51....... 8.81MB.............FTP
5 - Creating Overlays..................................................5:09....... 13.3MB.............FTP
6 - Adding Titles..........................................................4:27....... 8.85MB.............FTP
7 - Applying Audio Effects............................................5:52....... 9.95MB.............FTP
8 - Sharing Your Movie.................................................7:10....... 14.5MB.............FTP

When you have completed downloaded these files please unzip them to a folder of your choice. You will now have files named:

Ch 00 - Introduction .avi
Ch 01 - Getting to Know VideoStudio.avi
Ch 02 - Capturing Video.avi
Ch 03 - Adding Transitions.avi
Ch 04 - Applying Corrective and Enhancement Filters.avi
Ch 05 - Creating Overlays.avi
Ch 06 - Adding Titles.avi
Ch 07 - Applying Audio Effects.avi
Ch 08 - Sharing Your Movie.avi

Now open VideoStudio Editor
Select the Share tab and then the [Create Disk] button:

Version 9:
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Version 10:
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Depending upon which version of VideoStudio you are using you will see one of the following:

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Add Video:
This prompts you to add video files that you have saved on your hard drive(s)

Add VideoStudio Project:
When you add video files to the editor timeline and make cuts, transitions, add overlays titles etc you can then save this as a project file.
Your original video has not been changed in any way and these cuts, transitions etc are at this time simply a list of instructions. A new modified video file will be created containing all of those cuts, transitions etc.

You have a choice between creating the edited video file first and then using the \"Add Video\" button mentioned above. Alternatively you can pass this task to the DVD authoring module.
Technically there is no need to create a video file first. Practically though I prefer to create the video file first so that I am able to give it a final check before entering the authoring stage. Some users have also reported that they have experienced problems when authoring from the project file.

Import DVD/DVD-VR
You can import video from an existing DVD Video Disc - provided it has not been copy protected.
A guide showing how can be found here.

Add From Hard Drive/External Device
(Version 10 only)
Think of this like a Library Manager. You are able to create a catalogue of files on your Hard Drives and other storage devices. You can then select a video by clicking its thumbnail.


For the benefit of version 9 users I will use routines available in both versions. Click the [Add Video files] button, navigate to the avi files saved above and select them all. Click the [Open] button.

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You will now see your videos as a set of thumbnails across the bottom of the screen. You can see though that our particular thumbnails are not very representative of the contents.

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Changing The Thumbnail

Click the first (leftmost) thumbnail so that it is selected.
Now move the pointer below the preview window until you see something more representative of the clip.
Right click the thumbnail and a text box appears allowing you to alter that thumbnail.

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Later when creating the DVD Menu, this will also form the start point of your moving thumbnail on the menu. If you were creating a DVD of a Hollywood blockbuster you wouldn't want the thumbnail to be of the MGM Lion roaring or that fellow from Rank hitting that big gong.

Repeat this process for the remaining thumbnails.

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First Play Video
If you tick the box [Use first clip as introductory video] then that video will play before the DVD menu appears. This video will not appear on the DVD menu and once played cannot be selected again. Should you wish to include that video on the DVD menu for any reason you would have to import it for a second time.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:38 pm

Chapters

If we were to now move on and create our DVD we have 9 video clips.
Each video clip would have a thumbnail on our DVD Menu. We would be able to play and watch that individual video clip and then either return to the main menu or we could move on to the next video clip in the series.

That's fine for short videos like these, the longest clip lasts for only
8 minutes 39 seconds. Mostly though you will be creating videos a lot longer than that, possibly 1 or 2 hours in length if not more.

We can therefore create certain points in the video that we can instantly jump to. The video will start playing from that point and continue to the end of the video. These [jump to here] points are termed chapters.

Creating chapters in your video is optional.
You can set chapter points yourself by looking through the video and marking the chapter points.
The program in two ways can generate chapter points automatically:

Method 1. Scene change Information.
VS10 Manual wrote: If you want to use Auto Add Chapters, your video must be at least one minute long or the video has scene change information.
� if you click Auto Add Chapters and your video is a DV-formatted AVI file captured from a DV camcorder, Ulead VideoStudio can automatically detect scene changes and add chapters accordingly.
� if the selected video is an MPEG-2 file with scene change information, Ulead
VideoStudio automatically generates these chapters for you when you click Auto
Add Chapters.
Method 2. Fixed intervals.
You simply say to the program create me a chapter point every 3 minutes
(or whatever period you decide - whole minutes only)

If we now look at a flow chart of a DVD containing 3 videos. One of the videos contains chapters the other two do not. This chart is very simple just to give an idea of the basic flow.

From the Main Menu there will be 3 buttons (in reality there will be more but I am keeping this simple to illustrate a point).

Select Button 1 and the first video plays.
Select Button 3 and the third video plays.
Select Button 2 and a Chapter Menu will appear.
Select the first chapter button and chapter 1 plays, then chapter 2 etc.
Select the third chapter button and play commences from chapter 3.

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If more than one video contained chapters you would have a separate chapter menu for each.

Menu Pages.
If a Menu contains more videos or chapters than the number of buttons on that menu, then a second (or more) Menu Page will be created.

Let us look at how long each of the Training Videos Lasts
0 - Introduction...........................................................1:14
1 - Getting to Know VideoStudio.................................8:39
2 - Capturing Video.....................................................5:36
3 - Adding Transitions.................................................6:50
4 - Applying Corrective and Enhancement Filters........2:51
5 - Creating Overlays..................................................5:09
6 - Adding Titles..........................................................4:27
7 - Applying Audio Effects............................................5:52
8 - Sharing Your Movie.................................................7:10.

So that we can demonstrate the use of chapters we will create chapters at 2 minute intervals for each of the following Videos:

1 - Getting to Know VideoStudio.................................8:39
3 - Adding Transitions.................................................6:50
8 - Sharing Your Movie.................................................7:10.

Click the Thumbnail of the first of the above 3 videos to select it.
Click the Add/Edit chapter button

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Now click the Auto Add Chapters Button.

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Now select Add chapters at fixed intervals and select every 2 minutes

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Click [OK]

This will create 5 chapters as shown here:

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Nomad wrote:When you right-click a chapter thumbnail in Edit mode then you are only really presented with the option to 'Hide Object' or not. But if you double-click the chapter thumbnail a new window pops up that presents you with a preview of your chapter clip and a jog bar that allows you to set a start-from position in the clip, and effectively allows you to alter the image of the chapter thumbnail. When previewed, the chapter thumbnail shows the start-from image that was set, but still starts from the actual beginning of the clip when played.
Repeat this procedure for the other video files
3 - Adding Transitions
8 - Sharing Your Movie.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:39 pm

Project Settings.

Lets now move to the [NEXT>] screen.
Look at these items at the foot of the screen:

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Firstly the green coloured bar you can see is an indication of how large your DVD currently is using the present settings. This figure is based upon the current set of video files, chapters and whichever menu is currently selected.

Make a note of the values in the green bar and how many thumbnails are on the currently selected menu. Now select another menu with a different number of thumbnails. You will see the value of the green bar change.

This is because each Menu page uses disc space. The less thumbnails you have on a menu page, the more pages are required to display all of your thumbnails. OK I'm stating the obvious but you would be surprised how many times something so simple can get overlooked.

To the left of the green bar is a list box:

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The list box shows the various disc sizes currently in existence.
When you select one of the disc sizes it will indicate to you if your project will fit onto that disc format.

This picture shows that a DVD 4.7 GB disc will be used but the project is too large to fit:

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By selecting the larger DVD 8.5 GB disc size the same project will now fit

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DVD, VCD, SVCD and HD DVD Disc formats

There are several factors to consider in choosing an output format for your project. These include your desired output quality, target playback device, and viewing screen size, among others. Here are the advantages and disadvantages that picking each output format entails:

Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) is popular in video production because of its quality. Not only does it guarantee superb audio and video quality, it can also hold several times more data than VCDs and SVCDs. DVDs make use of the MPEG-2 format, which has a much bigger file size than MPEG-1, and can likewise be produced as single or dual-sided, and single and dual-layered. They can be played on stand-alone DVD players or on the DVD-ROM drive of your PC.

Video Compact Disc (VCD) is a special version of a CD-ROM that uses the MPEG- 1 format. The quality of the exported movie is almost the same, but usually better than VHS tape-based movies. A VCD can be played back on a CD-ROM drive, VCD player, and even on a DVD player.

Super Video CD (SVCD) is commonly described as an enhanced version of VCD. It is based on MPEG-2 technology with Variable Bit Rate (VBR) support. The typical running time of an SVCD is about 30-45 minutes. Although you could extend this to 70 minutes, you will have to compromise sound and image quality. SVCDs can be played back on stand-alone VCD/SVCD players, most DVD players, and all CD-ROM/DVD-ROM with a DVD/SVCD player software.

HD DVD (High Density Digital Versatile Disc) Developed as a standard for high-definition DVD, HD DVD is similar to the Blu-ray Disc, which also uses a 120 mm diameter optical data storage media and 405 nm wavelength blue laser.

Disk Template Manager.

The bottom left icon enables you to set project preferences and also the Disk Template Manager.

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Lets take a look at the Disc Template manager:

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Lets look a little closer at the list of available disc templates:

HQ 4:3 (Dolby Digital)
GC 4:3 (Dolby Digital)
HQ 4:3 (20min/1.4G, 60min/4.7G, 100min/8.5G)
GQ 4:3 (30min/1.4G, 90min/4.7G, 150min/8.5G)
SP 4:3 (40min/1.4G, 120min/4.7G, 200min/8.5G)
LP 4:3 (60min/1.4G, 180min/4.7G, 300min/8.5G)
Plus a few more.

Lets look at one of those templates
SP 4:3 (40min/1.4G, 120min/4.7G, 200min/8.5G)

SP - Standard Play.
4:3 = TV format
40min/1.4G = a 40 minute video will consume approx 1.4 GB of disc space
120min/4.7G= a 120 minute video will consume approx 4.7 GB of disc space
200min/8.5G= a 200 minute video will consume approx 8,5 GB of disc space

So depending upon how long your video lasts for you can choose a ready made template for it.

The Properties box contains more information relating to the chosen template:

MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 576, 25 fps
Frame-based
(DVD-PAL), 4:3
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 2500 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48000 Hz, Stereo

You can create your own templates but you must bear in mind that any templates you create yourself must be DVD compliant. For new users who wish to modify these existing templates I suggest that you base your new template on an existing one and only make minor modifications. Such modifications would include the audio format. LCPM is considered the highest quality but it is also a space gobbler with a large file size.

There are several articles on the user forum concerning the different audio formats. This one Why 3 audio standards explains the differences between AC3, LPCM and Mpeg 2 audio.

I would like once again to point to an article by Ken Berry relating to the different audio formats Please click this link

Where possible I recommend Dolby Digital which now appears to be universal and has a small file size with high quality. Users of VideoStudio prior to version 9 will require a plug in (if it is still available) the cost of which is almost the same as an upgrade to a newer version.

I have written a guide about the bit rate settings to be used to make a video fit.

Preferences.

Lets take a brief look at the following:

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General tab
  • VCD player compliant:
    Ulead VideoStudio uses the VCD 2.0 format when creating VCDs. For navigation menus with background music, Ulead VideoStudio uses a format that requires "variable-bit-rate (VBR)" decoding. However, some VCD players do not support VBR decoding and therefore VCDs created in Ulead VideoStudio will not play correctly in these players. Select this option to make sure that the VCD created will play in these players.
    Anti-flicker filter:
    Select to apply the anti-flickering filter to the menu pages. The anti-flickering filter reduces the "flickering" that happens when using a television (interlaced display) to view the menu pages. However, this does not help when the menu page is viewed on progressive scan devices such as computer monitors or projectors.
    Resume all confirmation dialog boxes:
    Select to have the confirmation boxes appear even after the "Do not show again" oprtion is selected.
    TV system:
    Select the type of your TV system (NTSC or PAL).
    Max 30MB menus for set-top DVD+VR recorder:
    Select to set the maximum file size for DVD menus to 30MB to make the DVD compatible with set-top DVD (DVD-VR) recorders.
    Working Folder:
    Allows you to select the folder you want to save to your finished projects and captured clips.
Advanced tab
  • Create index file for MPEG seeking performance
    Improves real-time preview result using the Jog Slider. This option is specific for MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files only.
    NTSC/PAL safe color Uses video friendly colors to ensure the display quality of your menus when viewed on any TV system. This helps you avoid the flickering problem on videos when viewed on screen.
    TV safe area Sets a margin (represented by a red border) in the Preview Window of the Setup Menu page. If you set the TV safe area at 10%, the remaining 90% will be your working area. Make sure that all your menu objects are within the working area so that they can be properly viewed on screen.
Project Settings

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  • MPEG Properties for file conversion
    This displays the current settings that any non-compliant video files will be converted into. These are changed by selecting the [Change MPEG settings] button.

    Display Aspect Ratio
    4.3 or 16.9

    Do not convert compliant MPEG files
    This is the 'smart render' of the authoring stage.
    During the editing stage it is recommended that you create a DVD compliant MPEG file and calculate the various bit rates necessary for it to fit the DVD you will author. Having this box checked will prevent it being rendered again and so you will not lose time and quality.

    You might wish to overide this setting if you have video files that are compliant but need to be made smaller to fit the disk. Unchecking this option will cause the file to be rendered according to the currently selected project settings.

    Support X-Disc
    Includes Extended (XDVD, XVCD, XSVCD) compatible files to your project. There doesn't appear to be much of an explanation of the XDVD format and I had to search long and hard to find these:
    Link 1
    Link 2
    Link 3

    Two Pass Conversion
    This is adequately explained here.
    lancecarr wrote:"using variable results in a (rendered) smaller file file than when using constant" If you have a project you need to get on to a disc and the project is going to come close to the maximum size of the disc then two-pass variable is a good way to allow the codec to apportion the maximum amount of data to high motion scenes and save a bit on low motion areas.
    Using a single pass variable always seemed a bit pointless to me as the codec is being asked to estimate the motion on the fly.
    With two-pass the program scans through the file once to mark the high and low motion areas and on the second pass the encoding is actually done.
    If, however, your project is relatively small and disc real estate is not a problem then a constant bitrate up around 6000 to 8000kps is going to give you a larger file (but you don't care cos' you have acres of space!) at top quality.
    Auto fade out first play to menu:
    Select to automatically crossfade from the first play clip to the menu.

    Play all clips first before menu:
    Select to play all videos first, and then display the menu.

    Auto repeat when playback ends:
    Select to loop the video after it is done playing back

    Clip playback:
    Select whether to play the next clip or go back to the menu after playback ends. This option is disabled when Auto repeat when playback ends is selected.
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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:39 pm

Creating The Thumbnail Menus

Let us take a look at the DVD Menu creation screen:

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I have marked 5 Areas:

A - Select a predefined Menu from here using the drop down list box
B - The Menu Preview Area
C - Menu paging controls where there are more chapters than thumbnails
D - Select Either the Main Menu or a Chapter Menu
E - Preview the Menu

Predefined Menus
I have written a guide here about how to share menus from other Ulead programs
I have written another guide here about how to create a DVD menu from scratch with PhotoImpact
Another forum member has written a guide here about how to customize an existing menu with PhotoImpact

The menus are catalogued into various groups of predefined themes such as sports, holidays, business etc. The main thing to consider though when choosing a menu is the number of thumbnails contained on that menu.

In our project we have 9 videos and so we will need 9 thumbnails.
We can either choose a menu with 9 thumbnails and so everything fits on one page, or suppose we chose a menu with 3 thumbnails, we would have a menu comprising of 3 pages.

You need to take into account that the more pages that your DVD menu contains, the more disc space is used. The amount of disc space used will vary according to a number of factors such as motion backgrounds, motion thumbnails, background music and the duration of the menu before it loops back to the start.

You have to balance the number of thumbnails/pages against the amount of clutter that can occur if you have too many thumbnails on one page.

For the technically minded when you create a DVD menu, in fact you create a short video that resembles a menu. Superimposed upon that video are hotspots. These hotspots are your 'buttons' when you press the up, down, left or right keys on a DVD control pad you are moving from one hotspot to another.

These hotspots can be made to alter their colour or transparency when in a highlighted or selected state. Certain DVD menus also have what are termed 'highlight images' - what happens here is that when a hotspot is selected, another (nearby) area is highlighted to signify which 'button' is active.

The Menu Preview Area
In this area we can also make various alterations.
To alter the Text double click it and then you can alter or replace the text.
Compare the following picture to the one above:

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The menu I have created so far does not need the page 1/1 at the lower left - it would be required if there was more than 1 page. So we will hide this item by right clicking it to bring up a dialog box:

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Here you will see an option to Hide Item.

The background is somewhat plain and so we will replace it with something else. We do this by selecting the [EDIT] tab

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You will now see that you have options to alter the background music
alter the background image or even insert a background video.

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Here you can see I have chosen a two tone blue background and I have also used the hide method to remove the overlay at the bottom of the screen.

The problem now though is the text colour is unsuitable for this background. I am going to alter the text colour by holding down the [SHIFT] key and clicking each item of text so that they are all selected.

The right click to bring up a dialog box and this time select 'Font Attributes'. This in turn brings up another dialog box where I am able to change the text size, colour and font.

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Doing this the Title has also adopted the font size of the Thumbnail text, and so this time I will select just the title text, right click and then alter the font size accordingly. Whilst the text is selected you can also move the text using either the mouse or the keyboard arrow keys.

Here is my completed 'Main Menu' for our project:

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Matching the duration of the audio to the duration of the Menu

If we preview or create the DVD as it currently stands then the chances are that the audio will be abruptly cut off as the DVD menu loops back to the start. Obviously this will detract from the overall effect and so we must co-ordinate the two durations.

Take a look at this screenshot:

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Just below the [EDIT] tab and to the right of the words 'Background Music' you will see a small button. You can also see on this screenshot that the duration of the motion menu has been set to 20 seconds. Remember how I said that the DVD Menu will in fact be a short video with hotspots. When the video reaches the end it starts playing again from the beginning.

Now if the audio is of a different length - too short and you run out of sound or too long and the sound gets suddenly cut off - this will obviously spoil the Menu.

Click the [Set audio Properties] button and you will see this screen:

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You can see from my screenshot that the audio I had selected lasts for 31.51 Seconds but my Menu is set to 20. You have controls to mark in and mark out a section of the audio.
There are also buttons at the bottom left of the dialog box to apply a fade in / fade out effect.

You have to repeat this process for each of the chapter menus.

TV & Title Safe Areas
You will notice a yellow square all around the edge of the menu. This will not appear on the final DVD, it is in fact a guideline. Although you will see this entire menu on a computer monitor, a TV screen behaves differently the edges of the video disappear off the edge of the TV screen.

Here are a few links describing the TV Safe Area:
Link One
Link Two
Link Three

Other Menu Modifications
Following the above steps I have so far introduced you to the following modifications:

1. Alter the background picture or include a motion background video.
2. Add or alter a background soundtrack.
3. Alter the colour, font and size of text.
4. Alter the wording of text.

Take another look at the bottom of this picture previously shown above

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You will see a customize button.
clicking this brings up another screen where you are now able to alter the style of frames, buttons and the layout.

Here I have selected the Frame Option from the drop down list and clicked the heart shape - see how all of the thumbnails have now changed.

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You can also choose different layouts:

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And different navigation buttons:

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You can select the objects and move them and even rotate them

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You can then save your self styled menu as a template for future use.

Chapter Menus

Below the Preview screen is a drop down box. Use this to select the chapter menus.
So that we can demonstrate the use of chapters we will create chapters at 2 minute intervals for each of the following Videos:

1 - Getting to Know VideoStudio.................................8:39
3 - Adding Transitions.................................................6:50
8 - Sharing Your Movie.................................................7:10.
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We then modify the chapter menus in the same way that we modified the main (root) menu. I suggest that you maintain the same style throughout so that the whole DVD has a co-coordinated look and feel to it. Where possible use the same background image/video, background sound, font size, colour etc.

Think of how the DVD menus look when you purchase a commercial one.
It is worth spending some time developing a pleasing DVD Menu because
First impressions count.

Give someone a copy of your latest DVD masterpiece and the first thing they see (other than perhaps the first play video if one has been included) is your DVD menu. One look at the DVD menu has in many cases made up that persons mind as to whether the forthcoming video is going to be worth watching or not.

Here are my completed menus for this project:

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Last edited by Administrator on Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:38 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:41 pm

Smartscene Menus and Menu Transitions.

Both VideoStudio 10+ and also DVD MovieFactory 5 have introduced a new menu template from Ulead - Smartscene Menus.

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I have written a guide detailing how to share these menus between the two applications

Unlike the 'normal' thumbnail menus there is slightly less that can be done in the way of customising these menus.

You can alter the following in the same manner as a thumbnail menu:

1, Text - can be double clicked and the text replaced.
2. Font can be altered including size, colour, typeface.
3. Items can be moved and rotated.
3. Background image can be changed with a still image or video.
4. Background music can be changed.
5. Items can be moved and rotated.
6. Navigation buttons can be changed.
7. The tweaked menu can be saved as a new template.

You cannot:
1. Choose different frames.
2. Select different layouts

Having said that - with a bit of diverse thinking you may soon realise that in fact there are ONLY TWO smartscene menus!

Lets break the menu down to its nitty gritty bits.
A Smartscene menu has text (which can be altered.)
It has navigation buttons - that can be changed.
It has ONE single thumbnail - more about that later.
Items can be selected and moved and also rotated.
It has background music - that can be changed.
It has a background image that can be changed.

OK whats that bold statement \"There's only two\" all about?

One Menu template (in fact a few of them - but think about what I just said and you will realise they are all the same) has 3 links. Provided you find the correct background picture and sound you can turn anyone of them into one of the others!

The other Menu template has 4 links.

Actually there are a few minor differences relating to overlays and also the style of the frame - but the point I am making here is that you can in fact use a bit of ingenuity and create many more.


Right, now we've got over the shock of \"hmm there's not many of these templates\" and realised that in fact we only need two anyway, lets ask ourselves \"What is a smartmenu?\"

The smartmenu has ONE single thumbnail. when you select a Video/chapter title (text) the thumbnail changes to display a thumbnail relating to that chapter/menu.

In all other respects, the smartmenu is like a thumbnail menu.
Unlike a thumbnail menu you cannot build your own with PhotoImpact.
Technically the Smartmenu itself is a standard menu, However there lies hidden in the depths of the VideoStudio / MovieFactory programs some clever code created by the Ulead software engineers that transforms these seemingly normal menus into the magical ones that they are!

Don't even bother looking for the code that makes it all work, its written in a computer language that only the boffins can understand, be happy with what we have. Remember that almost everything is customisable anyway.

Menu Transitions

Something else introduced in VideoStudio 10+ and also DVD MovieFactory 5 is a means of moving from one menu to another, or from a menu to a video clip with a fade or transition effect.

Up until now we had to make do with stright cuts, or if you have a copy of DVD Workshop 2 and plenty of patience you could follow the method in my tutorial DVDWS2: Transitions Between Menu Pages


On the [EDIT] tab you will see the following two self explantory icons:

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The ones displayed in the above picture depict a X and signify no effect.

Click one of these boxes and a list appears of various effects that can be chosen.

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Click an effect to select it.

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Repeat this procedure for all of your chapter menus.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:42 pm

Preview and Burn your completed DVD.

Remember when previewing the DVD Menu - it is just a preview. It will be slow and chunky. It is designed to do what it states - provide a preview.
When you create the actual DVD it will take quite some time for these menus to be created. As I mentioned previously they are short video files which will last anything up to 30 seconds dependant upon the setting chosen on the [EDIT] tab here:

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The more thumbnails that exist on your menu, the more work the software has to do. The time will increase again if you also chose to include a motion background.

To preview your menu click the picture of a remote control:

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This will bring up the preview screen:

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You can obtain a better idea of what the DVD menus look like if before playing with the onscreen remote you tick the [Pre-Render Menu] tick box first.
Now use the onscreen remote control and preview the DVD as though you had a real remote control and a DVD in a standalone DVD Player. The preview will behave just as though you had inserted the disc into a DVD player and so no matter which Menu you had on screen when you selected the preview, it will always start from the beginning. It will play any first play video you may have included and then go to the main root menu.

To further edit the DVD click the \"Return to Menu\" button:

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Burn Screen.

When you are happy with the preview of your DVD Menus it is time to move on to the burning screen by clicking the [Next>] button.

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Lets start at the top of this screen and work our way down.

Label:
Enter a volume name of up to 32 characters onto the CD/DVD.

Drive
Select the disc burner that you want to use to burn the video file.

Copies
Set the number of disc copies to burn.

Disc Type
This will be blank until you place a disc in your DVD burner. It will then display the type of disc thsat has been inserted such as DVD-R

Create To disc
When selected, the DVD will be copied onto the disc in your DVD drive
you have the following options:
  1. DVD-Video
    This is the normal DVD format like those bought in shops
  2. DVD-Video (Fast re-editable)
    For an explanation of this format please click this link.
  3. DVD+VR
    For an explantion of this format please click this link
Create DVD Folders
This option is only enabled when the video file being created is a DVD-Video.
This is the option I normally choose. The DVD will be created and placed in your chosen folder on your hard drive in preparation for burning the
video file to a DVD. You can then view the completed DVD with a software DVD player such as
  • Ulead DVD Player 2.0
  • Power DVD
  • WinDVD 7
  • Inter Actual DVD Player
  • Nero showtime
and several other similar programs. This enables you to give it that final check before placing the DVD onto a disc. You can also burn several copies of the DVD folder - there is no need to render (create) the DVD again.

Create Disc Image
Select this option if you plan to burn the video file several
times. By selecting this option, you don't have to generate the file again when you want to burn the same video file.
There is no need to select this option if you have opted to burn to a DVD folder.

Normalise Audio
Have you ever noticed when watching the Television that when the adverts come on the sound suddenly goes through the roof? This option is designed to smooth out the volume to try and avoid those noisy parts. It should be used to supplement and not replace your own editing of the video sound track. Things performed manually are more often than not better than things left to automated routines.

Required Space:
  • Required/Available hard disc space.
    This will be larger than the completed DVD. It has to take into account room for several temporary files that are created during the process of making the DVD, especially if a non-compliant video or audio file needs conversion to the correct format.
  • Required/Available disc space.
    This is only displayed if you have chosen to burn directly onto a disc. It will show the size of your disc and the projected size of your completed DVD
Steps that can be taken if the indicators show that the completed DVD will not fit onto the disc
Make sure your project does not exceed 4.37 gigabytes when burning onto a 4.7-Gigabyte DVD disc. If you will burn a DVD with nearly 2 hours of video, consider these options to optimize the project size:
  • use a video data rate not higher than 4000 kbps, use MPEG/Dolby audio.
    There is a list of suggested bit rate settings here
  • Use still image menus instead of motion menus.
The bottom of the Burn screen varies slightly between Version 9 and version 10.

To continue please scroll down to your version or click one of the following links:

Burn Options Version 9.0
Burn Options Version 10

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:43 pm

Burn Options VideoStudio 9.0

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clicking the options icon will bring up this dialog box:

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  • Perform test before recording: Select to simulate first (it does not actually burn yet) the CD/DVD burning of the video file. This will help you check if the system speed is enough to send data to the CD/DVD writing device at a specified recording speed. After the simulated burning, actual burning then starts. Clear to burn the disc without performing a test.
  • Buffer underrun protection: Select to use this technology when burning your video file. This technology helps eliminate
    the buffer underrun problem. Availability of this technology depends on the disc burner you use.
  • Restart DVD+RW background format: Select to format the DVD+RW before recording. Enabling this option will prolong the recording process but will ensure a successful burn. This is recommended when you are using the DVD+RW disc for the first time.
  • Do not close disc: Select to keep the CD/DVD open after the burning process. This allows you to use the same disc to add new files in the future using another CD/DVD burning software.
  • Include personal folder to disc: Select to include a DVD Runtime Player when you burn your video project onto a disc which you can use to play your movie in your PC. Include the original JPG/BMP images used in slideshows or any other content you may wish to include on the disc.
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if you see at the bottom of the dialog box that the movie is too big to fit onto a DVD, click Fit & Burn.

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This button is only active when you have a re-writeable disc in the disc burner. this option deletes all of the data on the rewritable disc.

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Begins the recording process.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:43 pm

Burn Options VideoStudio 10

Note: This option is only available when you select
Create to Disc and/or Create Disc Image.


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clicking this will bring up the following dialog box

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  • Test before recording: Select to simulate first (it does not actually burn yet) the CD/DVD burning of the video file. This will help you check if the system speed is enough to send data to the CD/DVD writing device at a specified recording speed. After the simulated burning, actual burning then starts. Clear to burn the disc without performing a test.
  • Buffer underrun protection: Select to use this technology when burning your video file. This technology helps eliminate
    the buffer underrun problem. Availability of this technology depends on the disc burner you use.
  • Restart DVD+RW background format: Select to format the DVD+RW before recording. Enabling this option will prolong the recording process but will ensure a successful burn. This is recommended when you are using the DVD+RW disc for the first time.
  • Do not close disc: Select to keep the CD/DVD open after the burning process. This allows you to use the same disc to add new files in the future using another CD/DVD burning software.
  • Copyright Information:

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  • Include personal folder to disc: Select to include a DVD Runtime Player when you burn your video project onto a disc which you can use to play your movie in your PC. Include the original JPG/BMP images used in slideshows or any other content you may wish to include on the disc.
    Note: Ulead no longer include a DVD runtime player with the latest versions of their software. You can find some FREE runtime players in our links to freestuff.
delete Temporary files
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Click to remove the temporary files of the selected VideoStudio project file from your computer.

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This button is only active when you have a re-writeable disc in the disc burner. this option deletes all of the data on the rewritable disc.

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Begins the recording process.

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Post by Administrator » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:44 pm

Fit and Burn VideoStudio 10
Terry Stetler wrote:I only have the trial of VS10+ right now, so take this FWIW.

VS10 was a major rebuild with many UI changes. Sometimes when this is done simplification is the order of the day. With this in mind it looks like the button was removed in favor of a simple dialog box that comes up only when necessary.

Ex: when I create a compilation that is too large and click the "Burn" button I get this dialog;

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If I click "Yes" and the compilation is grossly oversized (say 7g fitting to a 4.7g disc) it will politely tell me that even with a lower bitrate the situation is hopeless;

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This doesn't happen if the project is slightly oversized, it just proceeds to encode to a lower bitrate.

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